The referee stood at the center circle with the ball, and the noise in the Hiroshima Central Gymnasium seemed to be on pause.
Uozumi stood inside the circle, his blue and white jersey darkened by sweat from warming up.
He looked up at Masashi Kawata on the opposite side—he was hunched over, with the oppressive aura characteristic of Sannoh in his eyes, his fingertips lightly tapping at his side.
“Beep—”
As soon as the whistle blew, Uozumi stomped the ground and leaped up.
He was half a head taller than Kawata, and his timing for the jump was more precise than in his usual training; his long arm pierced the air, his fingertips touched the basketball first, and with a forceful flick of his wrist, he tipped it towards the Ryonan Team's half!
The basketball flew past Kawata's fingertips and landed precisely in Sendoh Akira's hands.
Kazunari Fukatsu had already closed in.
He looked at Sendoh Akira with a hint of disdain in his eyes: Ryonan's ace? Not impressive enough!
Sendoh Akira suddenly accelerated his dribble, flicked his wrist to move the ball to his left hand, and when he used a cross-step to drive to the right, his shoulder sank extremely low, appearing to be forcing a breakthrough.
Just as Fukatsu raised his arm to intercept, Sendoh Akira used a turn to pull back, his steps like wind as he slipped past him on his left!
While Fukatsu was momentarily stunned, Sendoh Akira had already dribbled past half-court, his peripheral vision catching Zawa Kita leaning in front of Gu Jin.
He flicked his wrist and tossed the ball towards the basket.
Gu Jin had already timed his steps and leaped, his body stretching into an arc in mid-air.
But Zawa Kita, as if nailed to his back, jumped simultaneously, his long arm reaching directly for the ball in Gu Jin's hand—this was Zawa Kita's most skilled blocking rhythm, so fast that people had no time to react.
But Gu Jin didn't play by the rules.
His right hand, holding the ball, suddenly pulled back, his body twisted half a turn in the air, his left hand lightning-fast took the ball, and his fingertips gently flicked it up.
Zawa Kita's block missed, his fingertips grazing Zawa Kita's jersey, while the basketball, after hitting the backboard, dropped into the hoop.
“Swish—” 2:0
The moment the ball went in, the gymnasium was silent for half a second, then erupted in deafening cheers.
When Gu Jin landed, Zawa Kita turned around, his gaze, like tempered fire, fixed on him: “You clearly could have shot before I caught up.
Were you deliberately toying with me?”
Gu Jin clapped the dust off his hands, a smirk playing on his lips, noncommittal!
Zawa Kita's Adam's apple bobbed, and he said nothing more, but as he turned to walk back, his molars were clenched tight.
He knew Gu Jin was strong and had never underestimated him, but Gu Jin's last shot was definitely intentional!
He was just toying with him!
Just now, Gu Jin could have shot directly, but he deliberately slowed down by half a beat, allowing him to catch up.
Zawa Kita believed his judgment was correct; that mid-air hand switch was too slick, it was clearly rehearsed.
Moreover, that move, like a cat toying with a mouse, sent the ball into the hoop, just grazing his fingertips—he had played basketball for so many years, and no one had ever dared to treat him like this.
“Damn it! Gu Jin, you are strong, but you shouldn't underestimate me! You will pay the price!”
In the original manga, Rukawa Kaede had also dribbled past Zawa Kita, but Zawa Kita wasn't going all out then.
Being dribbled past by Rukawa Kaede was merely a slight surprise, but he had never underestimated Gu Jin, yet he was toyed with.
He gave Kazunari Fukatsu a look, and Kazunari Fukatsu understood; it was a signal to go all out.
Sannoh’s Fukatsu, right after crossing half-court, flicked his wrist and passed the ball to Zawa Kita beyond the three-point line.
Almost the instant the ball left his hand, Masashi Kawata and Nobe retreated to either side of the free-throw line, Minoru Matsumoto directly hugged the sideline, leaving only Zawa Kita and Gu Jin standing face-to-face in the center of the vast half-court.
“Oh—! The rest of Sannoh has spread out!” The commentator's voice on the sidelines suddenly rose, echoing off the dome through the loudspeaker, “Zawa Kita is going one-on-one against Gu Jin!
