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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"Captain..."
The members of the Toho Kotei Gakuen rushed over anxiously when they saw Kamimono fall to the ground.
Cough cough cough...
Kamimono sat on the ground, clutching his chest and stomach, coughing incessantly.
Beep...
The referee noticed the commotion and blew his whistle.
"Captain, are you alright!"
Kuroki Ryuichi asked anxiously.
Hanafuji crouched down, observing Kamimono's condition.
Besides the persistent coughing, he couldn't see anything else wrong with Kamimono.
Hanafuji gently patted Kamimono's back, helping him catch his breath.
After a long while, Kamimono finally stopped coughing, looked up, and smiled at Hanafuji.
"I'm fine, don't worry."
Kuroki Ryuichi's short temper finally flared up.
He turned and stormed forward, grabbing Haizaki Shogo by the collar and shouting angrily.
"You bastard, you did that on purpose."
Huh?
Haizaki Shogo stared into Kuroki Ryuichi's eyes, a wicked smile on his face.
"What are you talking about! I was just dunking, it's his own fault for blocking my way."
"What did you say..."
Kuroki Ryuichi couldn't hold back any longer, clenching his fist and aiming a punch at Haizaki Shogo's face.
Seeing Kuroki Ryuichi's move, Haizaki Shogo's excitement intensified.
When it comes to fighting, he'd never been afraid of anyone!
Just as he was about to dodge Kuroki Ryuichi's attack, intending to leave a lasting impression, suddenly, a hand grabbed Kuroki Ryuichi's outstretched fist.
Huh?
Both Kuroki Ryuichi and Haizaki Shogo were startled.
Ryu released his grip on Kuroki Ryuichi's arm and said...
"Kuroki-senpai, this is during the competition. If you fight, you'll be disqualified."
Hearing this, Kuroki Ryuichi looked resentful, finally glaring fiercely at Haizaki Shogo.
Tch…
"Mind your own business."
Haizaki Shogo, seeing Kuroki Ryuichi stopped by Ryu, also looked annoyed and bored.
He didn't care about the occasion or whether he'd be disqualified.
After calming Kuroki Ryuichi down, Ryu turned his gaze to Kamimono.
Seeing Kamimono had already stood up and seemed unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
The referee had also roughly understood the situation.
Beep…
He blew his whistle, pointed at Haizaki Shogo, and announced loudly.
"Red number 6, offensive foul."
Shutoku spectator area.
Takao said, somewhat confused.
"It was just an offensive foul? That's too lenient! He clearly did it on purpose."
Midorima adjusted his glasses and spoke up.
"It's useless. The High School Basketball Tournament uses the rules of the international professional basketball league. Haizaki injured his opponent after changing his posture in mid-air, not by launching a targeted attack from the start. Therefore, the referee cannot call it a flagrant foul."
"Huh? Is there such a rule in the tournament?"
Takao looked completely bewildered.
Not just him.
The Shutoku members sitting next to him also looked puzzled.
They genuinely didn't know about this rule.
On the court.
After Haizaki Shogo was called for a foul.
The Toho Kotei Gakuen had the right to serve.
Ryu turned and walked towards Kamimono, who had already stood up, and said.
"Pass the ball to me in a bit."
Kamimono glanced at Ryu, then nodded.
"Okay..."
When Ryu turned his head again.
His silver eyes were like ancient ice, cold and piercing, sharp as a knife.
Everyone present felt a chill run down their spines.
When Haizaki Shogo saw Ryu's eyes, his heart seemed to skip a beat.
As for the rest of the Fukuda team, it was as if they had fallen into an endless abyss.
For a moment, even their movements became unusually slow.
What kind of eyes were those?
The Fukuda team players, including Takahashi Kento, trembled involuntarily.
Haizaki Shogo gritted his teeth, staring in astonishment at Ryu ahead.
'What's this? Why am I feeling fear?'
This was the first time he'd ever felt fear emanating from Ryu.
When he lost to Ryu before, he only felt resentment and bitterness.
But now…
A chill he'd never felt before ran from his head to his toes.
"Ryu… catch…"
Hanafuji tossed the ball to Ryu.
Ryu didn't even turn his head, simply reaching behind him and catching the basketball steadily.
The audience gasped in amazement at this sight.
"Wow… he caught the ball behind him without even looking! How did he do that?"
