The world of Slam Dunk

"Don't give up hope, not until the very last moment. If you give up, the game ends right there."

Coach Anzai handed the basketball to the exhausted Hisashi Mitsui. In Mitsui's eyes, Coach Anzai was like a basketball "god" at that moment.

Amid the noise at the Kanagawa junior high basketball final, the scene did not attract much attention.

But in the stands, a young blond boy watched the iconic scene with shining eyes, so moved that he was almost in tears.

After all, that very line from Coach Anzai was why he had fallen in love with basketball in his previous life.

The whistle blew, and play resumed. With twelve seconds left in the game, Takeishi Middle School was still one point behind.

Most despairing of all, their opponents still had the final possession. Most of those present thought the game was already over, with no chance of a comeback for Takeishi Middle School.

Only the blond boy, who knew the outcome, kept his eyes fixed on Hisashi Mitsui on the court. Mitsui's moment of glory was about to arrive.

Sure enough, Hisashi Mitsui made an unbelievable steal at the baseline, dribbled back to the three-point line, and sank a crucial three-pointer over Kazushi Hasegawa's defense.

"Tweet!" The final whistle sounded, and the crowd immediately erupted.

Hisashi Mitsui had single-handedly dragged Takeishi High School into the final, then scored thirty points in the last game to lead his team to the championship and claim the MVP award.

The blond boy in the stands rose to applaud Hisashi Mitsui. He genuinely admired his determination to win.

Sitting beside the blond boy was a youth with a buzz cut. His name was Eiji Sawakita.

At that moment, Eiji Sawakita looked utterly bored. He yawned and asked impatiently.

"Ryota, can we go now?

I really don't understand why you insisted on coming all the way from Tokyo to Kanagawa to watch this game. Not a single guy on the court is any good."

"Even Hisashi Mitsui isn't good enough for you? Leading four rookies to a championship all by himself is an incredible achievement."

Eiji Sawakita stood and draped an arm around the blond boy's shoulders. He looked down at Hisashi Mitsui celebrating on the court, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

"Aside from his decent three-point shooting, the rest of his offense is pretty average.

I really don't understand why you're interested in him, Ryota. He's far weaker than us. Even Akira Sendoh is quite a bit better than him, isn't he?"

Shaking his head helplessly, the blond boy did not want to explain much more to Eiji Sawakita.

He knew that Eiji Sawakita was far too arrogant. He thought little of the vast majority of basketball players.

"Let's go. We've accomplished what we came to Kanagawa for."

The blond boy's name was Ryota Kudo. He was currently a first-year junior high student in Tokyo, and inside his body lived a soul that had transmigrated from China.

Although he was only a first-year junior high student, Ryota Kudo was already a famous name in Tokyo basketball.

Ryota Kudo and Eiji Sawakita were the strongest twin stars in Tokyo junior high basketball. Even Akira Sendoh, another widely recognized genius, fell considerably short of them.

After boarding the train back to Tokyo, Ryota Kudo opened the system that had come with him when he transmigrated.

[Name: Ryota Kudo]

[Age: 12]

[Height: 171 cm]

[Weight: 61 kg]

[Template: Ryota Kise (Kuroko's Basketball)]

[Talent: Perfect Copy (can fully copy and enhance any basketball move he has seen)

Copied abilities: Offensive Kaleidoscope (Eiji Sawakita's unbeatable isolation scoring ability during junior high);

MVP's Redemption (the Flame Man's three-point shooting ability at his peak, maintaining consistent three-point shooting through sheer determination when stamina declines)

...

...]

Twelve years had passed since he transmigrated to Tokyo in this parallel world, and this basketball system was all Ryota Kudo had for company.

That also meant basketball was everything to Ryota Kudo.

Since he had come to this world, Ryota Kudo had to fulfill his childhood wish: to conquer the nation!

Eiji Sawakita, sitting beside him, nudged Ryota Kudo's shoulder and asked quietly.

"Ryota, which team are you planning to join after junior high? Why don't you come to Sannoh Industrial High School with me? The two of us could definitely conquer the nation!"

"No, I'm planning to go to high school in Kanagawa. See you at nationals!"

Eiji Sawakita did not try to persuade him any further. Having a formidable opponent in high school would be very interesting, too.

Besides, Kanagawa Prefecture had a high standard of basketball. Kainan Affiliated High School and Shohoku High School were both traditional powerhouses.

With super rookie Ryota Kudo joining them, they might really be able to challenge Sannoh Industrial High School's position at the top.

But Eiji Sawakita would never have imagined that Ryota Kudo's eventual choice would be neither of those traditional powerhouses, but the completely unknown Shohoku High School.

Three years later, Ryota Kudo stood at the gates of Shohoku High School, schoolbag in hand.

This was the year the story took place. At the thought of soon meeting so many interesting people, Ryota Kudo could not contain his excitement.

Of course, Ryota Kudo had not been idle over those three years. Under his leadership, Akiba Junior High had won the Tokyo championship three years running.

He had also beaten out Eiji Sawakita for the title of "Japan's number one junior high player." Countless coaches had extended offers to Ryota Kudo, promising him all sorts of benefits.

But Ryota Kudo came from a wealthy family and did not care about any of that. He chose Shohoku High School without hesitation.

There were no complicated reasons. He simply liked Shohoku's main cast, and that was enough.

If he did not like the main cast, why join Shohoku High School at all? If it was just to show off, humiliate others, and look cool, wouldn't that be downright obnoxious?

Before joining Shohoku, Ryota Kudo had also considered how he would fit in with the main cast after joining, and which starter he would displace.

If he did not fit with the Shohoku Five Tigers, Ryota Kudo would rather not join Shohoku now. There were plenty of teams in Kanagawa that he liked.

The kings, Kainan, along with Shohoku and Ryonan, were all good choices. Even Takezato High School, with its many girls, would do. With so many fangirls, playing the lone hero for once would be a nice experience, too.

After a great deal of thought, Ryota Kudo felt that his playing style suited Shohoku High School and would not interfere with the main cast's performance.

Ryota Kudo was now 186 cm tall, with top-tier physical abilities, and could play positions one through four.

He planned to be Shohoku's starting point guard, with Ryota Miyagi serving as a substitute for the time being.

Against those strong teams, Ryota Miyagi had always been at a disadvantage.

Especially when facing elite point guards like Shinichi Maki and Kenji Fujima, he suffered badly on defense.

Meanwhile, stamina was the biggest problem for Hisashi Mitsui, who had been away from basketball for three years. Reducing his playing time would actually protect him.

Ryota Kudo would start at point guard, then switch to shooting guard when Hisashi Mitsui's stamina dropped and he came off the court. Perfect!

As soon as he walked through the school gates, Ryota Kudo's gaze was drawn to a redhead not far away.

In the world of anime, colorful hair was a hallmark of a main character.

In Kuroko's Basketball, for example, the main cast all had hair in a variety of colors.

If someone had black hair, that meant they were definitely a role player.

There were not many people with colorful hair in the world of Slam Dunk. For one to appear at Shohoku High School at this time, it had to be Hanamichi Sakuragi.

The four people beside Hanamichi Sakuragi had to be the legendary Sakuragi Gang. They were all loyal friends.

The most handsome one was called Yohei Mito. He was the gang's "brains" and was very good at fighting.

The chubby one was called Nozomi Takamiya, a very funny fat guy.

There were also Yuji Ohkusu and Chuichiro Noma. The five of them made up the Sakuragi Gang.

Rather than rashly approaching them to say hello, Ryota Kudo silently walked past them. It was not time to get acquainted yet.