One on One (2)

"Go pick up the ball, trash." Ken Kaneki looked at Shogo Haizaki with overwhelming dominance, his deep voice like a tyrant's decree, "I still have to teach you how to play the remaining four shots."

This book is first published on Taiwan Novel Network. t͓͓̽̽w͓͓̽̽k͓͓͓̽̽̽a͓͓̽̽n͓͓̽̽.c͓͓̽̽o͓͓̽̽m͓͓̽̽ offers you a reading experience with no errors or out-of-order chapters.

Shogo Haizaki looked at Ken Kaneki before him, a flicker of despair in his eyes. The only reason he hadn't bolted out the door yet was that Shuzo Nijimura by the sidelines was glaring at him—Shogo Haizaki, with his delinquent background, knew too well what Shuzo Nijimura was capable of.

With the thought that a wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him, Shogo Haizaki gritted his teeth and honestly picked up the basketball, throwing it to Ken Kaneki.

"Heh? Still a guy with some backbone." Ken Kaneki let out a dismissive chuckle, repeating Shogo Haizaki's earlier taunt verbatim.

"You only made one shot, don't act like you've already beaten me." If looks could kill, Shogo Haizaki would have already dismembered Ken Kaneki into eight pieces.

"That's inevitable, and you'll soon see your defeat." Ken Kaneki crossed the ball between his legs twice, retreating two steps beyond the three-point line to the spot where Shogo Haizaki had previously air-balled, and stopped. "But since it's the coach's teaching assignment, I'll first teach you how to shoot a three-pointer from this distance."

Ken Kaneki stood beyond the three-point line, feet slightly apart, his center of gravity lowered. He gently gripped the basketball with both hands, pushed off the ground, and leaped into the air like an arrow released from a bow. In mid-air, his arm extended forward rapidly, his wrist flicked, and the basketball sliced through the air in a perfect arc, heading straight for the basket.

"From this distance... it's impossible to make!" Shogo Haizaki watched Ken Kaneki, who was almost at the half-court line, so shocked that he forgot to defend. He only came to his senses and looked at the basket after Ken Kaneki had already shot.

But things didn't unfold as Shogo Haizaki had imagined. With a crisp swish, the ball went through the net. Ken Kaneki landed steadily, a confident smile on his face, a smile of absolute self-assurance.

Unlike the previous three-pointer, this shot was a typical one-motion release.

"This... this distance..." Shintaro Midorima's heart trembled as he watched Ken Kaneki's three-pointer. "If I could also shoot from this position... No, it's impossible, I don't have enough strength... But if I train more, even if it takes longer to charge up, it's worth it!"

If Ken Kaneki could hear Shintaro Midorima's thoughts at that moment, he would definitely scoff at them as completely misguided. In a high-level duel, less than a second often matters; a long charging time only increases the risk of being blocked. When it comes to shooting, as long as accuracy isn't affected, the shorter the wind-up, the better...

Of course, Ken Kaneki had no idea that his Logo shot had led Shintaro Midorima down a misguided path. Right now, he just wanted to show off against Shogo Haizaki in every way possible.

Shogo Haizaki's nerves were now highly tense. He looked at Ken Kaneki as if he were a demon.

Undeniably, Shogo Haizaki's abilities were outstanding. He could assimilate most moves he saw, even changing the rhythm at subtle points of action, stealing the opponent's moves silently. This alone proved his solid fundamentals and soft ball control. If not for this, Shuzo Nijimura wouldn't have recommended him to Coach Kōzō Shirogane. Shuzo Nijimura, also from a delinquent background, desperately hoped basketball could change Shogo Haizaki.

However, faced with such a vast gap in talent, outstanding abilities alone were not enough. Facing Ken Kaneki, possibly the most physically gifted among the Generation of Miracles, even if Ken Kaneki's talent hadn't fully blossomed, the current Shogo Haizaki couldn't contend with him.

"Oh right, trash." Ken Kaneki casually dribbled the ball around the three-point line, looking at Shogo Haizaki, who was sweating coldly on his forehead like a startled bird, and said coldly, "I remember on the third shot just now, you deliberately went around me. You're too arrogant. Even Daiki Aomine wouldn't dare use me as a practice dummy for his drives. As a return gift, I'll show you what a real drive is!"

As Ken Kaneki's words fell, his aura seemed to merge with the surrounding air. His dribbling suddenly became unpredictable. What seemed like ordinary dribbles became unpredictable in his hands—behind-the-back, between-the-legs, the movements were fluid and rapid, dazzling and making it impossible to follow the ball's trajectory. However, the sound of the ball hitting the floor was like a dense drumbeat, rhythmically striking Shogo Haizaki's heart, putting him under immense pressure.

Just as the onlookers thought Ken Kaneki was about to launch a fierce attack, he seemed to make a mistake and rushed to the right. However, the ball, as if it had eyes, bounced in the opposite direction, as if to deliver it directly into Shogo Haizaki's arms.

"What... what is this?" Shogo Haizaki's intuition told him this was no mere mistake. But, as a player, his instincts couldn't resist the allure of the ball, and his hand involuntarily reached out for it.

Seeing this, Daiki Aomine on the sidelines covered his face in frustration and sighed, "It's over, this guy is going to be schooled by Kaneki."

Indeed, just as Shogo Haizaki's hand was about to touch the ball, a slender arm suddenly appeared in his vision and snatched the ball away. And Shogo Haizaki, who had adjusted his body to grab the ball, was easily passed by Ken Kaneki.

"Bastard! Stop!" The anger from being repeatedly humiliated completely shattered Shogo Haizaki's mental defenses. He quickly adjusted his stance, rushed in front of Ken Kaneki, and leaped high. He wasn't even trying to block anymore; he just wanted to vent and knock over Ken Kaneki, who was about to lay the ball up. But the moment he made physical contact with Ken Kaneki in mid-air, he felt like he had crashed into a brick wall and was sent flying back.

"Ah, not bad, you can still catch up." Ken Kaneki, who had been fouled, only used a slight force in his abdomen to steady himself and commented with amusement, "But you're still trash."

Using the force of the collision, Ken Kaneki slowly drifted out of bounds. Just as he was about to land, to Shogo Haizaki's utter disbelief, he casually tossed the ball backward. With a swish, Ken Kaneki easily sank the ball into the basket.

"This... is mine... No, I can't do that yet..." Even the usually carefree Daiki Aomine was shocked by Ken Kaneki's shot. He clearly saw his own shadow in Ken Kaneki, but executed with far greater perfection than he currently possessed.

"Seriously, this guy never fails to surprise me with whatever he does!" Daiki Aomine laughed excitedly. "Speaking of which, I still haven't played one-on-one with Kaneki. I'm really looking forward to that day!"

But Shogo Haizaki on the court definitely didn't think so. At this moment, his spirit was on the verge of collapse.