"Truly worthy of being the strongest in high school, even his catching is so captivating."
"So amazing… catching it so accurately without even looking, how does he know the trajectory of the ball?"
The audience cheered and applauded this pass.
The players from various universities were all dumbfounded.
When had they ever seen anything like this?
Catching the basketball from behind without even looking!
Were they watching normal basketball?
How could this be different from the basketball they knew?
Rakuzan spectator area.
Akashi narrowed his eyes slightly, the halo in his pupils growing brighter.
He noticed the change in Ryu immediately.
He sensed an unprecedented sense of crisis emanating from Ryu.
Even during the Summer League, he hadn't felt this kind of crisis.
What on earth was this…?
Seated behind were Reo Mibuchi, Kotaro Hayama, and Eikichi Nebuya.
The three of them were also shaken by the intense sense of crisis.
They stared blankly down below.
Something incredible seemed about to happen.
Too spectator area.
"That guy…"
Aomine's lips curled into a smile, his eyes gleaming as he looked down at Ryu.
His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
This wasn't from fear or terror.
It was a trembling of excitement.
He couldn't resist the urge to jump down and fight Ryu three hundred times.
Shutoku spectator area.
Midorima's pupils contracted behind his glasses, his bandaged hands clenching into fists.
Takao, noticing Midorima's unusual behavior, was about to say something, but ultimately kept silent.
This was the first time he'd seen such a dramatic change in emotion on Midorima's face.
Yosen Spectator Area.
Murasakibara stopped eating his snacks, his purple eyes fixed intently on Ryu below.
Himuro Tatsuya did the same.
He didn't sense the danger as strongly as Murasakibara.
But for him, it was already fatal.
Kaijo Spectator Area.
Kise gripped the railing tightly, a mixture of resentment and surprise in his voice.
"Ryu..., so he really did hold back."
Seirin Spectator Area.
Kagami had already stood up from his chair.
He stared in horror at Ryu below.
The danger he felt from Ryu was no less than that of the Generation of Miracles.
It seemed that the higher one's strength and talent, the stronger the perceived danger.
On the court.
Ryu held the ball, his gaze fixed on Haizaki Shogo.
His icy gaze, like a knife, made Haizaki Shogo's movements difficult.
He wanted to move, but his body felt frozen, trembling slightly, unable to move an inch.
Just then, Ryu's calm yet chilling words reached Haizaki Shogo's ears.
"Haizaki..."
Just a name.
Beads of cold sweat had already appeared on Haizaki Shogo's forehead.
"You've gone too far."
With that, Ryu began to dribble the basketball.
Thump...
The instant the basketball hit the ground.
Everyone felt something was off.
The sound was still the sound of a basketball hitting the ground.
But what was this discordant, incongruous feeling?
Thump...
The sound of the basketball hitting the ground rang out again.
The incongruity was even stronger.
But no one could find the reason.
Thump... thump... thump...
The basketball bounced repeatedly on the ground.
Out of sight of others.
Invisible sound waves surged towards Haizaki Shogo.
Stuck in awe of Ryu's gaze, Haizaki Shogo remained completely oblivious.
He assumed a defensive stance, his eyes fixed intently on Ryu's every move.
Ryu stood before Haizaki Shogo once more, his face cold, his words icy.
"Since you enjoy taking from others so much, then I'll let you taste the bitterness of losing everything!"
Thump...
Whoosh...
A gentle breeze brushed against Haizaki Shogo's face.
His body lurched backward as Ryu broke through.
Thump...
Haizaki Shogo sat on the ground, utterly bewildered.
'What... happened? How did I fall?'
He stared blankly ahead, completely unaware of why he had suddenly collapsed.
'Strange, something seems off…'
Haizaki Shogo sensed something was different from usual.
But he couldn't pinpoint the problem.
He got up from the ground and turned to look at Ryu, who had already driven to his basket.
Ryu dribbled into Fukuda Sogo's paint.
Fukuda Sogo's center was now blocking his way.
Ryu's icy gaze met his.
[Ice World] activated.
The center for Fukuda Sogo immediately felt as if he'd been frozen in place, unable to move.
His face was filled with terror and disbelief.
Thump…
The sound of a basketball hitting the ground rang out.
The center for Fukuda Sogo suddenly felt the previously noisy world fall silent.
However, he saw the spectators outside the court suddenly become excited.
