Slam Dunk:Starting with perfect copy

Upon witnessing the scene, the players on the bench of Machida Sansho were in shock. 

"Ah! How is this possible?" 

"How did he even get the ball in?" 

"Was that a fadeaway jumper?"

Coach Kitagawa Akihiko was equally stunned by Kenichi Uesugi's shot. What he could confirm was that this was definitely not a fadeaway jumper, as Kenichi Uesugi had jumped vertically—something unlike the backward jump of a fadeaway.

This left him in complete awe! To control his center of gravity and lean back mid-air was simply unbelievable.

On the court, Jiro Inoshita and Hitoshi Ono exchanged confused looks, still unable to comprehend why their block attempt had failed.

At that moment, they had blocked every possible shooting route for Kenichi Uesugi, but then his body suddenly leaned backward, evading the block.

It was simply mind-blowing. 

The two, having never seen anything like it before, were completely lost. The game continued. 

Machida Sansho went on the attack, and Jiro Inoshita brought the ball up the court.

Kenichi Uesugi had scored several times at the start of the second half, which made Jiro Inoshita, who had originally thought he could easily defeat the "weak" Ryonan players, increasingly irritated.

Determined to disrupt Ryonan's rhythm, he decided to stop their scoring spree in his own way.

As he slowly advanced, he noticed the defender was no longer Kucao, but Kenichi Uesugi. "You showed up at just the right time! I've been waiting for you!" 

Jiro Inoshita was thrilled to see Kenichi Uesugi come to him directly. He had intended to challenge him anyway, but now that Kenichi had approached him, things couldn't have been better.

The reason for the defensive switch was simple: Kenichi Uesugi anticipated that Jiro Inoshita wouldn't give up and would likely shoot the ball himself. Uekusa had no way to defend against Jiro's streetball skills, so Kenichi had decided to take over the defense.

Kenichi was curious to test Inoshita's streetball abilities, especially since he remembered the mockery he had faced from Inoshita earlier. 

Jiro Inoshita locked eyes with Kenichi Uesugi, a ferocious expression slowly forming on his face. Kenichi had just scored under his defense, and now Inoshita was intent on redeeming himself.

With a grin, Jiro began showing off his streetball moves again, dribbling the ball in front of Kenichi as if to taunt him. Every so often, he even provoked Kenichi by bringing the ball close to him.

Uekusa, standing on the sidelines, chuckled. "Heh, same old tricks, but this time, it's not me he's facing—he's in trouble now!"

Jiro Inoshita continued to test Kenichi, dribbling the ball to his right and pretending to break through. Then, he quickly switched the ball behind Kenichi, hoping to catch him off guard.

His plan was to retreat quickly, make Kenichi think the ball was still in his hands, and then snatch it back from Kenichi's left side to make his move.

After retreating, Jiro pretended to dribble in front of Kenichi, confident that the move had fooled him. But when he swung around to grab the ball, his face changed in an instant. "Where's the ball?!" 

"Are you looking for this?" came Kenichi's voice from behind him.

Jiro spun around in shock to see the ball spinning on Kenichi's right index finger—he had stolen it without Jiro even noticing.

"Beautiful! Kenichi!" 

"Kenichi is living up to his reputation! He stole that ball effortlessly!" 

"I told you to watch out, Inoshita! Kenichi Uesugi is unstoppable!"

The Ryonan bench erupted in cheers, and everyone—who had felt disrespected by Jiro's earlier taunts—celebrated the moment.

On the court, Jiro Inoshita's mind was still racing. He couldn't comprehend how his slick move had been foiled. Every step had seemed perfect, yet Kenichi had taken the ball without him noticing.

What he didn't realize was that Kenichi had activated his "Eagle Eye." Every move Jiro made was crystal clear to him, and his streetball antics were nothing more than an open book. 

The moment Jiro moved the ball behind Kenichi, it had been stolen—quietly and efficiently. 

On the Machida Sansho bench, Akihiko Kitagawa's face grew serious. He had seen what happened clearly.

Kenichi had stolen the ball without even looking. He had relied entirely on his heightened sense of perception. Kitagawa had heard stories of players with such extraordinary abilities—rare talents who could read the game without needing to see every detail. But seeing it firsthand was astonishing.

Kenichi's subtlety was something Kitagawa never expected from a player like him. 

As the game continued, the mood in the Ryonan camp was calm. After all, they had seen Kenichi perform even more unbelievable feats. The Machida Sansho bench, on the other hand, was growing increasingly anxious.

Jiro Inoshita, still fuming, was determined to make a comeback. In a fit of frustration, he exchanged defenders with Ono Jin and challenged Kenichi to a one-on-one.

"Don't get too cocky! I'm not letting you pass me this time!" he shouted.

Kenichi smirked. "Do you think you're the only one who can play streetball?"

With that, Kenichi's demeanor shifted, and Jiro saw a flash of a blue-haired figure in his mind's eye, looking at him with disdain.

Without warning, Kenichi surged forward with lightning speed to Jiro's right side.

"Too fast!" Jiro was caught off guard, but quickly recovered and followed him.

Kenichi then stepped back and circled around Jiro again.

Jiro instinctively felt something slide down his arm—it was the ball! He turned to find the basketball rolling down his shoulder.

While Jiro was still trying to process what was happening, Kenichi swiftly snatched the ball back.

It all clicked. "Damn it, he's playing tricks on me!" Jiro cursed in frustration.

As a streetballer, he had always been the one pulling the tricks, but now, he had been outmaneuvered.

Kenichi wasn't done yet. He quickly dribbled in front of Jiro, their bodies nearly touching.

Then, Kenichi passed the ball from behind Jiro, shifting it effortlessly into his left hand. The move was a mirror of Jiro's earlier trick.

Furious, Jiro lunged to steal the ball, but Kenichi responded by flicking his wrist. The ball sailed through the air.

"Swish!"

The net swayed, and Jiro stared at it, stunned. He couldn't believe it. Had Kenichi just shot the ball?

"No way... how did he make that shot?" Jiro stood frozen, watching the ball swish through the hoop.

This wasn't just streetball—it was a godlike shot!

Outside the court, the Machida Sansho bench was in disbelief.

"Captain Nishita was actually outplayed by that guy with the yellow hair!" 

"How did he even make that shot? He just flicked the ball!" 

"This guy is incredible! I didn't think Ryonan had such a talented substitute!"

On Ryonan's bench, the mood was much more composed, though Hikoichi and the others continued to cheer for Kenichi.

They were unfazed; they had seen Kenichi do even crazier things.

The game wasn't over yet, but for Jiro Inoshita, it felt like a crushing defeat.