Outside the Shohoku Basketball Gym.
"The Shohoku Basketball Team may not be famous overall, but their captain is strong. I must investigate him thoroughly."
"And I need to carefully record information about Rukawa Kaede, the super-rookie who transferred from Tomigaoka Junior High, and their point guard, Miyagi."
A young boy with notebook in hand, muttered to himself as he approached the gym doors.
He was Aida Hikoichi, a first-year student from Ryonan High School who possessed an obsessive passion for scouting and compiling data on every notable player in the prefecture.
Hikoichi's arrival at the gym doors went completely unnoticed by the players inside.
At that moment, everyone inside the gym was focused entirely on Kazuto.
More precisely, on the ball he had just released from beyond the three-point line.
"Hmm, looks like they're having an intra-squad practice match," Hikoichi murmured as he slipped into the gym, his eyes widening with curiosity as he scanned the court.
When he saw Kazuto hanging in the air after the shot, Hikoichi's face lit up with astonishment.
"Such a graceful shooting motion! Every mechanical detail is flawless. Is he also a Shohoku player? Why don't I have any information about him?!"
Hikoichi frantically flipped through his notebook, his brow furrowed in confusion as he searched for any record of a player matching Kazuto's description.
...
Meanwhile, on the court:
"Get back on defense!" Kazuto shouted.
The moment the ball left his fingertips, Kazuto didn't even bother to watch the trajectory.
He immediately turned and sprinted back toward his own half of the court to set up the defense.
Rukawa and the other freshmen exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of his strategy.
Even if the shot looked good, shouldn't they at least crash the boards to try and grab the offensive rebound?
However, their initial confusion quickly morphed into sheer awe.
'Could it be... that Kazuto is so confident in his shooting mechanics that he knows it's going in the moment it leaves his hand?'
"Kazuto seem really confident about that shot!" Ayako's eyes sparkled with admiration as she watched Kazuto retreat, a hint of genuine infatuation creeping into her gaze.
Coach Anzai's expression remained unchanged, but the soft smile on his face grew noticeably wider.
Sakuragi, on the other hand, wore an incredibly envious look. "Kazuto, are you done yet?! Hurry up and let this genius take the court!"
"That kid's getting way too cocky. Focus, everyone! Box out and get ready to rebound!" Akagi, highly annoyed by Kazuto's arrogant 'no-look' retreat, shouted a warning to Kogure and the sophomores in the paint.
But before Akagi could even finish his sentence or establish rebounding position, the basketball dropped perfectly from the apex of its arc.
Swish.
It passed through the net without even grazing the rim.
The ball... went in.
"Wow! The ball actually went in! Kazuto is amazing!"
"The lead's widened!"
"With Kazuto leading us, we're definitely going to win this practice game!"
Seeing the clean basket, Kuwata, Ishii, and Sasaoka erupted in cheers.
Rukawa remained silent, but his gaze toward Kazuto now carried a heavy hint of acknowledgment.
'If he's truly a beginner,' Rukawa muttered to himself, 'he'll be a terrifying opponent.'
With that thought, Rukawa quickly retreated, soon positioning himself near Kazuto on defense.
Akagi's face turned grim as he watched the ball bounce away.
"This kid's scoring ability is even more terrifying than I anticipated," the captain growled gravely.
"This match just got a lot tougher."
"Indeed," Kogure nodded, a strained, faint smile on his face as he glanced between Rukawa and Kazuto.
"I thought Rukawa was the only troublesome first-year we had to worry about, but Kazuto is even harder to deal with. Akagi, do you think we can still win this practice game? I'm starting to lose hope."
Akagi remained silent, his dark expression conveying his meaning clearly enough.
...
Outside the court:
"Kazuto's touch seems to be on fire," Ayako remarked with a bright smile, playfully tapping her chin with her paper fan.
"The score gap is widening fast. If Akagi-senpai can't find a way to contain Kazuto's playmaking, the upperclassmen might actually lose this practice match."
