That afternoon.
The first day of the national tournament had come to an end.
The teams that had been considered powerful by the media before the match mostly made it through to the next round.
Of the 59 participating schools, 27 teams were ruthlessly eliminated.
Among them, the most eye-catching was, of course, Shohoku High School.
Although it was Shohoku's first time participating in the national tournament, the powerful strength they showcased on the court had already made other teams wary.
In a room at a certain hotel, the atmosphere was somewhat serious.
At this moment, there were about a dozen people in the room.
In front of them was a television set.
The TV was currently playing a recording of the Shohoku vs Toyotama game from earlier that day.
The group of people was none other than Sannoh Kogyo, the team known as the "strongest high school basketball team in the country."
The coach of Sannoh was Domoto Goro, a man who resembled Sendoh Akira, with a similar messy hairdo and a small mustache, likely in his thirties.
He held the remote control, occasionally pressing fast forward, rewind, or pause.
Domoto Goro spoke in a calm but steady tone, "First, carefully observe the player you're tasked to guard. Understand their strengths, weaknesses, movement patterns, habits, and personality on the court."
His tone was calm, but his words were filled with details.
He continued, "After you've observed, then study it."
...
On the other side.
As Shohoku finished packing up and prepared to return to their hotel, they encountered someone.
It was an elderly man around the same age as Coach Anzai, with a head of white hair.
He wasn't exactly an old man, probably in his fifties, though he looked somewhat frail and elderly.
Heh heh heh...
Seeing this person, Coach Anzai couldn't help but laugh. "Ah, it's Kitano! Didn't expect to run into you here."
The elderly man also spoke up. "Yeah! If you're not busy, let's find a place and catch up!"
The Shohoku team looked on curiously, whispering among themselves.
"Who's that? He looks really familiar with old man Anzai." Sakuragi Hanamichi whispered.
The first and second-year players shook their heads, clueless.
However, the third-year players, Akagi Takenori, Kogure Kiminobu, and Mitsui Hisashi, as well as the team manager Ayako and Shimizu Kanon, recognized him.
Shimizu Kanon explained, "That's Coach Anzai's old classmate and friend, Kitano. He used to be Toyotama's coach, but he was forced to resign because of some decisions made by the school leadership."
Upon hearing this, the Shohoku players widened their eyes.
They had just finished playing against Toyotama, and now they were meeting Toyotama's former coach.
"Toyotama's former coach?" Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes lit up, then he clicked his tongue. "He definitely wasn't as good as old man Anzai, and Toyotama got shut out by us. He's probably looking for revenge, right? Maybe putting us in a sack and tossing us into the river to feed the fish..."
The others: "..."
Everyone stared at Sakuragi Hanamichi with strange expressions.
Akagi Takenori couldn't help but scold him, "Idiot, there's no way that would happen."
Kogure Kiminobu's lips twitched, and he awkwardly chuckled, "Sakuragi... this isn't a TV show. That kind of thing could never happen."
Mitsui Hisashi looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi with disdain. "What the heck is this guy even thinking?"
Miyagi Ryota moved a few steps away from Sakuragi Hanamichi, muttering, "I'll stay away from this guy."
Ayako rubbed her forehead, helplessly saying, "How did this person grow up so big?"
Rukawa Kaede sighed inwardly, then shrugged his shoulders and said, "Big idiot."
Shimizu Kanon spoke up to clarify, "Wait! Sakuragi-kun, during Coach Kitano's time, Toyotama was ranked in the national top eight!"
Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the room became suddenly tense.
Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed at Kitano, who was chatting with Coach Anzai, and said, "What? National top eight? That skinny old man?"
Ayako immediately covered Sakuragi Hanamichi's mouth, saying, "Quiet down! He's not a skinny old man, he's just of normal build!"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but compare Coach Anzai and Kitano in her mind.
Not long after, Coach Anzai told the team that he was going to catch up with an old friend and then left.
The team exchanged glances and then headed back to "Chidori-sou."
...
At a tea shop.
Coach Anzai and Kitano sat side by side in a relatively quiet corner of the bar.
Kitano was the first to break the silence and spoke, "Anzai, I didn't know you were still coaching. I heard you resigned from the university position, but I didn't expect you to go to a high school."
Kitano sighed slightly. "If I were still coaching at Toyotama, we could have met as colleagues."
Heh heh heh...
Coach Anzai chuckled softly and replied, "I only took it on as a favor. Originally, I thought I'd just take it easy as a high school coach."
Hearing this, Kitano laughed and said meaningfully, "That's one big 'easy job' you have there."
He secretly thought to himself, "I don't believe you. No way a casual job can lead to this level."
Noticing his friend's skepticism, Coach Anzai explained, "It started out that way, but Shohoku's success is all thanks to their own hard work."
"Is that so? You must have put in quite a bit of effort yourself!" Kitano's gaze deepened as he pointedly added, "I saw today's game. Not a single Shohoku player is mediocre. I don't believe you weren't moved."
He then added, "The third-year players, especially Akagi, and those with the 11 and 10 jerseys, they have extraordinary talent. With proper training, their future achievements will be remarkable."
