I want to reach 20 paid subscriptions on Patreon this week to complete this novel, as it has been over a month since the last subscription.
patreon.com/ayan41x
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The gasps and shock from the stands were deafening.
As basketball enthusiasts, witnessing such an extraordinary steal was incredible.
How could they not be thrilled, screaming and cheering?
On the court.
The Kaijo players' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Ryu's actions completely overturned their understanding.
Kise stared at Ryu as he landed.
"Ryu, you bastard."
He was shocked by Ryu's steal.
Truly shocked.
He never expected Ryu to use such a method to steal the ball from him.
His mind raced through the possibilities.
The final result was that he couldn't replicate Ryu's steal.
It was beyond the capabilities of his talent.
Offense and defense transitioned.
Kaijo inbounded the ball.
Kise took a deep breath, then waved for the ball.
Thud…
The basketball came in.
He received the ball, held it with both hands, and stood still, not rushing to attack.
Ryu saw Kise standing there without attacking.
At first, he thought Kise was going to imitate Shintaro Midorima, preparing to shoot a super long three-pointer.
Instinctively, he wanted to rush forward to stop him.
However, his steps quickly stopped.
Because he sensed that the surging aura emanating from Kise was gradually weakening.
Silver eyes pierced through illusion, seemingly freezing everything in the world.
At this moment, all of Kise's weaknesses were exposed in Ryu's eyes.
'This is…'
Ryu narrowed his eyes.
At this moment, in his eyes, Kise's aura had diminished, but his weaknesses had actually become fewer along with it.
Soon, Kise finally moved.
He dribbled towards the Toho Kotei Gakuen's half of the court.
Just as Ryu stepped forward to block him, Kise abruptly stopped, maxing out to 0 and stopping half a meter in front of Ryu.
He gathered the ball and moved behind him.
Bang…
Behind-the-back bounce and switch hands.
As the basketball switched to his other hand, Kise's body leaned towards the other side of Ryu.
Ryu's eyes gleamed silver.
Although he couldn't see the future like Seijuro Akashi, his perception was unparalleled.
In his eyes, Kise's movement appeared to be a breakthrough, but it could also be a feint.
A decoy to deceive him.
To block or not to block…
Ryu's mind was frantically calculating.
'Never mind, even if it's a feint, I can defend it again.'
He was confident he could block Kise after his feint.
Thinking it, he acted.
Ryu quickly stepped to the side, blocking Kise's side breakthrough route.
As expected.
Seeing this,
Kise's lips curled into a slight smile.
His movements suddenly changed, and the ball in his hand moved behind him once more.
With a swing of his arm, the basketball bounced between his legs and was caught securely in his other hand.
At the same time, his body instantly changed direction, veering towards the other side of Ryu.
This series of movements was extremely swift; those with poor dynamic vision couldn't even see how Kise changed direction.
Ryu's pupils contracted, not to be outdone.
As Kise changed direction, he also swiftly performed a 360-degree spin, instantly creating a distance of nearly a meter between them.
However, Kise, who was attacking from below, revealed a smug smile.
"I knew this move wouldn't work on Ryu."
Hearing his words, a strange feeling arose in Ryu's heart.
'What's this guy trying to do? Not going to break through?'
Suddenly, Ryu seemed to realize something, his eyes widening.
'Could it be that he's thinking of…'
He immediately stepped forward, reaching out to stop him.
However, Kise seemed to have anticipated Ryu's move, passing the ball ahead of time.
'Just as expected, a pass.'
Ryu scoffed.
The basketball landed in the hands of Yukio Kasamatsu, who was matched up against Souji Hanafuji.
As the captain of Kaijo's basketball team, Yukio Kasamatsu's skills were naturally unquestionable.
Moreover, his dribbling was much faster than the average person.
Full-speed dribbling: Using one's own speed to dribble and break through.
Bang bang bang…
While not exactly dazzling, it was enough to dazzle most people.
However, Souji Hanafuji wasn't among them.
His eyes, hidden behind his glasses, were fixed intently on his opponent, his body motionless, like a beast poised to pounce.
As Yukio Kasamatsu moved, he followed suit.
Moving and stopping, the two quickly reached the three-point line.
Souji Hanafuji had done his research beforehand and knew this guy could shoot threes.
So he took a step forward, just in case.
Seeing this scene, Yukio Kasamatsu's eyes twitched, and his heart sank.
'As expected, the others besides Ryu aren't so easy to break through.'
He glanced at the Toho Kotei Gakuen's restricted area out of the corner of his eye.
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa and Hiroshi Kobori were already in position, ready to pounce.
However, when he saw Kamimono beside them, he hesitated.
He knew Kamimono's rebounding ability.
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa and Hiroshi Kobori might not be able to win.
Just as he hesitated, a voice suddenly reached his ears.
"Kasamatsu-senpai... over here..."
Yukio Kasamatsu looked up and saw Kise running, reaching out for the ball.
Seeing Ryu hot on Kise's heels, he hesitated for a moment, then finally tossed the ball to him.
Seeing this, Ryu immediately changed direction, reaching out to block the incoming basketball.
However, Kise pushed off with both legs.
Bang!
He shot out like a cannonball.
Seeing this, Ryu couldn't help but twitch his lips.
'This guy has actually combined Atsushi Murasakibara's explosiveness with Daiki Aomine's speed.'