Sakuragi, listening to Ayako's commentary, looked utterly dejected. "How could this be happening? Why are they winning so easily without me the genius ace on the court? Shouldn't they be getting completely crushed until I step in to turn the tide?!"
Ayako shot Sakuragi a disdainful look, her face darkening with annoyance.
'This guy is unbelievably arrogant.'
Ignoring Ayako's glare, Sakuragi cupped his hands and yelled at the upperclassmen on the court.
"Hey, Gori! Four-Eyes! What the hell are you guys doing?! How can you be losing to the exchange student and the fox when I, the genius, haven't even entered the game yet?!"
Hearing Sakuragi's loud taunts, Akagi and the sophomores glared back, itching to leave the court just to beat him senseless.
'This idiot really knows how to push our buttons!'
Sakuragi's loud commotion finally caught the attention of Aida Hikoichi, who was standing quietly near the entrance.
"So his name is Kazuto," Hikoichi murmured, highly intrigued. "Judging by that loud red-haired guy's reaction, this Kazuto must be incredibly skilled. He might be Shohoku's true secret weapon this year. I need to investigate him thoroughly."
As Hikoichi spoke to himself, his entire focus locked onto Kazuto, his pen flying across the pages of his notebook.
...
On the court:
"Kogure, watch out for Kazuto's steals. His ball sense and reaction time are exceptional," Akagi warned as he passed the ball to Kogure to restart the offense.
"Don't treat him like a beginner anymore. His learning ability is astonishing, and his progress far exceeds anything we expected. You need to guard him like you would guard Rukawa."
Kogure's expression turned incredibly serious at Akagi's warning, and he quickly nodded in agreement.
From the moment the practice match started, Kazuto had been improving every single second, constantly learning and applying new techniques.
"I understand," Kogure replied.
He lowered his center of gravity, his focus sharpening as he prepared to protect the ball against Kazuto's lightning-fast hands.
But what Kogure couldn't possibly anticipate was that against Kazuto, who possessed system-granted precognition, even his utmost caution proved utterly futile.
Kogure brought the ball up carefully.
Five seconds passed as he looked for a passing lane.
Snap!
The moment Kogure's concentration slightly wavered to check on Akagi's post positioning, Kazuto lunged.
He cleanly intercepted the ball right off the bounce.
With the ball stolen, Kazuto immediately pushed the pace, sprinting several meters forward and dribbling past the half-court line before anyone could react.
"His speed is incredible—nearly on par with Sendoh-san!" Hikoichi exclaimed from the sidelines, his face filled with absolute astonishment.
"I never imagined Shohoku's basketball team had such a hidden talent! Coming here today was definitely the right move. I need to write this down, write this down!"
Compared to Hikoichi's analytical excitement, Takamiya Nozomi and his group felt much the same, albeit in a less technical way.
"Yohei, this transfer student is the real deal. He just stole Four eye's ball again!"
"With hands that fast, he must be a street fighter too."
"Handsome and skilled at basketball? He's going to be a massive hit with the girls."
"That's obvious. Just look at the team's manager—her eyes practically melt when she looks at him."
As Takamiya and his friends continued their crude commentary, their gazes drifted toward Ayako.
At that moment, Ayako's eyes, while perhaps not literally filled with cartoon hearts, were indeed brimming with undeniable tenderness and admiration as she watched Kazuto lead the break.
Impressed by Kazuto's exceptional performance, Ayako turned to Sakuragi.
"Sakuragi, you need to learn from Kazuto. His outstanding play comes from his incredibly solid fundamentals and court awareness."
Sakuragi, however, simply snorted and dismissed Ayako's words, his mind wandering into daydreams of his own future spectacular dunks.
Just then, Kazuto finished the fast break, driving to the basket and effortlessly scoring a fundamental layup.
After scoring, Kazuto didn't celebrate; he quickly retreated to the defensive end, ready to counter the upperclassmen's next attack.
Akagi and his teammates slowly retrieved the ball, their spirits and morale visibly plummeting as they watched Kazuto's retreating figure.
The score gap had widened again.
If they conceded another basket, the deficit would reach double digits against a team composed mostly of benchwarmers.
