Shoyo High School · Gymnasium.
Inside the quiet gym, only the rhythmic thumping of a basketball echoed through the empty court.
Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
Fujima Kenji dribbled with full focus. His eyes locked on the basket ahead, but in his mind, he kept replaying Aoi Kunisaku's figure from that day on the court.
He took a deep breath. His legs pushed hard off the floor. He leaped high, lifted his arm gracefully, and with a gentle flick of his wrist, took a shot.
Even though his height wasn't anything special for a basketball player, his shooting form had a unique elegance—textbook perfect, no flaws.
This steadiness came from years of disciplined training, built step by step.
Bang…
Just then, the gym door burst open.
Hanagata Toru walked in and immediately spotted Fujima. "Knew you'd be here, Fujima."
Fujima Kenji turned his head slightly, glanced over, and replied calmly, "Since the match is near, I'm trying to get my shot rhythm back."
"Is that so." Hanagata's eyes held a deeper meaning as he looked at him.
They'd known each other for years—not just as court partners, but as close friends off it too.
He quickly sensed something was different about Fujima today.
"It's because of Shohoku, isn't it?" Hanagata cut straight to the point.
Fujima fell silent.
The air in the gym grew heavy and quiet.
After a long pause, Fujima finally spoke. "Shohoku is strong. I don't want to admit it, but I can't deny it either. That No. 9 from Shohoku… I honestly can't think of a good way to stop him."
"Why not just double-team him? We're not the same as Tsukubu," Hanagata suggested.
Fujima shook his head, looking serious. "Double-teaming might slow him down, but what about the others? Shohoku isn't just about Aoi Kunisaku. There's also Rukawa Kaede, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota. Each of them is solid. None of them can be ignored."
Hanagata listened, then went quiet.
Shoyo's players, in terms of individual skill, were among the best in Kanagawa. They also had a clear height advantage.
Most teams either got crushed by their skill or overwhelmed by their size.
But Shohoku didn't fall into either category. That made things tricky.
Hanagata spoke again. "We still have to play the match. I'll do my part to help stop Shohoku's No. 9."
Fujima looked at Hanagata. A warm smile spread across his face, filled with trust. "I believe in you, Hanagata."
…
Kainan University Affiliated High School · Gymnasium.
Bang…
The gym door swung open.
A middle-aged man with a strong build and gorilla-like face walked in with steady steps.
His short black hair and stern face were paired with silver-rimmed glasses. This was none other than Kainan's coach, Takato Riki.
"Maki… You're still here, huh?!" Takato Riki immediately spotted the figure in the gym and called out.
Maki Shinichi, dripping with sweat, turned around. Surprised to see his coach, he said, "Coach…"
Usually by this hour, no one was around. He couldn't help wondering what brought Takato-sensei here now.
Takato walked over and looked at Maki's soaked figure. A feeling of pride rose in his chest.
If only every player worked as hard as Maki, his job would be so much easier.
Takato said, "We've got a match tomorrow. Don't stay too late tonight."
Maki replied, "I'm not planning to play tomorrow. Let Aida and the others handle it. I want to save my energy and be in top form for facing Shohoku."
Takato wasn't surprised by the first part about sitting out.
But the mention of going all-out against Shohoku caught his attention. He couldn't help asking, "Is Shohoku really that strong?"
He'd heard about their blowout win over Tsukubu. Maki had also broken it down for him in detail.
He was shocked at the time.
He even wondered if Maki was exaggerating or pulling his leg—it all sounded too far-fetched.
But Maki's eyes were firm. His face serious. "Shohoku overall isn't something we need to worry too much about. But their No. 9 is the real problem."
Takato raised an eyebrow slightly, unfolded his fan, and gave it a light wave. "Shohoku's No. 9, huh? You said his name was Aoi Kunisaku, right?"
In that moment, a sharp glint passed through his eyes. Then he said, "Alright. Their next match is against Shoyo, right? Let's go watch it together."
Now he was curious about this player called Aoi Kunisaku.
He wanted to see for himself—what kind of player could earn Maki's full attention?
…
Time flew by.
A whole week passed in a flash.
That day, Kanagawa Gymnasium was packed with people, buzzing with excitement. Inside the basketball court, not a single seat was empty. The atmosphere was electric.
That day, four matches would be played back-to-back.
It was the A, B, C, and D bracket championship matches.
Also known as the round to decide which eight teams would advance to the final four.
Only the winners of each group would qualify for the semifinals.
Group A: Kainan vs. Takezono
Group B: Shohoku vs. Shoyo
Group C: Ryonan vs. Hamadachuo
Group D: Takezato vs. Ookita
Inside the arena for Group B's showdown, the game hadn't started yet, but the crowd was already going wild. Cheers and chants rose nonstop.
A boy in a Shoyo school uniform stood in front of a cheerleading squad, all wearing matching uniforms. With high energy, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Who really deserves to go to Nationals? Who is it?!"
The Shoyo cheerleaders all raised their plastic bottles and clanged them together with force, shouting in unison:
"Shoyo… Shoyo… Shoyo…"
The same guy who had been leading shouted again, "Shohoku and Shoyo—don't their names sound kinda similar? So which one's gonna win?"
