Chapter 9

Yamanaka Yuta can become Teiko's bench bandit, a figure like a sharp knife; his breakthrough is naturally not bad.

But this kind of straight-line breakthrough without even a fake move cannot threaten Tendo Keigen at all.

"Didn't I tell you not to always aim at one direction?"

Tendo Keigen let the person pass.

Yamanaka Yuta thought he had finally succeeded.

This strong breakthrough, he used the greatest strength of his life.

"Did it!"

Feeling that the basketball had not yet escaped his control, he had already passed Tendo Keigen by more than half a body.

The next step is to kill to the paint and score directly as usual.

However.

When he intended to pass Tendo Keigen in one breath, a ghost-like whisper came from behind.

"Dismantle!"

"Swish!"

Yamanaka Yuta only felt as if he had been stabbed, and then his right hand lost control of the basketball.

He widened his eyes, turned his head with difficulty, and sure enough, saw Tendo Keigen's pale blue pupils close at hand.

This scene is exactly the same as when Seeing Seeing Kagami Taiga first stepped into the Zone and broke Aomine from behind.

"Here, no passing!"

Bang!

The basketball was slammed heavily on the floor, showing how hard Tendo Keigen was.

"Broken again!"

"Can't pass at all."

"Too fast, I didn't even see clearly how he made the move!"

People on the sidelines were stunned, especially those who were familiar with Yamanaka Yuta.

Yuta Yamanaka’s strength was already proven at last year’s national tournament.

When facing a heavy-duty guard, he would rely solely on that explosive first step to break his opponent down in mere minutes.

But against a guy like Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao, whose speed could keep up with him and whose basketball experience was severely mismatched with his actual age, his overly simple breakthrough became a weakness.

Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao reached out from behind, like a ghost’s claw, and cleanly swiped the ball away from his opponent’s dribble.

Immediately after, Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao squeezed past his opponent and started running.

"Pass it here, Kuroko!"

Kuroko was lucky enough to recover the ball, and while he was still thinking about his next move, Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao had already sprinted across the half-court line.

Without hesitation, Kuroko whipped the ball toward the front court with force.

One player from the second string had been wary of Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao and managed to get back in time to defend.

A 1-on-1 in the front court!

Not obsessed with elegant, iron-oxide-like play, Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao realistically accelerated toward the enemy’s restricted area.

He feinted a shoulder drop toward the right, but his true intention was the left.

With one feint and one burst, he blew past the defender cleanly.

This breakthrough by Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao showcased his excellent body balance and coordination.

If his body were stiff, such a change of direction would be quite slow and wouldn’t fool anyone.

"Swish!"

Facing an empty basket, Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao safely chose to bank the shot in.

He could dunk, but it was a bit of a stretch; it was easy to have a major "car crash" moment like Curry.

The point gap became 6!

As a sports reporter for *Tokyo Sports* specializing in the youth section, Jun Kubo would visit various middle schools at this time every year to conduct interviews and take notes, writing preview articles for each school.

A powerhouse like Teiko was his primary target.

Especially after receiving news that the "little giant" Atsushi Murasakibara had also come to Teiko, he chose Teiko as his first stop.

He really wanted to know if the first-year Atsushi Murasakibara could maintain the dominance he had in elementary school.

If he could, it would be a massive reinforcement for Teiko.

Teiko already had Shuzo Nijimura, a star player who had performed at a star level since his first year.

If they added another reliable forward, Teiko’s interior would be qualified to be one of the strongest in the nation.

The result.

Atsushi Murasakibara did not disappoint him; even against Teiko’s second string, his rim protection ability still played a decisive role.

Under his guardianship, the interior defense of Atsushi Murasakibara’s team was as solid as a rock, and he led a group of newcomers to beat the second string anyway.

Even though his technique under the basket was still very raw—scoring was either a dunk or a two-handed dunk—that outstanding physical fitness still allowed him to wreak havoc in the paint.

With this powerful interior addition, Teiko would definitely have more impact in this year’s national tournament.

However.

Just when he thought Teiko’s surprises were limited to this, on another court, Teiko’s bench mobster Yuta Yamanaka was actually being blown out by someone.

"This vertical, this speed, this insight, this steal, hiss..."

When Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao completed his third consecutive steal against Yuta Yamanaka, Jun Kubo gasped.

Yuta Yamanaka was no nobody; he averaged 16.3 points per game in last year’s national tournament and was the most important scorer during Teiko’s rotation phase.

His masterpiece was the ticket-deciding game for last year’s national tournament; facing the opponent’s main guard, he scored at will, racking up 30 points in a single game to help Teiko break into the national tournament.

Yet, such a top-tier scorer had failed three times in a row against a first-year freshman—no, it should be four times now.

"This is completely an exterior lockdown defender, and an exterior lockdown defender with scoring ability at that!"

Offense wins applause, defense wins championships.

This philosophy was already deeply ingrained in the minds of every fan of this era.

With the gifted Atsushi Murasakibara in the interior and a "spider spirit" like Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao on the exterior, Shuzo Nijimura could fully devote more energy to the offensive end in the new season.

If these two brats could maintain this level by the time they reached the national tournament.

Just thinking about it, Jun Kubo felt this year’s Teiko was terrifying.

What Jun Kubo was thinking, Kozo Shirogane was thinking too.

As a former national team player, he fully understood the importance of defense.

If a team lacks defense, its stability cannot be very high. "Car crashes" are a common occurrence.

In a BO1 format tournament like the nationals, having no defense would be fatal.

What’s more, that Tiandao kid wasn’t just a pure defensive lockdown; he possessed super-strong counter-attack awareness and decent shooting ability.

Don’t look at the fact that Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao missed his first shot; his form was handsome.

That shooting posture, elegant to the point of being ridiculous, could definitely not be practiced without years of hard work!

As long as his shooting percentage didn’t drop below a pathetic 40%, having counter-attacks, shooting, and defense was more than enough.

Kozo Shirogane watched Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao, who immediately pressed his hands down after scoring to signal his teammates to stay calm, and already outlined Teiko’s future starting lineup in his mind.

Atsushi Murasakibara and Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao guarding the position, with the most versatile power forward Shuzo Nijimura leading the charge.

Offense and defense as one!

Perfect!

At this moment, on the court.

The second string was caught off guard by the sudden offensive climax from the first years.

Mainly because the team’s top scorer, Yuta Yamanaka, was locked down, and without his breakthroughs, they couldn’t find a good solution for the time being.

The key was that Yuta Yamanaka was clearly getting heated now, as if he were at odds with Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao, insisting on scoring over him.

But before he could even step inside the three-point line, Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao had already stuck to him.

This time, he didn’t even give Yuta Yamanaka a chance to start his move.

Seeing this, Yuta Yamanaka could only turn sideways to protect the ball, blocking Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao while looking for an opportunity to break through.

But he discovered that even as a first-year, Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan Tiandao’s physical confrontation was superior to his own.