He realized the spectators' gazes were on his back.
He turned his head following the spectators' gazes.
He saw Ryu hanging above his own hoop.
And the basketball had already been slammed in.
53 to 28.
'When did this happen?'
The center for Fukuda Sogo was completely bewildered.
He clearly hadn't heard the sound of a slam dunk.
No… it wasn't just a slam dunk.
'What's wrong with me? Why can't I hear anything?'
His breathing became rapid, and the terror on his face deepened.
He didn't even notice his teammates dribbling the ball on offense.
His attention was entirely focused on his ears.
How could he concentrate on playing basketball if he couldn't hear anything?
Thud…
Hanafuji intercepted the ball from the opposing point guard and immediately passed it to Ryu.
Everyone at Toho Kotei Gakuen knew this.
Ryu was currently avenging Kamimono!
So, upon receiving the ball, they passed it to Ryu without hesitation.
This was their trust in Ryu.
They believed he could help their captain avenge the earlier defeat.
Haizaki Shogo's face was noticeably more unnatural now.
His movements were much slower than before.
Ryu dribbled the basketball, saying nothing.
Thump…
Another thud of a basketball hitting the ground rang in his ears.
Haizaki Shogo felt a sudden darkness engulf him; he could see nothing.
This sudden change startled him.
However, Ryu had already swept past him and appeared behind him.
To outsiders, Haizaki Shogo appeared as still as a statue, letting Ryu pass by.
This scene stunned everyone.
Especially the Generation of Miracles who knew Haizaki Shogo well.
The Generation of Miracles, along with Kuroko, were all utterly astonished.
They couldn't understand what was wrong with Haizaki Shogo; why he seemed unable to see Ryu.
This was completely out of character for him, always looking for trouble.
Rakuzan spectator area.
Akashi frowned.
In his Emperor Eye.
The scene that had just occurred.
Haizaki Shogo wasn't showing signs of being unable to defend; rather, he was completely unable to see Ryu.
This situation is too bizarre.
...
Too Spectator Area.
Momoi spoke with a puzzled expression.
"This strange feeling...it's so familiar."
Aomine raised an eyebrow and asked.
"What's the same?"
"It's this strange feeling...it's the same as when Ryu and his team fought against Kirisaki Daiichi at the tournament."
Hearing this, Aomine was even more confused.
The same?
What does that mean?
Aomine couldn't quite understand.
...
Murasakibara and Kise looked similar.
The last time Ryu used [Annihilation of the Five Senses].
They were all busy with their matches, so they hadn't seen it.
But Midorima was different.
He vividly remembered the scene before him.
His heart was in turmoil.
This sense of incongruity.
This discordant scene.
'Could this really be some new technique you've developed, Ryu…'
…
On the court.
Whoosh…
Takahashi Kento had sneaked over unnoticed.
Ryu sensed something amiss, his gaze turning cold as he dodged Takahashi Kento's impact.
Ryu turned, his icy gaze instantly locking onto Takahashi Kento.
Takahashi Kento felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, his heart chilling, his body trembling uncontrollably.
'Trash…'
Ryu said coldly.
He really didn't want to say anything more to Takahashi Kento.
The basketball in his hands bounced repeatedly on the ground.
Invisible sound waves assaulted Takahashi Kento's entire body.
Thump…
Takahashi Kento's pupils dilated instantly, losing all light and plunging him into darkness.
Thump…
After the sound of a basketball hitting the ground, the world suddenly fell silent.
Takahashi Kento froze on the spot.
He remained stunned for several seconds.
Takahashi Kento suddenly raised his hands and waved them in front of his eyes.
He realized he could neither see nor hear anything. His mental defenses crumbled, and his body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Ryu didn't dribble past him.
Instead, he activated [Ryu Illusion], transforming into Midorima's appearance, and directly shot the ball in front of the slumped Takahashi Kento.
In front of Ryu was the slumped Takahashi Kento.
Behind him stood Haizaki Shogo, his face blank, his back to Ryu, as still as a statue.
He calmly launched a long-range three-pointer from between the two players.
The scene was utterly bizarre.
The entire arena fell into an instinctive silence.
Swish…
The sound of the basketball piercing the net was exceptionally clear.
56 to 28.
"My eyes… my ears… I can't see or hear anything, what's happening? Help me… help… help me…"
But just then, a scream of agony echoed throughout the arena.
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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