The World of Slam Dunk?

"Hey, hey! For real? What's going on with that kid?"

"Wow, he's strong! Who is that child?"

"How can a kid fight evenly with someone so much older than him? Could it be that his opponent is going easy on him?"

"No! I've been watching for a while. That kid has already played against several people. Though I can hardly believe it myself."

"This is incredible. It looks like Kanagawa is going to have a basketball prodigy in the future."

Bang...

Bang...

Bang...

An intense match was taking place on an outdoor basketball court.

Normally, matches on outdoor courts were nothing out of the ordinary.

But the scene unfolding on this court today had attracted everyone passing by.

Two figures, one large and one small, darted back and forth across the court.

The larger figure looked to be sixteen or seventeen, perhaps even seventeen or eighteen. He carried the mature air unique to an adult.

What truly amazed everyone was the little boy facing him.

That was right—a little boy.

The boy had fair skin and stood about as tall as other six- or seven-year-old children, roughly 130 centimeters. His face was still childish, but it brimmed with lively spirit.

A faint smile always played at the corners of his mouth, as if he were hiding endless childlike amusement and might break into a radiant grin at any moment.

Yet what truly seemed strange was that his hair and eyes were completely different from everyone else's. They were both blue.

His ink-dark blue hair shimmered with a strange, captivating luster beneath the sunlight.

His blue eyes were like deep, tranquil pools, or dazzling gems set in the night sky, radiating a unique charm.

But what puzzled and amazed people most was the determination and composure that occasionally shone in his eyes.

Such a gaze should never have appeared in a child so young. It formed a powerful, inexplicable contrast with his tender appearance.

It was hard to imagine that the two competitors could be so far apart in age. They looked almost like a giant and a dwarf standing side by side.

Yet precisely because of that, the passersby around them had stopped to watch.

The boy dribbled the basketball, then suddenly changed direction and stopped short. At the same time, he leaped and flicked the ball straight toward the hoop.

Clang...

Swish...

The basketball struck the backboard, then bounced into the hoop.

It had happened too suddenly for the big defender to react.

Such speed and such a sudden stop, combined with movements as smooth as flowing water, showed none of the clumsiness one would expect from a six- or seven-year-old child.

The surrounding onlookers cried out in astonishment, utterly shocked.

The boy's previously serious face now revealed a victorious smile.

That was the fourth person he had defeated today.

With a thought, a miraculous sight visible only to him appeared before his eyes.

An electronic panel appeared in front of him, displaying a series of information.

Name: Qing Junce

Age: 7

Height: 131 cm

Weight: 36 kg

Character Template: Aomine Daiki (15%)

Talents: Super-high-speed dribbling (not awakened), Formless shots (not awakened)

Wildness: Black Panther (not awakened)

Zone (not awakened)

Looking at the information on the panel, the boy felt a little emotional.

Seven years already!

His name was Qing Junce.

It was the name he had possessed in his previous life, and it was also his name in this life.

In other words, it had been his name before, and it was still his name now.

He had no idea what was happening to him.

He had merely opened his eyes one day and discovered that he had become a newborn baby. A group of strangers surrounded him, speaking a language he could not understand.

He was unsure whether he had transmigrated or been reborn.

The world he lived in now felt somewhat like the 1970s or 1980s of his previous life.

All he knew was that he was currently in Kanagawa, Japan.

It was not until he turned three that his family bought him a basketball.

The instant he touched the basketball, a system suddenly appeared in his mind.

This left him both bewildered and delighted.

When he saw the information on the system, he froze.

Loading character template: Aomine Daiki

Loading progress...1%...5%...10%...

He knew Aomine Daiki.

He was a character from the anime Kuroko's Basketball, one of the Generation of Miracles.

All he knew was that he seemed to have fused with Aomine Daiki's template, and then... nothing else happened.

From that day onward, the only change was that whenever he touched a basketball, the progress of his character template would increase. Nothing else ever happened.

After that, he had no idea why. Perhaps it was because of the system, or perhaps Aomine Daiki's character template had influenced him.

Without realizing it, he had started playing basketball, right up until today.

" A-Ce..."

Just then, a clear and pleasant girl's voice reached Qing Junce's ears.

Qing Junce turned toward the voice and saw a little girl with long hair running toward him.

