" Akagi, let's save our duel for the national tournament!"
Takenori Akagi smiled calmly, " Uozumi, you've already lost to me."
He paused, then continued, "However, you will always be my greatest rival."
After they finished speaking, the two men, showing mutual respect, raised their hands and gave each other a high five.
Uozumi knew in his heart that their story would come to a true end on the stage of the national competition.
Jun Uozumi was still thinking of making one last desperate attempt to leave a mark on his old rival, Akagi.
6!
Shirasawa casually pressed the ball to the ground, as if to put it away.
Akira Sendoh was surprisingly easygoing this time, even teasing Shirasawa: "Last time we let Shinichi Maki have a good beating, how about you join in this time?"
"No need," Shirasawa waved his hand with a smile, "If no one is guarding against me, I won't know how to fight."
That was obviously a joke, but he genuinely felt that he was on the same page as Sendoh.
We need to get him into the team as soon as possible.
On the other side, Kaede Rukawa remained as cold and aloof as ever. He lost the middle school finals, and then lost again in the high school finals.
But this time, he admitted it.
"You won." Kaede Rukawa uttered three words with a cold face. It sounded like a congratulatory remark, but his tone was as if he was about to fight.
"This time I was on the offensive, and you were on the defensive," Shirasawa explained, "That's why we won."
In the end, he still managed to shoot under Kaede Rukawa's defense, breaking his record of never attacking when the two were facing off, but the result was still the same.
Kaede Rukawa actually twitched the corners of his mouth, which could be considered a smile.
He hadn't given up on the idea of defeating Shirasawa, and his goal of becoming the number one high school student in the country was firmly in his mind.
However, he seemed to have figured something out; there are many ways to compete, and one-on-one is just one of them.
He was even more excited for the next meeting.
3!
Miyagi, Mitsui, and Hanamichi Sakuragi darted around the court, swinging their arms like windmills, as if they wanted to rip the roof off.
The substitutes all crowded onto the sidelines, waiting for the final whistle to blow so they could rush up and start yelling.
Haruko Akagi's tears streamed down her chin.
She is Shohoku's number one fan and also Takenori Akagi's younger sister. Watching Shohoku get to where it is today, her feelings are probably more complicated than many of the people on the court.
"Brother! You did it!" she cried, her voice trembling with tears. "You are my pride!"
After shouting, he quietly added two more words in his mind, "... and Shirasawa."
"2!"
Shirasawa placed one foot on the basketball, raised his arms high, and prepared to receive his coronation.
"1!"
The referee blew the whistle, the score was set, and time ran out.
The entire stadium erupted in cheers!
Takenori Akagi suddenly raised his arms, letting out a roar that made everyone's ears ring:
"You played alright."
"Hmm, it's alright."
In the shadows at the highest point of the stands, two blurry figures touched the cups in their hands.
Watching a game while drinking is a rather unusual habit in the area.
Clearly, these two are guests from afar.
At this point, no one could remain calm. The Kanagawa Prefecture championship is naturally not as prestigious as the national championship.
But for Shohoku, this was unprecedented.
It was earned through their own hard work, one punch and one kick.
The journey was anything but smooth sailing; it was full of stumbles and unexpected events.
This year was originally the year when Akagi and Kogure had the lowest hopes. They kept saying they wanted to dominate the nation, but in their hearts they felt that winning one or two matches would be enough to make them proud.
During the holiday, Takenori Akagi traveled all over the prefecture by himself, hoping that his teammates would practice more. However, he didn't manage to find everyone and ended up dissuading several of them.
If it weren't for those "problem children" who later joined, Shohoku wouldn't even have been able to gather enough applicants.
With the addition of Sakuragi Shirasawa the early return of Ryota Miyagi, Shohoku finally saw a glimmer of hope. Even though at that time it seemed that all Shirasawa could do was pass the ball, it was enough to give Akagi and the others some hope for the future.
But just then, Hisashi Mitsui brought trouble into the basketball team.
That fight was so bad that everyone knew about it; the team almost broke up, and everyone was injured.
Fortunately, Mitsui eventually realized his mistake and returned to the right path, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Shohoku.
Then, like a dark horse, they stormed through the group stage, battling Shoyo until Mitsui collapsed from dehydration, and fighting Kainan until Akagi's foot injury flared up again... It seemed like bad luck just wouldn't stop.
But they managed to tear the dark clouds apart time and time again.
To this day, they withstood the formidable lineup of Ryonan and the fierce onslaught of those Three Muskets, finally reaching the pinnacle of Kanagawa.
Of course they'll party! They'll celebrate to their hearts' content! They deserve the title of "strongest"!
"MVP! MVP!"
Somehow, the cheers from the crowd suddenly merged into a unified shout.
No one took the lead, because every Shohoku fan knew exactly what was going on.
Takenori Akagi saw the clouds part and the sun rise, and Shirasawa was the one who personally cleared away the dark clouds.
All the Shohoku Team on the court, from Akagi to Yasuda, from Mitsui to Kuwata, joined in the deafening roar.
In the hearts of all Shohoku people, only Shirasawa deserves this shout.
