"You brat! You're still as much of a handful as ever." Ryota Kudo looked at Yoshiki Anzai in amusement. The guy had a wildly unpredictable personality, with a bit of a rebellious streak.
Back in junior high, Yoshiki Anzai had been very close to Ryota Kudo, but on the court, he had been a complete ball hog.
Once Yoshiki Anzai got the ball, he would never pass it, not even to Ryota Kudo. He scored almost entirely through individual plays.
Naturally, his teammates disliked that style of play, so Yoshiki Anzai had been distant from all his other teammates, with Ryota Kudo as his only close friend.
At a steakhouse not far from Shohoku, Ryota Kudo and Yoshiki Anzai dug into their steaks, chatting as they ate.
"This year's Junior High Basketball Tournament is over, right? With you there, Yoshiki, Akiba Junior High must have won again, right?"
"Of course! With me, Yoshiki Anzai, on the team, who could beat Akiba Junior High?" Yoshiki Anzai's expression brimmed with confidence, but he soon looked dejected again.
"But my teammates all dislike me... Even after I led them to the championship, they still shut me out!
"It wasn't so bad when you were there, Kudo, but after you left the team this year, they went way too far!
"..."
In front of Ryota Kudo, the normally quiet Yoshiki Anzai seemed to have endless things to say, constantly complaining about how those lousy teammates had excluded him.
Ryota Kudo simply listened quietly, offering advice now and then.
He did not interfere too much with Yoshiki Anzai's thinking. How to fit into a team and get along with his teammates were things Yoshiki Anzai would need to learn gradually.
After Ryota Kudo talked him around, Yoshiki Anzai agreed to communicate more with his teammates in the future.
That would have to wait until he joined a high school basketball team, though. The junior high basketball season was already over, so Yoshiki Anzai no longer needed to have much contact with his junior high teammates.
The meal lasted nearly two hours, mostly with Ryota Kudo listening to Yoshiki Anzai vent his various grievances.
Through their conversation, Ryota Kudo more or less learned why Yoshiki Anzai was unwilling to join Shohoku. He wanted to defeat Shohoku to prove to his grandfather, Coach Anzai, that he was the greatest basketball prodigy.
But with Ryota Kudo at Shohoku, he would not let Yoshiki Anzai achieve that goal so easily.
Half an hour later, Ryota Kudo and Yoshiki Anzai walked onto an outdoor basketball court by the road.
It was already past eight in the evening, but quite a few people were still playing on the floodlit pickup court.
Ryota Kudo had already made a name for himself in Kanagawa, and with his conspicuous blond hair, he was recognized as soon as he stepped onto the court.
"That's Ryota Kudo from Shohoku. He's crazy good! He just knocked Shoyo out a few days ago!"
"It really does look like him. What's he doing playing here?"
Ryota Kudo had not come here to play Yoshiki Anzai one-on-one. He wanted to show Yoshiki Anzai that teammates were important.
Even ordinary strangers could produce great results as teammates, as long as they worked well together.
Walking up to the people playing pickup, Ryota Kudo asked amiably, "Can we join you? We'll each join a different team and just play three-on-three with you."
"No problem, Kudo! How about joining our team?" The basketball players were all enthusiastic, happily welcoming Ryota Kudo and Yoshiki Anzai.
Their attention was entirely on Ryota Kudo, though. No one thought the pretty boy beside him, Yoshiki Anzai, would be particularly good.
With the recent Kanagawa Prefecture basketball tournament stirring up enthusiasm for basketball, plenty of people were playing at this court.
There were five teams in all, with three players on each.
Ryota Kudo had no intention of cutting in line. He chatted with Yoshiki Anzai as he waited patiently.
Twenty minutes later, it was finally Yoshiki Anzai's team's turn. He took off his jacket and got ready to play.
Yoshiki Anzai wore a short-sleeved shirt underneath, revealing his solid muscles.
Although he was more of an agility-based player, Yoshiki Anzai was no slouch physically.
Once he stepped onto the court, Yoshiki Anzai looked utterly serious, even on a pickup court where the focus was on having fun.
After receiving the ball, Yoshiki Anzai took off at full speed, his eyes fixed only on the basket.
Guarding Yoshiki Anzai was a long-haired man in his early thirties, the type who played basketball purely for fun.
Even after play started, he was still chatting with his friends about where to get a late-night meal afterward. The next second, his vision blurred, and a figure had already blown past him.
The long-haired man turned his head in disbelief, only to see Yoshiki Anzai already hanging from the rim.
"So fast..."
At that point, the long-haired man had yet to realize how serious the problem was. He merely thought Yoshiki Anzai was pretty fast.
One minute later, the game ended 5-0, with Yoshiki Anzai scoring every point. Or rather, to Yoshiki Anzai, his teammates were merely tools for passing him the ball.
Getting past defenders was as easy for Yoshiki Anzai as crossing an early-morning street. The long-haired man got no enjoyment out of the game whatsoever.
This was no longer pickup basketball, but a one-sided beating.
Glancing at the basketball in Yoshiki Anzai's hands, the long-haired man badly wanted to say, I brought that ball. Could you give it back? I want to go home.
But Ryota Kudo, whose team was next, had already stepped onto the court, and the long-haired man changed his mind.
He knew Ryota Kudo was a core player at Shohoku High School, and he hoped Ryota Kudo would teach this cocky kid a lesson for him.
The next three-on-three game began, with Ryota Kudo's team getting the ball first. As soon as Ryota Kudo received the basketball and took his position outside the three-point line, Yoshiki Anzai stepped in front of him without hesitation.
Seeing Yoshiki Anzai's serious expression, Ryota Kudo knew he was not treating this as a casual pickup game. He genuinely wanted to beat him.
Back in junior high, Yoshiki Anzai had frequently challenged Ryota Kudo, playing him one-on-one almost every day.
The guy really was talented, going from being utterly crushed by Ryota Kudo at first to eventually trading baskets with him.
It was fair to say that Yoshiki Anzai improved no slower than Ryota Kudo, who had cheats on his side.
"Come on, Kudo. Let me see what you've learned at Shohoku High School. That old geezer must have taught you plenty!"
Ryota Kudo really wanted to tell him that Coach Anzai had taught him nothing.
Coach Anzai would devise targeted training plans for Hanamichi Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa, but he had never given Ryota Kudo any guidance.
On top of that, Ryota Kudo was actually quite proud deep down and relied on his system, so he had never taken the initiative to speak with Coach Anzai either.
"All right, here I come, Yoshiki."
He dribbled between his legs. Even though Ryota Kudo had yet to go full speed, he still looked extremely fast to the spectators around them.
But a drive like that naturally could not shake Yoshiki Anzai, who defended very well. He quickly pressed close to Ryota Kudo and tried to steal the ball.
Ryota Kudo was stronger, however, and protected the ball very well, leaving Yoshiki Anzai unable to touch it.
Several seconds later, Ryota Kudo was still near the center line, having completely failed to break through Yoshiki Anzai's defense.
That left Yoshiki Anzai a little dissatisfied. This was not Ryota Kudo's true ability, and he taunted him loudly.
"Show me what you've really got, Kudo! Or has your game dropped to this level since you joined Shohoku?"
The next second, the basketball flew toward the basket. A middle-aged man in a tank top caught Ryota Kudo's pass and, left wide open, easily laid the ball in.
"Kudo, you..."
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