Ready!

The new JBa season had already begun. Rukawa Kaede and Xiandao each led their respective teams to victory, while Maki Shinichi, who took the court last, led his team to a four-point rout.

Sakuragi, who had been suspended, could only watch everything unfold in front of the television. All he could do now was train hard and bring his best competitive form into the game against Maki's Kagoshima Antlers. It would also be the first game of Sakuragi's professional career.

The Jaguars, Sakuragi's team, were also ready for their matchup against Coach Omoki's former team—the Osaka Iron Horses. The game was about to begin.

It seemed Coach Omoki was still immensely popular in Osaka. Even as an opponent, the Iron Horses' home announcer introduced him as solemnly as a home player. "Friends in the audience, please welcome our old friend with your warmest applause! A championship member of the Osaka Iron Horses, second all-time in total JBa three-pointers, JBa All-Star, Hall of Fame member, our golden sharpshooter! Omoki Isseki Gen!!!!" Before the announcement had even ended, thunderous applause erupted throughout the arena.

The crowd welcomed Omoki as if greeting a returning hero. Every light in the arena went out, and the massive screen hanging overhead began showing Omoki's old highlights. That figure was more familiar than ever! A spotlight shone upon the retired jersey hanging above the court. The Iron Horses had long since retired Omoki's jersey, letting it fly forever above the arena in tribute to a legend.

The sight brought tears to Omoki's eyes. That had been his youth, his sweat, all spilled across this court.

After the tribute, though, a game was still a game. Omoki was no longer the sharpshooter he had once been. Now, his task was to lead his team to victory and secure its second straight win of the season!

"I'll guard that so-called top pick, Rukawa Kaede!" said Nakazato Ban, the Iron Horses forward and champion of the previous Slam Dunk Contest, brimming with confidence.

"No way. Rukawa Kaede and I are both guards, so I, the shooting guard, should defend him!" Slaer Kento, another Iron Horses player, refused to back down. This Brazilian-Japanese mixed-race player, with a Brazilian father and Japanese mother, clearly wanted to challenge Rukawa Kaede as well.

"Enough arguing. We'll see how things look on the court before deciding which of you will guard Rukawa Kaede," said the Iron Horses coach, unable to stand it any longer.

"After this game, we can go home. Give it everything you've got! Let's get our second straight win of the season!" Omoki fired up his players again.

"Alright! One, two, three! Jaguars!"

Akagi led the chant, and the second game of the season was about to begin.

Akagi and the opposing center, Takahashi Nekai, stepped in for the opening tip.

After the tip-off, the Iron Horses gained possession first.

After the point guard, Kataoka Pekuri, brought the ball across half court, Kento waved his arms wildly, demanding the ball! He completely ignored the team's offensive system.

"What is that idiot doing?!" The Iron Horses coach was clearly baffled by Kento's actions.

"Give it to me, hurry up!! I'm going to crush Rukawa Kaede!" It turned out Rukawa Kaede was guarding Kento.

"Seriously..." Kataoka Pekuri was helpless and could only pass the ball to Kento.

"Come on, Rukawa Kaede. Watch how I, Kento, take you down!" Kento confidently faced Rukawa Kaede after getting the ball.

"Tch. Why are there more and more idiots..." Rukawa Kaede said disdainfully.

"What did you say, you bastard!!! Damn it, stop muttering!!" Before Kento could show off his skills, he had already started trading insults with Rukawa Kaede.

"Tweet! Number [ ], traveling violation!" The referee stopped play. Kento had not dribbled after receiving the ball, and while he was arguing, his feet moved. The referee saw it clearly, and Kento committed a turnover right away.

"You sneaky Rukawa Kaede!!! You distracted me and made me travel!!" Kento said furiously.

"I didn't think there was anyone even dumber than that big idiot..." Rukawa Kaede seemed to have discovered someone even more foolish than Sakuragi.

"Damn it!!!" Kento still refused to let it go.