The MVP title was practically a foregone conclusion. As the absolute core of the championship team, that trophy was already synonymous with the championship.
Shirasawa ripped off his jersey, revealing his well-defined upper body.
He waved his clothes at the stands, and the roar of the crowd was so loud it felt like the roof was about to fall off.
Kanagawa hasn't been this lively in a long time.
The last time we saw a lineup like this was decades ago, when Kainan won its first championship.
Now, the new throne has finally changed hands.
Even Shinichi Maki couldn't find a single fault with it and was completely convinced.
" Shirasawa's era has arrived. Now we'll see if he can maintain this dominance across the entire country."
Shinichi Maki smiled and shook his head, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
If Shirasawa can really reach the top spot among all high school students in the country this year, then it doesn't seem like Shinichi Maki's loss in this match is too much of a loss.
Just like last year when they lost to Sannoh, they lost, but they lost with understanding.
One could even say that Maki Shinichi Maki is second only to Eiji Sawakita.
Of course, this is just something I think about myself; in the backcourt, Kazunari Fukatsu is always a name that can't be ignored.
He was actually more interested in seeing how Shirasawa would fare against Fukatsu, hoping he could perhaps learn a couple of moves himself.
"Let's go, it's time to go down and prepare for the awards ceremony."
These words were Maki Shinichi Maki's final order as Kainan Team.
After the awards ceremony, he officially graduated from the team.
As for the Winter Selection Tournament, he had no intention of even considering it.
If Kainan can still make it to the national competition this year, even if they still only make it to the top four, he might stay and fight for another winter.
Give yourself one last chance.
But now the situation is different. He hasn't even gotten close to the national tournament, and the Kainan dynasty has come to an end. For Shinichi Maki, there's nothing to regret.
When it was time for him to step down, he handed the team over to Nobunaga Kiyota, letting that kid hone his skills and seize every opportunity to grow.
As for Shinichi Maki, all he had to do during the holidays was bury himself in training.
Choose the most suitable university from those that sent invitations, join them in your best condition, and restore the reputation of " Maki the Emperor "!
"Sigh... it's really disheartening to think about. Last year we were the main characters, but this year we're just spectators."
Soichiro Jin sighed and followed behind him down the aisle.
It's quite poignant. At this time last year, he was just a bench player, while the spotlight was on one of the starting lineups.
I finally made it into the starting lineup this year, but the spotlight shines on someone else.
And judging by this trend, next year is probably also uncertain...
His next task is quite important; Maki instructed him to properly assist that kid Kiyota.
"Let's go, we should go down and prepare."
On the other side, Kenji Fujima said something similar.
Compared to Kainan, Shoyo is an outsider; they're just a top-eight team this year.
If it weren't for the competition rules requiring him to be present, he really would have preferred to just go home...
As for the Winter Selection Tournament, Fujima is still hesitant.
Hanagata and the others were all waiting for his decision; if he didn't participate, the others would probably just give up.
Shoyo's roster structure is a bit special. The team has been unstable in recent years and has not brought in any new players. Most of them are familiar faces from the third year.
It's hard to say whether the Shoyo basketball team will be able to field its full roster after this year.
In any case, decline is a foregone conclusion.
Whether or not to participate in the Winter Selection Tournament is simply a matter of whether or not the third-year students of Shoyo want to get together and play a few more games.
The match against Shohoku was already tragic enough. They lost fair and square, and the ending, though not perfect, was one of giving it their all. It's something to savor.
But Fujima isn't as carefree as Shinichi Maki; he's not well-known nationwide, and he's received only a limited number of university invitations so far.
Participating in the Winter Selection Tournament did help him in choosing a school.
Moreover, he also wanted to create more opportunities for his teammates.
This is what's troubling Fujima.
However, before the match started today, he met someone.
That person's appearance only made him more indecisive...
At that moment, he had a business card in his shirt pocket.
The design is simple and elegant.
The player's agent, Sanae Nakagawa. That's right, Sanae's timing in approaching him was perfect.
Her words gradually tipped the scales in Fujima's mind.
Signing a contract is still a long way off, but if Fujima contacts her in the next few days, it means there's hope for the deal.
At that moment, Fujima touched the business card in his pocket again, and finally had his answer.
"This era is so unfair to you. This year should have been your year, but you've been completely overshadowed."
Yayoi Aida gazed at the field and muttered something under her breath.
She was referring to the Sendoh of Immortality, of course.
At this moment, Sendoh had a smile on his face and calmly applauded for Shirasawa amidst the shouts of "MVP" from the crowd.
He appeared so gentle and humble, and it was precisely this demeanor that made people feel uneasy.
Yayoi Aida firmly believes that without Shirasawa, this year would definitely be the year of the Sendoh Path.
However, Sanae ruthlessly shattered her illusion.
"If that's the case, then last year would definitely have been Fujima's year if it weren't for Shinichi Maki."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yayoi Aida could only helplessly purse her lips.
Today she truly witnessed Sanae's way of thinking; she could always see things from a different perspective.
But this actually made her look at Sanae with new respect.
No wonder they've achieved what they have today.