The number of people present at this moment has already exceeded one hundred.
A mere park court can gather hundreds of people, creating a very lively scene.
Several sponsors on the sidelines were beaming with joy at the incredible popularity of the event.
As time went on, players from various basketball teams in Kanagawa arrived one after another.
Tomokazu Godai, Koichiro Nango, Hasegawa, Takano, the Nagano twins, and Kengo Murasame leading Tetsuya Naito... The group didn't just come to join the fun; they came specifically to observe the match, understand their opponents' strength, and prepare for future challenges.
"Look! It's Maki and Kiyota! The main characters have arrived!"
" Maki! When are you coming to participate too?!"
"Where have you decided to go to university? You won't leave Kanagawa, will you?!"
Amidst the rising and falling cheers of the fans, Shinichi Maki led Nobunaga Kiyota into the stadium. All the cheers and attention were focused on Shinichi Maki, while Kiyota was relegated to a mere background figure.
When pressed by fans for answers, Shinichi Maki simply waved his hand, offering no response to any of the questions. Then, Ichiro Katsumi approached the two, briefly explaining the rules of the match, Nobunaga Kiyota immediately went to the sidelines to warm up.
The rules of this game are largely the same as those of regular competitions, the only difference being that the foul calls are more lenient. The game encourages high-intensity physical contact, and as long as there is no intentional malicious behavior, the referees will allow ordinary physical contact at their discretion, just to make the game more exciting and intense. The referees' focus is mainly on basic mistakes that affect the flow of the game, such as going out of bounds, traveling, and double dribbling.
In Shirasawa's words, the arena for this 100-Point Battle was like an octagon; without getting thoroughly bruised and battered, there was no easy way to leave. And this kind of extreme competitive atmosphere was exactly what Shinichi Maki preferred. His previous duel with Kaede Rukawa hadn't given him enough competitive stimulation; the opponent he truly looked forward to was Shirasawa.
By 5:30 p. m., the park's sports field was already packed with people. Fans who had arrived two or three hours early to secure their spots were gradually becoming restless. Street sports events are inherently unpredictable, and there were some troublemakers in the crowd stirring things up, causing a ruckus. Unlike the atmosphere of a regular stadium, the street sports field was a mixed bag, with many petty thugs among them planning to take advantage of the chaos.
Just then, five or six thugs swaggered onto the center of the court and arrogantly blocked the way.
"If you don't offer a token of appreciation, you can forget about holding this competition today!"
The leader of the thugs grinned defiantly, his tone extremely arrogant. "Of course, you can try calling the police."
He swept his gaze across the dense crowd, glanced at the time, and sneered, "How long will it take for the police to arrive? Can you afford to wait? We've been the ones creating this hype for you."
Upon hearing this, the sponsors and advertisers present panicked instantly. If the competition were to be suspended, their losses would be incalculable. Several people hurriedly surrounded Sanae, anxiously advising, "Ms. Sanae, why not just pay them off and let them go? Making a scene will be bad for everyone."
Sanae remained calm and smiled gently, "Don't worry, the people who can handle this will be here soon. Since we dared to hold this event publicly, we had already anticipated this kind of unexpected situation and made thorough preparations."
As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion arose at the entrance of the stadium. A group of men in suits pushed through the crowd and walked in slowly. The neat suits they wore gave off an air of arrogance and swagger, making them particularly eye-catching.
"Roll."
The leader uttered only one word, his voice low, yet it instantly Shizuoka University the noisy stadium. He walked a few steps to the troublemaker, raised his hand, and firmly pressed down on the other's head, the movement casual yet powerful, as if he were gently bouncing a ball.
"Who the hell are you?! How dare you touch me?!" The thug's head was pinned down, his vision obstructed, but he still stubbornly shouted, though his tone betrayed his underlying fear.
The man holding him chuckled, "Oh? Then I'll see who you really are."
As soon as he finished speaking, he twisted his wrist slightly, grabbed the man's hair, and turned his face towards him. The thug grimaced in pain, but the moment he saw the man's face, all his screams stopped abruptly. He froze on the spot, his lips trembling uncontrollably, his face filled with terror.
"Iron... Tetsuo Man..." The thug's throat tightened, and he managed to squeeze out a few words. His previous arrogance vanished, and he seemed to have lost his soul.
The newcomer was none other than Tetsuo, followed by a group of well-dressed subordinates—his newly formed team. They never wore formal attire normally; these suits were prepared in advance by Sanae, intended to make them inconspicuous and low-key. Unexpectedly, they exuded an aura of power and intimidation, making them someone no one dared to provoke.
Tetsuo's visit stemmed from a prior agreement with Shirasawa. Since purging Ryu's old gang, Shirasawa had assisted Tetsuo in rebuilding his forces, not only recruiting Yohei Mito but also providing ample financial support. Today, Tetsuo Corps was no longer the small group that roamed around on a dozen motorcycles; they were quite renowned on the streets of Kanagawa, and everyone in the underworld feared Tetsuo and Yohei upon hearing their names.
The gang leader in front of him clearly knew how formidable the other man was. After recognizing Tetsuo, he dared not move and could only obediently await his fate.
Sanae slightly raised her chin towards the sidelines, signaling to Tetsuo to handle the situation discreetly and simply remove the person from the field, without causing any further trouble on the field.
