Chapter 007
"Additionally, we have a new first-string member joining us today. Come in!" Nijimura called toward the door, and a white-haired teenager walked into the gym with casual confidence.
"Everyone, this is Shogo Haizaki. He just joined the basketball club yesterday," Nijimura introduced. "By the way, Aomine, Haizaki's in your class—you should know him already."
Aomine nodded slightly. "Yeah, we've met, but I didn't expect you to join the basketball club, Haizaki."
"Just got bored at this school," Haizaki replied with a shrug. "I heard our basketball program was pretty decent, so I figured I'd check it out."
Aomine studied his classmate with growing interest. For Haizaki to join yesterday and make first-string today, his skills had to be exceptional. "Haizaki, we should play one-on-one sometime! I bet you're really good."
"Alright, introduce yourself to everyone, Haizaki," Nijimura said matter-of-factly.
"Yo, what's up everyone? I'm Shogo Haizaki—nice to meet you all." His greeting carried a distinctly casual, almost disrespectful tone that made both Akashi and Midorima frown slightly. Their well-mannered upbringings clearly didn't mesh well with Haizaki's attitude.
Before anyone could respond, Haizaki continued: "By the way, Captain Nijimura, I've got something to ask. Mind if I speak up?"
Nijimura's expression tightened slightly. "Go ahead."
"For next month's middle school league tournament, can you put me in the starting lineup too? Just like Aomine and the others." Haizaki's request was completely straightforward, delivered with obvious confidence in his own abilities. He knew that Aomine and the rest had earned their starting spots through their performance against Ryuka, gaining recognition from both Nijimura and Coach Shirogane.
The upperclassmen bristled at Haizaki's bold demand. Having four first-years named as starters had already been a significant blow to their pride—now this new kid wanted to join the starting five after just one day with the team? It was almost insulting.
"Absolutely not," one senior shot back. "Akashi and the others earned the coach's approval through their performance. The starting lineup has already been decided and can't be changed."
Nijimura found himself in a difficult position. Coach Shirogane had personally tested Haizaki yesterday, and his strength was genuinely impressive—making him a starter wasn't entirely unreasonable. However, doing so would further damage the upperclassmen's already wounded pride.
Haizaki sneered at the opposition. "Why not? As long as you're strong enough, right? And I hate to be blunt about this, but I'm pretty confident my skills won't lose to any of you upperclassmen."
Nijimura sighed internally. Talented players often came with arrogant personalities, but he hadn't expected Haizaki to be this confrontational on his very first day. Still, attitude aside, if the kid had the skills to score points and win games, maybe his words carried some weight.
Moreover, after witnessing Akashi and the others' abilities, Nijimura had been developing a plan to phase out some of the problematic upperclassmen. While they possessed decent skills, they frequently challenged his authority and created team chemistry issues with their entitled attitudes—something that had been bothering him for months.
Previously, he'd had no choice but to tolerate their behavior since they were skilled players and both he and Coach Shirogane had to turn a blind eye to maintain team stability.
But now things were different. The first-years not only matched the upperclassmen's abilities but had enormous potential for growth, while the seniors would likely only hold the team back going forward.
Nijimura looked at Haizaki and spoke with calculated resignation: "It's not impossible for you to start, but here at Teiko, everything is decided by strength. Victory through superior ability—that's our fundamental principle. Victory is everything. If you can defeat our upperclassmen, then I have no objections."
The senior players smirked internally at Nijimura's words. They'd been looking for an opportunity to teach these cocky first-years a lesson and show them the difference in experience and skill.
Haizaki's face lit up with that same cynical smile. "Is that so? Everything decided by strength—I like that philosophy."
The hot-blooded Aomine immediately stepped forward. "No need for the seniors—I'll fight you, Haizaki! Making first-string as a first-year shows you've got serious talent. Let's have a real battle!"
Murasakibara also showed unexpected interest, his usual lazy demeanor replaced by competitive fire. "Eh, Mine-chin, you and Haizaki-chin are classmates—you can compete anytime. Maybe I should go instead." (During his first and second years of middle school, Murasakibara was still quite competitive; his aversion to effort wouldn't develop until third year.)
"No way!" Aomine protested with obvious annoyance.
Akashi, standing nearby, felt slightly exasperated. While the others might not understand Nijimura's true intentions, he saw through the captain's strategy completely. After observing their abilities, Nijimura naturally wanted to eliminate the disobedient upperclassmen, but couldn't say so directly—hence this indirect approach.
If Haizaki won, the third-years' self-respect would be shattered, likely leading them to quit on their own. If Haizaki lost, there would be no real consequences.
However, Aomine and Murasakibara, those two battle-hungry idiots, were about to interfere with the plan.
Akashi stepped forward diplomatically. "Aomine, Murasakibara—Captain Nijimura wants Haizaki to compete against the upperclassmen. We should follow the captain's orders and observe our seniors' abilities firsthand."
Nijimura smiled approvingly at Akashi's understanding. "Exactly! You first-years should watch carefully and see what our upperclassmen can do. Senior Huang, why don't you show these rookies what real basketball looks like?"
"Fine, I understand." The third-year student named Huang stepped forward, his expression showing barely concealed resentment toward Nijimura's leadership. He'd always been dismissive of taking orders from someone a year younger than himself, especially since Nijimura had taken the captain position away from him within six months of joining the team, forcing him to obey commands from a "junior."
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