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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Thump... thump... thump...
Kise dribbled the basketball in his hands again and again.
Each bounce of the basketball seemed to strike the hearts of everyone around.
Thump...
Another bounce sounded, then abruptly stopped.
Ryu and Kise's pupils contracted simultaneously.
Electrifying light flashed in Kise's eyes.
His figure instantly transformed into a blur, leaving a trail of yellow light as he darted towards Ryu's side.
The terrifying speed made those who witnessed it feel as if a frame of their memory was missing, creating a momentary illusion.
Kise completely imitated Aomine's playing style.
Extreme speed, and an unpredictable, ever-changing playing style.
His movements were expansive and powerful, like a flamboyant and arrogant dancer unleashing his proud talent.
Ryu's gaze narrowed slightly.
The instant Kise started moving. Ryu successfully locked onto him using the Eye of Hyotei.
As Kise broke through his defenses, everyone witnessed an unbelievable scene.
Ryu, whom Kise had broken through, stood rooted to the spot.
His figure, however, seemed to have its transparency adjusted, slowly fading until it disappeared completely.
At the same time, Kise, who thought he had broken through Ryu's defense, suddenly felt a jolt of alarm in his mind.
The spot in front of him, which had been empty, suddenly held a familiar figure.
Ryu.
'How could this be?'
Kise's pupils contracted, startled by Ryu's sudden appearance.
Squeak…
An extremely piercing sound echoed throughout the arena.
Kise's speed instantly dropped from Max to 0.
The next instant, he switched the basketball between his legs, then once again increased his speed from 0 to Max.
He touched the ground with one foot, then executed a C-shaped turn, creating half a body length's distance between himself and Ryu.
Carrying a streak of yellow light, Kise successfully evaded Ryu's defense.
However, the next second, Kise's eyelids closed and opened, and Ryu's figure reappeared before him.
Time ticked by.
Two streaks of light, one silver and one yellow, raged wildly across the court.
One attacked, one defended; one broke through, one defended; one dodged, one chased.
Their battle was like a strange dance.
The onlookers were mesmerized, dazzled, and overwhelmed.
Awooo…
A wolf howl pierced the sky.
The giant wolf phantom behind Kise grinned, baring its teeth, its face a ferocious expression.
The giant wolf's front paws thrashed backward.
A pair of cold, eerie green eyes scanned the area ahead, searching for a way to break through, waiting for its opportunity.
Before it, a crimson aura, like an abyss, stood like a sentient wall, blocking all paths.
The giant wolf lunged forward, its claws lashing out, attempting to shatter the wall of crimson flames.
Thud…
Attacked by the giant wolf, the crimson flames instantly enveloped its claws, then began to solidify.
Hiss…
A snake's tongue flickered, its body coiled.
The claws that had been swung by the giant wolf were now entangled by the snake formed from the crimson flames.
The giant wolf tried to bite.
Before it could even bite, a tiger's head materialized from crimson flames, its mouth agape, roaring furiously at it.
"Awooo..."
Another howl.
The giant wolf exerted its strength, breaking free from the snake's coils, and took a step back, warily staring at the crimson flames before it.
It seemed to be driven by resentment, or perhaps by its own ferocity.
The giant wolf's eyes gradually turned cold and crazed.
The next second, a bright halo suddenly appeared in the giant wolf's pupils.
An aura of imperial power emanated from the giant wave, spreading outwards.
Sensing this domineering aura,
Ryu immediately made a judgment.
'Is it imitating Akashi's Emperor Eye?'
His eyes were filled with amusement.
"The Emperor Eye, looks good. It might be useful against some weaklings, but a fake is still a fake; it will never become real."
With those words, Ryu's eyes narrowed.
He struck with lightning speed, intercepting the ball.
With the enhancement of the [Selfless Realm] honed to its limit through countless trials,
he didn't even need to use [Ice World] against Kise's imitation of the Eye of the Emperor.
The initial state of the Ice Emperor's Eye alone was enough to easily find a breakthrough.
Ryu's speed was incredibly fast.
Those around him could barely see his afterimage; it was terrifying.
Kise was watching Ryu's every move.
However, when he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow out of the corner of his eye, a deadly sense of crisis filled his heart.
His heart instantly jumped, and his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, pounding rapidly.
At this moment, Ryu's fingers had already touched the surface of the basketball.
Kise seemed to sense the slight vibration emanating from the basketball.
'Such a fast steal.'
He was startled and quickly shifted his dribbling hand slightly to the side.
This prevented the basketball from being knocked away, avoiding losing control.
Hmm?
Seeing that the basketball hadn't been knocked away, a hint of surprise flashed in Ryu's eyes.
In that situation, even for Aomine, who had entered the Zone, regaining control of the basketball wouldn't have been so easy.
'Is it because of the Emperor's Eye? Or is it just pure instinct?'
Kise's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he realized he couldn't break through.
He shifted his body to the side, protecting the basket to his right rear.
At the same time.
He gathered power in his right leg, then propelled his body, concentrating his strength on his left side.
The next second, Kise pushed off with his right foot, forcefully pushing his left side towards Ryu.
Ryu's eyes flickered.
'So, this time he's trying to use Murasakibara's power to break through my defense?'
His eyes remained calm as still water.
Faced with the overwhelming danger, his body didn't move, but colorful light began to flow around him, then gathered.
Bang…
Kise's body collided with Ryu's.
However, Kise felt as if he had crashed into an indestructible wall, completely unmoved.
His pupils contracted sharply, and he felt incredibly frustrated.
