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
----
At the free-throw line.
Ryu held the ball with both hands, looking calmly at the basket.
The Kaijo players hadn't yet recovered from what had just happened.
Ryu raised his hand and shot, without any hesitation or delay.
His release was extremely decisive; even his teammates, like Kamimono, didn't react in time.
When the basketball was halfway through its flight, the others realized that Ryu had already released it.
Just as everyone's attention was focused on the basketball, Kise caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye.
His pupils instantly contracted, his face paled in shock, and his eyes darted around, immediately recognizing the figure.
'Ryu?'
Suddenly, as if realizing something,
'Oh no…'
Before he could even warn his teammates,
Clang…
The sound of a basketball hitting the rim suddenly rang out.
The crowd under the basket, on high alert, all turned their gazes towards the sound, ready to grab the rebound.
However, a figure suddenly appeared in their field of vision.
Ryu…
Whether it was the people from Kaijo or the people from Toho Kotei Gakuen,
they all stared in disbelief as Ryu soared through the air towards the basketball.
'How did he get here?'
Kasamatsu Yukio stared blankly at the rising Ryu.
Kise gritted his teeth, watching Ryu in the air.
'He did it on purpose…'
At this moment, Ryu was already in mid-air, gliding towards the basket.
The basketball bounced off the rim and was falling.
Ryu's gaze locked onto the basketball, then he reached out and gently touched it, altering its trajectory.
Swish…
The basketball went in.
29 to 19.
The arena fell silent.
The players of Kaijo watched the basketball fall from their own hoop in silence.
Everything happened too fast, too suddenly.
Kaijo's tactics against Ryu completely failed.
Instead, they were being manipulated by Ryu.
From the very beginning of the game, they had been outmaneuvered by Ryu.
Oh… no, that's not right.
It should have been much earlier.
Ryu had thoroughly investigated everyone's information.
What were their habits? How would they defend? From which direction would they attack? How many steps would they take?
Everything was within Ryu's calculations.
How could they possibly play like this?
The team from Kaijo was bewildered.
Whistle...
The referee's whistle blew again.
Seeing something amiss with his team, Genta Takeuchi immediately called a timeout.
He hadn't expected the situation, which had been going so well, to suddenly turn like this.
At this moment, he felt extreme apprehension towards the Toho Kotei Gakuen.
He was even more apprehensive about Ryu.
In the stands.
The audience watched with rapt attention, discussing Ryu's brilliant performance.
The other school teams, however, were suffering.
Especially the Seirin team.
Aida Riko bit her thumb, her eyes filled with intense seriousness.
'Is this what they call "Data Basketball"?'
She had naturally heard Kuroko talk about "Data Basketball."
She had also seen this technique in Ryu's previous games.
She had analyzed it.
It was simply using the opponent's data to make targeted choices.
But now, Aida Riko had a different idea.
This time, Ryu's display of "Data Basketball" truly astonished her.
They calculated every move their opponent would make, even how many steps they would take, and what actions they would take.
They even didn't overlook the opponent's coach.
With Ryu at Toho Kotei Gakuen.
The thought of Seirin challenging their opponent seemed utterly ridiculous.
The other members of Seirin seemed to have also realized the gap in strength between themselves and Toho Kotei Gakuen, their brows furrowed in silence.
Alex, standing nearby, also wore a serious expression, her deep emerald green eyes fixed on Ryu.
Only Karupin in her arms remained languid.
A closer look revealed an expression of utter complacency in its round cat eyes.
'Foolish and ignorant humans, [Data Basketball] is far more terrifying than what you see now.'
Off the court.
Toho Kotei Gakuen's rest area.
Ryu closed his eyes, resting.
Although [Data Basketball] didn't consume physical strength,
it did consume a significant amount of mental energy.
The result of his brain frantically processing data was easy fatigue.
His current [Data Basketball] level was 3.0.
It wasn't because this ability had reached its peak, but rather because the highest level in Karupin's lineage was only 3.0.
However, the [Data Basketball] he used in the previous match was a 4.0, exceeding 3.0.
[Data Basketball] 4.0 Description: Integrates all collected data and performs immersive mental simulations to calculate short-term predictions of the future.
The reason [Data Basketball] evolved to 4.0 is inextricably linked to the previous bank robbery.
However, Ryu had been unaware of this until now.
He only discovered it by chance.
Ryu sat on the bench, adjusting his state.
It was only the second quarter.
Although Toho Kotei Gakuen maintained the lead.
Ryu knew very well.
If he relaxed even slightly, Kise would definitely catch up, in the shortest possible time.
Therefore, he couldn't let his guard down.
On the other side.
The atmosphere in Kaijo's rest area was somber and silent.
Everyone hung their heads in dejection, like defeated roosters.
Genta Takeuchi looked at his players, frowning, lost in thought.
The players had done very well, making no mistakes, but unfortunately, they still suffered a crushing defeat.
Could he blame these dutiful players?
No…
The only one to blame was the Toho Kotei Gakuen being too strong, and Ryu's strength being too monstrous.
In all his years as a basketball coach, this was the first time he'd encountered someone with Ryu's style.
Completely unreasonable, almost like a bug in the system.
For the first time, he felt a sense of powerlessness.
Ahem…
He coughed twice and then said.
"The current situation is very unfavorable for us. A 10-point difference isn't much, but as you can see, our opponent is Toho Kotei Gakuen. It won't be easy to catch up. Since their tactics have been countered, there's no need to target their ace anymore."
Kasamatsu Yukio wiped his sweat and looked up at Genta Takeuchi.
"Coach, do you have a way to deal with them?"
Genta Takeuchi appeared calm, but inwardly felt bitter.
He had no solutions.
