The Empty Number 9 Jersey

One week later.

The morning of the practice match against Ryonan.

In front of the gates of Shohoku High School.

The members of the Basketball Club had already gathered, but two were missing: Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon.

"That scoundrel, he's late again," Akagi Takenori said through gritted teeth, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

Kogure Kiminobu quickly tried to calm him. "Akagi! Calm down, Qing Junce has been late before."

Akagi Takenori retorted, "What are you saying? If he's late for every game, how can we even play?"

Kogure Kiminobu didn't know what else to say.

Sakuragi Hanamichi interjected smugly, "I told you so! Let's just ignore that guy with no sense of time."

"Idiot," Rukawa Kaede said flatly from the side.

"What did you say?" Sakuragi Hanamichi yelled at Rukawa Kaede.

Ayako glanced at her watch and said helplessly, "It's already time, and I didn't expect Kanon to be late with him."

Just then, Ayako's phone rang.

Ayako took out her phone and, seeing the caller ID, said, "It's Kanon calling."

Everyone immediately turned their attention to her.

Ayako answered the phone and heard Shimizu Kanon say, "I'm so sorry, Ayako. A-Ce is still asleep. I'll wake him up now. You guys go ahead. I'll hurry and bring him to Ryonan High School."

After hanging up, Ayako relayed Shimizu Kanon's message to everyone.

Akagi Takenori was even more furious, wishing he could punch Qing Junce in the head right then. "Damn it, that bastard..."

Yasuda Yasuharu tried to mediate, "Captain, it's okay. Qing Junce is always like this, you should be used to it..."

Bang...

Before he could finish, Akagi Takenori punched him to the ground.

Akagi Takenori suppressed his anger and said through gritted teeth, "Alright, let's go."

Meanwhile.

At Qing Junce's home.

Shimizu Kanon entered Qing Junce's bedroom, shaking his body and shouting, "A-Ce, stop sleeping! We have a game today! Hurry and get up!"

Qing Junce, groggy and half-asleep, mumbled, "Kanon, you're so annoying! Don't wake me up."

Seeing that Qing Junce absolutely refused to get up, Shimizu Kanon thought for a moment. A sly glint flashed in her eyes, and a mischievous smile spread across her face. "Don't blame me if you don't get up!"

With that, she walked out of the bedroom.

A moment later, she returned.

In her hand was a glass of ice water.

A visible layer of mist coated the outside of the glass.

Shimizu Kanon directly threw off the covers and poured the water onto Qing Junce's neck.

The ice-cold water flowed down Qing Junce's neck.

Instantly, Qing Junce, who had been in a deep sleep, opened his eyes and shivered from head to toe.

"Waaah... so cold... so icy... so chilly..." Qing Junce yelled as he jumped out of bed, then glared resentfully at Shimizu Kanon, who was chuckling beside him.

Shimizu Kanon said softly, "Who told you not to wake up? We're already late. Everyone else has left. If we don't hurry, today's practice match will be over."

Sigh...

Qing Junce sighed and stopped as he was about to get out of bed.

He looked up at Shimizu Kanon.

Shimizu Kanon looked back at him.

They stared at each other.

"Huh? Hurry up!" Shimizu Kanon urged.

Qing Junce looked at Shimizu Kanon and said, "I need to get dressed. Do you want to see my body?"

Hearing this, Shimizu Kanon's face flushed. She spat, turned around, and said, "Who... who wants to see you!"

With that, she scurried out of the bedroom.

Watching her leave, Qing Junce considered lying back down in bed.

However, thinking that Shimizu Kanon would surely play another trick, he reluctantly got up.

A short while later, Qing Junce walked out of the bedroom.

"I've already prepared breakfast on the kitchen table," Shimizu Kanon said, pointing to it. "Eat up quickly, we need to leave after you're done."

"Ah! Got it, I'll go wash my face first," Qing Junce said, scratching his head before heading towards the restroom.

Ryonan High School - Basketball Gym.

The Shohoku team had already arrived.

Ryonan's coach was Taoka Moichi, a stern-looking man in his late forties, wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and blue casual pants.

He approached Anzai Mitsuyoshi and bowed slightly. "Coach Anzai, I should have been the one to visit you, so I apologize for making you travel all the way here."

Hoh hoh hoh hoh...

Coach Anzai waved his hand dismissively with a laugh. "Not at all!"

Seeing this, everyone from both Shohoku and Ryonan looked on in surprise.

