The reliable Sakuragi Gang

Hisashi Mitsui, his face battered and bruised, looked at Ryota Kudo standing in front of him with immense gratitude, though he still complained.

"Why didn't you leave, Kudo? It's one thing if I can't make it, but if you don't go either, what if the game...

How am I supposed to face everyone then?"

"How could I do that, Mitsui? We can't afford to have anyone missing from this game. How could I leave you here alone?"

"This is my business. I can't let it affect you and Mitsui. I'll handle it myself!" Tetsuo, who had been lying on the ground unable to move, struggled to his feet too, preparing to take on more than a dozen thugs alone.

Across from them, A-Ryu, whom Ryota Kudo had knocked to the ground, also stood up, clutching his face. He shouted in fury.

"Everyone, get them! I'm going to cripple them! Especially Mitsui! I'll make sure he never plays basketball again!"

Just as the two sides were about to fight, a tall, red-haired boy dropped from above, landing butt-first on A-Ryu and pinning him underneath once again.

Hanamichi Sakuragi had actually jumped into the alley without warning. He looked around in bewilderment. There were an awful lot of familiar faces.

"Kudo? Mitsy! Why are you two here? Don't tell me you overslept too?"

Of course, Hanamichi Sakuragi couldn't have foreseen the future and appeared at precisely this moment to save Ryota Kudo and Hisashi Mitsui. He had actually practiced some sort of stare defense yesterday and ended up so exhausted that he overslept that morning.

Planning to take a shortcut, Hanamichi Sakuragi had chosen to climb over a wall and happened to land in the alley where Ryota Kudo was.

Hanamichi Sakuragi's arrival alone was enough to turn the tide, but then the four stalwarts of the Sakuragi Gang dropped from above as well.

Yohei Mito even said coolly to Ryota Kudo, "Kudo, hurry up and take them to the game. Leave this to us."

Having complete faith in the Sakuragi Gang's fighting ability, Ryota Kudo nodded and helped Hisashi Mitsui to his feet. Dragging along Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was still standing there dumbfounded, they hurried toward the train platform.

After Ryota Kudo and the others left, a fierce fight broke out in the alley.

Ten minutes later, the Sakuragi Gang emerged from the alley supporting Tetsuo, all of them sporting facial injuries. Their proud expressions made it clear that they had won.

It could be said that the Sakuragi Gang always came through. They were Hanamichi Sakuragi's-or rather, the Shohoku Basketball Team's-staunchest support.

On the train platform, Takenori Akagi and the rest of the Shohoku Basketball Team were waiting anxiously.

It was one thing for Hanamichi Sakuragi and Hisashi Mitsui to be late. They were both members of the Problem Children Gang.

But even the usually dependable Ryota Kudo was late for once. That was a real problem for Shohoku High School.

With game time fast approaching, Takenori Akagi could only take the other players ahead to the venue.

Takenori Akagi could only pray that Ryota Kudo and the other two would arrive soon.

Or that the players present could defeat today's opponent, Takahata High School.

At nine in the morning, the game began on time. Shohoku's starting lineup looked very strange today, with Ryota Miyagi becoming the starting point guard.

And none of Ryota Kudo, Hisashi Mitsui, or Hanamichi Sakuragi took the court.

The Shohoku High School players had also come to watch from the stands today. Seeing Shohoku's starting lineup, Toru Hanagata frowned and asked Kenji Fujima a question.

"Is Shohoku trying not to reveal any more of their strength, so they're keeping several key players off the court today?"

"Probably not." Kenji Fujima studied Shohoku's bench. Not only had Ryota Kudo and several other new players not taken the court, they hadn't even arrived at the venue.

"Shohoku has always gone all out. Something probably held up a few of their starters."

After analyzing the situation, Kenji Fujima offered that answer.

Ten minutes into the game, Ryota Kudo and the other two finally arrived at the Gymnasium, panting from their run. The first thing they did after entering was look at the scoreboard.