The Jaguars began their offense. Rukawa Kaede got open, but instead of shooting, he swung the ball to Akagi. Facing Takahashi Nekai, Akagi used a classic center's back-to-the-basket move. After slowly backing closer to the hoop, he spun toward the baseline and followed it with a hook shot.

The ball bounced around the rim a few times before finally dropping in.

The Iron Horses' offense was far more one-dimensional. Although Nakazato Ban and Kento were both physically gifted, able to leap and rebound, the players at the other positions were limited. Even though the two scored six and four points respectively, they still could not match the Jaguars, who had four players scoring in double figures. In the end, the Jaguars defeated the Iron Horses 111–98 on the road, earning their second straight win of the new season.

"Rukawa Kaede, you really are strong. But I'll definitely surpass you!" After the game, Kento approached Rukawa Kaede and made his bold declaration.

"Bye!" Rukawa Kaede seemed not to care what Kento was saying and was simply saying goodbye to him.

"Hey!!!! What kind of attitude is that?! Damn it!!" Kento's every move really did resemble Sakuragi's.

After finishing a run of two straight road games, the Jaguars finally returned home for two consecutive home games. First would be their home opener against the Tokyo Great White Sharks, followed by a matchup against the powerful Kagoshima Antlers. Sakuragi would also return from suspension then.

"We can finally go home!! This is awesome!!" Miyagi exclaimed as he boarded the team bus headed for the airport.

"I haven't seen Sakuragi in almost half a month. I kind of miss him," Mitsui said, thinking of Sakuragi.

At last, the players returned to Kobe with two straight road wins.

"How has Sakuragi been lately?" After returning, Omoki first sought out Kawaguchi to ask about Sakuragi.

"Sakuragi? He's been training extremely hard every day. He even got the phone number of the owner of that swimming pool where you took him for special training before. He's been swimming every day without fail!" Kawaguchi said.

"Hahaha. That kid... Looks like hydrotherapy really works. Even an idiot like Sakuragi has realized it!" Omoki was quite happy to hear that Sakuragi had been training hard.

"Haha, oh! Right, congratulations, Coach Omoki! You led the team to a winning start and another two straight victories!!" Kawaguchi was also pleased with the team's performance.

"Owner Takayama will come to the game when Sakuragi returns to cheer for the team. You need to work hard too, Coach Omoki," Kawaguchi continued.

"The season has only just begun. Our advantage is that other teams still don't know much about many of our new players, so we performed better than expected in these two games. Once they understand our players' technical strengths, that's when the real tough battles will begin!"

"Yeah... Alright, Coach Omoki, get some rest. Focus on preparing for the game in front of us first! We still have a meeting later, so I'm leaving!" Kawaguchi said as he pushed the door open and left.

"That Kawaguchi, always running around... Forget it. I should study our next opponent." Coach Omoki had barely rested after returning to Kobe before beginning to study the next opponent.

The Tokyo Great White Sharks had only been part of the JBa family for three years. Their predecessor had been the Tokyo Tower, the team with the most JBa championships. But the current Tokyo Great White Sharks were nothing like their predecessor. The team was still rebuilding, though it had picked up several promising young players over the past few years. There was center Mikami Shotaro, who stood 2.16 meters tall yet possessed guard-like ball-handling skills, and shooting guard Nakazawa Eiken, who had once been called "Kobe" during his college days. However, the wealthy team owner seemed unwilling to spend time developing these young players. Perhaps he already had his own plans.

As expected, the Jaguars won their first home game of the new season, defeating the visiting Tokyo Great White Sharks 114–105 and claiming their third straight victory! It was the team's best start in recent seasons, and they rose to first place in the league standings.

"Alright, in four more days, this genius will finally take the court! Just wait and see!" Sakuragi had come to watch the team's first home game of the new season, though he was not sitting with the team. Instead, he was in a VIP box on the highest level of the arena.

Sakuragi clenched his fists and stared down at the court, his eyes resolute. It seemed Sakuragi was ready.