She wore a jade-green dress. Its color resembled the freshest new leaves of spring, or rippling light on a tranquil lake, softly wrapping around her petite body.

The hem swayed gently in the breeze like ripples spreading across green waves, adding a touch of liveliness and playfulness to her.

She was breathtakingly sweet-looking, like a porcelain doll carefully carved by God.

Her large eyes were like the brightest stars in the night sky—clear, pure, and radiant, as though they held a pool of limpid autumn water. Every blink seemed to speak of endless innocence and beauty.

Her thick eyelashes fluttered like two little fans, stirring the purest curiosity and naivety in the world.

Her short black hair looked dyed by the night, yet under the sun's gentle caress, it reflected a faint purple glow. The mysterious, dreamlike color added an indescribable touch of wonder and charm to her already sweet appearance.

She was like a little elf who had stepped out of a fairy tale, carrying innocence and beauty into this complicated world and causing everything around her to pale beside her unique charm.

The newcomer was none other than Qing Junce's childhood friend.

The little girl's name was Shimizu Kanon.

The Qing and Shimizu families had been family friends for generations.

The fathers of both families had gone into business together and were also neighbors, so the two families were extremely close and often gathered together.

Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon had known each other since childhood.

Because Qing Junce had always been very opinionated, the little girl was constantly running after him.

Every time Qing Junce came to the court to play, Shimizu Kanon would stand to the side and quietly watch.

With a sweet smile, Shimizu Kanon said to Qing Junce, "A-Ce, congratulations on defeating another opponent."

Qing Junce wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a matter-of-fact smile, "Of course. You know how strong I am."

"Tch..."

Shimizu Kanon clicked her tongue, stuck out her tongue at Qing Junce, and said, "Arrogant brat, it's getting late. We should go home."

Qing Junce was somewhat reluctant. "But I haven't had enough yet!"

Shimizu Kanon did not care. She immediately grabbed Qing Junce by the arm and led him out of the outdoor court, saying as they walked, "All you ever think about is basketball. We're moving to Hokkaido next week. Don't you have anything to pack?"

At that, Qing Junce remembered that they were moving.

Because the companies owned by both families' fathers needed to expand their business, their entire families would be moving to Hokkaido.

He had actually forgotten about it.

Qing Junce scratched his head and said, "I remember now, but I don't think there's anything I need to prepare."

"As if." Shimizu Kanon rolled her eyes, completely refusing to believe him.

She knew her childhood friend too well. Aside from basketball, he was hopelessly muddled about everything else.

This had happened more than once. Every time, she ended up worrying herself sick over him.

She did enjoy watching Qing Junce play basketball, but life was not only about basketball!

The moment they left the outdoor court, their vision suddenly blurred.

A flash of red streaked past them.

At the same time, a voice reached their ears.

"Damn you, Yohei! You actually ran off and left me all by myself! I'll never forgive you this time..."

The voice faded into the distance until it disappeared completely.

Qing Junce stared curiously in the direction where the red figure had vanished and muttered inwardly, That guy who just flashed past seemed to have red hair. Do people in Japan start dyeing their hair that young?

"Huh? That's strange. Someone else has hair unlike everyone else's, just like A-Ce. It's red—how rare!" Shimizu Kanon's sudden remark made Qing Junce stop in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Shimizu Kanon asked curiously when she felt Qing Junce stop.

Qing Junce did not answer. Instead, he fell deep into thought.

Red hair... Yohei...

He frowned slightly. This all felt strangely familiar.

"Red hair... Yohei..." Qing Junce murmured softly.

Seeing his expression, Shimizu Kanon was left with a head full of question marks.

She raised her small hand and placed it against Qing Junce's forehead, then said, "Don't tell me playing basketball made you stupid?"

Playing basketball?

Red hair?

Yohei?

Suddenly, a sharp gleam flashed through Qing Junce's eyes.

A scene suddenly flashed through his mind.

It was an anime he had watched in his previous life.

Could this be the world of Slam Dunk?

Could that red-haired guy who flashed past just now be Sakuragi Hanamichi?

Could the Yohei he mentioned be Mito Yohei?

Thinking about the era he was currently living in, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

The next moment, Qing Junce grabbed Shimizu Kanon's hand and ran toward home.

Shimizu Kanon's pretty face flushed at Qing Junce suddenly taking her hand.

Before long, the two of them disappeared at the end of the street.