In just two short possessions, Wu Yufei had already given everyone a solid first impression of his strength.
But for Wu Yufei, his show was just beginning!
It was the Red Team's possession again.
This time, Araki Kazuo was finally too shaken to act cocky. He dribbled forward cautiously.
"Tch!"
As Wu Yufei approached, Araki Kazuo immediately passed the ball away-rattled by Wu Yufei's intense defense earlier.
The ball was received by Takatsu Hiroshi, who aggressively drove against Kurosaki Ryo, muscling his way step by step into the paint.
"Give it to me!"
Having broken free from Wu Yufei's marking, Araki Kazuo cut into the key. Seeing this, Takatsu Hiroshi wasted no time and dished the ball back.
Araki Kazuo launched a fierce attack toward the basket.
Aoyama Masaaki, the power forward, rushed to block him, denying him any space to build momentum.
But Araki Kazuo spotted Miyamoto Kazunari left unguarded and quickly bounce and passed it to him. Miyamoto Kazunari caught it and scored with a clean layup.
"Hmph!"
With the assist secured, Araki Kazuo turned back on defense, raising an eyebrow smugly at Wu Yufei.
Wu Yufei simply smiled and shrugged.
Blue Team's possession.
Wu Yufei advanced with the ball and, upon reaching the frontcourt, directly drove hard at Araki Kazuo.
Using his speed, he forced his way into the paint, then suddenly came to a stop and assumed a jump shot stance.
"No way!!"
Araki Kazuo instantly jumped high, ready to deliver a brutal block.
But in the next second, Wu Yufei pulled the ball back, then executed a slick behind-the-back pass to Murakumo Kengo, who had cut in from the wing.
"Hmm..."
Murakumo Kengo, receiving such a perfect pass for the first time, couldn't help but gain more appreciation for Wu Yufei.
He smoothly drove into the paint and finished with a three-step layup, kissing the ball off the glass.
"Damn it!"
Araki Kazuo was frustrated after being tricked again by Wu Yufei.
In the next possession, Araki Kazuo tried to return the favor. He brought the ball up and drove hard at Wu Yufei.
But Araki Kazuo had forgotten something—Wu Yufei had the advantage in height, weight, and speed. Araki Kazuo was inferior in all areas.
Smack!!
Wu Yufei timed it perfectly and extended his long arms to knock the ball away from Araki Kazuo like a dragon striking.
"Whaat?!"
"Thanks."
Ignoring Araki Kazuo's stunned face, Wu Yufei bypassed him, scooped up the ball, and charged down the court.
"Damn it!!"
Araki Kazuo quickly turned to chase after him. No matter what, he couldn't let Wu Yufei continue to shine.
The two of them left everyone else behind, racing into the Red Team's paint in under four seconds.
Swish!
Just one step inside the free-throw line, Wu Yufei took off.
"Raaah!!"
Araki Kazuo followed closely and also leaped high, aiming for a chase-down block.
But just as Araki Kazuo thought he had him, the ball vanished from his line of sight.
"Whew..."
With a soft exhale, Wu Yufei switched the ball to his left-hand mid-air with a subtle pump and underhand flicked it gently toward the hoop.
Swish!
The ball spun smoothly and dropped right into the net.
"How... is that even possible...?"
Did this guy grow eyes on the back of his head?
At that moment, Araki Kazuo finally began to realize that he might not be in the same league as this guy at all.
3:16 – Wu Yufei drove left, broke through a double-team by Araki Kazuo and Takatsu Hiroshi, and squeezed the ball through to Murakumo Kengo, who hit a floater in the paint.
3:45 – Takatsu Hiroshi missed a buzzer-beating shot; Naito Tetsuya grabbed the rebound, and the Blue Team launched a fast break.
Wu Yufei called for the ball from Naito Tetsuya and instantly signaled him to sprint toward the rim.
Everyone was surprised Wu Yufei was faster than Naito Kazuo, who had a background in rugby!
They both blitzed into the Red Team's paint. Wu Yufei casually lobbed the ball high off the glass, and Naito Tetsuya jumped to catch the rebound in mid-air and slammed it into the basket with both hands.
4:26 – Wu Yufei slowly advanced beyond the arc and called Aoyama Masaaki over for a pick-and-roll.
Using the screen, Wu Yufei cut into the paint, stepped back from Miyamoto Kazunari's help defense, and launched a jumper.
Clang!!
Though the shot missed, Naito Tetsuya grabbed the rebound and immediately finished with a powerful one-handed dunk.
