Chapter 196

At the same time, a terrifying aura burst forth from him, like a fierce beast breaking free from its cage!

Tsukiyama Masahiko: "!"

Although on the national stage, he never got the chance to face Luoshan's Nebuya Eikichi.

But Tsukiyama Masahiko had watched the game in person, so when he clearly felt Yukimiya Kazuma's aura at this moment, he couldn't help but shudder all over—as a center, he actually felt more pressure from Yukimiya Kazuma than from Nebuya Eikichi.

Tsukiyama Masahiko's expression grew even more grave; he could even feel that under the pressure, his palms had broken out in sweat.

Coach Kakita Yishi came to midcourt to toss the ball up, and the instant the ball passed over their heads, Yukimiya Kazuma suddenly moved!

Like a rocket with fuel burning fiercely!

In nearly an instant, he rose above the still-ascending basketball!

Just like that, as if frozen midair, Yukimiya Kazuma simply waited for the ball to reach its peak and fall back down!

The next moment, the trajectory of the falling ball appeared in Yukimiya Kazuma's eyes; the instant he lowered his gaze, he also saw Tsukiyama Masahiko, who had only just reached the height of his elbow!

Boom~!

In the tip-off, Yukimiya Kazuma easily tapped the ball to a teammate.

The moment Dakou Longzhi received the ball, his whole person froze, and the cool, idol-like composure on his face nearly slipped.

Could someone please tell him…

Was that kind of height really something a high schooler could reach?

To be the first one to leap, then rely on that absurd height to wait for the ball in midair so as not to commit a violation?!

"So high!"

"He…"

"This is Yukimiya Kazuma?!"

"Monster!"

Tsukiyama Masahiko, who had faced Yukimiya Kazuma in the tip-off, widened his eyes after landing. "That's too much ‖!"

What technique was the weekly magazine hyping up!

Isn't this all just pure physicality?!

By the time Dakou Longzhi came back to his senses, the expression on his face had already returned to normal; he had already prepared himself to perform brilliantly in this battle and earn a starting spot.

Izumishinkan came out with full-court pressure defense right from the start.

And the one defending Dakou Longzhi was none other than Izumishinkan's captain, small forward Kurimoto Noboru!

Kurimoto Noboru stared intently at Dakou Longzhi's movements, not letting his guard down in the slightest; the latter executed a crossover in front of his body, and beneath that 189-centimeter frame were long, swift, agile strides.

However…

He was shut down!

Kurimoto Noboru stood about 185 centimeters tall, and his agility was in no way inferior to Dakou Longzhi's.

Hmm…

"Worthy of Izumishinkan's captain."

"He's got real skill."

"But…"

"How about this!"

After Dakou Longzhi finished muttering with full flair, he executed a between-the-legs dribble into a drive; although it was a simple driving move, this time, he suddenly blew past Kurimoto Noboru's defense.

Kurimoto Noboru: "!? "

What!?

Yukimiya Kazuma: "…"

Good lord…

The 'Eight Phases of the Celestial Dragon' has evolved into a legit 'gathering step' skill.

The so-called 'gathering step' is a broad and rather unprofessional, informal basketball term, referring to a player's footwork appearing to cover several extra steps; whether this actually constitutes a violation is, in fact, quite ambiguous.

On the professional stage, scenes where a single dribble lets a player cover several steps in one go actually appear quite often.

But most of them occur during fast breaks.

As long as it's not too excessive.

If the dribble is smooth and continuous, referees generally won't intervene too much.

And the benefit of this kind of footwork is also obvious—after all, a rhythmic dribble-and-run versus a dribble followed by several running steps, the speed and the path of movement are definitely worlds apart.

But this kind of move is easy to spot with the naked eye; compared to his old method of hard-stepping by dodging the referee's line of sight, Dakou Longzhi's 'gathering step' has now evolved into one hidden within the rhythm of the dribble.

His footwork creates the illusion that one can hardly tell a step was stolen.

During the dribble, the ball bounces into his hand, and at the instant he transitions into the drive, he suddenly unleashes a burst of consecutive steps—clearly, his top speed has risen considerably, and the distance of his low-driving penetration has also grown!

It's more concealed, more explosive, and more likely to catch a defender off guard!

Down on the sideline, all the first-year newcomers were stunned; before they could even collect themselves, Dakou Longzhi on the court had suddenly blown past Izumishinkan's captain?!

For a moment, everyone was left dumbfounded.

"Uh…"

"Who is he?"

"What a killer drive!"

"On that drive, didn't he cover way too much distance? That's weird…"

"There's actually someone this strong among the new players."

On the court.

Although the first line of defense had been broken, Izumishinkan's help defense was very tenacious.

"His reaction speed is fast."

"Impressive."

"No wonder he's a senior from high school."

As a first-year newcomer, Dakou Longzhi offered his critique of the seniors without holding back, then a strange smile appeared on his face.

Because of Yukimiya Kazuma's height now, Dakou Longzhi could easily see him.

Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes, looked up, and threw the ball.

Alley-oop!

Exactly as Dakou Longzhi had imagined in his mind!

The next second.

A tall figure shot up into the air, reaching out above the rim to catch the fast-passing ball with one hand.

Facing the physical confrontation from Izumimanga's muscular center in mid-air, Yukimiya Kazuma's expression remained unchanged, his posture steady.

His right arm, at that moment, was like a bent bow, pulling his shoulder back behind him; in an instant, everyone seemed to see a bow appear out of thin air!

Thang~!

With a sweep of his arm, the sound of the ball slamming through the hoop instantly echoed across the entire court!

Amidst the silence of the entire arena.

"Fast break!"

Kuriki Noboru shouted!

Though slightly dazed, Izumimanga, which always maintained good discipline on the court, instantly switched from defense to offense as a whole!

Gassan Masahiko made a long pass from the baseline, sending the ball to the point guard, Hiroshi Tatsuya.

(Wang Qianhao) Hiroshi Tatsuya's move was simple but very practical; with a standard one-handed in-and-out, he pushed forward at full speed, leaving Long Tian Zhang behind.

He Xiuyang moved to cover, but after drawing Hiroshi Tatsuya over, he immediately passed the ball to the power forward, Bodao Kazumitsu, who was charging ahead with his legs swinging!

After receiving the ball, he took long strides straight into the paint, held the ball with both hands, and leaped!

However, just then.

A long arm reached out from behind him, followed by a huge shadow descending from the sky!

Boom~!

Both man and ball were swatted away!

From the perspective of those on the sidelines, they only saw Yukimiya Kazuma, with his snow-white hair tied back, moving as fast as lightning just now, overtaking everyone from the backcourt, arriving first despite starting later!

Then, he easily achieved a Successful Block!

"How is that possible?!"

Bodao Kazumitsu, who had fallen out of bounds, looked utterly shocked on his face!