Chapter Summaries

Chi Tong dismantled Shohoku with precise passes and steals, pushing Ryonan to a huge lead. With three minutes left, Takenori Akagi rallied his exhausted teammates, and Sakuragi Hanamichi nearly stole the ball from Chi Tong as the chapter ended.

• Chi Tong fooled Takenori Akagi with an apparent disappearing-ball trick, allowing Yueye Hongming to score unguarded.
• Chi Tong repeatedly passed through Shohoku's defensive formations, helping Ryonan widen the score gap to 90:56.
• With three minutes remaining and Shohoku trailing by thirty-eight points, Takenori Akagi urged his teammates to keep fighting.
• Chi Tong intercepted Kogure Kiminobu's pass to Liu Chuanfeng, then evaded Rukawa's challenge with a crossover.
• Sakuragi Hanamichi reached in from behind to steal the ball, but Chi Tong changed his dribbling rhythm with two rapid, low bounces.

Chi Tong led Ryonan to a crushing 110–60 victory over Shohoku, ending the match with a composed basket after leaving Sakuragi Hanamichi and Liu Chuanfeng on the floor. Afterward, both teams exchanged handshakes and promised to face each other again, while Sakuragi secretly crushed Sendoh’s hand with his grip.

• Chi Tong feinted past Sakuragi Hanamichi and Liu Chuanfeng, then calmly scored as the halftime buzzer sounded.
• The scoreboard showed Ryonan had defeated Shohoku 110–60, leaving the Shohoku players stunned and humiliated.
• Taoka Moichi and Anxi Guangyi congratulated each other outside the gym, while Yu Zhu and Akagi vowed to meet again in the high school league.
• Akagi challenged Chi Tong to a rematch, and Chi Tong accepted calmly.
• Sendoh advised Liu Chuanfeng to involve his teammates, then exchanged handshakes and a promise to improve with Sakuragi Hanamichi.
• After Shohoku left, Sendoh revealed that Sakuragi had swollen his hand by squeezing it hard during their handshake.

After Ryonan overwhelmed Shohoku, the Shohoku players vowed to improve, while Mukai Yayo learned how Chi Tong became Ryonan’s first-year captain. News of the 110–60 victory reached Takehara, where Murasame Kengo and Naito Tetsuya dismissed Ryonan, and Oda Ryosei continued training.

• Outside Ryonan, Kogure, Akagi, Rukawa, and Sakuragi reacted to their defeat with renewed determination, and Anzai Mitsuyoshi encouraged them not to lose their fighting spirit.
• Xiangtian Yanyi told her sister Mukai Yayo how Chi Tong had dominated Ryonan’s upperclassmen, defeated Uozumi, and become captain.
• Mukai Yayo decided she wanted to visit Ryonan and meet Chi Tong after hearing that he was a first-year captain recognized by Uozumi and Sendoh.
• News spread that Ryonan had beaten Shohoku 110–60 and appointed a first-year captain.
• Takehara captain Murasame Kengo mocked Ryonan and Shohoku, while Naito Tetsuya boasted that he would show Ryonan real terror.
• Oda Ryosei trained alone at Takehara, finishing a precise shot that swished through the net.

Kanagawa teams reacted to Chi Tong’s rise as a first-year captain, while Shendai Liufei chose to become a sports reporter to cover his games. At Shohoku, Akagi gathered the remaining first-years and noted that only five had stayed on the team.

• At Shoyo, Fujima Kenji dismissed reports about Ryonan and Chi Tong, saying Hainan was the only team worth worrying about.
• At Hainan, Takato Riki treated the new first-year captain as a minor challenge and focused on Maki Shinichi and the team’s aim to reach the top.
• Shendai Liufei congratulated Chi Tong and told him she had decided to join the News Club and become a sports reporter covering basketball.
• Chi Tong accepted Shendai Liufei’s offer to record and report his games.
• At Shohoku, Akagi gathered the players and said only five first-years remained, while Sakuragi Hanamichi blamed the others for lacking perseverance.

Ayako outlined the prefecture’s strongest basketball teams and reminded Shohoku of its loss to Ryonan, while Mukai Yayo visited Ryonan to interview its first-year captain, Chi Tong. Impressed by his authority over the team and his precise, confident answers, she ended the interview increasingly shocked by his composure.

