First Battle (4)

"Was that... Kagetora Aida?" Ken Kaneki mused, looking at the back of the middle-aged man who seemed familiar.

He knew that Kagetora Aida was a former national player for Neon Country in his youth. Although he had retired long ago and was now just a gym owner, he was not to be underestimated. In the original timeline, he had developed a unique skill for Junpei Hyuga, the "Unassailable Shot."

"Never mind that, winning the current game is what's important." Ken Kaneki shook his head, focusing his attention on the match currently underway against Seihō Junior High School. Under Ken Kaneki's leadership, Teiko Junior High School had executed a fluid, relentless offense throughout the first half. Wave after wave of attacks overwhelmed Seihō, leaving them struggling to keep up. As the buzzer sounded to mark the end of the first half, Teiko Junior High School entered the break with a commanding score of 63:28.

"What a letdown, I got so hyped up last night for nothing," Daiki Aomine said boastfully in the break room, gulping down water. "I could play this game with my eyes closed."

"Sigh..." Ken Kaneki took small sips of water and said to Atsushi Murasakibara, who looked listless beside him, "Remember, always use your brain when you play. If you don't use your brain, you'll be like Aomine forever."

"Huh? What did you say?" Daiki Aomine leaned in curiously.

"Ken-chan said you have no brain," Atsushi Murasakibara stated concisely.

"Murasakibara, you damn..." Ken Kaneki was stunned by Murasakibara's bluntness.

"Huh? He's slandering me! You're slandering me!" Daiki Aomine looked from Murasakibara to Ken Kaneki, his face flushing with anger—though it was hard to tell.

"Do I need to spell it out for you, Aomine?" Ken Kaneki looked at Daiki Aomine with a hint of helplessness. "Your first two shots against Takakatsu Kasuga were beautiful, but later on, several times when we got into a half-court set, you were still obsessed with isolation plays. In the end, Seihō was openly betting that you wouldn't pass, and they were right."

Ken Kaneki recalled the previous play and continued, shaking his head, "If we hadn't covered for you, you would have turned the ball over twice. You can't play like this. We're teammates; you need to learn to cooperate with us."

"Hmph..." Daiki Aomine realized his performance on the court had been a bit too solo, but his pride got the better of him. He stubbornly retorted, "I can win by myself! The only one who can beat me is myself!"

"Oh, right, right. You almost beat yourself just now," Ken Kaneki quipped mercilessly.

"Alright, everyone quiet down," Kōzō Shirogane announced, tapping his clipboard. "Overall, the first half was played well, but there are still some areas that need improvement. Midorima, when facing their number 12, you seemed hesitant before shooting and also seemed uncertain on defense against him."

"I apologize, Coach. It's just that their number 12 is quite strange. His defensive skills are good, that's true, but I felt a sense of incongruity about him," Shintaro Midorima said, lowering his head in shame.

"Nee nee, Midorima-chan is right. I felt the same way about their number 4, the one I was guarding. He was really annoying," Atsushi Murasakibara frowned, recalling his matchup with Tsutomu Iwamura. "Even though I have plenty of strength and methods, dealing with that guy felt troublesome."

"Kaneki, what do you think?" Kōzō Shirogane didn't immediately respond to his players' complaints, instead turning his gaze to Ken Kaneki.

"Coach, have you ever heard of traditional martial arts?" Ken Kaneki didn't answer Kōzō Shirogane's question directly.

"Ken-chan, are you saying they're like samurai or ninjas from novels?" Atsushi Murasakibara became unusually excited at Ken Kaneki's words. "Like the ones who disappear in a puff of smoke?"

"Haha, it's not that exaggerated, Murasakibara," Ken Kaneki denied with a smile. "Actually, I observed the movements of number 12 and number 4 closely. The reason they feel so incongruous is fundamentally because they're using the Namba Run from traditional martial arts."

"Namba Run?" Everyone gathered around curiously, eager to hear Ken Kaneki's explanation.

Here we go again, is this Ken-chan's class? Ken Kaneki internally wondered where to even begin with the crowd that had gathered.

"Regarding this Namba Run you mentioned, I've heard of it. It's essentially training people through rigorous practice to move with the same-side arm and leg forward," Kōzō Shirogane mused. "The only thing it saves is that split second of body rotation."

"That's true, Coach, but that split second can significantly compensate for a lack of athletic ability," Ken Kaneki said, taking a sip of water. "This is why Seihō's number 4 and 12 gave Murasakibara and Midorima so much trouble. Their reactions are actually similar to normal people, so Murasakibara and Midorima were playing them with their usual rhythm and approach. However, due to their training, even though their reactions are slower, they save that split second, making them slightly faster than normal people. With this balance of strengths and weaknesses, it's no wonder Murasakibara and Midorima found it difficult. And because this moment is so brief, so short that it's hard to perceive, that's the incongruity Murasakibara and Midorima mentioned."

"Haha, Kaneki, your intelligence gathering is excellent," Kōzō Shirogane praised with a smile, having apparently already known about Seihō's players using the Namba Run.

"So, how do we solve this problem?" Shintaro Midorima asked humbly.

"There are two methods," Ken Kaneki's lips curved into a slight smile, a playful glint in his eyes.

"Oh? Elaborate," Kōzō Shirogane was somewhat surprised. Although he had prepared countermeasures for the Namba Run, he only had one plan and was eager to hear Ken Kaneki's thoughts.

"For the first method, you watch their toes. A drawback of the Namba Run is that if they want to move in a certain direction, the toe of the corresponding foot must move first," Ken Kaneki explained slowly. "However, this method requires a lot of observation time. We might not figure it out by the time we win the game."

"That would indeed be too slow. What's the second method?" Shintaro Midorima asked curiously.

"Whether this second method will succeed..." Ken Kaneki looked at Shogo Haizaki, who was dozing off, with a playful expression. "...depends on how capable our Haizaki is."

"Huh? Me?" Shogo Haizaki, who had been dozing, jolted awake when Ken Kaneki brought him into the conversation, pointing at himself in disbelief.

"Think about it, Haizaki. A technique that troubles even ordinary people, wouldn't you be tempted by it?" Ken Kaneki smiled at Shogo Haizaki. "If you can do it, it's yours."

"Tch, don't treat me like a child," Shogo Haizaki scoffed. "A skill that gives you all this trouble? It'll be more interesting to steal it!"