Turning Point

Bang... bang... bang!

On the court, the Miuradai vs. Shohoku game was in full swing.

Yet the course of the game was completely beyond what many spectators had imagined before the match.

"Hey, hey, hey, is this really the Shohoku team that defeated the reigning champion Kainan just last week?"

A spectator stared at the numbers on the scoreboard, disbelief written all over his face.

"I don't know... maybe?"

His companion beside him wore the same stunned expression as he answered blankly.

20:8. The first half had only reached its sixth minute, yet Miuradai had already built a double-digit lead and had Shohoku pinned down from start to finish.

Shohoku, who had fought Kainan to the final second in the previous game before successfully hitting a buzzer-beater to defeat them, opening a new chapter in Kanagawa high school basketball history after nearly seventeen years, seemed to have collectively lost their way in this game.

Had Shohoku suddenly become this weak?

That was the shared question in the minds of every spectator.

In truth, Shohoku had not become weaker. Miuradai, under Wu Yufei's leadership, had successfully built momentum and used it to suppress Shohoku completely.

Shohoku and Miuradai were both newly risen teams that had suddenly grown powerful this year due to the arrival of talented players. For teams like these, their greatest strength and greatest weakness were the same: they were especially susceptible to the momentum on the court.

When they built momentum successfully, they could ride the wave, playing smoother and crazier with every possession. Likewise, when they fell behind, they often could not recover, instantly turning into a disorganized mess.

Miuradai had found what appeared to be Shohoku's strongest point today, but was actually their weakest: Akagi Takenori!

The Black Tower, Akagi Takenori, was the stabilizing pillar of Shohoku. When he played well, the entire team could follow his lead and play better and better. But when he fell into a slump, the whole team was affected as well.

Because he was worried about his foot injury, Akagi had been unable to bring out his true strength today. On both offense and defense, he played hesitantly, afraid that his injury would flare up again.

Naturally, Wu Yufei would not let such a gift-wrapped chance at victory slip away. He led the team in relentlessly attacking Akagi's point!

Of Miuradai's current twelve-point lead, at least seven points had been taken directly off Akagi.

"Kogure, warm up a little."

After watching Akagi's performance for a full five minutes, Coach Anzai spoke to Kogure beside him.

Beep—!!

At 6 minutes and 26 seconds into the first half, Wu Yufei once again powered through Akagi's weak, indecisive defense for a layup, stretching the gap to fourteen points. Coach Anzai finally could not remain seated and decisively called a timeout.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing, Gorilla? You could've easily blocked that guy's soft layup just now!"

Back at the bench, Sakuragi Hanamichi finally could not hold it in any longer and said it aloud.

In fact, Sakuragi was not the only one. Every remaining teammate had noticed their captain's slump today.

But they chose to believe that Akagi could pull himself out of it through his own efforts. So even as Miuradai gradually widened the gap, they did not let their mentality collapse.

"Akagi, come down and rest for a while."

Looking at the silent Akagi Takenori, Coach Anzai spoke slowly.

"What?!"

Akagi looked up at Coach Anzai with a startled expression.

"Wait a second. If we take Boss off now, won't our interior become even weaker?"

Miyagi Ryota tried to speak up for Akagi, but Coach Anzai only shook his head in response.

"Coach! Please don't take me off! I admit my performance was off just now, but I've already adjusted! Please believe in me!"

Akagi also spoke in his own defense, but Coach Anzai still shook his head.

Then Coach Anzai shifted his gaze to Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"Sakuragi, you'll take Akagi's position next. Rukawa will move up to Sakuragi's position. Keep our interior competitive."

"Oh! Leave it to me, old man!!"

"Whew..."

Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede readily accepted the arrangement. To them, the Gorilla staying on the court now would only cause their disadvantage to pile up further. It was better to substitute him out and let him rest and cool down for a while.

Seeing how firm their coach was, everyone could only accept the arrangement.

The timeout ended, and the players from both sides returned to the court.

"Akagi got substituted out?"

Some spectators were surprised by Shohoku's lineup change, while others found it entirely reasonable.

"Well, Shohoku's number four really did play terribly over the past few minutes. Replacing him is perfectly normal. But then, who is going to protect Shohoku's basket? That red-haired freak wearing number ten?"

Incidentally, since Shohoku had not lost to Kainan in the previous game, Sakuragi had naturally not shaved his head out of guilt. He still wore his flamboyant red pompadour, so people naturally still called him the "red-haired freak."

"Calm down a little. Watch the game for a while as an observer. Trust your teammates. They're all very strong."

Coach Anzai gently comforted Akagi, who sat beside him with a towel draped over his head, not saying a word.

"Yes..."

Akagi pulled down the towel and turned his gaze toward the court.

"With the basket guarded by me, the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi, I absolutely won't let you keep doing whatever you want!!"

After returning to the court, Sakuragi Hanamichi arrogantly declared this to Wu Yufei and the others across from him.

"What a noisy guy."

Quite a few Miuradai players did not have a favorable impression of Sakuragi Hanamichi. After all, in the past few minutes, Sakuragi had not shown anything particularly impressive. Aside from faking out Naito and driving into the paint, which counted as a nice play, that attack had ultimately been disrupted by Wu Yufei.

It was Shohoku's possession now.

Miyagi Ryota advanced steadily with the ball while considering how to attack on this possession.

Boss has been substituted out. We can only rely on Mitsui's three-pointers to close the gap...

"Pass it to me!"

Just as Miyagi was about to look for Mitsui, Rukawa Kaede ran over and called for the ball.

Seeing Wu Yufei about to rush over, Miyagi did not hesitate. He immediately passed the ball to Rukawa Kaede while helping him block Murasame Kengo, who was chasing from behind. Rukawa Kaede took the opportunity to break into Miuradai's paint.

Seeing this, Wu Yufei immediately switched defensive assignments with Murasame and stepped in front of Rukawa Kaede.

Bang... swish!!

Rukawa Kaede took the basketball and drove hard straight at Wu Yufei. His move was unexpectedly identical to Wu Yufei's earlier drive!

"Mm..."

A crossover was not some particularly difficult move, and Rukawa Kaede's skills were excellent. Naturally, he knew how to use it as well.

Although he was not as explosively fast as Wu Yufei, Rukawa Kaede had an outstanding grasp of rhythm.

The instant Wu Yufei retreated, Rukawa Kaede abruptly stopped, then immediately stepped back, instantly creating separation between them.

The next moment, Rukawa Kaede decisively rose for a mid-range shot. Wu Yufei could not react in time and could only watch as the basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air before dropping cleanly through the net.

"Yeah!!"

After coming up empty on four consecutive possessions, Shohoku had finally scored. Cheers immediately erupted from the Shohoku bench.

Is he finally going to start showing his power?

Watching Rukawa Kaede's retreating back as he turned away, Wu Yufei thought silently.

That was Rukawa Kaede's second basket of the game. He had scored four points so far, leaving him just twenty-one points short of Wu Yufei's task requirement.