Shohoku's Shock

They were hit hard by the news and could not recover for a long time.

A first-year?

He had become the captain of a high school basketball team in his first year?

What kind of joke was this? This guy was actually only a first-year!

Mumu Gongyan pushed up his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses nearly popping out of their sockets. To him, this was simply unbelievable.

An Tian Jingchun also stood frozen in place, his mouth slightly open and unable to close for a long while. Meanwhile, Akagi's gaze was as hard as iron, locked firmly onto Chi Tong.

There was no longer simple surprise in his eyes, only deep solemnity and confusion.

He slowly turned his head toward Yu Zhu, the man standing among the Ryonan players who should have been the captain—Yu Zhu!

He silently pondered, as though questioning it and thinking it over at the same time.

Anzai Koichi adjusted his glasses, his gaze repeatedly sweeping over Chi Tong as though trying to see through him.

After a long while, he slowly revealed his trademark kindly smile and praised him softly.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! How remarkable!

Soon afterward, under Tiangang Maoyi's arrangements, the Shohoku players were led to their private locker room, while the Ryonan players began warming up for the final preparations before the game.

Chi Tong stood in front of the rest area with a jacket draped over his shoulders. His gaze swept over the Ryonan players as he calmly announced, "I won't be playing for the time being in this game, so Tomoyuki, you'll play point guard!"

Me?

Uekusa Tomoyuki froze, completely unprepared for the chance to start. He had originally thought that, with Chi Tong around, he would become a bench player.

At that moment, Tiangang Maoyi listened quietly from the side and had no intention of interfering with Chi Tong's decision. He chose to trust him. Since he had appointed Chi Tong captain, he would let him take charge.

Chi Tong quickly continued, "Center Yu Zhu, power forward Chi Sheng, small forward Sento, shooting guard Yueye. For now, that's it." The moment Chi Tong finished speaking, someone noticed something was wrong.

Wait a second!

Yueye Hongming frowned and raised his hand to interrupt. "If Sento is the small forward..."

"But he hasn't arrived yet!"

Before he could finish, a voice drifted over.

Hello, everyone!

A familiar, lazy voice leisurely reached everyone's ears.

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Sendoh standing at the entrance of the gym. One hand was tucked into his pocket while the other waved casually, that trademark carefree smile on his face.

It's Sento. He's here!

Uekusa Tomoyuki immediately spoke up. "Seriously, you were the only one missing!"

Ikegami Ryoji rolled his eyes, his tone full of helplessness. "Haha, sorry, sorry."

Sendoh smiled and scratched his head before walking in with light steps.

Chi Tong's expression did not change as he merely said, "Then there shouldn't be any problems now, right?"

The others looked at one another, then silently shook their heads.

Yet waves were surging in their hearts.

How had Chi Tong known Sendoh would appear at this moment?

There had been no news beforehand, yet it was as though he had already expected it. He had even arranged the lineup in advance. It was unbelievable!

For a moment, the Ryonan players looked at Chi Tong with even greater awe and a sense of mystery.

Tiangang Maoyi finally could not hold back any longer and roared at Sendoh, "You bastard!"

"You idiot, where the hell did you run off to? Why are you only getting here now?!"

Sorry!

Sendoh smiled openly and said with a hint of apology, "I lost track of time."

Hearing that shamelessly straightforward answer, Tiangang Maoyi's mouth twitched violently several times.

Damn it, he was being so honest that it was impossible to stay mad.

He grumbled inwardly, but the corner of his eye could not help glancing toward Chi Tong. Why doesn't this guy have any reaction at all as captain? Shouldn't he do something about it?

Hey, Chi Tong. Sendoh walked up to Chi Tong and casually greeted him.

Chi Tong neither reprimanded him nor pulled a cold face. He merely said calmly, "We'll talk about everything else after the game."

"Change your clothes first. You'll be playing soon."

All right, got it.

Sendoh nodded and smiled as he headed toward the locker room, still moving at an unhurried pace.

Meanwhile, in Shohoku's locker room, the atmosphere was nearly oppressively quiet.

I have a bad feeling about this.

Mumu Gongyan spoke in a low voice, which sounded especially clear in the silence.

Yasuda immediately added, "That captain named Chi Tong... I have a feeling he's not ordinary."

"What's so great about him?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi dropped onto a bench, his face full of disdain. "Isn't he just some first-year brat?"

"Why are you all acting like you've seen a ghost?"

"Aren't you a first-year too?"

Rukawa shot him a cold glance. His tone was flat, but every word struck deep. "What did you say?"

"You damn fox!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi instantly bristled, leaping to his feet and roaring at Rukawa.

Takenori Akagi frowned slightly. Though he was also uneasy, now was not the time to talk about that.

"We'll only know how strong they are when the game starts."

He shouted in a deep voice, "All right, we'll find out during the game. Next, we'll announce the lineup and hand out the uniforms."

Anzai Koichi opened his notebook and slowly began, "Center Akagi, number 4. Point guard An Tian, number 6. Shooting guard Chao Qi, number 8. Small forward Mumu, number 5. Power forward Liu Chuanfeng, Shi Hao."

Sakuragi Hanamichi said, "Wait, why isn't there a spot for me?"

"Old man, are you messing with me?"

"You clearly helped train me yesterday! You even said that whoever controls the rebounds controls the game, you idiot!"

"Even if you can't play now, there will be plenty of chances in the future. You're just a substitute for now!"

Their undisguised argument carried straight outside the locker room.

The Ryonan players stood outside the door, looking at one another in bewilderment.

Uh, what exactly is happening in there?

It sounds like they're fighting. What's going on in there?

I think they're arguing!

What are they even doing in there?

Listening to the commotion from the locker room, Chi Tong's lips quietly curved into a faint smile.

Soon, the Shohoku players changed into their uniforms and emerged from the locker room one after another.

Before long, both teams were standing in the center of the court.

When the Shohoku players saw Ryonan's starting lineup clearly, the Ryonan side remained calm and unruffled.

But Shohoku's expressions changed abruptly. All of their gazes turned toward Ryonan's bench, focusing on the boy sitting quietly with his arms crossed over his chest. That guy wasn't playing!

Mumu Gongyan exclaimed in a low voice, his tone filled with astonishment.

Ayako gritted her teeth in anger. "Damn it!"

"Are they looking down on us?"

Takenori Akagi remained silent, his gaze deep as though he were pondering something.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, however, had not noticed any of this. He strode up to Sendoh, lifted his chin, and flashed a confident grin. "Hey, Sendoh, I'll take care of you!"

The moment those words fell, the entire gym seemed to freeze.

Oh, does he even know what he's saying?

Ayako held her forehead, looking utterly defeated.

A vein twitched on Akagi's forehead as dark lines crossed his face. That reckless idiot!