Chapter 160

…My ass!

Yukimiya Kazuma, who had fallen on his butt, widened his eyes as he stared at Murasakibara Atsushi!

He knew all too well just how devastating that 'Catch-Convert-Counter' badge was!

When they played against Tohata Middle School, one casual hit and he'd broken a guy's leg — borrowing force, converting it, sending it back, a whole set of yielding-to-overcome; the harder the opponent struck, the fiercer the borrowed force came back!

But…

He'd never heard it had an upper limit!

Catch-Convert-Counter (purple) + I Love Alley-Oop Slam (purple) + 86.6 Strength, dual-purple Defense Badges + high attribute Strength, and he still couldn't overpower middle-school Murasakibara — so how terrifying would Murasakibara be a year from now, when his frame had ballooned to 208 and grown yet another size?

And also…

What about that so-called safety line?

Does he already have it now?

"Tch~" Murasakibara stood up, glanced at Yukimiya, the corner of his mouth twitching almost imperceptibly. "How about it? Yuki-boy!"

Yukimiya Kazuma: "…"

Yukimiya Kazuma: "You…"

Damn!

With that kind of strength, no wonder you were second only to Akashi in high school for sheer wildness!

"Ugh… looks like little Murasakibara and little Yukimiya are having a great time out there!" Kise Ryota said with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, sounding a touch helpless.

Midorima Shintaro snorted coldly, adjusted his glasses. "A dunk even a monkey could pull off — I really don't know what there is to be so proud of. Murasakibara, you treating this like a dunk contest exhibition?"

Though Midorima spoke thus, in truth the glint behind his glasses was, just like the rest of the Generation of Miracles, Grave as it fixed on Yukimiya Kazuma.

Too fast…

The way this guy's been growing!

It's just like — the Generation of Miracles themselves!

…

Score on the court: 14:18.

Yukimiya Kazuma had barely clawed his way back to within 2 points through footwork, only for Murasakibara Atsushi's Destruction Hammer to smash the gap right open again.

Bai Shui Guan launched another attack.

Kasuga Yuuji angled his body slightly on the perimeter, carefully dribbling with 'Nanba Steps', while Yukimiya Kazuma cut hard inside without the ball — with his build and strength, off-ball, Akashi simply couldn't stop him.

Murasakibara Atsushi rose up to defend Yukimiya Kazuma's drive; Bai Shui Guan repeated the same trick, relay-passing the ball safely into Yukimiya's hands, then spacing out.

"Don't even think about shooting, Yuki-boy!"

The instant Yukimiya caught the ball, he'd already set himself in a shooting form, so when Murasakibara Atsushi came chasing over, he immediately leapt to block.

But the next second, Yukimiya Kazuma below simply smiled faintly. He didn't jump — only one foot left the ground, the other toe-tapped, and at the same time he gathered the ball with both hands, faking a shot in front of his body with a quick flourish!

Murasakibara Atsushi took off on the spot!

"Heh~"

Spin!

He crossed paths with Murasakibara's towering airborne frame.

However…

He still didn't choose to shoot.

Because he knew very well that Murasakibara, with his monstrous body, would recover and close him down in a single step upon landing.

*Slap~*

At this point Yukimiya Kazuma gathered the ball, deliberately letting himself fall into a dead-ball attacking posture; his right hand pulled the ball away from where Murasakibara was closing in, his left hand shielded the ball and fended him off — hook shot!

Murasakibara's eyes sharpened.

*Stomp~! *

He kicked off the ground violently, his massive frame suddenly rocketing upward like a rocket; the terrifying height completely sealed off Yukimiya Kazuma's hook-shot line of sight!

However…

That was exactly what Yukimiya Kazuma had been waiting for.

This time Murasakibara, wary of being faked out, wouldn't release the hawk until he saw the rabbit — he waited until the ball actually left Yukimiya Kazuma's hand before truly leaping, but Yukimiya's hook shot was absurdly high and absurdly angled; it sailed past Murasakibara's block and *smacked* against the backboard at a 45-degree angle.

Just now, Yukimiya had released the hook shot while sideways on one tiptoed leg; the instant the hook shot left his hand, his other foot came down and pushed off, spinning around like a compass.

A hook shot with virtually no takeoff had ample head start; it slipped past the airborne Murasakibara, while his left arm swept back, keeping a considerable distance between himself and the still-backward-flying Murasakibara.

Then…

He jumped, caught the ball as it bounced off the backboard, rose to the other side of the rim, his right arm drew an arc — bank shot, in!

Bai Shui Guan vs. Diguang Sect.

16:18.

Another rim-rattling inside attack that drew gasps from the venue; the gap between Bai Shui Guan and Diguang Sect had once again narrowed to 2 points.

Although they were still ahead, a mere 2-point lead was utterly unacceptable in the eyes of the Diguang Sect players.

Since the National Middle School Tournament, all the way from prelims to the main tournament (Wang Zhao's), or rather, since entering the third year — the Generation of Miracles had never let anyone score on them so easily.

16 points.

That was usually an opponent's total for the entire game.

And now, in just the first quarter, the opponent had already put up that many points, and was trailing Diguang Sect by only 2.

From Yukimiya Kazuma's super jump shot at the opening, to his Shooting Skills being decoded by the Emperor Eye, and his immediate switch to inside scoring — from start to now, Yukimiya Kazuma had made everything look far too easy.

Off the court.

The Diguang Sect head coach, who existed in name only.

The eyes behind the glasses narrowed slightly.

It was his first time facing an opponent like this. Though it was only two shots, Murasakibara's defense was, to him, practically useless.

But…

Just as he was thinking this.

Yukimiya Kazuma, retreating along the sideline on defense, panted as he muttered under his breath:

"¨｀ That was way too dangerous. The hook shot I raised so high almost got blocked, and the moment I finished the layup, I almost got chased down on the fast break. What kind of middle-school monster is that…"

"Shameless Teikou!"