Qing Junce VS Rukawa Kaede

Soon, Qing Junce and Rukawa Kaede were standing on the court.

The others stood off to the side, quietly waiting for the duel between the two to begin.

At this moment, Kogure Kiminobu, with a curious expression, spoke up, "Akagi, who do you think will win between the two of them?"

Akagi Takenori fell silent for a moment upon hearing this, then slowly replied, "Who knows? Neither of them are easy to deal with."

The first-year student Kuwata Toki chimed in, "I think Rukawa Kaede has a higher chance of winning! After all, he's the Super Rookie."

Yamada Tadashi and Ishii Kentaro, also first-years, nodded in agreement.

They were all in the same year as Rukawa Kaede and naturally understood him better.

Ayako, however, had a different opinion. "Not necessarily! Rukawa Kaede is strong, but Qing Junce gives me a very unusual feeling."

As she finished speaking, she turned to Shimizu Kanon beside her and asked, "Kanon, what do you think?"

Shimizu Kanon flashed a confident smile and stated with certainty, "A-Ce won't lose."

Her words were decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

Ayako looked at her with some surprise and said, "You're that confident he'll win?"

Shimizu Kanon directly replied, "Of course! A-Ce has never lost before!"

She had absolute confidence in Qing Junce's strength.

She had once witnessed Qing Junce single-handedly overwhelm five adults.

It was from that moment on that she truly understood how terrifying the strength of her childhood friend was.

Sakuragi Hanamichi crossed his arms and looked at the two players preparing to duel on the court with great displeasure, muttering in his mind, "Hmph, two guys just trying to steal the spotlight."

While thinking this, his eyes suddenly lit up as if he had thought of something, and a devilish smile suddenly appeared on his face.

On the court.

Qing Junce and Rukawa Kaede stood facing each other.

Rukawa Kaede spoke, "Who goes first?"

Qing Junce replied nonchalantly, "You can attack first. I don't have that much time to play around with you."

Hearing his words, Rukawa Kaede's brows furrowed, his expression darkened again, and the anger and fighting spirit in his heart grew even stronger.

He didn't say anything else and directly took the basketball, assuming an offensive stance.

Qing Junce also bent his body at this time, waiting for Rukawa Kaede's attack.

However, his listless demeanor didn't change in the slightest.

This only fueled Rukawa Kaede's anger further. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he resolved to teach this arrogant guy a lesson.

Bang...

Bang...

Bang...

The sound of the basketball bouncing began to echo in the gym.

Rukawa Kaede dribbled the ball, his gaze fixed on Qing Junce ahead, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

Everyone on the sidelines held their breath, watching the two on the court intently.

Soon, the sound of the bouncing ball abruptly stopped, and Rukawa Kaede's attack began.

With a "bang," Rukawa Kaede switched the ball to his left hand, but his entire body shot out like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, Rukawa Kaede was already halfway to Qing Junce's left side.

So fast.

Everyone off the court saw this and their eyes widened, exclaiming in their hearts.

Rukawa Kaede's sudden breakthrough speed was truly astonishing.

Only Shimizu Kanon's face showed no surprise.

Just as everyone thought Rukawa Kaede was about to break through Qing Junce.

The next moment.

Slap...

A sound of the ball being slapped echoed in the court.

The sound wasn't loud, but everyone watching from the sidelines heard it very clearly.

When everyone came back to their senses, they witnessed an unbelievable scene on the court.

They saw that Rukawa Kaede had already moved behind Qing Junce.

His movements came to an abrupt halt, frozen there.

Strangely, his hands were now empty.

The basketball had vanished at some unknown time.

He stared at his palm in disbelief, his heart pounding.

He hadn't even noticed when the basketball had disappeared.

He slowly turned his head to look at Qing Junce behind him.

Qing Junce still had that lazy demeanor, but somehow, a basketball was now in his hand.

"Wh-what just happened?" Kogure Kiminobu asked, utterly stunned.

It wasn't just him; even Akagi Takenori looked bewildered and shocked at the scene on the court.

His attention had been completely focused on Rukawa Kaede's breakthrough, and he hadn't noticed Qing Junce's move at all, completely unaware of when the ball had been stolen.

Ayako's mouth hung open, her beautiful eyes wide.

She gasped in astonishment, "My goodness! Did I just see that correctly?!"

When Rukawa Kaede had been breaking through earlier, she had deliberately kept a portion of her attention on Qing Junce.

Even so, she hadn't seen when Qing Junce had made his move.

It was too fast.

His eyes could barely track it.

Just then, Qing Junce turned around. Without moving his feet, he raised the basketball with one hand, aimed at the basket ahead, and shot.

The motion was incredibly casual, as if he were just tossing it aside.

Yet, as everyone watched, the ball hit the backboard and bounced into the hoop.

This sight left everyone dumbfounded.

Ignoring the gazes of others, Qing Junce spoke to Rukawa Kaede, "One point. Let's continue!"

Rukawa Kaede's expression turned grim, his emotions growing more solemn, and the fire in his eyes was almost overflowing.

He didn't reply. Instead, he picked up the basketball, walked to the three-point line, and stood before Qing Junce once more.

This time, his demeanor was even more serious than before.

The two were locked in a standoff again.

Rukawa Kaede dribbled the ball, his eyes fixed on Qing Junce's every move.

He wanted to find a weakness in Qing Junce.

But what troubled him was that Qing Junce's lazy posture seemed to be full of openings.

Yet, precisely because of this, he hesitated.

He didn't believe these apparent weaknesses would allow him an easy breakthrough.

Seeing that Rukawa Kaede wasn't attacking.

Qing Junce grew impatient.

Without any warning, he charged forward, appearing before Rukawa Kaede almost instantly.

Rukawa Kaede felt Qing Junce suddenly loom larger before him, right in his face.

So fast.

His heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively tried to protect the ball.

Unfortunately, before he could secure it, the feel of the ball in his hands vanished.

His pupils contracted, and his heart sank, knowing he had been stripped of the ball again.

Having successfully stolen the ball, Qing Junce spun around.

Before Rukawa Kaede could react, he circled from Rukawa Kaede's left to his right.

The entire maneuver was seamless, giving Rukawa Kaede no chance to respond.

The spectators outside the court only saw Qing Junce rush directly in front of Rukawa Kaede, then quickly circle around him.

These movements were completed in an instant, without any pause, giving a remarkably smooth impression.

By the time everyone snapped back to reality, Qing Junce was already back under the basket, preparing for a layup.

On the court.

Qing Junce held the ball with one hand, ready to put it into the basket.

But at that very moment, a sharp glint flashed in Qing Junce's eyes.

His hand, poised for the layup, suddenly stopped mid-air and was pulled back.

Simultaneously, a basketball flashed past the one in his hand.

Qing Junce flicked his wrist, and the ball flew up, landing precisely in the basket.

The ball went in again.

However, Qing Junce's gaze was now fixed on the area behind the basket.

There, Sakuragi Hanamichi was making a motion as if he had dropped something.

The others also noticed this sudden scene and turned their gazes to Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Seeing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi feigned embarrassment and laughed heartily, "Ah hahaha... sorry, my hand slipped."

Qing Junce looked at him without saying anything, then turned and said directly to Rukawa Kaede, "Let's continue!"

Rukawa Kaede also said nothing.

Regarding Sakuragi Hanamichi's behavior, he generally ignored it if he could.

Soon, Qing Junce and Rukawa Kaede began their third match.