Setting Out for Ryonan, on the Eve of the Storm!

Time flew by, and before they knew it, the weekend had arrived.

The day of the practice game against Ryonan High School had finally come.

Early that morning, a bus belonging to Shohoku High School slowly drove out through the school gates, heading for Ryonan High School at the other end of Kanagawa Prefecture.

The atmosphere inside the bus was both tense and excited.

This was the new Shohoku's first appearance against an outside opponent, as well as their first real test of the results of their training over the past few days.

"Get your heads in the game! Don't look like you're half-asleep!"

Captain Takenori Akagi sat at the very front of the bus, delivering his usual booming lecture.

"Ryonan isn't a weak team! Uozumi, Fukuda, and Sendoh—every one of them is a formidable opponent! If anyone dares to let their guard down on the court, their training load will double when we get back!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The team answered in unison, their voices loud and clear.

Ryota Miyagi sat by the window with headphones on, his body swaying gently to the beat of the music, though his eyes were unusually sharp.

He could hardly wait—

to have a proper showdown with Ryonan's point guard, Tomoyuki Uekusa.

Hisashi Mitsui had not fully recovered from his earlier injury, so he had not joined the team on this trip. That made Miyagi feel the burden on his shoulders even more heavily.

He had to play with the presence of Kanagawa's number one point guard!

Kiminobu Kogure silently wiped his glasses, feeling more nervous than anyone else. As vice-captain, he hoped to contribute to the team in this crucial game with his three-pointers.

Kaede Rukawa sat with his eyes closed, leaning against his seat as though he were asleep.

But everyone knew that his heart must have been churning like a storm at that moment.

"Sendoh..."

That name was the fiercest spark igniting his fighting spirit.

"Wahahaha! Look! This is the ultimate move of this genius!"

At the back of the bus, Hanamichi Sakuragi held a basketball—no one knew where he had gotten it—and animatedly demonstrated his "Ankle Breaker" to the surrounding substitutes.

Of course, with so little room inside the bus, his performance looked more like a monkey having a seizure, drawing a burst of laughter from everyone.

The entire bus was filled with that unique atmosphere before a major battle, a mix of tension, anticipation, and noise.

There was only one exception.

Shirakawa.

Shohoku's new ace was wearing an eye mask and headphones, slumped in the corner of the last row and snoring away.

It was as if the place they were headed was not a smoke-filled basketball battlefield, but some hot spring resort.

His relaxed appearance stood in stark contrast to the tense mood around him.

"Hey, look at Shirakawa. Isn't he way too calm? He can actually sleep at a time like this?"

"Tell me about it. My palms are sweating from nerves."

"Maybe... that's the composure of a true expert."

The players whispered among themselves, their gazes toward Shirakawa filled with both awe and confusion.

They could never have imagined that while Shirakawa was "wandering" in his dreams, his consciousness was actually immersed in the system's Virtual Space.

[Virtual Battle Space]

[Opponent Simulation: Akira Sendoh (Ryonan Period)]

[Ability Analysis: Technique 88, Speed 85, Strength 80, Mentality 90, Potential 95. Overall Rating: A+.]

[Skills: Fadeaway Jump Shot (Mastery), High-Speed Drive (Mastery), Point Forward (Talent)...]

Shirakawa's consciousness stood in a pure white space, looking at the data-generated "Akira Sendoh" before him and the detailed analysis report provided by the system.

"An A+ overall rating? Slightly higher than Kaede Rukawa's. He really is a troublesome opponent."

Shirakawa rubbed his chin and thought to himself.

Over the past few days, aside from "training" Sakuragi and taking part in the team's tactical drills, he had spent most of his time using the system's virtual battle function to simulate matchups against Sendoh.

Though he was confident he could win, even a lion used its full strength when hunting a rabbit.

There was no harm in learning every technical trait and offensive habit of his opponent in advance.

"System, begin the 108th simulated battle."

Shirakawa gave the command.

In an instant, the "Akira Sendoh" across from him moved.

With the same graceful, agile posture as in the original story, he drove forward with the ball...

Who knew how much time had passed when the bus suddenly jolted and slowly came to a stop.

"All right! We're here! Everyone, get ready to get off!"

Akagi's voice woke Shirakawa from his "dream."

He took off his eye mask, rubbed his eyes, and yawned.

"We're finally here..."

He stretched and followed his teammates off the bus.

Before them stood the imposing gates of Ryonan High School.

And at the entrance, the members of the Ryonan Basketball Team had already lined up to greet them.

At the front stood a tall, mature-looking "uncle"—Ryonan's captain, Jun Uozumi.

Beside him stood a young man with spiky hair and a faint smile always lingering at the corners of his mouth. He looked somewhat lazy, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

He wore Ryonan's blue number 7 jersey, tall and slender, with an unruffled air about him.

It was none other than Akira Sendoh!

The players from the two teams met at the school gates, and an invisible scent of gunpowder instantly filled the air.

Akagi and Uozumi, old rivals, locked eyes as though sparks of electricity flashed between them.

Rukawa's gaze was fixed tightly on Sendoh.

But Sendoh's gaze passed over everyone else and landed with interest on the white-haired boy standing at the back of the group, looking as though he had not fully woken up.

He had heard from Coach Taoka about some of Shohoku's recent "interesting developments."

A mysterious first-year student had defeated Rukawa and become Shohoku's new ace.

That had aroused his intense interest.

At that moment, Shirakawa raised his head as well.

His gaze crossed through the crowd and met Sendoh's in midair.

There were no flying sparks, no murderous tension.

Shirakawa merely gave him a polite yet distant smile.

Sendoh's smile, meanwhile, grew deeper.

"You're Shirakawa, right?"

Sendoh's voice carried clearly through the noisy crowd to Shirakawa's ears.

"Hello, I'm Sendoh."

"Nice to meet you. Please take care of me."