The game restarted, and Aokiryushi advanced with the ball. Just as he was about to show off some fancy dribbling in front of Gu Jin, his wrist was suddenly clamped by an immense force.
Gu Jin's hand was like an iron clamp on his wrist, his face expressionless, but his fingertips secretly applied more pressure.
Aoki's face turned pale from the pain. As he tried to pull his hand away, Gu Jin suddenly released it, and at the same time, his body sank slightly—not a retreat, but a forward thrust with his shoulder, following the momentum.
"Ugh!"
Aoki flew sideways as if hit by a truck, falling to the ground and groaning while clutching his ribs.
The referee's whistle blew, signaling a defensive foul on Gu Jin. However, Gu Jin merely dusted off his jersey and said calmly, "My footwork wasn't stable. I just used him to balance myself. My apologies."
The apology in his tone hadn't even reached mid-air before it was frozen into ice shards by the coldness in his eyes.
Seirin's Kurokawa Yamato was furious. In the next round, he volunteered to guard Gu Jin.
He relied on his relatively strong physique, spreading his arms to block the passing lane, while cursing obscenely, "Weren't you so good at bumping just now? Come on..."
Before he finished speaking, Gu Jin suddenly accelerated and changed direction, almost brushing past Kurokawa's side.
At the moment the two were closest, Gu Jin's right arm dipped at an extremely tricky angle, his elbow, following the momentum of his turn, chopped downwards like lightning—not a swing, but more like a slightly exaggerated ball-protection move. Yet, that elbow precisely struck Kurokawa's waist.
"Ow!"
Kurokawa instantly curled up in pain, a layer of cold sweat breaking out.
Gu Jin had already charged to the basket with the ball, easily scoring a layup. As he landed, he glanced at Kurokawa, who was too pained to stand up, and slowly said, "Too slow. Be smarter next time."
The referee ran over to check on Kurokawa's injury, frowning at Gu Jin: "Watch your moves!"
Gu Jin shrugged and, as he retreated to half-court, muttered, "Can't help it, he stood too close."
Sato Retsu's eyelids twitched. He finally understood—Ryonan's number 17 wasn't like Sakuragi's overt aggression; this person's moves were hidden within normal contact, too fast to catch, yet the pain they inflicted was more piercing.
When it was Sato Retsu's turn to dribble, he intentionally squeezed next to Gu Jin, trying to retaliate with the same move he used to bump Sendo.
However, Gu Jin seemed to anticipate it, suddenly making a quick dash and stop. The moment his right elbow was raised, it perfectly collided with Sato Retsu's chest.
"Defensive foul!" the referee whistled.
The force of that blow was extremely heavy. Sato Retsu was knocked back repeatedly, clutching his chest and coughing incessantly.
Gu Jin, however, acted as if nothing had happened, even explaining to the nearby referee, "His turning radius was a bit wide. I barely moved. Shouldn't this be an offensive foul?"
"You damn well did that on purpose!" Sato Retsu recovered and roared, pointing at Gu Jin.
Gu Jin turned around, a faint smile playing on his lips, a smile filled with mockery: "On purpose what? Which eye saw me do it on purpose?"
He took half a step forward, closing in on Sato Retsu, his voice lowered but every word clear, "Besides, even if it was on purpose... what can you do about it?"
Sato Retsu was speechless, looking at Gu Jin's calm, unruffled eyes, and inexplicably felt a chill.
This person's moves were too clean, so clean that the referee could only give verbal warnings, yet each blow was like a punch on cotton, appearing light but capable of shattering bones.
In the next offense, Gu Jin faced Abe Tomomori's defense. A fake move created space, and the moment he jumped to shoot, his left elbow seemingly inadvertently swung backward, just grazing the brow bone of Abe, who was rushing to block.
"Hiss—"
Abe gasped in pain, retreating while clutching his eye, blood seeping through his fingers.
Gu Jin smoothly sank the two-pointer. As he landed, he glanced at Abe, his tone as flat as if discussing the weather: "Too short. Can't even reach the ball when jumping, yet you insist on diving under my arm. Whose fault is that?"
The stands erupted completely.