Thwack…
Kise got there first, receiving the ball before Ryu.
Without any hesitation.
Kise turned and attacked the interior of the Toho Kotei Gakuen.
Ryu quickened his pace to chase.
However, Kise's preemptive strike limited the closing distance.
Now only Kamimono and Kuroki Ryuichi remained to defend the basket.
Facing the two, Kise wasn't intimidated at all.
He didn't slow down, like an arrow, piercing straight in.
Seeing Kise's speed…
Kamimono and Kuroki Ryuichi were both solemn, not daring to be careless in the slightest.
However, what no one expected was this:
Kise suddenly stopped in front of the free-throw line, then gathered the ball and leaped to the side.
Everyone was stunned by this.
What was he trying to do?
Others didn't know, but Ryu knew very well.
He felt a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough, the next moment Kise did exactly what Ryu had thought.
Kise leaped to the side, raising the basketball high with one hand, aiming at the rim and throwing it forcefully.
An unorthodox shot.
Bang…
The basketball slammed against the rim, then bounced precisely into the basket.
7 to 5.
After landing, Kise raised his arm, a happy expression on his face.
The Kaijo team surrounded him, some choking him, others patting his head, congratulating him.
"Heh..."
Ryu smiled, looking at Kise.
"Not bad! Kise."
The cheers from the stands were almost constant.
The exciting scenes were constantly stimulating their senses.
No one had expected it.
The match would be so intense and thrilling from the very beginning.
It left some unprepared players breathless.
"So strong, too strong, we're no match for them at all."
Riko Aida, frowning, analyzed from the stands.
She knew her team well.
Right now, Seirin had no chance against either Toho Kotei Gakuen or Kaijo.
Though she didn't want to admit it, it was the truth.
Taiga Kagami's fists clenched so tightly they cracked.
"Damn it...they've gotten stronger again! I'm so frustrated!"
He knew he was no match for the two below him.
So he felt incredibly aggrieved.
Hearing Taiga Kagami's words, Tetsuya Kuroko spoke up.
"Kagami-kun, you still have me and everyone else. I believe that as long as we work together, we can definitely defeat them. Besides, we still have time; we can still improve our strength."
Hearing this, Taiga Kagami met Tetsuya Kuroko's gaze.
Finally, he took a deep breath and nodded seriously.
"Ah, okay, anyway...I will definitely defeat all of them."
Alex, standing beside him, also smiled.
However, a trace of worry deep in her eyes wouldn't disappear.
...
The match continued.
Toho Kotei Gakuen had possession of the ball.
Ryu had the ball.
As he prepared to attack, he noticed something unusual on the other side.
The imposing aura that Kise had displayed earlier had vanished.
The yellow flames surrounding him were also gone.
'Not using "Perfect Copy" anymore?'
In Ryu's eyes.
Kise's weaknesses had clearly increased.
However, when he saw Kise's slightly erratic breathing, he understood.
'I see, is that so?'
Ryu's lips curled up slightly.
'Looks like stamina is still your Achilles' heel! "Perfect Copy" really does consume too much stamina.'
Ryu charged forward with the ball, quickly encountering Kise's obstruction.
Ryu chuckled and teased.
'I thought you could hold out a little longer!'
Hearing this, Kise's expression changed slightly, but he still replied.
"You found out! Well, there's nothing I can do about it then, but so what! While imitation is my talent, I'm not just good at imitation."
With that, Kise's gaze sharpened, and he spread his arms, completely blocking Ryu's path.
A brutal, bloodthirsty aura emanated from him, rushing towards Ryu without reservation.
At the same time, a gigantic wolf phantom materialized behind him.
Ryu's pupils trembled.
'This is… a wolf?'
'Oh… this feeling… wildness, huh? I didn't expect you to awaken it too!'
Kise shrugged.
'It can't be helped. You've all awakened your wildness, I can't fall behind.'
Ryu's expression not change.
A red flames began to rise from his body.
[Aura Beast] activated.
In an instant, Ryu's aura completely blocked Kise's aggressive approach.
The two auras were like two invisible walls, one red and one yellow, each occupying half the space, unable to encroach on the other's territory in the slightest.
Kise's pupils contracted.
"The aura beast, huh?"
He found it absurd.
He and the other four all possessed a wild nature.
But Ryu was different.
That wasn't all.
This "aura beast" also possessed some strange abilities.
For example, it seemed to be able to transform into any animal.
In short, Ryu is a strange person, not just in body, but even his skills are bizarre.
In short, they're outrageous.
Ryu and Kise faced off in midfield.
At this moment, they were completely alone.
It was as if a great battle was about to erupt.
The red void rapidly materialized, transforming into a four-legged feline.
A majestic, imposing, and ferocious tiger materialized.
The tiger roared, howling at the giant wolf behind Kise.
The giant wolf's eyes were cold and sinister, showing no fear of the tiger before it, baring its teeth, its expression ferocious, looking ready to devour its prey.
The atmosphere on the court grew increasingly tense.
Even the coach on the sidelines felt a chill run down his spine, and beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
When wildness meets, only the survivor remains.
Under the unwavering gaze of everyone.
A wild struggle.
About to begin.
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I want to reach 20 paid subscriptions on Patreon this week to complete this novel, as it has been over a month since the last subscription.
patreon.com/ayan41x