Kuroya Ren never cared. About school, about his future, about basketball.

They called him a prodigy, but to him, it was meaningless. His talent was suffocating. No matter who he played against, no matter how little effort he put in, he was always better. Faster. Sharper. It felt boring.

Ren's greatest strength was an ability he never truly understood—Sniper. It was instinctual, subconscious. When he moved, defenders felt like ghosts, their hands swiping at nothing. When he shot, even half the court away shoots, the ball curved impossibly, slipping past even the best goalkeepers. He was unstoppable. And he didn't even realize it.

But someone else did.

His parents, desperate for him to take basketball seriously, sent him to Seiji Akabane, the legendary coach of Zeus—the strongest team in the world. They believed Akabane could turn him into a star.

Instead, Akabane saw something terrifying.

Ren's ability wasn't just talent. It was absolute. If left unchecked, it would surpass Zeus, surpass even him.

So Akabane did what he always did to threats.

He crushed them.

It started with the diagnosis. Akabane ran a few "tests" and told Ren he had a rare condition—something about muscle fatigue, nerve misalignment, a degenerative disorder. It meant that pushing himself too hard could destroy his body.

Ren barely listened. He didn't care. If anything, it was an excuse to stay lazy.

And so, for years, his power faded.

He stopped playing.

He stopped trying.

And his life collapsed.

His father, once proud of their so-called genius son, turned to alcohol. His mother, unable to handle the tension, filed for divorce.

And then, one day, his father simply left.

No goodbye. No explanations. Just gone.

With nowhere to go, Ren was dumped into a rundown orphanage, its owner a bitter drunk who barely remembered his name.

For the first time in his life, Kuroya Ren had nothing.

And at the bottom of that pit, something inside him began to wake up.