For any living being, victory means survival, while defeat means death. It may sound extreme, but somewhere deep within human instinct, that truth still lingers.
Those who have never truly tasted defeat often carry a certain carefree air. But every so often, you'll hear someone say — "A meaningful loss can make you stronger."
And for the man standing here — the one who once experienced that suffocating, bone-crushing defeat at the hands of Shigure Akihito
There's no doubt about it.
He wasn't discouraged in the slightest.
If anything, his hunger for victory had only grown fiercer.
"Not necessary."
Aida Riko's latest attempt at "creative cooking" was, unsurprisingly, rejected by Nijimura Shuzo without hesitation.
Immediately after that…
All of Seirin simultaneously raised their bowls and started eating in perfect sync, their eyes subtly flicking toward Nijimura as if to say — "Focus on the food."
A few awkward seconds passed.
Izuki Shun was the first to break the tension, smiling lightly.
"But still, I didn't expect our training camp to overlap with Teiko's… Well, maybe Teiko doesn't count, but Rakuzan being here too? That's a surprise."
"So, we'll be using the same gym, right?"
"For sure," Shun nodded. "There's only one gym near this area."
Riko finished feeding her cat, then stood up cheerfully, completely unfazed.
"I'm full! Same meeting time as yesterday — 9 a.m., down at the beach."
Kiyoshi Teppei blinked in confusion. "You're not coming with us? Where are you going?"
"Hmm…" She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"I've got a little something to take care of."
Hyūga Junpei frowned, watching her skip off. A sense of foreboding washed over him.
"…I have a bad feeling about this."
"Huh?"
"She just skipped out of here."
"…What?"
"You're kidding, right?!"
Rakuzan High Gymnasium
Unlike Teiko and Seirin, who were training on the beach, Rakuzan's camp began in a more serious setting — the gym.
"Never thought those guys' summer training would involve mentoring underclassmen…"
"Hahaha, Seirin is too funny!"
"What's so funny about that?"
Hayama Kotarō stifled his laughter, glancing at Reo Mibuchi. "Ever since we ran into Shigure and the others, Reo-neesan's been sulking nonstop. Still salty about losing, huh~?"
Reo's fan flicked open with a snap. "Not at all~ I'm simply… mildly irritated~"
"Ahaha, that's basically the same thing!"
Their banter was cut short when a Rakuzan substitute jogged over to Hagioka Kasayuki, the captain.
"Captain, there's… a visitor asking for you."
Kasayuki blinked. "A visitor?"
"Yeah, she says she's Seirin's coach. Wants to talk."
Moments later, the Rakuzan team found themselves watching, with mixed expressions, as the famously chaotic Coach Aida Riko discussed something animatedly with their captain.
When Kasayuki eventually nodded his agreement, she practically bounced away — and her next target, to everyone's astonishment, was Nijimura Shuzo, who was instructing Teiko's players by the shoreline.
"Nijimura…"
"Can I ask you for a favor?"
Back on the Beach
Seirin's beach training was as intense as ever. Even with the experience from yesterday, their bodies still screamed in protest.
Izuki's usually neat hair clung to his forehead, soaked with sweat.
"Only slightly better than yesterday…"
Hyūga, shirtless and panting, muttered under his breath, "Maybe our bodies are finally adjusting a bit… but what was Riko up to, anyway?"
"Hmm… guess we'll find out after this beach session," Izuki replied.
And sure enough
Once training wrapped up and they'd rested for over an hour, Riko gathered everyone and led them to the gym.
When the doors opened, Teiko and Rakuzan were already waiting inside.
For a long moment, all three teams stared at one another in silence.
Then Riko grinned mischievously.
"Today's scheduled gym session has been updated! We're having a joint practice match!"
"...Hah?!"
"You're serious?!"
"But wait— they agreed to this? That's insane!"
Riko shrugged with an innocent smile.
"Well…"
Honestly, even she hadn't expected them to say yes.
Teiko's reasons were unknown, but Rakuzan's?
That one was clear enough.
It had a lot to do with Kiyoshi Teppei
And also with her hinting that next year, Seirin might gain two new players: the Phantom Sixth Man, and Haizaki Shōgo.
Meanwhile, Hagioka Kasayuki was fielding the same question from his team.
He replied calmly:
"In truth, we're the ones benefiting more from this."
"The information between us has different value. Rakuzan's been called 'The Emperor,' and that means we've been studied by every other school out there. But Seirin? They're brand new. There's almost no data on them."
"If they hadn't offered this scrimmage themselves, we probably wouldn't learn anything until next year — like the fact that Seirin's got a former 'Uncrowned King,' Kiyoshi Teppei, and two Generation of Miracles players."
"So yes, getting a look ahead of time is a worthwhile opportunity."
Kiyoshi, on the other hand, looked toward Teiko and Rakuzan's squads with visible unease.
"To be honest, going up against those two teams right now… doesn't seem like a good idea."
Koganei tilted his head. "Eh? Why not?"
Riko, of course, understood his worry perfectly.
Because — under normal conditions — it wouldn't be good for Seirin.
They were nowhere near those two teams' level.
But…
"Relax!" Riko beamed. "This isn't a normal scrimmage. We've got some special help~"
She pointed behind them.
And from the gym entrance stepped Kuroko Tetsuya and Haizaki Shōgo, both wearing Seirin jerseys.
Kuroko waved politely. "Hello, everyone."
Haizaki scowled. "During the match, don't drag me down."
Seirin: "…"
Wait— hold on.
They were actually wearing Seirin's uniforms.
Even Riko froze. "You two… where did you get those?"
Kuroko blinked innocently. "Eh? Shigure-senpai gave them to us."
Koganei pouted. "I just finished washing those…"
Beside him, Tsuchida muttered weakly, "Mine too…"
Clearly, the mystery was solved.
But none of that mattered now.
Because everyone's attention had already shifted to one person
the man at the center of last night's rumors.
Haizaki Shōgo.
Did his Monster Reconstruction really succeed?
No way, right?
Could Nijimura Shuzo's method actually work?
Maybe…
If it did— wouldn't that make him unbeatable?!
END OF CHAPTER
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