Full-Range Shooting

[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained a new template: Shintaro Midorima (SG)]

[Skill unlocked: Full-Range Shooting (Beginner · Three-Point Line Range)]

[Skill Description: As long as the shooting form is not disrupted, the shooting percentage within the three-point line range increases to 100%.]

[Current Templates]

[Tetsuya Kuroko (PG)] Gaze Induction, Accelerated Pass, Disappearing Dribble.

[Daiki Aomine (PF)] Formless Shot, Hyper-Speed Dribbling.

[Shintaro Midorima (SG)] Full-Court Range Shooting.

"Shintaro Midorima..."

The corners of Lin Bei's lips curled up slightly, revealing a smile that left Ayako beside him utterly baffled.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

"This skill suits a lazy person like me perfectly."

No need to break through, no need to battle physically.

He could score just by standing there.

It was practically the ultimate secret technique of slacking off.

"Beep—!"

The timeout ended.

The game resumed.

Shohoku inbounded the ball.

Everyone thought Shohoku would rush for a two-pointer, since there was not much time left.

However, after receiving the ball, Lin Bei did not hurry forward.

He leisurely dribbled past half court, looking like he had not woken up yet.

Ryonan's defensive formation contracted inside the three-point line.

Sendoh stood at the top of the arc, watching Lin Bei warily.

"Going to drive again?" Sendoh lowered his center of gravity. "Or pass to Kaede Rukawa?"

Lin Bei stopped.

At that moment, he was still a full two steps beyond the three-point line.

Normally, that distance was a safe zone for setting up an offense, and defenders would not usually press closely.

That was what Sendoh thought as well.

He took half a step back, preparing to defend against Lin Bei's drive-and-kick.

But the next second, he witnessed something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Lin Bei raised the ball.

Right there, eight meters away from the basket, he lifted his hand with extreme casualness.

His left hand steadied the ball, while his right hand supported it.

His form was textbook-perfect.

"What is he doing?!"

"Shooting from there?! Is he crazy?!"

Taoka Moichi's eyes widened at the sidelines.

"Has he given up?"

Jun Uozumi also snorted disdainfully. "How could a shot like that possibly—"

Before he could finish.

Lin Bei jumped.

He did not jump very high, but his hang time felt unbelievably long.

At the peak of his leap, he gently flicked the basketball from his hand.

The ball flew incredibly high.

So high that it seemed about to touch the dome of the gymnasium.

Everyone had no choice but to tilt their heads back, their gazes following that orange-red sphere.

Time seemed to freeze at that instant.

The basketball traced an impossibly high arc through the air.

Like a precision-guided missile, it descended toward the hoop.

Sendoh suddenly turned around.

The falling basketball reflected in his pupils.

A sense of dread instantly seized his heart.

"Could it be..."

"Swish!"

An incomparably crisp sound of net rustling exploded through the deathly silent gymnasium.

It was the most wonderful sound made by a basketball slipping cleanly through the hoop and brushing the net.

The ball hit the floor and bounced up.

The entire arena fell silent for two seconds.

Then, like a powder keg being ignited, cries of shock tore through the roof.

"It, it went in?!"

"You're kidding! What was with that height?"

"Did he throw the ball into the atmosphere?"

At the sidelines.

Taoka Moichi looked like a duck being strangled, his finger pointing at Lin Bei as it trembled violently.

"A fluke... it had to be a fluke!"

The pen in Aida Hikoichi's hand fell to the floor with a clatter, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a fist.

"Unbelievable!!"

"I have to write this down!"

"But... how am I supposed to write this down?!"

Hikoichi clutched his head, feeling his entire understanding of basketball collapse.

Even the referee froze for a moment before blowing the whistle and raising both hands.

"Th-three-pointer counts!"

The scoreboard changed.

83:77.

The gap had instantly shrunk to six points.

Lin Bei landed and pushed up a pair of nonexistent glasses.

Looking at the dumbfounded Sendoh and Taoka Moichi, who had already turned to stone at the sidelines, he lazily yawned.

"Ah, sorry. My hand slipped just now."

"But..."

Lin Bei's eyes suddenly sharpened, like an unsheathed blade piercing straight into the hearts of the Ryonan players.

"Have you figured out how you're going to lose yet, Sendoh?"

Just then, the locker room door was shoved open with force.

Bang!

The dull impact drew everyone's attention.

A massive figure, his head wrapped in thick bandages like a wounded beast, walked out.

Takenori Akagi.

Though one side of his face was still stained with blood, the suffocating pressure around him was even stronger than before.

"Gorilla!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi's eyes lit up as if he had seen a savior.

Akagi strode to the scorer's table, his gaze sweeping over the scoreboard before finally falling on Lin Bei.

When he saw the narrowed gap, a trace of barely noticeable emotion flashed across Akagi's stern face.

"Well done."

Akagi walked to the sideline and replaced Kakuta, whose stamina had already run dry.

He clapped his hands hard, producing two sharp smacks.

"We haven't lost yet!"

"Shohoku! Attack!"

With Akagi's return, Shohoku's previously crumbling interior defense instantly became a towering wall.

"Hmph, you finally came back, Akagi."

Jun Uozumi looked at his old rival, battle intent blazing in his eyes.

"Uozumi, your good days are over," Akagi replied coldly.

With Akagi holding Uozumi down in the paint, Hanamichi Sakuragi immediately felt the mountain on his back disappear.

He rolled his aching shoulders and made a face at Uozumi.

"Bleh! Monkey Boss! Your opponent is the Gorilla!"

"This genius is going to wreak havoc everywhere!"

The game continued.

Ryonan attacked.

Akira Sendoh had the ball.

His expression was no longer relaxed, and those eyes that always carried a smile were now sharp as blades.

"Kaede Rukawa."

Sendoh looked at the opponent in front of him.

Kaede Rukawa lowered his center of gravity, his eyes locked tightly on the ball in Sendoh's hands as sweat dripped from his sharp chin.

"I'll defend this one."

Kaede Rukawa's voice was cold, carrying an unquestionable resolve.

"Then let's see."

Sendoh moved.

There were no flashy feints, only a pure combination of speed and strength.

The two tangled across the court like bolts of lightning.

Their muscles collided, and their sneakers screeched against the floor.

"So strong! Kaede Rukawa actually kept up with Sendoh's speed!"

A bespectacled spectator cried out from the stands.

"But Sendoh is even stronger!"

Just as Kaede Rukawa tried to steal the ball.

Sendoh used a behind-the-back dribble, creating space with incredible subtlety.

He stopped sharply and rose for a jumper.

The basketball dropped steadily through the hoop.

85:77.

Kaede Rukawa remained silent, but the fury in his eyes intensified.

Possession changed.

Lin Bei slowly dribbled past half court.

Koshino and Uekusa immediately rushed him, like two sharks that had caught the scent of blood.

"Double-team him! Don't let him shoot!"

Taoka Moichi roared himself hoarse from the sidelines.

That bizarre, high-arcing three-pointer had become Taoka's nightmare.

Lin Bei looked at the two men charging at him and sighed helplessly.

"Seriously, can't you just let me take a quiet shot?"

"You just have to force me to use my ultimate move."

Lin Bei suddenly picked up his dribble, took a deep breath, and shouted toward the paint:

"Hanamichi! Combine!"