It was late at night.
Yet the editorial office of Weekly Basketball was still brightly lit.
Yayoi Aida sat before her computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard, her face wearing a complicated expression of excitement, fear, and fervor.
On her screen was the interview article about Shirakawa. Every word was like a blazing flame, radiating a madness that made one's heart pound.
"Yayoi, how is the article coming along?" The editor-in-chief approached with a cup of coffee, asking through a yawn.
"Editor-in-chief, take a look at this." Yayoi Aida turned the screen toward him.
The editor-in-chief adjusted his glasses and leaned closer to read the headline—<A Declaration of the New Era! Shohoku's New Ace: Kainan and Shoyo Are Nothing but Remnants of the Old Era!>.
"Gasp—"
The editor-in-chief drew in a sharp breath, all traces of sleepiness instantly gone.
"Yayoi, this headline... isn't it a little too exaggerated? He's just a first-year rookie. Writing it like this will make people hate him."
"Read the article before you say that." Yayoi Aida offered no explanation and merely pointed at the body text.
The editor-in-chief patiently read it from beginning to end.
At first, he only thought this kid named Shirakawa was arrogant. But the further he read, the grimmer his expression became. By the end, a fine layer of cold sweat had formed on his forehead.
"...Sendo is too weak. In front of me, he didn't even have a chance to touch the ball."
"...Kainan and Shoyo are just a bunch of old fossils living in the past."
"...Shinichi Maki's throne? It's nothing more than a toy chair."
"...My goal is to dominate the nation!"
After finishing the article, the editor-in-chief felt his back was soaked.
This wasn't arrogance. This was a declaration of war against the old order of