Sakuragi Hanamichi was also shocked by the scene before him. His usual cheeky grin vanished, and he stood there dumbfounded.
On the second floor of the basketball gym, the members of the Sakuragi Army, who had arrived at some point, had also witnessed the scene.
They were all left speechless, their mouths hanging open.
While everyone stood there stunned, Qing Junce turned around and looked at Rukawa Kaede. "Are you going to continue?"
Rukawa Kaede came back to his senses. Though unwillingness showed in his eyes, his fighting spirit had only grown more intense.
He naturally had no intention of admitting defeat just like that.
He was about to speak when a voice suddenly reached everyone's ears.
"Looks like everyone's here!"
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw that Coach Anzai had somehow already appeared at the edge of the court.
Anzai Mitsuyoshi still wore a kindly smile as he stroked his plump, round chin.
Everyone in the Basketball Club called out in unison, "Coach Anzai."
Just then, Sakuragi Hanamichi came up to Anzai Mitsuyoshi. Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and began tugging at Anzai Mitsuyoshi's plump chin, while his other hand pressed against Anzai Mitsuyoshi's round belly. He declared shamelessly, "Old Man, you finally came! Look at Rukawa Kaede and that Qing Junce guy. They're actually using the court where everyone else is practicing to have a one-on-one match. You have to deal with them. How can the Basketball Club allow people like that to exist? Right, Old Man? Why not kick them out of the Basketball Club altogether? Having a genius like me is enough for the team."
Bang...
A heavy blow crashed down on Sakuragi Hanamichi's head, cutting him off.
Akagi Takenori withdrew his hand with an angry look and then said respectfully to Anzai Mitsuyoshi, "I'm sorry, Coach Anzai. I'll make sure to punish him properly."
"Hohohohoho..."
Coach Anzai waved his hand with a smile. "All right, all right, Akagi. There's no need."
Akagi Takenori nodded respectfully. "Yes."
Coach Anzai then spoke again. "I came here today to tell you that I've arranged a practice match for you."
When they heard there would be a practice match, everyone in the gym became serious and listened quietly.
Anzai Mitsuyoshi continued, "Your opponent in the practice match will be Ryonan High School."
As soon as he said this, the atmosphere throughout the basketball gym fell silent for a moment.
After the silence came a wave of exclamations.
"What? Ryonan High School?" the second- and third-year members of the Basketball Club cried out in unison.
Kogure Kiminobu said in surprise, "Why Ryonan? Can we really beat them?"
"Ryonan!" Ayako also exclaimed in surprise. "This is going to be a real battle."
At that moment, first-year student Kuwata Toki asked in confusion, "Why does everyone look so shocked? Is Ryonan High School that strong?"
Kogure Kiminobu explained, "Ryonan High School was one of the top four teams in last year's Prefectural Tournament."
Hearing this, the first-year students were shocked once again.
"All right, everyone, get together," Akagi Takenori called out loudly.
After everyone had gathered, Anzai Mitsuyoshi said, "Before the practice match, focus on training first. Akagi, I'll leave it to you."
"Yes," Akagi Takenori replied.
After practice ended, Qing Junce left together with Shimizu Kanon.
"Ahh..."
Qing Junce yawned, looking completely listless. There was no sign that he had just gone through intense training.
Seeing him like that, Shimizu Kanon said helplessly, "A-Ce, how do you feel?"
"What do you mean?" Qing Junce asked lazily.
Shimizu Kanon said, "About your one-on-one match with Rukawa Kaede! You must have taken it seriously, right?"
Rukawa Kaede's strength was not weak, but Qing Junce had crushed him from start to finish today.
If he had not been serious, Qing Junce could not have handled Rukawa Kaede so effortlessly.
Qing Junce did not deny it. He merely said, "I was only a little serious! That guy's still too weak. He couldn't make me get completely serious at all. Besides..."
He paused before continuing, "You know my situation too. Even if I was a little serious, I was only serious by my normal standards."
Hearing this, Shimizu Kanon smiled sweetly.
Thinking of the way her childhood friend played basketball, that unpredictable and invincible style, she still could not help feeling a shiver of fear and excitement.
Shimizu Kanon asked, "Will you play in the practice match?"
Qing Junce replied calmly, "I don't know. We'll see. It's only a practice match, so it shouldn't matter whether I play or not, right?"
"What?! If you act like this, everyone's going to complain," Shimizu Kanon urged.
Qing Junce said indifferently, "None of that matters."
"Honestly," Shimizu Kanon said, shaking her head helplessly.
Just as the two of them were chatting and walking toward the school exit, a boy passing by them stopped.
The boy was not very tall, standing around 165 centimeters. His hairstyle somewhat resembled a crew cut, and his school uniform was similar to Shohoku's, except that the two characters "Ryonan" were written over the left side of his chest.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about his appearance. He looked honest and simplehearted.
What drew attention was the pen and notebook in his hands, as if he were recording something.
The boy's name seemed to be written on the notebook's cover: "Aida Kenichi."
He turned to look at the backs of Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon as they walked away and muttered, "Strange. I think I just heard the name Rukawa Kaede. Was it just my imagination?"
Shaking his head, the boy turned around and continued walking into Shohoku's campus.
Over the following week, everyone in the Shohoku Basketball Club trained in various ways every day under Akagi Takenori's direction.
The first-year newcomers were also able to complete their assigned training volume every day.
As for people with extraordinary physical abilities like Qing Junce, Rukawa Kaede, and Sakuragi Hanamichi, there was even less to worry about.
This greatly pleased Akagi Takenori.
However, one thing gave Akagi a terrible headache: Qing Junce's habit of being late.
Ever since Qing Junce joined the Basketball Club, there had not been a single day when he was not late.
This left Akagi Takenori both fond of him and furious with him.
Several times, he had wanted to teach Qing Junce, that guy with no sense of time, a proper lesson.
Fortunately, Kogure Kiminobu, the team's resident good guy, stopped him every time.
He was also worried that Akagi Takenori might accidentally anger Qing Junce.
If Qing Junce left the team, it would be a tremendous loss for Shohoku.
As for Shimizu Kanon, she was much less troublesome.
She got along extremely well with everyone on the team.
For one thing, her stunning appearance had already completely captivated everyone.
On top of that, having played basketball alongside Qing Junce since childhood had given her a trained eye. She had her own unique insights when it came to observing people's physical attributes.
When she brought out everyone's profiles, every person present, including Coach Anzai, was stunned.
Each person's playing habits, the things they needed to pay attention to, the areas they should correct, and their possible paths for development.
Point after point and detail after detail left everyone speechless and drawing in sharp breaths.
Everyone even discovered that Coach Anzai had a profile as well.
Unlike the others, however, Coach Anzai's profile was filled with reminders about matters related to his health.
After seeing the entire set of profiles, Shimizu Kanon completely won everyone over.
From then on, Shimizu Kanon successfully established herself as the manager of the Shohoku basketball team.
She and Ayako divided their responsibilities clearly, with one handling internal affairs and the other external affairs.
The two girls supported and complemented each other, becoming the Shohoku basketball team's "Twin Flower Managers."
Before you continue