Hanamichi Sakuragi's Shocking Decision!

By the time Shirakawa walked out of the gym, it was completely dark.

He stretched lazily, feeling refreshed from head to toe.

This had truly been a fulfilling day.

He had activated the system, obtained godlike skills, crushed Miyagi, dunked on Akagi, utterly defeated Kaede Rukawa, and even shattered the entire Shohoku Basketball Team's worldview with that miraculous Full Court 3-Point Shot.

"Awesome!"

Shirakawa spat out the word, feeling that these few hours since transmigrating had been more exciting than the twenty-plus years of his previous life combined.

He opened the system interface.

[Host: Shirakawa]

[Template: Daiki Aomine (Integration Rate: 10%)]

[Skills Mastered: Ultra-High-Speed Dribbling (S-Rank), Formless Shot (S-Rank), Full Court 3-Point Shot (S-Rank)]

[Miracle Points: 200]

"Tsk, tsk. Aomine's template plus Midorima's godlike skills... doesn't that make me invincible now?"

Shirakawa rubbed his chin and began imagining the future.

"Facing Sendo in the prefectural tournament, facing Zebei in the national tournament... neither really seems challenging."

"Should I just go straight to the NBA after graduating high school?"

Just as he was happily daydreaming, a sneaky red-haired head poked out from the bushes nearby.

"Hey! White-haired fox!"

Shirakawa jumped in fright. Turning around, he found Hanamichi Sakuragi standing there.

"Damn it, what are you doing? Trying to scare me to death?" Shirakawa said irritably.

"Hmph! This genius didn't come here to scare you!" Hanamichi Sakuragi leaped out of the bushes, planted his hands on his hips, and spoke with an arrogant look on his face.

"Then why aren't you going home at this hour? Hiding in the bushes and barking like a dog?"

"You're the one barking like a dog!" Hanamichi stamped his feet in anger. "This genius... this genius was waiting here for you!"

"Waiting for me?" Shirakawa froze for a moment, then looked at him warily. "What for? Want a one-on-one? Let me warn you, I'm tired from playing today. I don't have time to entertain you."

"Who... who wants a one-on-one with you?!" Hanamichi's gaze darted away, and his momentum weakened considerably. "This genius... came to..."

He kept saying "came to" but could not bring himself to finish, his face turning bright red from holding it in.

Seeing him act so awkwardly, Shirakawa immediately became interested.

"What is it? If you don't say it, I'm leaving. I still need to get home and watch TV."

"Don't... don't go!" Hanamichi grabbed his arm, his strength astonishing.

"If you've got something to say, say it. Stop stalling!" Shirakawa said impatiently.

Hanamichi took a deep breath, as though he had made some momentous decision.

He looked at Shirakawa, his eyes filled with complicated emotions—resentment, jealousy, but above all, a kind of... longing even he could not explain.

He recalled everything that had happened in the gym today.

Shirakawa had used dribbling he could not understand to blow past Miyagi in a single step.

Surrounded by the three main players, Shirakawa had destroyed the basket with a thunderous dunk.

Shirakawa had used a shot he could not comprehend to defeat that stinking fox he hated most.

Finally, Shirakawa had used that godlike shooting to turn everyone in the gym into idiots.

In Hanamichi Sakuragi's simple, black-and-white logic, all of it could be summed up in a single word—

Powerful!

Shirakawa was truly powerful!

Stronger than Captain Gorilla! Stronger than the stinking fox! Stronger than everyone he had ever seen!

And if Hanamichi Sakuragi wanted to become a basketball star and draw Haruko's attention, he had to learn that kind of "power"!

He had thought about it all afternoon before finally making up his mind.

It was humiliating, and he truly did not want to admit it, but this was the only shortcut he could think of to become stronger quickly!

Hanamichi Sakuragi took two steps back, straightened his clothes, and then...

Under Shirakawa's dumbfounded gaze—

Thud!

He dropped to both knees!

A perfectly executed dogeza appeared before Shirakawa without any warning!

The night wind howled, carrying a few fallen leaves through the air.

Shirakawa stared at the red-haired monkey sprawled flat before him, completely stunned.

"W-What the hell?!"

He instinctively staggered back two steps, his face full of terror.

"W-What are you doing?! I don't have money to lend you! And I'm not into guys!"

However, Hanamichi Sakuragi ignored his panic.

He slammed his forehead heavily against the cold ground with a dull thump.

Then, in an unprecedentedly loud, sincere, and even slightly tragic voice, he roared:

"MASTER!!!"