4:50 – Wu Yufei and Murakumo Kengo pulled off a give-and-go wall-pass combo, exchanging the ball three times and bypassing every defender.
Once inside the paint, they executed a stunning alley-oop, with Murakumo Kengo slamming it home and hanging on the rim.
5:15 – Wu Yufei forced his way into the key again, drew a double-team, and dished it to Naito Tetsuya under the basket for yet another easy score.
6:23 – Wu Yufei held off Araki Kazuo on the perimeter for a few seconds, then launched a wild shot directly over him.
"No way that's going in!"
"Box out!!"
Araki Kazuo turned to yell at their center, only to see Naito Tetsuya's massive body soaring through the air, catching the miss mid-flight and throwing down another thunderous dunk.
By the 10th minute of the first half, the Blue Team had pulled ahead with a dominant 28–10 lead.
Wu Yufei had already tallied 12 points and 7 assists, essentially carrying the team single-handedly.
10:15 – Wu Yufei nutmegged Araki Kazuo with a behind-the-back bounce pass, broke through the defense, spun past Miyamoto Kazunari, and then pump-faked Kawasaki Akio into the air before calmly laying the ball in.
A flawless 1-on-3 sequence.
"So strong... this guy is just way too strong…"
"He's not a bit weaker than A'mu from Kainan…"
"Is someone like this really on our team this year?"
The entire Miuradai team felt a new fire ignite in their hearts.
They had trained hard all year to get revenge on Kainan for last year's brutal loss. Many had even sacrificed half their summer break to come back early for training.
Now, with Wu Yufei's sudden arrival, their confidence skyrocketed.
Wu Yufei continued to put on a dazzling show. His no-look passes and assists to Murakumo Kengo and Naito Tatsuya came again and again, to the point the two were nearly full from all the "free meals."
He didn't forget the other two teammates either—as long as they got open, Wu Yufei's passes would arrive right on target.
The Blue Team felt like they were playing the easiest game of their lives.
Meanwhile, the Red Team was drowning in despair.
Unable to contain Wu Yufei, their defense was pierced over and over again.
They even tried triple-teaming him just to stop the bleeding-but it was no use.
After all, Murakumo Kengo, Miuradai's top scorer, was still on the Blue Team!
If three defenders were on Wu Yufei-who would guard Murakumo Kengo?
The lead kept growing, and Coach Harada, watching from the sideline, was grinning from ear to ear.
"I've struck gold!"
Originally, his goal this year was just to get Miuradai into the final round of the prefectural tournament. Whether they could defeat Kainan or Shoyo and get a ticket to nationals was largely a matter of luck.
But now, with how impressed he was by Wu Yufei, Coach Harada's ambitions were growing.
Forget just making nationals or beating Shoyo.
With Wu Yufei, Murakumo Kengo, and Naito Tetsuya… Miuradai might even make the Top 8. Or… the Final Four?!
Final Four at Nationals-a feat no Miuradai sports team had ever achieved.
And if that happened, the rewards for the coach would be massive: fame, money, status…
Coach Harada felt like a radiant future was waving at him.
Beep…!!
The match finally ended. Blue Team annihilated Red Team 55–25, a 30-point blowout-even though both teams had two starters.
And that was with Wu Yufei sitting out the last five minutes after asking to be subbed due to losing interest in dominating so much.
Had he stayed in, he was confident he could've widened the gap even further!
As for the quest-it was completed perfectly.
Wu Yufei immediately used the rewarded attribute point to increase his Stamina stat.
After all, among his four main attributes, Stamina was still in the 70s, not yet 80+.
Basketball is an endurance sport. Without enough stamina, you can't maintain your performance through an entire game then you'll become an easy target.
For example, Rukawa Kaede likely had stamina in the 70s. While Sakuragi Hanamichi probably had 90 or more. In their match against Kainan, Rukawa went all out in the first half but completely burned out in the second.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, on the other hand, could sprint tirelessly from start to finish, game after game-that's the difference.
Or take Mitsui Hisashi-his stamina probably didn't even reach 70, having wasted two years of training. But his insane willpower let him explode with clutch threes even after hitting the red zone, defying logic.
As part of Wu Yufei's long-term plan, by the time his three years of high school were over, all his core attributes would need to be 90+ or even 95+.
Only with such a foundation could he have a chance to stand out in the U.S. college basketball scene.
If not, all those grand goals would be nothing but fantasy.
As for specific skills like mid-range shots or others, those could be built through training. He wouldn't waste his precious skill points on that.