Rukawa Kaede's Challenge

Akagi Takenori naturally wasn't about to let Sakuragi Hanamichi dunk easily, so he leaped up to intercept.

However, whether it was a problem with the distance or something Sakuragi Hanamichi had done deliberately, no one could say.

As Sakuragi Hanamichi swung the ball, it didn't go into the hoop. Instead, it slammed into the rim and bounced out of his palm.

Meanwhile, the force of the dunk sent Sakuragi Hanamichi's palm continuing downward.

The next moment, everyone heard a loud smack.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's palm struck Akagi Takenori squarely on the head.

The heavy blow sent Akagi Takenori's entire body crashing downward.

Finally, there came another clang.

Akagi Takenori landed face-first on the floor and lay there without moving.

The entire court once again fell into complete silence.

Everyone looked at Akagi Takenori sprawled on the floor.

They could vaguely see a palm print on Akagi Takenori's head, smoking and flashing red, as if it had been branded by a hot iron.

Qing Junce's mouth twitched.

That slap had certainly been loud.

He wondered if Akagi Takenori might suddenly have been knocked stupid.

Just as everyone began worrying about Akagi Takenori lying motionless on the floor, Akagi Takenori slowly climbed to his feet.

Just as everyone let out a sigh of relief, wisps of black smoke began to swirl around Akagi Takenori. His expression twisted horribly, and he gritted his teeth as he immediately locked an arm around Sakuragi Hanamichi's neck and shouted, "You bastard! You stinking brat! Damn it... I'm not forgiving you this time, no matter what!"

"I... I didn't do it on purpose..." Sakuragi Hanamichi's face flushed red as he struggled painfully.

Akagi Takenori couldn't hear a word anymore. He roared, "You damn brat! I'm going to kill you!"

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

The scene quickly descended into chaos.

The practice match was forced to end because of their antics.

Qing Junce walked off the court with an exasperated look, then picked up his jacket and said to Shimizu Kanon, "The game probably can't continue, Kanon. Let's go!"

As he spoke, he yawned.

"Huh?!"

Shimizu Kanon hurriedly stood up and said, "A-Ce, you can't do that! We came here to report in today."

Qing Junce acted as if he hadn't heard her and said lazily, "It's already turned into this mess. Even if we stay, we can't do anything. I'm hungry. Let's go eat first!"

"Seriously... honestly..." Shimizu Kanon said helplessly.

She turned and bowed to Ayako and Coach Anzai, then said apologetically, "Ayako-senpai, Coach Anzai, I'm very sorry. A-Ce is just like this, so please don't take it to heart. I'll bring him to practice on time tomorrow."

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

Ayako watched Qing Junce and Shimizu Kanon leave, then shook her head in frustration. "Honestly, why are all the problem children this year? Every one of them is such a headache."

Anzai Mitsuyoshi, however, paid no attention to any of this.

He simply sat there calmly.

He stroked his round, chubby chin, his eyes deep behind his glasses.

First, he looked toward Rukawa Kaede, who was practicing his shots alone.

Rukawa Kaede is a new source of strength.

Then he turned his gaze toward Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was still locked in Akagi Takenori's chokehold.

Sakuragi Hanamichi is very interesting as well. He has great potential.

Finally, he focused on Qing Junce, who was about to walk out of the gym.

Qing Junce, huh...

Anzai Mitsuyoshi pondered deeply, the glare on his glasses flashing again and again. He thought to himself, "What a monster! What an incredible monster! I never expected someone to possess such talent. I just wonder what his true strength is."

Although Qing Junce had only demonstrated one interception and one offensive play today,

that extraordinary, unparalleled speed far beyond an ordinary person's had already left an indelible mark on Anzai Mitsuyoshi's mind.

The next day.

Shohoku High School's classroom building.

Class 1-6.

Huff... huff... huff...

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

Shimizu Kanon sat beside him with a helpless expression, watching the unfriendly-looking teacher at the podium, whose hair had receded into a horseshoe shape. For a moment, she had no idea what to do.

She felt that attending school took her countless times more energy than it did other people.

She complained inwardly, Honestly, A-Ce sleeps like this every day, so why does he still look listless all the time?

The day's classes ended in the blink of an eye.

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

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

The strength Qing Junce had displayed the previous day still left them somewhat shaken.

When Akagi Takenori saw Qing Junce, his brows knitted slightly, but he said nothing.

Although he disliked Qing Junce's lazy attitude,

Coach Anzai hadn't said anything about it yesterday, so he could only keep his dissatisfaction to himself.

Moreover, he had acknowledged the strength Qing Junce had displayed the previous day.

Although he still didn't know Qing Junce's true strength, judging from the speed Qing Junce had shown, he was definitely not weak.

Naturally, he hoped his team would grow stronger and stronger.

Compared with his dissatisfaction toward Qing Junce, what mattered more to him was realizing his dream of dominating the nation.

When Sakuragi Hanamichi saw Qing Junce, an unhappy expression immediately appeared on his face. He thought to himself, It's that conceited guy again.

On the other side, Rukawa Kaede stared straight at Qing Junce.

Fighting spirit churned in his eyes.

Naturally, he had witnessed Qing Junce's performance the previous day.

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

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

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

Without paying attention to anyone else, Rukawa Kaede walked straight up to Qing Junce.

His fighting spirit blazing, he said, "Let's have a match!"

Everyone nearby was startled by Rukawa Kaede's action.

Rukawa Kaede had actually taken the initiative to challenge Qing Junce.

No one interrupted. They simply watched the situation unfold in silence.

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

At the same time, they wanted to see just how strong Qing Junce really was.

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

Therefore, they were still somewhat doubtful and curious about Qing Junce's strength.

Qing Junce merely glanced at Rukawa Kaede, then dug his pinky into his ear and said indifferently, "No thanks! You're too weak."

The moment he said this, the entire court was stunned.

Everyone nearby looked at Qing Junce in disbelief.

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

He actually dared to say such things to Rukawa Kaede. Wasn't he being far too arrogant?

Who was Rukawa Kaede?!

He was the one known as the Super Rookie.

He was the MVP of middle school.

And someone like that had just been called too weak by Qing Junce.

Everyone felt that Qing Junce was talking far too big.

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

His expression cold and his gaze sharper than before, he said, "Are you scared?"

"Oh?"

Qing Junce raised a brow and looked at Rukawa Kaede. "Trying to provoke me won't work."

He didn't care about this sort of taunt in the slightest.

However, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly changed direction and continued, "But... I'll play one match with you. Being challenged all the time is annoying."

Rukawa Kaede paid no attention to Qing Junce's words. All he knew was that Qing Junce had accepted his challenge.

Shimizu Kanon looked at Qing Junce somewhat strangely.

Based on her understanding of Qing Junce, he normally wouldn't care about such a provocation at all.

But this time, her childhood friend had unexpectedly acted out of character.

She blinked, a thoughtful look appearing on her face.

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

"Is this really all right?"

Ayako watched Rukawa Kaede and Qing Junce walk toward the court, her expression worried.

She understood Rukawa Kaede's personality fairly well.

But she didn't know Qing Junce.

However, after meeting him the previous day, she could tell that Qing Junce was no pushover.

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

Shimizu Kanon saw Ayako's concern and said, "It'll be fine. A-Ce is very serious when it comes to basketball!"