SKREEECH!
SKREEECH!
The sound of sneakers squealing on the court echoed. By the time Kenjiro Takamuro tried to turn and chase Donnie, it was already too late.
In the eyes of the surrounding spectators, Donnie's figure pulled further and further away from the pursuing Kenjiro.
"This guy's dribbling is insane!"
"And he's super fast even while dribbling! Kenjiro can't catch him at all!"
"Doesn't that mean he's even better than a Teiko second-stringer?"
"Uhh…"
"Probably. But I wonder how he compares to Teiko's first-string players."
Just then, Donnie had already leaped high, finishing with a quick step layup, the ball dropping smoothly through the hoop. Judging by his jump height, his fingertips could lightly graze the rim as he laid the ball in.
What young guy hasn't dreamed of dunking at some point?
After landing, Donnie couldn't help but look at his fingertips, which had just touched the rim, with a sense of wonder.
He shook his hand, glanced back at Kenjiro, then picked up the ball and walked out beyond the three-point line. As he passed Kenjiro, he muttered under his breath:
"Second-stringer. One point."
Kenjiro's face instantly turned ugly, the playful mockery in his eyes before the game started now replaced by a grimace of humiliated fury.
"How is that possible?!"
"Big Bro Kenjiro got beat just like that?"
"This guy is strong!"
Kenjiro's lackeys were stunned. They never imagined that on this random street court, their Big Bro Kenjiro, a Teiko second-stringer, would actually get schooled.
Meanwhile, the viewers in the live stream chat were still relishing Donnie's incredibly smug line: "Second-stringer. One point."
[Donnie just owned that dude so hard! DAMN!]
[Hahaha, Donnie's really getting into character!]
[This game's immersion is off the charts. Donnie must have totally been feeling it just now.]
Kenjiro took the ball Donnie tossed him. Now on offense, he stood before Donnie,怒道 (roaring angrily):
"Don't get cocky, kid! That was just one point! You're not scoring again!"
The words barely out of his mouth, Kenjiro launched a surprise attack, dribbling with extreme speed straight at Donnie's side.
At the same time, he used his off-arm to shield the ball and body up Donnie, who was now half a step behind, preventing him from getting back into a proper defensive position.
"He broke through!"
"That kid got left behind!"
"Go, Big Bro Kenjiro! Take this point!"
Kenjiro let out a yell and was about to charge towards the basket for a dunk. However, he failed to notice a figure behind him, already sticking to him like a shadow.
Simultaneously, a hand silently snaked out from behind him, precisely targeting the ball.
SMACK!
A crisp sound.
Kenjiro lost control of the basketball.
The surrounding spectators all jumped to their feet in surprise.
[WHOA! So quick! Not just Donnie's running speed, but his agility!]
[Seriously! Turning back to chase, dropping his hips, and that steal – his body movements were clearly a tier above the other guy's!]
[But… compared to Aomine Daiki's steal with that full-court press in the CG, it doesn't seem that fast, does it?]
[Was Aomine Daiki even playing regular basketball in that CG…?]
Kenjiro's expression completely froze. He turned to look at the youth who was now smiling after making the steal.
A look of utter disbelief slowly spread across his face.
Donnie, in reality, was feeling incredibly smug, but he kept a straight face, maintaining that cool, aloof demeanor.
The air of a master.
Overflowing with swagger.
While everyone's attention was focused on this one-on-one duel, no one noticed when two unfamiliar figures had appeared outside the court.
No one, that is, except for the live stream audience, whose view, thanks to the game camera switching to a close-up, had captured the entire scene.
[HOLY CRAP!]
[AOMINE DAIKI!]
[This guy has to be like, a final boss level character in this game, right? He's showing up this early?!]
[Oh no. Donnie's starting stats might be better than that second-stringer, but compared to Aomine Daiki from the CG, he's definitely still way out of his league!]
[Donnie hasn't even noticed yet! Keep showing off, Donnie! Keep it up! A monster's about to arrive!]
[Waiting for Aomine Daiki to absolutely cook Donnie~~]
[Hold up, are you guys only focused on Aomine Daiki? All I want to know is who that cute pink-haired girl next to him is! She's adorable!]
The game camera at this point was mostly focused on Aomine Daiki and the pink-haired girl beside him, only cutting back to the action on the court during pauses in their conversation.
"It's Ethan Woods! We haven't seen him in ages, have we?" the girl said with a smile, looking towards the court. She pointed at Donnie (as Ethan) and then at Aomine, smiling. "Dai, did you see? It's Ethan! It looks like he's started playing basketball again!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I see him," Aomine Daiki replied nonchalantly, though his gaze never left Donnie's figure.
The girl pouted, clearly dissatisfied with Aomine Daiki's dismissive answer. "Don't you think Ethan's gotten a lot stronger compared to before?"
Aomine Daiki stuffed his hands in his pockets, an undeniable note of disappointment in his voice. "It's just because his body's grown quickly. Naturally, he'd get a little stronger…"
"Other than that, he's just treading water…"
"He's not like he used to be…"
"A good opponent."
The girl seemed to know Aomine well. A faint smile touched her lips. "Ethan looks like he's about 5'10" now. Dai, you're only 5'9". You lost in the height department, Dai~"
"Just like with his height, now that Ethan's playing basketball again, don't you think his skills will quickly catch up to yours too?"
Aomine raised an eyebrow at her words, the disappointment on his face quickly morphing into excitement. "Then he'd better hurry up!"
"Also, Satsuki…"
"I grew another half-inch. I'm 5'9" and a half now!"
"It's just an inch and a half difference! With shoes on, you can't even tell…"
"I totally didn't lose to him in height!"
Seeing that the match on the court had been decided, the girl tugged Aomine Daiki towards the court, but Aomine pulled her back, stopping her.
Aomine asked, "What are you doing?"
The girl replied, "It's rare to see Ethan. Of course, I'm going over to say hi."
Aomine said, "Ethan this, Ethan that. You weren't even in the same school before. Are you that close with him? Maybe the jerk doesn't even remember us."
The girl said, "How could he not? Then we…"
Aomine pondered for a moment.
"Since he's started playing basketball again, then let's meet again on the court in the middle school league!"
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