"A friendly against Ryonan High School, one of last year's top four in Kanagawa Prefecture?"
"Ryonan's really strong, right? Can we actually win?"
"Of course we can. With Ryota Kudo and Kaede Rukawa joining us this year, Ryonan should be the ones who are scared."
Coach Anzai announced their opponent for the friendly, and the gym immediately erupted as everyone began debating whether Shohoku or Ryonan was stronger.
Ryota Kudo, however, had no doubts about the answer. Shohoku was stronger, of course.
Ryonan's two current aces were perimeter player Akira Sendoh and center Jun Uozumi. Their other positions were average overall.
Center Jun Uozumi had always been outmatched by Takenori Akagi, giving Shohoku the advantage inside.
Akira Sendoh, who had also come out of a Tokyo middle school, had faced Ryota Kudo several times during middle school.
Against the cheat-powered Ryota Kudo, Sendoh's record was nothing but defeats.
Overall, even the still-incomplete Shohoku team was considerably stronger than Ryonan High School.
At five in the afternoon, basketball practice ended.
Aside from the players who stayed to clean up, most had already left the gym.
Ryota Kudo's extra practice had only just begun. For him, the team practice earlier had been nothing more than a warm-up.
But there was someone else on the court who showed no intention of leaving: Kaede Rukawa, who was determined to prove himself.
Walking up to Kudo, Rukawa said coldly, "Play me one-on-one. I want to see how good the strongest middle school player is."
To anyone unfamiliar with Rukawa's personality, those words really did sound somewhat provocative and could easily cause a misunderstanding.
But the good-tempered Kudo showed no sign of anger. He stopped practicing and answered earnestly, "Sure. Let's play three baskets, then."
Kudo had actually long since guessed that Rukawa would challenge him.
Given Rukawa's fondness for challenging strong opponents, it would have been strange if he hadn't challenged Kudo.
Outside the gym doors, the players who had been about to leave began coming back.
Everyone was very interested in Rukawa taking on Kudo one-on-one. Even Takenori Akagi took the matchup seriously.
He also wanted to know which of them was stronger.
"You take the first possession." Kudo generously passed the ball to Rukawa. He also wanted to see just how good Rukawa was before his development.
Rukawa wasted no time on courtesy. As soon as he caught the ball, he attacked.
After dribbling, Rukawa drove hard to the left, trying to beat Kudo with speed.
But he had underestimated Kudo far too much. With a quick lateral slide, Kudo blocked Rukawa's driving lane.
Reaching out with his long arm, Kudo confidently stole the ball from Rukawa's hands.
The reason he was so confident was that his Perfect Copy contained this skill.
[Swingman (Akira Sendoh can freely switch between forward and guard, performing strongly in offense, defense, and playmaking.)]
Sendoh could be called a prime example of an all-around player. Not only did he possess an effortlessly graceful offensive game, but his defensive ability and awareness were also among the best in the world of Slam Dunk.
Having copied Sendoh's abilities, Kudo naturally had absolute confidence in his own defense.
Watching from the sidelines, Kiminobu Kogure quietly asked Akagi, "What a quick steal. Akagi, did you see how Kudo made his move?"
Akagi shook his head without answering, because he hadn't seen it clearly either. His expression grew even darker.
Because if Kudo had used that kind of defense against him today, he might have scored far fewer points.
Possession changed, and it was Kudo's turn to attack. He stood beyond the three-point line, holding the ball in both hands with a relaxed expression.
Rukawa, who had just had the ball stolen, looked grave as he focused all his attention on Kudo in front of him.
Casually putting the ball down into a dribble, Kudo suddenly moved, driving at full speed toward Rukawa's right.
Rukawa reacted and hurriedly shifted his weight back, running backward to his right at full speed to cut off Kudo's driving lane.
But after accelerating, Kudo suddenly pulled the ball back with a between-the-legs dribble, stopping on the spot out of his high-speed dribble.
Carried by his momentum, Rukawa took another three steps backward, immediately leaving more than a meter between himself and Kudo.
With no one in front of him, Kudo easily finished the first possession with a midrange jumper. The sound of the ball swishing through the net left Rukawa looking thoroughly displeased.
Having transmigrated from the twenty-first century, Kudo's understanding of basketball was far ahead of that of present-day Japan.
Offense didn't necessarily require explosive athleticism to overpower an opponent. Creating shooting space through changes of pace was actually more effective.
The NBA's "essence of pork belly," Jokic, and "chubby boy," Dončić, were both formidable masters of pace.
They were playing make-it-take-it, so Kudo had the next possession as well.
Having roughly gauged Rukawa's current ability, Kudo relaxed even further, settling into a triple-threat stance beyond the three-point line.
Slowly raising his hands, Kudo made a motion to shoot a long three.
Rukawa was now even more wary of Kudo's drives. He didn't think Kudo would choose to shoot a three and positioned himself a little farther back than was natural.
Unexpectedly, a second later, Kudo actually released the three-pointer, and the ball dropped accurately through the hoop. 2-0.
On the third possession, Kudo assumed the triple-threat stance again. Once more, he made a three-point shooting motion, rising slightly onto the balls of both feet to give the impression that he was about to jump and shoot.
Rukawa hurriedly stepped forward and jumped to block Kudo's shot.
But Rukawa jumping was precisely the moment Kudo had been waiting for. He instantly lowered the ball, switching to a dribble drive.
With an easy dribble and a three-step layup, Kudo ended the one-on-one game 3-0.
Having failed to score a single basket, Rukawa stood rooted to the spot with a complicated expression. He found the result difficult to accept.
If Kudo had truly beaten him with explosive athleticism and outrageous basketball skills, Rukawa might not have felt so conflicted.
After losing, he could simply go back, practice harder, and challenge Kudo again next time.
But Kudo's offense had looked far too effortless and strange, leaving Rukawa feeling that he didn't know how to practice to beat his opponent.
Everyone on the sidelines whispered among themselves. Of course, they didn't think Rukawa was weak. Instead, they thought Kudo was far too strong, truly worthy of being called "Japan's strongest middle school player."
But just then, someone began laughing gleefully at his misfortune. "Hahahaha! You can't act so smug now, you stuck-up fox! Kudo beat you 3-0. You really are no good, haha!
"Play me one-on-one too, Kudo. I'll definitely do better than that stinking fox."
The one chattering away like this was, of course, Rukawa's sworn rival, Hanamichi Sakuragi. As for his request for a one-on-one game, Kudo wouldn't have dared agree even under threat of death.
"No need, Sakuragi. Of course you're the strongest one-on-one. I'm no match for you, so let's not play."
"Really? You think I'm a genius too, Kudo? Hahahaha..."
The reason Kudo didn't dare play Sakuragi one-on-one was simple. Sakuragi never played by the usual rules. He would either pull down his opponent's shorts or slap his opponent across the face.
Just imagining that outcome sent a chill down Kudo's back. He had no desire to embarrass himself like that.
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