"Captain, what do we do now? If we lose another point, we're down by ten."
"Kazuto is just too uncanny. He doesn't play like a beginner at all! We can't defend him, and we can't get past him!"
"Was he really suffering from heatstroke earlier today? He looks like he has more stamina than all of us combined!"
Kakuta, Yasuda, and Shiozaki were feeling incredibly frustrated.
Listening to his teammates' complaints, Akagi maintained a solemn, imposing expression.
"Stop overthinking it," he commanded. "Focus on the game. I'll personally lead the next drive. Coordinate with me."
Kogure and the others nodded, looking slightly relieved.
Taking the inbound pass, Akagi didn't hand it off to Kogure.
Instead, the massive center began dribbling the ball up the court himself.
The crowd stared in total disbelief at Akagi's actions.
A center nearly two meters Gorilla playing as a point guard? What kind of desperate strategy was this?
"Did they change their tactics?" Kuwata muttered nervously.
Seeing Akagi take the primary ball-handling role, Kazuto turned to Rukawa.
"Rukawa, let's switch matchups. I'll guard Akagi-senpai on the perimeter, and you take Kogure-senpai."
Rukawa hesitated for a fraction of a second, sizing up the massive captain, before replying.
"Fine."
Kazuto and Rukawa quickly switched positions, exchanging their defensive assignments.
After switching, Kazuto quietly instructed his other teammates.
"Be ready for a fast break at any moment. If I steal the ball from the captain, I'll pass it to you for a quick counterattack."
"Got it," Rukawa nodded, his eyes narrowing as he watched Akagi approach.
Kazuto stepping up to guard Akagi at the top of the key quickly drew everyone's attention, leaving the gym stunned.
Was Kazuto actually going to challenge the colossal captain one-on-one on the perimeter?
"Kazuto's audacity just keeps growing! He's actually challenging the Captain directly!" Ayako exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Ayako wasn't the only one intrigued.
Coach Anzai chuckled softly, adjusting his glasses. "Ho ho... this is getting interesting!"
"Kazuto versus the Gorilla?!" Sakuragi roared from the sidelines, his excitement bubbling over.
"Gori, you can't lose to Kazuto! Only I am allowed to defeat you!"
Akagi's face darkened furiously at Sakuragi's words, the memory of his previous humiliation against the redhead resurfacing in his mind!
"Idiot! Shut your mouth!" Akagi roared back over his shoulder, his anger rising with each passing moment.
In that split second of distraction, Kazuto lunged forward, swiping directly at the ball in Akagi's hands.
Akagi's heart leaped in alarm as he scrambled to pull the ball away and block Kazuto's attempt.
But because he was a center, his dribble was naturally high and relatively loose compared to a guard's.
His reaction was just a fraction of a second too slow.
Thwack!
A crisp sound echoed as Kazuto cleanly stripped the ball from Akagi's grasp.
Gaining control of the loose ball, Kazuto didn't even bother to dribble.
He immediately hurled a full-court pass forward while shouting, "Rukawa! Fast break!"
Before Kazuto had even finished speaking, Rukawa was already sprinting down the court, having anticipated the steal perfectly.
He caught the long pass in stride. "Nice play."
Seeing Akagi get picked cleanly, Sakuragi became even more agitated than the captain himself.
"GORIII, what the hell is wrong with you?! How could you let Kazuto steal the ball so easily?!"
Akagi ignored Sakuragi's outburst, his face burning with humiliation as he desperately tried to chase Rukawa down.
"Amazing! He even stole the ball from the monstrous Akagi!"
Hikoichi watched Kazuto's astonishing defensive performance with wide-eyed shock.
"Could it be... that he switched positions with Rukawa earlier specifically because he knew Akagi's high dribble was vulnerable to a steal?!"
"If that's the case, Kazuto's basketball IQ is truly terrifying. I need to write this down—this is absolutely crucial to remember!"
The more Hikoichi pondered Kazuto's tactical decisions, the more astonished he became, his pen flying furiously as he documented every detail of the mysterious freshman's performance.