Ryonan's supporters were exhilarated. No one thought Gu Jin was excessive because his moves were perfectly normal, and if their opponents hadn't been aiming to injure, they would never have fallen for it.
This was a form of countermeasure or self-protection!
Seirin's fans cursed continuously, but no one could find any obvious flaws in Gu Jin's actions—those elbows and bumps were all embedded within normal offensive and defensive movements, too fast for anyone to clearly see the moment of impact.
The young referee's face was ashen. He knew what Gu Jin was doing, but he couldn't find evidence to call a technical foul.
This was more headache-inducing than Sakuragi's outbursts. This kind of ruthlessness, hidden at the edge of the rules, was like a knife wrapped in cotton, killing without drawing blood.
Sendo looked at Gu Jin's back, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, then turning into understanding.
He passed the ball to Gu Jin more and more often, as if tacitly approving this 'revenge' belonging to him.
Uozumi also tacitly expanded his defensive range, leaving enough space for Gu Jin.
Sakuragi stood under the basket, watching Gu Jin's every seemingly unintentional yet vicious move, and suddenly felt that this person was far more ruthless than himself.
He grinned, tilting his chin in Gu Jin's direction—as if to say: Well done.
Gu Jin received Sendo's pass, faced with a double-team, suddenly executed a back-turn. His right elbow chopped down like a battle-axe, whistling past the cheek of Seirin's number 6, and smoothly sank the ball into the hoop.
As he landed, he looked at his opponent, whose face was pale with fright, and slowly said, "Next time, stand further away. Don't block the path."
Sunlight streamed through the gymnasium windows onto him, the number on his jersey flickering in the light and shadow.
Seirin's players looked at this perpetually expressionless young man and, for the first time, felt a bone-deep fear—they had perhaps provoked not just a beast, but also a hidden knife.
Off the court, Taoka Moichi slowly loosened his grip on the tactical board, the white marks on his knuckles from gripping tightly gradually fading.
He narrowed his eyes, gazing at the calm, almost cold figure on the court, and a barely perceptible curve unconsciously formed on his lips.
"Good kid..." he muttered softly, his voice filled with suppressed admiration, "Playing dirty so cleanly that even the referee can't find fault. I truly didn't misjudge him."
Aida Hikoichi, standing beside him, was about to say something but was stopped by Taoka's raised hand.
He pointed at Gu Jin's recently completed turn-and-elbow, a hint of pride in his tone: "Hikoichi! Look at that move—the center of gravity during the turn, the angle of the elbow raise, all wrapped within a normal action. The moment of impact is as fast as lightning, and by the time the opponent reacts, he's already landed. Gu Jin has mastered coordination and movement to the extreme."
He recalled when he first recruited Gu Jin into the team; this kid was cut out for tough battles.
"Coach, but is playing like this really right?" Aida Hikoichi was a little confused.
"Hikoichi! Remember, if others don't offend me, I won't offend them. But when facing people like Seirin, you need some tactics.
We, Ryonan, are not devils, but we are absolutely not angels!!!
Moreover, compared to Sakuragi's reckless charge, Gu Jin's approach is truly brilliant."
Taoka tapped his palm with the tactical board, "Do you think he's retaliating? No, he's telling those Seirin guys—you want to win with dirty moves? Fine, I'm better at playing than you, and I play more beautifully."
Watching Seirin's players being unsettled by Gu Jin, frequently losing their defensive positions, Taoka's eyes grew more satisfied.
He recalled telling Ikegami before the game, "You can be a bit more aggressive." Now, it seemed, Gu Jin not only listened but also over-delivered on the task.
"He both upheld the bottom line of the rules and reclaimed the court, while also disrupting the opponent's rhythm..." Taoka stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming, "With this mind and this execution, he will surely achieve great things in the future."
When Gu Jin once again stumbled Sato Retsu with a seemingly unintentional shoulder bump, Taoka finally couldn't help but praise in a low voice: "Beautiful! That's how you should play—let them know that Ryonan not only wins games but also isn't afraid of anyone when it comes to playing tough!"
Sunlight fell on his face through the gaps in the stands. In that appreciation, there was also a certainty of "I truly didn't misjudge him."