The Ace Is in Your Hands

Miuradai's half court.

Kengo Murasame was loudly directing the defense.

"Keep Kaede Rukawa locked down!"

"And that guy who shoots threes!"

"Forget about number 16, he's just there to make up the numbers!"

In his eyes, aside from Lin Bei's absurdly fast passing, he had virtually no desire to attack on the court.

Someone like that was nothing to fear.

However, the instant his words fell—

Ryota Miyagi dribbled across half court without the slightest hesitation.

With a direct bounce pass, he sent the ball into Lin Bei's hands at the top of the arc.

"Oh? That slacker has the ball?"

A commotion rose from the stands.

"Is he finally going to attack?"

Aida Hikoichi gripped his pen tightly, his eyes wide as saucers.

Lin Bei held the ball in one hand, standing there with a loose, slouching posture.

In front of him stood a Miuradai defender.

With his arms spread wide, he pressed forward with a savage expression.

"Kid! Don't even think about getting past me!"

Lin Bei looked at him and yawned.

The next second—

His gaze changed.

The lazy air around him vanished in an instant, replaced by a violent aura like a beast breaking free from its cage.

[Hyper-Speed Dribbling]!

Bang!

The basketball slammed into the floor with a heavy thud.

The defender only saw a blur before his eyes.

No feints.

No probing steps.

It was simply fast!

An acceleration so fast it reached the extreme!

"Wha—"

The defender's pupils suddenly contracted.

Before his brain could even issue the command to turn around, a fierce gust had already swept across his cheek.

The man was gone.

"He... he got past me?!"

The entire gym erupted in shock.

Like a bolt of black lightning, Lin Bei instantly tore through Miuradai's first line of defense.

"Help defense! Get back, now!!" Murasame shouted in terror.

Two Miuradai interior players hurriedly abandoned Hanamichi Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa, charging at Lin Bei like two walls.

"Too slow."

Lin Bei's voice was cold, devoid of even a trace of warmth.

As he sped forward and faced their closing defense, his body suddenly made a movement that defied common sense.

He stopped abruptly.

Then, carried by his momentum, his body leaned sharply backward until he was almost parallel to the floor.

Yet the basketball in his hand did not stop. As his body swung, it traced a bizarre arc through the air.

[Formless Shot]!

"How could that possibly go in?!"

Murasame stared wide-eyed at the figure whose posture had twisted beyond all reason.

Yet—

Swish!

The basketball carved an incredibly high arc through the air.

It sailed over the fingertips of the two defenders and dropped cleanly into the basket.

It barely even stirred the net.

The entire gym fell silent.

One second later—

Boom—!!

The deafening cheers nearly blew the roof off the gymnasium.

"What was that?!"

"That kind of posture can still make a shot?!"

"That's insane! It's practically acrobatics!"

In Ryonan's stands, Hiroaki Koshino's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"Th-that... was that even a move a human could make?"

The smile in Akira Sendoh's eyes disappeared, replaced by an unprecedented gravity.

"Another one of those irregular shots..."

"To maintain such soft touch at that speed and under that kind of pressure..."

"Lin Bei, you really are a monster."

But this was only the beginning.

The next few minutes became a nightmare that every Miuradai High School player would never escape.

Miuradai missed on offense. Hanamichi Sakuragi grabbed the rebound and passed it to Miyagi.

Miyagi pushed the ball upcourt and passed to Lin Bei.

Lin Bei caught the ball and faced Murasame's defense.

This time, he did not drive.

Instead, from two steps beyond the three-point line, he jumped straight up.

[Template Switch]

[Shintaro Midorima Template Activation]

[Skill Activated: Full-Court Range Shot (Beginner · 100% from the Three-Point Line)]

[Stamina Consumption Doubled]

[Shintaro Midorima Panel]

[Dribbling 85, Passing 90, Steals 78, Basketball IQ 92]

[Mid-Range 100, Three-Pointers 100, Rebounds 70, Blocks 65]

[Strength 75, Speed 84, Stamina 60, Vertical Leap 80]

"That far?!" Murasame cried out in shock.

Lin Bei's body stretched gracefully in midair. His left hand steadied the ball while his right wrist flicked lightly.

The motion was textbook-perfect, yet it carried an indescribable elegance and calm.

The basketball left his fingertips, spinning as it soared into the sky.

It flew high, higher still.

So high that people wondered whether it would hit the ceiling.

Everyone tilted their heads up, their gazes following that orange ball.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Then—

Swish!

The crisp sound of the net was like the toll of death's bell ringing in the hearts of Miuradai's players.

An ultra-long-range three-pointer!

Nothing but net!

"Waaaaah!!"

"A sharpshooter! He's a sharpshooter!!"

The spectators went wild.

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

He turned and ran back on defense without even looking at the basket.

"Is that... absolute confidence?"

Hisashi Mitsui watched Lin Bei's retreating back with a complicated expression.

As a sharpshooter himself, he knew all too well just how difficult that shot had been.

Another possession began.

Lin Bei drove into the paint with the ball.

The entire Miuradai team collapsed inward, four players sealing off the key completely.

"Even if we die, we have to stop him!!"

Murasame's eyes were bloodshot, like a gambler who had lost everything.

Lin Bei looked at the wall of bodies before him, a faintly mocking smile curling at his lips.

He suddenly jumped near the free-throw line.

"You're asking to die!!"

Murasame and another center jumped at the same time. Four huge hands blocked out the sky, sealing every possible shooting angle.

"Block him!!"

Just when everyone thought Lin Bei was about to be blocked—

His body suddenly curled up in midair, pulling the ball back into his chest.

Then, through the gap between those four huge hands, his wrist flipped with incredible dexterity.

Like a magic trick, the basketball flew out from behind his back.

It was not a shot.

It was a pass!

The ball landed precisely in Kaede Rukawa's hands beneath the basket, where no one was guarding him.

Rukawa caught the ball, rose up, and slammed it home one-handed!

Bam!!

The rim shook violently.

Only then did Lin Bei land.

Lin Bei shook his hand and glanced at Miuradai's players, who had completely broken down.

"Too weak."

High up in the stands—

A dark-skinned man in a purple jersey stood with his arms folded, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

The king of Hainan Affiliated High School, Shinichi Maki.

"A-Maki, what do you think?"

Beside him, a mature-looking young man asked. He was Kainan's vice-captain, Kazuma Takasago.

Maki's gaze first swept over Rukawa, who had just completed the dunk.

"That number 11, Kaede Rukawa."

"His movements are fluid, his explosiveness is strong, and his feel for the ball is exceptional."

"Though he's still raw and his style is somewhat selfish, I can indeed see shades of last year's Sendoh in him."

Maki's voice was deep and calm, carrying the judgment of a king.

"However..."

Maki changed the subject.

His eyes locked firmly onto the back of number 16 walking back down the court.

Lin Bei.

"This number 16..."

Maki furrowed his brows tightly, an unprecedentedly serious expression appearing on his face.

"I can't see through him."

"His speed, strength, shooting range, and even his passing vision all go far beyond what an ordinary high school player should possess."

"Those plays just now—whether it was the speed of his change of direction or that unreasonable ultra-long three..."

"Even if it were me, if I faced him one-on-one..."

Maki did not continue.

But Kazuma Takasago was already too shocked to say a word.

For the man known as "Emperor Maki" to show such an expression—

And even speak with such uncertainty—

Just who was Shohoku's number 16?!