Tokyo: Idol Girls have absolutely no bad intentions!

What a sensible child! It's rare to see someone so understanding these days.

"You just came to take a look, why don't you go up?" Ito repeated the question.

This was clearly a direct attack on Tanaka's sore spot, to which he responded with a bitter laugh: "Hahaha, senior, it would be too embarrassing for me to go up there with my skills."

He waved his hand, seemingly because he was afraid of losing face, just as he claimed.

However, Ito took in Tanaka's unconscious movement towards the center of the field.

It's a wonder the other person could say something as shameful as that to a child.

In Ito's opinion, very few of the guys on the field are better than Tanaka.

To be more precise, there is only one person who is better than Tanaka.

That person was also the one Tanaka was subconsciously staring at.

"Is it because of him?" Ito pointed to the boy who was dribbling the ball, preparing to make a layup.

“…Yes.” Knowing he wouldn’t lie, Tanaka hesitated for a moment before readily admitting, “His name is…”

"Stop, I don't have time to listen to you anymore." He wasn't really concerned about the other person. "Let's continue with the topic from noon today: who instigated you here?"

"Is it him?"

Tanaka remained silent for a long time without replying.

This is tantamount to admitting that Ito's words were given by the person who prevented him from participating in training normally.

At this moment, enthusiastic cheers erupted from the basketball court. Some gymnastics team girls who had been secretly watching clapped, while others, who had clearly skipped club activities, held bottled water in their hands, their faces filled with undisguised fervor.

The cheers were because the unconventional red-haired boy dunked after shaking off three people.

After he finished the dunk, the girls seemed to receive some kind of signal and swarmed around him, offering him water and towels, being exceptionally attentive.

Looking at that face that was only half as handsome as his own, Ito felt increasingly familiar and incredulous.

"he is?"

"The captain of the basketball team, Makoto Kashima." Tanaka's eyes held a complex mix of emotions. "His father is a member of the school board."

"I see." Ito nodded in understanding; that explained it all.

How could someone who's not even as good as Fujikawa be so popular with girls?

"Senior, you'd better not provoke him lightly," Tanaka advised after a moment's hesitation.

“It’s not about whether I provoke him or not, but…” Ito stood up and walked towards the center of the basketball court, “He has already provoked me.”

Afraid of him? What kind of Tom, Dick, or Harry deserves to have their own image now?

He's just the school board chairman's father. Go talk to Xinye about it!

"Shh-!"

A crisp, penetrating sound of something entering the net suddenly rang out, instantly shattering the noise from the sidelines!

Kajima Makoto subconsciously looked up at the sound, the smile from before still lingering on his face.

"Be careful."

"Bang—!!!"

An orange basketball, with a whistling sound and an incredibly precise trajectory, slammed squarely and solidly into Makoto Kashima's red head.

The force was so great that he staggered, his unconventional hairstyle instantly becoming messy.

After the basketball hits the target, it bounces to one side.

Just then, a hand with distinct knuckles, as if anticipating this, effortlessly scooped up the ball in mid-air and caught it firmly in its grasp.

Yujin Ito bounced the ball twice, producing a dull "thump, thump" sound that was particularly jarring in the suddenly silent stadium.

"I told you to be careful." He had a genuinely helpless expression on his face.

Chapter 166 Bullying Children

This sudden action left everyone who witnessed the entire process speechless.

Soon, several hot-tempered individuals were about to step forward and teach Ito a lesson.

Ito was ready to take action; he had already decided which ability card he would exchange for later.

Unexpectedly, after recognizing that the person who came was Ito, Makoto Kashima waved his hand to stop the others from doing so.

pity.

"Senior Ito, what brings you to the basketball court?" He smiled, as if the basketball that had just hit him wasn't him at all.

"What else could I be here for? To play basketball, of course." Ito dribbled the ball casually for a while, and then, right under Makoto Kajima's nose, he shot the ball again.

"Swish!" Another sound of a swirl going into the net.

Makoto Kashima wasn't as composed as he had been at the beginning; he was still standing under the basketball hoop, and if he didn't run away, he would get hit by the ball again.

Although it didn't hurt, the feeling was still unpleasant.

"That's going too far, Ito-senpai." Kashima Makoto narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Ito.

The basketball team members surrounded them, seemingly ready to stand up for Kajima.

But Ito observed carefully and found that they all tacitly maintained their distance, and most of them were just doing a superficial job.

After all, Hibiya High School has almost zero tolerance for fighting, and they don't have a father who is a member of the school board, so their relationship with Kajima is probably not very good.

