Time passed.
Before long, the second half of the match began.
Qing Junce rose from the bench, casually shrugged off his jacket, and strolled onto the court. His eyes were only half-open — he still looked half-asleep.
But the corner of his mouth twitched into a subtle smirk as he scanned the court, finally landing his gaze on the scoreboard.
29–35.
The upperclassmen were in the lead.
Of those 29 points, nearly all had come from Kaede Rukawa. The rest of the first-years? They might as well have been traffic cones.
Sakuragi Hanamichi puffed up his chest and smirked. "Heh! Just wait — this genius is about to turn things around!"
Qing Junce didn't even glance his way. He simply stretched his arms and waited for the whistle.
BEEP!
The second half began. Upperclassmen's ball.
Led by Akagi Takenori and Kogure Kiminobu, they launched into a fast break and reached the first-years' three-point line in seconds.
Akagi pushed forward, eyeing Kaede Rukawa in front of him. He faked a move, then passed wide to Kogure.
"Watch this!" Sakuragi shouted, planting his foot and rocketing forward like a launched arrow. In a blink, he cut off Kogure's path.
The burst of speed stunned Kogure, forcing him to hesitate mid-dribble.
The entire gym went silent in shock.
No one expected that kind of explosive movement from Sakuragi.
But he was still a rookie.
Kogure faked right, then quickly spun left and got a clean shot off.
At the same moment, Akagi muscled past Rukawa, stormed into the paint, and leapt — hands raised for a powerful alley-oop slam.
From the sideline, the underclassmen gasped.
"An alley-oop?!"
Even Rukawa zeroed in.
Sakuragi's jaw dropped, already imagining Akagi's dunk.
But then — out of nowhere — a hand appeared.
WHAP!
The ball was swatted out of the air before Akagi could finish the dunk.
His eyes widened in disbelief. "What—!?"
Silence swept across the gym.
The ball bounced hard, rolled across the floor, and slipped out of bounds.
Everyone stared in stunned silence.
And then — all eyes turned to Qing Junce.
Ayako gasped from the sidelines. "Captain Akagi… got blocked?"
Coach Anzai's tea steamed steadily in his hand, but his glasses flashed as he stared at Qing Junce, unmoving.
Kogure could only gape. "He… blocked Akagi? Head-on?"
The game resumed.
Since the ball went out of bounds, it stayed with the upperclassmen.
This time, Akagi was supposed to receive the inbound.
But just before the ball reached his hands — a flash of movement.
SWOOSH.
A hand snatched the ball mid-air.
Qing Junce.
In a blur, he stepped into the passing lane and intercepted it cleanly.
Akagi blinked. One moment the ball was flying toward him, the next — it was gone.
"What!?"
The others were frozen in place, too slow to react.
By the time they turned around, Qing Junce was already sprinting across half-court.
Akagi instinctively started to chase — but it was pointless.
Junce was already in the paint.
He rose, gliding up effortlessly, and laid the ball in with precision.
The gym went dead silent again.
Nine players stood in one half of the court.
Only one stood alone on the other side.
Qing Junce.
Everyone stared at him like they were looking at something inhuman.
What just happened?
Ayako was stunned. "That… that was insane. He scored before I could even blink!"
Kanon, sitting calmly nearby, just gave a faint smile. As if this was nothing new.
Meanwhile, Coach Anzai was standing now, eyes gleaming beneath his lenses.
His usually placid expression was gone — replaced with awe.
Unreal… This talent — he might even be above Guze… No, he's on a whole other level. A once-in-a-generation talent!
He sat back down slowly, gaze full of thought and anticipation.
On the court, Qing Junce's play had left everyone frozen.
Kaede Rukawa stared at him, a fire slowly igniting in his chest.
In that moment, he felt it — the pressure of someone stronger.
Qing Junce had moved so fast, Rukawa had barely caught the shadow of his motion before the layup.
Kogure's mouth went dry. "When did he… get over there? I didn't even see him move."
Akagi stood rooted in place, uneasy.
From the moment Junce intercepted the pass to the moment he scored… it had only been a heartbeat.
That kind of speed… was it even human?
Qing Junce turned and stared calmly at the stunned players.
He said flatly, "Is that all you've got?"
Akagi's expression twisted. "What an arrogant kid…"
They inbounded again. This time, Akagi brought the ball up himself.
But now, he couldn't help glancing toward Qing Junce. He was already wary.
Crossing half-court, Akagi found Rukawa blocking his path. The two had spent the first half reading each other, and now neither dared take risks.
Akagi faked a move, spun with his back to Rukawa, and passed over the top — a high arc aimed for Kogure, wide at the three-point line.
But just as the ball reached its peak—
A red blur shot forward and snatched it mid-air.
Gasps echoed across the court.
It was Sakuragi Hanamichi.
He'd intercepted the pass.
Even Kanon blinked in surprise. "This guy… he has potential. Explosive speed, incredible hops. If he trains properly, he'll be a real asset."
Coach Anzai raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You've got a good eye, Shimizu-san. You read him perfectly from just one play. You know your basketball well. Ohohoho~"
Kanon chuckled. "Well… I've watched Ace play since we were kids. Over time, I just picked things up."
Ayako chimed in, puzzled. "You've watched Qing Junce play for years? Then how come I've never heard of him? Someone with that kind of skill shouldn't be unknown."
"Well," Kanon replied, "we used to live in Hokkaido. We just moved back. And back in elementary and junior high, Ace never played for the school team — he played casually at local parks."
"I see," Ayako nodded. "That explains it."
Back on the court, the game had taken another wild turn.
Sakuragi, having stolen the ball, was now racing to the hoop.
His dribbling — surprisingly fluid.
Not bad at all for someone who just picked up basketball.
Akagi and Kogure watched in disbelief — and growing excitement.
With this kind of progress, Sakuragi might be ready to play for real sooner than expected.
Under everyone's gaze, Sakuragi reached the restricted area, leapt into the air, and slammed the ball toward the basket with both hands — a full-power dunk.