Kawamoto Kazuki simply picked up the basketball calmly.
He returned it to the young men standing nearby, who had long since been left dumbstruck.
He walked up to Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was still reeling from the shock.
There was no unnecessary consolation, nor any condescending lecture.
He merely said one thing in his characteristically even tone:
"I hope you'll come back to the basketball team."
With that, he left the neighborhood court.
He did not ask whether Sakuragi would return.
Because the answer had already been there at DANNY'S Restaurant.
It had been plain to see in Sakuragi's impassioned cry about "truly loving basketball."
The reason he had played this game against Sakuragi in such an almost brutally overwhelming fashion.
Was not to show off or tear him down, but simply to use the most direct method.
To teach this extraordinarily gifted yet impatient redheaded boy one simple truth.
Even a one-in-ten-thousand genius had no shortcut to becoming truly strong.
Behind every seemingly effortless movement on the basketball court.
Lay sweat and perseverance beyond what most people could imagine.
The training Takenori Akagi, Kaede Rukawa, and the others sweated through in the gym every day.
Was certainly grueling, but it was still under the shelter of school.
It was for dreams and honor alone.
The training he had experienced, however, was bound up with survival itself.
It was a weight life had placed upon him, one he could not escape.
To carry heavier cargo at the docks and earn a higher hourly wage.
He had to make his core strength incredibly powerful.
To calmly face the seemingly endless greasy dishes in the restaurant's dishwashing room.
He had to temper his mind through monotonous repetition until it was as steady as a rock.
To free up more time for his own affairs.
He had to develop speed and endurance beyond those of ordinary people.
This was the true ordeal that tempered both soul and body.
For him, training had long since become an instinct in his blood.
Kawamoto Kazuki sat in his corner by the window through his afternoon classes.
He noticed that Hanamichi Sakuragi and his friends never appeared in the classroom that entire afternoon.
There was no change in Kawamoto's expression.
He merely lowered his head and focused on studying the upcoming lessons, as though none of it concerned him.
The moment the dismissal bell rang.
He swiftly packed his schoolbag with the precision of clockwork.
He joined the stream of students leaving school and headed for his first part-time battlefield.
Loading and unloading at the fish market.
The Shohoku High School gym.
Halfway through practice, the gym door was quietly pushed open a crack.
A red head cautiously poked inside.
His face showed obvious unease and embarrassment.
It was Hanamichi Sakuragi.
His appearance immediately caught the players' attention.
The ridicule or criticism he had expected never came.
Instead, most of the players had a hint of friendly encouragement in their eyes.
Vice-captain Kiminobu Kogure gave him a gentle nod.
Even the usually stern Takenori Akagi, after catching sight of him.
Only gave a heavy snort, without immediately scolding him.
Blushing, Sakuragi shuffled into the gym.
He kept his head down like a child who had done something wrong.
Just then, Takenori Akagi did something that surprised everyone.
He addressed Sakuragi in a somewhat unsteady tone:
"After this week of basic training, you really have started to look a little like a basketball player."
"I think you can start trying to join everyone in regular practice."
Sakuragi was so nervous he did not know what to do with his hands or feet.
He looked again at Akagi's serious expression.
"R-really?!"
Sakuragi could hardly believe his ears!
Overwhelming joy instantly swept away all his unease.
He nearly jumped with excitement. "I can practice on the court now? Thank you, Coach! Thank you, Gori... no, thank you, Captain!"
He looked around excitedly, eager to join the team's practice.
But suddenly realized that one key figure was missing.
"Huh?"
He scratched his head and asked in confusion, "Um... where's Kawamoto? Why isn't he here for practice?"
Takenori Akagi motioned for him to join the team as he explained, "Kawamoto asked me for leave this morning."
"He said there were some circumstances at home, so for now, he won't be able to attend our regular after-school practices."
"He can't attend practice?"
Sakuragi froze for a moment.
With the love that guy had shown for basketball...
He would actually miss practice because of something at home?
It was simply unbelievable.
Despite all the questions in his mind, now that he could return to the court.
Sakuragi still threw himself into it with one hundred percent enthusiasm.
Under Akagi's personal guidance, he practiced basic team plays such as pick-and-rolls and boxing out.
Compared with the rash novice from a week ago who could not even hold the ball securely.
After experiencing setbacks and reflecting on them, Sakuragi was noticeably more focused and grounded.
Although he still made mistakes, his progress was plain to see.
After practice ended that evening, Takenori Akagi stopped Sakuragi as he was about to leave.
Looking at the extraordinarily gifted junior before him, he spoke with a rare note of expectation. "Sakuragi, you did pretty well today. Keep it up."
He paused, then added, as though to give Sakuragi even greater encouragement, "Your physical gifts, especially your athleticism, might even surpass Kawamoto's."
"I hope you'll train even harder than he does. You're sure to become an important asset to the team in the future."
In Akagi's eyes, although Kawamoto Kazuki possessed astonishing physical dimensions and strength.
His movement speed, jumping ability, and technical coordination all seemed very ordinary, even clumsy.
His dynamic athleticism clearly had major shortcomings.
Those words came from his genuine faith in Sakuragi's potential.
But to Hanamichi Sakuragi, who had just been utterly destroyed by Kawamoto in every respect, they sounded entirely different!
My gifts surpass Kawamoto's?
The memory of that disastrous matchup at noon replayed uncontrollably in Sakuragi's mind.
That phantom-like dribbling, those utterly convincing fakes, those lightning-fast drives, and that absolute strength that had knocked him aside like a toy...
You've got to be kidding...
Were my gifts really that incredible?
Captain, have you misunderstood something about Kawamoto's gifts?
Sakuragi had personally experienced Akagi's strength and witnessed Kaede Rukawa's skills.
Although he also found them powerful when facing them.
What rose in his heart was more a desire to challenge them.
He felt that as long as he worked hard, he could catch up to them or even surpass them someday.
But facing Kawamoto Kazuki, he had felt a bottomless despair.
It was a gap in their levels that made even the desire to fight difficult to muster.
"He's clearly as strong as a monster... why is he hiding his strength?"
An enormous question mark rose in Sakuragi's mind.
He recalled Kawamoto's eyes, which always looked tired.
His figure hurrying away after school.
That excuse about something at home when he asked for leave...
There seemed to be something unusual about all of it.
"Hey, Sakuragi, what are you spacing out for? Let's go!"
Yohei Mito called from the doorway.
"Huh? Oh!"
Sakuragi snapped out of his thoughts and hurried after him.
He silently made up his mind.
Tomorrow, he would definitely find a chance to get a clear answer.
Just what secret was Kawamoto Kazuki hiding?