Coach Anzai Mitsuyoshi nodded, fully agreeing with Kitano's view. "You're right. Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi complement each other perfectly. If they both truly develop, they'll definitely become shining stars."
Kitano turned to face Coach Anzai, his eyes locking onto him with a deeper intensity. "Yes, I admit that. But... what about that number 9? Where did he come from? I've never heard of such a monster before."
Heh heh heh...
Hearing his old friend mention Aoi Kunisaku, Coach Anzai couldn't help but laugh. "So you noticed him too!"
Kitano rolled his eyes. "A player like that, it's hard not to notice! He almost single-handedly shut down an entire team. If I hadn't caught that, I might as well quit being a coach."
Coach Anzai took a small sip of tea, paused for a while, and then slowly said, "His name is Aoi Kunisaku. He came to Shohoku on his own. There's not much I can teach him. What he needs now isn't a coach like me, but a real opponent."
...
Meanwhile, in the room at Sannoh Kogyo's hotel, the atmosphere was particularly heavy.
The Sannoh players had just finished watching the entire game between Shohoku and Toyotama.
At that moment, the room was engulfed in an eerie silence.
Everyone's gaze was fixated on the image of the player in Shohoku's 9 jersey on the screen.
They were still processing the shock of the game, unable to fully grasp what they had just seen.
Strong. So strong. Too strong.
They never imagined that Shohoku had such a powerful player.
Most importantly, Shohoku had shut out Toyotama.
This was something even Sannoh hadn't been able to do.
Although they had heard rumors before, seeing how Shohoku shut down Toyotama made them all fall silent.
While they didn't have the sharp eyes of their coach, years of experience on the court made it clear that Shohoku's ability to shut out Toyotama was primarily thanks to this number 9 player.
At this moment, the name Aoi Kunisaku had been firmly etched in their minds.
Coach Domoto Goro's expression grew serious, and he looked at his players with a more focused gaze. "Alright, tomorrow we'll face them. Let's hear your thoughts!"
...
On the other side.
At Chidori-sou Inn.
The Shohoku team had gathered together and was watching a video of a game involving Sannoh.
The video being played was from last year's national tournament semi-final, featuring Sannoh Kogyo vs. Kainan.
In that match, Kainan had been completely dominated by Sannoh.
Maki Shinichi was thoroughly restricted by Sannoh's point guard, struggling even to take a shot.
More crucially, Kainan's players were no match for Sannoh's.
Sannoh's strength had completely overwhelmed Kainan.
Especially Sannoh's ace player, Sawakita Eiji.
His performance on the court had left Shohoku's players in awe.
His speed, technique, and basketball IQ all made Shohoku's players tense up.
Of course, this didn't include Aoi Kunisaku or Shimizu Kanon.
Aoi Kunisaku watched Sawakita Eiji on the screen with an interested expression.
Sawakita Eiji was indeed strong, one of the most powerful players Aoi Kunisaku had ever seen.
If Aoi Kunisaku hadn't fully merged with his template, leading Shohoku to beat Sannoh might have carried some risk.
It wasn't that he lacked strength, but rather that Shohoku's overall strength wasn't quite there yet.
Just like today's game against Toyotama.
If Toyotama's players had been a little stronger, shutting them out would have been very difficult.
However...
"Well, Saku-chan... after watching this game's tape, what do you think?" Shimizu Kanon asked.
Aoi Kunisaku simply replied, "They're decent. Much stronger than these guys."
He pointed at the Shohoku players.
The Shohoku players immediately darkened their faces.
Shimizu Kanon's eyes twitched, quickly interrupting, "That's not what I meant! I was talking about Sannoh's 9. He wears the same number as you!"
Aoi Kunisaku's expression remained calm, and he slowly replied, "His talent is top-tier, but... I don't think he's using his full strength in this game."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was shocked.
What?
Not using full strength?
"Aoi, what do you mean by that?" Kogure Kiminobu asked.
Mitsui Hisashi also spoke up, "How can you tell he didn't use his full strength?"
Especially Rukawa Kaede.
His gaze sharpened as he stared at Aoi Kunisaku, eager to hear how he would explain.
The others also watched quietly, waiting for his response.
Aoi Kunisaku spoke, "Didn't you all notice? He's been playing at the same rhythm from start to finish."
Huh?
Hearing this, everyone was stunned.
With Aoi Kunisaku's reminder, they rewound the video.
They then realized that Sawakita Eiji indeed maintained the same playing rhythm throughout the game, just as Aoi Kunisaku had said.
Hiss...
Shohoku's players couldn't help but gasp in disbelief as they looked at Aoi Kunisaku.
Shimizu Kanon then said, "Looks like Saku-chan finally has a worthy opponent!"
Opponent?
Aoi Kunisaku looked at Sawakita Eiji on the screen, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, before slowly saying, "I admit he's strong, but..."
Aoi Kunisaku's eyes flashed as he added, "In the end, he's just a mortal."
Mortal?
The other Shohoku players stared at Aoi Kunisaku in astonishment.
Mortal?
Sakuragi Hanamichi thought to himself, "Does this 'godless ghost' really dislike that guy so much?"