Kuroko's Basketball template: the king of slacking off, Shohoku's strongest sixth man.

Accompanied by a strange swaying of the upper body.

There wasn't a single unnecessary flourish; every landing point was incredibly precise.

This solid ball control was honed through grueling training in Chicago!

The basketball seemed glued to my fingertips.

No matter how hard Morishige and his companion tried to grab the ball like mad dogs, they couldn't even touch it.

"What?!"

Morishige Hiroshi's pupils contracted.

He felt as if he had punched a loach with all his might.

Not only did it not push the person out of bounds, but it also caused the person to lose balance briefly due to the loss of support.

Seize this one-thousandth of a second opening!

Rukawa Kaede is like a slippery, elusive snake.

He crawled out of the deadly corner, almost touching the ground, by following under Morishige Hiroshi's armpit!

call!

A deafening roar of amazement erupted from the stands.

"You dodged it!"

"What incredible ball control! That core strength is unmatched!"

Rukawa returned to the three-point line, but the crisis was not over.

Mingpeng's defenses were like maggots clinging to bones.

The moment Morishige Hiroshi lost his position, the formation was immediately changed.

Encircle them with iron buckets!

The three players who were originally in the penalty area, like sharks smelling blood, silently expanded outwards.

This created a massive human web.

Front, back, left, right.

They were all thick arms and huge bodies.

If Rukawa Kaede dares to accelerate, he will be surrounded and attacked by three or four people.

"Where do you think you're going to run to!"

Morishige Hiroshi turned around, grinning maliciously as he lunged forward with open arms.

Rukawa Kaede stopped in his tracks, breathing heavily.

His gaze swept across the entire arena like a radar.

Cold sweat trickled into my eyes, causing a stinging sensation.

All routes to break through are dead.

Pass the ball?

Akagi was pinned down deep inside, locked in a physical battle.

Mitsui was being guarded so closely that he couldn't even extend his arms.

The palace was forced into the central circle, which was too far away.

Although Sakuragi had an opening in the weak-side corner, he was separated by the long arms of three defenders.

The route is too dangerous, making it extremely easy to lose possession and launch a counter-attack.

"Pass the ball... or force it?"

Time seemed to be slowed down.

Rukawa Kaede's mind was caught in a deep vortex.

The noise fades away, and long-forgotten memories resurface.

Fuqiu Middle School during my junior high school years.

In the dimly lit gym, he was the only one practicing his pull-up jumper tirelessly.

"Rukawa is playing basketball alone again."

"Ignore him, he only has eyes for the basket."

"Does he really think he's some kind of savior for the team?"

"He's too arrogant."

Those former teammates stood in the shadows, whispering amongst themselves.

Aloof and independent.

He doesn't trust anyone.

He only trusted the ball in his hands and the sweat he shed.

Even when surrounded by four people, he would still force himself to jump.

Because of compromise...

It means handing your fate over to someone else.

"Do I... really have to charge in like a brute?"

Rukawa Kaede asked himself the same question coldly in his heart.

Suddenly, the image of Coach Anzai appeared in my mind.

"Rukawa-kun, you're still not as good as Sendoh-kun."

These words were like a thorn stuck in his heart.

Later he understood.

Sendoh knows how to utilize the team's deterrent power and how to find the most lethal balance between one-on-one attacks and passing!

At this moment on the sidelines.

Lin Bei sat there quietly, resting his chin on his hand.

His deep eyes were fixed on number 11, who was trapped in a corner on the field.

"Have you hit a roadblock, fox?"

A smile appeared on Lin Bei's lips.

He remembered what he had said to Rukawa in Chicago.

"Rukawa, do you even know what true number one is?"

"He's not just a scoring machine, nor is he a softie who can only pass the ball."

"The true number one is a black hole that can devour everything."

"Even dust can hold sparks, and the ordinary can give rise to legends. Go and break the rules, Rukawa Kaede."

A sharp glint flashed in Lin Bei's eyes.

"If you can't even get over this hurdle, you don't deserve to talk about dominating the country."

on the field.

There were only seven seconds left on the clock.

Rukawa Kaede's breathing gradually became steady.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Abandon arrogance, mockery, and oppression.

My mind sank to the bottom of a lake with ten thousand years of ice.

Cold, deathly silent, focused to the extreme.

When he opened his eyes again, only pure coldness remained in his dark, phoenix-shaped eyes.

He didn't look at Sakuragi, nor did he look at Akagi.

It simply lowered the center of gravity slightly.

He then recalled Michael Jordan's teachings.

"Asian kid, you're using too many feints."

"In the eyes of top masters, any unnecessary frills are flaws."

"The most lethal sword doesn't need fancy moves; it only delivers a direct strike."

call!

A visible burst of white, chilling energy erupted from Rukawa Kaede's body.

The surrounding air temperature seemed to drop by more than ten degrees.

The Mingpeng players who surrounded them all shivered simultaneously.

They were horrified to discover that the aura of the person in front of them, number 11, had completely changed.

He's no longer an impatient young scorer.

Instead, it is a cold, demonic sword, fully unsheathed, born solely for slaughter!

hum!

It was accompanied by a piercing, high-frequency ringing sound.

A burst of silver lightning exploded in Rukawa Kaede's eyes!

The complete realm of Zone!

Empty Cicada! Advanced!

Immediately afterwards, a bloodthirsty dark red appeared deep within the blue light!

Wild Red Fox!

"That is..."

Sendoh Akira suddenly stood up.

"Dual domains?!"

Immortal Path's Pupils Tremble:

"How is that possible?!"

"Can the mind withstand simultaneously activating two extreme states?!"

On the sidelines, Lin Bei's smile widened.

"Truly a prey I've set my sights on."

Dual state: Empty Cicada + Wild Red Fox!

Under the relentless double-team of the strongest inside players, Rukawa Kaede pushed open that forbidden door!

"Playing tricks!"

Morishige Hiroshi roared and pounced on Rukawa Kaede like a mountain crashing down.

Two fierce generals also attacked him from both sides, trying to completely strangle him.

"It's over, kid!"

With three people surrounding him, escape was impossible!

But in Rukawa's eyes, flashing with blue and red lightning, the defense was like a slow-motion replay, full of flaws.

"Too slow."

Rukawa Kaede uttered three cold, emotionless words.

next second.

He moved.

There were no probing steps, no crossovers, and no between-the-legs dribbling.

Discard all feints!

boom!

He slammed his right foot into the floor, making a loud bang.

The wooden floor was even stepped on and left a slight dent.

The body reaches its maximum speed in one-tenth of a second.

It transformed into a bolt of lightning that blended silver and dark red!

Extreme simplicity!

Extremely fast!

Swish!

The wind howled.

Morishige Hiroshi felt a blur before his eyes as a biting cold wind brushed past him.

He didn't even see how Rukawa Kaede started.

The two players sandwiched between the left and right sides fared even worse.

The brain issued an interception command, but the body simply couldn't keep up with this bizarre difference in rhythm.

Their legs buckled, their center of gravity collapsed, and they both knelt on the floor!

step!

Just one step!

Like a ghost, Rukawa Kaede pierced through Meihou's ironclad defenses!

"What?!"

Coach Mingpeng's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as the tactical board fell to the ground and broke in two.

"It passed?!"

"He blew past three defenders in one step?!"