In Japan, there had once been a hit series that took the entire internet by storm: Slam Dunk.
After it became hugely popular, countless young people had become obsessed with basketball, even sparking a basketball craze across Japan.
Although the series was already many years old, it was still a must-read in modern-day Japan for anyone who enjoyed sports stories.
At the restless, energetic age of high school, sports were one of the main ways students vented their excess energy.
So basketball was hardly any less popular than baseball, kendo, soccer, and other major sports.
Because Natsume Chikage was already extremely popular, news that he was playing basketball immediately drew a large crowd.
In particular, most of the girls from Classes A and B excitedly gathered around the basketball court to watch.
Even Kikuchi Kotona, the PE teacher who had originally been bored out of her mind, could not help glancing over.
She was curious whether Natsume Chikage, who had displayed remarkable talent in all sorts of sports, could show something special in basketball as well, so she contacted the school's basketball coach.
Upon learning that Natsume Chikage would be playing basketball against the top two prospects in his club, the coach hurried over to the field.
Honda Kenji was a male teacher in his forties. Although his physical condition was not as good as that of the Kendo Club and Baseball Club advisors, he was genuinely excellent at coaching basketball and had once led the school's high school division into the national top eight.
That was precisely why, knowing how gifted Natsume Chikage was athletically, he could not resist coming over to see whether he possessed basketball talent too.
The basketball game between Classes A and B officially began after a brief warm-up from both sides.
Although the Class