The next day.
Shohoku High School · Basketball Gymnasium.
Qing Junce arrived a little earlier than usual.
However, an unusual atmosphere permeated the basketball gym today.
No one knew what had gotten into Sakuragi Hanamichi. He stared fiercely at everyone he saw, muttering, "I'll kill you with my eyes."
The moment Sakuragi Hanamichi saw Qing Junce arrive, he excitedly ran over and began staring straight into Qing Junce's eyes.
"Kill you... kill you... I'll kill you with my eyes..." Sakuragi Hanamichi rambled on like he was chanting a spell.
Qing Junce simply stared straight back at Sakuragi Hanamichi, his expression unchanged.
Seeing this, Shimizu Kanon, who was standing nearby, instantly developed beady eyes and wore a completely bewildered expression.
What was going on?
Had something gone wrong with Sakuragi Hanamichi's brain?
That wouldn't do.
No matter what, Sakuragi Hanamichi was still considered a fairly capable fighter on the team.
Shimizu Kanon asked with concern, "Sakuragi, are you feeling unwell anywhere? Do you need to go to the hospital?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi ignored Shimizu Kanon and continued glaring fiercely at Qing Junce without blinking, still muttering, "Kill you... kill you... I'll kill you with my eyes..."
Uh...
Shimizu Kanon had no idea what to do for a moment.
Ayako hurried over, pulled Shimizu Kanon away, and said, "Don't bother with that idiot. Who knows what that guy learned from Captain Akagi? He's been like this ever since he arrived today."
Akagi Takenori, who was training on the court, heard this and stumbled, almost falling flat on his face.
His forehead was covered in black lines, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down it. For some reason, he felt a little guilty.
The previous night, Sakuragi Hanamichi had found him and asked him to teach him some special moves.
Annoyed, Akagi Takenori had pointed at his own eyes and said, "Keep your eyes on the opponent and use your gaze to make them afraid to act rashly."
Who knew how Sakuragi Hanamichi had interpreted that?
Over with Qing Junce.
Looking at Sakuragi Hanamichi, whose eyes were bloodshot, Qing Junce was thoroughly speechless.
Was this guy an orphan or something?
How had someone with this level of intelligence survived until now?
He didn't want to keep wasting time here with him.
Expressionless, he simply turned and walked away.
Seeing Qing Junce leave first, Sakuragi Hanamichi immediately burst into laughter. "Hahahaha... I knew it! This move really works. The next game will be up to this genius!"
The others in the gym all twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Shimizu Kanon now understood what had happened and couldn't help laughing. "Sakuragi, you're certainly energetic!"
Rukawa Kaede cursed under his breath, calling him a complete idiot, then walked up to Qing Junce and said, "Let's play a game."
This was no longer the first, second, or third time Rukawa Kaede had challenged him.
Previously, Rukawa Kaede had challenged Qing Junce almost every day, but Qing Junce didn't accept every time.
Of course, whenever he agreed to a one-on-one match with Rukawa Kaede, he won by completely crushing his opponent.
This time was no exception.
With everyone watching, Rukawa Kaede was once again ground into the floor by Qing Junce.
Three days later.
It was once again the Kanagawa Gymnasium.
But things were different from the previous two times.
At this moment, a layer of dark clouds that refused to disperse hung over the heads of everyone from Shohoku.
Today, not only Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon were late—even Mitsui Hisashi and Sakuragi Hanamichi had failed to show up.
Shohoku was suddenly short two starting players.
Kogure Kiminobu paced around in circles, muttering, "Qing Junce is one thing, but what's going on with Mitsui and Sakuragi? They still aren't here. What on earth happened?"
He turned to Akagi Takenori and asked, "Could something have happened to them, Akagi?"
But the moment he turned and saw Akagi Takenori's face, the hairs on his body stood on end, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.
Akagi Takenori looked like an erupting volcano. His face was already flushed, his teeth ground together with a clacking sound, and the veins on his forehead writhed as though something inside was about to burst through his skin.
Suppressing his anger, he growled, "Who knows? Those three bastards..."
