The whistle ending the game had sounded long ago.
Ryonan's cheers and footsteps had long since faded away too.
Yet the Shohoku players still lingered in the empty gym.
Aside from Kawamoto Kazuki, who had already started practicing weighted dribbling.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was the only one who still had much energy left.
His frustration and anger were written across his face. Like a beast trapped in a cage, he paced restlessly around the court.
Takenori Akagi sat on the floor by the court with a towel over his head.
His massive frame was slightly hunched, sweat running down his neck.
We lost. We lost again.
Against a powerhouse like Ryonan, he had given everything he had, even glimpsed the hope of victory.
Yet they had still lost by seven points.
But what surprised Akagi was...
The despair that used to drag him into an abyss had not swept over him as it once had.
Deep down, alongside his frustration, an unprecedented calm surged within him.
With that feeling, his gaze unconsciously drifted toward the three first-year newcomers.
Kiminobu Kogure sat in a corner, his eyes somewhat unfocused behind his glasses.
The moment of his mistake in the closing seconds kept replaying in his mind.
Self-reproach and helplessness nearly drowned him.
Was I... still not good enough after all?
The thought gnawed at him like a venomous snake.
Had three years of perseverance been for nothing but choking at the crucial moment?
Satoru Kakuta...
His eyes still had not opened...
Kaede Rukawa leaned against the wall, tilting his head back to gulp down water, as cold as ever.
But his mind was nowhere near as calm as he looked.
Akira Sendoh...
That man who had dominated the entire game while remaining utterly composed...
He had taken over the game in its final moments...
Sendoh's performance throughout the game kept replaying in Rukawa's mind.
Every frame, every instant...
Was like a cold needle puncturing the bubble of his arrogance.
The gap between him and Sendoh lay clearly before his eyes.
It was not a gap in talent, but a different kind of command over the court.
That realization made the knuckles of the fingers gripping his water bottle turn slightly white.
He had never faced an opponent of Sendoh's caliber on the court before.
He instinctively thought of Kawamoto Kazuki.
The guy who had given him a different kind of suffocating pressure in their one-on-one games.
Sendoh was a mountain standing in plain sight, while Kawamoto was more like a swamp no one could escape.
Akagi abruptly pulled off his towel and stood, calling out with unusual clarity, "Gather up."
Everyone silently gathered around him.
"We lost."
Akagi went straight to the point. His voice was not loud, but it landed heavily on everyone's heart.
"We lost to Ryonan by seven points."
No one spoke. Only Sakuragi's frustrated grinding of teeth broke the silence.
"But..."
Akagi shifted his tone, his piercing gaze sweeping over every face. "This practice game also helped us see a few things clearly."
"We saw what Kaede Rukawa could do!"
He looked at the first-year newcomer with the icy expression.
"Against a star-level opponent like Sendoh, you scored over thirty points."
"That's good."
"But it's not enough."
"Scoring isn't the only thing you need to learn."
Rukawa pressed his lips together and instinctively nodded.
"We saw what Hanamichi Sakuragi could do."
Akagi pointed at the redhead.
"An amateur like you threw Ryonan into chaos on athletic instinct alone."
"Your potential is monstrous."
"But right now, you're still at the stage where you only know how to play with your body."
"You need to learn more about basketball fundamentals and the rules."
Sakuragi wanted to argue, but Akagi silenced him with a glare.
"We also saw..."
Akagi's gaze finally settled on the figure who had remained silent all along-Kawamoto Kazuki.
He paused, something complicated entering his voice.
"Just how lucky we are."
Everyone froze, then looked at Kawamoto.
Lucky?
Kawamoto's performance in their earlier scrimmage had certainly been phenomenal.
But in this game, Kawamoto Kazuki had barely made his presence felt.
The only thing that had left an impression on everyone was that crucial three-pointer.
And, of course, a few words of encouragement.
Seeing their puzzled expressions, Akagi kept his gaze fixed on Kawamoto and said solemnly.
"That's right. Kawamoto barely took the initiative on offense in this game."
"But when he was on the court..."
"Wasn't our defense more solid?"
"Weren't our rebounds more secure?"
"Didn't our offense run a little more smoothly too?"
There was one more thing he did not say aloud.
Kawamoto Kazuki might bring far more to Shohoku than we imagine.
Kawamoto Kazuki raised his eyes and met Akagi's gaze for a moment, then lowered them again, remaining silent.
"And don't forget, we still have Miyagi."
Akagi's voice suddenly rose, carrying an uplifting excitement.
"Ryota Miyagi isn't back yet, but one thing is certain: he'll make it back in time for the prefectural tournament!"
Ryota Miyagi!
The name was like a shot in the arm, bringing renewed light to the dim eyes of Kogure and the other veteran players.
Yes, they had lost their practice game against Ryonan.
But today's Shohoku was not yet complete.
Their best point guard was still hospitalized with an injury.
Just how important could an excellent point guard be?
His presence could make a team's offense fluid, sensible, and efficient.
He could get every teammate involved in the offense and allow them to play to their strengths.
He was the crucial hub connecting the coach, the tactics, and the five players on the court.
Without a good point guard, a team was like an orchestra without a conductor.
Everyone played for themselves, in utter disarray.
Today, Shohoku had been utterly outclassed by Sendoh in organizing their offense.
With Miyagi there, things would be completely different.
Akagi looked around at everyone and continued.
"Shohoku's starting lineup will be completely different this year."
"Takenori Akagi, Ryota Miyagi, Kaede Rukawa, Hanamichi Sakuragi, Kawamoto Kazuki..."
He recited the names one by one, his voice growing more emphatic with each.
"Imagine those five standing on the court together..."
A brilliant light flared in the eyes of the Shohoku players.
Simply hearing that lineup listed conjured an almost suffocating image in their minds.
An ironclad interior, a lightning-fast guard, an unstoppable scorer, a physical monster, and...
That unfathomable, silent cornerstone who seemed capable of filling every gap.
"Beating Shoyo? Ryonan? Kainan?"
"Those things we used to call dreams."
"Are they really just dreams now?"
Akagi's voice trembled slightly with excitement. "Let's beat them one by one and finally conquer the nation!"
Those words were like a scorching current, abruptly sweeping away the gloom of defeat.
They were not left with nothing!
They had the beginnings of a dream lineup capable of making any opponent tremble.
Fervor gradually emerged in everyone's eyes.
"But!"
"Dreams don't come true by dreaming! You fight for them with blood, sweat, and your lives!"
"We lost today because we're still not strong enough!"
"Because our teamwork is shit!"
"Because our individual skills are still nowhere near good enough!"
"The way we are now, what have we got to take on Kainan?"
"What have we got to conquer the nation?"
His roar echoed through the empty gym.
"Starting tomorrow-no, starting today-we're doubling our training!"
"Rukawa, your one-on-one game is strong, but basketball takes five players!"
"Sakuragi, your fundamentals are dogshit! You're starting over with dribbling!"
"Kogure, Kakuta, Yasuda... the same goes for everyone!"
"We don't have time to mope!"
"If you want to reach that dream, if you want to do justice to the talent we have, then train yourselves to death!"
"Train until you puke, until you can't get back up!"
His gaze finally settled on Kawamoto Kazuki, the only one he had not singled out.
Akagi's eyes held an incredibly complicated look.
There was scrutiny, expectation, and a trace of reliance he had not even noticed himself.
"As for you, Kawamoto... I trust you have your reasons for not attending after-school practice."
"But I also believe that when the team needs you to step up, you won't let any of us down. Am I right?"