Shohoku's basketball gym.
Sunlight fell across the polished wooden floor.
With captain Takenori Akagi absent due to something that had come up, the atmosphere at practice was a little more relaxed than usual.
The players were working on their basic drills individually.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was beneath an unoccupied basket.
Again and again, he attempted his dunks, full of brutal beauty.
Though his success rate remained painfully low, his enthusiasm had not diminished at all.
On the other half of the court, Kaede Rukawa practiced accurate midrange jump shots with fluid, elegant movements.
Kawamoto Kazuki was in a relatively quiet corner, working on the most basic dribbling drills.
His gaze was unusually focused, but his movements seemed somewhat stiff.
During a break in his drills, Kawamoto looked toward Kaede Rukawa.
He knew that with the weights he currently wore, his movement speed and explosiveness were severely limited.
Against a player like Kaede Rukawa, known for his well-rounded skills and sharp offense.
One-on-one offensive and defensive practice would undoubtedly be an excellent way to hone himself.
This kind of intense, targeted practice would greatly benefit his ability in actual games.
With that thought, Kawamoto stopped dribbling.
Holding the basketball, he walked straight over to Rukawa's half of the court.
"Rukawa,"
"Would you be willing to practice offense and defense one-on-one?"
Kaede Rukawa had just sunk a shot.
He turned at the sound, his narrow eyes sweeping indifferently over Kawamoto.
Almost without hesitation, he answered in his characteristically cold tone:
"As you are now, you're not good enough."
His words immediately caused a small stir.
"Damn you, Rukawa Fox! What the hell are you saying?"
Hanamichi Sakuragi, not far away, was the first to bristle.
He dropped his basketball and angrily started over to stand up for Kawamoto.
"Kawamoto is-"
"Sakuragi."
Kawamoto raised a hand, cutting Sakuragi off.
He felt neither humiliated nor angry at Rukawa's rejection.
Instead, he continued looking calmly at Rukawa and said sincerely, "It's precisely because I know I'm no match for you that I want to get stronger by practicing against you."
Those words softened Rukawa's expression slightly.
He reassessed the tall but somewhat clumsy-looking newcomer before him.
Usually, he considered even glancing at a newcomer of this level a waste of time.
But the honesty and desire to grow stronger revealed in Kawamoto's words.
Struck a subtle chord with his own pure dedication to basketball.
He disliked the weak, but perhaps he did not dislike the weak who wanted to improve.
After several seconds of silence, Rukawa gave an almost imperceptible nod.
He picked up the basketball from the floor and tossed it to Kawamoto, then took his defensive position.
"Whoa! They're going one-on-one!"
"Rukawa versus Kawamoto!"
The commotion immediately caught the other players' attention.
Even Sakuragi temporarily suppressed his anger and gathered with the others to watch curiously.
The one-on-one began.
They used the usual streetball rules: possession changed after a basket, and the first to five points won.
Kawamoto attacked on the first possession.
Kawamoto held the ball outside the three-point line, with Rukawa's defense leaving no openings.
He tried dribbling to find an opportunity, but his weighted legs made quick changes of direction difficult.
Rukawa easily read his several simple jab steps and crossovers, cutting off his routes.
Rukawa's defensive footwork was extremely quick, leaving Kawamoto almost no room to drive.
Ultimately, Kawamoto's heavily contested jump shot missed the basket.
They switched offense and defense.
Rukawa attacked.
Rukawa received the ball on the perimeter and took off without the slightest hesitation!
With an extremely quick crossover step, he tried to force his way past on the right.
Yet the instant he moved, Kawamoto Kazuki seemed to anticipate his intent.
His footwork was a little slow, but his early positioning was exceptionally precise, blocking Rukawa's driving lane like a wall.
Rukawa was slightly startled, but reacted extremely quickly, immediately flowing into a behind-the-back dribble to change direction to the left.
This was one of his usual moves, its abrupt change of rhythm enough to shake most defenders.
But to his surprise once again, although Kawamoto's movements looked slow, he shifted his center of gravity astonishingly quickly.
Those eyes seemed able to see through the path of his movements.
Once again, he moved early and cut him off!
