Defeat Sendoh, System Issues a New Mission!

[Main Quest: Kanagawa's First Cry!]

[Mission Description: As Shohoku's new ace, you must demonstrate your dominance to all of Kanagawa in the upcoming practice match. Your first opponent will be Ryonan High School's ace, the genius player renowned alongside Kaede Rukawa—Akira Sendoh.]

[Mission Objective: Lead Shohoku to victory in the practice match against Ryonan and completely suppress Akira Sendoh in overall individual performance, including scoring, assists, clutch shots, and more.]

[Mission Reward: 500 Miracle Points, 1 fragment of the S-rank skill 'Emperor Eye'.]

[Failure Penalty: None. However, the host will miss the best opportunity to prove himself and may jeopardize his newly established position as ace.]

A string of system notifications cascaded through Shirakawa's mind like a waterfall.

Shirakawa's heart suddenly skipped a beat!

Akira Sendoh!

Emperor Eye!

Those two keywords instantly ignited all his passion!

In the original Slam Dunk, Akira Sendoh was an immensely charismatic character. His style was fluid and elegant, and his skills were well-rounded. He possessed both elite scoring ability and outstanding playmaking talent, making him one of Kanagawa's top players and Kaede Rukawa's destined rival.

In Shirakawa's eyes, aside from Eiji Sawakita, Sendoh was the player in the original work whose individual ability came closest to the level of the Generation of Miracles.

And now, the system had directly issued a mission to defeat him!

It filled Shirakawa with a long-lost excitement.

Throwing his weight around within the team had felt great, but it was still just fooling around in the "beginner's village."

Sendoh would be the first true BOSS he encountered after leaving that beginner's village!

What excited him even more was the mission reward!

Emperor Eye!

That was Seijuro Akashi's exclusive godlike skill from Kuroko's Basketball!

It could see through every one of an opponent's movements. Their breathing, heartbeat, and muscle contractions would all be laid bare, allowing its user to predict their future!

It was an ultimate, causality-level ability that stood above every basketball skill!

If Daiki Aomine's skill was "the strongest spear," and Shintaro Midorima's skill was "the longest-range cannon," then Seijuro Akashi's Emperor Eye was "the most unstoppable law"!

With the Emperor Eye, no matter how fast a drive was or how bizarre a shot might be, nothing could escape his sight!

He would truly become a "god" on the court, able to foresee and dominate everything!

Though the reward for this mission was only a fragment, completing it would mean opening the door to the "realm of gods"!

"Whew..."

Shirakawa took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the wild joy and excitement in his heart.

He had to complete this mission!

"Shirakawa? What's wrong?"

Coach Anzai saw Shirakawa suddenly freeze, his expression constantly changing, and asked with concern.

"Ah, it's nothing, Coach." Shirakawa came back to his senses and smiled at Coach Anzai. "I was just wondering when we'd get to play Ryonan."

He was already getting impatient.

"Ho ho ho, speak of the devil and he shall appear." Coach Anzai smiled mysteriously and pulled a letter from his pocket. "An invitation from Coach Taoka. It was delivered this afternoon."

Shirakawa's eyes instantly lit up.

"So that means..."

"That's right." Coach Anzai handed him the letter. "The practice match is scheduled for... this weekend."

This weekend!

That was only three days away!

Shirakawa took the thin letter, yet it felt as heavy as a mountain.

This was more than just an invitation.

It was his first declaration of war!

It was the first cry announcing his arrival to all of Kanagawa as Shohoku's new ace!

"Akira Sendoh..." Shirakawa looked at the words "Ryonan High School Basketball Club" on the envelope, a battle-hungry smile curling across his lips. "I hope... you won't disappoint me."

Just then, the gym doors were violently shoved open.

"Bad news! Everyone, look!"

It was Kiminobu Kogure. He came running in, panting heavily, with a sports newspaper in hand and a face full of anxiety and anger.

"Kogure? What happened? Why are you so flustered?" Coach Anzai asked.

"Coach! Shirakawa! You have to look at this!"

Kogure spread the newspaper open in front of them.

The sports section's headline was printed in huge, highly provocative letters—

<Kanagawa's Two Heroes Clash! Ryonan Genius Sendoh VS Shohoku's Rookie King Kaede Rukawa! The Match of the Century Arrives This Weekend!>

The paper also featured two huge photographs. One showed Akira Sendoh calmly smiling during a game, while the other showed Kaede Rukawa's cold profile.

The entire article hyped up the "clash of geniuses" between Sendoh and Kaede Rukawa, defining this practice match as an early showdown between Kanagawa's future aces.

It analyzed the two players' technical characteristics and past records in detail. It had even dug up the fact that Kaede Rukawa had faced Sendoh during middle school.

From beginning to end, it showered Sendoh and Kaede Rukawa with praise.

But...

Throughout the entire article, which ran for thousands of words, everyone else on Shohoku—including captain Takenori Akagi—was mentioned only in passing.

As for the name Shirakawa, not even a single word was written about him!

It was as if he did not exist at all.

"These reporters have gone too far!" Kogure said angrily. "They're treating this game entirely as a personal show for Sendoh and Kaede Rukawa! They're completely ignoring the rest of us! Ignoring the entire Shohoku team!"

Coach Anzai merely chuckled at the newspaper, seemingly unconcerned.

Shirakawa only glanced at it before losing interest.

"It doesn't matter," he said calmly.

"How can it not matter?!" Kogure grew anxious. "This concerns Shohoku's honor!"

"Senior," Shirakawa said, raising his head to look at the agitated Kogure. A smile of confidence bordering on arrogance appeared on his face. "Does the buzzing of flies affect a lion's hunt?"

"Once the game is over, they'll naturally know who the real protagonist is."

"The higher they praise them now, the harder they'll fall later."

With that, he casually tossed the newspaper into the nearby trash can.