18-26. Shohoku High School was eight points behind. The deficit wasn't too big and was perfectly acceptable, so Ryota Kudo could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Still, even without the three of them, Takenori Akagi, Kaede Rukawa, and Ryota Miyagi should have been more than capable of handling Takahata High School.

But without Ryota Kudo on the court, Shohoku High School was its usual slow-starting self. Letting the opposition open with a run of a dozen or more points to zero and making things harder for themselves was standard procedure.

They walked up to Coach Anzai, and Hisashi Mitsui took the lead as the other two joined him in offering sincere apologies.

"Sorry, Coach Anzai. We're late."

Coach Anzai was as kindly as ever. He wasn't angry at all and instead reassured them.

"Ho ho ho ho. It's all right, Mitsui, Kudo. Your absence gives Akagi and the others a chance to get some practice. Go change into your uniforms. We'll need you on the court shortly."

They ran into the locker room and changed into their uniforms. Their bodies were still warm from running all the way there, so they didn't even need to warm up. Ryota Kudo and the others were ready to take the court.

However, before requesting a substitution, Coach Anzai suddenly spoke again. "Mitsui, sit this game out and rest on the sidelines."

Coach Anzai didn't explain his reason, but Hisashi Mitsui understood. It had to be because of the injuries on his face.

Without complaining or explaining, Hisashi Mitsui obediently sat on the bench. Coach Anzai was doing this out of concern for his physical condition, too.

When Ryota Kudo and Hanamichi Sakuragi took the court, Toru Hanagata's eyes lit up in the stands. He knew it was time for Shohoku to close the gap.

Coming off the bench, Ryota Kudo slotted in at shooting guard rather than point guard.

Moving to shooting guard did nothing to diminish Ryota Kudo's ability.

On the contrary, Ryota Kudo was at his most frightening when he focused more of his attention on offense.

"Thanks for holding things down, Akagi. Sorry we're late."

Ryota Kudo smiled and slapped Takenori Akagi on the backside without explaining what had happened that morning.

In basketball, slapping a teammate on the backside was a friendly gesture, generally reserved for teammates who were very close.

Takenori Akagi wasn't used to suddenly getting slapped on the backside, but he swallowed the scolding he had been about to deliver. He merely said with a stony face.

"Focus on the game!"

Play resumed with Shohoku in possession. Ryota Miyagi confidently held up two fingers, signaling everyone to run play number two.

Understanding immediately, Ryota Kudo shot Takenori Akagi a look. Takenori Akagi promptly came out of the paint to set a screen for him.

With his massive frame, Takenori Akagi set a solid screen, and Ryota Kudo shook off his defender in an instant.

As he ran into an open spot beyond the three-point line, Ryota Miyagi's pass arrived immediately. He caught it, jumped, and shot. The ball traced a perfect arc and swished through the net.

On the next possession, Ryota Kudo guarded the opposing shooting guard one-on-one and deliberately left an opening. Given a chance to shoot, the opposing shooting guard immediately prepared to take a jumper.

But a second later, Ryota Kudo appeared in front of him and swatted the ball away.

Seeing Kaede Rukawa collect the swatted ball, Ryota Kudo sprinted toward the opposing basket the moment he landed.

Kaede Rukawa was no longer someone who only played isolation basketball. Ryota Kudo trusted that he would pass to him.

The opposing shooting guard chased desperately, but before long, all he could see was Ryota Kudo's back.

Leading the break, Ryota Kudo received Kaede Rukawa's pass just as expected. He was about to jump for a dunk when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Kaede Rukawa hadn't stopped after passing but had joined him on the fast break.

Although there was no one ahead of him, good basketball habits still prompted Ryota Kudo to bounce the ball off the backboard.

Trailing the play, Kaede Rukawa soared like a bomber, caught the ball in midair, and slammed it hard through the hoop. The alley-oop was complete!