He was completely helpless against a player like Ryu.
After thinking for a moment, he said.
"Since we can't stop their Ryu, let's give up on this point!"
Upon hearing this, the Kaijo team was stunned.
"Give up? Coach…you mean we just let Ryu attack?"
Genta Takeuchi nodded.
"That's right. Since we can't stop it, we don't need to. What we need to do is stabilize the current situation, wait for the right opportunity, and strike decisively."
Speaking of which, his gaze turned to Kise.
"Kise, in the coming time, I need you to keep the score difference as stable as possible. I'll have Kasamatsu and the others continue to assist you."
Hearing this, Kise nodded seriously.
"I understand, Coach. Don't worry, I'll try my best to keep the score within 10 points."
Because of Ryu, he didn't give a definitive answer.
He could actually just activate "Perfect Copy" and go on a scoring spree with Ryu.
But that would be pointless.
In the end, it would only waste his stamina.
'This feeling of being completely dominated from start to finish…Ryucchi is really strong!'
Kise's mind kept rehearsing his clashes with Ryu.
However, the results weren't ideal.
'Fine, let's listen to the coach and stabilize the score first.'
...
The timeout ended.
The players from both sides returned to the court.
The game entered a strange state of equilibrium.
Time ticked by.
The second quarter ended.
The score between Toho Kotei Gakuen and Kaijo was temporarily set at 57-45.
Toho Kotei Gakuen led Kaijo by 12 points.
In the third quarter.
Both sides continued to trade baskets, each scoring.
The score steadily increased thanks to the relentless efforts of both teams.
During this period, Kise displayed his prowess.
With the assistance of his teammates, he relentlessly attacked the Toho Kotei Gakuen basket.
The whistle blew to end the third quarter.
The score was temporarily set at 82-72.
The two teams were still separated by 10 points.
The group from Kaijo surrounded Kise.
Kasamatsu Yukio praised him.
"Well done, Kise."
Moriyama Yoshitaka added meaningfully.
"Don't forget, remember to introduce me to some pretty girls!"
Kise replied with a smile.
"Kasamatsu-senpai, Moriyama-senpai, this is all thanks to everyone. Without your help, I wouldn't be able to score so easily."
The three exchanged compliments before getting to the point.
Kise's expression became much more serious.
"It's the end. It's time for us to catch up."
Seeing their focused expressions, Kasamatsu Yukio also instantly became serious.
"Are you ready? Isn't it too early?"
Kise shook his head.
"We can't wait any longer. Although we have a quarter to catch up, with Ryu on the court, one quarter might not be enough. Scoring against Ryu won't be easy."
Hearing this, Kasamatsu Yukio and the others exchanged glances, then all nodded.
Kasamatsu Yukio said.
"Alright then! We'll keep an eye on Ryu and try our best not to let him interfere with you. As for the others..."
He hesitated.
Kise replied with a smile.
"Don't worry! Kasamatsu-senpai, although they possess the strength of the 'Uncrowned Five,' it won't be so easy for them to stop me."
…
Whistle…
The whistle blew.
The game entered the fourth quarter.
Ryu and Kise faced off on the court once again.
Ryu looked at Kise and said.
"You're finally going to use your full strength."
Kise didn't hide anything and said directly.
"That's right, because right now, what I want is to defeat you."
Ryu's lips curled up.
"You're so confident you can defeat me?"
Kise's gaze turned cold, and his aura continued to rise.
"How will you know if you don't try! Did you think I was going all out before?"
As he finished speaking, a yellow aura surged around Kise.
Awooo…
A wolf's howl pierced the sky.
The phantom of a giant wolf with ferocious fangs reappeared.
However, this time, the phantom wolf was several times larger than before.
At the same time.
Sizzle…
Two yellow electric bolts shot out from Kise's eyes.
Zone?
Looking at Kise before him, Ryu's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
He had guessed that Kise might be hiding something.
But what surprised him was that the other party had even awakened his Zone.
"That's surprising! You might actually be able to defeat that Aomine guy now!"
Ryu's expression remained calm, unaffected by the sudden change.
Kise said.
"I am indeed very confident that I can defeat him now, and of course… that includes you too."
Thud…
Without turning his head, his eyes fixed on Ryu, he caught the basketball that was passed to him from the side.
Wildness, a Perfect Copy, Zone.
Ryu's lips gradually curled into a smile, his eyes gleaming with fighting spirit.
Boom…
In an instant.
A surging aura, like a vast ocean, erupted from Ryu's body, sweeping across the entire area.
Unlike the joy they felt upon sensing Kise's aura earlier.
The Kaijo members felt as if an invisible mountain had suddenly pressed down on them, making their bodies feel considerably heavier.
As the aura intensified, wisps of red flames began to surge from Ryu's body.
[Beast's Aura] activated.
The red flames multiplied, eventually swelling to the same size as the giant wolf phantom behind Kise.
But that wasn't all.
The red flames began to condense and transform.
Sometimes a tiger, sometimes a wolf, sometimes a bear, sometimes a leopard, sometimes a snake…
Kise, who had been relatively calm, suddenly narrowed his eyes upon seeing this, his expression instantly turning serious.
"You rascal, you were definitely holding back."
Ryu explained with a smile.
"No, I wasn't hiding anything; this is simply a characteristic of [Beast's Aura]."
As he spoke, another transformation occurred.
Seven-colored light appeared on Ryu's body, wrapping around him like a flowing, colorful garment.
'[The Realm of Selflessness], huh?'
Kise narrowed his eyes, his muscles gradually tensing.
He sensed a tremendous threat.
The two men's undisguised auras silenced everyone in the arena.
All eyes were fixed on the two figures below.
They knew very well.
The final battle was about to begin.
----
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