Ryota Miyagi casually spun the ball on his fingertip, watching Hanamichi Sakuragi brace for battle with a faint, lazy smile.
"Red-Haired Monkey, ready? Don't let me blow past you too badly."
The instant he finished speaking, his gaze sharpened. His lazy posture vanished, and he became a cheetah poised to spring.
Hanamichi Sakuragi widened his eyes, spread his long arms, and planted his feet apart, assuming what he considered an impenetrable defensive stance.
He still remembered to shout, "Bring it on, shorty! This genius's defense is an iron wall! Even Gorilla praised my... Whoa!"
Before he could finish, Miyagi moved.
No fancy changes of direction, no unnecessary feints-just an incredibly fast crossover in front of his body.
Sakuragi saw a blur and instinctively slid sideways to cut him off.
But Miyagi was too fast. The instant he accelerated, he had already gained half a step, darting past Sakuragi's side with a whoosh.
Sakuragi hurriedly turned to chase, but Miyagi had already scored an easy layup.
2-0.
"Too slow, Red-Haired Monkey."
Miyagi retrieved the ball and strolled back beyond the three-point line. "Your reactions are slower than the eighty-year-old granny next door to me."
"Bastard! That was a sneak attack! Doesn't count! Again!"
Sakuragi stamped his feet in fury, his face and neck flushed red.
On the second possession, Sakuragi wised up. He dared not guard him too closely and left a little space.
Miyagi noticed, and a mischievous smile curled his lips.
He started with several rapid between-the-legs dribbles, leaving Sakuragi dizzy.
Suddenly, Miyagi went behind his back and spun, his movements as fluid as a dance.
Sakuragi's weight swayed left and right with the feints. He could not tell which way Miyagi would drive.
In that instant of hesitation, Miyagi simply accelerated, swept past him again, and scored an easy finger roll.
4-0.
"Tsk, tsk. Your footwork's a mess. Are you dancing?"
"Did you really beat Captain Akagi?"
Miyagi shook his head, doubt written all over his face.
"Damn it!"
Sakuragi was losing his mind. The shorty's dribbling felt slick with oil, impossible to get hold of.
On the third possession, Sakuragi went all out. Throwing caution aside, he lunged straight in for a steal.
Miyagi seemed to have expected it and gave an incredibly convincing shot fake.
Sakuragi fell for it, springing up to block him.
Unhurried, Miyagi waited until he reached his highest point and began descending, then calmly dribbled past him.
Facing an unguarded basket, he even had time to switch hands behind his back for an effortlessly stylish layup.
6-0.
"Hahaha! See that? That's experience! That's skill! You've got a long way to go, Red-Haired Monkey!"
After scoring, Miyagi smugly made a face at Sakuragi.
"Aaaargh! I'm furious!!"
Sakuragi felt ready to explode. Being toyed with three times in a row by a shorty was an utter humiliation.
"Shorty! Let this genius play offense if you've got the guts!"
"Oh? You want to attack?"
Though it went against the rules, Miyagi did not mind.
He raised an eyebrow and tossed Sakuragi the ball. "Sure, your turn. Let's see what this genius can do on offense."
Sakuragi caught the ball angrily and stood beyond the three-point line.
His mind was a jumble. Everything Kawamoto Kazuki had taught him was fundamentals and simple finishes around the basket.
His defensive skills and one-on-one moves were practically nonexistent.
He recalled the post-up moves Akagi had taught him, but his opponent was so much shorter that posting him up did not seem realistic.
Then he thought of Kaede Rukawa's stylish drives, but those moves were too complicated...
"Hurry up, Red-Haired Monkey. I've been waiting forever."
Miyagi stood before him at ease, spreading his arms.
His defensive stance was textbook, but his eyes were full of mockery.
"Shut up! Take this!"
Provoked into a rash move, Sakuragi copied what Miyagi had done earlier, attempting a clumsy crossover to drive right.
But his dribble was too high, and his rhythm was a complete mess.
Miyagi's eyes flashed. Picking his moment, he struck like lightning.
Smack!
A clean steal!
After the steal, Miyagi did not clear the three-point line to attack again. He simply kept the ball spinning on his fingertip.
"Bastard! Give it back!"
Sakuragi froze briefly, then roared and went all out to snatch it back.
Miyagi immediately stopped spinning the ball and sent a simple bounce through Sakuragi's legs, beating him cleanly.
He rushed beneath the basket and jumped easily, preparing for a layup.
"Damn it, bastard! You're not scoring again!"
Sakuragi's astonishing athletic talent was on full display at that moment.
Miyagi felt a rush of air behind him and was slightly startled. He had not expected the Red-Haired Monkey to recover so quickly.
The instant the basketball left his fingertips, a red figure rocketed into the air from behind.
It was Sakuragi!
