After basketball practice ended that evening, everyone gathered around and curiously asked Ken Kaneki about the middle-aged man who had come to see him that afternoon.
"Nothing much. It was just a small matter." Ken Kaneki calmly tidied his locker and briefly recounted what he and Tsutomu Miyazato had discussed that afternoon.
"What? The Tokyo regional manager of Golden Arch Bridge? And he wants to invite you to take part in a challenge tournament?" Daiki Aomine was stunned. "How'd you get so lucky?"
"Dummy Ao-chan, Ken-chan crushed the top four teams from last year's Tokyo region two rounds in a row. It's only natural he'd attract attention," Atsushi Murasakibara muttered, bored, as he drank his yogurt.
"Indeed. This sort of thing is beyond the understanding of a player like you," Shintaro Midorima added from the side, taking a sly jab at him.
"Hey, hey, hey! Are you guys any better? We're all just players!" Daiki Aomine's face turned red with anger at Shintaro Midorima. He even forgot that Atsushi Murasakibara had just called him a dummy.
"The offer is really generous! If I were Ken-kun, I'd accept too." Satsuki Momoi smiled at the noisy group. "Since Ken-kun has already agreed, I'm sure he feels confident about the tournament."
"It's all right," Ken Kaneki said indifferently. "The only thing I care about is that training camp spot at the end. I'm not short on money, and as for those prestigious schools? Any high school basketball team in Neon Country that has me is a powerhouse."
"Have you talked this over with Coach?" Satsuki Momoi asked curiously.
Ken Kaneki nodded without comment, his thoughts returning to his private conversation with Kōzō Shirogane that evening.
"Coach, I want to go to America." Ken Kaneki looked at Kōzō Shirogane with a solemn expression