The teachers' office at Shohoku High School, during lunch break.
The seven main subject teachers, unusually, did not sit at their desks preparing lessons or rest, but instead gathered together for a quiet and intense discussion.
On the desk in front of them lay a summary sheet of final exam results, the ink still wet.
All eyes were fixed on the same name, and the series of shocking numbers that followed:
Class 7 of the first year, Kawamoto Kazuki.
Modern Mandarin: 0
Mathematics: 0
English: 0
World History: 0
Geography: 0
Biology: 0
Physics: 0
"This—this is impossible!"
Mr. Matsumoto, a modern Japanese language teacher and also the grade leader, frowned deeply.
"I have a very deep impression of this student, Kawamoto!"
"She never loses focus in class, and her answers to questions are always spot-on. Although she doesn't talk much, her essays are clear in their viewpoints, precise in their word choice, and occasionally even cite classical texts, showing that she has a wide range of reading experience."
"How could it be a zero? Did you make a mistake in grading it? As teachers, is your attitude so careless?"
The geography teacher was furious. "What nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you give him a zero in Modern Chinese?"
Mr. Matsumoto adjusted his glasses and said nothing more.
The math teacher recalled thoughtfully, "I proctored their class during the joint exam. Kawamoto seemed to be sleeping on his desk the whole time. I thought he was feeling unwell, or that he had finished early and was resting."
Now it seems --"
"So that's how it is!"
The English teacher was a stylish young female teacher.
She immediately chimed in, a look of concern on her face. "I've heard about it! This kid's family isn't well-off, he has to work several jobs every day! And he still has to participate in such intense basketball training—good heavens, how many hours does he get to sleep a day? It's perfectly normal for him to fall asleep during exams!"
The world history teacher exclaimed, "Last time I talked about the Battle of Talas between the Tang Empire and the Arab Empire, I casually mentioned the political landscape of Central Asia at the time, and he was able to elaborate on the internal factional struggles within the Black-robed Arabs and the impact of the Silk Road trade routes."
"Your knowledge base is astounding!"
"A child who can create miracles on the basketball court and demonstrate extraordinary qualities in the classroom still has to struggle to make ends meet—sigh."
The geography teacher nodded in agreement. "Yes, last time when we talked about the topography and climate of Shonan, he was even able to add a few words about the local fishing and agricultural situation, which was very insightful. Such a student has a rich soul; how can a few numbers on his report card define him?"
The biology teacher exclaimed indignantly, "That old scoundrel, Principal Takeo Tanaka! He only knows how to measure all students by the yardstick of grades!"
In his eyes, good grades are everything, and bad grades mean you're worthless!
"Does he even know what caring education is? Does he know what individualized instruction is? Why make such a cold and heartless rule that anyone who fails a class can't participate in club activities!"
"This is simply stifling students' potential and enthusiasm!"
"Moreover, since he took office, I've lost every time I gamble; my luck has gotten worse and worse. Last time I cheated, I had to pay it back—"
The physics teacher was relatively rational. "The principal is too strict in some aspects."
"But Mr. Sakata, you can't blame everything on the principal, can you?"
"Last time you played mahjong at the teachers' get-together, you almost lost your life savings, and you even got caught cheating by the dean of students. How can you blame the principal for that?"
Sakata- sensei blushed and coughed twice. "Ahem! Why bring up old news! The problem now is that Kawamoto got zeros in seven subjects!"
"According to school rules, he definitely won't be able to participate in the national tournament! How can that be? He's the pride of Shohoku, the MVP of Kanagawa!"
"Exactly! We can't let one accident ruin a child's dreams and the school's honor!"
The English teacher said urgently.
"Or----"
The world history teacher glanced around at everyone, lowered his voice, and made a Shi Potian suggestion. "Let's say—there was a mistake during grading? A mistake in recording the scores? Let's change Kawamoto's grades to passing, no, to his actual level."
"For example, changing the price of each subject to one hundred?"
"Given his abilities, a perfect score is a certainty; we're just setting things right!"
This proposal is incredibly bold!
Strangely, none of the teachers present immediately objected.
The math teacher pondered for a moment, "From an academic perspective, Kawamoto certainly has the ability to get a perfect score. This isn't forgery; it's simply—correcting an error caused by unforeseen circumstances."
The geography teacher nodded. "I agree. Special cases should be handled specially."
Biology teacher. "Let's do it this way! For the sake of the children!"
Just as the teachers were rubbing their hands together, ready to exercise their authority and discretion as educators to create a perfect report card for Kawamoto—
"Report!"
There was a knock on the office door.
Led by Takenori Akagi and Kiminobu Kogure, Hisashi Mitsui, Ryota Miyagi, Kaede Rukawa, Koichiro Nango filed in, looking dejected and wilted.
At the very back was Kawamoto Kazuki, his eyes half-closed.
As the team captain, Akagi steeled himself and stepped forward, bowing deeply to the teachers gathered around him. His voice was heavy. "Teachers, I apologize for disturbing you. There's a truly unavoidable situation—several key players in our basketball team—didn't do well on their final exams and may—failing to pass."
"According to school rules, they will be ineligible to participate in the summer training camp and the national competition. Could you please give them another chance to retake the exam?"
The office fell silent instantly.
The teachers all turned their heads in unison, their gazes sweeping over Akagi and Kogure, whose faces were filled with shame and anxiety.
He then swept his gaze across Mitsui, whose eyes were darting around; Miyagi, who was scratching his head; Rukawa, who was expressionless; and Nango, who looked utterly defeated, with the same look he gave to trash.
Then, everyone's gaze, filled with tenderness and affection, focused on the tall boy at the very back who looked like he hadn't woken up yet.