In the spectator stands.
Akagi Haruko had also arrived with two of her girlfriends.
Seeing that Mitsui Hisashi and Sakuragi Hanamichi were missing from Shohoku's lineup, Akagi Haruko looked worried and said in confusion, "What on earth is Sakuragi doing... And Mitsui-senpai too..."
Elsewhere.
The people from Ryonan had also arrived.
Seeing so many players missing from Shohoku, they were equally astonished.
Aida Kenichi said in confusion, "It makes sense that Qing Junce isn't here, but how come Mitsui Hisashi and Sakuragi Hanamichi are missing too? What on earth is going on?"
Koshino Hiroaki folded his arms and analyzed the situation. "Sakuragi Hanamichi might have already been kicked off the team. But Mitsui Hisashi isn't here either, which is strange."
Aida Kenichi began wildly speculating to himself. Could the two of them be undergoing some secret special training? If so, could Qing Junce be doing the same? No, no, I have to get down there quickly.
With that thought, he began writing and sketching in his notebook.
Time passed second by second.
The expressions of everyone from Shohoku grew worse and worse, while the dark clouds above their heads began flashing with thunder and lightning.
The gloomy atmosphere gradually spread across Shohoku's bench.
Just then, two figures emerged from the entrance to Shohoku's players' tunnel.
"We finally made it."
A familiar voice suddenly rang out behind everyone from Shohoku.
The Shohoku players turned around and saw Shimizu Kanon and Qing Junce standing before them.
When Kogure Kiminobu saw that it was Qing Junce, the dark clouds over his head instantly vanished. He hurried forward and said, "It's Qing Junce! That's wonderful. With you here, I don't have to worry anymore."
Huh?
Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon were both utterly bewildered.
What did he mean?
Kogure Kiminobu explained, "I don't know what happened, but those two idiots, Mitsui and Sakuragi, haven't shown up. We were just worrying about it. Now that you're here, you can take their places on the court."
Hearing this, Shimizu Kanon looked around and, sure enough, saw no sign of Mitsui Hisashi or Sakuragi Hanamichi. "Could Sakuragi and Mitsui-senpai have overslept too?"
Her words left everyone around her covered in black lines.
Ayako walked over and said, "Today's opponent is Koryo High School. They're about as strong as Miuradai, but we still can't let our guard down."
Akagi Takenori looked at Qing Junce and said, "Since those two aren't here, you'll have to take the court first."
Seeing Qing Junce, he felt somewhat relieved as well.
Qing Junce took off his jacket, revealing the Number 9 Jersey underneath. "In that case, I'll loosen up a little first."
However, everyone around him now looked at him in complete confusion.
Noticing their gazes, Qing Junce asked doubtfully, "What is it?"
Ayako pressed a hand to her forehead. "We're wearing white uniforms today."
Qing Junce looked down at the red uniform he was wearing.
Shimizu Kanon wore an embarrassed expression and hurriedly dragged Qing Junce toward the locker room, calling back over her shoulder, "I'll take him to change. We'll be back soon."
Everyone from Shohoku sighed helplessly.
Akagi Takenori closed his eyes and looked utterly exasperated. "Seriously, every single one of them is such a headache."
Before long, Qing Junce returned after changing into his jersey.
The players from both teams walked onto the court and took their positions.
When the spectators saw Qing Junce take the court wearing the Number 9 Jersey, many of them perked up.
The news that Shohoku had a powerful Number 9 player had already spread.
They hadn't seen him last time, so this time they watched him closely.
"Qing Junce is on the court!" Aida Kenichi said excitedly.
Koshino Hiroaki said, "He's actually not late today!"
"That's not the point!" Ikegami Ryoji said. "The opponent is Koryo. There's no need for Shohoku to put Qing Junce on the court at all!"
Sendoh explained, "It's because of the starting lineup. Shohoku's bench is very weak, and with Mitsui and Sakuragi absent, that guy is the only one who can replace them."
Toot...
A whistle sounded.
The referee tossed the basketball straight into the air between the two teams.
The game between Shohoku High School and Koryo High School officially began.
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