The morning sunlight had yet to fully dispel the chill in the air.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was practicing his midrange shots.
After a period of hard practice, his once wildly unorthodox shooting form still retained his distinctive personal style.
But its fluidity and consistency had visibly improved.
"Hah!"
Sakuragi caught the ball near the free throw line, bent his knees, jumped, and flicked the ball off his wrist with a soft touch.
The basketball traced a somewhat flat but well-spun arc through the air.
It struck the back of the rim, bounced twice, and finally dropped obediently through the net.
"It's in! Hahaha! Did you see that? This genius scored again!"
Sakuragi immediately planted both hands on his hips, threw his head back, and laughed wildly.
"I told you! Midrange shots are a piece of cake for this genius! Wahahaha!"
His trademark racket echoed through the gym, drawing looks from the other players warming up.
Some shook their heads helplessly, while others could not help laughing.
In a corner, Kaede Rukawa sank a three-pointer with nothing but net, his face expressionless, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.
Just then, the gym doors were pushed open with a clatter.
Captain Takenori Akagi's towering figure appeared in the doorway.
He surveyed the players warming up inside and clapped his hands hard, his booming voice instantly drowning out Sakuragi's racket:
"Gather up!"
The players immediately stopped what they were doing and quickly gathered around Akagi.
Everyone noticed that their captain's expression was somewhat unusual.
Akagi's gaze slowly swept over each face, lingering briefly on Kawamoto Kazuki and Hanamichi Sakuragi before he announced in a deep voice, "I just received word. After school this afternoon, Ryonan High School's basketball team will come to Shohoku High School for a practice game!"
"What? Ryonan?!"
"That Ryonan? One of the prefecture's top four?"
"Why would they come to us for a practice game?"
Surprise, confusion, and nervousness spread through the group.
Kawamoto Kazuki remained expressionless.
After joining the basketball team, he had used his free time to look up information on high school basketball in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Although the undisputed king was Kainan University Affiliated High School, which had reached the national tournament for sixteen consecutive years,
Ryonan High School was also a formidable force in the prefecture that could not be underestimated.
They had a star player in Akira Sendoh, along with a group of capable players, and their overall strength was far above Shohoku's, a perennial first-round exit.
In previous years, a powerhouse like Ryonan would not have deigned to play a practice game against Shohoku.
Kawamoto understood.
It seemed Kaede Rukawa's reputation from middle school had already attracted plenty of attention.
Ryonan's coach, Moichi Taoka, probably wanted to use this practice game to personally gauge the caliber of this super rookie.
He also wanted to see just what sort of chemistry Shohoku could produce with Kaede Rukawa on the team.
"Quiet!"
Akagi's low bark silenced the players' discussion.
His expression was serious. "This is a rare opportunity!"
"Facing a top team like Ryonan before the prefectural tournament is a great chance to test the results of our recent training!"
"Every one of you needs to be completely focused!"
He paused, then began announcing the starting lineup for the practice game:
"Center, Takenori Akagi!"
"Small forward, Kaede Rukawa!"
"Point guard, Kiminobu Kogure!"
"Power forward..."
Akagi turned his gaze toward the silent figure. "Kawamoto Kazuki!"
"Shooting guard,"
His gaze finally settled on Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was raring to go. "Hanamichi Sakuragi!"
Once the starting lineup was announced, everyone except those whose names had been called looked somewhat surprised.
Starting three first-year students at once was a rare occurrence in Shohoku's history.
There was nothing to question about Kaede Rukawa and Kawamoto Kazuki. Their ability spoke for itself.
But although Hanamichi Sakuragi had improved at an astonishing pace and possessed explosive athleticism,
he had, after all, only been playing basketball for a short time, and his skills were rough.
Still, recalling the immense potential Sakuragi had shown in the earlier intrasquad practice game, everyone felt it made sense.
Clearly, Akagi already regarded Sakuragi as an important member of the team's future core lineup.
"Those five will start this afternoon! The rest of you must stay alert too. Be ready to step onto the court at any time!"
Just then, a gentle laugh came from the gym entrance.
At some point, Coach Anzai's rotund figure had appeared there, his usual kindly smile on his face.
"Oh? We're playing a practice game against Ryonan? Hohoho..."
Coach Anzai strolled inside, his gaze sweeping over the players before finally resting on Kawamoto Kazuki.
He beckoned to Kawamoto. "Kawamoto, please come here a moment."
Kawamoto was slightly taken aback, then calmly stepped out of the group and walked over to Coach Anzai.
Coach Anzai motioned for Kawamoto to come closer and spoke at a volume only the two of them could hear. "Kawamoto, there's something I'd like to ask of you regarding this afternoon's game."
Kawamoto looked at the coach quietly.
Coach Anzai said slowly, "With you, Rukawa, and Sakuragi joining us this year, Shohoku has grown considerably stronger. We now have a chance of challenging for the prefectural championship."
He paused, his tone becoming solemn. "Ryonan's Coach Taoka is a very perceptive man. With the prefectural tournament approaching, every competitive team will try every means to conceal its strength and sound out its opponents."
"So,"
Coach Anzai lowered his voice further, a hint of earnest request in his tone. "I'd like you to hold back a little in this afternoon's practice game. Don't reveal your full strength too early. Especially those all-around abilities of yours that far exceed the norm."
"Just treat it as an ordinary team practice. Do you understand what I mean?"
Kawamoto Kazuki listened quietly, his expression unchanged.
He instantly understood Coach Anzai's deeper intent.
Keeping an ace hidden and misleading opponents before the truly important prefectural tournament was an entirely commonplace strategy.
He met Coach Anzai's meaningful gaze, nodded gently, and answered succinctly, "Yes, Coach. I understand."
Coach Anzai smiled in satisfaction and patted Kawamoto's arm. "Hohoho, good. Go on, get yourself ready."
Kawamoto bowed slightly, then turned and returned to the group.
No one knew what Coach Anzai had said to him in private, but seeing Kawamoto's expression remain as calm as still water, everyone took it for ordinary pregame advice.
Takenori Akagi watched Kawamoto's retreating figure with a complicated look in his eyes.
He could not guess exactly what Coach Anzai had said, but he vaguely sensed that it might have something to do with Kawamoto's unfathomable ability.
He took a deep breath, cast aside his distracting thoughts, and roared at the entire team, "Did you all hear that? We're facing Ryonan this afternoon! This is our chance to prove ourselves!"
"Now get back to training! Get yourselves into top form!"
"Yes!!"
Their morale soaring, the players answered in unison.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was even more excited, hollering, "Hahaha! Ryonan, get ready to tremble before this genius's incredible performance!"