Green Wall of Shoyo

A sea of green jerseys.

Every one of them looked like a moving tower.

Except for Fujima Kenji at the very front.

The other four starters behind him were all over 190 centimeters tall!

Toru Hanagata, Kazushi Hasegawa, Shoichi Takano, Mitsuru Nagano.

This was Shoyo's pride—the "Green Wall."

When they stood in a row, the visual pressure was almost suffocating.

"S-So... tall..."

Ryota Miyagi craned his neck at the group of giants, his throat dry.

As the shortest player on the court, he felt that pressure more intensely than anyone.

The corridor at the very top of the stands.

Two groups in different uniforms happened to meet.

On one side stood the reigning champions, Kainan, dressed in purple jackets.

Shinichi Maki wore his jacket draped over his shoulders, arms folded and gaze deep.

Soichiro Jin stood beside him, along with a visibly displeased Nobunaga Kiyota.

On the other side was Ryonan High School, dressed in blue jackets.

Jun Uozumi stood like an iron tower, while Akira Sendoh still looked as lazy as ever, a bottle of lemonade in his hand.

"Yo, Maki-senpai." Sendoh greeted him with a smile.

Maki nodded, his gaze shifting to the two teams warming up on the court.

"Looks like you're paying close attention to this game too."

"Of course we are."

"After all, the winner will be our opponent in the finals week!" Aida Hikoichi said excitedly, notebook in hand.

"Maki, who do you think will win?" Sendoh casually asked as he twisted open the cap.

Maki fell silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping across Shohoku's bench.

It paused for a second on the figure sitting beside Coach Anzai, yawning, before moving away.

"Shoyo."

Maki gave his answer, his tone calm and certain.

"Although Shohoku's offense has been fierce this year, and that number 16 is strange."

"Shoyo's height advantage is simply too obvious."

"And this is also a contest of tournament experience."

"A makeshift team like Shohoku's will easily crack mentally once they get dragged into a tough battle."

"My guess is that Shoyo will win by more than ten points."

Hearing Maki's analysis, Nobunaga Kiyota immediately chimed in smugly:

"Exactly!"

"How could some scrappy team like Shohoku possibly beat Shoyo!"

"That Kaede Rukawa, and that Lin Bei who does nothing but sleep, will definitely be exposed today!"

"Is that so?" A deep, resonant voice suddenly cut in.

Jun Uozumi folded his arms and looked down at the court.

"I see things differently."

"Oh?"

Maki turned to look at Uozumi.

"I think Shohoku can win," Uozumi said.

"Oh? And why is that?"

"Uozumi-senpai, by how many points do you think Shohoku will win?" Jin asked curiously.

Uozumi raised three fingers, his tone chilling.

"Three thousand points."

The air suddenly fell silent.

"Hmph."

Uozumi offered no explanation.

In his mind, he saw that ghostlike figure from the practice game.

That monster who had erased the score gap in an instant, driven Sendoh into a corner, and possessed strength as bottomless as an abyss.

If that guy went all out...

"Just watch."

Uozumi stared at the lazy figure on Shohoku's bench.

"If that sleeping god of death wakes up..."

Courtside.

"Tweet—!"

The referee blew his whistle, signaling that the game was about to begin.

The starting lineups were announced.

On Shoyo's side, Fujima Kenji was not starting. He sat on the coaching bench in his jacket.

The five starters were Hanagata, Hasegawa, Takano, Nagano, and Ito.

Their average height was 191 cm.

And on Shohoku's side.

Center: Takenori Akagi.

Power forward: Hanamichi Sakuragi.

Small forward: Kaede Rukawa.

Shooting guard: Hisashi Mitsui.

Point guard: Ryota Miyagi.

Lin Bei was not in the starting lineup.

He sat beside Coach Anzai in his jacket.

He still held a half-finished bottle of sports drink.

"Coach, is it really okay for me not to play?"

"Those beanpoles on the other side look pretty cocky." Lin Bei tightened the cap and asked casually.

Coach Anzai's glasses reflected the light, concealing his eyes.

He did not answer directly. Instead, he turned his head and looked at Lin Bei.

"Lin Bei."

"Can your stamina sustain a full game of high-intensity competition?"

Lin Bei froze for a moment, then shrugged without saying anything.

On the system panel, that pitiful stamina stat was still his biggest weakness.

Even though recent special training had raised it to 65 points.

But the further stamina went, the harder it became to improve.

If he activated a high-consumption template like "Daiki Aomine" or "Shintaro Midorima."

His battery drained faster than a three-year-old iPhone.

"Heh heh heh..."

Coach Anzai gave his trademark laugh, the flesh beneath his chin jiggling.

"That is why you are our secret weapon."

"At the most crucial moment, you will deliver the fatal blow to our opponents."

After saying that, Coach Anzai turned toward Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was preparing to take the court.

"Sakuragi."

"Here!"

Sakuragi immediately straightened his back, tense as a rookie awaiting inspection.

"Your task in this game is very important."

Coach Anzai pointed toward the basket on the court.

"The other team is very tall, which means the battle for rebounds will be extremely fierce."

"Akagi will have a hard time handling the paint alone."

"So..."

Coach Anzai paused, his tone turning serious.

"Can you defend the restricted area?"

"Can you help Akagi shoulder the pressure and control the rebounds?"

Hanamichi Sakuragi froze.

He looked into Coach Anzai's trusting eyes.

Then he turned to glance at Haruko in the stands.

Haruko had her hands clasped together, looking at him with a prayerful expression.

The sweat shed during special training, Akagi's roars, and Rukawa's cold stare flashed through his mind.

Along with that taunt: "If you want to win, don't hold us back."

A surge of hot blood shot from the soles of his feet straight to his head.

"Old man!!"

Sakuragi slammed a hand against his chest, producing a deafening Bam!

"Leave it to me!!"

"I'm the genius Hanamichi Sakuragi!!"

"I, the genius, will take every rebound from whatever Shoyo is supposed to be!!"

With that, Sakuragi turned and strode toward the court.

For the first time, that red figure from behind looked so broad and dependable.

Lin Bei watched Sakuragi's back, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

"This idiot..."

"Looks like the special training wasn't wasted after all."

"Tweet—!!"

With another blast from the referee's whistle.

The referee tossed the basketball high into the air.

The orange ball spun upward beneath the spotlights, drawing the attention of thousands throughout the arena.

Takenori Akagi and Toru Hanagata jumped at the same time.

Two enormous hands crossed in midair.

The battle for Kanagawa's Final Four.

Had officially begun!