"Yangyu, don't make trouble."
The tall boy with sun-streaked golden tips in his hair—Gao Ge—turned his head with a calm, gentle smile as he spoke. Despite his lazy tone, Zhu Yangyu, the towering player beside him, quickly backed off, as if used to obeying him even when pretending not to.
Meanwhile, Sun Fengwu, the man even the U-20 coach had been stunned to see, turned toward Shigure Akihito, speaking in fluent Mandarin that sounded oddly natural to his ears.
"Shigure, may I have a word with you alone?"
"Sure."
When Akihito responded in the same smooth Mandarin, Sun Fengwu smiled faintly.
"Ah, right—Gao Ge, you come too."
"Alright."
As they walked away, Akihito couldn't help but notice how tall and lean Sun Fengwu's frame was. But what really caught his attention was the pressure radiating from the young man called Gao Ge—an aura that felt like a blazing sun colliding with a surging tidal wave.
Soon, the three reached the court entrance.
"First of all, congratulations to both of you," Sun began evenly.
"You're among the first chosen for our project—an elite group handpicked from the top 300 players under eighteen worldwide."
Then, his tone grew sharp.
"My name is Sun Fengwu. I've been commissioned by the Xiaguo National Basketball League for one purpose only—"
He paused.
"—to win the World Championship."
Both Shigure and Gao Ge froze.
World… championship?
Akihito blinked, glancing toward Gao Ge. For the first time since their meeting, that calm, unshaken expression cracked ever so slightly with surprise.
Sun Fengwu continued, his words calm yet heavy with conviction.
"I'll get straight to the point," he said. "To conquer the world, you need only one thing—"
He raised his hand.
"—to create a generation-defining player."
"This project—initiated by our country—is designed to forge the world's No. 1 basketball player from those 300 chosen. That's why we've expanded the search across the entire globe."
He turned his tablet around.
"Take a look. This is the facility prepared for that purpose—"
"Blue Prison."
The image that appeared on his screen resembled the Pentagon—a massive, fortress-like complex. At its core sat a full-sized stadium, and around it sprawled a labyrinth of interconnected buildings: dormitories, training halls, gyms, cafeterias, and courts.
Every structure was cold, precise, and utterly disciplined in design.
"When the program begins," Sun continued, "you'll live there. No returning home. No distractions. You'll abandon your old basketball life entirely."
He looked them both straight in the eye.
"But I can promise you this—if you can survive the training and emerge as the last one standing among 299 others…"
"Then you will become the world's greatest player."
"That's all I needed to say. Now—it's time for your questions."
Shigure Akihito stared, dumbfounded.
Blue Prison?!
Wait a second… wasn't that from another sports anime?!
And wasn't that one… about soccer?!
While Gao Ge began firing off sharp, analytical questions—mostly centered around the project's legitimacy and the logic behind "winning the world" through such a system—Akihito's concerns were far broader.
For instance:
His nationality.
Whether this "call-up" also included Nijimura Shuzō.
And who else might receive similar invitations.
They talked for nearly an hour. By the end, both sides seemed satisfied.
When Shigure returned to the gym alongside Gao Ge and Sun Fengwu, the sound that greeted them was chaos—Zhu Yangyu had apparently lost his temper.
It seemed he'd taken offense to something about the nickname "Yasha" (Night Demon) and was now fighting Reo Mibuchi.
Correction—not a 1v1.
It was a 1v2: The Night Demon vs. The Gentleman and The Thunder Beast.
Reo Mibuchi and Kotarō Hayama were on offense. Hayama dribbled carefully, forearm up to keep Zhu from closing in. Reo cut without the ball, and with a smooth handoff, broke past Zhu's reach.
But just as Reo received the pass—
Zhu's eyes snapped toward him.
"Division!"
Reo blinked. "Huh?"
"That idiot Yasha's cutting again, I'll—"
"—kill you."
Smack!
Before anyone could react, Zhu bent low, body dropping like a beast, stealing the ball from Hayama with a fluid sweep.
"East Wind Break!"
The words and the move hit at the same time.
"What the—he can focus on multiple things at once?" someone exclaimed.
"He looked at Reo, spoke, and stole the ball all at once—how many brains does he have?"
"That's insane!"
With the ball in hand, Zhu gave Reo a mocking grin.
"In front of me, you're no Yasha—" he sneered. "Just a mortal."
Even though Reo couldn't understand his words, the message was loud and clear from Zhu's smirk and eyes.
Boom!
Zhu accelerated.
Hayama tried to match his pace with lightning-like speed, but Zhu suddenly flicked the ball wide and slid past him with a serpentine sidestep.
"Ninja!"
He flowed around Hayama like a shadow snake.
"Bastard!"
Zhu snatched the ball back.
"Snail!"
At the free-throw line, he slowed abruptly—then stopped on a dime and slashed sideways.
Reo tried to block, lowering his shoulder, but Zhu's sudden shift threw his balance off completely.
He stumbled several steps—
And then—
BANG!
Dunk!
Hanging from the rim, Zhu dropped down, turned to face Reo, and lifted an eyebrow.
"Dragon Fist."
Reo stared blankly, completely lost.
But on the sidelines, Shigure Akihito understood instantly.
No doubt about it—Zhu Yangyu was a massive Jay Chou fan.
(lol i hate this arc)