" Kawamoto- kun!"
"Oh, Kawamoto, come, come sit down!"
"Look at this child's face, so pale! He definitely hasn't had enough rest!"
" Kawamoto, your health is the most important thing! Studying is important, but health comes first!"
Mr. Matsumoto even brought over a chair and, without saying a word, made Kawamoto sit down.
The history teacher immediately handed him a glass of warm water, the English teacher pulled out a piece of chocolate from somewhere and stuffed it into Kawamoto's hand, and the biology teacher began nagging about the importance of a balanced diet.
The members of the Shohoku Basketball Club: "???"
Both failed their exams and both came to plead for leniency, so why were they treated so differently?
Before Kawamoto could even speak, the teachers treated him like a fragile object.
And those few seemed like unsightly dust in the background.
While the group was in a state of confusion, Matsumoto- sensei calmed Kawamoto down before turning around.
He adjusted his glasses, his kind expression vanishing instantly, replaced by a serious, businesslike demeanor.
Addressing Akagi, he spoke in a bureaucratic tone, "A make-up exam? Akagi- kun, do you think there's any point in bringing up a make-up exam now?"
Akagi's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding rising within him. He quickly said, " Matsumoto- sensei, according to past practice, if you fail the final exam, isn't there a unified make-up exam a week later? As long as you pass the make-up exam—"
That was before.
Mr. Matsumoto interrupted him, his tone cold and unyielding. "The school rules didn't used to include the rule that failing four main subjects disqualifies you from club activities."
"Things are different now, Akagi -kun."
His gaze slowly swept over Mitsui and the others, and the corners of his mouth curled down slightly.
"These few----"
Mr. Matsumoto paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully. "They're all—well, the more active students in their respective classes. If they had even half the energy they have on the basketball court or elsewhere in their studies, things wouldn't be like this."
Mitsui's face flushed red and then paled as he was spoken to, Miyagi lowered his head awkwardly, Kaede Rukawa turned his face away, and Nango wanted to retort but didn't dare to.
Kogure hurriedly pushed up his glasses.
Akagi's heart sank to the bottom, but he couldn't give up. He gritted his teeth and said, "Teacher, they know they were wrong! This national tournament is very important for Shohoku, for every single one of them! Please, give them another chance! Even if the makeup exam is a little harder, that's fine!"
Please, teacher!
Mitsui, Miyagi, and the others quickly followed suit, pleading in an extremely humble manner.
Looking at these students who usually gave him headaches, Mr. Matsumoto felt little emotion; in fact, he even felt a bit regretful that he hadn't acted that way in the first place.
He shook his head, his tone resolute. "I can't make this decision alone. The school rules were revised under the principal's personal guidance, with the aim of improving the academic atmosphere. If you want to try and get a chance, go directly to the principal."
"Let's see if he's willing to make an exception for you."
After saying that, he stopped looking at Akagi and the others, whose faces were ashen, and turned around to put on a kind and amiable expression.
He said softly to Kawamoto, who was sitting quietly drinking water, " Kawamoto, don't worry, I'll take care of things."
"Just focus on your training and take care of your health. The teachers are all looking forward to seeing your amazing performance at the national competition!"
The members of Shohoku were completely speechless.
Both are from Shohoku, both are on the same basketball team, and both failed their exams, so why is the difference in their abilities even more outrageous than the height difference between Akagi and Miyagi?
Just as Akagi and the others were feeling utterly hopeless and preparing to face the principal, Kawamoto Kazuki suddenly stood up.
He bowed slightly to Mr. Matsumoto and the teachers gathered around him. "Mr. Matsumoto, teachers, could you please reconsider the matter of the make-up exam? Please give everyone another chance."
The office fell silent instantly.
Akagi's heart skipped a beat, and he became extremely anxious.
The teachers' attitude just now couldn't be clearer!
They completely ignored the rest of us, and were even hoping we'd suffer!
Pleading for leniency now would only be asking for trouble, and might even make you disliked by the teacher!
How stupid!
To everyone's surprise, Matsumoto- sensei spoke up directly, "Hmm----Since Kawamoto has said so..."
He exchanged glances with several other teachers.
The math teacher nodded slightly.
The English teacher whispered, "We can't let Kawamoto go all over the country alone."
The history teacher sighed, "Never mind."
Matsumoto -sensei then said to Akagi, "Alright. You can have a make-up exam."
"What?!"
Akagi, Kogure, Mitsui, and the others could hardly believe their ears!
Just a moment ago they were adamant that no, and told them to go see the principal. How come Kawamoto agreed after just a few words?
This change happened way too fast!
Ms. Matsumoto seemed oblivious to their astonished expressions and continued speaking to herself.
"The questions will be drawn from the backup exam papers for this final exam, and we will appropriately reduce the difficulty level."
He paused, glanced at Kawamoto, and added, "After all, we can't let Kawamoto lose any of his important teammates, can we?"
The other teachers nodded repeatedly.
Akagi and Kogure were overjoyed and bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
Mitsui, Miyagi, Kaede Rukawa, and Nango also realized what was happening and hurriedly nodded in agreement.
Kawamoto bowed slightly to the teachers again. "Thank you, teachers. We will definitely work hard and live up to your expectations."
"Alright, go back and rest!"
The group of people drifted out of the teachers' office like wandering ghosts.
As the door closed, you could still faintly hear the teachers inside whispering, "We need to get an explanation from the principal."
"Just say that the printing factory dirtied Kawamoto's answer sheet, and the machine couldn't recognize it?"
"That's good! The responsibility doesn't lie with the school, nor with the students—"
"Yes, yes, yes----"
In the corridor, the Shohoku team fell into a long silence.