Rising Fame

Today, Kanagawa Gymnasium seemed to have fallen under some kind of curse.

The entire basketball arena was shrouded in a thick, oppressive atmosphere.

The noisy discussions, the cheers of encouragement, the players' calls, and the coaches' commands...

All kinds of sounds seemed to have been forcibly suppressed by an invisible force, turning the entire area into a silent vacuum.

Only the sound of players' sneakers scraping against the floor as they ran, and the thudding of the basketball as it struck the ground, remained on the court.

Everyone stared blankly at the figure dribbling rapidly across the court.

Bang...

Bang...

Bang...

Swish...

The basketball slid down through Koryo's hoop.

Qing Junce landed back on the ground under everyone's dumbfounded gaze.

The entire arena fell silent.

The spectators swallowed one after another, their eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

They stared at everything happening below in disbelief.

"Hey! How many baskets has that been already?"

"That number 9 is way too strong!"

"The five players on the other side are actually being crushed by him alone."

"Is he really a high school student? I've never even seen a professional player this strong."

"If we ran into an opponent like that, how would we ever beat him?"

Fifteen minutes had already passed in the first half.

At that moment, the people from the various high schools in the stands had sweat soaking through their backs and cold sweat trickling down their foreheads. Every one of them looked as if they had seen a ghost.

During those fifteen minutes, Qing Junce had silenced everyone with his overwhelming one-versus-five performance.

At first, no one had thought much of it. They had simply watched the game normally.

But as time gradually passed, their expressions began to change.

When Qing Junce scored his first basket, their expressions had been indifferent.

When Qing Junce stole the ball and scored again, their expressions had become scrutinizing.

When Qing Junce charged forward with the ball, Koryo's players chased him desperately. In the end, not only did they fail to catch him, but the distance between them grew wider and wider.

By then, their expressions had turned to astonishment.

When Qing Junce stole the ball by himself, broke through four consecutive defenders, and successfully dunked for a score...

They were completely shocked.

What made everyone tremble even more was the speed of Qing Junce's retreat and his defense.

It was too outrageous.

Every single one of Koryo's shots had been blocked by him.

How exaggerated and unbelievable was that?

Although Koryo's players were not particularly strong, they had been utterly helpless against one man.

This level of strength had already exceeded their expectations of Qing Junce.

That number 9 from Shōhoku was even more troublesome than they had imagined.

Seeing the speed at which Qing Junce dribbled, the members of the basketball teams from the various high schools felt chills run down their spines.

Could a human really run that fast?

What kind of joke was this?

He was running faster with the ball than people without it.

Was this guy a monster?

Quite a few schools had already begun to grow nervous.

What would they do if they faced Shōhoku next?

If just this one person from Shōhoku was already this strong, wouldn't it be utterly absurd if the others joined in as well?

In this game, Qing Junce had used only some ordinary shooting and dribbling moves. He had not used Formless shots, nor had he used Super-high-speed dribbling.

As he had said, he felt there was no need.

He had simply relied on his speed to run rampant over Koryo.

By the time the first half ended, the people in the stands still had not fully recovered.

Hiss...

As they recalled the shocking scenes they had witnessed, gasps began to rise from all directions of the arena.

After a long while, someone finally noticed the score between the two sides.

Everyone looked up at the electronic scoreboard above the arena.

Shōhoku 74, Koryo 14.

Hiss...

Another wave of gasps rang out.

Of course, Qing Junce alone had scored 65 of those 74 points.

Looking at Qing Junce walking off the court with a relaxed expression and an air of complete calm...

Some people with weaker nerves had already begun to tremble, fear showing on their faces.

Sitting on the floor in a corner, Kiyota Nobunaga and Jin Koichiro were no longer as composed as they had been at the beginning.

Their gazes were extremely solemn.

Qing Junce's strength had exceeded their imagination.

He was strong—far stronger than ordinary players.

However, when they thought of their own captain, they relaxed slightly.

They still had Maki Shinichi.

Although Qing Junce's displayed strength had been surprising, their captain was no ordinary player either.

