Rukawa Kaede's Challenge

Akagi Takenori naturally wouldn't let Sakuragi Hanamichi dunk so easily, so he jumped up, preparing to block.

However, whether it was due to the distance or Sakuragi Hanamichi's intention, The basketball, under Sakuragi Hanamichi's swing, didn't go into the hoop but instead hit the rim's edge, then bounced away from Sakuragi Hanamichi's hand.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's hand, under the force of the dunk, continued to swing downwards.

The next moment, everyone heard a "smack."

Sakuragi Hanamichi's palm, precisely and forcefully, landed squarely on Akagi Takenori's head.

This powerful blow caused Akagi Takenori's entire body to lurch downwards violently.

Finally, with a "clang."

Akagi Takenori landed face down on the floor, motionless.

The entire venue fell into silence once more.

Everyone looked at Akagi Takenori, who was lying on the floor.

Everyone could vaguely see a palm print emitting white smoke on Akagi Takenori's head, flashing with red light, as if it had been branded by a hot iron.

Qing Junce's mouth twitched.

That slap sound was certainly loud enough.

He wondered if Akagi Takenori would suddenly become an idiot.

Just as everyone was worried about the motionless Akagi Takenori on the floor, Akagi Takenori slowly got up.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Akagi Takenori, with wisps of black mist emanating from him and an extremely contorted expression, gritted his teeth and directly wrapped his arm around Sakuragi Hanamichi's neck, shouting, "You bastard, you punk, damn it... I won't forgive you this time, no matter what."

"I... I didn't do it on purpose..." Sakuragi Hanamichi's face turned red, and he struggled in pain.

Akagi Takenori couldn't hear anything at this point, roaring, "You damn guy, I'm going to kill you."

"Help... help me... I really didn't do it on purpose!" Sakuragi Hanamichi pleaded.

The scene began to descend into chaos.

The practice match was forced to a halt due to the two's antics.

Qing Junce walked off the court with a helpless expression, then picked up his jacket and said to Shimizu Kanon, "The match probably can't continue. Kanon, let's go!"

As he spoke, he yawned.

Huh?!

Shimizu Kanon quickly stood up and said, "Saku, this won't do! We came here to report today."

Qing Junce seemed not to hear her, lazily saying, "It's already like this anyway, there's nothing we can do even if we stay. I'm hungry, let's go eat first!"

"Ah? Really..." Shimizu Kanon said helplessly.

She turned and bowed to Ayako and Anzai Mitsuyoshi, then apologized, "Senpai Ayako, Coach Anzai, I'm very sorry. Saku is just like this, please don't take it to heart. I'll bring him here for training on time tomorrow."

With that, she quickly turned and chased after Qing Junce.

Ayako watched Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon turn and leave, shaking her head with distress, "Honestly, why are they all problem children this year! Each one of them is so troublesome."

Anzai Mitsuyoshi didn't pay much attention to these matters.

He just sat there calmly.

He stroked his round, chubby chin, his eyes beneath his glasses unfathomably deep.

He first looked at Rukawa Kaede, who was practicing his shots alone.

'Rukawa Kaede is a new force.'

Then he shifted his gaze to Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was being choked by Akagi Takenori.

'Sakuragi Hanamichi is also very interesting, a promising talent.'

Finally, he looked at Qing Junce, who was about to walk out of the gymnasium doors.

'Qing Junce huh...'

Anzai Mitsuyoshi pondered, the white light on his glasses flashing repeatedly, thinking to himself, 'A prodigy! Truly a prodigy! I didn't expect anyone to possess such talent. I just don't know what his true strength is?'

Although Qing Junce had only shown one interception and one offensive move today.

His speed, which surpassed ordinary people and was unparalleled, had already left an indelible mark on Anzai Mitsuyoshi's mind.

The next day.

Shohoku High School building.

Class 1-6.

Hoo... hoo... hoo...

Qing Junce was asleep, his head on his desk, his chest rising and falling evenly.

Beside him, Shimizu Kanon looked helpless, watching the teacher with an unfriendly expression and a receding hairline at the podium. For a moment, she didn't know what to do.