• Ayako named Kainan University Affiliated High School, Shoyo High School, and Ryonan High School as major rivals for the regional qualifiers, recalling Shohoku’s defeat by Ryonan captain Chi Tong.
• Mukai Yayo entered Ryonan High School’s gym and watched Chi Tong direct the team’s intense practice, correcting each player’s technique and positioning.
• Mukai asked Chi Tong for an interview, and he explained that his teammates trusted him because his instructions and predictions had repeatedly led the team closer to victory.
• Chi Tong answered Mukai’s questions calmly and precisely, leaving her increasingly impressed and unsettled by his maturity and confidence.

After declaring that Ryonan’s goal was to win the National Tournament, Chi Tong went shopping for basketball shoes and crossed paths with A Mu from Kainan University Affiliated High School. On his way home, he spotted a familiar-looking motorcyclist heading toward Shohoku High School and felt an uneasy premonition.

• Chi Tong told Mukai Yayo that Ryonan had only one goal: winning the National Tournament.
• A week later, Chi Tong bought three pairs of basketball shoes at a newly opened athletic shoe store.
• Chi Tong passed A Mu and a shorter companion as they entered the store, and A Mu remarked that Chi Tong seemed different.
• After Chi Tong left, he recognized A Mu as a player from Kainan University Affiliated High School.
• A long-haired motorcyclist in a red tank top sped past Chi Tong’s car toward Shohoku High School, stirring an unusual premonition in him.

Fukuda Kicchou returned to Ryonan’s basketball gym after Coach Taoka invited him back, only to learn that first-year Chi Tong was now team captain. Fukuda struggled to accept the news, while his former teammates assured him that Chi Tong was extraordinary.

• Sendoh drove past defenders and scored during Ryonan’s holiday practice as the players noticed Captain Chi Tong was absent.
• Shishang Liang'er told the team that Coach Taoka had visited Fukuda, and the players discussed Fukuda’s possible return and Chi Tong’s role in it.
• Fukuda arrived at the gym, and Sendoh, Yueye Hongming, Shishang Liang'er, Uekusa Tomoyuki, and Yu Zhu welcomed him back.
• Fukuda learned that Chi Tong was the new captain and that he had joined the team as a first-year student.
• Fukuda questioned how a first-year could lead Ryonan, and Yueye Hongming and Ikegami Ryoji told him Chi Tong was practically a monster.

Chi Tong observed Fukuda Kicchou during practice and identified his strengths, weaknesses, and pride-driven temperament. He gathered the players, leaving his next instructions pending.

• Fukuda Kicchou resolved to test Chi Tong, but Chi Tong's presence unsettled him when he arrived at the gym.
• Fukuda Kicchou joined practice while Chi Tong silently watched the team train.
• Tiangang Maoyi brought Fukuda Kicchou back and asked Chi Tong what he planned to do with him.
• Chi Tong accurately assessed Fukuda Kicchou's basketball skills and explained that praise would motivate his strong self-respect better than criticism.
• Taoka Moichi reconsidered his past coaching approach after hearing Chi Tong's analysis.
• Chi Tong clapped and ordered the players to gather, and they quickly lined up.

Chi Tong imposed a no-passing rule to focus Fukuda Kicchou’s training on creating his own scoring chances, and Taoka Moichi accepted the plan. After practice, Fukuda challenged Chi Tong, who demanded obedience and told him to begin, leaving the gym in tense silence.

• Chi Tong split the players into two teams and banned passing except when shooting.
• Chi Tong explained that the rule would develop Fukuda Kicchou’s ability to score independently while reducing the strain his defensive weaknesses placed on the team.
• Taoka Moichi accepted Chi Tong’s training plan despite feeling sidelined as coach.
• After practice, Fukuda Kicchou challenged Chi Tong to show his ability.
• Chi Tong warned Fukuda Kicchou to obey his orders and invited him to begin, while the gym fell silent.

Chi Tong crushed Fukuda Kicchou in a one-on-one challenge, then made him Ryonan’s starting power forward and pushed the team through increasingly intense training. On May 15, Xiangtian Yanyi announced the qualifying tournament schedule and revealed Ryonan was in Group C, before hinting at a special change to the tournament.

