A simple "I am the strongest" instantly triggered a swarm of bullet comments.
'Holy crap, what a flex!'
'As expected, guys named **Tendo** are all masters of pretentiousness!'
'This flex has some standard, I, the Shanghai **Daniel Wu**, approve!'
'....'
**Tendo Keigon**'s words stunned his teammates, including **Kuroko**, right on the spot.
Looking at the simultaneous matches, the new students were almost all being beaten up by the Second String seniors.
Except for the court where **Murasakibara Atsushi** was.
That giant purple baby guarded the paint single-handedly. In 10 minutes, the experienced Second String members failed to score double digits.
Thanks to Murasakibara Atsushi's performance, his team miraculously took the lead.
But Murasakibara Atsushi's talent is visible to the naked eye.
What about Tendo Keigon?
Aside from being earth-shatteringly handsome, there didn't seem to be anything special about him.
"Tendo-kun!"
"Don't look like it's the end of the world. It's my turn to play."
Tendo Keigon finished warming up, straightened his back, and was about to step onto the court.
The next second.
"Hey, that rookie!"
"Is the captain calling me?"
"Who else could I be calling?"
**Nijimura Shuuzo** walked over impatiently, pointing at Tendo Keigon's sunglasses. "Are you planning to play with those things on?"
"Oh, forgot." Tendo Keigon touched his head. He was so focused on acting cool that he forgot about business.
He decisively took off his sunglasses.
The next second, another wave of bullet comments hit.
'Damn, this handsome?'
'Blue eyes and white hair, *slurp slurp*!'
'Upstairs, restrain yourself. Don't drool over my husband casually; don't you know it's impolite?'
'Sister, it's daytime. Even for dreaming, wait for night. Or do you want this old lady to wake you up with a pee?'
Actually, it wasn't just the bullet comments; quite a few people on the scene were also stunned by Tendo Keigon.
With sunglasses on, Tendo Keigon looked like one of those roguish bad boys.
But once the sunglasses came off, his temperament underwent an earth-shaking change.
Just like the shock brought by **Gojo Satoru** taking off his blindfold back then. Everyone was suppressed by the noble aura on his body.
You completely couldn't connect him to that unreliable guy who previously fought to the death with the King of Curses while still in the mood to buy snacks.
Even **Momoi Satsuki** on the side couldn't help but take a few more glances at Tendo Keigon.
"In the future, you are not allowed to bring this kind of thing into club activities," Nijimura Shuuzo said after a moment of stunned silence.
"Osu! It's my turn, Kuroko!" Tendo Keigon greeted Kuroko and stepped onto the court.
At this time, the score on the court had become 26:12. Those pitfall teammates only scored a total of 12 points in 10 minutes.
A lucky result.
The first-years' 12 points all came from mid-to-long-range shots; points in the paint were 0.
In contrast, the Second String's 26 points pursued efficiency with every ball, specifically attacking the rookie team's paint.
The rookie team substituted five people at once, but the Second String did not.
Right, for this level of confrontation, playing a full 20 minutes requires no rest at all.
The Second String's top scorer was a player in the same year as Nijimura Shuuzo, also a second-year, named **Yamanaka Yuta**.
Of the Second String's 26 points, he scored 12.
At the same time, he is also an important rotation player for **Teiko**'s First String this year.
"Doing all these strange things. Let me say this first, first-year, I won't show mercy," Yamanaka Yuta said coldly.
With his type of strictly by-the-book personality, he naturally had no good feelings for guys like Tendo Keigon.
Besides, when he first joined the club back then, he was also beaten up by the seniors.
Except for Nijimura Shuuzo, every Second String member understood the coach's intention in arranging the practice match.
They needed to take down the arrogance of these first-years, making these rookies behave themselves in the future.
What if they can't handle them?
If they can't handle them, **Shirogane Kozo** will make arrangements!
Anyone who can lead this kind of temporarily pieced-together team to defeat the Second String or fight to a draw is definitely a genius.
For geniuses, Shirogane Kozo has his ways.
Just like Nijimura Shuuzo back then, they are directly arranged to go to the First String for honing.
Even if they can't become immediate combat power, they should be brought along to the Nationals for experience, so they can replace the original main force next year.
This is also the reason why defending a title is so difficult.
Middle school only lasts three years. Even for a genius, a coach can only use them for three years at most.
Moreover, most basketball geniuses aren't the plug-and-play type; they need time to be honed to form combat effectiveness.
Fast ones take a year, slow ones wait until the third year to be entrusted with heavy responsibilities.
Teiko's luck is very good. Nijimura Shuuzo is a true genius; in his first year, he replaced a senior to become a Teiko starter.
This year, Nijimura Shuuzo has gone a step further. Shirogane Kozo feels that in the current middle school basketball world, there is no power forward who can be mentioned in the same breath as Nijimura Shuuzo.
Adding Murasakibara Atsushi, that little monster with explosive athletic and static talent, Shirogane Kozo believes Teiko's hope of winning the championship this year is very high.
While Shirogane Kozo was thinking about the upcoming Nationals, a burst of exclamations suddenly came from one of the courts in the practice match.
"Stolen again, so amazing!"
"Real or fake? That's Senior Yamanaka, an important rotation player for the First String!"
"Counterattack opportunity, long pass to the basket for a direct score."
"Hiss, chased back 4 points in a row, so amazing!"
What's going on?
Shirogane Kozo walked curiously in the direction of the sound.
Then he saw his disciple Yamanaka Yuta with his eyes wide open, staring unblinkingly at Tendo Keigon.
Tendo Keigon didn't show stage fright either, spreading his hands with the demeanor of an emperor.
"What happened?" Shirogane Kozo asked the assistant coach. The latter said with an astonished expression, "Yamanaka's breakthroughs were stolen twice in a row by that freshman."
Stolen twice?
Shirogane Kozo was also somewhat surprised.
Yamanaka Yuta plays the typical role of a "bench bandit" at Teiko.
His individual ability is definitely not bad. The reason he couldn't become a starter is purely because of Nijimura Shuuzo.
What Yamanaka Yuta is best at is breaking through to the basket to score and create damage. He has super strong explosive power, often passing defenders cleanly in one step, like a sharp knife.
The only drawback is that his basketball IQ isn't high enough, and his vision is relatively narrow; he often can't find teammates after rushing in.
"Double team?"
"No, one-on-one defense!"
One-on-one defense?
That's a bit incredible.
Shirogane Kozo's expression became serious as he focused on observing Tendo Keigon's every move.