[Please vote with the power stones; the more you vote, the more chapters will be published. Thank you.]
50 Power Stones = 1 bonus chapters.
100 Power Stones = 3 bonus chapters.
150 Power Stones = 5 bonus chapters.
------------------------
The sudden shift in the game's atmosphere caught everyone off guard.
The previously formidable Murasakibara suddenly softened, repeatedly failing against Ryu.
His appearance was now almost ferocious, his aura surging, making it difficult for the nearby Yosen and Toho Kotei Gakuen players to breathe.
His only thought was to repay them all.
When inbounding the ball, he waved to his teammates, calling for it.
On offense, Murasakibara was like a bloodthirsty beast, easily charging into Toho Kotei Gakuen's basket with his superhuman physique.
However, fate seemed to be playing a cruel joke on him.
His dunk was once again thwarted by Ryu using the same tactic.
The basketball flew back into the hands of Toho Kotei Gakuen once more.
Attack, goal, score.
This scene seemed to be recorded in time and replayed.
The same scene played out again and again before the eyes of all the spectators.
Murasakibara attacked again and again, dunking repeatedly, only to fail time and again.
Toho Kotei Gakuen counterattacked time and again, scoring repeatedly.
The score gap widened.
Time ticked by, and the second quarter was drawing to a close.
With only 20 seconds remaining, the scoreboard stood at a dazzling 66-48.
The Yosen players were panting heavily, heads bowed in despair.
Murasakibara, too, kept his proud head bowed.
However, his dejection wasn't due to defeat.
His head was down, and no one could see his expression.
He stood there, like a demon about to awaken, silent yet exuding a dangerous aura.
Zzzzt…
A flash of lightning.
Two beams of purple lightning shot from Murasakibara's eyes.
Whoosh…
His figure vanished like a ghost.
When he reappeared, he had already crossed the center line and was charging towards the basket.
"Into the Zone?"
Ryu narrowed his eyes.
He hadn't expected Murasakibara to have entered the Zone so quickly.
But this was exactly the moment he had been waiting for.
Ryu's lips curled slightly.
He turned and began his defensive retreat.
Murasakibara was now under basket, but just as he was about to shoot, he was horrified to find that he couldn't jump.
'What's wrong with me?'
Murasakibara didn't know why he couldn't jump.
He only felt a slight numbness in his legs; otherwise, there was nothing wrong.
Wait.
Numbness?
'Why are my legs numb?'
Before he could figure out what was going on, a figure appeared before him.
'Yu-chin?'
Ryu leaped high, swatting the basketball away from Murasakibara's hands.
Ryu then dribbled directly, quickly reaching Yosen's basket.
Without Murasakibara, Touou moved with unimpeded ease, easily scoring a basket.
68 to 48.
Beep…
A loud whistle echoed throughout the arena.
The referee blew his whistle, signaling the end of the second quarter.
Both teams headed towards their respective rest areas.
Only Murasakibara remained, standing blankly under the basket of Toho Kotei Gakuen, lost in thought.
He was completely bewildered, utterly unaware of what had just happened.
Confusion, worry, fear, and bewilderment—a complex mix of emotions swirled within him.
The Yosen team returned to their rest area only to find one person missing.
Looking back, they saw Murasakibara standing there, lost in thought.
"Atsushi…"
Among the team members, Himuro Tatsuya was closest to Murasakibara.
Seeing Murasakibara's state, he assumed the other had suffered a blow.
His words were filled with concern.
Hearing his words, Murasakibara snapped out of his daze.
He looked up.
He realized he was the only one left on the court.
Realizing the game had been paused, he turned and returned to the Yosen rest area.
"Murasakibara, are you alright?"
Captain Okamura Kenichi spoke first.
Murasakibara is Yosen's ace; he can't afford to get hurt.
The lightning in Murasakibara's eyes had vanished.
He shook his head.
"Ah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."
