Where Did Number 16 Go?

Ryonan's offensive possession ended.

The score stood at 21:0.

Though it was only a practice game, that gap was enough to crush any team.

"Defense! Defense!"

The cheers from Ryonan's bench were deafening.

It was as if the game had already ended and they were celebrating victory ahead of time.

Lin Bei stood at the baseline and received the inbound pass from Takenori Akagi.

Rather than pushing forward immediately, he lazily dribbled twice, his rhythm like an old man taking a stroll through the park.

"What's Number 16 doing?"

"Maybe he's scared stupid. He doesn't even know how to dribble anymore."

Scattered laughter rose from the stands.

On Ryonan's half of the court, their defensive formation was already set.

Akira Sendoh stood at the top of the arc, his gaze locked on Kaede Rukawa.

Jun Uozumi guarded the basket like an iron tower, firmly boxing out Takenori Akagi.

And the one assigned to defend Lin Bei was Ryonan's point guard, Tomoyuki Uekusa.

Uekusa looked at the opponent dribbling so sluggishly before him and felt a little contemptuous.

With such a loose posture, he was full of openings.

A little pressure would be enough to steal the ball.

Uekusa lowered his center of gravity, ready to step up and press him.

At that very instant.

Lin Bei's gaze shifted slightly to the right, toward Kaede Rukawa.

Uekusa's attention instinctively followed it for an instant.

When he looked back, the space in front of him was empty.

Where did he go?

Uekusa's pupils contracted sharply as he looked around.

That lazy figure had vanished from his visual radar without warning, like a drop of water dissolving into the ocean.

"Uekusa! Behind you!"

Taoka Moichi jumped up and down on the sideline, shouting furiously.

Too late.

An orange afterimage tore through the air.

The ball was not in Lin Bei's hands.

Like a precision-guided cruise missile, it flew straight toward Kaede Rukawa in the left corner.

The instant Rukawa caught the ball, even he froze for half a second.

That pass was too perfect.

It landed right at his chest, the seams clear beneath his fingers. He did not need to adjust at all.

Sendoh had been thrown off by that bizarre passing route and was half a beat slow.

Rukawa did not waste that half-beat.

He jumped and released the ball.

His wrist snapped down smoothly.

Swish!

The basketball dropped cleanly through the net.

21:2.

Shohoku had finally broken their scoring drought.

"Nice shot!"

Takenori Akagi clenched his fist and roared, finally letting out some of the frustration in his chest.

Rukawa landed and turned to look at Lin Bei, who was walking back.

That guy had both hands tucked into his shorts pockets. He had not even watched the ball go in and merely walked past with a yawn.

"Pretty lucky," Lin Bei said casually.

The next two minutes became a horror show for Ryonan's players.

Lin Bei was like a ghost.

He was clearly standing on the court in a bright red jersey, yet Uekusa simply could not "see" him.

Whenever Uekusa decided Lin Bei was no threat and relaxed his guard slightly to help defend someone else.

The ball would mysteriously appear in the hands of Shohoku's scorer.

Bang!

Takenori Akagi caught the ball for a thunderous dunk, hanging from the rim as he roared.

Swish!

Rukawa hit another pull-up jumper.

21:6.

23:8.

25:12.

The score gap was closing rapidly.

The jeers from the stands vanished, replaced by waves of confused murmuring.

"What's going on? Shohoku suddenly came back to life?"

"That Number 16... did he just make a pass?"

"How did I not see it?"

Aida Hikoichi held his pen in midair, yet had no idea what to write down.

In his observation log, Lin Bei's stats were still completely blank.

No drives, no points, and barely even any dribbling.

But whenever Lin Bei got the ball, Shohoku's offense turned like gears freshly oiled, spinning wildly into motion.

"Strange..."

On the court, Akira Sendoh raised a hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He looked at Lin Bei, who was bent over tying his shoelaces in the distance—actually taking the chance to rest—and his gaze gradually deepened.

On that last play, he had clearly seen Lin Bei looking at Akagi.

