The Opening Gambit: Getting Cut?!

"Next, Shirakawa."

At the sound of a slightly languid voice, a teenager in Shohoku High School's basketball uniform walked onto the court, looking somewhat bewildered.

The gym was brightly lit, so bright that he could barely keep his eyes open.

The thumping of basketballs against the hardwood, the squeaking of shoes, and the heavy breathing of the boys intertwined into a symphony overflowing with testosterone.

"What the hell... Wasn't I at home watching the national tournament arc of Slam Dunk? How did I end up here after blinking?"

Shirakawa rubbed his temples, his mind a complete mess.

Memories surged in like a tide, instantly making him understand his situation.

He had transmigrated.

He had transmigrated into the world of Slam Dunk, becoming a first-year bench player named Shirakawa on Shohoku High School's basketball team.

A complete nobody at the fringes of the team—practically the water boy.

And now, he was facing an internal selection match that would determine whether he stayed or left.

At the center of the court, Coach Anzai, white-haired and round-bodied, watched the players with a smile. His seemingly gentle gaze carried an unquestionable authority at that moment.

"Everyone... I have seen the effort you've put in during this time," Coach Anzai said softly, yet every word reached everyone's ears clearly. "But the high school league is about to begin, and we need a team with greater fighting strength. Therefore, in today's internal selection match, the worst-performing players... may have to leave the basketball team for the time being."

Boom!

The words exploded among the bench players like a bomb.

Leave the basketball team?

Wasn't that just being forced out?

Shirakawa's heart sank.

The memories he had inherited told him that the original owner of this body possessed only mediocre basketball talent. In a place like Shohoku, filled with hidden talent, he simply did not stand out.

His stamina was average, his fundamentals crude, and aside from his decent height, he was nearly useless.

In previous training sessions, he had always been at the bottom.

The odds of him being cut in this selection match were practically one hundred percent!

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm getting kicked out the moment I transmigrate here?" Cold sweat beaded on Shirakawa's forehead. "I came here to watch Shohoku conquer the nation! How can it end here?"

He looked around.

Not far away stood the captain, Takenori Akagi, nicknamed the Gorilla, towering like an iron tower. His expression was stern, his eyes filled with a desire to dominate the nation. He showed not the slightest sympathy for the substitutes about to be eliminated.

On the other side, a red-haired troublemaker glared over with an unhappy expression, muttering, "Hmph, a bunch of weaklings. They should've gotten lost ages ago, so they wouldn't drag this genius down."

Without question, this was the self-proclaimed genius, Hanamichi Sakuragi.

In another corner of the court, a handsome black-haired boy rested with his eyes closed, utterly indifferent to everything around him. The cold aura emanating from him seemed to lower the temperature of the entire gym by several degrees.

Kaede Rukawa!

Seeing these familiar yet vividly real faces, Shirakawa felt both thrilled and despairing.

Thrilled because he had truly arrived in this dream world.

Despairing because he was about to be kicked off this world's main stage.

"What do I do? What do I do?" Shirakawa was frantic. "At my current level, forget Kaede Rukawa—even against Emperor Kakuta, I'm not sure I could win!"

Just as he was at a complete loss and nearly ready to give up, a cold mechanical voice sounded in his mind like heavenly music.

[Ding! The host has been detected in desperate circumstances. Survival instinct has reached its peak...]

[The Miracle Basketball System has officially activated!]

[Issuing the beginner's gift pack to the host...]

A system?!

Shirakawa froze, then overwhelming joy surged through him!

It's here! The standard transmigrator package! My cheat has finally arrived!

He held back his laughter and screamed wildly in his heart, "System! Hurry! Open the gift pack! I'm about to get forced out!"

[Ding! The beginner's gift pack has been opened!]

[Congratulations, host. You have obtained the S-rank player template—Daiki Aomine, ace of the Generation of Miracles. Integration rate: 10%!]

[Template integration in progress... Integration successful!]

[Congratulations, host. You have mastered Daiki Aomine's exclusive skills:]

[1. Ultra-High-Speed Dribbling!]

[2. Formless Shot!]

Boom!

A warm current instantly spread through every limb and bone in Shirakawa's body.

He could clearly feel his body undergoing an earth-shaking transformation.

His once somewhat sluggish muscles became filled with explosive power, while his neural reaction speed increased severalfold!

He lowered his head and looked at his hands, as if he could feel an unprecedented intimacy between the basketball and his palms.

Countless incredible dribbling techniques and shooting forms flooded his mind, mastered in an instant as naturally as instinct.

Daiki Aomine!

The super scorer from Kuroko's Basketball who crushed every opponent through absolute speed and absurd individual ability!

"With Aomine's skills... in this relatively realistic world of Slam Dunk..." The corners of Shirakawa's mouth rose uncontrollably. "Isn't this a dimensionality reduction strike?"

The crisis was over.

No, this was no longer a crisis.

This was his best chance to make a name for himself and step onto this world's stage!

"Shirakawa, you're up." Vice-captain Kiminobu Kogure pushed up his glasses and looked at him with concern. "Your opponent is Miyagi. You... just do your best. Don't get hurt."

In Kogure's eyes, having Shirakawa, with his unremarkable physical gifts, face Ryota Miyagi, who excelled at speed, was practically a guaranteed loss.

Yet on Shirakawa's face, he saw an unprecedented trace of excitement and confidence.

"Ryota Miyagi?" Shirakawa rolled his wrists, his joints cracking in a series of crisp pops.

Perfect.

I'll use Shohoku's future starting point guard—the lightning-fast ace of Kanagawa—as my first stepping stone!

He walked step by step toward the center of the court, where Ryota Miyagi, short but exceptionally lean and tough-looking, was waiting impatiently.

"Hey, rookie, can you hurry up?" Miyagi curled his lip, his tone carrying a trace of disdain. "I still need to go find Ayako. I don't have time to waste on a scrub like you."

In his eyes, this matchup would be over within ten seconds.

Shirakawa said nothing. He merely caught the basketball Kogure tossed to him.

The instant the ball touched his fingertips, his entire aura changed.

If he had been nothing more than a bewildered high school student moments ago, then now he was a black panther about to begin its hunt!

The powerful confidence and oppressive presence radiating from his bones instantly silenced the previously noisy gym.

Takenori Akagi frowned, thinking, This guy... his eyes have changed?

Kaede Rukawa's tightly shut eyes also opened into a narrow slit, his gaze falling upon Shirakawa.

Even Coach Anzai, who had been smiling all along, adjusted his glasses. A faint flicker of interest flashed deep within his clouded eyes.

"Hmph, putting on an act." Miyagi felt that aura and grew somewhat annoyed, but he had absolute confidence in his own ability.

He lowered his center of gravity, spread his arms, and assumed a textbook defensive stance.

"Come on, rookie!" Miyagi taunted. "Let's see how many seconds you can last against my defense."

Shirakawa smiled.

Holding the ball in one hand, he leaned forward slightly and stared directly at Miyagi. Then, in an almost provocative tone, he spoke slowly.

"Senior."

"Can you see... my dribbling?"

Before the words had even faded, he moved!