Chapter 21

Kawasaki Academy Affiliated was forced to call a timeout at the start.

Their head coach discovered that Teiko this year was different from previous years, mainly reflected in their playing style.

The pace of the game was exceptionally fast. Except for the first set play, which was the familiar Nijimura Shūzō drive-and-kick to create opportunities, the subsequent two attacks were both fast-break counterattacks.

They hadn't even recovered their senses before they were hit by a 7:0 run by Teiko.

They had encountered fast-paced teams before, but never one this fast.

At this moment, they had already felt the shock of advanced basketball from the future.

It was mainly that number 14 first-year student; he would steal the ball at the drop of a hat. You're so accurate, who wants to play with you?

Adjustments had to be made, otherwise, this match might fall apart.

But as the match restarted, he immediately discovered a new problem.

The team's offense couldn't get going at all.

Their top scorer was completely frozen.

That number 14 brat wasn't just good at stealing; his defense was also like an iron gate, completely locking down Yoshizawa Ayumi.

With no other choice, he could only form hand seals on the sidelines, instructing his players to get the ball into the paint and score with their second scoring option.

Who knew, the "Four Great Centers of Kanagawa" were also helpless against Murasakibara Atsushi.

Murasakibara looked thin, but his resistance was surprisingly strong. Standing there, the Kawasaki Academy Affiliated center couldn't push in even half a step no matter how hard he tried.

Forcing a layup just meant giving the opponent a free block.

With both inside and outside cores locked down, this was a bit difficult.

Throughout the first quarter, Kawasaki Academy Affiliated could only blindly guess from the outside, barely reaching double digits by relying on mid-to-long-range shots.

And Teiko scored a highly efficient 28 points in a single quarter.

28:10!

The ambitious Kawasaki Academy Affiliated was blown out by Teiko in the first quarter.

Tendo Keiyan had 11 points, 1 rebound, and 5 steals, becoming the brightest star on the court.

During the quarter break.

Tendo Keiyan returned to the bench, and someone took the initiative to give up their seat for him.

His performance in the first quarter was simply sharp and incomparable, integrating offense and defense—a proper thigh performance.

Yamanaka Yūta felt much happier seeing Yoshizawa Ayumi get blown out by Tendo Keiyan just like he had been.

People, that's just how they are.

As long as someone is more miserable than themselves, they suddenly don't feel so miserable anymore.

The happiness of ordinary people is compared.

"Well played, Tendo, keep it up."

"Oss!"

Tendo Keiyan took the towel handed over by Nijimura Shūzō and wiped his face.

Honestly, the basketball level in this world was quite strong.

At the very least, when he was in middle school in his past life, the opponents he encountered weren't as good as this bunch of brats.

Of course, it hadn't left the scope of middle schoolers yet; he played against these brats like a dragon swimming in water.

'Is the opponent too weak or is Teiko too strong?'

'Teiko must be too strong, didn't you read the introduction? This is a strong team from Kanagawa.'

'11 points and 5 steals in a single quarter, these stats are a bit too exaggerated.'

'Damn, he's showing off again!'

'Geniuses are unreasonable to begin with, and 2D geniuses are even more incomprehensible. Poor Kuroko, he can only watch the show from the sidelines.'

Tendo Keiyan only opened the comments when he had free time.

As expected, the comment teachers were shocked by his performance again.

Handsome appearance, super high stats—he was absolutely the self that the audience dreamed of.

If such a persona didn't become popular, it would be intolerable.

However, this level of stats was far from enough.

Some time ago, when Tendo Keiyan had a one-on-one with Aomine, he discovered something.

Although he was stronger than Aomine, he was only stronger to a limited extent.

You have to know, once Aomine enters his second year, his potential will completely explode, and his stats will increase exponentially.

That kind of exaggerated visual impact is the true beauty of stats.

Tendo Keiyan now is at best a genius; he is still quite a distance away from being a monster.

"Can only look forward to the subsequent ability unlocks," Tendo Keiyan thought secretly.

Tendo Keiyan rested on the bench.

Hakigane Kōzō had strict requirements for players' playing time.

They were all teenagers; their physical fitness couldn't support full-court output.

Hakigane Kōzō's ideal playing time was for each player to only play 25 minutes.

Unless the game was so intense that he had to exhaust his starters, he would strictly control the players' playing time.

He also had the confidence to do so; Teiko's bench depth this year was thick enough.

A bold substitution of five in and five out.

Kawasaki Academy Affiliated felt they were being underestimated.

Yoshizawa Ayumi swore in his heart that he must get Tendo Keiyan back on the court as soon as possible.

As a result, facing Teiko's second lineup, although they found it easier to score, they still couldn't win.

Without the two inside and outside defensive cores of Tendo Keiyan and Murasakibara Atsushi, both of their team's top two scorers could score.

But in terms of defense, the Kawasaki head coach discovered that Teiko's second lineup had even fiercer offensive firepower than the first lineup with Nijimura Shūzō.

With Aomine Daiki charging in the front and Midorima Shintarō providing firepower support from outside the three-point line.

For a moment, they didn't know whether to shrink their defense or not.

That Akashi Seijūrō, who looked plain and simple but was just very rich, could always find their defensive loopholes and pass the ball to the most suitable person.

In this quarter, Kawasaki Academy Affiliated's offense warmed up, scoring 21 points, but Teiko scored even more, getting 30 points in the quarter.

58:31, in one half, Kawasaki Academy Affiliated, who aimed to dominate the country, was bullied by Teiko by 27 points.

During halftime, the people from Kawasaki were full of frustration.

The gap in strength was too big.

So big that Teiko used two lineups to rotate and still beat them until they couldn't find north.

Aomine's expression was very excited when he came down; he scored 4 more points than Tendo Keiyan in the quarter.

"I won, Tendo, I scored more than you!"

"As expected of you, Aomine, really amazing, you scored 4 more points than me with only 4 more shots."

Tendo Keiyan sneered, his sarcastic attitude overflowing.

"Uh..." Aomine felt like he had been stabbed in the lungs.

His scoring efficiency in the second quarter wasn't low, driving inside and shooting outside, hitting 66% of his shots.

But most of Tendo Keiyan's points were through counterattacks; his shooting percentage in the first quarter was a terrifying 85%!

"Anyway, I scored higher than you. Didn't you say that basketball is a sport about who scores more?" Aomine was stubborn and refused to admit defeat.

Not as handsome as Tendo, grades not as good as Tendo, couldn't beat Tendo in a fight—he could accept all of that.

But basketball, he would die before admitting defeat to Tendo!

"Bullying a weakling and you're so proud, want to go one-on-one if you're not convinced?"

"Scared of you? Let's do it after the game."

— Author's Notes —

PS: Four chapters are here, please collect, please give flowers, please give tickets, I beg everyone, I am very grateful!!!