I'm Strong! Stronger Than All of You! Incredibly Strong!

"Beep, beep!!!"

"Time's up. Starting players from both teams, take your positions."

Horikita Manabu stood in the middle of the court with a basketball in hand. He blew his whistle and shouted.

"Gojo-kun, it's time to get on the court."

Ken Sudō walked over to Gojo Satoru, who was resting with his eyes closed, and called to him. The answer he got was unexpected.

"I only said I'd play power forward. I never said I'd be starting. You guys go ahead. I'll join in the second quarter. I need to think about a few things."

The first-years all looked toward their second-year senior, but he only shrugged.

There was nothing they could do about it, so they could only grit their teeth and head out.

"Why isn't he playing if he's one of their key players?"

"Is he so nervous he can't move?"

"Who cares? As long as the third-years win, that's all that matters. I bet quite a lot!"

Ignoring the idle chatter, Gojo quietly considered who had organized this. Class 3-A had already secured a stable path to graduating normally.

Horikita Manabu shouldn't have agreed to something that deceived the entire student body.

Nagumo basically had a monopoly on the second-years, but he wouldn't dare use this to benefit himself. He was too busy avoiding Gojo.

The first-years? The clues were a little muddled. Knowing Gojo had the ability to win—or believing he had the ability to win—were two different things.

They could have found out about the Basketball Club's game right away, but even the new members of the Basketball Club hadn't believed in his abilities at first.

Right! The senpai!!

It wasn't just Basketball Club members who could have found out right away. The senpai who watched the games might have been a little slower, but not by much.

Someone who believed in his abilities and dared to dupe the whole school, despite being a first-year, would have acted boldly as soon as they learned what was happening. He had his suspect!

Once he was done thinking, Gojo Satoru looked around the gym, but he didn't spot that person.

They were curious about him, but hadn't come to watch. Still, they believed in his abilities. There was no doubt about it.

Once he'd finished thinking, he glanced at the school forum on his phone. Betting had closed, and the current odds were

Third-years win 1:0.7

First-years win 1:3

Tie 1:1.2

The first quarter had ended.

The score was

7:43

As expected of the upperclassmen. They were playing the first-years like it was a game, and didn't seem to be trying very hard.

They had a two-minute break, but the first-years looked pretty shaken.

Komiya looked furious, but inside he was pleased. The bigger the score gap, the harder it would be to catch up. Then he'd get the points from the bet.

But he couldn't look too happy just yet. He had to put on an act, at least.

"There's no way we can win in this situation, right? That kind of score gap, and the third-years haven't even started trying. Even with Gojo-kun here, we—"

Before Komiya could finish his dejected words, Gojo Satoru cut him off with a shout.

"It's fine."

The gym fell silent. His voice bounced off the walls.

As everyone stared in shock, Gojo Satoru slowly unwound his bandages. His icy gaze fixed on the first-year basketball team, and his voice was cold as he spoke.

"I'm strong!

Stronger than all of you!

Incredibly strong!

So I'll defeat every single one of those third-years,

even if I have to do it alone.

You lot are not only weak, you're cowards and wimps!"

As he spoke, he raised his right hand and pointed with his index finger, then continued.

"I'm sorry, but you can just sit on the court and suck your fingers later!"

Everyone in the gym was stunned by his arrogant words. They couldn't imagine anyone being so conceited, yet the sheer force of his presence left them unable to argue back.

At the start of the second quarter, Komiya was substituted out.

Under their own basket, Gojo had just received the ball when Yamagami Sawano came up to block him.

But before Yamagami could even get into position, Gojo Satoru dribbled past him from the wing and charged toward the basket at breakneck speed.

Just as he neared the three-point line, an opposing wing player and the captain, Kawashima, blocked his path.

But Gojo Satoru had no intention of stopping. To everyone's disbelief, he abruptly halted at an impossible angle and leaped into a fadeaway jumper.

They tried to jump up and block him, but it was already too late. Taking off after him, they couldn't match the speed of his shot.

Thump!

He scored on his first shot after stepping onto the court.

Can a human really do that? He didn't even slow down before abruptly stopping and shooting a fadeaway!

Yamagami Sawano, the power forward, was once again made painfully aware of the gap between them.

This wasn't an opponent he could handle.

There was no way he could win on his own. They had to rely on teamwork.

"Now! Fast break!"

Kawashima shouted after gaining possession.

He passed the ball to the small forward, who ignored Ken Sudō's defense and passed it again to Yamagami Sawano, who had already reached the basket.

Now!

The moment Yamagami got the ball, he jumped, determined to give them no chance to get back on defense.

"Take this!"

But Gojo Satoru cut in from behind at even greater speed and swatted the ball away!

He's too fast!

After regaining possession, Gojo Satoru didn't break through at speed again. Looking at Yamagami Sawano, who was guarding him intently, he said with a hint of mockery,

"I'm done playing around. This proper sort of basketball really isn't for me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Gojo Satoru seemed like a completely different person. A wild air rose around him.

Yamagami Sawano's expression grew even more serious!

His whole presence has changed.

The ball in Gojo Satoru's hands moved faster and faster as he dribbled it back and forth between his legs.

His speed and rhythm have both changed!

Yamagami Sawano watched the changes, his gaze fixed fiercely on his opponent.

Gojo Satoru drove forward with the ball. This time, Yamagami Sawano stayed right behind him, pressing his body against Gojo's right side.

But at that moment, the ball in Gojo Satoru's hands bounced off its normal path and sprang backward.

Yamagami Sawano couldn't believe that Gojo had lost control while dribbling and made such a basic mistake.

But before he could react, Gojo Satoru spun around, quickly caught the errant ball, and broke through on the right.

"Not a chance!"

Gojo reached the basket and was about to jump for a shot, but three third-years jumped up at once to block him, forming a wall of bodies.

As he leaped beyond the edge of the court, everyone thought they'd stopped him. But before landing, Gojo Satoru flicked the ball high behind him with a hook shot.

Thump!

To everyone's shock, the ball went into the basket.

"You've got to be kidding!"

"He can shoot from there?"

Just two baskets were enough to put all the third-years on high alert. None of them dared let their guard down. Even though Gojo Satoru was the only one on the first-year team attacking, they simply couldn't stop him.

After intercepting the other team's possession, Gojo Satoru moved toward the basket again, but this time Yamagami Sawano followed him all the way underneath it.

"I won't let you past! There's no way you can score from that position!"

But Gojo Satoru jumped in a direction completely away from the basket, ignoring Yamagami Sawano as he jumped right alongside him.

He slammed the ball against the backboard with a hook shot, sending it into the basket off the rebound!

Thump!

After gaining possession again, Gojo didn't dribble at high speed. Instead, he moved forward at a leisurely pace.

Looking at the small forward and Kawashima in front of him, Gojo found it a little boring.

They've switched defenders?

As Gojo Satoru pressed closer and closer, Kawashima felt his whole body trembling.

Is this the pressure Sawano was facing just now?!

But the ball bounced toward him. He stared at the basketball about to fall into his hands, confused.

What's with this guy? He's leaving all kinds of openings!

But just as his hand was about to touch the ball, Gojo Satoru appeared on his left. With his left hand, he quickly hooked the ball back and broke through in an instant.

Oh no! Irregular speed-change dribbling!

Kawashima looked back in shock, realizing that apart from his eyes, nothing else could keep up with Gojo's speed!