Hearing Murasakibara say this, the Yosen team breathed a sigh of relief.
Murasakibara returned to his seat, his mind still preoccupied with what had just happened.
Seeing him like this, the others didn't disturb him.
They assumed he was probably upset and decided to let him calm down first.
The situation was different at Toho Kotei Gakuen.
Everyone's face showed a relaxed expression.
Ryu was especially praised by everyone.
He returned to his seat and soon heard Karupin's message.
"When did you learn [Temporary Paralysis]?"
"You discovered it?"
Ryu wasn't surprised that Karupin had discovered it.
Because this move was also a technique from The Prince of Tennis.
Its original owner was Ibu Shinji, the one who beat Echizen Ryoma bloody in The Prince of Tennis.
Ryu learned this move because of Murasakibara's cooperation.
His Hyotei Eyes could see that his body wasn't fully mature yet, and coupled with his own weight, the pressure on his legs was greater than other players.
Ryu used this to his advantage and began his plan.
He repeatedly sparred with Murasakibara, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, trying to increase the burden on his opponent's legs as much as possible.
At the opportune moment, the opponent is induced to move back and forth, causing their legs to remain tense and fatigued for most of the time.
This way, whenever the opponent uses a stronger attack than before, their legs will momentarily stiffen, resulting in temporary paralysis.
"I really didn't realize you could develop your own techniques."
Karupin nodded approvingly.
Ryu explained.
"It was just a coincidence; I didn't expect it to actually work."
Karupin was taken aback, then said.
"Not bad, I didn't know someone like you could have this side to them."
Ryu rolled his eyes.
He felt there was a hint of contempt in Karupin's words.
Karupin licked his paw, then transmitted his voice.
"However, I must remind you, this move still has a flaw; it's not true temporary paralysis."
"I know."
Ryu didn't refute Karupin's words.
He knew perfectly well that this technique only worked on taller, heavier people.
It had no effect on shorter, lighter people.
Hearing Ryu's frank admission, Karupin's ears twitched, thinking to himself:
'This guy didn't get cocky at all; looks like I was overthinking it.'
It thought Ryu was sometimes incredibly naive, but other times remarkably shrewd.
'This move doesn't use much [Cat Energy], do we need to…'
Before it could finish, Ryu shook his head, interrupting it.
'No need. My goal right now is the Dimensional Ball Technique; it's better to conserve some [Cat Energy].'
'I see!'
Karupin understood and didn't bring it up again.
In truth, it thought the [Temporary Paralysis] move was excellent, a highly cost-effective technique.
It had just checked it out.
After conversion, the [Temporary Paralysis] ability had also changed.
[Temporary Paralysis] uses a certain action to indirectly lure the opponent, causing a part of their muscles to remain in a state of contraction and expansion for an extended period, thus temporarily paralyzing that part of the muscles.
This move seems a bit complicated, but it's actually quite simple in basketball and makes it difficult for the opponent to defend against.
The human and the cat were communicating telepathically.
Some people in the stands were deeply puzzled.
They had all witnessed Murasakibara's sudden change.
But like Murasakibara, they were completely confused.
They didn't understand why Murasakibara had suddenly stopped moving.
"Hey, did you think Murasakibara was acting a little strange just now?"
Satsuki Momoi noticed something was off and asked Aomine.
Aomine frowned slightly and nodded.
"Yeah, definitely, but..."
He couldn't quite figure out why.
In that situation, Murasakibara could have scored.
But he just stood there without shooting, which was clearly abnormal.
He didn't think Murasakibara was the type to hold back in a game.
Beep...
The break time quickly passed.
Players returned to the court.
As soon as they entered the game, Murasakibara walked up to Ryu and asked:
"What exactly did you do to me?"
Hearing this, Ryu smiled and replied.
"So you're troubled by this! It's just some tricks, but don't worry, it's only temporary."
