CHAPTER 32

Aomine Daiki chuckled. “Don’t think you got lucky dodging that move and count it as a successful defense. You’ve still got a long way to go, Ethan!”

He dribbled at an extremely fast pace, constantly changing his moves and rhythm.

Left hand.

Right hand.

A slow-motion feint.

Between-the-legs, behind-the-back crossover.

Finally, Aomine slapped the ball between Donnie’s legs and simultaneously darted past him.

Even though Donnie was fully focused this time, he still couldn’t react. Visibly, Aomine’s dribble had frozen him in place for a split second.

After breaking past Donnie, Aomine drove into the paint with almost no one to contest him.

He leaped powerfully for a forced dunk, scoring.

After landing, he looked得意 (smugly) at Donnie.

It was as if he was saying:

See.

I can dunk too!

Donnie pouted, refusing to admit defeat.

But he had to admit, Aomine Daiki was truly a freak of nature!

The score was tied 2-2.

Next, Donnie, with another Lightning Dribble that looked incredibly exaggerated to everyone watching, scored a layup.

The moment he got past Aomine, he still had that one-step lead.

This also dispelled his worries about whether Aomine’s defense would improve further against this specific move.

It seemed Aomine had reached his limit in defending the Lightning Dribble.

The game on the court continued.

Both players traded baskets.

However, neither of them could successfully defend the other.

This match had clearly turned into an offensive shootout.

At this point, Donnie had no concept of winning or losing in his mind. There was only one thought: find a way to stop Aomine’s offense.

And his opponent was clearly just as immersed in the game as he was.

Aomine showcased his dazzling dribbling skills and exaggerated speed on the court.

Donnie, not to be outdone, relied on his one-trick pony, the ‘Lightning Dribble,’ to repeatedly blow past Aomine, consistently scoring point after point.

By now, both players had long forgotten the pre-match agreement of playing to three points.

The coaching staff also didn’t intervene to stop them.

It wasn’t until both players had scored 9 points each that the whistle finally blew again.

Tweet!

“Match over…”

“Ethan Woods versus Aomine Daiki…”

“It’s a draw!”

At this moment, the coaching staff was making their final evaluations of Aomine Daiki and ‘Ethan Woods.’

“Assistant Coach Takayama, without a doubt, these two new recruits have unparalleled talent.”

“Indeed. Just like Nijimura Shuzo last year, they are players you can build a team around.”

“To think we could get two new recruits of this caliber in one year.”

“No… on this assessment court just now, there was also Murasakibara Atsushi.”

“I also have a Midorima Shintaro on my side… If he joined the first-string right now, his skills would be more than sufficient.”

The middle-aged man with black-framed glasses, Teiko’s assistant coach Masayuki Takayama, pushed up his glasses, looking at Ethan Woods and Aomine Daiki, who were panting and glaring at each other on the court.

Even he, who was usually stern and unsmiling, couldn’t help but be moved.

He knew Aomine Daiki and Akashi Seijuro well, having personally recruited them to Teiko. He had a very clear understanding of Aomine’s abilities.

He never would have imagined that among this year’s new students, there would be someone who could go toe-to-toe with Aomine Daiki.

…

After the explosive debuts of Murasakibara Atsushi, Ethan Woods, Aomine, and others, the remaining assessments for the new recruits quickly concluded without much excitement.

“Now, we will announce the assessment results for all new members of the basketball club!”

“First…”

“Starting with the third-string. Those whose names and numbers are called, please gather with the third-string coach over there.”

“Number 2.”

“Nobuo Saito.”

“Number 4.”

…

“Number 28.”

“Shunsuke Shimada.”

…

…

“Number 39.”

“Jun Tanaka.”

“Hmm…”

“Number 31.”

“Kuroko Tetsuya.”

“That is all!”

Kuroko Tetsuya’s pupils constricted. To the live stream viewers, he looked completely crestfallen. As the game camera zoomed in, they could gradually hear his soft whisper:

“As I thought…”

“Is this really all I’m capable of…?”

The letter Kuroko had been holding during the entrance ceremony flashed back quickly in the game’s visuals.

It clearly implied that Kuroko, at this moment, was thinking about the promise he made with the letter’s sender.

‘Have you picked a club yet?’

‘Of course, I picked the basketball club!’

‘Let’s both work hard so we can meet on the court soon and fulfill our promise!’

After a moment, Kuroko clenched his fists tightly.

“Ogiwara-kun, our promise to meet on the court might be delayed a bit, but I won’t give up!”

The chat showed sympathy:

【Kuroko’s already lost some confidence.】

【His skills really aren’t there yet, unlike Donnie who can pull cards.】

【Kuroko, cheer up! You’ll be one of the Generation of Miracles in the future!】

【Rise up from the third-string and amaze everyone!】

【That’s a good storyline. When my game finishes downloading, I’m going to do a no-spend playthrough and follow that path with Kuroko.】

【With ‘Ethan Woods’s’ base stats, even without any cards equipped at the start, he’d still easily make the second-string, right?】

Kuroko Tetsuya joined the third-string members. Meanwhile, the remaining new recruits gradually relaxed.

Because after the third-string was announced, if there were no surprises, the rest of them would be on the second-string.

“Ha! I made the second-string!”

“Me too!”

“My skills are recognized even at Teiko!”

“This is great!”

The announcement of the second-string list was quick.

The new recruits whose names were called responded with voices much cheerier than before.

As the coaches called out names, the number of people remaining on the court dwindled.

Aomine.

Akashi.

Midorima.

Murasakibara.

And Donnie.

As the number of people around them decreased, they stood out even more from the crowd.

And surprisingly…

Even after the entire second-string list was announced, none of their names had been called!

Did this mean…

“That concludes the entire second-string list!”

“Next…”

“The announcement for the first-string!”

Huh?

The gazes of all the new recruits instantly focused on the few individuals remaining on the assessment court.

“Did the coach just say first-string?”

“No way, right?”

“Didn’t they say no first-year has ever made the first-string right from the start of school…?”

“But, if it’s them…”

Perhaps the coaching staff had anticipated this situation, as the commotion from the surrounding new recruits didn’t interrupt the rhythm of their announcement.

“Number 8!”

“Aomine Daiki!”

Aomine let out a “Heh,” shot a challenging glance at Donnie, then walked off the court to stand before the coaching staff.

“Number 9!”

“Ethan Woods!”

Donnie walked over to Aomine’s side, glanced at him, and muttered under his breath, “What are you lookin’ at?”

“Number 11!”

“Midorima Shintaro!”

The green-haired youth with black-framed glasses looked much more composed than the previous two. He coolly walked to Aomine’s left, his height almost matching Aomine’s.

“Number 23!”

“Murasakibara Atsushi!”

The tall youth, his eyes half-open, lazily strolled over.

“Number 29!”

“Akashi Seijuro!”

The same calm and composed smile remained on his face, just as when Donnie had first seen him at the school gate, exuding an air of nobility and refinement from an elite upbringing.

“That is all!”