Tetsuo understood immediately, released his grip, lightly patted the thug's cheek, and said with a hint of intimidation, "You're lucky today. Get lost now. If I see you again, I won't be so lenient."
The group of thugs, not taking it as a joke, were so frightened that their legs went weak. They repeatedly bowed and apologized, then scrambled off the court, never daring to look back.
Tetsuo raised his hand and waved, and his men immediately scattered, silently guarding the perimeter of the arena and firmly maintaining order. The audience, seeing this, understood that this imposing team was the organizers' backing.
After this incident, order on the court was completely restored, and the atmosphere of the game was refreshed. The Tetsuo Corps's swift handling of the situation changed everyone's perception of them, unexpectedly earning them a wave of goodwill, making these usually arrogant street guys feel somewhat awkward and embarrassed.
With the turmoil over, the start time of the match was approaching. Shirasawa and Kaede Rukawa appeared on the court together, instantly igniting the enthusiasm of the entire audience. Accompanying them were members of Shohoku and Ryonan. The Shohoku members were purely there to watch the game and join in the fun, while the Ryonan members came specifically to support Kaede Rukawa. In this match against Nobunaga Kiyota of Kainan, they absolutely could not allow Kaede Rukawa to lose.
" Shirasawa! Shirasawa!"
A unified roar of cheers erupted from the entire stadium, making Shirasawa the undisputed focus of attention. The immense popularity of this event was largely due to his massive fanbase, with countless fans coming specifically for him, making the one-on-one duel a secondary attraction.
With only five minutes left before the start of the match, Shirasawa walked to the center of the court to energize the crowd and warm up the atmosphere for the official start of the game.
Ichiro Katsumi raised the Michael high and shouted, "The atmosphere isn't exciting enough! The next dunk show will electrify the entire arena!"
An explosive, powerful dunk was undoubtedly the best way to ignite the crowd. Shirasawa, Michael Okita, and Hanamichi Sakuragi stood together under the basket.
"Watch closely! Their legs are like rockets! Today's basket is destined to withstand a heavy impact!" Ichiro Katsumi's roar echoed throughout the arena.
The crowd erupted in cheers, completely igniting the atmosphere.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was the first to appear and warm up the crowd. His movements were simple yet extremely impactful. He sprinted into the air with the ball and unleashed a powerful gliding tomahawk dunk that resounded loudly. The brutal and explosive scene left the entire audience in awe.
Following closely behind was Michael Okita, who was making his first appearance in front of such a large audience and was determined to wow everyone and establish himself. He dribbled, adjusted his footwork, and suddenly leaped into the air with an astonishing jump height. He swung his arm in mid-air to gather power and unleashed a powerful windmill dunk that found the net.
After landing from the dunk, he waved his arms wildly, actively stirring up the crowd's emotions and successfully making everyone in the audience remember his mixed-race face and explosive physical abilities. The basketball players on the sidelines were also stunned, none of them knowing anything about this outstanding newcomer's background. They all secretly planned to dig into his information after the game, and if he was still unemployed, they would definitely do their best to recruit him.
Finally, Shirasawa took the stage to warm up the crowd. In order to keep the suspense of the main competition, he did not immediately unleash his ultimate move, deliberately holding back his strength.
He tossed the ball toward the backboard, then leaped into the air, catching the rebounding basketball with his left hand in mid-air, smoothly executing a crossover dunk, and then powerfully slamming the ball into the basket with his right. The entire sequence was fluid, seamless, and incredibly stylish.
The fans could tell that Shirasawa was holding back, and they all shouted for him to show off his skills again. Shirasawa simply smiled and waved his hand to politely decline, deliberately leaving suspense and building up hype for the upcoming matches.
This dunk show became a regular warm-up segment of the 100-Point Battle, with new tricks constantly being added later. Even if the subsequent one-on-one duels were a bit less exciting, this explosive opening dunk was enough to keep all the spectators entertained. Such a star-studded dunk lineup is rare even in the entire Kanagawa, with top dunkers gathered together, making this one game alone spectacular.
With Ichiro Katsumi's hoarse shouts as he hosted, the highly anticipated highlight of the match officially began: the 100-Point Battle between Kaede Rukawa and Nobunaga Kiyota was about to commence!
The 100-Point Battle battle was a long match, and the starting serve did not have much impact. As the defending champion, Kaede Rukawa voluntarily gave Nobunaga Kiyota the first attacking opportunity.
Nobunaga Kiyota accepted the pass without hesitation and quickly set up an offensive stance. In the first few rounds, Kaede Rukawa followed Coach Fujima's instructions, not going all out on defense, but moderately controlling the intensity of his defense and rationally allocating his energy to prepare for the long game.
This is a protracted battle. As long as we proceed according to plan, the longer it drags on, the more the advantage will gradually shift in his favor.
Kiyota executed several triple-threat moves in succession, creating a slight opening, and immediately broke through with a low crouch!
The way he broke through was exactly the same as his Shinichi Maki, except that he was much weaker in strength.
But while he's been training hard lately, Kaede Rukawa hasn't been idle either. Under Fujima's training plan, Kaede Rukawa's physical strength and technique have clearly improved to a new level.
In other words, the gap between these two players during the county competition is basically the same now.
The moment their bodies touched, Kiyota's heart skipped a beat.