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The sharp whistle echoed. The three-minute warm-up passed in a flash.
The referee blew again, signaling both teams to step onto the court for final prep.
As the players walked onto the court, everyone sensed something unusual.
Shoyo's side quickly noticed what was wrong.
Fujima Kenji's face darkened. A trace of displeasure flickered in his eyes.
Because he didn't see that familiar figure in Shohoku's lineup.
"Is Shohoku underestimating us?" Fujima clenched his fists, anger rising in his voice.
Hanagata Toru's face turned cold too. He frowned and said stiffly, "That's just looking down on us."
…
The players from Ryonan and Kainan also noticed Aoi Kunisaku wasn't starting and felt confused.
"Not in the starting five?" Maki Shinichi narrowed his eyes, clearly puzzled.
Jin Soichiro's gaze turned sharp. After a moment of thought, he analyzed, "Are they hiding strength? Maybe Shohoku plans to bring Aoi Kunisaku in at a crucial moment."
Kiyota Nobunaga was visibly irritated and shouted, "They're just being flashy! Pretending for effect!"
Takato Riki slowly fanned himself. He glanced at Coach Anzai Mitsuyoshi on Shohoku's bench, still looking calm and collected. Then he looked at Aoi Kunisaku, slouching lazily on the bench, and his eyes showed a trace of thought.
Taoka Moichi had a similar expression. He knew Aoi Kunisaku better than Takato Riki did.
Though he couldn't fully figure out what Coach Anzai was thinking, years of coaching gave him a solid instinct—he could at least sense some of the reasoning behind it.
Aida Hikoichi looked disappointed. He murmured, "Aoi Kunisaku's not starting? I really wanted to see him play right away…"
Ikegami Ryoji crossed his arms and seriously analyzed, "Could it be they're confident they can beat Shoyo with this current lineup?"
Koshino Hiroaki followed up, "Who knows? Maybe that guy just didn't want to go in."
Everyone thought about that for a moment. The more they considered it, the more it made sense.
Knowing Aoi Kunisaku's personality, this wasn't out of character at all.
Sendoh Akira's focus was completely different from the others.
With a slight smirk, he glanced at Shoyo and said lazily, "Shoyo must feel insulted right now. Shohoku didn't start Aoi Kunisaku—Shoyo probably sees that as disrespect. They're bound to be pissed."
…
A lot of spectators had come just to watch Aoi Kunisaku. When they saw he wasn't on court, they immediately got upset.
"What the hell? Why isn't number 9 from Shohoku on the floor? I came just to see him!"
"Yeah! Who's that redhead? Get him off!"
"What kind of coach is this? Hurry up and sub him in—we want to see Aoi Kunisaku play!"
"Yeah, we want to see Aoi Kunisaku!"
"Shohoku, make the switch now!"
…
The angry voices from the crowd poured down like a wave and reached Shohoku's bench.
Ayako listened to the complaints from the stands. Worry crept into her heart. She said softly, "Coach Anzai…"
But Anzai Mitsuyoshi stayed calm, completely unaffected by the scolding. He sat steadily, with a gentle smile on his face.
"Hohohoho… Don't mind them, Ayako."
Then he turned to Aoi Kunisaku and asked, "Aoi, do you think it was a mistake not letting you start?"
"Huh?" Aoi Kunisaku blinked in surprise, looking confused at first. Then he replied, "I don't really care. If the opponent's weak, playing is boring anyway. Hope Shoyo won't disappoint me."
Hohohoho…
Hearing this, Anzai Mitsuyoshi chuckled.
There was no doubt about his high regard for Aoi Kunisaku. He had his reasons for keeping him on the bench.
In all his decades in basketball, he'd never seen anyone with talent like Aoi Kunisaku.
Not before, and probably not ever again.
He understood just how monstrous that talent was.
In his view, such talent might be one of a kind in the entire world.
His thoughts drifted to the past, and he remembered a former player of his—Yazawa Ryuji.
That was also a "genius" player Coach Anzai once placed his hopes on.
But even though Yazawa Ryuji had remarkable talent, compared to Aoi Kunisaku, he still fell far short.
Players with extraordinary talent often came with character issues. Aoi Kunisaku was no exception.
Basketball was a team sport. But Aoi Kunisaku's presence disrupted the very concept of "team."
Every time Aoi Kunisaku played, it was like his teammates vanished from the court.
Strangely, it wasn't that the team isolated Aoi Kunisaku. Rather, Aoi Kunisaku unconsciously isolated the whole team. Yet the team couldn't function without him.
His ability was simply overwhelming. He was strong enough to carry an entire team by himself. Over time, he developed a habit of not relying on teammates.
That was exactly what Anzai Mitsuyoshi didn't want to see.
He wanted to change how Aoi Kunisaku viewed basketball.
Or rather, he wanted to change his core belief.
To make him understand the value of a team.
Anzai Mitsuyoshi believed, once Aoi Kunisaku truly grasped the power of teamwork, no team in the national tournament would be able to stop Shohoku.
That was the first reason he benched Aoi Kunisaku.
The second reason was about Shohoku's long-term growth.
If Shohoku wanted to become truly strong, they couldn't rely on Aoi Kunisaku alone. The rest of the team had to grow too.
Facing tough teams was the best training. That's why letting Aoi Kunisaku sit out for now was intentional.
Because once Aoi Kunisaku stepped on court, everyone else's chance to grow would shrink fast. That wouldn't help their development.
…
On the court—
Both teams had taken their positions.
Shohoku's starting lineup:
Center: Akagi Takenori, No. 4, 3rd year (Captain)
Power Forward: Sakuragi Hanamichi, No. 10, 1st year
Small Forward: Rukawa Kaede, No. 11, 1st year
Point Guard: Miyagi Ryota, No. 7, 2nd year
Shooting Guard: Mitsui Hisashi, No. 14, 3rd year
Shoyo's starting lineup:
Center: Hanagata Toru, No. 5, 3rd year
Power Forward: Takano Shoichi, No. 8, 3rd year
Small Forward: Nagano Mitsuru, No. 7, 3rd year
Point Guard: Fujima Kenji, No. 4, 3rd year (Captain)
Shooting Guard: Hasegawa Kazushi, No. 6, 3rd year
The players from Shohoku suddenly noticed that everyone on Shoyo's side was glaring at them with sharp, deadly eyes. It was as if Shohoku owed them millions.
Shohoku, already a little nervous, felt their nerves tighten even more.
They were all confused—why was Shoyo acting like this?
Hanagata Toru's eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. He locked eyes with Akagi Takenori and said in a low, intimidating voice, "You'll regret your choice."
Huh?
Akagi Takenori looked completely baffled. He had no idea what the guy meant.
What choice?
What did we even do?
Why is he coming at me right away?
Mitsui Hisashi kept his eyes locked on Shoyo's No. 6.
Earlier, in the restroom, he'd overheard that player talking about keeping his score under 5 points. That seriously ticked him off.
Rukawa Kaede still wore his usual poker face. Even if the world were ending, his expression probably wouldn't change.
Sakuragi Hanamichi kept glancing back and forth across the Shoyo players. His eyes flickered with unreadable thoughts. No one could tell what was going on in his head.
Miyagi Ryota was feeling helpless.
He looked up at the towering Shoyo lineup, then back at his own short frame. He suddenly felt small.
An invisible weight pressed down inside his chest.
Just as everyone stood tense with different thoughts in their heads, the referee blew the starting whistle.
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The sharp sound rang through the court.
Then the referee tossed the basketball high into the air between both teams.
Shohoku VS Shoyo—the game had officially begun.