Miuradai's Secret Weapon

Shohoku's bench.

"Everyone did a great job, especially Qing Junce. Keep it up." When Kogure Kiminobu saw Qing Junce and the others leave the court, he immediately went over to encourage them.

"We actually made a comeback!" Shiosaki Satoshi said excitedly.

Yasuda Yasuharu also praised them. "That's exactly how you should play."

Ayako and Shimizu Kanon handed everyone towels and water.

Ayako did not hold back with her praise. "Everyone played really well. Keep it up! Especially you, Qing Junce—you actually tied the score in such a short time. That's amazing. But you should try passing the ball to the others too!"

Shimizu Kanon nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Exactly! A-Ce, you can't always fight alone. You should give your teammates some chances too!"

She truly hoped Qing Junce would communicate more with his teammates and improve their relationship.

Qing Junce picked up a water bottle and took several gulps before saying indifferently, "Pass the ball? What could they do with it?"

The moment they heard that, Mitsui Hisashi and Miyagi Ryota could no longer sit still. They jumped up and roared at Qing Junce, "What did you say?"

Qing Junce ignored them and calmly took another drink of water.

The two felt deeply humiliated.

Mitsui Hisashi gritted his teeth and pointed at Qing Junce. "First-years these days are unbelievably rude."

Miyagi Ryota also angrily pointed at Qing Junce. "You're way too arrogant, you bastard!"

"All right, all right, stop arguing. As long as the ball goes in, it doesn't matter whose hands it's in!" Kogure Kiminobu hurriedly stepped in to stop them.

As he spoke, he turned to Akagi Takenori. "Isn't that right, Akagi?"

Akagi Takenori said nothing and merely snorted.

He actually disliked Qing Junce's habit of playing alone.

But Qing Junce's strength left him with nothing to say.

As long as they handed the ball to Qing Junce, he could score with ease.

That left Akagi Takenori loving, hating, and helplessly enduring the situation all at once.

He wanted to say something, but he couldn't exactly stop someone from scoring.

Yet if he said nothing, the team no longer felt like a proper team.

So having too many geniuses on a team could be quite troublesome.

Everyone traded comments, arguing or discussing among themselves.

Only Sakuragi Hanamichi sat alone in a corner, his face dark and his heart filled with resentment. Damn it! Why? Why did everyone else get praised while I was the only one who got benched?

Miuradai's bench.

"What are you doing? You actually let them tie the score. We're a team that intends to defeat Kainan! How can we let some unknown team push us around?" Miuradai's coach pointed at his players and cursed furiously.

Miuradai's coach was a stern-looking middle-aged man with a rather fierce appearance.

The Miuradai players could only obediently lower their heads and endure their coach's fury.

After the coach had finished venting, Murasame Kengo, the team captain, finally spoke. "Shohoku's Number 9 certainly caught us off guard, but that's all. As long as we guard Akagi and Number 9, Shohoku is finished."

He looked at Miyamoto Kazunari. "Miyamoto, play more aggressively. Don't let their Number 9 do whatever he wants again. There's no need to be polite with them."

"Yes..." Miyamoto Kazunari hurriedly answered.

But he felt somewhat lacking in confidence.

The pressure Qing Junce put on him was simply too great.

Murasame Kengo swept his gaze over everyone, then said loudly, "We have to tighten our defense in the second half. It doesn't matter even if we foul. This is only the first game—we absolutely cannot lose."

Miuradai's coach cut in, "Exactly. Shohoku is nothing special. In the past, they were merely a team that got eliminated in the first round."

At that, he looked at Miyamoto Kazunari. "Naito will play in the second half. Miyamoto, you can rest for now!"

"Yes." Miyamoto Kazunari immediately replied, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

The other Miuradai players were also stunned when they heard that.

They had not expected the coach to reveal their trump card so soon.

But since the coach had already made the decision, they naturally had no objections.

Thud... thud... thud...

A series of heavy footsteps rang out.

At that moment, a tall, burly figure came up behind Miuradai's coach.

The figure held a basketball in one hand, with a white towel covering his head. He spoke with extreme arrogance. "What's so special about Mitsui Hisashi? So what if he was a middle-school MVP? He's far below high-school standards."

As he spoke, he removed the white towel from his head, revealing a gleaming, perfectly bald scalp.

The gym lights shone on his bald head, reflecting like a mirror and giving him a strangely noble air.

His face was now completely exposed as well.

It was a rugged and defiant face.

He was Miuradai's secret weapon, Naito Tetsuya. He stood 196 centimeters tall, weighed 155 kilograms, played power forward, and wore Number 9.