This is the most anticipated matchup of this year's National Tournament—Zawa Kita is recognized as Japan's number one high school player, dominating the court for years; Gu Jin, however, has emerged like a dark horse, and that mid-air hand switch just now showed his confidence!
Who is the true king after all?”
The stands instantly erupted.
Boys holding Sannoh banners yelled, “Zawa Kita crush him,” while girls in Ryonan Team jerseys clenched their fists and shouted, “Gu Jin defend him,” the sound waves making the air hot.
Zawa Kita tapped the ball with his fingertips, then suddenly moved.
He took quick, urgent steps, dribbling hard to Gu Jin's left, deliberately bumping his shoulder into Gu Jin's arm—this was his usual breakthrough technique, using body contact to shift his opponent's center of gravity, then a quick step to cut into the basket.
Gu Jin, however, was not knocked off balance.
He slid his feet to the left, instantly catching up to Zawa Kita, his eyes fixed on Zawa Kita's dribbling hand.
Seeing he hadn't shaken him off, Zawa Kita suddenly sped up his dribble, tapping the ball with his fingertips with a “thump-thump” sound.
Using a crossover dribble to change direction, he actually squeezed past Gu Jin's side!
“Zawa Kita breaks through!” The commentator's voice trembled.
Zawa Kita rushed into the paint, leaped up, and slammed the ball towards the hoop with his right hand—he didn't even look back, confident that Gu Jin couldn't catch up.
But just a second before the ball touched the hoop, a hand suddenly reached out from behind him, and with a “slap,” slammed the ball hard against the backboard!
The ball bounced away, Zawa Kita stumbled as he landed, then sharply turned his head.
Gu Jin stood behind him, sweat dripping from his forehead, his eyes astonishingly bright.
The gymnasium was silent for a full two seconds, then erupted in cheers even louder than before.
The moment the ball was slammed against the backboard and bounced away, a blue figure rushed over like a cannonball.
Sakuragi Hanamichi stretched out both arms and hugged the ball, yelling, “The rebound belongs to this genius!”
He didn't even look around, turning with the ball and throwing it towards the frontcourt—he had keenly spotted Sendoh Akira rushing towards Sannoh's half when Gu Jin blocked.
This throw was both fast and accurate, the basketball arcing directly into Sendoh Akira's arms.
As Sendoh Akira steadily caught the ball, Kazunari Fukatsu had already caught up.
Sannoh's captain now showed no hint of disdain, his steps extremely close, his arm almost hooking onto Sendoh Akira.
Sannoh fans in the stands were shouting “Defend him,” and Fukatsu's hand was already reaching for Sendoh Akira's right hand, which held the ball.
But Sendoh Akira's wrist suddenly moved, and he quickly switched the ball to his left hand with a crossover dribble! The speed was like a blur, Fukatsu's hand swiped at empty air, and just as his center of gravity shifted to the left, Sendoh Akira used that momentary gap to suddenly lean back—
It was a fadeaway jump shot!
Fukatsu reacted extremely fast, almost simultaneously jumping up and reaching out to block, his fingertips nearly touching Sendoh Akira's nose.
But Sendoh Akira's body leaned back perfectly, and with a slight flick of his wrist, the basketball flew from his fingertips, floating upwards, just grazing Fukatsu's fingertips.
“Swish—”
Another crisp sound of the net.
As the basketball steadily dropped into the hoop, Sendoh Akira landed, using the momentum from his fadeaway, and even smirked at Fukatsu, who had just landed.
The number on the scoreboard jumped: 4:0.
“Beautiful! Sendoh Akira!” The commentator's voice carried uncontrollable excitement, “Ryonan scores four consecutive points! Kazunari Fukatsu's defense was already fast enough, but Sendoh Akira's crossover dribble into a fadeaway jump shot is just unstoppable!”
The blue and white cheers from the stands completely overpowered Sannoh's shouts, and Sakuragi Hanamichi bounced high on the court, pointing at Sendoh Akira and yelling: “Sendoh Akira! Good job! But I'm still better at rebounds!”
Kazunari Fukatsu stood still, his brows tightly furrowed.
He looked down at his own hands, then looked up towards the Ryonan Team's side—Gu Jin was confronting Zawa Kita, Sendoh Akira wiped sweat and walked back, and Uozumi patted Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulder under the basket.
This Ryonan Team was much more formidable than he had imagined.