Uozumi's Challenge (I)

Chi Tong turned to Taoka Moichi and said, "Coach, if there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Taoka Moichi nodded. "Mm, all right. There's nothing else. You can go."

The next day, Lingnan High School Basketball Gym.

"Hey, did you hear?"

"The coach is thinking of replacing Uozumi as captain!"

"What?"

"No way!"

"Is that true?"

"Who else could be more suited to be captain of the basketball team than Uozumi?"

"No idea, but I heard there'll be an answer today."

"Sigh, it has to be a rumor. It must be fake. How could something like that be possible?"

Inside the gymnasium, the first-year newcomers traded hushed gossip about some rumor they had heard from who knew where.

The upperclassmen, meanwhile, all wore subtle, uneasy expressions.

They had heard that the team might be changing captains too, but they did not want to believe it. They had long grown accustomed to Uozumi being captain, and the sudden prospect of replacing him was difficult to accept. Besides, in their eyes, no one besides Uozumi was qualified to take that position.

Yueye Hongming turned to Ikegami Ryoji beside him. "Ike, have you heard?"

Shishang Liang'er slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I heard the coach personally spoke with Uozumi yesterday."

"No way?"

Yueye Hongming looked stunned and hurriedly pressed on.

"Then do you know who's challenging Uozumi for the captaincy?"

Ikegami Ryoji shook his head. "No idea."

Uekusa Tomoyuki, standing nearby, spoke firmly. "Whether this rumor is true or not, Uozumi is the only captain I recognize."

Listening to everyone's discussion, Sento wore a thoughtful expression as he muttered to himself, Captain?

That really is interesting. Other than Uozumi, there really doesn't seem to be anyone!

Wait, there's one more person!

Something suddenly occurred to him. His eyes slowly widened, surprise flashing across his face before it turned into realization. Could it be— Just then, the gymnasium doors were violently pushed open. Everyone looked over at the sound and instantly fell silent.

In an instant, the entire gymnasium fell deathly quiet.

Everyone looked toward the doorway with complicated expressions, staring at that familiar figure.

It was none other than Captain Uozumi, the very person they had just been quietly discussing.

Uozumi coldly swept his gaze over the players inside the gym, his expression blank. Then he slowly walked inside with steady steps.

The first-year newcomers all lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes for fear of provoking his anger.

The upperclassmen averted their eyes. They wanted to say something, but had no idea where to begin.

In the end, Yueye Hongming gathered his courage and cautiously asked, "Um, Captain Uozumi, about the captaincy..."

He stopped halfway through.

After swallowing, Uozumi halted and cast him a sidelong glance. His voice was low and calm. "Train properly. Don't dwell on nonsense."

"But..." Ikegami Ryoji could not help asking, "Is it true that the team is changing captains?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them. An awkward, apologetic look appeared on his face.

Uozumi simply stared at him, the expression on his face never changing in the slightest.

For a moment, the air seemed to freeze, and an eerie silence settled over the entire gymnasium.

The first-year newcomers suddenly sensed that something was off. Their bodies trembled slightly without their control, afraid that something irreparable might happen next.

Yet the next moment, as long as the team could win, what did it matter who the captain was?

Uozumi spoke calmly, then withdrew his gaze. Yet a flicker of unwillingness and obsession with the past passed through his eyes.

Hearing this, everyone was stunned, their faces full of disbelief.

Captain Uozumi was actually this calm. If someone else had their position as captain challenged, shouldn't they be angry? Shouldn't they argue back?

But he seemed to have seen through it all long ago, even tacitly accepting it.

Thinking further, could the matter of changing captains actually be true?

The moment that thought arose, the upperclassmen's emotions became a tangled mess.

It was not exactly sadness, since Uozumi himself had not shown the slightest resentment. But saying they did not feel awkward would be impossible.

A sudden change of captain was something everyone needed time to adapt to. As for accepting it, who could so easily acknowledge a new captain?

Whether the new captain could earn everyone's respect was still unknown.

Uozumi seemed to see through everyone's inner struggles and said evenly, "Don't overthink it. The coach will make his own decision on this matter."

With that, he turned and walked to the side, throwing himself into training on his own.

Seeing Uozumi's attitude, the others found it difficult to say anything more. They could only lower their heads one after another and silently resume training.

Before long, the tavern doors were pushed open again, and Chi Tong's figure instantly entered everyone's sight.

In an instant, the somewhat noisy gymnasium quieted down. Whether first-year newcomers or second- and third-year veterans, everyone's eyes turned in unison toward the boy slowly walking in from the entrance.

Chi Tong's overwhelming performance on the court yesterday was still replaying endlessly in their minds.

In terms of strength alone, Chi Tong had thoroughly conquered everyone.

Even those proud upperclassmen had to admit it inwardly, though they did not say so aloud. Anyone who could push Sento that far had earned their respect.

The others were not familiar with Chi Tong, so they could only watch him silently with awe and complicated feelings. Only Sento smiled and raised a hand to him.

"You're here?"

Chi Tong smiled slightly and nodded in response.

"Yeah. It was the first day of classes today, and something came up in class, so I got delayed a little."

"It's fine. We only got here not long ago ourselves."

Sendoh waved it off without concern.

With his habit of showing up late at the drop of a hat and even skipping practice, he naturally did not take such things seriously. Chi Tong knew that perfectly well.

Back in middle school, Sendoh had done this plenty of times. Only after becoming captain in his second year did he rein himself in a little.

Chi Tong merely nodded lightly to the others before walking straight to the side and beginning to practice by himself.

Elsewhere, Uozumi, who was training, inadvertently let his gaze fall on Chi Tong. The scene from yesterday surfaced in his mind.

That day, Coach Taoka Moichi had spoken to him alone about the choice of captain.

"Uozumi, what do you think of this year's newcomers?"

"Other than Chi Tong and Lingyu, the rest are pretty ordinary. What do you think of Chi Tong's abilities?"

"Very strong. Judging from today's game, he's not inferior to Sendoh at all. He might even be stronger."

"No, that's not all. His abilities are very well-rounded. His skills, court vision, offense, and defense can all be called top-notch."

"You missed one thing. You overlooked his ability to organize the team."

"The reason you lost today was not because Chi Tong's individual strength was so overwhelming. The key was his organizational ability. Without that outstanding ability to organize the team, he could not have defeated you all by himself."