Captain Akagi Was Completely Convinced!

The final whistle sounded like a pardon, and every player on the Red Team let out a relieved breath.

One after another, they collapsed to the floor, drenched in sweat, their faces filled with exhaustion and... bewilderment.

They had lost.

They had been utterly crushed.

They had lost without even being able to complain.

They did not even know how they had lost.

Throughout the entire game, they had felt as if an invisible giant hand had toyed with them. Every move, every cut, seemed to have been anticipated by the other side.

That feeling was even more despairing than being overwhelmed by an opponent's sheer individual ability.

Takenori Akagi, Shohoku's iron-blooded captain, stood silently beneath the basket, staring up at the glaring scoreboard for a long time without a word.

Sweat was mixed with saliva from who knew where on his body, making him look somewhat disheveled.

Yet his heart was more shaken than ever.

He recalled something Coach Anzai had once told him: "Akagi, you are very strong, but you have not yet learned how to make your teammates stronger."

In the past, he had never truly understood what that meant.

He had believed that as long as he could build an impenetrable wall in the paint and score when it mattered, he was making the greatest possible contribution to the team.

But today, Shirakawa had given him a lesson through a game that could only be called textbook-level.

At last, he understood.

A true centerpiece was not the person who scored the most points.

It was the person who could involve everyone on the team in the offense, who could make one plus one equal far more than two!

Shirakawa was that kind of person.

He was like a precision-engineered brain, perfectly directing every component of the team machine and allowing each piece to perform at its best in the most suitable position.

Compared to Shirakawa's basketball, his old style of being the "core" through brute-force post play and individual defense was like a primitive man's stone club—crude, clumsy, and inefficient.

I... did not lose unfairly.

Akagi voiced that heartfelt realization within himself.

He turned and looked at the white-haired boy surrounded by Miyagi, Sakuragi, and the others, who was impatiently dealing with them.

The final trace of pride and stubbornness he held as captain vanished from his eyes, replaced by complete and wholehearted conviction.

With heavy steps, he walked over to Shirakawa.

"Shirakawa."

His voice was somewhat hoarse.

Sakuragi, who had been bragging, and Miyagi, who had been flattering Shirakawa, immediately fell silent when they saw their captain approaching and obediently stepped aside.

"What is it, Captain?" Shirakawa lazily raised his eyelids. "Want another round? I do not have the energy for it."

"No."

Akagi shook his head.

He took a deep breath. Then, beneath the shocked gazes of the entire team, he solemnly bent at the waist before Shirakawa, a first-year student two years younger than him.

A standard ninety-degree bow.

"I underestimated you before."

Akagi's voice was low and sincere.

"I take back every doubt I ever had about you. From today onward, you are Shohoku's one and only ace, our tactical core!"

"I, Takenori Akagi, along with every player on Shohoku, will unconditionally follow your command!"

Boom!

Akagi's words and that action shook the players more than any basket scored during the game!

That was Takenori Akagi!

Shohoku's unquestioned "Gorilla Captain"!

The strictest, proudest, and most unquestionable presence on the entire team!

And now, he had actually lowered his proud head before a first-year newcomer!

What did that represent?

It represented the complete end of an old era for Shohoku.

The era with Akagi as the absolute core had come to an end.

And a brand-new era, with Shirakawa as its absolute ruler, had officially begun!

Ryota Miyagi watched the scene with mixed feelings. He admired Akagi's magnanimity, yet trembled at Shirakawa's strength.

Kiminobu Kogure's eyes welled up again. He knew how much courage Akagi needed to make this decision. But he also knew it was the most correct decision they could make for Shohoku's future.

Kaede Rukawa watched silently without speaking, but his fists clenched even tighter.

Akagi's submission made him see the gap between himself and Shirakawa more clearly than ever.

It was not merely a gap in skill. It was a chasm-like difference in basketball philosophy and understanding.

"Hey, hey, hey, Gorilla, why are you bowing to Lord Shirakawa?" Only Sakuragi, that idiot, shouted at such an inappropriate moment. "Are you going to take him as your master too? Let me tell you, you will have to line up behind me!"

Shirakawa was also slightly stunned as he looked at the iron-blooded captain bent before him.

He had not expected Akagi to go this far.

But he quickly recovered.

He stepped forward and reached out to help Akagi straighten up.

"Captain, what are you doing? I cannot accept this."

For once, the expression on his face lost some of its carefree irreverence and gained a measure of seriousness.

"We are a team. It is not about who listens to whom. We are all doing this for victory, to Dominate the Nation, aren't we?"

He meant every word.

Though he had the system and godlike skills, he had no desire to become a dictator.

What he enjoyed was the thrill of controlling a game, the exhilaration of leading his teammates to victory together.

Akagi looked up into Shirakawa's clear and sincere eyes, and his heart was stirred.

He realized that beneath this boy's arrogant exterior was a heart more clear-sighted than anyone else's.

"You are right." Akagi nodded heavily, and a long-lost, heartfelt smile appeared on his face. "It is for Dominate the Nation!"

He extended his right hand.

Shirakawa extended his hand as well, gripping Akagi's large hand tightly.

"For Dominate the Nation!"

Miyagi, Kogure, Rukawa... every player gathered around and stacked their hands atop the two of theirs.

"For Dominate the Nation!"

"Woohoo! Dominate the Nation!" Sakuragi excitedly piled his hand on top as well.

"Shohoku! Let's go!"

"Let's go!!!"

Their resounding chants echoed through the basketball gym for a long time.

At that moment, after a brief period of turmoil and reorganization, the Shohoku Basketball Team had finally achieved true unity in a new form—more united and stronger than ever!

Their hearts had never been more closely bound together.

Their goal had never been clearer or more resolute.

And at the center of it all was the white-haired boy standing amid the crowd with a faint smile on his face.

Shirakawa looked at his passionate teammates and felt a little moved as well.

"Alright, alright, the chanting is over, so hurry up and pack your things. I am hungry," he said, thoroughly ruining the mood.

Everyone: "..."

This guy really could not stay cool for more than three seconds.

Just as everyone was preparing to disperse, Hanamichi Sakuragi suddenly rushed up to Shirakawa like he was presenting a treasure.

"Lord Shirakawa! Lord Shirakawa! Look!"