Seeing Sendoh again, Ake felt a wave of complex emotions wash over him.
He stood still, his eyes calmly fixed on the familiar figure ahead, a faint but unmistakable emotion stirring in his heart.
He had never expected to meet Sendoh again — let alone as teammates at Ryonan High School.
At one point, he had even considered going to Shohoku High.
But that idea had only come from the regret he once felt for the anime's main characters in his past life.
Now, this was reality.
He wasn't going to choose a school just to satisfy a feeling of nostalgia.
In this real world, he had to think logically and practically.
"Sendoh… long time no see," Ake said with a faint smile.
A rare warmth flickered in his heterochromatic eyes.
His tone was calm, but it carried the quiet joy of a long-awaited reunion.
Sendoh's trademark carefree grin spread across his face. "Yeah… I was starting to think you'd quit basketball for good!"
But as he got closer, he suddenly stopped.
That aura—familiar, yet foreign—made him pause.
Ake had changed. And yet… he hadn't.
In just a year, something about him had become deeper, heavier.
He could still sense traces of the Ake he once knew, but there was now an unshakable pressure radiating from him—calm, yet intimidating.
Sendoh's feelings were mixed.
But still… Ake was Ake.
"I told you, I just needed a year off," Ake replied indifferently, offering no further explanation.
Sendoh didn't press.
He simply nodded, then turned to Rukia with a light smile. "Hey, Rukia. Didn't expect you to come to Ryonan too."
Rukia smiled gracefully. "It doesn't really matter which school I go to. I don't know anyone at the others anyway, so I figured I might as well come with Ake-kun."
"I see…" Sendoh chuckled softly, a hint of apology in his tone.
After all, he was the one who had called Ake and suggested Ryonan in the first place.
"By the way," Sendoh suddenly shifted the topic, his tone becoming more serious, "Seiyo still didn't win the championship, did they?"
He was referring to Seiyo's third year.
Because if Ake had still been there, there was no way Seiyo Middle School would have lost.
But the team that eventually won wasn't Seiyo.
Ake's expression remained calm as he answered flatly, "That has nothing to do with me anymore."
No regret. No sadness. No need to explain.
That feeling again. Sendoh could sense it clearly.
Ake was still the same—steady, composed, always in control.
And yet, there was something new about him… something distant and unreadable.
A contradiction wrapped in calm.
The truth was, Ake had undergone incredible growth over the past year.
At just sixteen, he stood 185 cm tall and weighed 79 kg. His body was lean but powerful, every movement controlled and deliberate. His presence alone radiated maturity and dominance far beyond his age.
More shocking, however, was how far his talent had evolved.
He could now use nearly 80–90% of his potential.
That meant his awareness, judgment, speed, and rhythm control had reached an almost flawless level.
Every pass, every drive, every defensive move—Ake orchestrated them as if controlling the very rhythm of fate itself.
The "Zone," that mythical state of absolute focus, still eluded him— but even without it, when he played at full power, no one his age could match him.
Even more impressively, he had managed to suppress his long-standing dual personality issue.
Or, to be exact, he'd found a temporary truce.
After a prolonged internal struggle for dominance, the two personalities reached a delicate balance—each maintaining partial control of the body.
That was why, back then, Sendoh sometimes felt like Ake would suddenly turn into a completely different person.
Ake had quit basketball for a year to finally bring that chaos under control.
And he had succeeded.
Now, he could freely switch between the two personalities' playstyles without any loss in strength.
It was that inner balance—two souls sharing one body—that gave him such a contradictory, awe-inspiring aura.
"I'll take you two to register," Sendoh said with a grin, snapping out of his thoughts. "The coach is probably dying to meet you."
He turned and began leading them toward the basketball gym.
"You guys aren't just waiting for Ake-kun, right?" Rukia asked, tilting her head in curiosity.
Sendoh laughed, his tone light but meaningful. "Of course not. Ryonan's a top school in Kanagawa. But…"
He suddenly slowed his steps, leaning close to Ake's ear and lowering his voice.
"Because of a few things that happened earlier, some people here might not be too friendly toward you. When we get to the gym… there could be a bit of trouble."
He didn't elaborate further, but Ake immediately understood.
Everyone in the Basketball Club already knew that a talented player named Ake was coming.
They'd heard Sendoh praise him endlessly—so naturally, jealousy and doubt had started brewing.
When he arrived, there would be tension. Maybe even resistance.
But Ake's calm expression didn't change.
He didn't mind.
In fact, this was exactly what he wanted.
He hadn't come here to make friends.
He came for power.
He wouldn't let his high school team end up like his first middle school team.
The only way to prevent that… was to take control himself.
And the best way to do that—was through absolute strength.
Meanwhile, inside Ryonan High's basketball gym—
The squeak of sneakers echoed across the polished floor.
A group of boys in white jerseys with black trims were drenched in sweat, immersed in their daily drills.
They were the current members of Ryonan High's basketball team.
"I heard someone amazing is joining us today. Is that true?" Koshino Hiroaki asked as he wiped the sweat from his brow, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.
The moment he spoke, the others perked up.
Everyone had already heard the rumors.
Uekusa Tomoyuki frowned. "You mean Sendoh's old middle school teammate? That hasn't been confirmed, right?"
Koshino rolled his eyes. "You're kidding, right? The coach personally asked Sendoh to invite him. You seriously didn't know that?"
Even the coach had asked Sendoh about it in front of everyone.
Ikegami Ryoji tilted his head, then said thoughtfully, "I just saw Sendoh head out earlier—probably to pick him up."
He paused, a sharp look in his eyes. "If Sendoh personally invited this guy, he's definitely strong."
Then he smirked and turned to Uekusa. "But Uekusa… I heard he plays the same position as you. Guess your starting spot isn't too safe anymore, huh?"
The court fell silent.
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
Uekusa's face darkened, but he didn't respond.
He just clenched the towel in his hand and muttered coldly, "Then he better prove it."
Koshino laughed lightly. "Doesn't matter who he is. This is Ryonan. No one gets in just because Sendoh says so. It all comes down to strength."
At the edge of the court, a towering man over two meters tall listened quietly without saying a word.
It was Ryonan's captain — Uozumi Jun.
He didn't speak, but a thoughtful gleam flickered in his eyes.