From the very first goal that Kashima scored, you could tell that Kashima is probably a very individualistic guy; to put it simply, he seems pretentious to Ito.

He'd rather dribble past three players and show off his pathetic skills than pass the ball to a teammate.

To be honest, the other side might have been letting Makoto Kashima win, otherwise...

Ito shook his head. "Since when is it wrong to shoot at the basket on the court?"

He casually tossed the ball, and Kashima instinctively dodged backward.

"Don't panic, junior."

Ito appeared behind him quickly without him noticing, patted him on the shoulder, caught the ball, and then dunked it.

As the basketball went in again, some girls who had noticed the situation let out suppressed gasps, and some boys whistled along with them.

Enjoying the cheers from those around him, Ito was quite pleased, even though it was strange to be whistled at by boys.

But he hadn't heard praise from others in a long time, and he had almost forgotten what it felt like.

He's been maliciously slandered by those guys from Takikawa every day, so he'd better make the most of this rare opportunity to pretend.

That's right, Ito did it on purpose, and he deliberately provoked Makoto Kashima, that non-mainstream red-haired boy.

Since his reputation is already bad, why doesn't he take advantage of that?

"If you're not going to play, please leave the court," Ito advised Kashima, who was still standing there in a daze, as if he really was there to play.

Before he could answer, Ito felt a sturdy figure appear behind him.

"Hey, senior, that's going too far," Tanaka whispered to him.

Forced to stand behind Ito, Tanaka didn't dare look Kajima in the eye.

"Oh~" Kashima's voice became playful, "Did you invite Ito-senpai here?"

"Can't you speak properly?" Ito frowned. "What does it matter to you whether I come or not? If you're not playing basketball, then please leave."

He just wanted to humiliate the other party, and of course, it would be even better if the other party lost his temper and became flustered in front of everyone.

"Senior, the basketball court is only for basketball club members to use during club activities," Tanaka tugged at Ito's sleeve and whispered a reminder.

Is that true? Nobody told him that...

Ito's face remained unchanged, completely unaffected by Tanaka's words.

The rules are standing behind him; if you're unhappy, go tell Nagano Sae.

"Fight, of course I'll fight." Kajima was followed by two or three henchmen. The girls had already scattered, not wanting to be involved.

"But how do you want to fight, Ito-senpai?" Kajima stared fiercely at Ito. "Three-on-three? Or a one-on-one?"

“One-on-one.” Ito’s voice was calm and even slightly languid.

He casually flicked his wrist, as if what followed was not a fierce confrontation, but merely a warm-up.

That nonchalant attitude made Makoto Kajima's face even uglier.

After he said that, everyone else left the field and became spectators.

Kajima stretched his shoulders, his eyes fixed on Ito.

He stretched out his hand to one of his henchmen beside him. The henchman immediately understood, and with a fawning expression, forcefully threw a basketball towards the direction of the island.

The basketball whistled through the air as it flew towards Makoto Kashima. However, just before the basketball was about to fall into Makoto Kashima's hands—a figure swiftly cut in like a ghost.

It's Yujin Ito.

As if he had anticipated the trajectory of the basketball, he arrived first despite being behind. With a powerful push off the ground with his left foot and a swift extension of his right hand, he intercepted the basketball mid-air, much to Kajima's astonishment.

"Thwack!" The sound of the basketball hitting the ground was crisp and loud, like a thunderclap in the quiet court.

Ito didn't even glance at Kashima. He twirled the ball with one hand, casually spinning it around his fingertips, the orange-red sphere tracing a smooth arc between his slender fingers.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed the ball gently toward Kashima's feet with an extremely relaxed gesture.

The basketball slammed onto the wooden floor near Makoto Kajima's feet with a dull thud, then bounced half a foot high before landing right next to Kajima's outstretched hand.

"You go first." Ito's voice was calm. He slightly raised his chin and looked indifferently at Kashima in front of him. "Don't say that I'm not giving you a chance, senpai."

"Holy crap, this guy's such a show-off!" Such comments rang out from the sidelines.

Fortunately, Ito had a strong mental fortitude and didn't react much. If it were Asada, she would have run away in embarrassment long ago.

He didn't actually like this attention-grabbing behavior, but he had no choice; he was forced by circumstances.

If he doesn't use it now, then he'll have wasted his ability card.

The beauty of distance is blurred, and this is perfectly exemplified at this moment. Kashima, who originally had five points of Ito's looks, now probably barely even makes up four points.

But that sense of familiarity grew stronger.