Was it destined?

In the stands, sports reporter Yayoi Aida had come to the venue again that day. Rookie reporter Nakamura sat beside her, busily taking photos of Shinichi Maki on the court.

Watching Shinichi Maki's performance, Nakamura could not help saying, "Is this Shinichi Maki a monster? He can jump that high with someone hanging off him..."

Yayoi Aida wore a serious expression as she recorded something in her notebook, answering Nakamura's question quietly.

"Shinichi Maki is widely acknowledged as Kanagawa's best player, but Ryota Kudo is challenging his position. If he loses this game, someone else will take that title.

"That Ryota Kudo is a monster too. He's gone head-to-head with Shinichi Maki for so long without a change in expression, and his offense hasn't suffered at all."

Yayoi Aida glanced at the scoreboard. It was 22-18, with Shohoku still leading by four.

Ten minutes had already passed, but there was not a trace of fatigue on Shinichi Maki's face. He calmly sank the extra free throw, cutting the deficit to three.

Ryota Kudo dribbled across half court while checking on his teammates. Hisashi Mitsui was struggling again.

Against the tall, long-armed Soichiro Jin, Hisashi Mitsui was having a very difficult time.

He wanted to get shooting opportunities through off-ball movement, but Soichiro Jin was also an elite shooter and knew perimeter off-ball movement extremely well.

With no disadvantage in speed either, Soichiro Jin was very effective at containing Hisashi Mitsui.

Kaede Rukawa had an advantage on his side, but he was already tired enough to be panting a little. Forcing him to keep playing isolation could very well drain his stamina, which would hurt him over the full game.

That was because his matchup, Nobunaga Kiyota, had monstrous stamina. He relentlessly tangled with Kaede Rukawa, taking a heavy toll on his energy.

So Ryota Kudo was now considering either going one-on-one or linking up with the players inside.

Glancing at Takenori Akagi, who had already established position inside, Ryota Kudo flicked his hands into a passing motion.

Even Shinichi Maki, with his excellent defensive awareness, was fooled. He immediately prepared to turn and help Kazuma Takasago on defense.

But Ryota Kudo's passing motion was actually a fake. A moment later, he rose straight up for a three.

Swish! The three-pointer dropped cleanly through the net, and Ryota Kudo raised his fist high in excitement.

This could work. If we kept playing like this, Kainan wouldn't have a chance.

The thought of Shohoku soon defeating Kainan, a team firmly among the nation's top four in strength, sent waves of excitement through Ryota Kudo.

Shinichi Maki's expression did not change after conceding the basket. He had seen big occasions before, and he had a plan of his own.

On the next possession, Shinichi Maki deliberately sought contact with Ryota Kudo, driving his shoulder hard into Ryota Kudo's chest.

Ryota Kudo could no longer control his expression, and his face twisted in pain.

Seeing Ryota Kudo's reaction only strengthened Shinichi Maki's resolve to follow his plan: wear Ryota Kudo down completely at both ends of the court.

A few possessions later, Ryota Kudo no longer had the energy to keep his expression under control. He was getting a little tired too.

He lobbed the ball inside to Takenori Akagi, who scored reliably with a strong post move, giving Shohoku another two points.

For the first time, Shohoku's lead reached ten points. Kainan was being completely suppressed.

Coach Takato had intended to call a timeout to reset their tactics, but he held back when he saw Shinichi Maki's serious expression and Ryota Kudo beginning to show fatigue.

Calling a timeout now would only give Ryota Kudo a chance to recover his stamina.

On Shohoku's next offensive possession, Ryota Kudo drove hard again, then pulled the ball back between his legs, gaining half a step of separation from Shinichi Maki.

He jumped to shoot, but the instant the ball left his hands, waves of discomfort ran through his chest. His shot was off.

"Rebound!" As soon as he released the ball, Ryota Kudo shouted to warn Takenori Akagi inside to get ready to grab it.

In Kainan's paint, Kazuma Takasago fought desperately with Takenori Akagi for rebounding position.

Although Kazuma Takasago was not much of an offensive player, he was no weakling in terms of strength. Both centers strained so hard that their faces turned red.

At the same time, Shinichi Maki rushed into the paint, ready to help Kazuma Takasago secure the rebound.

The basketball struck the rim and bounced into the air. All three players inside jumped at the same time, trying to claim the rebound.

Takenori Akagi rose powerfully between the other two and snatched the rebound.

The instant he landed, Takenori Akagi flung the ball out to Ryota Kudo on the perimeter.

Ryota Kudo caught the ball and was just about to shoot a three when Soichiro Jin charged over from nearby, trying to close out.

But against a point guard with Ryota Kudo's elite playmaking ability, that was naturally futile. A moment later, the ball was in Hisashi Mitsui's hands.

Finally getting a good shooting opportunity, Hisashi Mitsui barely needed to aim. He raised his hands and sank the three.

"Great job, Mitsui! Captain Akagi, you're invincible!"

Ryota Kudo was happily preparing to get back on defense when he suddenly noticed that Takenori Akagi had been sitting on the floor for a long time without getting up. He was clutching his ankle in pain.

Oh no! The very thing Ryota Kudo had worried about most had happened: Takenori Akagi had been injured.

Ryota Kudo remembered that in the original story, Takenori Akagi had been injured during the game against Kainan.

Because of that, Ryota Kudo had specifically gone to Takenori Akagi before the game and told him to be careful and make sure he did not get hurt.

But it was as though all of this had been destined. Takenori Akagi was injured anyway, and it was still his ankle. His foot had already swollen up like a steamed bun.

"Are you all right, Captain Akagi?" Ryota Kudo went over to check Takenori Akagi's injury.

After removing Takenori Akagi's shoe and sock, he found obvious redness and swelling around the ankle. An injury like this would take several weeks to heal properly.

At the very least, Takenori Akagi would not be able to return to today's game.

"Damn it!" Takenori Akagi pounded the floor hard in frustration. Shohoku High School had finally made it this far. If he missed the game because he had carelessly injured himself, he would be letting his teammates down terribly.

"I'm sorry, Akagi. Kazuma Takasago didn't do it on purpose. Please forgive him." Shinichi Maki came over and bowed in sincere apology.

Kazuma Takasago also stood beside Takenori Akagi with his head lowered, shame written all over his face, repeatedly apologizing.

Although he was unhappy about it, Takenori Akagi still graciously forgave Kazuma Takasago.

"It's fine. Injuries are a normal part of playing basketball. I believe Kazuma Takasago didn't do it on purpose."

Ryota Kudo, however, looked at Kazuma Takasago with some suspicion. The guy looked honest enough on the surface, but he played smart basketball and had plenty of experience.

He had the proud achievement of drawing five fouls on Jun Uozumi, after all, and in the original story, he and Kainan High School had gone all the way to become national runners-up.

If Kazuma Takasago had no ability, Kainan could not have achieved such good results.

Play stopped, and Takenori Akagi headed toward the locker room with Kiminobu Kogure and Ayako Inoue supporting him.

Ayako Inoue kept reassuring the other players. "Leave Captain Akagi to me. Just focus on the game. Everything will be fine."

Just before entering the passage off the court, Takenori Akagi turned back with a complicated expression.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I've caused you trouble.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Please hang in there a little longer. I'm counting on you!"

"It's all right, Captain Akagi." Ryota Kudo stepped forward and patted Takenori Akagi's shoulder reassuringly, speaking in a firm voice.

"Focus on recovering, Captain Akagi. We can definitely beat Kainan. We'll still need to fight side by side in the games ahead."