The highly anticipated Kanagawa Prefecture League Tournament was finally about to begin. Four teams—Shohoku, Kainan, Ryonan, and Fukuda—would compete for two tickets to the National Tournament.
The first match was between Ryonan and Fukuda, but all eyes were on the second match: this year's dark horse, Shohoku High School, facing the reigning champions, Kainan Affiliated High School, champions for sixteen consecutive years.
Would Shohoku continue its surprising run, or would King Kainan reassert dominance?
Everyone waited for the answer.
Compared to the usual lighthearted atmosphere, the Shohoku locker room was unusually tense. The air seemed heavy, almost suffocating.
Mitsui fidgeted with his shoelaces, constantly tightening and loosening them. Miyagi sat quietly on the bench, holding a ball and lost in thought. Akagi leaned back, eyes closed, fists clenching and unclenching.
Rukawa Kaede appeared relaxed, listening to music through his headphones.
Sakuragi, hiding in a corner, secretly looked at Haruko's photos, giggling to himself.
Nango leaned against the wall, eyes closed, meditating. With Kano by his side, he wasn't nervous—he was calm, focused, and ready.
To everyone's surprise, Coach Anzai quietly approached and patted Nango on the shoulder. "Nango, the key to today's game lies with you. If you can limit Maki Shinichi's performance, we have a great chance to win."
The locker room fell silent. Even a pin could be heard.
Ayako thought, Isn't Coach Anzai putting too much pressure on Nango? He's just a rookie, and Maki Shinichi is seasoned!
The same thought echoed in everyone's mind.
Nango's eyes widened at first, then a confident smile appeared. He opened his mouth to respond, but Sakuragi interrupted, kneading Coach Anzai's chin. "Old man, I'll defeat Maki Shinichi!"
Sakuragi had boasted to Haruko that he'd personally take down Hainan's star.
Nango glanced at Coach Anzai's chin jiggle, resisting the urge to touch it himself. He scanned the locker room confidently. "Sakuragi, if we can't beat Maki Shinichi here, how can we hope to conquer the National Tournament? Don't worry. I'll take care of him. Coach, I'll definitely limit Maki Shinichi."
Coach Anzai's face lit up. He had chosen wisely—Nango thrived under pressure, the kind of player who climbed to the summit step by step.
"Hmph." Sakuragi muttered, annoyed, and continued tormenting Coach Anzai's chin.
Akagi chuckled softly. "That brat… really dares to say it."
Mitsui stopped fiddling with his shoelaces, inwardly cursing, Yes… if I'm afraid now, how can I conquer the National Tournament? How did I become so useless… worse than a first-year?
Rukawa Kaede closed his eyes, lost in music. Miyagi focused on one thing—earning more playing time.
Thanks to Nango, Akagi's usual pre-game speech went unused, but it seemed unnecessary. They were ready.
"Let's go!" Akagi led the team out of the locker room for their final warm-up.
The crowd erupted in cheers. The stadium was packed, with latecomers even sitting in the aisles. Shohoku had become the most popular team in the prefecture.
After Nango's newspaper feature, spectators who hadn't seen the team wanted to witness the "first-year freshman far exceeding high school level" for themselves. And now, facing King Kainan, this was a match no one wanted to miss.
Even professionals—Basketball Weekly reporters Aida Yayoi and Nakamura—were present to see the "genius" firsthand.
"Miss Aida, Shohoku's players look so tall. Which one is Nango?" Nakamura asked, still confused.
Aida sighed. "Sigh… he's the second tallest over there."
"Go, Nango!" Fans and classmates waved their empty bottles, mimicking what they'd seen at the Shoyo game.
"Look, Nango is playing!" Mother exclaimed. Father nodded, surprised at the excitement Nango drew.
For this game, Kano didn't sit with Haruko and friends. Instead, she sat with Eri, silently giving Nango a thumbs-up, which he returned. Eri scowled in frustration.
Nango's parents noticed, exchanging glances, each lost in thought.
"Damn it, everyone's just cheering for Shohoku! Our Kainan is stronger!" Kiyota muttered. Annoyed by Nango's early fame and the crowd's support, he picked up a ball and ran toward Shohoku's basket.
Like a gust of wind, he swept past Shohoku players.
With a heavy leap, Kiyota attempted a one-handed dunk to assert Kainan's dominance.
"Wait, what's he doing?"
The audience gasped. Rukawa Kaede and Nango noticed immediately. No matter Kiyota's intention, they couldn't allow him to succeed.
The two jumped. Rukawa blocked from behind, and the ball rebounded off the backboard—right into Nango's hands.
Sakuragi, not to be left out, sprinted forward. Jumping from one step inside the free-throw line, Nango slammed the ball down. The rebound arced into Sakuragi's hands, and he dunked cleanly.
"Bang!"
Sakuragi landed beside Nango and Rukawa Kaede, glaring at Kiyota with mischievous intent.
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