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He took a deep breath.
"Hey, Akashi! Pass the ball to me the whole time," Midorima Shintaro said to Akashi.
Akashi glanced at him, then nodded.
"No problem; this match was meant to be a duel between you and him."
Teiko served.
Akashi kept his promise and passed the ball to Midorima Shintaro.
Seeing this, Reo Mibuchi laughed.
"You're really impatient, little brother."
Although Shintaro Midorima was annoyed, he wouldn't lower himself to trash talk.
He would channel all his annoyance into motivation to defeat his opponent, using his strength to shut him up.
Shintaro Midorima, facing Reo Mibuchi's defense, reached a meter beyond the three-point line.
"I won't let you get past me so easily," Reo Mibuchi said with a smile, but his words were utterly merciless.
Unable to break through his opponent's defense, Midorima Shintaro wasn't discouraged.
His pupils, hidden behind his glasses, focused on basket.
His mind raced, recalling his past experiences, from the moment he first picked up a basketball until now.
His shots had never failed.
After arriving at Teiko, he saw four geniuses just like himself.
No, one was even more terrifying.
He refused to fall behind.
'If I can't break through, then this is the only way.'
Thinking this, Midorima Shintaro suddenly took a step back, widening the distance between himself and Mibuchi Reo.
Then, he held the ball with both hands, bent his knees, and assumed a shooting stance.
Mibuchi Reo's pupils contracted, looking at Midorima Shintaro in confusion.
'Are you kidding me? Shooting from that distance... how is that possible?'
But seeing Midorima Shintaro like this, a sense of unease crept into his heart.
He tried to intercept him, but the distance was too great, and it was too late.
The basketball soared high into the air, landing flawlessly in basket.
Swish...
The basketball swished through the net.
6-3.
"This guy."
Reo Mibuchi stared in astonishment at Shintaro Midorima, who was retreating on defense.
Even he wasn't sure about the distance.
Judging from his opponent's reaction, Midorima immediately retreated on defense after releasing the shot.
How confident he was in his shooting!
He took a deep breath.
Reo Mibuchi waved to his point guard.
Thud...
He received the pass from his teammate.
A fierce fighting spirit ignited in Reo Mibuchi's eyes.
He, Reo Mibuchi, would absolutely not give up so easily.
When it comes to shooting, he wasn't to be underestimated.
Reo Mibuchi accelerated towards the opposite basket.
Just past half-court, he was intercepted by Midorima Shintaro.
Reo Mibuchi caught sight of his teammate out of the corner of his eye.
He swung his arm and passed the ball to his team's power forward.
The ball had barely left his hand when Reo Mibuchi quickly shook off Midorima Shintaro and reached Teiko's three-point line.
"Pass the ball quickly!" Reo Mibuchi shouted to his power forward.
The power forward, without hesitation, immediately passed the ball.
"You won't get close..."
Just then, Midorima Shintaro arrived in front of Reo Mibuchi.
"What?"
Reo Mibuchi's pupils contracted.
He hadn't expected his opponent to catch up so quickly.
However, he didn't panic.
Instead, he made a shooting motion.
"You think you can stop my shot by standing in front of me?"
Reo Mibuchi bent his knees and leaped into the air.
Shintaro Midorima also jumped to block.
Seeing this, Reo Mibuchi's lips curled into a smile.
Then he leaned towards Shintaro Midorima.
Bang...
The two collided in mid-air.
Reo Mibuchi's basketball was released.
Beep...
The referee blew his whistle and signaled a foul.
Swish...
The crisp sound of the net swishing rang out.
The scoreboard changed from 6-3 to 6-6.
The referee's voice rang out: "Blocking foul, the basket counts, one free throw."
Boom...
The arena erupted instantly.
The audience roared with excitement.
"Wow! A 3+1! Rokkaku's Yasha is truly something else!"
"Teiko's shooting guard looks to be in trouble."
On the court, Midorima Shintaro frowned, silently watching Mibuchi Reo.
At that moment, Ryu came to his side and comforted him.
"Don't worry about it; we'll get it back later. The opponent isn't weak, so be careful."
Midorima calmed himself down and replied, "I know. I won't lose."
Swish...
Mibuchi Reo made his free throw.
The score was now 6-7.
Time ticked by.
The Two them engaged in a fierce three-point shooting battle.
Midorima Shintaro, like a precise instrument, slammed the basketball into time after time.
Reo Mibuchi, not to be outdone, repeatedly scored over Midorima using his incredible shooting ability.
The score between the two teams steadily climbed.
At the end of the first quarter, the score was fixed at 24-25.
At Teiko's bench, Midorima Shintaro sat down, staring at the "turtle keychain" in his hands, lost in thought.
It was his lucky charm for the day.
He was still brooding over the foul he'd committed earlier.
Reo Mibuchi was the strongest shooter he'd encountered so far.
For some reason, his inner fire and fighting spirit, burning like a volcano about to erupt, were about to burst forth.
On the other side, Ryu drank water, his eyes scanning the day's game mission information.
[Task Hint: Win the Summer League, National Junior High School Boys' Basketball Finals]
[Task Reward: 50,000 cat food pellets and 1 x Multiplier Cat Food]
"Karupin, what the heck is this Multiplier Cat Food?"
Karupin was curled up on a nearby chair.
However, its voice reached Ryu's mind.
"It should be something that enhances the energy of cat food. I'm not really sure. Since I came here, I've noticed two different kinds of energy. One is the familiar cat food energy, and the other is this Multiplier Cat Food."
"Huh?"
Ryu blinked, looking completely bewildered.
"What are you talking about? Doesn't this system have any explanation?"
"What system? What explanation?" Karupin was confused.
"These tasks? Aren't they given by the system?"
Hearing Ryu's words, Karupin was first taken aback, then a variety of strange expressions appeared on its face.
First, there was confusion, then bewilderment, then sudden realization, then speechlessness, and finally disdain.
It was hard to imagine a cat's face displaying so many expressions.
"You don't actually think those tasks and panels you see are some kind of system, do you?"
"Isn't it?" Ryu asked doubtfully.
Karupin rolled its eyes.
"Of course not. What I shared with you was just data I had compiled, expressed as energy, so you could better understand the information. Because I can sense energy in a certain place, and this kind of energy can only be obtained by playing basketball."
"Those tasks were compiled by me, evolved using the sport of basketball in this world, and then shared with you. Of course, there's also the reason to increase your motivation so you won't neglect your cat food."
Ryu's lips twitched, and a sudden feeling of frustration welled up inside him.
'So, all this time, you've been making a fool of me!'
But he also realized that he didn't actually have a system.
Everything before him was shared with him by Karupin through energy.
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