"Ho ho ho ho, everyone, pause your training for a moment." Coach Anzai called a halt to Shohoku's practice.
Pointing to Eri Fujisawa, Coach Anzai introduced her. "This is Fujisawa, the manager of Ryokufu High School's basketball team. This Wednesday afternoon, Shohoku will play a friendly against Ryonan."
"It's only a friendly, so don't take it too seriously. Whatever you do, don't let it affect this weekend's games."
The final two games of the crucial Kanagawa final-four round robin were coming up next weekend, so many of the players were somewhat surprised that Coach Anzai had agreed to a friendly against Ryokufu High School at a time like this.
Ryota Kudo, however, did not give it much thought. It had to do with Coach Anzai's coaching philosophy.
Unlike conservative coaches who preferred closed-door training, Coach Anzai leaned toward letting his players grow through actual games.
"Everyone at Shohoku, I'm Ryonan's team manager, Eri Fujisawa!" Eri Fujisawa walked up to the Shohoku Team players and continued with a slightly provocative tone.
"Please don't underestimate Ryonan. We're the strongest team in Kanagawa!"
"We have the strongest player in All Japan. Michael Okita, what are you doing out there? Get in here right now!"
Soon, a tall boy with blond hair and blue eyes walked in from outside, apologizing loudly. "Sorry, sorry! I was just chatting with a pretty girl. I'm late."
At the same time, Haruko Akagi and her two friends also came through the door. They had come to watch the basketball team practice.
At the sight of Haruko Akagi, Hanamichi Sakuragi could no longer contain himself. He jumped out, pointed at Michael Okita, and snapped, "Are you trying to make a move on Haruko Akagi? Let me tell you, with a genius like me here, you can forget about it!"
Michael Okita ignored Hanamichi Sakuragi completely. All he had heard was the name Haruko Akagi.
Walking up to Haruko Akagi and her two friends, Michael Okita grabbed one of the girls by the hand and spoke enthusiastically.
"Beautiful girl, so your name is Haruko Akagi? I'm Michael Okita. Can I come see you often?"
"No, I'm not. My name is Matsui." The speaker was Matsui, the girl with thick lips. Unexpectedly, the pretty girl Michael Okita had mentioned was not Haruko Akagi, but her.
Everyone on the Shohoku team, including Hanamichi Sakuragi, was stunned. They had not expected that to be Michael Okita's taste.
To show off to Matsui, and perhaps to intimidate the Shohoku Team as well, Michael Okita suddenly dashed onto the basketball court.
The ball was currently in the hands of Yasuharu Yasuda, one of the team's backup point guards. In a blur, Michael Okita was already right in front of him.
Michael Okita swiped the ball out of Yasuharu Yasuda's hands, then dribbled toward the basket at full speed.
Michael Okita really did have impressive skills. His speed while dribbling was almost the same as his speed without the ball, showing that he must have trained very hard.
In just a few seconds, Michael Okita reached the basket and leaped up, preparing to throw down a thunderous tomahawk dunk.
Just as he was about to slam the ball through the hoop, a large hand pressed hard against it.
Smack! The ball was swatted away hard. Michael Okita lost his balance in midair and crashed awkwardly to the floor.
Michael Okita, now on the floor, looked up in surprise, wanting to see who had dared to block him so emphatically.
A boy with the same blond hair stood before him. Naturally, it was Shohoku's Ryota Kudo.
Ryota Kudo landed steadily, looking down at Michael Okita with an icy gaze.
The moment Michael Okita had stolen the basketball from Yasuharu Yasuda, Ryota Kudo had realized that this guy intended to show off and put the Shohoku Team in its place.
This was the Shohoku Team's home court. There was no way Ryota Kudo would let Michael Okita have his way, so he had immediately rushed over to block him.
Sitting on the floor, Michael Okita remained stunned for a long time before coming to his senses. He grinned and said, "Interesting!"
Ryota Kudo had no intention of sparing the feelings of someone who dared provoke Shohoku. His words were openly aggressive.
"Interesting? I don't find you all that interesting. Your basketball skills are pretty average, too!"
The reason the normally mild-mannered Ryota Kudo had changed so drastically this time also had to do with Michael Okita having lived in the United States for so long.
Unlike Chinese people, who valued modesty and keeping a low profile, people in the United States did not regard those qualities as virtues. Instead, they could mistake them for "weakness and being an easy target."
The best way to deal with an opponent like this was to be more forceful and win him over with ability. The more assertive you were, the more he would back down.
Both Chinese players' journeys in the NBA and the contest between China and America had proved this point.
Humiliated like this, Michael Okita's entire face flushed red with anger. He scrambled up and issued a loud challenge.
"Are you looking down on me? Let's let our basketball do the talking. First to five baskets. Do you dare?!"
"Sure. I'll give you that chance." Ryota Kudo walked coolly beyond the three-point line, ready to begin the one-on-one immediately.
Not far away, Kiminobu Kogure spoke to Takenori Akagi with some concern. "This won't cause trouble, will it, Akagi? What's gotten into Kudo today? Why is he so hotheaded?"
Takenori Akagi shook his head. This was his first time seeing Ryota Kudo act so assertively, too, but he still chose to trust him.
After all, Ryota Kudo was different from the members of the Problem Children Gang. He had always been calm and composed, so he must have had his reasons for doing this.
Ryota Kudo gave the ball to Michael Okita, signaling for him to take the first possession.
Although he took this one-on-one seriously, Ryota Kudo really did not think much of the half-Japanese, half-American Michael Okita.
Michael Okita considered himself the strongest high school player in All Japan and believed that no high school player could possibly be his match.
In reality, though, his current ability was only on par with Kaede Rukawa's, let alone Ryota Kudo's.
Michael Okita was also furious now. Ryokufu High School had spent a considerable sum to bring him back to Japan.
Although Michael Okita was only a first-year, he was the undisputed leader of Ryonan's basketball team. No one dared disrespect him.
Today, Eri Fujisawa had invited him to come to Shohoku with her, saying she wanted to arrange a friendly against Shohoku High School.
Bringing Michael Okita along had actually been intended as something of a provocation, because Eri Fujisawa had clashed with two people on the Shohoku team.
One of them was Ryota Kudo. Eri Fujisawa did not really have much against him. She wanted to prove to him that Ryokufu High School was strong and that joining Ryokufu High School was the best choice for conquering the national stage.
The other, whom she truly had a problem with, was Kaede Rukawa. Eri Fujisawa had once encountered Kaede Rukawa cycling along the roadside. She had greeted him and invited him to join Ryokufu High School.
However, Kaede Rukawa had been sleeping while riding his bicycle at the time. He had not heard Eri Fujisawa at all, so naturally, he had not responded to her.
From that day on, Eri Fujisawa had begun holding a grudge against Kaede Rukawa.
She had originally brought Michael Okita along to provoke Kaede Rukawa and humiliate him in a one-on-one, never expecting Michael Okita to clash with Ryota Kudo as soon as they met.
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