• Chi Tong defeated Fukuda Kicchou so thoroughly that Fukuda admitted defeat, and Chi Tong named him the starting power forward.
• Fukuda stopped disdaining Chi Tong and improved his cutting by adapting to Chi Tong’s no-passing scrimmages.
• Xiangtian Yanyi arrived at the gym with the qualifying tournament groups and schedule.
• Xiangtian Yanyi said 264 Kanagawa high schools had entered, divided into four groups, with Ryonan in Group C and Hainan, Shoyo, and Wuli in Groups A, B, and D.
• Xiangtian Yanyi announced that the organizers had made a special decision because the number of registered schools exceeded expectations.

Ryonan learned that three teams would qualify for the high school league and prepared to face Kawanohe in the opening game of the May 19 qualifiers. As both teams arrived at the arena, Kawanohe’s players bristled at the attention Ryonan received, while Chi Tong led her team inside with confidence.

• The schedule announcement raised the number of qualifying spots to three, and Ryonan realized it would need to beat either Kainan University Affiliated High School or Shoyo High School to advance.
• Chi Tong told Ryonan to focus on crushing every opponent, and Taoka Moichi and the team agreed.
• On May 19, spectators crowded the arena to see Ryonan, especially Sendoh and its first-year captain.
• Kawanohe’s players arrived unnoticed, and its number 8 mocked Ryonan while number 6 urged caution and number 4 silenced the group.
• Chi Tong led Ryonan off its bus, and the team walked through the crowd toward the arena entrance.

Ryonan prepared to face Kawanobe in their preliminary match, with Chi Tong refusing to play so the team would have to win on its own. As the teams entered the packed gym, Chi Tong announced Ryonan’s lineup and reserved Fukuda for the second half.

• Xiangtian Yanyi reported the basic details she had gathered about Kawanobe’s players, and Yueye Hongming challenged her for not finding out more.
• Chi Tong said he would not play, even if Ryonan lost, and told his teammates they had to prove they could advance without him.
• Ryonan and Kawanobe entered the gym to contrasting receptions, with the crowd cheering loudly for Ryonan.
• Chi Tong announced Yu Zhu, Sento, and Shishang as starters for the first half, then told Fukuda Kicchou he would play in the second half.

Ryonan faced Kawanohe in a match that began amid tense pregame taunts, while first-year captain Chi Tong watched from the bench. Yu Zhu jumped for the opening tip after Kawanohe's Yamamoto Yitai mocked Chi Tong for not playing.

• Chi Tong gave Ryonan instructions before the match and calmly returned to the bench.
• Kawanohe captain Ryukawa Detective rallied his team before the opening whistle.
• Yamamoto Yitai taunted Ryonan and mocked Chi Tong for staying on the bench, angering Yu Zhu and Ryonan's reserves.
• Chi Tong told the Ryonan bench to quiet down, and the players immediately obeyed, startling Kawanohe.
• The referee started the game, and Yu Zhu leaped against Yamamoto Yitai for the opening tip.

Ryonan overwhelmed Kawanohe early with a fast break, a steal, and a three-pointer before Uozumi brutally blocked Yamamoto Yitai’s attempted dunk. The chapter left Yamamoto furious and humiliated as Uozumi dismissed him with contempt.

• Uozumi outjumped Yamamoto Yitai to tip the opening ball, and Uekusa Tomoyuki passed ahead to Sendoh for a dunk that put Ryonan up 2–0.
• Uekusa Tomoyuki stole the ball from Kawanohe’s captain and sent a long pass to Yueye Hongming, who scored a three-pointer to make it 5–0.
• Kawanohe slowed its offense, and the captain passed to Yamamoto Ichita cutting into the paint.
• Uozumi blocked Yamamoto Yitai’s spinning dunk attempt, knocking the ball toward the sideline.
• Uozumi called Yamamoto Yitai too weak and walked away, leaving Yamamoto seething with rage.

Ryonan overwhelmed Kawanohe, building a 60-point halftime lead before both teams substituted their starters in the second half. The game continued with Kawanohe’s reserves facing Ryonan’s.

• Ryonan’s defense and Yu Zhu’s dominance kept Kawanohe scoreless until Watanabe Yutai made a lucky basket, ending the shutout.
• Ryonan continued its run, and the first half ended with the score at 71–11.
• Kawanohe replaced its starters with reserves at the start of the second half, surrendering with the game far out of reach.
• Chi Tong ordered Ryonan’s starters off the court as well.

Ryonan overwhelmed Kawanohe by 82 points, then opened its afternoon game against Seventy-Nine Fort with another crushing lead. Seventy-Nine Fort’s starters were replaced by reserves after Ryonan went into halftime ahead 77:15.