Having two consecutive attempts read was extremely rare in Rukawa's experience.
He realized that this newcomer's ability to read the offense far exceeded the technical level he displayed.
He stopped trying to overpower him with speed alone and began using more complex offensive skills.
Rukawa made a shot fake, his shoulders and eyes selling it with exceptional realism.
It was enough to draw any highly alert defender into the air.
Yet Kawamoto Kazuki's feet remained planted on the floor as though rooted there.
His center of gravity was frighteningly steady; he had not bitten on the fake at all!
He merely raised his arms slightly to obstruct Rukawa's view of the basket.
Seeing this, Rukawa immediately turned the fake into an actual drive.
He lowered his center of gravity and drove hard to the right.
This time, Kawamoto seemed half a beat slow to react.
With his slightly quicker first step, Rukawa finally gained a half-body advantage.
But just as Rukawa thought he had beaten his man and prepared to gather for a layup.
An enormous force came from his side.
Despite being out of position, Kawamoto Kazuki had forcibly caught up and pressed against him again.
Rukawa felt as though he had collided with a moving wall of reinforced concrete.
His drive was severely impeded, leaving him barely able to jump!
Rukawa was utterly shocked.
This strength was terrifying!
He had to abandon the idea of attacking the basket directly and use the tiny space created by their physical contact.
A sudden stop, then a fadeaway jumper!
The basketball traced a high arc, struck the back of the rim, and bounced in.
1-0.
Rukawa scored, but it had been extraordinarily difficult.
Fine beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.
This was definitely the first time he had ever felt such immense defensive pressure against a beginner.
The next few possessions followed a similar pattern.
With his superior speed and wide range of offensive moves, Rukawa always found a way to score.
But every attack became exceptionally difficult.
Kawamoto Kazuki's defensive anticipation was frighteningly accurate, always discerning Rukawa's offensive intentions in advance.
His strength advantage was absolute.
When it came to fighting for position and physical contact in the paint, Rukawa was completely outmatched.
He could gain almost no advantage inside.
Rukawa had to rely more heavily on difficult midrange and long-range jump shots to finish his possessions.
The score reached 4-2.
Rukawa led, one point away from winning.
On the crucial possession, Rukawa attacked.
He knew he could not get dragged into another physical battle.
This time, he dribbled repeatedly between his legs at the top of the arc.
His rhythm alternated between fast and slow as he searched for the best moment.
Suddenly, he made an extremely quick crossover followed by a swift spin.
The entire sequence flowed seamlessly; this was one of his signature offensive moves!
Although Kawamoto anticipated the direction of the spin.
Under the strain of those successive changes of direction, his weighted body ultimately fell behind at the most crucial instant.
Taking advantage of the tiny opening created in that split second.
Rukawa slipped through Kawamoto's defense and charged into the paint.
Rukawa did not hesitate, knowing Kawamoto's help defense would arrive immediately.
He sprang off the floor, adjusting his balance slightly in midair.
Drawing on his thoroughly honed muscle memory and outstanding touch, he released the ball!
The basketball swished through the net again!
5-2.
Rukawa won.
"Nice shot."
Watching the basketball land, Kawamoto offered his sincere praise.
Sweat had soaked the hair over his forehead, and his breathing was somewhat hurried.
Though he had lost his matchup with Rukawa, it had given him a deeper understanding of defensive movement and applying his strength while wearing weights.
Rukawa stood where he was, hands braced on his knees, panting slightly.
This seemingly easy one-on-one victory had consumed far more stamina than he had expected.
Kawamoto's tenacious defense, shadowing his every move, had forced him to expend enormous effort for every point.
He raised his head and looked once more at that habitually silent, tall figure.
A distinctly different impression of the newcomer Kawamoto Kazuki began to form in his eyes.
This guy...
His defensive potential and tenacity made him an absolute monster.
Rukawa even had a vague premonition that before long, he might no longer be able to score one-on-one so easily against this seemingly clumsy newcomer.
Kawamoto Kazuki, meanwhile, walked to the sideline, picked up his water bottle, and drank.
His gaze remained calm, as though that intense matchup had been nothing more than another ordinary practice session.