The first-year students couldn't help but ask, "Our coach seems quite impressive?"

Ayako chimed in to educate them. "Of course! Our coach was a very remarkable figure in his day!"

Akagi Takenori stepped forward to shake hands with Taoka Moichi. "I am Akagi Takenori, captain of the Shohoku Basketball Club. Please guide me."

"Hello, Akagi, you're too kind," Taoka Moichi replied. After the pleasantries, he continued, "I've heard that our Uozumi has only set defeating you as his goal until now! Akagi, please go easy on him!"

"I am Uozumi, captain of the Ryonan Basketball Club. Please guide me," Uozumi said to Anzai Mitsuyoshi from behind Akagi Takenori.

Uozumi's full name was Uozumi Jun. Standing over 2 meters tall, his physique was comparable to Akagi Takenori's, and his presence alone exuded an imposing aura.

Akagi Takenori and Uozumi turned to look at each other.

They faced off, their gazes locking.

It was as if two bolts of lightning shot from their eyes, intertwining in mid-air.

Simultaneously, an invisible aura began to emanate from both of them, pressing towards the other.

The surrounding Shohoku and Ryonan players were all stunned by the intensity of the two captains, involuntarily swallowing hard.

After a long moment, the auras of Akagi Takenori and Uozumi slowly receded.

Soon, Shohoku and Ryonan began their pre-game preparations.

The Shohoku team gathered in their locker room.

Everyone stood in a line, awaiting Coach Anzai's speech.

Coach Anzai held the roster and addressed the team. "Now, we will be distributing the team uniforms."

Upon hearing this, everyone stood even straighter, hoping to be assigned a uniform.

Coach Anzai scanned the room and began to announce.

"Center, Akagi, number 4."

"Shooting Guard, Yasuda, number 6."

"Point Guard, Shiozaki, number 8."

"Small Forward, Kogure, number 5."

As each person was announced, Ayako, standing nearby, handed them their corresponding numbered uniform.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had been watching intently, was practically drooling with envy.

He looked at the uniforms being distributed into everyone's hands, his eyes shining.

Next, Coach Anzai spoke again. "Power Forward, Rukawa Kaede, number 10."

Hearing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had always been at odds with Rukawa Kaede, couldn't contain himself.

He glared at Rukawa Kaede in the corner through gritted teeth, cursing inwardly, That damn guy, that stinky fox got his uniform before me.

Although extremely displeased, he didn't say anything, forcibly suppressing his dissatisfaction and waiting for Coach Anzai to continue the announcements.

Coach Anzai then spoke again. "Finally..."

Hearing that it was the last announcement, Sakuragi Hanamichi's heart leaped.

His eyes were fixed on Coach Anzai, eagerly anticipating his name being spoken.

He silently chanted in his mind, "Sakuragi... Sakuragi... Sakuragi..."

Soon, Coach Anzai continued, "Qing Junce, number 11."

Boom...

It was as if a thunderclap struck Sakuragi Hanamichi's mind.

He was instantly enveloped in a shadow, his thoughts consumed by the realization that his name wasn't called.

Snapping back to reality, he immediately went to Coach Anzai and began pulling on the coach's chubby chin. "Old Man, why am I not a starter? Why don't I have a jersey? Even Rukawa Kaede and that guy who's late and hasn't shown up have them, why don't I? What's going on?"

"Idiot, stop it right now!" Akagi Takenori immediately intervened. "You big dummy, how could someone who's only been playing basketball for a day or two become a starter so easily!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi argued back, "You're lying to me! Didn't you say whoever controls the rebounds controls the whole world?"

Akagi Takenori's already pale face darkened further upon hearing this, and he snapped, "Idiot, it's about controlling the game. Besides, even if you're not a starter, there are still plenty of opportunities to play."

"It's just being a substitute anyway," Sakuragi Hanamichi completely ignored him.

The entire locker room was immediately filled with Sakuragi Hanamichi's disruptive energy.

Even the Ryonan members outside the door were bewildered, unsure of what was happening inside the locker room.

Ultimately, Sakuragi Hanamichi was appeased by Coach Anzai with a mention of a secret weapon.

At the same time, through Sakuragi Hanamichi's persistent pestering, he managed to get Rukawa Kaede's Number 10 jersey.

Rukawa Kaede, just like in the original story, was naturally switched to Number 11.

It's worth noting here that the Number 11 jersey originally meant for Qing Junce was now switched to the vacant Number 9.