Just like when Hanamiya Makoto had gravely injured Kiyoshi Teppei at the end of a match and got away with little consequence,
This time, even though he was the one injured, there wasn't much public sympathy either.
After all, Hanamiya's injury didn't occur during the game. It happened after the final whistle, right in front of a stadium full of witnesses, when he launched a malicious attack on Akashi Asuka, and was immediately countered.
That was no longer a "dirty trick." It was outright assault, something that could've been criminally prosecuted.
If not for the fact that he was the one who got hurt, someone probably would've already called the police.
The organizers clearly wanted nothing to do with such a troublesome situation.
Since the incident happened after the game officially ended, they simply sent a representative to offer a token word of concern, then washed their hands of it.
In the end, it was Kirisaki Daiichi's coach who had his players carry Hanamiya off the court.
At the hospital,
Everyone from Kirisaki Daiichi was stunned by the medical report. Not only Hanamiya, but also Hara Kazuya and Furuhashi Koujirou's injuries were far worse than expected.
Hara Kazuya: fractured nasal bone.
Furuhashi Koujirou: fractured nasal bone, four broken front teeth, and two loosened healthy ones.
Both of them required immediate surgery.
But compared to them, Hanamiya's injuries were downright brutal.
Hanamiya Makoto: sprained ankle, torn ligament in the left heel, torn meniscus in the right knee, and a fractured rib near the flank.
When the doctors handed over the diagnosis, Kirisaki Daiichi's players were dumbfounded. None of them had imagined the injuries would be that severe.
With wounds like these, Hanamiya's basketball career was essentially over.
Not that he could never play again, but damage to ligaments and the meniscus is irreversible, even with the best medical care.
Sure, he could still shoot hoops casually, but the moment the game became intense, his body would no longer keep up. His performance would always be limited.
From today onward, the "Uncrowned Five Kings" were effectively down to four.
After seeing the full extent of the injuries,
The expressions on Kirisaki Daiichi's players remained surprisingly calm. There wasn't much concern, nor sorrow.
Because Hanamiya Makoto wasn't just disliked by his opponents, he was just as hated by his teammates.
He had always been cruel, not only toward rivals but toward his own squad.
During practice matches, he never held back his malice, and if not for the coach's strict warnings, he might have already seriously injured teammates long ago.
Inside Kirisaki Daiichi, there were plenty of people who despised him. If they weren't standing in a hospital right now, some might have already burst out laughing.
Perhaps the only people genuinely troubled by this were the coach and the team manager.
After all, regardless of reason, four of the team's five main players were now hospitalized. As the ones in charge of the basketball program, neither could escape responsibility.
And yet, beneath that frustration, a strange sense of relief flickered in the coach's heart.
"Maybe... this isn't such a bad thing after all."
In truth, Kirisaki Daiichi hadn't always been this kind of team, the kind that relied on foul play and underhanded tactics.
That dark transformation began only after Hanamiya Makoto enrolled.
The coach had tried to stop him, but failed, because under Hanamiya's ruthless leadership, the team's results had skyrocketed in a very short time.
============
The aftermath of Kirisaki Daiichi's disaster was something Seiho's players never heard about.
Even they probably couldn't have imagined just how severe Hanamiya and his teammates' injuries had been.
Though Akashi Asuka, on the other hand, seemed to have a good sense of it. He was, after all, quite "precise" when he acted.
"The match is over. So, what now?"
"Ahh~~ I'm starving! How about we grab something to eat?"
Their game had ended early, and when they stepped out of the venue, the afternoon sun was still bright and blazing.
"Hold up on the food for a bit. Since we've got time, why don't we check out next week's tournament contenders?"
"If I'm not mistaken, the A-Division's arena is only one stop away... so let's see who this year's winner will be."
"No objections here."
"Same here."
"Perfect. Let's head to the A-Division court then. Come to think of it, does anyone remember which two teams made it to the A-Division finals?"
"Hmm~ I think I know," Akashi said, touching his chin thoughtfully. "If everything went as expected, this year's A-Division finals should be between Shutoku and Seirin."
Everyone froze for a moment.
Then Tsugawa Tomoki's eyes widened. "Hah?! What's even the point of watching that match? There's no way Seirin can beat Shutoku!"
The others didn't say anything, but from their expressions, it was clear they agreed.
It wasn't arrogance, it was experience.
Having already faced Shutoku, Seiho knew better than anyone how terrifying the team had become after recruiting one of the Generation of Miracles, Midorima Shintaro.
Sure, Seiho had won that game.
But even they knew how lucky that victory had been.
It wasn't about tactics or formations. It was pure, overwhelming talent, Midorima's flawless shooting ability.
Against Shutoku, if you couldn't stop Midorima's threes, then nothing else mattered.
Because with a 100% three-point accuracy, he was a one-man scoring machine capable of destroying any team.
"Well~~ who knows?"
Akashi merely shrugged. "In basketball, the game isn't over until the final whistle. Maybe Shutoku leads the entire match, only for a meteor to suddenly fall from the sky in the last minute and wipe them out."
"That's impossible!" Omuro barked out in exasperation.
"Alright, that's enough," Coach Matsumoto Yukinori finally interjected with a chuckle. "It's just one station away. We'll swing by and take a look. No matter who wins, as long as we gather intel for the finals, even a little, it's worth the trip."
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