The Second Personality's Temptation

In Episode 16, aside from Saint Radiance Middle School, the other schools that advanced to the semifinals were Five Elements Secondary School, Nine Peaks Academy, and Bright Marsh Middle School.

Chi Tong had looked into the other three schools. The only one that truly caught his attention was Bright Marsh Middle School, because someone there was very familiar to him: Sawakita Eiji.

I wonder if he is the same Sawakita Eiji from my memories.

Chi Tong muttered to himself.

The next day, the semifinals finally began. Saint Radiance Middle School's opponent was Nine Peaks Academy. Nine Peaks Academy was indeed much stronger than Autumn Harvest Middle School. Their coordination was polished to perfection, and both their offense and defense had impressive patterns.

Aside from Chi Tong and Sendoh, no one on Sacred Radiance's side could compare to Nine Peaks Academy's players. This was not a matter of trying harder or improving—it was a gap in fundamental strength. Nine Peaks Academy's players were simply faster and more athletic than Sacred Radiance's players, though Chi Tong and Sendoh were exceptions.

The game went back and forth through repeated offensive and defensive exchanges. Though it was not particularly fierce, the constant trading of blows kept the anticipation at its peak.

By halftime, the score was locked at 40:40. Although the sides were tied, Nine Peaks Academy's players did not look pleased. The reason was simple: Chi Tong and Sendoh alone had held back their entire team's offense and defense. This indirectly proved that those two possessed strength equal to all five of them combined. If Sacred Radiance's other players had not been so useless, Nine Peaks Academy would have already been at a disadvantage.

Coach Nakamura on Sacred Radiance's side saw this as well. The moment everyone came off the court, he immediately instructed the other three to assist Chi Tong and Sendoh at all costs in the second half. The three had no objections. They knew their own strength was dragging the team down, but for the sake of victory, they were willing to serve as Chi Tong and Sendoh's backdrop.

Thus, once the second half began, the deadlock between the two sides finally changed.

Qie Yuan Sunren, Koichi Kobayashi, and Yamamoto Ryu worked together to cover for Chi Tong and Sendoh, helping the two complete attack after attack and defense after defense.

Chi Tong had to admit that with his talent still not fully developed, dealing with the combined efforts of all five opponents was not an easy task.

Fortunately, with his teammates' assistance, he successfully stole the ball from the opponents several times and finally widened the tied score.

Just as before, Sendoh took Chi Tong's pass and charged straight toward Nine Peaks Academy's basket. Fortunately, no one from Nine Peaks Academy could match Sendoh in individual ability.

From then on, under Chi Tong and Sendoh's combined efforts, Nine Peaks Academy could only watch helplessly as the score gap gradually widened. When the final whistle sounded, the score was fixed at 97:63.

With that, Sacred Radiance successfully advanced to the final.

On the other side, the match between Five Elements Secondary School and Bright Marsh Middle School also ended. As no one had expected otherwise, Bright Marsh Middle School was the winner.

Chi Tong was not surprised by that outcome in the slightest. After all, that person was at Bright Marsh. He would finally meet him again.

Sento suddenly spoke up.

Chi Tong looked at him. "Meet him again?"

"You mean Bright Marsh?"

Sendoh nodded. "Yeah. There is someone at Bright Marsh who is very strong. I lost to him last year."

"Is that so?" Chi Tong fell into thought.

If Bright Marsh's Sawakita Eiji really was the Sawakita Eiji he had in mind, then it was only natural that Sento had lost to him. "But this year, with you here, things may be different."

As Sendoh spoke, the corners of his mouth slowly rose.

That guy would definitely be shocked then. He could hardly wait to see the expression on that guy's face tomorrow. Chi Tong seemed to fall into deep thought.

He did not know exactly how strong Bright Marsh's Sawakita Eiji was now, but he probably had not become much stronger. He could be restrained, but not completely suppressed—probably about that level.

If that was the case, then as long as Bright Marsh did not have players on the same level as him, winning the final championship would not be difficult.

Having thought it through, Chi Tong's lips unconsciously curled upward.

"Are you starting to doubt your own strength?"

The sudden voice in his mind made Chi Tong's pupils contract. Was his second personality speaking again?

"No."

Chi Tong answered decisively.

"Hmph!"

Chi Tong's second personality gave a derisive snort.

"No? If that were really true, you would not be thinking about such pointless things right now."

After a pause, Chi Tong's second personality continued.

"How does it feel? You are only one step away from lifting the championship trophy."

"If you lose, all your previous efforts will be wasted. You do not want your teammates to suffer either, do you?"

"As long as you let me out, the championship will definitely belong to us!"

"Enough!"

Chi Tong rejected him outright.

"My current strength is already enough to lead the team to the championship, isn't it?"

"You can only use twenty to thirty percent of your talent right now. Even going one-on-one with Sendoh is already difficult for you. If you truly encounter an opponent stronger than Sendoh, that may not be enough."

"You should know that aside from Sendoh, your other three teammates are completely incapable of supporting you."

"You are only assisting Sendoh," Chi Tong's second personality said bluntly.

This time, Chi Tong did not retort. Instead, he fell silent.

Indeed, his second personality was right. By assisting Sendoh, he could suppress players stronger than Sendoh, but what about the others?

If Bright Marsh's other players were not weak, then the difficulty of assisting Sendoh would increase dramatically.

Even if he successfully passed the ball to Sendoh, Sendoh might not necessarily be able to score. If Chi Tong carried the ball himself, the opponents could completely block his path with a double-team.

Qie Yuan Sunren, Koichi Kobayashi, and Yamamoto Ryu could be completely ignored. That was the sorrow of not having good teammates. Just like Takenori Akagi's one-man team, Sacred Radiance was, plainly speaking, a two-man team made up of Chi Tong and Sendoh. If the two of them were shut down, the opponent would only need one somewhat capable player to break through the other three with ease and score beneath Sacred Radiance's basket.

After coming back to himself, Chi Tong still said, "I believe in my teammates, I believe in Sendoh, and I believe in myself even more. We will definitely be the ones to win the final."

"What a boring and childish idea. Placing your hopes in others is merely a sign of weakness. As long as your strength surpasses everyone else's, you will hold your fate in your own hands. Then, everything you wish to reclaim will be within reach."

After saying that, Chi Tong's second personality fell silent once more. No one besides Chi Tong knew of this exchange.

The vacancy in Chi Tong's eyes gradually cleared, but for some reason—perhaps because the final was drawing near, or perhaps because he was worried the game might slip beyond his control—the words his second personality had just spoken kept surfacing in his mind.

Time flew by, and the day of the final finally arrived. Saint Radiance Middle School's opponent was Bright Marsh Middle School. The moment the players from both sides appeared on the court, thunderous cheers erupted from the stands.