Naito Tetsuya continued, "What's so special about Rukawa Kaede? He's only a first-year. And that Number 9? I'm enough to handle him by myself."

As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand slowly tightened around the basketball.

Accompanied by creaking sounds, the basketball began to compress and deform in his grip.

The Miuradai players all swallowed nervously at the sight.

"It's up to you, Naito. We're going to crush Shohoku," Murasame Kengo said.

Naito Tetsuya's lips curled upward. "No problem."

Miuradai's coach addressed everyone. "That's right. Just as Murasame said, if we want to win, we have to use every means necessary and show Shohoku what we're capable of."

Tweet...

The whistle sounded.

The second half began.

The players from both sides returned to the court.

This time, however, everyone's attention was drawn to Miuradai.

The reason was their newly substituted power forward, Naito Tetsuya, wearing Miuradai's Number 9 Jersey.

"Oh my god! Who's that guy?"

"He's so tall!"

"He's huge!"

"Is he really a power forward?"

"This is going to be good!"

The Shohoku players were also shocked by Naito Tetsuya's tall, powerful build.

"He's really big," Akagi Takenori said, somewhat surprised.

Mitsui Hisashi looked at Naito Tetsuya and said in surprise, "I saw this guy in the information earlier, but seeing him in person is still startling."

The muscles covering Naito Tetsuya's body were genuinely intimidating.

Miyagi Ryota secretly compared himself with Naito Tetsuya.

His small frame looked almost like a bean sprout beside the other man.

Fortunately, he was not the one matched up against him.

He subconsciously shifted his gaze toward Qing Junce and thought, He should be fine, right?

Qing Junce merely glanced at Naito Tetsuya. His face showed no surprise whatsoever.

Just then, Naito Tetsuya came before the Shohoku players and said arrogantly, "My name is Naito, Naito Tetsuya. You'd better remember it."

"What a chatterbox." Qing Junce interrupted him with an indifferent expression. "I'm not interested in your name."

"What did you say, brat?" Naito Tetsuya revealed a fierce expression and glared at Qing Junce.

But soon, he withdrew his anger and grinned. I'll start with you.

At the referee's signal, both teams prepared for the second-half tip-off.

Akagi Takenori naturally took responsibility for the tip-off on Shohoku's side.

Miuradai replaced their jumper with Naito Tetsuya.

Tweet...

The whistle sounded.

The referee tossed the ball straight into the air between the two teams.

Akagi Takenori and Naito Tetsuya jumped at the same time, reaching for the ball overhead.

Their palms struck the basketball at almost exactly the same moment.

The next instant, everyone's eyes widened.

Akagi Takenori's arm began to bend backward, while Naito Tetsuya's palm continued pressing forward.

Smack...

With a muffled sound, the ball suddenly knocked Akagi Takenori's hand away.

Naito Tetsuya successfully won possession.

Shohoku's bench.

"No way! Captain Akagi actually lost?" Ayako's beautiful eyes widened in shock.

Shimizu Kanon took out a file and said, "Naito Tetsuya used to play rugby. His strength is indeed greater than Captain Akagi's, so losing the tip-off was within expectations."

Ayako looked at her. "Aren't you worried at all?"

Shimizu Kanon smiled faintly, looking relaxed and confident. "Don't worry, Ayako-senpai. With A-Ce here, there won't be any problems."

On the court.

After Naito Tetsuya slapped the ball away, it fell into Murasame Kengo's hands.

Before the Shohoku players could react, he immediately dribbled quickly into Shohoku's paint, planning to go straight for a dunk.

Mitsui Hisashi and the others only reacted then.

They had not expected Akagi Takenori to lose the tip-off.

But it was probably already too late to turn back and chase him.

Murasame Kengo's eyes gleamed with pride.

Just as he was about to slam the ball into the basket, a shadow blocked the lights above his head.

Huh?

Murasame Kengo sensed that something was wrong and looked up.

A palm suddenly appeared behind his head and slapped directly against the basketball he was about to dunk.

"Too slow." Qing Junce looked completely calm, as though blocking the shot had been the most natural thing in the world.

When had this guy caught up?

Murasame Kengo's face was filled with disbelief.

Even Naito Tetsuya looked astonished.

After winning possession, he had originally intended to find Qing Junce immediately and teach him a lesson.

Before he could even act, Qing Junce had already blocked his own captain.

What kind of divine speed was that?

Even the Shohoku players were completely dumbfounded.

Seriously, bro, how did you do that?

Did you guess from the beginning that Akagi Takenori would lose the tip-off?