At the same time.
Outside the gymnasium, along the street.
The sun shone brightly, cicadas chirping in waves.
A bicycle wobbled its way up a sloped road.
"Hey! Kiyota! Stop moving around!"
The one pedaling was a tall, slender boy with gentle eyes—Jin Soichiro of Kainan.
Squatting on the back seat was a long-haired, arrogant-looking "wild monkey."
Kainan's first-year super rookie—
Kiyota Nobunaga.
Holding a can of soda, Kiyota shouted impatiently:
"Ahhh! Jin-senpai! Hurry up already!"
"A slope like this should be nothing for a man of Kainan!"
"And seriously, I don't get it!"
Kiyota complained with an annoyed look.
"Why do we have to come all the way out here to watch a team like Shohoku play?"
"And their opponent is freaking Miuradai."
"What's there to see in a bunch of scrubs fighting each other?"
"No matter who wins, if they face Kainan, they're just gonna get crushed!"
Jin smiled helplessly, pushing harder on the pedals.
"Coach already said it, didn't he? Shohoku added some very promising new players this year."
"Especially that Rukawa Kaede—I heard he was already famous back in middle school."
"And there's also that mysterious Number 16 who defeated Ryonan in a practice game."
"They all have the potential to become 'super rookies.'"
The moment he heard the words "super rookie," Kiyota reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on—instantly exploding.
"Hah?!"
"What potential? What Rukawa Kaede? What Number 16?!"
"Who the hell do they think they are?!"
Kiyota stood up on the back seat, pointing at the sky as he shouted—almost causing Jin to lose balance.
"There's only ONE super rookie in Kanagawa!"
"And that's ME!"
"The future ace of Kainan—Kiyota Nobunaga!!"
"Everyone else is trash! Trash!!"
Jin let out a sigh and steadied the handlebars.
"Alright, alright, Mr. Strongest Rookie… sit down. We're here."
Ahead of them, the outline of Fujisawa Gymnasium came into clear view.
Faintly, they could already hear earth-shaking cheers from inside.
"Tch. With all that noise, it's definitely those Miuradai gorillas yelling."
Kiyota hopped off the bike, fixed his hair, and walked toward the entrance with a look of disdain.
"Guess I'll let a true genius like me inspect this performance from a bunch of mortals."
…
"Swish!"
Another three-pointer.
Makino Juro landed and glanced at the scoreboard.
129 : 47
The point difference had already reached a despair-inducing 82 points.
This entire game had essentially become Makino Juro's personal showcase.
As long as the ball was in his hands—he scored.
Miuradai's players had completely given up on defense.
Murasame Kengo bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Sweat poured down like a waterfall.
His eyes were unfocused as he stared at Makino Juro—who still looked completely at ease.
All that remained in his heart… was fear.
"A monster…"
"This guy… isn't even human…"
In the stands.
The expressions of Ryonan's players had turned extremely grim.
"129 points…"
Koshino Hiroaki swallowed hard.
"And the game isn't even over yet."
"This is way too insane…"
"Even Kainan might not be able to beat Miuradai like this…"
"Shohoku… their offensive firepower this year is terrifying."
Uozumi Jun crossed his arms, his face dark enough to drip water.
"It's not just Makino Juro."
"That Rukawa Kaede has 40 points. Mitsui has 30…"
"This team… doesn't have a single weakness anymore."
Sendoh Akira said nothing.
He simply watched the figure walking toward the bench.
Makino Juro raised his hand and made a substitution gesture toward Coach Anzai.
"That's about enough."
Breathing heavily, Makino Juro shut down the system panel.
Mission complete.
"Tweet!"
The referee's whistle sounded.
"Shohoku requests a substitution!"
"Number 16, Makino Juro out! Number 4, Akagi in!"
Seeing Makino Juro leave the court, the Miuradai players collectively let out a sigh of relief.
That suffocating mountain pressing down on them… had finally been lifted.
"Good work, Makino Juro."
Coach Anzai smiled as he handed over a towel.
"Yeah."
"I'll leave the rest to the gorilla."
Makino Juro draped the towel over his head and collapsed onto the bench, gulping down water.
…
There was only a minute and a half left in the game.
Even with Makino Juro off the court, Shohoku's offense didn't slow down in the slightest.
Having held back for most of the game, Akagi Takenori—the "gorilla"—was now like a beast unleashed, dominating the paint.
"BOOM!"
A two-handed dunk from Akagi sent the score climbing again.
However
Amid this one-sided celebration, one person stood completely out of place.
Sakuragi Hanamichi.
At this moment, he stood at the edge of the key, his face full of anxiety, his entire body trembling.
"Damn it… damn it!!"
Sakuragi stared at the glaring numbers on the scoreboard.
Everyone was scoring.
That damn fox Rukawa was stealing all the spotlight.
The gorilla had dunked several times.
Even Megane-kun had just made a mid-range shot.
Only him!
Only him—the "genius"!
His current score was still—
Zero points.
"What kind of joke is this?!"
"How can my debut end with zero points?!"
"I want to dunk! I want that earth-shattering dunk!!"
Sakuragi's eyes turned bloodshot—burning with an overwhelming hunger to score.
At that moment.
Miyagi Ryota stole the ball!
"Fast break!!"
Miyagi shouted as he pushed forward with the ball.
Sakuragi instantly took off—like a runaway Ferrari—charging toward the frontcourt.
"Ryota!! Pass it to me!!"
Sakuragi waved and yelled as he sprinted.
Miyagi glanced at his position.
It felt a bit forced… but he still flicked his wrist and lobbed the ball high into the air.
"Catch it, Hanamichi!"
"Perfect chance!!"
Sakuragi's heart pounded violently as he watched the ball fly toward him.
This was the moment he had dreamed of!
Alley-oop!
Dunk!
A show-stopping finish!
"I am a genius!!!"
From just inside the free-throw line, Sakuragi leapt.
His terrifying vertical launch sent him soaring into the air—like he had broken free from gravity itself.
He caught the ball one-handed midair, his body stretching like a fully drawn bow.
Under the basket—
Already mentally shattered from the beatdown, Murasame Kengo's rage finally exploded.
"Don't get cocky, you red-haired monkey!!"
"This is MY territory!!"
Murasame roared as he jumped, arms raised high, trying to block.
But he underestimated Sakuragi's leap.
Sakuragi jumped too high.
His eyes were already level with the rim.
"Out of my way!!"
"RAAAAHHH!!"
With a furious roar, Sakuragi swung his arm down with all his might, slamming the ball toward the hoop!
This dunk carried all his anger, frustration, and desire!
However
At the very instant the ball was about to crash into the rim—
Murasame, lacking the necessary elevation, began to descend.
While Sakuragi… was still rising.
And so—
That ball, filled with overwhelming force, did not go into the basket.
Instead, with perfect precision—
"BOOM!!!"
A dull, thunderous impact echoed.
The basketball smashed directly into Murasame Kengo's forehead.
END OF CHAPTER
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