Kanagawa Gymnasium.
At the venue for the Shōhoku vs. Kainan University Affiliated game.
The stands were packed with spectators, filling every seat. Looking out across them, one could only describe the scene as both lively and spectacular.
Members of the Basketball Clubs from various high schools, along with reporters from major sports newspapers, had all been waiting eagerly for the game between the two teams to begin.
It was hard to imagine that this was only a Prefectural Tournament qualifier—not even the National Tournament—yet so many people had come.
The schools that had already been defeated also arrived one after another.
They wanted to witness whether Shōhoku could create a miracle and dethrone Kainan, or whether Kainan would continue their undefeated legend.
Kainan locker room.
The atmosphere inside was as deathly still as the silence before a storm.
Maki Shinichi sat steadily on a bench, bare-chested. His solid muscles seemed to rise and fall beneath the lights, while beads of sweat covered every inch of his skin, making him look as though he had just been pulled from the water.
A white towel hung casually over his head, but it could not conceal the heat radiating from his body. It was as if that heat had steamed up from the depths of his soul.
He sat there in silence, yet a chilling aura lingered around him, like a beast crouching in the shadows, ready to pounce on its prey. That oppressive presence alone was enough to make anyone shudder.
Kainan's other players kept glancing toward Maki Shinichi.
Every time they looked at him, they could not help swallowing, their dry throats making faint rasping sounds.
They knew that their captain looking like this meant he was taking the game more seriously than ever. The aura emanating from him was simply