Kise Ryota was the first to recognize the figure. "Shidou Ryusei?"
Shidou pretended not to know him. "Who are you?"
Kise immediately stood up, wrapped an arm around Shidou's neck, and said, "Where have you been this past year? I haven't heard anything about you!"
"Wait… are you here to join the basketball club too?"
Shidou shoved Kise's arm away.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"That's great! Now that you're here, our combo will definitely crush everyone. I can't wait to see their faces when they see us playing together!"
Kise immediately began daydreaming again.
"Is that Shidou-kun?"
A scruffy, pot-bellied middle-aged man walked over and asked.
Shidou sized up the sloppy-looking man and glanced at Kise. "Who's this beggar? Do you know him? Your basketball club is pretty charitable, taking in vagrants."
Since Kise had also just arrived, he shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.
Meanwhile, Kasamatsu Yukio and the others lowered their heads, thinking, This guy is finished.
However, the man awkwardly scratched his head. "Ah… I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Takeuchi Genta, coach of the Kaijo basketball club."
Shidou and Kise exchanged looks and burst into laughter.
Realizing it was inappropriate, they quickly stopped, bowed, and apologized.
Takeuchi waved his hand casually. "It's fine, it's fine! Welcome to the Kaijo basketball club!"
Kasamatsu stared in disbelief—this wasn't the coach he remembered.
Takeuchi then ordered Kasamatsu to gather everyone for a meeting.
As expected from a national powerhouse school, everyone assembled quickly.
"Today, we welcome two new members. One is Kise Ryota, a member of Teiko Middle School's Generation of Miracles and a three-time champion.
The other is Shidou Ryusei, who just led Sierra Canyon High School in the United States to win the National Youth Championship—and he also earned Finals MVP."
The gym exploded in shock. Kise alone had already been considered a genius, but Shidou's achievement was even more impressive—winning at the national level in the U.S., where basketball talent was everywhere.
Even Kise stared at Shidou in disbelief, realizing his former teammate had gone overseas and become a champion.
Takeuchi was thrilled. He was already imagining Kaijo's future at the Inter-High tournament.
The reason he looked unkempt today was that he had received a recommendation letter from Coach Huber the night before. He'd been so excited he accidentally kicked his wife off the bed and got kicked out himself, leaving no time to tidy up.
He was about to begin practice when Kise interrupted.
"Coach, can I challenge Shidou to a one-on-one?"
The gym erupted again. Everyone wanted to see their abilities.
Takeuchi also wanted to gauge Shidou's level. Seeing Shidou nod in agreement, he cleared half the court for them.
Shidou tossed the ball to Kise, signaling him to attack first.
"Oh? Me first? Then watch carefully!"
Kasamatsu acted as referee.
At the whistle, Kise exploded forward, driving past Shidou's right side.
Shidou reacted instantly, appearing directly in front of him.
"Want to compare speed?"
Kise followed with a crossover, then a behind-the-back dribble, breaking right again.
"I'll take the first point!"
Kise entered the lane, ready to dunk.
But Shidou leapt even higher, preparing a massive block.
Kise widened his eyes. Shidou's jumping ability shocked him.
Mid-air, Kise spun and attempted a scoop shot.
Bang!
The entire gym echoed.
Despite moving outside Shidou's initial defensive range, Shidou still blocked the shot.
It was clear—his defense had improved tremendously.
"Shidou… that's incredible," Kise muttered.
Shidou ignored him; now was his moment to show off.
Kise returned the ball and crouched into defense.
Shidou stood calmly, yet felt dangerous.
"I'll show you something interesting."
In an instant, Shidou vanished from Kise's sight. Kise chased, only to find Shidou slowing down deliberately.
Then came the crossover and behind-the-back combo—Kise's own move—used against him.
Kise realized Shidou was defeating him with copying.
Shidou jumped in the lane. Kise, pushed to his limit, accelerated and leapt to block.
"Do you know the difference between us?"
"What difference?"
"I can finish right here!"
Shidou powered through Kise's contest and dunked over him.
Kise fell to the floor as Shidou hung from the rim, looking down at him.
The gym fell silent.
Kise opened his mouth but said nothing.
Shidou realized he might've gone too far. In America, if he didn't go all out, he'd be blocked—lessons learned the hard way.
He had already held back, but it still wasn't enough.
He stepped down, considered comforting Kise, then stopped. If Kise couldn't overcome this, his basketball future would end here.
"I'm leaving, Coach. I've got something to do. I'll report on time tomorrow."
Shidou slung his jacket over his shoulder and left.
"Wait!"
Shidou smirked as Kise called after him.
"If you've figured it out, follow me."
Kise grabbed his jacket and ran after him.
Inside, Kasamatsu was still stunned by the dunk. Everyone else sighed in disbelief—those two were younger yet far stronger.
Takeuchi barely contained his excitement. With those two, how could Kaijo lose?
He imagined rotating them effortlessly through games.
Clearing his throat, he barked, "Why are you all standing around? Train! Starting today, practice is doubled!"
Groans filled the gym.
Outside, Shidou washed dust off his white jacket at a faucet.
"Why are you suddenly so neat?" Kise asked.
"If I bring this home dirty, I'll get scolded! You think I want to do this?"
Just imagining Chizuru's reaction made him shiver.
"Stop hesitating. Just ask what you want."
Shidou grew impatient.
"Our copying abilities… they're different, right?"
Shidou turned. "You can tell? Not stupid."
"Then what's the difference?"
"My copying is a full replication with improvement. Yours looks the same, but it isn't perfect, and it's slightly inferior."
Kise paused, realizing it was true.
"You still couldn't stop me. That's the result," Shidou said bluntly.
Kise had no comeback.
"Are we done? I'm leaving."
"Wait! I want to… become stronger."
Shidou smacked him lightly on the head.
"Just saying it won't help. Your physical ability determines your ceiling."
"You know your weakness but refuse to fix it. Talking about getting stronger like that is embarrassing."
Shidou left, leaving Kise standing there alone.