"Eh?!"
From the sidelines, a wave of gasps rippled through the crowd of first-years, especially from Kurokame Shinji and Fukaya Reiji.
Shinji was stunned by how dramatically his friend had improved over just one summer break.
Fukaya, the guy with the ever-slick bangs, was even more shaken, because as someone well-versed in ball-handling himself, he knew exactly how difficult it was to pull off a step-back that clean in the middle of a crossover.
The retreat hadn't slowed Shigure down, it had accelerated him.
And the distance he gained…
As another shooter, that moment sent a chill through Fukaya's whole body.
"This guy's just like Nijimura Shuzo…"
"He's… also a first-year?!"
"Hey…"
"Don't tell me you're as strong as they are too?"
"Pff, hell no!"
"There's no way! Guys like them are clearly one in a million… right? Right?!"
While the crowd whispered in disbelief, Coach Platinum, who had been quietly observing Nijimura over on Court 1, now strolled over to stand between Court 1 and Court 3.
It was obvious.
In just two plays, Shigure Akihito had completely upgraded his status in the coach's mind.
Meanwhile, the energy shift brought on by Shigure's plays made the next sound stand out even more clearly,
Bang, bang!
The rapid echo of a dribble rang from Court 1.
Shigure instinctively turned to look.
It was now the Second Squad player's turn to attack.
From his footwork and ball control alone, you could tell, he was no slouch. He definitely lived up to his second-squad status. After several swift changes of direction, he spun and broke past the visibly bored Nijimura.
But Nijimura exploded with speed at that very moment.
Without breaking a sweat, he kept up step-for-step. His expression? Blank. His body language? Effortless.
That earlier "blow-by" had clearly been an act.
And sure enough,
With eyes half-lidded, Nijimura shadowed the drive into the paint.
From Shigure's view on Court 3, Nijimura looked completely uninterested. In fact, as the second-squad player went up for the rim, Nijimura's face twisted into something between a sigh and a sneer.
That second-squad player, unaware of what was coming, saw nothing but an open rim.
He grinned.
Time to return the favor.
After being dunked on by a rookie earlier, he had to take one back, and do it with the raw power he'd built from a year of training.
Let them see what a real dunk looks like.
Boom!
He took off from his left foot, stomping hard into the hardwood. One arm cocked back, ready for a powerful tomahawk slam.
But just as he launched,
WHAM!
He was rejected, again!
A dark blur shot up behind him.
A hand came out of nowhere, slamming down on the ball just as he was about to release.
For a split second, he felt like fate itself had gripped him by the throat.
His entire body froze in midair.
And then,
Both man and ball, crashed down.
FWAP!
The ball flew across the court, swatted deep into the stands, and just so happened to land squarely in Shigure Akihito's hands.
…?
Shigure blinked in surprise.
That thing flew far…
Is that… really the strength of a middle school first-year?
Even accounting for talent, that was practically sci-fi.
And it wasn't just raw strength. The speed and vertical on that block were just as terrifying.
If Nijimura Shuzo could do this as a first-year, then what about next year's Generation of Miracles?
How would they even begin to compare?
But just as Shigure was still recovering from the shock,
One minute later…
Nijimura himself was staring, wide-eyed, at Shigure Akihito.
Back on Court 3,
Second-squad player Ichiji Hiro had narrowly evaded Shigure's previous steal attempt, but thanks to Shigure's sky-high Interference stat of 80, his shot still clanked off the rim.
He said nothing.
Just repositioned at the top of the arc, preparing to defend again.
This time, he stood even closer.
He now understood that Shigure's scoring relied heavily on outside shooting, and so he poured everything into smothering those jump shots.
He had to shut him down.
Because even though this was meant to test rookies, it was clear:
If he didn't perform well, he'd be the one under review.
At that moment,
Standing at the top of the arc, ball in hand, Shigure blinked in surprise.
His Ultimate Skill, had silently charged to full.
Ultimate: Frozen Frame!
A sudden, aggressive drive forward followed by an instant freeze and dramatic step-back. Automatically drops any opponent within range, breaking their stance entirely.
The next moment,
Without hesitation, Shigure unleashed Frozen Frame.
Ichiji's defense was tight.
But in that split-second, Shigure felt it,
His opponent's stance?
Brittle.
Like a candle flame flickering in the wind,
One breath, and it's out.
Even Nijimura, having just finished scoring and lazily watching Court 3 from the sidelines, paused to look over.
All eyes were on Shigure Akihito, who surged forward with blinding speed,
And in the very next instant,
His body froze.
In the middle of a high-speed dribble, he suddenly hit pause.
SWISH!
Wind tore through the court.
Coming out of the freeze, Shigure burst backward in a clean, elegant retreat, while Ichiji's vision suddenly dipped lower…
Until it was level with Shigure's knees.
Ichiji Hiro: "!?"
Oh no !
THUMP!
He landed flat on his butt.
And in the stunned silence that followed,
Ichiji Hiro… had been crossed out of his shoes.