023 Blue Lock: System Ten Years Early

"Shinichi, what's wrong with you? Didn't sleep well?" Looking at Shinichi with two heavy dark circles under his eyes and yawning nonstop, Hiori asked curiously. Shinichi's condition hadn't seemed good these past few days—the dark circles were getting worse by the day, and he kept yawning.

Clearly, Shinichi was always the one who went to sleep the earliest on the whole team. Last night, Hiori had even deliberately stayed up two extra hours to make sure Shinichi was really asleep and not doing anything sneaky in the middle of the night, yet his condition was still getting worse. In the previous match against Team W, he had performed far below standard, playing almost the entire game but scoring only five goals.

Shinichi also knew his condition wasn't great, but since it involved the system, it wasn't something he could explain. He could only shake his head helplessly, open his mouth wide, and yawn again.

"Ha~ It's nothing, I've just been having nightmares a lot lately."

Sigh... weren't they nightmares indeed. That guy Haizaki Shogo, the type who thought the world revolved around him, really did provoke Kobe like a reckless idiot. Kobe, unsurprisingly, lost his temper—but who could've imagined that the one who ended up suffering would be me?

Speaking of which, that really was an unreal chaotic brawl. Thinking of this, Shinichi's thoughts gradually returned to that very first night.

...

Kobe attacked first, holding the ball and performing a crossover. With a simple change of direction, he shook off Haizaki Shogo and easily scored with a sideways reverse layup.

"Is anyone even defending me? Hey, brat, you waited all this time and only managed to summon a puff of air to help you train?" Kobe shouted disdainfully, even yelling toward Shinichi. "So I told you, summoning me was just dumb luck on your part. Trash like this was worse than me when I was thirteen."

"Wh… what the hell is that? That speed—even those guys couldn't do that." Haizaki Shogo looked shocked, but after the brief astonishment, excitement actually surfaced on his face.

"Great, that's perfect. I can't wait to take everything from you, black guy!"

"What did you say?! Didn't your mom teach you to keep your mouth clean?"

Haizaki Shogo's use of a forbidden word nearly made Kobe swing an elbow and smash that filthy mouth.

It took Shinichi quite a bit of talking to calm things down, explaining that this kid was uneducated, that he was just calling him black and absolutely didn't mean it as a discriminatory slur.

They finally managed to settle things down, and Shinichi took the chance to warn Haizaki Shogo. But clearly, that kind of anger wasn't going to dissipate so easily. Kobe's face was dark, his snake-like eyes fixed tightly on Haizaki Shogo.

"Kid, seeing how young you are, I originally thought I'd go easy on you. But as an adult, I have to teach you this—some things, once you do them, you have to pay the price." Kobe tossed the ball to Haizaki Shogo with a vicious expression. "Come on, switch possession. Don't blame me for not giving you a chance. If we don't switch, I'm afraid you won't even touch the ball all night."

Kobe's intention in deliberately switching possession was far too obvious. One look and Shinichi knew this guy was planning to use all those little tricks he'd picked up over years in the NBA, along with his superior physical gifts, to bully Haizaki Shogo on defense. Don't ask how he knew—this snake was petty to the extreme.

"Still, this really is giving him a chance. That guy's ability is troublesome to deal with. But since Haizaki Shogo can't copy the abilities from the Era of Miracles, maybe he can't replicate Kobe's abilities either."

With this question in mind, Shinichi straightened his posture, widened his eyes, and carefully analyzed both sides' movements. How much effect Haizaki Shogo's ability could have against Kobe would indirectly prove its value.

Based on that, Shinichi could also better allocate his time in the training camp. After all, mastering a new trait was no simple matter. If Haizaki Shogo's ability had absolutely no effect on Kobe, then Shinichi could only admit his bad luck and wouldn't waste a single bit of time on him.

"Haha, this was your own choice. Then come on—let me slowly plunder everything you have!"

Haizaki Shogo lowered his center of gravity and made a simple triple-threat move, but it didn't shake Kobe's balance at all.

Clearly, Haizaki Shogo wasn't the type to patiently look for an opponent's weakness. He put the ball down and spun immediately. Kobe seized the timing and stepped in to block him. From Shinichi's perspective, he could clearly see Kobe's hand pinch Haizaki Shogo at the waist.

Haizaki Shogo's movement visibly trembled for a moment, but he still forced a half-turn. Kobe, clearly fired up, pinned Haizaki Shogo's shoulder and went straight for the steal. Yet Haizaki Shogo struggled to pull off a behind-the-back dribble. Kobe, who was rushing to steal in order to teach his opponent a lesson, instead ended up behind Haizaki Shogo.

"Got him!" Haizaki Shogo laughed excitedly. However, even though he was clearly a step behind and stuck behind Haizaki Shogo, Kobe chased back with all his might. Combined with physical contact slowing Haizaki Shogo down, Kobe actually caught up to him again within two steps.

That terrifying recovery defense made Shinichi bare his teeth in shock—too scary. In terms of absolute speed, Shinichi at his current level could already leave Kobe far behind. But under physical contact, Kobe's speed actually surpassed his.

Still, from this play alone, it was clear that Kobe's speed wasn't much faster than Haizaki Shogo's. In fact, when he was a step behind, that slight speed advantage was already completely ineffective. The reason Kobe could still catch up was purely by constantly using physical contact to slow his opponent.

There was no way around it. Contact sports like football and basketball were never about simply comparing which ability was stronger, but about how much of it you could actually bring into play.

What Shinichi lacked compared to Kobe was match experience. And likewise, those world-class players who would eventually become his opponents would absolutely never be lacking in such experience.

"But the key part comes next." As admiration for Kobe's experience flashed through his mind, Shinichi didn't forget the focus of this matchup.

Facing the pursuing Kobe, there wasn't the slightest hint of fear on Haizaki Shogo's face. He shook his shoulders and swung the ball hard to the right. As Kobe's center of gravity shifted, he quickly pulled it back, then stumbled sideways past Kobe and raised his hand for a layup.

Crossover! Haizaki Shogo got past Kobe using the very same move Kobe had used on him...

Smack!

With a crisp sound, the basketball's trajectory was violently altered, spinning as it drilled straight into Shinichi's arms at the sideline.

"You've really got some nerve, daring to copy my scoring move right in front of me and use it against me." 

You dare use my magic against me?

"You can even block that—what kind of monster are you?" For the first time, shock appeared on Haizaki Shogo's usually brazen face. No way… did I just run into another guy like that bunch of bastards?

No, that's not right. I can copy this guy's scoring motion. Maybe he's just a defense-specialized player.

Haizaki Shogo's thoughts raced, and he quickly returned to his arrogant demeanor.

"Hmph, you just got lucky blocking that one. But the next shot won't be so lucky."

"Oh right, let me remind you—your scoring move has already been stolen by me."