Another Disciple Taken In

In the end, the two of them simply threw the ball aside.

They rolled around on the floor like elementary school kids.

"Enough!"

Takenori Akagi had finally reached his limit and gave each of them an iron-fist punch.

"Thud! Thud!"

Two fresh bumps immediately appeared.

Clutching his head with tears in his eyes, Hanamichi pointed at Ryota.

"Damn it! If I hadn't been afraid of hurting you, this genius would've used his ultimate move already!"

"I'm the man who joined forces with Master to defeat Ryonan's Sendoh!"

"If you've got guts, compete with my master!"

Rubbing his head, Ryota disdainfully glanced at Lin Bei, who was sitting by the court yawning.

"That dead-fish-eyed guy?"

"I admit he knows how to fight."

"But basketball?"

Ryota spun the ball on his finger, a mocking smile curling across his lips.

"Basketball isn't a sport you can win with brute strength."

"Looking at how lazy he is, he probably can't even dribble."

Hearing that, Lin Bei, who was doing shuttle runs, hurriedly waved his hands.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

"I can't play basketball."

"I'm just here to kill time."

Lin Bei's complete refusal to take the bait only made Ryota angrier.

That feeling of being looked down on.

Especially with Ayako watching nearby!

"Hey! Dead-fish eyes!"

Ryota walked up to Lin Bei and reached out to stop him.

"Since he calls you Master, do you dare compete with me?"

"If I win, stay away from Ayako!"

Lin Bei sighed. "How about I just admit defeat, and you buy me a Coke?"

"You!" Ryota choked on his words.

Why did this guy have no competitive spirit at all?!

"Then how about this!"

Ryota's eyes shifted as he pointed at Hanamichi.

"If I lose, I'll become your disciple too, just like this red-haired monkey!"

"I'll serve you tea and water from now on without a single complaint!"

Hanamichi, who had been picking his nose, froze. "Huh? Who wants to be fellow disciples with a shorty like you?"

Lin Bei's ears twitched.

Serve tea and water?

He straightened up and stroked his chin.

Right now, he only had Hanamichi. Though the guy was useful, he caused trouble all the time.

And sometimes his train of thought was so bizarre that communicating with him was exhausting.

If he had one more Ryota...

There would be another person to run errands and buy food.

And if Ryota got stronger, Shohoku's chances of winning the championship would increase too.

This deal...

Was worth it!

"Deal."

Lin Bei stood up and patted the dust off his butt.

"But let's get one thing straight first."

"I only drink Coke cold."

Ryota froze for a moment, then flashed a confident smile.

"Talk after you win!"

The entire court fell silent.

Everyone gathered around.

On one side was the returning lightning-fast Ryota Miyagi.

On the other was Lin Bei, the unfathomable king of slacking off.

"The rules are simple."

Ryota tossed the ball to Lin Bei.

"Five baskets. Whoever gets there first..."

"No need to make it so complicated."

Lin Bei palmed the ball with one hand and stood beyond the three-point line.

His dead-fish eyes suddenly became profound, as though a current of electricity had flashed through them.

"One possession decides it."

"If you can touch the ball, I lose."

Arrogant!

Utterly arrogant to the extreme!

Ryota laughed in anger, lowering his center of gravity and taking a defensive stance.

"Fine, let's see what you can do!"

Lin Bei looked at Ryota, who stood before him fully prepared.

In his mind, two cards lit up at once.

[Daiki Aomine · Hyper-Speed Dribbling]

"Here I go."

Lin Bei said softly.

Before his words had even faded.

"Bang!"

A thunderous sound rang out.

The ball slammed into the floor.

Ryota's vision blurred.

Lin Bei's figure... disappeared?

No!

He hadn't disappeared!

He was simply too fast!

And that dribbling rhythm completely defied all common sense!

The ball seemed glued to Lin Bei's hand, tracing a bizarre afterimage through the air as his body swayed dramatically.

Ryota's center of gravity was instantly thrown off.

He instinctively moved left.

But the next second, Lin Bei had already appeared on his right.

"Goodbye."

Like a gust of wind, Lin Bei swept past Ryota in an instant.

That speed was so fast it took his breath away.

Ryota tried to turn and chase after him.

But he found that his ankles seemed locked in place, utterly unable to move.

"Swish!"

Lin Bei made an easy layup.

The ball went in.

The whole process took less than two seconds.

Ryota Miyagi had not even managed to turn around.

He stood there stiffly in his defensive stance like a clown.

The entire court fell deathly silent.

Kaede Rukawa's pupils suddenly contracted.

"That kind of dribbling..."

"Again, that formless style..."

Lin Bei landed, picked up the ball, and walked over to the dumbfounded Ryota.

"Still want to compete?"

"This time, should I use my left hand?"

Ryota suddenly snapped back to his senses.

He looked at Lin Bei, all the contempt and jealousy in his eyes long gone.

In their place was the fervor of someone who had glimpsed a new world.

That speed!

That dribbling!

Wasn't that the realm he had always been pursuing?!

"Thump!"

Ryota Miyagi did not hesitate in the slightest.

He dropped to one knee and clasped his hands together.

His gaze was so sincere it was almost frightening.

"Master!!"

"Please accept this disciple's bow!"

"I want to learn that! That dribbling where you go whoosh and disappear!"

Lin Bei was startled by this sudden grand gesture.

"Hey, hey, there's no need to make such a big ceremony..."

"No!!"

A furious roar suddenly rang out from beside them.

Hanamichi Sakuragi charged over and shoved Ryota aside.

"What do you think you're doing, shorty?!"

"That's my master!"

"If you want to become his disciple, you have to line up!"

"I'm the senior disciple! You're second!"

Ryota refused to back down and jumped up to grab Hanamichi by the collar.

"Who's second?!"

"I'm a second-year! I'm older than you by grade!"

"So what?! I joined first, so I'm your senior!"

"Quit yapping! I'll handle Master's Coke from now on!"

"That's my job! You dare steal my livelihood?!"

The two argued like fighting roosters, their faces red and necks thick with fury.

Standing between them, Lin Bei looked left, then right.

He sighed helplessly.

"So this is... the price of buy one, get one free?"

"So noisy..."

Just then.

A massive shadow fell over the three of them.

Takenori Akagi's face, dark as the bottom of a pot, appeared above them.

His fist was already raised high.

"You bastards..."

"What do you think the basketball club is?!"

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

Three dull blows rang out.

At last, the world became quiet.

Lin Bei squatted on the ground, clutching the smoking bump on his head, on the verge of tears.

"Why..."

"Did I get hit too..."

"I clearly took him on as a disciple against my will..."

Ayako stood to the side, watching the chaotic scene and laughing so hard she swayed.

"Looks like this year's Shohoku..."

"...is really going to be lively."

The locker room after practice.

The atmosphere was strangely harmonious.

Hanamichi Sakuragi and Ryota Miyagi, who had just been pecking at each other like fighting cocks on the court.

Were now sitting side by side, though neither of them looked at the other.

Yet the aura of "no friendship without a fight" had quietly formed between them.

Lin Bei changed clothes, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and broke the silence.

"Hey, Miyagi."

"Since you've become my disciple."

"You should still get a meeting gift."