Hearing Ryu's words, Murasakibara glared at him, his eyes almost spitting fire.
Seeing the murderous look in his eyes, Ryu shrugged.
"Don't look at me like that. You know me; I wouldn't use underhanded tactics in a game. You can think of that move as a basketball skill."
The anger in Murasakibara's eyes slowly subsided, but his inner doubts grew stronger.
A basketball skill?
What a joke!
What kind of basketball skill could immobilize him?
"I'm telling the truth. As for the reason, find it yourself!"
Ryu wasn't foolish enough to reveal his secrets.
Murasakibara trusted Ryu, so he didn't doubt his words.
The game started quickly.
This quarter, Toho Kotei Gakuen had possession of the ball.
With Ryu containing Murasakibara, Toho Kotei Gakuen's offense went very smoothly.
Kugawa used a technique no less impressive than Himuro Tatsuya's, creating distance between himself and his opponent, and successfully sinking a three-pointer.
69 to 48.
The score gap instantly widened to over 20 points.
This made things even worse for Yosen.
Twenty points isn't a lot for a team like Yosen; they usually catch up easily.
But the problem is that their opponent today is Toho Kotei Gakuen.
They have one super-abnormal player and four lesser abnormal players.
In some people's eyes, the game is already decided; Yosen has no chance of turning the tide.
Kugawa scores a basket.
As the shooting guard, Himuro Tatsuya naturally wouldn't be outdone, returning the favor with a basket right in front of Kugawa.
Both sides immediately launched a three-point shooting contest.
The score fluctuated around 20 points.
Midway through the third quarter, Murasakibara suddenly erupted.
His eyes, flashing with lightning, immediately intimidated everyone from Toho Kotei Gakuen except for Ryu.
Ryu didn't seem bothered by the opponent entering the Zone.
He didn't stop Murasakibara's attack, but instead harassed him from the sidelines.
Murasakibara's speed was incredibly fast; to outsiders, it looked like he traversed the entire court in a few steps.
He once again approached the basket of Toho Kotei Gakuen.
Just as he prepared to dunk, his pupils suddenly contracted, and a feeling of fear surged through him again.
He couldn't move again.
He raised the ball above his head with both hands, his knees bent, but he simply couldn't move an inch.
He was like a statue.
Seeing this, those who had noticed Murasakibara's strange behavior earlier frowned in deep thought again.
This time, they clearly saw Murasakibara's abnormality, but they couldn't figure out the reason.
Ah…
Murasakibara roared in anger, but his legs remained unresponsive.
Ryu appeared before him and swatted the basketball away from his hands.
Clean and swift, as if he had been lying in wait all along.
"Yu-chin…"
Murasakibara roared Ryu's name.
At the same time, he regained his ability to move.
He quickly caught up with Ryu.
Sensing the approaching danger from behind, Ryu immediately unleashed [Lightning].
A bolt of lightning flashed, and Ryu suddenly appeared under Yosen's basket.
Before Murasakibara could catch up, he launched a [Tightrope Walk] shot.
Swish…
The basketball went in, and the score was widened once again.
83 to 60.
Murasakibara was furious.
His gaze towards Ryu grew increasingly sharp.
Ryu ignored his gaze and walked up to him, continuing his defense.
In the following time…
Murasakibara's offense became increasingly fierce, but every time he reached for a shot, for some unknown reason, he would become unable to move, allowing Ryu to steal the ball.
Murasakibara was angry, frustrated, confused, and aggrieved.
He, a Zone user, had been made so pathetic by his opponent.
Whistle...
A whistle blew throughout the stadium.
The third quarter ended.
The score on the scoreboard was 101-70.
Yosen trailed Toho Kotei Gakuen by a full 31 points.
----
Could you subscribe on patreon?.
+ I publish 3 chapters daily on Patreon, in addition to the other advanced chapters, which are 30+ chapters.
That's about 90 chapters a month.
patreon.com/ayan41x