Everyone's attention had been drawn toward the paint.

Yet the ball had somehow flown into Rukawa's hands on the perimeter as if by magic.

Gaze Induction?

Or was his presence simply too faint?

"Uekusa."

Sendoh suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it carried unquestionable resolve.

"You guard Rukawa."

"Huh?"

Uekusa froze. "But Sendoh, Rukawa is their ace..."

"I'll take Number 16."

A playful smile curved Sendoh's lips, the expression of a hunter discovering interesting prey.

"If we don't keep an eye on him, this game will become troublesome."

Though Uekusa did not understand, he nodded anyway.

The possession changed.

Shohoku attacked.

The moment Lin Bei crossed half court, he felt an entirely different kind of pressure.

That spiky-haired guy stood in front of him.

Akira Sendoh.

Unlike Uekusa, he did not press tightly against him. Instead, he kept a distance of one and a half steps.

It was an ambiguous distance.

Close enough to stop a drive, yet far enough to disrupt a pass.

Most importantly, Sendoh's eyes were not looking at Lin Bei's face.

They were fixed firmly on the ball in Lin Bei's hands.

"Tch."

Lin Bei clicked his tongue inwardly.

As expected of Akira Sendoh.

He found Gaze Induction's weakness this quickly?

The core of Gaze Induction was using one's eyes and subtle movements to mislead an opponent's attention.

But if the opponent did not look at your eyes at all, the technique's effect would be greatly reduced.

Lin Bei tried a feint to the left.

Sendoh did not move an inch, his center of gravity as steady as a rock.

"It's useless."

"I don't know what kind of trick you used."

"But as long as I adjust my field of vision, you can't disappear."

Sendoh spoke with a smile, his tone as relaxed as if they were merely chatting.

Lin Bei sighed.

"Do you have to be this serious?"

"Can't everyone just play casually, work up a sweat, then go home for dinner?"

"That won't do." Sendoh shrugged.

"Though I want to go fishing too, if we lose to you guys, Coach Taoka will kill me."

With Sendoh personally guarding him, Shohoku's offense, which had just begun to gain momentum, instantly went silent.

Lin Bei could not get the ball out.

Rukawa was harassed by Uekusa and Koshino working together.

Inside, Akagi's stamina was rapidly draining under Uozumi's physical battle.

Bang!

Akagi's hook shot struck the front of the rim.

Uozumi grabbed the rebound, roared, and immediately threw a long pass.

Sendoh burst forward in an instant, shaking off Lin Bei to catch the ball and score on a layup.

27:12.

The gap widened once more.

Lin Bei stood where he was, watching Sendoh's back.

A faint, imperceptible glint flashed through those dead-fish eyes.

So cool...

When I read the manga as a kid, I thought this guy was the real genius.

High basketball IQ, great skills, and a good personality too.

If I could recruit him to Shohoku, I could retire completely.

While Lin Bei was lost in his thoughts, the atmosphere at the sideline suddenly grew restless.

"Damn it! That monkey boss is too tall!"

"The gorilla can't hold on much longer!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi was pacing anxiously on the sideline like an ant on a hot pan, gripping the railing and shaking it wildly.

"Old man! Put me in!"

"Only this genius can punish that monkey boss!"

Coach Anzai pushed up his glasses, and a white gleam flashed across the lenses.

He glanced at the panting Akagi, then at the huge opening in the paint.

Indeed, relying on Akagi alone put too much pressure on the interior.

They needed a disruptor.

A chaos specialist who did not play by the rules.

"Sakuragi."

Coach Anzai spoke slowly.

"Here!"

Sakuragi instantly stood at attention, his eyes shining.

"You will replace Kogure."

"You have only one task."

Coach Anzai held up one finger. "Control the rebounds."

"Control... the rebounds?"

"Control the rebounds, and you control the game."

Those words were like a bolt of lightning, splitting apart Sakuragi's muddled mind.

"I'm... a man who can control the game!"

Sakuragi's whole body trembled, excitement reaching its peak.

Beeep—!

"Shohoku substitution!"