As he spoke, he spread his hand and cupped it to his ear, pretending to listen.
The cheer squad once again shouted together in sync.
"Shoyo… Shoyo… Shoyo…"
Watching the uniformed and high-energy cheer squad on Shoyo's side, Akagi Haruko and the members of Sakuragi's Gang sitting on Shohoku's side looked dazed.
They didn't have anything close to that kind of cheer squad. Just Akagi Haruko and her two close friends, plus Sakuragi's Gang with four members. All together, just seven people.
The seven of them stared wide-eyed, frozen as they looked toward the Shoyo side's cheer squad. A wave of nervousness hit them.
Matsui muttered, "Shoyo's cheer squad really is something else."
Akagi Haruko nodded blankly and added, "They brought a lot of people."
Fujii turned his head and looked at Akagi Haruko. "So… where's Shohoku's cheer squad?"
With a serious tone and a bit of innocence, Akagi Haruko replied, "We're all here."
At that moment, it felt like a crow flew overhead, cawing awkwardly. The atmosphere turned weird.
Meanwhile, Aida Yayoi and her male assistant arrived in a hurry.
Aida Yayoi wiped the sweat from her face, panting. "Finally made it. Today's four games will happen two at a time. We're probably gonna have to run back and forth between courts."
Saying that, she raised her camera and started clicking. "Kacha! Kacha!"
Nakamura Taizou suggested, "You don't need to run yourself ragged. I can cover one of the matches for you."
Aida Yayoi pointed at him, annoyed. "You think I don't want to send you? Last time I had you write the article, it was a total mess. Your photos were useless too. You think I'd trust you to go alone?"
Ugh…
Nakamura Taizou flushed with embarrassment.
He couldn't understand it. He thought his writing and pictures were decent. But compared to Aida Yayoi's, they looked pathetic.
"Hmph…"
Aida Yayoi snorted and added, "Anyway, you better learn. Basketball's not as simple as you think."
…
Shohoku Locker Room.
Akagi Takenori stood with a serious expression, eyes steady, and addressed the team solemnly. "Today's game is important. Our opponent is Shoyo. They're nothing like the teams we've faced before. Stay sharp—maximum focus."
Sakuragi Hanamichi walked up, looked Akagi up and down, then burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! Gorilla, you've got dark circles! So you can get nervous!"
Akagi's eyelid twitched, and he shot back, annoyed, "You're talking about yourself, aren't you?!"
Hearing that, Sakuragi puffed out his chest, proud and loud. "Hmph! I, the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi, trained until sunrise just for today's match!"
"Didn't expect even Akagi to lose sleep from nerves," Kogure Kiminobu smiled. "Though I also got up at 4 a.m.."
Just then, Mitsui Hisashi stood up from the corner with a mocking grin. "You sad little losers. Just hearing it's Shoyo already scared you this bad?"
Then he turned and headed for the locker room door.
Kogure quickly called out, "Hey! Where are you going? The game's about to start!"
Mitsui stopped, his expression froze for a second, then said without looking back, "Bathroom."
"Hahahahaha…"
Sakuragi burst out laughing. "Turns out the most scared one is Mitsui! He pissed himself!"
Mitsui, just outside the door, showed his shark-tooth grin, furious. He poked his head back in, face red, yelling, "Like hell I did! I just drank too much water!"
Ayako and Shimizu Kanon stood nearby, watching the locker room chaos. They both let out small sighs.
Miyagi Ryota sat alone in a corner, fiddling with a basketball.
Rukawa Kaede leaned against a wall, eyes closed like he was dozing.
Ayako looked around at everyone's tense expressions and muttered, "It's different this time. Everyone's so serious."
"Right?" Shimizu Kanon nodded. She thought to herself, I wonder if they even remembered the info I gave them.
She turned to glance at Aoi Kunisaku. He was totally focused on something in his hands. When she looked closer, it turned out to be a magazine—with a big-breasted woman in a bikini on the cover.
"Saku-chan… what are you looking at?" Shimizu Kanon's face turned red as she asked, clearly annoyed.
Ayako noticed too, and her face turned red as well when she saw the magazine.
Aoi Kunisaku didn't even look up. He casually replied, "Huh? A magazine."
"That's not what I meant!" Shimizu Kanon groaned and walked over to snatch the magazine from his hands. "You're not allowed to look at trash like this!"
Aoi looked unfazed and said, "I think it's pretty healthy."
Shimizu Kanon lectured him sternly. "No matter what, this stuff is off-limits. Confiscated! I'm keeping it!"
"Tch…"
Aoi let out a dismissive snort but didn't argue.
He was already used to getting stuff confiscated.
Ayako watched the whole thing, unsure what to feel. She thought to herself, Can't any of them behave? Well, at least there's one person who isn't nervous.
Time ticked by.
Before long, all the Shohoku players had changed into their uniforms and were ready to go.
Akagi Takenori swept his gaze across the team and said loudly, "Alright. It's about time. Let's go!"
"Yes—!" the players replied in unison.