• Chi Tong sent Xiangtian Yanyi, Fukuda Kicchou, and three reserves into the second half against Kawanohe, while Ryonan continued to dominate.
• Chi Tong left for the locker room before the final whistle, and Ryonan defeated Kawanohe 115:33.
• Chi Tong kept Ryonan’s lineup largely unchanged for the afternoon game against Seventy-Nine Fort and watched from the bench.
• Yu Zhu won the opening tip, and Ryonan quickly scored against Seventy-Nine Fort’s defense.
• Ryonan took a 77:15 lead by halftime, and Seventy-Nine Fort replaced its starters with reserves to begin the second half.

Ryonan crushed its second qualifier opponent by 100 points without captain Chi Tong Lingyu taking the court, and the result sent shockwaves through Kanagawa. At Shohoku, the players learned about Chi Tong’s rise and worried about facing Ryonan, while Mitsui Hisashi challenged their fear.

• Ryonan defeated its opponent 140–40, setting a 100-point margin as Chi Tong remained off the court.
• News and photographs of Ryonan’s two crushing wins spread through Kanagawa, and Shohoku confirmed the reports.
• Sakuragi vowed to make Tong Linyu and Sendoh pay, while Akagi worried that Ryonan might be more dangerous than Kainan and Shoyo.
• Miyagi asked about Ryonan’s captain, and Ayako explained that Chi Tong had beaten Sendoh and Uozumi before becoming captain.
• Shiozaki reacted in disbelief to Chi Tong’s rapid rise, while Mitsui told his teammates not to be frightened of him.

Ryonan routed Yanashita High School 139:36 for its second consecutive hundred-point win, drawing attention from Shoyo and Hainan. The chapter left the Kanagawa preliminaries underway as rival teams took notice of Ryonan’s strength.

• At Shoyo, Teng Zhen read the report of Ryonan’s hundred-point victory, while Hanagata Toru boasted that Shoyo could win by even more and Akagi urged the team to focus on its current opponents.
• Hainan defeated its opponent 117:44, with Mu Shenyi directing the offense and Jin Soichiro making four of five three-pointers.
• Kiyota Nobunaga asked Mu Shenyi about Ryonan’s reported hundred-point win, and Mu assigned him extra sprint runs and free throws.
• Ryonan overwhelmed Yanashita High School, leading 78:20 at halftime and forcing five consecutive turnovers after Yanashita adjusted its lineup.
• Fukuda Kicchou finished a fast break with a one-handed dunk, and Ryonan won 139:36 for its second consecutive hundred-point victory.

Ryonan crushed Bottleneck High School by 103 points, then prepared to face the much stronger Ichibon High School. Chi Tong Ling Yu chose to remain on the bench, while Ichibon's players worried about Ryonan's strength.

• Ryonan defeated Bottleneck High School 145:42, earning its third straight victory by more than 100 points.
• Ryonan's growing reputation prompted strong teams to send scouts and coaches to watch its next game.
• Xiangtian Yanyi briefed Ryonan on Ichibon High School's starters and warned the team about defensive substitute Hokuchō Ichirō.
• Shishang Liang'er dismissed Ichibon's threat until Uekusa Tomoyuki reminded him not to get careless.
• Sendoh asked Chi Tong Ling Yu whether he would play, and Chi Tong said the team could handle Ichibon without him.
• Aoi Yi, Nanyun Kentaro, and Gongze Hideaki voiced their concern about facing Ryonan in Ichibon's locker room.

Ipponming and Ryonan prepared to face each other, with Sasagi Shota urging his team to meet the challenge and Chi Tong calmly leading Ryonan. The teams took their places as Ipponming’s coach warned the starters about Ryonan’s strength.

• Sasagi Shota rallied Ipponming to face Ryonan without complaining and give their best.
• Chitong Lingyu led Ryonan onto the court while Sasagi Shōtai led Ipponming, and the crowd’s cheers overwhelmingly favored Ryonan.
• Shendai Liufei called out to Chi Tong from the stands and photographed him; Hōjō Ichiro took offense when Chi Tong appeared to ignore Ipponming.
• Tiangang Maoyi warned Ryonan not to underestimate Ipponming, then left the lineup and adjustments to Chi Tong, who kept the lineup unchanged.
• Ipponming’s substitute coach told the starters that Ryonan had been among the prefecture’s top four and had won three games by more than a hundred points each.