"Swish!"
The basketball cleanly dropped through the hoop, and Ryonan seemed to regain their rhythm once more.
"This guy…"
Kaede Rukawa and Akagi both stared at Akira Sendoh, their expressions filled with surprise. The ease with which Sendoh played was astonishing.
Wasn't this supposed to be his full strength?
"Damn you, Sendoh!!" Sakuragi barked. "You're only proud now because I'm not out there yet! Just wait till I'm on the court — we'll see if you're still smiling then!"
His voice was fierce, but with Oliver watching him calmly from the bench, Sakuragi quickly toned down his outburst.
At that moment, Sendoh turned and looked at the Shohoku bench. A sly smile spread across his face as he casually raised a hand and beckoned with a single curled finger.
"WHAT!?"
"Interesting…"
Sakuragi immediately jumped to his feet, visibly furious. Oliver, sitting beside him, raised an eyebrow with a smirk. The provocation had clearly worked on them both.
In a flash, the two of them shot up from the bench.
Oliver and Sakuragi — master and disciple, their fighting spirit fully ignited.
Note: Has a tendency to respond very poorly to provocations.
"Wait! Sakuragi's one thing, but Oliver — what are you planning to do!?"
Ayako's panicked voice rang out as she saw the two getting fired up.
"Hurry! Hold them back!!" she shouted.
"Damn it! Let me go!!" Sakuragi yelled as several teammates restrained him. He struggled like a wild beast, his eyes blazing with competitive fury. Meanwhile, Oliver sat back down, his expression calm but stormy.
He wasn't the type to charge forward recklessly, but the fire in his eyes showed he wasn't backing down either.
"Oh ho ho… don't worry, Oliver-san. Sakuragi-san."
Coach Anzai's voice broke the tension. He chuckled lightly as he adjusted his glasses, his tone as relaxed as ever.
"The first half is almost over," he said calmly, "and it will soon be your turn to play."
"Coach!" both Oliver and Sakuragi exclaimed excitedly as they turned to face him.
Coach Anzai gave them a nod.
"Go warm up."
"YES!!" Sakuragi shouted, his energy renewed.
He grabbed a basketball and immediately began dribbling with reckless enthusiasm. Beside him, Oliver remained on the bench, but quietly activated his system.
"Open skill bar."
As the translucent interface appeared before him, Oliver's eyes scanned through his available skill options. Now that halftime was approaching, it was time to finalize the setup that would serve him best for the second half.
First, he immediately dismissed the "Turnaround Fadeaway Jump Shot". It was currently unusable due to its high stamina cost and complexity.
The skill that must be equipped was "Sonic Sprint."
Oliver nodded to himself. Though his base speed wasn't particularly impressive, Sonic Sprint provided a sudden, high-speed burst — like the fast-slow weapon rhythm of a Souls-like game — which could easily throw defenders off balance. After all the games he had played so far, the skill had reached 9-star proficiency.
Skill evolution was just around the corner.
He couldn't help but wonder what the greyed-out skill evolution tree would look like once unlocked. What changes would come after evolution?
Thinking back to Sayuri's "turntable system" he had unlocked yesterday, Oliver grew even more curious about the functions the system still hadn't revealed.
But now was not the time to be distracted.
He turned his attention back to the task at hand.
Three skill slots remained.
For the current match, another essential skill was "Accurate Shooter."
Before Hisashi Mitsui returned to the team, Shohoku had been sorely lacking in reliable long-range shooters. Kaede Rukawa had been forced to shoulder that burden alone. But when a single player is too heavily relied upon, the defense adapts. Adding another long-range threat would relieve some of that pressure.
Next, "Magic Pass."
Ryonan wasn't just tough — they were dangerous. Sendoh alone was a headache to deal with, and with the towering Uozumi clogging the paint, it would be nearly impossible to get clean passes through with standard tactics. The "Magic Pass" skill could open up the court in ways traditional passing couldn't.
That left just one final decision.
What should his last skill be?
Should he take "Quick Recovery" to replenish stamina mid-match? Or "Bull Charge" to bulldoze through defense? Or maybe the mysterious "Shining Star" skill?
Oliver weighed the options.
Quick Recovery was useful, yes — but only necessary in stacked skill use or if stamina dropped too low. He didn't plan on overusing skills, so he could probably do without it for now.
Bull Charge? Facing off head-to-head with a two-meter-tall Uozumi? That was a recipe for getting flattened.
Shining Star it was, then.
He equipped it without hesitation.
The skill wasn't just about gaining extra experience points. From the beginning, he had planned to combine it with "Magic Pass." If the opponent focused entirely on him, he could use his flashy presence as bait, drawing defenders in — and then strike with a miraculous pass, catching everyone off guard.
Would it work?
There was no way to be sure — not until he stepped onto the court.
He looked toward the center of the court. Shohoku's defense was starting to fall apart. Yasuda and Shiozaki were clearly struggling to keep up with Ryonan's blistering pace. Kaede Rukawa was doing his best, but even he couldn't defend both inside and outside lines by himself.
And with the towering Uozumi anchoring the paint, Ryonan's strategy was simple: just lob the ball high, and let the big man do the rest.
---
"BEEP!!"
The whistle rang sharply across the gymnasium.
The referee signaled the end of the first half, and both teams headed toward the locker rooms for a short break.
In the first half, Ryonan had come out swinging — an aggressive offense that scored heavily.
But Shohoku hadn't backed down.
Led by the unyielding strength of Akagi and the finesse of Rukawa, they managed to hold their ground.
Halftime Score: Shohoku - 36 | Ryonan - 50
It was a 14-point gap — a solid lead, but not unbridgeable.
---
"What's going on!?" Coach Taoka exploded on the Ryonan bench.
His voice echoed through the gym, filled with frustration and rage.
"Your opponent is Shohoku, for crying out loud! Didn't I tell you to be up by at least 30 points by halftime!? Look at the score! What is this!?"
He glared at his players before singling someone out.
"And you, Ikegami! Why the hell did you rush the attack when Kaede Rukawa was watching you? Did you think he wouldn't read you like a book!?"
Sendoh, sitting nearby, winced and slightly lowered his head to avoid attracting attention. He took a cold water bottle from Hikoichi and took a long drink, watching Coach Taoka lose his mind.
"You guys are one of the top four teams in the entire county! You're supposed to be advancing to the Nationals this year!"
Coach Taoka's voice rose again. "And Shohoku!? You were all terrified last year when they beat us!! Are you really going to let them do it again!?"
"Uozumi!!" he shouted.
Akagi already scored 17 points! You want to lose to him *again!?"
Uozumi's face contorted in frustration.
"…No! Never again!" he shouted back.
"That's more like it! Now go out there and—"
"…Well, that's not entirely accurate," came a calm voice that cut through the firestorm.
Everyone turned to see Sendoh, squatting on the ground and leaning back on his hands, speaking with a casual smile.
"In truth, Shohoku isn't weak. Akagi alone makes them a very formidable team."
He waved a hand lazily, as if brushing off the tension.
"So there's no shame in the way things went in the first half."
Coach Taoka's face twitched with suppressed rage.
Sendoh took another sip of water.
"Besides," he added, glancing across the court to where Oliver sat calmly at the edge of the Shohoku bench, stretching his fingers as though preparing for something.
"…The second half will be even harder."
His eyes narrowed.
"Because that's when Shohoku's true strength takes the stage."
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