I Died on the Court, Now I'm Back to Rule It

Tip-off. Rikuya rises like a mountain—and wins.

The ball flies into the hands of Kaito, who wastes no time signaling with his fingers.

"One!" he shouts.

That's our go-to strategy. Number 1: Get the ball to Rikuya and let him go to work. No tricks, no gimmicks. Just raw domination.

Aizawa receives the pass first, dribbling smoothly across the perimeter before swinging it into the post.

There, like a titan stationed at the gates of war, Rikuya Asano plants himself in front of Osaka Meisei's center—Shohei. The moment Shohei tries to brace, it's already too late.

Boom. Rikuya lowers his shoulder, muscles rippling beneath his jersey, and backs Shohei into the paint like a bulldozer.

Shohei strains. Grunts. But he might as well be a traffic cone.

Rikuya pivots, rises, and launches a silky hook shot over Shohei's outstretched arms.

Swish.

2–0.