Hanamichi's Self-Doubt

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Murasame did not even have time to scream before his eyes rolled back.

Like a wooden post, he toppled straight backward.

Thud!

He crashed heavily onto the floor, foam spilling from his mouth as he lost consciousness.

After smashing into his head, the basketball bounced high into the air and flew out of bounds.

The entire arena fell deathly silent.

Everyone's mouths hung open, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Even the referee was stunned, the whistle falling from his mouth.

Hanamichi Sakuragi landed, holding the imposing pose from his dunk.

"D-Did it... go in?"

He looked up excitedly.

Only to find the basket completely unharmed.

And at his feet lay a "corpse."

Beep—!!!

The delayed whistle finally sounded, sharp enough to pierce the ears.

"Shohoku Number 10! Foul!!"

"Five fouls! Ejected!!"

The referee rushed over and gave Hanamichi that cruel signal.

Hanamichi Sakuragi turned to stone.

"A... foul?"

"Ejected?"

"My dunk..."

Just then.

At the gymnasium entrance, Nobunaga Kiyota had just walked in and happened to witness this earth-shattering scene.

He stood frozen for a full three seconds.

Then—

"Pfft... Hahahahahaha!!!"

Nobunaga Kiyota clutched his stomach, tears spraying from laughter as he rolled around on the floor.

"Who was that?! Hahahaha!"

"Was that Shohoku's secret weapon?"

"Using a basketball to dunk on someone's head? Is that some new tactic? Hahahaha!"

"That's hilarious! He's practically a clown!"

"I'm dying!!"

Kiyota's unrestrained mockery sounded especially grating in the silent gymnasium.

Hanamichi Sakuragi stiffly turned his head toward the long-haired wild monkey rolling around in laughter.

His fists clenched.

Meanwhile, on the bench.

Hearing the commotion, Lin Bei lifted the towel from his face and glanced at the farce on the court.

Then he looked at Nobunaga Kiyota, who was laughing himself breathless.

"Ah... the wild monkey's here."

Lin Bei helplessly shook his head and covered his face with the towel again.

"So noisy."

"But..."

"The game is over."

The time on the electronic scoreboard hit zero.

Shohoku VS Miuradai.

The final score was 135:50.

A slaughter.

A farce.

And the prelude to a new era.

It slowly unfolded amid this absurd yet shocking scene.

As Miuradai's unfortunate captain was carried off the court after getting "basketball-blasted in the head."

Shohoku High School's debut came to an end in a nearly absurd yet overwhelmingly impactful fashion.

Final score: 135 to 50.

That score was like a depth charge, blowing up Kanagawa's basketball scene.

But this was only the beginning.

Over the next few preliminary games.

Shohoku charged ahead like a bulldozer in berserk mode, steamrolling everything in its path.

Kakuno High School was crushed by a massive margin.

Tsukutake High School collapsed by halftime.

Lin Bei barely even broke a sweat.

Kaede Rukawa and Takenori Akagi formed a dual-core attack from the perimeter and the paint.

Together with the coordination between Hisashi Mitsui and Miyagi, they were more than enough to destroy these bottom-feeder teams.

Yet behind this unstoppable winning streak, one person had fallen into deep despair.

Beep—!

"Red Number 10, pushing foul!"

"Five fouls! Ejected!"

That damn whistle was like some kind of curse, sounding right on schedule every game.

In the first game against Miuradai, he fouled out in under ten minutes.

In the second game against Kakuno, he lasted twelve minutes before fouling out.

In the third game...

Hanamichi Sakuragi was like a "foul machine" programmed to self-destruct.

No matter how hard he tried, no matter how careful he was.

Those referees seemed to be watching him specifically.

Even if he only brushed an opponent lightly, the whistle would blow.

"King of Ejections."

"Foul King."

Those nicknames began spreading through the stands.

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, Shohoku had reached the final hurdle before the finals.

Their opponent was last year's second seed in the prefecture, the traditional powerhouse—Shoyo High School.

It was a giant squad where every player stood over 190 centimeters tall.

It was also the first true mountain standing in Shohoku's path to the national tournament.

The night before the game.

The night was as dark as ink, and the streetlights stretched the pedestrians' shadows long across the road.

Hanamichi Sakuragi walked home alone, casually dribbling the basketball in his hand.

Thump... thump...

The sound was dull, just like his mood.

"Damn it..."

Hanamichi stopped and looked at his reflection in a roadside shop window.

The red-haired boy's brow was tightly furrowed.

For the first time, an emotion called "self-doubt" appeared in his eyes.

"Could it be that this genius... is really just an amateur who only knows how to foul?"

The image of Kaede Rukawa dominating the court surfaced in his mind, along with Haruko cheering for Rukawa from the sideline.

And there was that lazy bum Lin Bei, who could not even be bothered to move yet could casually sink ultra-long threes and be admired by everyone.

What about him?

Every time, he was sent off in disgrace amid the spectators' laughter.

"What the hell!!"

Hanamichi violently slammed the ball into the ground. It bounced high and shot into the night sky.

"I refuse to end like this!"

"Tomorrow is the game against Shoyo... If I get ejected again..."

An unprecedented sense of crisis engulfed him.

Hanamichi Sakuragi abruptly raised his head, his eyes turning fierce again.

"No! I need to ask someone!"

"Ask Lin Bei?"

"No, that guy must be out on a night run. He's been working his ass off lately."

"Ask Kaede Rukawa? No way!"

A dark face flashed through Hanamichi's mind.

"Got it! The gorilla!"

The Akagi residence.

Takenori Akagi sat at the dining table, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

A hearty dinner sat before him: grilled fish, miso soup, and a large bowl of rice.

Tomorrow was the crucial battle against Shoyo, and as captain, he needed to maintain his strength.

"Shoyo..."

Akagi picked up a piece of fish, his expression grave.

Fujima Kenji, the man who was both coach and ace guard, along with Toru Hanagata, that finesse center.

This would not be an easy battle.

Bang bang bang!!

A burst of hurried, violent knocking suddenly rang out, nearly jolting the chopsticks from Akagi's hand.

"Who is it? At this hour?"

Akagi frowned, set down his bowl and chopsticks, and got up to open the door.

The moment he opened it, a huge face lunged toward him.

"Gorilla!!"

"Pfft—!"

Akagi nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Hanamichi Sakuragi stood at the door with both hands braced against the frame, his face filled with bitter anguish. His red hair looked especially bizarre in the night.

"Hanamichi? What the hell are you doing?"

A vein bulged on Akagi's forehead. "If you're here to borrow money, forget it."

"It's not about money!"

"Gorilla, I have something extremely urgent to ask you!"

Akagi helplessly shut the door and looked at this troublesome problem child before him.

"Go on. What is it?"

"If it's about Haruko, get the hell out."

"It's not Haruko!"

Hanamichi abruptly turned around, his face flushing red.

After holding it in for a long time, he finally shouted:

"Teach me!!"

"Teach me how not to get ejected!!"