She felt that the energy she expended just going to school was countless times that of others.

She thought to herself, 'Seriously, Qing Junce sleeps like this every day, so why does he still seem so listless normally?'

The classes for the day ended in the blink of an eye.

Shimizu Kanon brought Qing Junce to the basketball gym right on time.

When everyone saw it was Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon, they all cast strange glances their way.

They were still a little shaken by the strength Qing Junce had displayed the previous day.

Akagi Takenori's brow furrowed slightly when he saw Qing Junce, but he didn't say anything.

Although he strongly disliked Qing Junce's lazy demeanor.

However, since Coach Anzai hadn't said anything yesterday, he could only keep his dissatisfaction hidden.

Moreover, he had acknowledged the strength Qing Junce had shown yesterday.

Even though he wasn't sure of Qing Junce's true abilities, based on the speed he'd displayed, he was definitely not weak.

Naturally, he wanted his team to be as strong as possible.

Compared to his displeasure with Qing Junce, he cared more about achieving his dream of dominating the national competition.

Upon seeing Qing Junce, Sakuragi Hanamichi's face immediately showed annoyance. He thought to himself, 'It's this self-important guy again.'

On the other hand, Rukawa Kaede's gaze was fixed intently on Qing Junce.

A fighting spirit flickered in his eyes.

He had naturally seen Qing Junce's performance yesterday.

He had wanted to have a one-on-one match with Qing Junce.

But Qing Junce had left too quickly yesterday, and he hadn't had the chance.

Now that he saw Qing Junce, he naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

Ignoring everyone else, Rukawa Kaede walked directly up to Qing Junce.

He said with great fighting spirit, "Let's have a match!"

The surrounding crowd was also startled by Rukawa Kaede's action.

Rukawa Kaede was actually proactively challenging Qing Junce.

No one interrupted; they just silently watched the situation unfold.

They also wanted to know how Qing Junce would respond to Rukawa Kaede's challenge.

At the same time, they also wanted to see what Qing Junce's true strength was.

After all, yesterday they had only seen Qing Junce make one shot; they hadn't seen the entire process.

Therefore, they still held some doubt and curiosity about Qing Junce's abilities.

Qing Junce merely glanced at Rukawa Kaede, then used his pinky finger to clean his ear, saying indifferently, "No way! You're too weak."

As soon as he said this, the entire court was stunned.

The surrounding crowd looked at Qing Junce with disbelief.

They hadn't expected Qing Junce to say something like that.

He actually dared to say such a thing to Rukawa Kaede; he was too arrogant!

Who was Rukawa Kaede?!

He was the one known as the Super Rookie.

He was the MVP of junior high.

And this person was being called too weak by Qing Junce.

Everyone thought Qing Junce's tone was a bit too presumptuous.

Rukawa Kaede was also angered by Qing Junce's dismissive attitude.

His expression turned cold, and his eyes became sharper. "Are you scared?"

Oh?

Qing Junce raised an eyebrow and looked at Rukawa in front of him, saying calmly, "Psychological tactics won't work on me."

He wasn't bothered by this kind of provocation at all.

However, as if thinking of something, he suddenly changed his tone and continued, "But... I'll play a match with you. It's annoying to be provoked all the time."

Rukawa Kaede didn't pay attention to Qing Junce's words; he only knew that Qing Junce had accepted his challenge.

Shimizu Kanon, standing to the side, looked at Qing Junce with some confusion.

Based on her understanding of Qing Junce, he wouldn't care about such provocations.

But this time, her childhood friend was acting out of character.

She blinked her eyes, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.

Just then, Ayako's voice sounded in her ear.

"Are you sure this is really okay?"

Ayako looked at Rukawa Kaede and Qing Junce as they walked towards the court, saying with some worry.

She understood Rukawa Kaede's personality.

But she didn't know Qing Junce well.

However, after meeting him yesterday, she could tell that Qing Junce wasn't someone to be trifled with.

She was worried something bad might happen between the two of them.

Shimizu Kanon saw Ayako's concern and spoke up, "It's fine. When it comes to basketball, A'Ce is very serious!"