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Night fell.
Ryu lay on his bed, looking at his personal panel.
Today's battle with Aomine Daiki had gained him a considerable amount of cat food.
Before the battle, he had received a quest notification:
[Quest Notification: Accept Aomine Daiki's challenge]
[Quest Reward: 100 cat food for each goal scored]
Today, he fought Aomine Daiki and scored a total of three goals.
So, he earned a total of 300 cat food. Although it wasn't much, it was better than nothing.
He now had 300 [cat food] and 10,101 [cat energy]. Adding them together, that made 10,401.
Today's battle with Aomine Daiki made him realize his shortcomings.
His attack methods were too limited. [The Ice Emperor's Eye - Insightful Vision] could only occasionally limit the Generation of Miracles at this stage.
If they grew stronger, it would probably be difficult for it to remain effective.
[Data Basketball] was useless against those who constantly surpassed him. Therefore, he needed new methods.
"Karupin, I feel like I have too few methods right now. Are there any more practical skills or abilities?"
Karupin, who was lying nearby pretending to sleep, licked his paws and said, "Didn't I share various skills and abilities with you before? Just look carefully."
"Ah, I almost forgot."
Ryu's mind stirred. His silver pupils shimmered, and the scene before him instantly changed.
Countless images appeared in his eyes; these images were all various skills and abilities.
Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain, Yin, Thunder (Choose one for 20,000)
Waltz Towards Destruction (30,000)
Tezuka Domain (50,000)
Black Aura (50,000)
Locking the Heart (30,000)
Extinguishing the Five Senses (Choose one for 50,000)
Ability Resonance (100,000)
Synchronization (100,000)
...
Looking at the ridiculously powerful ball skills and abilities, Ryu's heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat. He continued to look.
Selflessness (One-third for 500,000)
Asura God Path (One-Nth for 500,000)
...
Ryu was numb at this moment.
He had a curse he didn't know whether he should say. There was even a "one-third" among them.
A single "Destroy Without Feeling" skill cost a total of 250,000.
He felt the world was full of malice.
"Karupin, these prices are too expensive. I only have 10,000 cat energy right now. Isn't there anything I can afford?"
Karupin thought for a moment, then said, "Yes, look carefully. There are many ball skills that don't require much energy."
"Really?" Ryu continued searching with some skepticism.
Soon, he saw ball skills with lower prices.
Mental Assassination (7,000)
Tightrope Walking (8,000)
Wave Ball (8,000)
...
There were so many, many of which he had seen in anime.
For a moment, he didn't know how to choose.
Seeing Ryu struggling with his decision, Karupin reminded him:
"I need to remind you; you'd better choose carefully. As you can see, there are many skills and abilities, some of which require a lot of cat energy. This cat energy can take a long time to accumulate, and you don't have that much time to constantly acquire it. So, you need to think carefully about your choices."
Hearing this, Ryu fell into deep thought.
No time? That made sense. Even if he worked his hardest, he might not be able to acquire that much cat food in a year.
Moreover, reaching the Selfless Realm required 500,000 cat energy.
Thinking about this, Ryu felt incredibly pressured!
Sigh…
He sighed helplessly and gave up on making a choice.
He decided to wait—to wait for an opportune moment before making a decision.
Time flew by.
Days passed one by one.
Since joining the basketball club, Ryu went to the basketball gym for training every day after school.
Intra-team matches were also frequently played.
As time went by, Ryu's data collection on everyone became increasingly extensive and precise.
This resulted in an indelible shadow cast over everyone.
Ryu's "Data Basketball" was their nightmare.
Every time they played an intra-team match against him, they felt like they were facing another version of themselves.
All their movements were predicted with perfect clarity.
The Generation of Miracles fared better.
They often pushed their limits, doing things beyond the realm of data.
Besides this, Momoi Satsuki's intelligence-gathering abilities gradually became apparent.
At first, everyone thought Momoi Satsuki and Ryu had the same ability.
However, after Ryu and Momoi Satsuki explained, everyone understood the difference between the two.
Momoi Satsuki analyzed an individual, combining their height, weight, strengths, weaknesses, personality, and habits to predict and counter their opponent's moves in a game, and even calculate their future growth.
Ryu, however, deduced and predicted her opponents' next moves by analyzing their habits, personalities, choices in various situations, and subconscious decisions.
In other words, Ryu understood them better than they understood themselves.
It is worth mentioning that when Momoi Satsuki learned that Takahashi Kento was the one who had schemed against Ryu, her attitude towards Ryu changed.
Because what no one knew was that she was the girl who had been harassed in the street.
She didn't tell Ryu about this; she wanted to keep it to herself.
Also, because Ryu had stood up for her, she had developed some inexplicable feelings for him.
That day, inside the basketball gym, Shirogane Kozo gathered everyone to discuss something.
"The National Junior High School League starts in a week, so everyone should take good care of yourselves during this time. Training can be temporarily suspended."
Shirogane Kozo's words had barely finished when the assistant coach stepped forward and announced loudly:
"Now, I will officially announce the roster for this year's National Junior High School League."
"First, the starting players:"
"Shooting Guard: Midorima Shintaro."
"Point Guard: Akashi Seijuro."
"Center: Murasakibara Atsushi."
"Power Forward: Aomine Daiki."
"Finally, Small Forward: Shirogane Ryu."
After the roster was announced, the original first-team players remained remarkably calm.
For no other reason than that, before this, they had proactively approached Shirogane Kozo and given up their starting positions.
They knew these people's talent far surpassed theirs. Their strength was also far superior, so being chosen as starters was only natural.
Although they were unwilling, they had nothing to say.
Rather than being forced to change players later, it was better to take the initiative; it looked better that way.
Nijimura Shuzo shook his head with a wry smile, revealing an expression of "I knew it."
The assistant coach then spoke up: "Next is the list of substitutes."
"Nijimura Shuzo, Ogido Taku, Toyokuni Yosuke..."
The assistant coach read out seven names, adding to the five starting members, for a total of twelve.
These twelve were the lineup for this year's National Tournament.
At this moment, Shirogane Kozo spoke up. "I don't need to elaborate on the importance of this competition. This year, we have only one goal: the final championship. I hope everyone can get into the right mindset before then."
"Yes!" The crowd responded in unison.