One Wave, Three Turns

"Nah!!!!!!"

Sakuragi once again could not believe the name he had heard, and he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart! With a sudden burst, he charged straight toward the stage.

Though the venue was extremely noisy, the plainclothes security personnel hidden among the seats immediately noticed Sakuragi's unusual movement. They pounced on him like hungry tigers, and even with all his tremendous strength, Sakuragi could not break free from the encirclement of five guards. Fortunately, everyone was still immersed in the previous result, so no one noticed Sakuragi's commotion. The guards quickly all but carried him out of the venue!

Who had been selected to make Sakuragi so frustrated? Let us turn back the clock one minute.

"At the 2006 JBa Draft, with the second overall pick, the Kagoshima Antlers select—"

"Kiyota! Nobunaga!"

Wasn't that Kiyota Nobunaga, the starting point guard of Kainan Affiliated, Kanagawa's strongest team back then, whom Sakuragi had mockingly called "Monkey"? No wonder Sakuragi was so furious. Nobunaga's ability certainly qualified him to be a starting point guard, but he and Sakuragi were both the type prone to sudden madness. No one could predict what they might do sometimes. Yet he had been chosen as high as second overall—of course Sakuragi was unwilling to accept it.

Unless Nobunaga had not only improved his basketball skills over the years, but also become more emotionally intelligent!

"Hello, Rukawa Kaede. I'm a reporter from Sports Daily. What do you think of the Jaguars choosing you with the first overall pick?"

"Maybe they knew I hated waiting, so they chose me." Rukawa's tone still carried that chilly feeling, but there was now a little humor between the lines.

Although the draft was still underway, most of the media could no longer hold back and were eager to interview the new first overall pick.

Among the many reporters, one stood out in particular!

She had so many questions she wanted to ask Rukawa Kaede. She had also once been the person who understood him best. But after Rukawa represented Shohoku in the National Tournament during his first year of high school, he had left Japan. Three years had passed since then, and she was not sure whether this Rukawa Kaede was still the same classmate from high school.

That reporter was none other than Akagi Haruko, who had run into Sakuragi and then been utterly baffled by his strange behavior!

"Over here." Haruko gathered her courage and asked a staff member for a microphone. It was as if she were telling herself not to be like she had been before—to be brave.

Don't be afraid, Haruko. It's only a simple interview. Haruko, you can do it! She continued encouraging herself inwardly.

"Sorry, this interview ends here for today. If the other media outlets have any further questions, you may ask them together at tomorrow's press conference the Jaguars will hold for Rukawa Kaede. Thank you, everyone."

Though her question had suddenly been cut off, Haruko did not seem too disappointed. She still wore a smile. Perhaps she knew that she had found the courage to stop being like her former self, someone who could only care silently from afar.

Meanwhile, Sakuragi was having a much worse time. The guards had forcibly dragged him into the venue's security office.

"I'm here for the draft! Why are you dragging me around?!" Though his body was restrained, Sakuragi's mouth still would not stop.

"Ah!! It's him!!! It's him!!!" The moment Sakuragi entered the room, someone shouted!

"You really are impossible to get rid of!" Sakuragi said bitterly when he saw the person shouting.

Naturally, the shouting man was the guard Sakuragi had knocked unconscious earlier. The injured guard sat there in ragged clothes, a bandage wrapped around his head, looking as though he had just survived a real war.

"You have to keep him under control, but don't get too close to him. That's too dangerous." The guard spoke while rubbing his forehead. Remembering what had happened not long ago, he was still terrified!

"This time, we have witnesses and evidence. Talk. Who are you? Who sent you? What are you doing here?" A man with an exceedingly vicious face, like some perverted prison guard from a gangster movie, questioned Sakuragi.

"My name is Sakuragi Hanamichi. Jhn sent me. I came to take part in the draft. That concludes my answers, sir." Faced with so many guards, Sakuragi was unusually obedient.

"Do you think I'm joking with you?!" The security chief looked exceptionally stern.

"This genius doesn't have time to joke around! Let me make a call and clear everything up!" Sakuragi was becoming impatient as well.

"Make it! We'll use it to round up everyone above you in one sweep!" The chief agreed readily enough.

After talking with Jhn for half a day, the guards trusted Sakuragi even less.

"We didn't understand a word of that call. Are you some kind of terrorist?" The chief was blunt.

"Tch. Just wait. When someone comes, you'll realize what an important person you've locked up. I can already picture how pitiful you'll look when you apologize to me! Hahahahaha!!!!" Sakuragi began laughing obscenely as he spoke.

"What an arrogant bastard!" The chief was burning with rage.

Before long, someone really did enter. This professionally dressed man looked like a successful businessman. Could he be Sakuragi's rescuer? In any case, the sight before him gave him quite a shock!

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! You got the wrong person!" he hurriedly explained the moment he entered.

"Hahahahaha! Did you hear that? You got the wrong person! Hurry up and let me go." Sakuragi was ecstatic.

"Who are you?" The chief still would not let it go.

"I'm... Forget it. You'll understand once you see my identification." He casually handed his ID to the chief.

"So that's how it is. All right, brothers, let him go. He isn't a suspect!" The chief gave in.

"Hahaha, you got the wrong person, didn't you? Daring to arrest this genius was a huge mistake!!!" Sakuragi finally straightened up proudly.

"Stop showing off. Hurry up and give them their clothes back. We're leaving." Seeing Sakuragi getting carried away, the successful-looking man reminded him.

"I'm truly sorry for causing you so much trouble!" The man said as he bowed, appearing very polite.

"It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Still, I truly admire your team for having the courage to pick such a weirdo. I hope your team has good luck in the future! Hahaha!!" The chief did not forget to mock them before leaving.

After changing back into his clothes, Sakuragi and the other man finally left the security office.

The moment they stepped out, Sakuragi ran toward the entrance to the venue. Unable to stop him, the successful-looking man blurted out, "The draft is over. You don't need to go."

Those words brought Sakuragi's frantic sprint to a halt.

"Impossible. That can't be!" Sakuragi's expression suddenly turned grave. He knew exactly what missing the draft would mean for him.

"Didn't you see everyone leaving?" The man's words were merciless.

Sakuragi seemed to realize that the man was right, then quickly ran back.

"Who exactly are you? What the hell is going on?" Sakuragi's sudden imposing aura made the man tremble a little.

"This Jhn, honestly... He knew Sakuragi's IQ was so low it was practically about to be disconnected, yet he still sent him here alone. Sigh, and now all this unpleasantness has happened." The man muttered to himself.

"What are you muttering about? Explain it to this genius right now!" Sakuragi grew even angrier.

"All right, listen carefully. This might be a little complicated for you..." The man began explaining everything to Sakuragi.

This was what had happened: Sakuragi had indeed come to take part in the draft, but he had actually been selected by a team a year ago. Since Sakuragi had only just entered university, and the draft rules allowed freshmen to register for selection at most one year later, Sakuragi, who was in the United States, could only delay reporting for a year. Furthermore, the team had selected Sakuragi through overseas signing rights. In principle, only team executives and the player's agent were allowed to know which team had selected an overseas Japanese player. Jhn was afraid that if Sakuragi found out, he would get carried away and let the secret slip, so he had kept it hidden. This time, Sakuragi had only come to the draft venue to meet up with the team and hold several press conferences.

After hearing that, Sakuragi suddenly understood. He read the business card the successful-looking man had given him. "Ah! So you're the general manager of the Kobe Jaguars—Kawaguchi Miyako."

"Kobe! Jaguars!" Sakuragi read it again, enunciating each word with fierce emphasis.