With his monstrous leap and explosive power, he had caught up despite starting later.
His huge palm whipped toward the basketball with a rush of air!
Bam!!
A tremendous crash!
Sakuragi's palm struck the basketball squarely, pinning Miyagi's seemingly certain layup against the backboard.
A huge pin block!
Miyagi stumbled a step on landing and looked back at Sakuragi in disbelief.
This guy...
Isn't his vertical ridiculous?
"Wahahaha! See that, shorty? That's this genius's defense!"
Sakuragi landed, planted his hands on his hips, and threw his head back in triumphant laughter.
Miyagi rubbed his nose and retrieved the swatted ball. Some of the mockery in his eyes gave way to seriousness. "Hmph. You can jump high, that's all. Your ball. You're on offense."
It was Sakuragi's turn to attack again.
Standing beyond the three-point line, he looked at the annoying shorty before him, and an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.
He remembered the shooting form he had practiced thousands upon thousands of times every morning under Kawamoto's supervision.
His accuracy was not particularly high, but he seemed able to fluke one in occasionally.
Whatever!
Might as well try a desperate remedy!
Sakuragi stood beyond the three-point line, looking at Miyagi before him.
Gritting his teeth, he held the ball in both hands, bent his knees, jumped, and hurled it toward the basket.
His movement was stiff, the arc flat.
Miyagi froze, having never expected him to pull up directly from beyond the three-point line.
He even forgot to jump to contest it.
He turned to look.
The ball struck the back rim, bounced high, and then...
After bouncing a few times, it actually dropped in!
Swish!
6-3!
The entire court fell silent.
Even Akagi, Kogure, and the others watching nearby had their mouths hanging open.
That... That could go in?!
"It... It went in?!"
Miyagi stared wide-eyed at Sakuragi, whose expression proclaimed, "I really am a genius," and felt his worldview shaken.
"A... A fluke, right?!"
"Hahaha! See that? That's the finishing move this genius practiced so hard-the Commoner Shot!"
Sakuragi planted his hands on his hips, his nose in the air.
Sakuragi remained on offense.
This time, he remembered a spin move that the stinking fox had used when he watched Kaede Rukawa play.
It had looked pretty cool, so he decided to imitate it.
Turning his back to Miyagi, Sakuragi dribbled once, then abruptly whirled in place like a top.
The motion was so wide and so fast that he made himself a little dizzy. The basketball went completely out of control and flew from his hand.
It slammed into the top of his own foot, then bounced far away, straight out of bounds...
Miyagi: "..."
Everyone on the sidelines: "..."
Sakuragi remained in his ridiculous half-crouch after the spin, watching the ball roll away, bewilderment written all over his face.
"Pfft-hahahaha!"
Miyagi was the first to lose it, clutching his stomach as he roared with laughter. "Red-Haired Monkey, are you doing comedy? Hahaha! You're killing me!"
"Idiot."
Kaede Rukawa delivered the word coldly from the sidelines.
"Sakuragi, what the hell are you doing?!"
Akagi's roar followed.
Sakuragi's face instantly turned liver-red. Mortified and furious, he pointed at Miyagi. "D-doesn't count! That was a mistake! The floor's too slippery!"
Miyagi took the next possession, exploiting Sakuragi's lack of defensive experience and susceptibility to fakes.
After a simple fake and a change of pace, he sank a precise midrange shot to win the one-on-one.
8-3.
Ryota Miyagi won easily.
"Whew..."
Miyagi wiped the faint beads of sweat from his forehead. Looking at Hanamichi Sakuragi across from him, who had not broken a sweat, he formed a new assessment of this redheaded rookie.
Monster-level athletic talent.
Top-class leaping, speed, and strength. Frightening defensive instincts and chase-down blocks...
But his technique is as crude as a baby's.
Dribbling, shooting, defensive footwork-all full of holes.
His basketball IQ doesn't look too high either. He gets carried away easily...
A complete novice.
But he hasn't even sweated after those possessions. His stamina must be incredible.
Recalling Sakuragi's terrifying chase-down block and the three-pointer he had somehow fluked in, Miyagi added another thought.
With some proper polishing, he might really amount to something.
At least he's qualified to be a rebounding workhorse and defensive specialist.
All right, that toughest nut to crack—the Red-Haired Monkey—is taken care of.
He casually bounced the basketball in his hand and turned toward Kaede Rukawa and Kawamoto Kazuki, who had watched silently the entire time. A confident smile curled his lips.
One down. Those other two rookies look much more normal. Won't they be easy pickings?
"Hey, you over there..."
Miyagi tipped his chin toward Kaede Rukawa, his tone casual. "Awake yet? Your turn. Or do you two want to come at me together? I'm in a hurry."
He pointed at Kaede Rukawa, then glanced at Kawamoto Kazuki, brimming with provocation.