Target Practice Match: Ryonan High School

Sakuragi Hanamichi was also shocked by the scene before him. He dropped his usual grinning demeanor and stood frozen in place.

On the second floor of the gymnasium, the Sakuragi Corps, who had arrived at some point, also witnessed this.

They were all dumbfounded, their mouths agape.

While everyone else was stunned, Qing Junce turned to Rukawa Kaede and asked, "Do you want to continue?"

Rukawa Kaede snapped back to attention. Though there was unwillingness in his eyes, his fighting spirit burned even brighter.

He naturally wouldn't admit defeat just like that.

As he was about to speak, a voice suddenly reached everyone's ears.

"It seems everyone has arrived!"

They all looked towards the sound and saw Coach Anzai standing by the court, having appeared at some unknown time.

Anzai Mitsuyoshi still wore a kind smile, stroking his plump, round chin.

The members of the Basketball Club said in unison, "Coach Anzai."

Just then, Sakuragi Hanamichi walked up to Anzai Mitsuyoshi and unceremoniously reached out, grabbing the coach's chubby chin. With his other hand on Anzai's ample belly, he brazenly declared, "Old Man, you're finally here! Look at Rukawa Kaede and that Qing Junce, they're hogging the practice court for a one-on-one. You need to do something about them! How can people like that be allowed in the basketball team?! Right, Old Man! Just kick them off the team. The team only needs a genius like me."

Bang...

A heavy blow landed squarely on Sakuragi Hanamichi's head, interrupting his words.

Akagi Takenori retracted his hand, his face a mask of anger, and respectfully said to Anzai Mitsuyoshi, "I apologize, Coach Anzai. I will punish him properly."

Hoh hoh hoh hoh hoh...

Coach Anzai smiled and waved his hand, "It's fine, it's fine, Akagi. No need."

Akagi Takenori nodded respectfully, "Yes."

Coach Anzai then spoke again, "I'm here today to tell you that I've arranged a practice match for you."

Hearing about a practice match, everyone in the gym became serious, listening quietly.

Anzai Mitsuyoshi continued, "Our opponent for the practice match is Ryonan High School."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the entire gymnasium fell silent for a moment.

After the silence came a burst of exclamations.

"What? Ryonan High School?" the second and third-year students of the Basketball Club exclaimed in unison.

Kogure Kiminobu said with some astonishment, "Why Ryonan? Can we really beat them?"

"Ryonan!" Ayako also said with some surprise. "This is going to be a tough game."

At this moment, Kuwata Toki, a first-year, asked with confusion, "Why is everyone so surprised? Is Ryonan High School very strong?"

Kogure Kiminobu explained, "Ryonan High School was the runner-up in last year's prefectural tournament."

Upon hearing this, the first-years were shocked again.

"Alright, everyone gather up," Akagi Takenori called out loudly.

Once everyone had assembled, Anzai Mitsuyoshi said, "Before the practice match, everyone should continue practicing. Akagi, I'll leave it to you."

"Yes," Akagi Takenori replied.

After practice, Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon left together.

Ahaha...

Qing Junce yawned, looking listless, showing no sign of the intense practice he had just undergone.

Seeing him like this, Shimizu Kanon said with a helpless smile, "A-Ce, how do you feel?"

"How do I feel about what?" Qing Junce asked lazily.

Shimizu Kanon replied, "About your one-on-one with Rukawa Kaede! You were serious, weren't you!"

Rukawa Kaede's strength was not weak, but today he was completely crushed by Qing Junce from start to finish.

If Qing Junce hadn't been serious, he wouldn't have been able to play so effortlessly against Rukawa Kaede.

Qing Junce didn't deny it, he just said, "Just a little bit serious! That guy's strength is still too weak; he couldn't make me go all out. Besides..."

He paused, then continued, "You know my situation. Even if I'm a little serious, it's only serious under normal circumstances."

Hearing this, Shimizu Kanon smiled sweetly.

She thought of his childhood friend's playstyle.

That unpredictable, invincible style of play still sent shivers down her spine and made her heart race even now.

Shimizu Kanon asked, "Will you play in the practice match?"

Qing Junce replied with a flat expression, "I don't know. We'll see! It's just a practice match, it doesn't matter if I play or not!"

"Eh?! Everyone will have opinions if you act like this," Shimizu Kanon advised.

Qing Junce said indifferently, "None of that matters."

"What a pain," Shimizu Kanon shook her head helplessly.

As the two of them walked out of the campus chatting.

A boy walking past them stopped.

This boy wasn't tall, about 165cm, with hair that looked a bit like a brush. His school uniform was similar to Shohoku's, but the left chest had the characters "Ryonan" written on it.

His appearance was unremarkable, the honest and simple kind.

What was noteworthy was that he held a pen and a notebook in his hands, as if recording something.

On the cover of the notebook, it seemed to be written with the boy's name, "Aida Kenichi."

He turned his head to look at the receding backs of Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon, muttering, "Strange, I thought I heard Rukawa Kaede's name just now. Was it an illusion?"

Shaking his head, the boy turned back and continued walking into Shohoku's campus.

Over the next week, everyone in the Shohoku Basketball Club underwent various training sessions under Akagi Takenori's command every day.

The first-year students also successfully completed their training load daily.

Not to mention those with extraordinary physical abilities like Qing Junce, Rukawa Kaede, and Sakuragi Hanamichi.

This made Akagi Takenori very pleased.

However, there was one thing that gave Akagi a headache: Qing Junce's tendency to be late.

Ever since Qing Junce joined the basketball club, he hadn't gone a single day without being late.

This made Akagi Takenori feel both love and hate.

There were several times he wanted to teach Qing Junce, that guy with no sense of time, a good lesson.

Fortunately, he was always stopped by Kogure Kiminobu, the kind-hearted one.

He was also worried that Akagi Takenori might accidentally anger Qing Junce.

If Qing Junce left the team, it would be a huge loss for Shohoku.

As for Shimizu Kanon, she was much more worry-free.

She got along very well with everyone on the team.

Firstly, her extremely beautiful appearance had already completely captivated everyone.

Coupled with the insight she had developed from playing basketball with Qing Junce since childhood, she had her own unique perspective on observing players' physical data.

When she presented everyone's data, everyone present, including Coach Anzai, was stunned.

Each person's playing habits, points to note, suggested improvements, and potential development paths.

These points, one by one, left everyone dumbfounded and gasping in amazement.

Everyone also discovered that even Coach Anzai had a file.

However, unlike others, Coach Anzai's file contained only notes on health precautions.

With this set of data, Shimizu Kanon completely won everyone over.

Thus, Shimizu Kanon successfully secured her position as the manager of the Shohoku basketball team.

She and Ayako had clear divisions of labor, one focusing internally, the other externally.

The two women also supported and complemented each other, becoming the "Twin Flower Managers" of the Shohoku basketball team.