Defeating Ryonan High School

With drawing a foul from Uozumi in mind, Ryota Kudo immediately slowed down, deliberately waiting for Uozumi to catch up.

Coach Moichi Taoka saw what Ryota Kudo was trying to do from the sidelines and immediately shouted a warning to Uozumi. "Don't go over there, Uozumi! Whatever you do, don't foul again!"

But Uozumi, who was focused on defense out on the court, couldn't hear any of it. He charged over and slapped at the basketball.

Ryota Kudo had been waiting for precisely this moment. The instant Uozumi made contact with him, Ryota Kudo fell sideways, throwing the basketball in his hands toward the hoop as he went.

The basketball rolled around the rim three times but ultimately failed to drop through the net, slipping off the side and falling to the floor.

Lying on the floor, Ryota Kudo watched the ball miss and felt a little regretful.

Of course, what he regretted wasn't something as trivial as missing this shot. It was having an overpowered ability like Perfect Copy, yet being unable to find those overpowered guys from Kuroko's Basketball.

If he had copied Daiki Aomine's formless shot, that last shot would have been guaranteed to go in.

Comparatively speaking, what Ryota Kudo most wanted to copy was Shintaro Midorima's full-court three-point shooting ability. That was no longer a question of being good or not-it turned basketball into fantasy.

With Uozumi picking up his third foul, no one was angrier than Coach Moichi Taoka. Furious, he started berating him from the sidelines. "Uozumi! How many times have I told you to watch your foul count? You..."

Only after a long tirade did Moichi Taoka calm down. Suddenly remembering that today was just a friendly match, and that the highly respected Coach Anzai was sitting across from him, Moichi Taoka hurriedly bowed toward Coach Anzai's seat in apology.

"I'm sorry, Coach Anzai. I still have much to learn. I've made a fool of myself."

"Ho ho ho ho. A little energy is a good thing. No need to be so formal, Coach Taoka."

In truth, Coach Anzai was nowhere near as calm inside as he appeared.

That was because Ryota Kudo surpassed Ryuji Yazawa, the player he had once had high hopes for, in both physical attributes and every aspect of his technique.

If he devoted himself fully to training Ryota Kudo, Coach Anzai was very confident he could make him the best player in All Japan.

But recalling the tragedy that had followed, Coach Anzai ultimately abandoned the idea.

He would let things take their course and allow the players to decide their own futures. That would be better for everyone...

Although it was a friendly match, they were still following official game rules: five fouls meant fouling out.

With three fouls to his name, Uozumi began playing tentatively.

Uozumi's skills weren't outstanding to begin with, and now he struggled even more on defense.

Good at reading the situation on the court, Ryota Kudo deliberately fed the ball repeatedly to Takenori Akagi inside.

Letting Takenori Akagi take Uozumi one-on-one not only made scoring easy, but also offered a chance to draw another foul from Uozumi.

With Ryota Kudo simply drawing a foul, the momentum on the court swung back to Shohoku, and Ryonan ran into major problems on both offense and defense.

The first half ended with Shohoku High School leading Ryonan High School by twelve points, 52-40, heading into the second half.

Naturally, the atmosphere in Shohoku High School's locker room was very cheerful.

Hanamichi Sakuragi in particular, who had collected four points and eight rebounds in the first half, was so full of himself that he kept bouncing around the locker room.

In the end, Takenori Akagi couldn't stand watching anymore and gave him a punch. Only then did Hanamichi Sakuragi settle down.

The only person wearing a grave expression was Kaede Rukawa. Relying entirely on his teammates to win wasn't his style. Although he had scored thirteen points in the first half, he couldn't feel happy at all.

Kaede Rukawa was planning where to put in extra practice after the game. He had to become stronger than Ryota Kudo and Akira Sendoh!

Inside the Ryonan Team's locker room, the atmosphere was frighteningly oppressive.

Coach Moichi Taoka kept trying to encourage his players, repeatedly telling them that Ryota Kudo wasn't invincible, and that they could definitely contain him as long as two players double-teamed him.

"Let me play, Coach! I'll definitely be able to stop Ryota Kudo!" A tall figure stood up. His name was Ryoji Ikegami.

He was a player known for his defense, with the strongest perimeter defense on the Ryonan Team-even stronger than Akira Sendoh's.

The second half began, and this time, the player standing in front of Ryota Kudo was the 183-centimeter-tall Ryoji Ikegami.

The basketball rules in the world of Slam Dunk differed from those of the current NBA: both halves required a jump ball.

Takenori Akagi won the second-half tip-off. Ryota Kudo got the ball, and as soon as he began dribbling, Ryoji Ikegami blocked his path with a serious expression.

Ryota Kudo didn't have much of an impression of Ryoji Ikegami, who stood before him. He only thought of him as an ordinary character.

With a casual burst of speed, Ryota Kudo prepared to break through Ryoji Ikegami's defense.

The instant he charged out of Ryoji Ikegami's defensive range, a hand slapped the basketball, sending it rolling out of bounds.

"Ryota Kudo got stopped..."

Everyone on the court froze. This was the first time Ryota Kudo had been stopped on defense.

That proved one thing: Ryota Kudo was merely much stronger than the other players, not an unbeatable existence.

"Nice work, Ikegami!" The Ryonan Team's players excitedly patted Ryoji Ikegami's shoulders, as though he had saved the team.

Ryota Kudo was equally surprised to have the ball stripped away. Anyone capable of doing that certainly couldn't be a nobody.

He began desperately searching his memories. The Ryonan Team really did seem to have a perimeter defense specialist, but he kept such a low profile that many people didn't remember him.

Without any change in his expression, Ryota Kudo received Sakuragi's inbound pass and attacked again.

Besides having a cheat, Ryota Kudo had another advantage: over a decade more memories than the other high school players. His mindset was also much more mature and stable than theirs.

So even if he suffered a temporary setback on the court, Ryota Kudo's mentality wouldn't be greatly affected.

This time, Ryota Kudo began taking Ryoji Ikegami seriously, and his offense shifted from its earlier rough approach to something more refined.

With a between-the-legs dribble, Ryota Kudo shifted Ryoji Ikegami's defensive balance, then suddenly accelerated.

When Ryoji Ikegami desperately caught up, Ryota Kudo changed pace again, beating him completely this time.

With no one in front of him, Ryota Kudo easily sank a mid-range jumper. After scoring, he deliberately let out a roar, telling everyone on Ryonan that Ryoji Ikegami alone couldn't contain him.

In fact, there were plenty of ways to deal with this sort of perimeter defense specialist. Calling Takenori Akagi over for a pick-and-roll would have taken even less effort.

However, a successful one-on-one play at this point would deal a greater blow to the Ryonan Team's morale.

Five minutes into the second half, Uozumi fouled out with his fifth foul, and the Ryonan Team began losing all ability to fight back.

In the end, Shohoku High School defeated the Ryonan Team 92-75. Even that score was only because Ryota Kudo had eased off on offense after the Ryonan Team gave up resisting.

With the game over, the players from both sides shook hands on the basketball court.

Ryota Kudo shook their hands one by one, finally reaching Akira Sendoh.

Instead of shaking Ryota Kudo's hand, Akira Sendoh hugged him again. Holding Ryota Kudo, he quietly offered his congratulations.

"Congratulations, Ryota. You've gotten stronger again, and this time, you've got some great teammates.

"But I'm not admitting defeat. See you at the Prefectural Tournament!"