CHAPTER 17

The sport of basketball, from the moment the hoop was hung high, was destined to be a domain where height was a dominant talent.

Murasakibara Atsushi, who got the ball first, used his extraordinary wingspan to hold the ball behind him, gripping it tightly with just one hand. Although Kenjiro Takamuro stuck close, all he could do was look at the ball with longing.

Kenjiro Takamuro, a third-year middle schooler, though close in height to the first-year Murasakibara Atsushi, had a visible disparity in other physical aspects, such as Murasakibara's long arms and legs.

Thud!

Murasakibara moved.

He only dribbled the ball once to the side, his body leaning into Kenjiro Takamuro, and it produced a dull thud!

Kenjiro’s entire body shuddered from the impact!

That was an absolute difference in power!

Thud!

One step back!

Thud!

Another step back!

No skill!

It was all damn power!

Donnie, watching from the sidelines, thought to himself.

The chat was in awe:

【Terrifying…】

【Kenjiro Takamuro looked pretty muscular. How is he like paper compared to this guy?】

【The gap is too big. He can’t hold his ground at all.】

【So small, so pitiful.】

【Is this Shaq O’Neal reincarnated?】

Murasakibara Atsushi, with his long strides, reached the basket in just a few dribbles.

He jumped…

CRASH!

A one-handed poster dunk, securing the first point!

Kenjiro Takamuro clutched his chest, gasping for breath, looking at Murasakibara Atsushi in disbelief.

The viewers in the live stream knew that look in his eyes.

This was the second time in just a few days he’d been so thoroughly humiliated…

And the instigator of the first time was currently watching from the sidelines, which seemed to completely shatter his mental fortitude.

【Even worse than last time. Pure strength crushing.】

【There’s nothing worse than being publicly executed by a first-year underclassman in front of everyone.】

【If there is, it’s having the other person who previously defeated you also watching the execution.】

【A capital ‘L’ for Loser.】

Now it was Kenjiro Takamuro’s turn.

As a third-year Teiko second-stringer who would be graduating in a year, Teiko’s training direction for him was clear. A height of around 6’3” wasn’t short for middle school; many schools would even have him play center.

But transitioning to high school, he would inevitably have to shift to playing more on the perimeter.

So, it had to be said, when on offense, Kenjiro Takamuro, as a big man in middle school, had quite mature dribbling skills.

After a few well-executed crossovers, he suddenly performed a front spin move, successfully getting past Murasakibara Atsushi.

To everyone’s surprise, Murasakibara, despite being beaten, remained as lazy as ever, merely jogging slowly behind Kenjiro Takamuro towards the basket.

Kenjiro Takamuro caught Murasakibara’s movement out of the corner of his eye.

He probably thought Murasakibara couldn’t keep up with his speed and had therefore given up on defending that play.

The expression on his face immediately turned excited. He held the ball with both hands, jumped, and prepared for the reverse layup dunk he had practiced for so long.

“I’ll use this dunk! To redeem myself!”

But just as he jumped…

A figure suddenly took flight behind Kenjiro Takamuro!

A large hand rose high, ultimately slamming down hard on the basketball in Kenjiro Takamuro’s hands!

SMACK!

A block that sent both the ball and the player flying out of bounds!

【Such immense power! Brutal!】

【WTF! So fast! So high!】

【At the moment of the block, half his forearm was above the rim?!】

【He jumped so quickly! And his last few steps when chasing down were incredibly fast!】

【His stride frequency isn’t particularly fast, but his legs are long, and his steps are big. Those last few quickened steps closed the distance instantly.】

“How is that possible…” Kenjiro muttered.

“I clearly got past him! I created so much distance! How could he still catch up?!”

“Why does a monster like this exist?!”

…

Kenjiro Takamuro’s mentality was truly fragile. Once it broke, his form completely fell apart.

As Murasakibara Atsushi scored again with another powerful dunk, the first ‘welcoming committee’ style assessment by the second-string against a new recruit ended in failure for the upperclassman, with the second-string player being beaten 11-0.

“Tsk…”

“So troublesome…”

“Is this enough to get into the first-string?”

“Huh?”

“Where’d my Maiubo (tasty stick snack) go?”

Murasakibara Atsushi went off the court to rest, or perhaps to find that ‘tasty stick’ of his.

Watching his towering figure depart, the second-string players at this assessment court had very complicated expressions.

“I wonder if the other groups will also have situations where the upperclassmen get blown out by new recruits right from the start…”

“That Murasakibara Atsushi just now… there was no way to stop him, right…?”

“We have to give it our all from now on. If any more accidents happen, being laughed at by the rest of the second-string would be the least of our worries…”

“The worst outcome could be getting kicked down to the third-string.”

The new recruits on the sidelines were already nervous, and the impact of Murasakibara Atsushi’s display made them tremble even more.

However, before they could ease their tension with idle chatter, the assessments immediately resumed.

“Next!”

“Ethan Woods!”

Donnie slowly rose, took a deep breath, and walked onto the court.

This assessment could determine whether he could directly complete the main quest of getting into the first-string. He needed to showcase all the strength he currently possessed!

“Hello. Second-year, Nobuhiro Hashitani.”

“Hello. First-year, Ethan Woods.”

His opponent was a second-year student, around the same height as Donnie. It seemed the opponents for the assessment were specifically chosen by the coaching staff.

“Underclassman gets the first ball.”

Nobuhiro Hashitani seemed very confident in his own abilities.

He casually tossed the ball to Donnie, then slightly bent his knees, getting ready to defend.

Tweet!

The whistle blew!

Donnie stood before Nobuhiro Hashitani in a triple-threat stance.

He carefully observed his opponent’s defensive posture. The opponent maintained a defensive distance of about one and a half steps, a very well-judged distance.

However…

“Senpai, you’re too far.”

Nobuhiro Hashitani was fully focused on defense, unfazed by Donnie’s words.

But in the next moment, his entire body suddenly tensed, and he lunged forward with all his might!

Ryō Sakurai: Quick Shot!

Donnie suddenly pulled up for a shot!

The fluid motion of raising the ball and shooting was executed at extreme speed!

Although Nobuhiro Hashitani lunged with all his effort the moment Donnie jumped, he was still too late…

The basketball traced a perfect arc in the air. With a Three-Pointer stat of 190, Donnie was completely confident this shot would go in, given he was totally uncontested!

Swish!

Nothing but net.