After both teams had finished lining up and bowing, the system prompt that had been silent in Ken Kaneki's mind for a long time sounded again: "Side Quest issued: All-Around King. Objective: Record a 5x5 stat line and ensure at least one of your stats is the highest on your team. Quest reward: 10 Skill Upgrade Card fragments and 3 attribute points. Failure penalty: Randomly lose one skill."
So it's forcing me to stat-pad... Looking at the system interface before him, Ken Kaneki sighed helplessly. "Sorry, everyone. I'm done being a good person."
"Tweet!" As Ken Kaneki's thoughts raced, the referee tossed the basketball into the air with a whistle, and the first game of the Prefectural Tournament officially began.
"Raaaaah!" Tsutomu Iwamura roared as he leaped into the air, striving to win the opening tip.
"Good grief, you're so loud." Atsushi Murasakibara ambled up after him, then reached the ball first and tipped it into Shuzo Nijimura's hands by a palm's breadth.
"Nice one, Murasakibara!" Before the Seihō players could react, Shuzo Nijimura snatched up the ball, exhilarated. "Fast break!"
At Shuzo Nijimura's command, the Teiko Junior High players shot down the court like lightning streaking across the night sky.
"Damn, get back on defense!" Still stunned by Atsushi Murasakibara's unbelievable height and reflexes, the Seihō players finally snapped back to their senses and rushed to pick up their assigned opponents.
"Captain, over here!" The two arrows of Teiko Junior High's fast break—Ken Kaneki and Daiki Aomine—both raised their hands, calling for the ball from Shuzo Nijimura.
Shuzo Nijimura's eyes flicked toward Daiki Aomine. He gave the ball a quick flick with both hands, but it became a streak of light, slipping past Koichi Sakamoto's fingertips as he tried to steal it and flying straight toward Ken Kaneki.
After catching the ball, Ken Kaneki ignored Kazuma Tagawa chasing him from behind. He bounced it once, gathered it a step inside the three-point line, then took off from just inside the free-throw line, two steps from the basket. He sprang into the air as if launched by a trampoline and slammed the ball through the hoop.
"Whoa!!!!" Ken Kaneki's explosive display on the opening play drew everyone's attention.
"That's incredible! He can dunk in middle school!"
"That athleticism is insane!"
"Sugoi!"
A wave of astonished praise swept in from the sidelines. Daiki Aomine and Atsushi Murasakibara eagerly crowded around Ken Kaneki and ruffled his golden hair.
"Okay, cut it out. Get back on defense, come on." Ken Kaneki finally managed to escape them. Touching his thoroughly mussed hair, he smiled wryly.
On the Seihō Junior High side, Tsutomu Iwamura watched Teiko Junior High retreat on defense, his expression grave. "Looks like it's not just that tall guy with purple hair. The guy with the blond hair isn't someone to take lightly, either."
"Sorry, I was too slow getting back," Kazuma Tagawa said, raising a hand in apology.
"It's fine. It's just the start of the game; we all got distracted. We'll get them back on the next play." Tsutomu Iwamura patted Kazuma Tagawa on the shoulder and reassured him before going to inbound the ball.
"Don't panic. Let's stay composed and score on this possession!" Koichi Sakamoto took the inbound pass and dribbled steadily past half court. Facing Shuzo Nijimura, who was waiting in a defensive stance, Koichi Sakamoto signaled to his teammates to run the play.
Tsutomu Iwamura immediately came up to set a screen. Koichi Sakamoto used it to get past Shuzo Nijimura, and Ken Kaneki instantly stepped up to defend him. Seeing that, Shuzo Nijimura didn't immediately tell Atsushi Murasakibara to cover Kazuma Tagawa; instead, he took responsibility for guarding Tsutomu Iwamura himself.
Any crossover fan who loved basketball would have recognized Teiko Junior High's defensive strategy at once: the Warriors' signature move, switching everything. The difference was that the Warriors had to sacrifice some height to gain the flexibility to switch, while Teiko Junior High had the advantage over their opponents in both height and speed.
The moment Koichi Sakamoto found himself in Ken Kaneki's shadow, his instincts as a ball handler made every hair on his body stand on end, as if a tiger had him in its sights in the jungle. The sudden shiver made him afraid to act rashly. He backed up two steps, dribbled beyond the three-point line, and reset the offense.
"Senpai, over here!" Tomoki Tsugawa had gotten open by using Kazuma Tagawa's off-ball screen and hurriedly called for the ball. Koichi Sakamoto immediately made as if to pass, and Ken Kaneki shifted his weight toward Tomoki Tsugawa.
Perfect! A flicker of delight crossed Koichi Sakamoto's eyes. He slammed the ball into the floor. It was clearly meant for Takakatsu Kasuga, who had already slipped along the baseline.
"Nice pass, senpai." Just as Koichi Sakamoto thought he was about to pull off a slick play, Ken Kaneki didn't even look. He reached back and picked off the pass, then launched a solo fast break before anyone had time to react.
Damn it, how could I make such a stupid mistake! Koichi Sakamoto gave chase, unwilling to let his error go uncorrected. But the longer he ran, the farther Ken Kaneki pulled ahead.
"Koichi Sakamoto can't outrun that kid even without the ball?" The Seihō Junior High supporters watching from the sidelines had noticed, too.
That kid... he's way too fast! Watching Ken Kaneki stroll in for an easy layup, Tsutomu Iwamura's heart sank. Damn, are all of Teiko Junior High's players monsters this year?
"Senpai, want me to guard him on the next possession?" Tomoki Tsugawa came over to Tsutomu Iwamura, eager for a chance.
"Hmm." Tsutomu Iwamura considered it for a moment, then decided to let the first-year who had earned a starting spot with his defensive ability test Ken Kaneki's mettle.
Possession changed hands, and Seihō Junior High launched another attack. Tsutomu Iwamura tried to score in the paint against Atsushi Murasakibara but failed. Takakatsu Kasuga grabbed the rebound that had been knocked loose in the crowd and scored with a mid-range jumper.
"Aomine, you were distracted!" Shuzo Nijimura pointed at Daiki Aomine. "You're running five laps when we get back."
"Uh... yes, Captain." Daiki Aomine glared at Takakatsu Kasuga, looking thoroughly unhappy. "This is all your fault!"
"Huh?" Takakatsu Kasuga stared blankly at Daiki Aomine, completely baffled.
"Captain! The ball!" Determined to win back some pride, Daiki Aomine called for the ball from Shuzo Nijimura as soon as he reached the front court.
"Good grief, Aomine, you're such a hot-blooded idiot." Shuzo Nijimura sighed and sent a long pass straight into Daiki Aomine's hands.
"Because of you, I have to run laps when we get back!" Daiki Aomine stared at Takakatsu Kasuga, his resentment practically tangible. "I'm gonna crush you!"
"Hah? Don't talk so big, you—" Takakatsu Kasuga hadn't finished speaking when Daiki Aomine vanished from in front of him like a ghost. By the time Takakatsu Kasuga managed to recover his balance, Daiki Aomine had already scored with a layup.
"Well, good. I didn't miss much." In the stands, a middle-aged man wearing sunglasses took a seat in a secluded corner with a short-haired girl.
"Dad, who do you think will win this game?" the short-haired girl asked curiously.
"That's hard to say. If I had to pick, I'd say the team with more points will win," the middle-aged man said with a smile.
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