From the moment Rukawa Kaede dunked over his head, Akagi had been playing with barely restrained fury. Fueled by anger, he became extremely active, single-handedly leading the veteran team into a continuous comeback.
So even after Morishige Hiroshi and Sakuragi were subbed in, Fukatsu still chose to feed the ball inside—testing whether Akagi could maintain his momentum.
Facing Morishige Hiroshi's defense, Akagi once again failed to secure deep position. He stood about half a step outside the restricted area, almost identical to his earlier matchup with Mikio.
Fine… then I'll do it again.
The ball came in.
Shoulder fake.
Back turn.
One dribble inside.
The entire sequence flowed smoothly—clean and practiced, the result of countless repetitions.
"This guy's not bad at all," Kawata muttered, looking at Akagi with renewed respect.
Hiroshi reacted a fraction too late. By the time he turned to chase, Akagi was already inside.
Two long steps.
Seeing the basket so close, Akagi decided to finish quickly with a dunk. No extra moves—especially since he had already spotted Sakuragi charging in from the side.
"Gorilla! Try this!"
Sakuragi exploded upward, almost instantly reaching his peak and swinging his arm down like a hammer.
Akagi knew he couldn't avoid it.
He clamped both hands tightly around the ball and slammed downward with all his strength—racing Sakuragi head-on.
"Smack!"
Sakuragi's right hand struck the ball, knocking it loose. Akagi lost control and could only grab the rim to keep himself from crashing down.
Hiroshi leapt lightly, secured the loose ball, and turned to pass—
—but Fukatsu suddenly darted in and snatched it away.
In one smooth motion, Fukatsu bent down, scooped the ball, and flicked it forward with his left hand, sending a low, no-look pass straight back to Akagi.
"Beautiful!" Maki exclaimed involuntarily.
The pass nearly smashed into Akagi's face. Startled, he reacted just in time and secured the ball.
As he turned, Sakuragi instinctively jumped again.
That was all Akagi needed.
He leaned into Sakuragi, drew the contact, and gently hooked the ball out with his right hand.
"Swish!"
"Beep!"
The basket counted as the whistle blew.
Sakuragi raised his hand angrily. "Damn it! Gorilla! You're way too cunning!"
"Hmph!"
Akagi snorted, barely suppressing the urge to grab this idiot and shake him senseless. They were opponents now—he could endure it for the moment.
"Idiot," Akagi growled. "Did you really think I'd let you block me twice in a row?"
"Tch…" Sakuragi clicked his tongue, clearly dissatisfied.
On the sidelines, Nango shook his head helplessly.
"It's only the first day of training, and our own teammates are already about to fight. How embarrassing…"
"Isn't this great?" Hyuga Yuichi laughed heartily.
Nango's face darkened. "Senior, don't you have training this afternoon?"
Hyuga waved him off. "It's fine. The old man drank too much at noon and went home to sleep. He won't be back until tomorrow."
Nango was speechless.
Skipping training because of drinking… this old man really lives freely.
After switching sides, Hiroshi—having been fooled by Akagi—was clearly unwilling to let it go.
The moment he crossed half-court, he buried himself deep near the restricted area, spreading his arms to seal Akagi behind him.
This was the ideal position for a center.
Sendo immediately lobbed the ball in.
Unlike Akagi, Hiroshi didn't need fancy footwork.
One hard dribble.
A brutal back-down.
Then a sudden spin along the baseline.
Akagi slid laterally to cut off the angle—but it was useless.
Hiroshi slammed the ball into the floor with one hand, gathered it with both, and drove straight through Akagi.
Bang!
Akagi was knocked to the floor in a single push.
Hiroshi rose with both hands raised.
Nobe, already prepared, leapt over to help—but Hiroshi barely acknowledged him. He jumped straight up from a standstill and smashed home a two-handed dunk over Nobe.
"Bang!"
Nobe crashed onto his backside. The falling ball bounced off his head, adding insult to injury.
Akagi lay there, stunned.
He couldn't understand it.
I… got pushed away? Just like that?
Hiroshi hung briefly on the rim, gazing down at the two players sprawled beneath him. A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at his lips.
The hoop groaned under the strain, metal creaking like a fruit tree unable to bear its load.
"Hiss—"
The spectators collectively sucked in a breath, chilled by the sheer brutality of the play.
Anzai Jitsurei assessed calmly,
Such terrifying destructive power… Even among Nittaidai's players, perhaps only Kawata could stop this monster.
Sendo thought grimly,
He shoved Akagi away with one push. Even if Uozumi were here, containing him wouldn't be easy.
The Gorilla really can't beat him.
Sakuragi clenched his fists, eyes burning.
Only I can defeat this guy!
After all, he had once stopped Hiroshi—even if he hated to admit how it happened. That alone proved he had the ability.
"Ahem."
Anzai Jitsurei cleared his throat, breaking the heavy silence.
"Morishige Hiroshi, please come down. The hoop is about to break, and the game still needs to continue."
"Yes."
Hiroshi immediately released the rim, landed lightly, and jogged back on defense.
His teammates had completely forgotten to celebrate. They simply stared at him, as if looking at something inhuman.
Even the assistant referee in the corner seemed frozen—forgetting to call any fouls, including the technical that should have been given for hanging on the rim.
The game continued… strangely.
The veteran team attacked again.
Akagi still hadn't fully recovered from the shock and forgot to box out.
Seeing this, Fukatsu shifted focus. Matsumoto once again shook free off-ball from Rukawa Kaede, flashing to the free-throw line. Fukatsu hit him immediately.
But the moment Matsumoto caught the ball, Hiroshi had already turned and stepped forward, looming like a wall.
Matsumoto noticed—but didn't panic.
He dribbled once and floated the ball up on the move.
"Smack!"
Before the ball even reached its peak, Hiroshi's long arm swatted it out of the air and secured it effortlessly.
Matsumoto stared in disbelief.
"He can even reach a floater?!"
Hiroshi's rhythm was improving.
His presence grew heavier with every possession.
Sendo, sharp as ever, knew exactly what to do.
The ball went inside again.
Back-down.
Turn.
Score—straight over Akagi's head.
The once-dominant center suddenly looked subdued.
And just like that, the veteran team's hard-fought comeback was erased.
Anzai Jitsurei watched for a moment longer, then turned calmly.
"Uozumi. Go warm up."
"Yes!"
Uozumi's eyes lit up. He had been waiting for this moment.
Even if he was slow, he understood one thing perfectly:
Going in now meant only one thing—
challenging Morishige Hiroshi.