'This guy… his body is really tough.'
Realizing that even Murasakibara's power couldn't break through the defense, Kise immediately pulled away, creating distance between himself and Ryu.
Seeing their ace unable to penetrate, the Kaijo team grew anxious.
They were still down by 10 points!
Bang bang bang…
Kise began his lightning-fast assault on Ryu's defense again.
The shot clock was about to expire.
He glanced at his teammates.
At this moment, all his teammates were tightly guarded by the Toho Kotei Gakuen players.
They had no chance to pass the ball.
He let out a long breath.
Kise's movements suddenly stopped, his speed instantly dropping from Max to zero.
Without hesitation,
he took a step back, raised the ball, and aimed at the Toho Kotei Gakuen basket.
"Trying to shoot a three-pointer… too naive."
Ryu's figure flashed, appearing in front of Kise as if by teleportation.
The instant Kise released the ball, Ryu's large hand arrived.
Slap...
A merciless slap struck the basketball, sending it flying far before finally rolling out of Kaijo's baseline.
The ball went out of bounds.
Kise stared at Ryu, his gaze serious.
He had clearly been at a disadvantage in their exchange.
He took a deep breath and spoke.
"Looks like you've gotten a lot stronger!"
Ryu shrugged and replied.
"You've improved a lot since Summer."
Ryu had improved considerably compared to Summer.
The most significant improvement was in his physical attributes.
Ryu's attributes are now all above S+.
His innate skill, [Chaotic Dance], has evolved to S+ with his physical growth.
This move has seen a significant improvement in strength, speed, and endurance.
It's safe to say that any one of the current Generation of Miracles wouldn't be a match for Ryu.
Kise's physical attributes haven't reached Ryu's level.
That's why he's been unable to break through Ryu's defense.
In the stands.
The Seirin team was astonished by the unexpected result.
"How could this be? Kise is being completely suppressed."
Kagami was somewhat confused by the situation.
He had considered that Kise might be slightly inferior to Ryu.
But now, Kise couldn't even penetrate the three-point line and was forced to shoot from a distance.
This result greatly exceeded his expectations.
Kuroko remained silent, but a look of confusion appeared in his deep blue eyes.
"I don't understand. It's too strange. For a moment, it felt like Kise was incredibly weak. Right now, whether looking at their aura or their technique, Ryu and Kise aren't that far apart. It should be a close contest, but in their duel just now, it was obvious that Kise was outmatched by Ryu."
Aida Riko analyzed, frowning.
"It's physical ability."
Just as everyone was puzzled,
Alex's voice suddenly reached their ears.
The Seirin members all turned to look.
Aida Riko asked, puzzled.
"Physical ability?"
Hyuga Junpei murmured.
"What does this have to do with physical ability?"
The others also perked up their ears.
Alex explained.
"Under equal technical conditions, what influences the outcome of a battle is physical ability. A strong physique can subtly enhance one's technique. Simply put, if both sides use 100 in strength and speed, then 100 in physical ability translates to 200, while 90 translates to 190. Even if both use the same level of strength, the difference in physical reaction will be significant."
After Alex's explanation, the Seirin team finally understood the reason.
After regaining their composure, everyone's attention turned to Ryu and Kise on the sidelines.
Off the court.
Kise launched another attack.
Aomine's unorthodox dribbling was masterful, making it seem as if the real Aomine was on the court.
However, Ryu, possessing SS-level mental power, could easily track Kise's movements without using the Hyotei Eye skill.
Plus, his superior physical abilities...
Defending against the opponent's attack wasn't difficult.
At this moment, fine beads of sweat appeared on Kise's forehead.
For some reason, he felt an inexplicable pressure emanating from Ryu.
The shot clock was almost up.
He gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing, and dribbled the basketball repeatedly.
The basketball bounced playfully around Kise like a leaping sprite.
Ankle Breaker.
Kise intended to use this move to shake off Ryu's balance.
However, Ryu possessed the Eye of Hyotei and could naturally see the weakness and defend or dodge.
'Damn it…'
Kise suddenly took a step back, finally raising the basketball and aiming at the Toho Kotei Gakuen basket.
His current position was between the three-point line and the center line, about 2 meters outside the three-point line.
A flash of green suddenly appeared within the yellow aura.
Kise decisively began mimicking Midorima Shintaro's long-range three-pointer.
Ryu smiled as Kise retreated.
A glint flashed in his eyes, and he stepped forward, blocking Kise's shot once again.
"It's too obvious, Kise. The chance of you mimicking Midorima's step-back is 92%."
With that, Ryu leaped forward, raising one arm to block Kise's shot again.
This time, however, looking at Ryu before him, Kise's lips curled slightly, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
His shooting form suddenly changed; with a flick of his wrist, he aimed to the side and threw the ball.
At the very moment of release, he changed from shooting to passing.
Ryu, already jumping, showed no surprise at this.
His voice rang out again.
"While your chance of passing is 8%, given your previous block, this time your chance of passing increases to 100%."
Ryu's body tilted, as if weighed down, suddenly dropping a little.
He swung his arm, slapping the basketball directly at Kise's throw.
Thud…
A crisp yet dull sound echoed throughout the court.
Kise's heart skipped a beat.
The basketball rolled out of bounds once again.
Huff... Hah... Huff... Hah... Huff... Hah...
Kise was panting heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead and cheeks.
"You saw right through me, that's really bad!"
Kise felt utterly exhausted.
Ryu's moves were too monstrous, and each one was so foul.
That disgusting feeling I had for "Data Basketball" back in middle school had returned.
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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