Chapter 013
"As expected, the gap between first-string and second-string is enormous, especially with Murasakibara. I've heard that he's now the strongest center in all of Teiko Middle School—even the third-year upperclassmen can't match him."
Looking up at Murasakibara's towering figure, Ranki realized the difference between them was overwhelming—he'd been completely outclassed. Murasakibara considered his performance thoughtfully before offering feedback: "Ranki-chin, your basketball fundamentals are solid, but your speed is a bit slow. That's why I was able to block all your shots so easily."
"Really? That's genuinely surprising to hear! When I was on the second-string, everyone always said my movements were quite fast," Ranki replied with a rueful smile. He'd thought his dribbling had fooled Murasakibara initially, but then his instructor had recovered with impossible speed. In all his years playing basketball, this was the first time he'd encountered someone with such overwhelming ability on both offense and defense.
Murasakibara nodded with casual authority: "Well, you'd better be prepared—the dribbling and shooting speed in first-string is much faster than what you're used to in second-string. By the way, can you dunk?"
"Slam dunk?" Ranki responded with a bitter smile and mild sarcasm: "Murasakibara-san, we're both first-years! How could I possibly dunk?"
"Huh?" Murasakibara tilted his head with genuine confusion. "A while ago, Mine-chin learned how to dunk. You're taller than him, so I figured you definitely could too."
Ranki looked genuinely shocked: "You mean Aomine-san? A first-year can actually slam dunk? So, Murasakibara-san, can you dunk as well?"
"Yeah, of course," Murasakibara replied matter-of-factly.
Ranki felt his composure slipping away. The quality gap between first-string and second-string was truly staggering—first-year students who could slam dunk, while many third-year seniors on the second-string couldn't manage it.
Actually, it should be said that among all basketball players, many would never be able to dunk in their entire careers due to insufficient height, jumping ability, and explosiveness—what people called a fundamental lack of basketball talent.
Ranki's eyes lit up with excitement: "This is what first-string is like! It's incredible! Murasakibara-san, would you please teach me how to dunk?"
"Eh... sure, I guess."
From that day forward, Ranki practiced with Murasakibara daily in pursuit of learning to slam dunk. His basketball talent was genuinely impressive—not quite at Murasakibara's level, but certainly exceptional. After understanding the true strength required for first-string, he quickly adapted to their intense training regimen.
SLAM!
Ranki completed a beautiful dunk, and Murasakibara watched with mild approval: "That was pretty good, Ranki-chin. Nice execution on that one."
"No, this level is still far below yours," Ranki grinned in response. "Besides, thanks to your instruction, I was able to learn dunking so quickly."
Murasakibara sounded slightly uncomfortable with the praise: "That doesn't have anything to do with me. It's just that Ranki-chin has good natural talent and you work really hard. Even without my help, you would've learned to dunk before too long."
"Compared to those people who don't have any talent at all but are still passionate about basketball and train obsessively..." As Murasakibara said this, he thought of Tetsuya Kuroko—aside from their first meeting, he'd sought him out once yesterday, marking their second encounter.
"Hey, Mine-chin, let's go home together!" Murasakibara arrived at the gymnasium, knowing that Aomine had been spending time there recently, training with Kuroko.
Aomine looked up at Murasakibara while wiping sweat from his face: "Oh, Atsushi, you go ahead without me! I'm going to train with Tetsuya some more. Sorry about that."
Murasakibara glanced at Kuroko—pale, weak-looking, and barely noticeable—and said with obvious dissatisfaction: "Why are you working so hard? You're just from third-string, and no matter how much effort you put in, it's pointless! Plus you're so short—basketball is a sport for tall people. It's not meant for you, so you should just give up."
"I don't want to," Kuroko immediately refused. "I made a promise to a friend that we'd play basketball together. I absolutely won't give up."
Murasakibara felt increasingly annoyed: "So that's why you're working so hard? You want to catch up to your friend, right?"
"That's correct."
"I see. Tell me how long you've been playing basketball." Murasakibara showed mild interest, since he'd heard from Aomine that Kuroko trained until ten o'clock every night before going home. Despite having no talent, his dedication was something few first-string players could match.
"About three years now," Kuroko replied flatly.
"Three years?" Murasakibara looked genuinely surprised. Playing basketball for three years as middle school students wasn't a short period, and with such intense training, he should still be in third-string? Was he really completely without talent? That didn't seem right—even without natural ability, hard work should yield some results.
With growing curiosity, Murasakibara picked up a nearby basketball: "Let's play a quick game, just you and me, Kuroko-chin. I'll identify your mistakes right now—if you're working this hard, you should definitely see some improvement." He tossed the basketball to Kuroko.
Aomine recognized Murasakibara's expression and knew he particularly disliked people who lacked talent but insisted on training obsessively. "Hey, maybe we should skip this! Atsushi, there's no way Kuroko could compete with you."
After catching the basketball, Kuroko didn't flinch: "Alright then. Please be careful, Murasakibara-san."
Hearing this response, Murasakibara's eyebrows furrowed slightly. He hadn't been particularly interested initially, but now his curiosity was piqued: "Fine, bring it on."
After several exchanges, Murasakibara watched Kuroko's movements and felt his anger rising rapidly. These techniques were no different from a complete amateur—slow speed, weak strength, poor jumping ability. Even when Murasakibara deliberately allowed easy opportunities, Kuroko still couldn't score.
'What a joke! Is this guy actually serious about basketball?' As this thought crossed his mind, Murasakibara's anger intensified. His dunks became more fluid than before, his speed increased, and his strength grew more fierce. Even Aomine watching from the sideline felt intimidated—each slam easily knocked Kuroko away, and the power behind those dunks might be unstoppable even for himself.
After scoring several consecutive baskets, Kuroko's confidence seemed completely unaffected. He continued defending fearlessly, as if he couldn't perceive the enormous gap between them. Murasakibara's fury exploded: "What kind of joke is this? Even weakness has its limits!"
"Stop pretending to be mysterious when you're this pathetic!" With that, Murasakibara spun quickly and jumped, knocking away the defending Kuroko and executing a devastating two-handed slam.
Thor's Hammer.
After landing, Aomine looked worriedly at Kuroko, who had been knocked back by the powerful dunk: "Tetsuya, are you okay?"
Murasakibara stared down at Kuroko, his tone turning cold: "I thought you had some hidden ability! Even if you train harder than anyone else every day, what's the point? It's completely wasted time—that basketball technique I just used is something you could never learn no matter how hard you try."
"Give up. You have absolutely no talent for basketball whatsoever."
....
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