"I never expected him to be this strong. It seems we'll have to pay more attention to Shōhoku now," Jin Koichiro said.

Kiyota Nobunaga said jealously, "Where did this guy even come from? Why had I never heard of him before? Damn it! I'm obviously supposed to be the best newcomer."

Jin Koichiro glanced at him before saying, "Judging by the strength he just displayed, do you think you could beat him?"

At those words, Kiyota Nobunaga opened and closed his mouth, unable to say a word.

Although Koryo's players were not strong, it would still have been difficult for him to take on five of them alone. Even if he could have done it, he could never have been as relaxed as Qing Junce.

In a certain part of the stands.

Hanagata Toru stood there in silence.

Seeing this, Uozumi said with one part schadenfreude, two parts probing curiosity, three parts deliberate teasing, and four parts eagerness to watch the show, "How is it, Hanagata? Feeling any pressure?"

Hmph...

Hanagata Toru gave a cold snort. It was unclear whether he was merely putting on a stubborn front or genuinely did not care.

With a calm expression, he replied, "I admit he has some ability, but that's all. Against a weak team like Koryo, plenty of people could manage a one-versus-five."

After a pause, he continued, "Besides, Shoyo is Shoyo, and Shōhoku is Shōhoku. The winners will only be us, Shoyo."

With that, Hanagata Toru stopped paying attention to Uozumi and turned to leave.

Watching Hanagata Toru gradually disappear into the passageway, the corners of Uozumi's mouth lifted as he thought, He really isn't honest with himself.

The Shōhoku bench.

When Qing Junce returned to the bench, he saw Sakuragi Hanamichi and Mitsui Hisashi sitting there.

Mitsui Hisashi's face was bruised in patches of blue and purple, as if someone had beaten him up.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was still the same as ever, loud and carefree, constantly pestering Coach Anzai to let him play.

"Thanks for your effort." Shimizu Kanon came over to Qing Junce and handed him a bottle of water.

Qing Junce accepted the water and said, "I've already lost interest in this game. Since they're here, let them take the court instead."

Shimizu Kanon turned to look at Mitsui Hisashi and Sakuragi Hanamichi, then nodded. "All right."

The game was already without suspense, so they might as well leave the opportunity to the others.

Sakuragi Hanamichi still needed more game experience to grow.

Coach Anzai naturally agreed with the suggestion as well.

Coach Anzai could see it very clearly: Qing Junce no longer needed to familiarize himself with the atmosphere of competition.

Shōhoku led Koryo by 60 points at halftime, and everyone on the Shōhoku team was thrilled.

On Koryo's side, by contrast, everyone's head hung low. They looked as dispirited as if they had overindulged.

Koryo's coach naturally knew the game could no longer be saved.

He sighed, offered everyone a final word of comfort, and then treated the game as practice for the rookies.

The second half began.

All of Koryo's starting players were substituted off the court.

The Shōhoku players could also tell that their opponents had effectively surrendered.

Therefore, Shōhoku's offensive firepower weakened considerably in the second half.

In the end, Shōhoku defeated Koryo by a score of 133 to 26.

By then, however, no one was paying attention to the difference in the score.

On that day, Qing Junce's name resounded throughout Kanagawa Prefecture.

Every cover of Basketball Weekly was filled with reports about Qing Junce.

Kanagawa's super rookie, 60 points in one half

The number 9 miracle of Shōhoku, crushing Koryo one against five

The man stirring up Kanagawa, could this year's Hainan fall from the throne

Although these reports were extremely captivating, the basketball teams of the various high schools focused their attention on another headline.

Shōhoku's next opponent, the quarterfinalist Tsukitake!!!

The opponents Shōhoku had faced before had all been small fry.

Tsukitake, however, had been one of the eight strongest teams in last year's Prefectural Tournament. They truly possessed a certain level of strength.

Everyone wanted to know whether the match between Shōhoku and Tsukitake would continue Shōhoku's unstoppable advance, or whether Qing Junce's brilliance would prove to be nothing more than a flash in the pan.