Shuzo Nijimura stood rooted to the spot, his words coming out in broken fragments.
"Your players… are… incredible…"
Satsuki Momoi spoke up sweetly from the side. "Miyamoto beat all of them, you know."
"What?!!!"
Shuzo Nijimura's eyes flew wide as he twisted his head around in disbelief.
Pointing animatedly at the report, he stammered, "Y-you… you mean Miyamoto defeated this whole bunch of monsters?!"
Satsuki Momoi smiled and nodded, delivering the final blow. "That's right."
Shuzo Nijimura swallowed hard and looked at Miyamoto Tokima again. It felt as though he was meeting this junior for the very first time.
Miyamoto Tokima wore a faint smile as he patted Shuzo Nijimura on the shoulder.
"Senior Nijimura, train with them. Grow properly. In the future, we'll be teammates."
Shuzo Nijimura snapped back to himself, feeling the weight of Miyamoto Tokima's expectations. He took a deep breath.
"I understand, Miyamoto."
Deep down, Shuzo Nijimura swore to train with everything he had and repay Miyamoto Tokima someday. He owed him far too much—so much that he didn't even know how to begin paying it back.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Miyamoto Tokima clapped his hands loudly.
"Gather up!"
Victor immediately stopped training and, along with Nash Gold and the others, moved in front of Miyamoto Tokima.
"Tokima-san, what's up?"
Zack asked with a grin.
Miyamoto Tokima gestured toward Shuzo Nijimura.
"Everyone, this is my senior, Shuzo Nijimura. He plays power forward and is currently Zack's backup. From today on, he's officially part of our team."
Shuzo Nijimura straightened at once and greeted everyone seriously.
"Hello. My name is Shuzo Nijimura. Please take care of me."
"Hello!"
The responses came in unison.
After the introductions, Miyamoto Tokima had Victor lead everyone back to training, while he himself lounged around lazily, helping Satsuki Momoi organize the data.
During practice, Zack occasionally glanced at Shuzo Nijimura. After realizing that his current strength didn't seem particularly threatening, Zack relaxed and stopped paying attention.
Allen nudged Zack with his elbow, grinning slyly.
"Hey Zack, the guy Tokima-san brought plays the same position as you. Don't tell me you're about to become the backup."
Zack curled his lip.
"So what? If he can beat me, I'll gladly be his backup. You should worry about staying in your own backup role."
Allen laughed.
"Being Tokima-san's backup would be an honor!"
Zack immediately shot back, unwilling to lose.
"If Tokima-san tells me to be the new guy's backup, I'd be honored too. Tokima-san's words are gospel to me!"
Allen widened his eyes and shouted,
"Tokima-san is my dad!"
Zack spat and cursed,
"Fuck off! When did Tokima-san become your dad? He's my dad!"
"My dad!"
"My dad!"
Miyamoto Tokima dug at his ear, clearly annoyed by the noise.
"Shut up and train properly!"
The two instantly fell silent and obediently resumed their drills.
The scene left Shuzo Nijimura completely stunned.
'Just how did Miyamoto manage this? These guys don't look like good people at all, yet he's got them totally under control.
They're even fighting over who gets to call him dad… That's terrifying…'
...
Miyamoto Tokima lay back in a recliner, watching the team train. Beside him, Satsuki Momoi carefully recorded data. When she reached Shuzo Nijimura's numbers, she couldn't help but sigh.
"The gap is huge. Even though Senior Nijimura was the No.1 power forward in middle school, his stats are way behind theirs."
Miyamoto Tokima replied lazily, still reclined.
"It can't be helped. Nash and the others are quite a bit older than Senior Nijimura. He'll grow into it."
Satsuki Momoi nodded, then turned to him.
"That may be true, but Tokima… why aren't you training?"
Miyamoto Tokima paused briefly before answering calmly.
"My strength changes as I grow older. You could say that's my special ability."
Satsuki Momoi clearly didn't believe him, but she didn't push the issue. Everyone had their own little secrets, after all.
And so the Black Emperor Dragon Team spent the following days cycling through training, recovery, rest, and more training.
Soon enough, the day of their first match arrived.
The game was scheduled at the largest local street court. Thanks to the Miyamoto Family's publicity, word had already spread that a match would be held here.
News that the Miyamoto Family heir would personally take the court swept through the city in no time. Everyone wanted to see what he looked like—and how he played.
Before either team even arrived, the venue was already packed.
The crowd buzzed with excited chatter.
"Did you hear? The Miyamoto Family heir is playing today!"
"Of course I did. Otherwise, why would anyone come?"
"The Miyamoto Family is no joke. Look around—their security is everywhere."
"Well, of course. Protecting the heir is the top priority."
Miyamoto Family security had arrived early, keeping constant watch over Miyamoto Tokima. They had even coordinated with the police and deployed snipers to ensure his safety.
Rumble—rumble—rumble!
A large bus slowly pulled up and came to a stop. One by one, people began stepping off.
All eyes turned toward the bus. When the spectators recognized who it was, gasps erupted.
"They're here! The Jacket Squad! One of the strongest streetball teams around!"
"That pressure's insane, just like always. Can the Miyamoto Family heir's team really beat them?"
The Black Emperor Dragon Team's opponent was a wildly popular streetball team in the area known as the Jacket Squad.
As the name suggested, every member wore a jacket on the court and had a particular obsession with them.
The Jacket Squad slowly walked onto the court. Leading them was a massive, burly man nearly two meters tall, clad in a specially customized jacket. His name was Brown Ron, the captain of the Jacket Squad.
To his right was a white man chewing bubble gum, hands stuffed in his pockets as he followed behind. His name was Marlon Anqiro, the team's second-in-command and starting shooting guard.
"Boss, are we really going to play against the Miyamoto Family heir?"
...
(40 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser