"Hey, look over there!"
"What? The court is in front of you; why are you looking elsewhere?"
"Just look. I'm a bit unsure."
"You're really annoying."
In the stands, a fan seemed to see something surprising but wasn't sure, asking his companion to take a look.
With a hint of impatience, his companion turned his head, then... "Yuuto!"
He almost blurted out these two words.
"Why is he appearing in Tokyo instead of staying in Okukozome?"
"I really didn't see wrong; it really is Yuuto!"
Since that game, Yuuto had become a minor celebrity player nationwide.
Many fans watched that game, especially the "Second Impact" hyped by the media.
Yuuto hadn't been sitting down for long before fans nearby recognized him.
"Say, is he here purely just to watch the game?"
"I think more than that. Did you forget? He is about to enter high school. Maybe he's scouting Tokyo teams."
"Scouting? Seiho? The Northern King?"
As one of the Three Kings of Tokyo, it had always been Seiho scouting other players; when had there ever been a player scouting Seiho?
But if it were those few geniuses, it didn't seem unacceptable.
Moreover, this person was the Lion King Yuuto!
"If so, doesn't that mean Yuuto is leaving Okukozome to play in Tokyo for high school?"
The surrounding audience began to buzz with discussion, all guessing the purpose of Yuuto's trip.
Momoi saw everything and gently poked Yuuto. "Yu-kun is a big star now."
"Still far from it." Yuuto's attention was on the court.
Seiho's defense was very strong, true to their nickname "Tokyo's Strongest Wall."
Seiho and Yosen were both defense-oriented teams.
But unlike Yosen's Masako Araki who pursued height.
Shio Yamashita believed that as long as the team's average height was sufficient, mobility was more important than placing many big men in the paint.
Many years ago, basketball was indeed a sport for giants.
At that time, there wasn't even a three-point line; ten players squeezed into the paint to wrestle in a game.
In such an environment, many ancient beasts were born.
Like George Mikan and other super centers.
Afterward, basketball continued the tradition of "he who controls the paint controls the world," subsequently bringing out interior beasts like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell.
However, with the development of basketball and rule changes, people in basketball today were no longer as obsessed with the inside line as before.
Jordan's appearance attracted fans' eyes to the outside line.
He redefined basketball and changed the rules of the court.
Shio Yamashita himself was a fan of Pat Riley, "The Godfather."
He deeply believed in Riley's prophecy that "Future basketball belongs to five swingmen around 2 meters tall."
Players need to possess all-around offensive and defensive abilities, able to handle the ball and switch infinitely to space the floor.
After research, Yamashita believed this was feasible and built the team this way.
Of Seiho's starting five players, none reached 1.90 meters in height; all were within 1.8-something meters.
Even point guard Ryuhei Kasuga reached 1.79 meters.
Such average height brought them decent height while combining excellent mobility and switching ability.
Seirin was breathless under Seiho's defense, which combined height and mobility.
At the end of the first quarter, Seirin, possessing Teppei Kiyoshi, trailed by as much as 15 points.
In fact.
This game was mentioned in the original work; Seirin was crushed by Seiho!
During the break between quarters.
Captain Tsutomu Iwamura keenly noticed the anomaly in the audience seats.
He followed the sound and immediately noticed Yuuto's presence.
"That person, is that Yuuto, Coach?"
"Shouldn't he be concentrating on preparing for exams at this time? Running to Tokyo to watch our game—how much does he distrust us?" Ryuhei Kasuga also looked over.
Shio Yamashita didn't hide it from the team members.
On the third day after getting Yuuto's promise, he told Iwamura and the others the news.
So.
Seiho's players knew that the Lion of Okukozome would be their teammate next year.
"Not necessarily distrust; maybe he just simply wanted to see his future teammates in advance. But no matter what..."
"We all know what to do, Iwamura. Don't let Yuuto look down on us!"
The fighting spirit of Ryuhei Kasuga and the others became even more vigorous.
The coach went through untold hardships, not hesitating to leave the team to go to Kanagawa to watch the game live.
He spent so much effort inviting Yuuto, not to have Yuuto support them.
Next year's Seiho would be Yuuto's team.
If they didn't want to be looked down upon by a first-year junior, they had better show something this year.
Thus.
When the second quarter began, under Riko Aida's gaze, Seiho's intensity on both offense and defense rose another level.
Those eerie steps made them extremely uncomfortable; mistakes always occurred when defending.
Plus, with the offense unable to pry open Seiho's turtle shell, the situation was quickly controlled by Seiho.
"Defense is as impregnable as ever, Seiho. As for offense, it's a bit simple." Momoi Satsuki had collected intelligence on Seiho beforehand.
This was one of Tōō's biggest competitors next year.
"But if Yu-kun is added, that's a different story."
Momoi had already obtained the specific lineup of Tōō for next year from Katsunori Harasawa in advance.
Comparing one-on-one, Tōō had a slight advantage.
Tōō's captain Shoichi Imayoshi was a first-class player not inferior to the Uncrowned Kings, and Wakamatsu had followed Yuuto in two games.
In terms of individual ability, Tōō was not inferior to any team, except Rakuzan.
However.
Seiho's lineup next year would have Tomoki Tsugawa in addition to Yuuto.
She compared the two teams in her little notebook, attempting to predict the trend of their match.
It was fine at first, but as soon as she threw Yuuto into the battle, the outcome became confusing and unpredictable.
"Ah, so troublesome. Can't guess what Yu-kun will do at all." She distressingly dropped her head onto Yuuto's shoulder, peeking at him.
This girl really knew how to act coquettishly.
She was also very clear about where her advantages lay, inadvertently radiating her charm.
Yuuto rolled his eyes at her.
Halftime ended. Seiho led Seirin by 28 points.
Even Teppei Kiyoshi was completely lost in Seiho's iron barrel formation.
...
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