[Please vote with the power stones; the more you vote, the more chapters will be published. Thank you.]
50 Power Stones = 1 bonus chapters.
100 Power Stones = 3 bonus chapters.
150 Power Stones = 5 bonus chapters.
-----
After a brief discussion of the battle plan, everyone got up and walked out of the passageway.
Ryu looked at the nearly full stands, a slight smile playing on his lips.
If they beat Meisei today, Teiko would directly advance to the quarterfinals.
During the pre-match warm-up, Teiko's performance was naturally impressive: Murasakibara's powerful dunk, Midorima's perfectly accurate three-pointer, Aomine's unconventional layup, and Akashi and Silver's fluid dribbling.
The audience cheered in unison, awestruck by Teiko's performance.
At Meisei Middle School's side, the team watched as Teiko's players displayed their seemingly unreasonable ball skills.
Their hearts began to pound.
Hanamiya Makoto looked at the five players opposite him, a cunning and excited glint in his eyes.
A slight smile played on his lips, and his tongue traced a line across his mouth. "The most satisfying thing is when a high-end toy is destroyed."
Hearing their captain's mutterings, the Meisei team members smiled knowingly.
They understood their captain's meaning perfectly well. It seemed those guys on the other side were in for trouble.
Ryu and other had finished warming up.
Beep…
The match officially began.
The two teams lined up.
Hanamiya Makoto was matched up against Akashi.
Upon seeing Akashi, he grinned, "I watched your warm-up. Your talent is impressive; it's truly enviable!"
Akashi looked at him calmly, expressionless.
Seeing that Akashi ignored him, Hanamiya stuck out his tongue. "Oh dear, really, don't be so cold."
Ryu, seeing this, sneered inwardly.
Of all people to provoke, he had to pick on Akashi.
If it were a fair fight with Akashi, that would be fine, but if Hanamiya dared to use any underhanded tactics, his fate would be grim.
Ryu scanned the five people opposite him; sure enough, none of them had good intentions in their eyes.
Like attracts like. If they resorted to dirty tricks, he'd have to stop them.
He had just inherited the "Tightrope Walking" skill from Karupin. With this move, Meisei would probably never have a chance to pull any tricks under the basket.
Whistle…
The referee blew the whistle.
The basketball was tossed into the air, and Murasakibara Atsushi effortlessly slapped it to Akashi.
Akashi received the ball.
Facing Hanamiya Makoto's defense, Akashi simply performed two between-the-legs passes, then flashed past the opponent's defense.
"Sigh…" Hanamiya Makoto looked at Akashi, who had broken through him, and gave a meaningful smile.
Akashi dribbled to Meisei's half of the court.
Seeing the opposing player trying to help defend, Akashi flicked his wrist and passed the basketball to Midorima on the other side.
Without hesitation, Midorima bent his knees and jumped, launching the basketball with a perfectly executed shot.
The basketball shot out like a precision machine, its high arc creating a tense yet exciting atmosphere.
At its highest point, the basketball plummeted downwards like a shooting star.
With a soft swish, the basketball landed precisely in the basket. 3-0, Teiko took the lead.
A cheer erupted from the stands.
Midorima's shots always sparked endless imagination.
Midorima showed little emotion, simply adjusting his glasses before turning to defend.
Hanamiya wasn't intimidated by the three-pointer.
He watched Midorima Shintaro return to defense, a knowing smile playing on his lips.
The game transitioned to offense, and Meisei inbounded the ball.
However, before the opponent could even cross half-court, Ryu ruthlessly stole the ball.
Ryu dribbled directly to Meisei's basket.
He didn't choose to dunk or shoot because he saw two opposing players running towards him. If he chose to dunk or shoot, he would inevitably be vulnerable to dirty tricks.
Ryu stood under Meisei's basket and gently tossed the basketball upwards.
The two Meisei players who had just arrived looked surprised.
They had wanted to cause him some trouble—if possible, they hoped to injure him and force him to leave the game.
But they hadn't expected him to stand still and simply hook the ball upwards.
This left them somewhat frustrated.
They subconsciously looked at their captain.
Hanamiya Makoto smiled slyly and then gave them a hand gesture.
The two understood and nodded to each other.
So what if you didn't jump? You definitely won't make that shot, and you'll have to jump eventually to grab a rebound. "It's perfectly normal for you to twist your ankle if you lose your balance then."
The two of them took a step forward simultaneously.
Ryu sneered inwardly at their movement.
He curled his lips into a smile, then turned and walked towards his own half of the court.
By this time, the basketball had already flown over the rim, and then over the backboard.
When everyone saw where the basketball had ascended, they all blinked, wondering if they were seeing things.
Because the basketball was currently at the edge of the backboard, still quite a distance from the rim!
"Hey, hey, hey, could it be a mistake?"
"Isn't number 95 supposed to be very strong? How could he make such a mistake?"
Ryu remained unmoved.
He walked towards his own half.
As he left the Meisei restricted area, the basketball finally fell.
Thud...
The basketball landed squarely on the right edge of the backboard.
Seeing this, both Meisei players crouched down, ready to grab the rebound.
Akashi and the others looked at Ryu, then at the basketball, unsure what to do.
Ryu smiled at them, snapped his fingers, and said, "Secret Technique: Tightrope Walking."
As soon as he finished speaking, the basketball on the right edge of the backboard began to roll.
It rolled from the right side directly to the center, then everyone saw it tilt and fall, landing precisely in the hoop.
Swish…
The entire arena fell silent.
After the silence came deafening cheers.
"Ryu, are you sure that shot wasn't a fluke? And what you said about walking the tightrope...?" Aomine Daiki couldn't help but ask.
Ryu smiled and nodded. "That's right. How was my move? Pretty impressive, right?"
"Ah, Ryu, you're really something!" Aomine praised.
Ryu explained, "I've only just mastered this move. Today's opponent is Meisei; jump shots and dunks are easy for them to exploit with dirty tricks. With this move, they won't have a chance. For safety's sake, please pass the ball to me as much as possible!"
Murasakibara Atsushi drawled from under the basket, "Hey, Ryu-chin, that shot you just made was so cool!"
-----
Read the advanced chapters on Patreon (+ 3 chapters daily)
patreon.com/ayan41x