An abrupt, excited voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"Did I see that right?! That dunk just now was incredible!"
"Your jumping ability... it feels even better than Kaede Rukawa's!"
Sakuragi turned around in surprise and saw a little guy even shorter than Miyagi looking at him with admiration in his eyes. Standing behind the little guy were none other than Yohei and the others.
"What are you guys doing here?" Sakuragi scratched his head, then pointed at the little guy. "And who's this shorty?"
Yohei Mito spread his hands helplessly. "We got paid at our part-time jobs today, so we came back to get you and Xiao Bai for dinner."
"But when we got here, we saw this guy sneaking around at the entrance. He didn't look like he went to Shohoku, so we just 'invited' him inside."
The little guy hurriedly waved his hands in explanation. "I wasn't sneaking around! Let me formally introduce myself."
"My name is Hikoichi Aida. I'm a first-year on the Ryonan Basketball Team, and I'm also the best investigator in Kanagawa... no! In the entire country!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi scratched his head, looking utterly blank. "Ryonan Basketball Team? Never heard of it."
Hikoichi Aida was so shocked that his mouth hung open. The dunk he had just witnessed had already convinced him this guy was an expert, but strangely enough, he had absolutely no information on him.
It was as though this basketball expert had appeared out of thin air.
And this guy hadn't even heard of Ryonan?!
Hikoichi Aida was even more confused. There was actually someone on a Kanagawa high school basketball team who didn't know Ryonan...
"Could you be... a secret talent Shohoku recruited from another region?" he muttered, then clutched his head in frustration. "I didn't pick up a single bit of news about this! I've failed at my job!"
Sakuragi looked at him impatiently. "I'm asking you, is Ryonan any good? And who's that Ruka-whatever you mentioned?"
Hikoichi Aida composed himself and looked up at Sakuragi, his expression turning serious. "I don't know where an expert like you came from, but please remember this: Ryonan is an incredibly strong team!"
"As for Kaede Rukawa... he's the super rookie our team recruited this year! His ability... might be every bit as good as yours!"
At that answer, Sakuragi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then an expression of supreme confidence immediately spread across his face.
"Kid, go back and tell Ryonan this." Sakuragi planted his hands on his hips and raised his chin. "I, Hanamichi Sakuragi, will lead Shohoku and beat them myself!"
"And that Kaede Rukawa you mentioned? Don't put him in the same league as a genius like me! Hahaha!"
Hikoichi Aida was utterly stunned.
To his ears, Sakuragi's declaration was brimming with authority and the confidence of the strong!
That was it. He had to be some top expert from another prefecture!
Shohoku really had pulled it off. He had thought Shirasawa, the player who had won the junior high tournament, was their only ace, but they had quietly recruited another expert too!
I have to write this down, Hikoichi Aida thought excitedly. As soon as I get back, I'll tell the coach that Shohoku is now an opponent we have to watch out for!
He bowed respectfully to Sakuragi.
"Please forgive my limited knowledge, but may I ask... who exactly are you?"
Hanamichi Sakuragi curled his lips smugly and thumped his chest.
"Remember this! I'm the man who defeated Takenori Akagi, the one they call Shohoku's hope, and Shohoku's next captain-Hanamichi Sakuragi!"
Yohei Mito and the others nearly choked on their own spit.
Sakuragi really could talk big! He had absolutely no idea of his own limits!
If Gorilla heard that, he would braise him alive!
Still... that certainly was his style.
Meanwhile, Hikoichi Aida's head was buzzing. It was simply too much information to take in!
He had defeated Takenori Akagi? And he was the next captain?
Shohoku had actually been hiding someone like this!
Struggling to contain his excitement, he bowed respectfully once more.
"Senior Sakuragi!"
"I look forward to the day our schools face each other! Please make sure you show me your talent then! We at Ryonan also have two players as strong as you. I'm sure it'll be an incredible showdown!"
"I'll take my leave!"
Inside Ryonan High School's basketball gym.
"Step... step... step..."
The players were running in perfect formation, every one of them full of energy and in excellent shape.
Head coach Moichi Taoka stroked the stubble on his chin as he watched his well-trained team and nodded in satisfaction.
That summer, he had accomplished something he considered tremendously important-recruiting Kaede Rukawa!
With that, the final piece of the Ryonan Basketball Team had finally fallen into place.
Things had gone just as he had planned. Rukawa's arrival had raised the entire team's strength another notch.
Moichi Taoka even dared to declare that there probably wouldn't be anyone left in Kanagawa who could match them!
Rukawa's drive had been impossible to hide from his very first day on the team. During the scrimmage, he had single-handedly crushed everyone on the opposing side. Only when captain Jun Uozumi stepped onto the court had they barely managed to check his momentum. After the game, even Uozumi had nodded and admitted that, in terms of offensive firepower alone, Rukawa was probably no worse than Sendoh. In overall ability, though, Sendoh still had the edge.
Uozumi's assessment had been honest, without any exaggeration. Rukawa was genuinely formidable on his own, but he barely worked with his teammates. He only passed when he had no other choice, or used a pass as a feint to create room for himself. Sendoh was different.
Sendoh was a powerful scorer himself, but he had a better grasp of the whole court. He knew when to hold back and when to let loose, and he could make use of every teammate's strengths to simplify the game. His scoring reflected that too. Compared to Rukawa's flashy moves, Sendoh was more like a seasoned middle-aged man. If he could easily take two points with a jump shot, he would never go to the trouble of dribbling forever before charging in for a dunk.
Two points were two points, as long as he got them. Of course, you could also say Sendoh simply lacked that much desire to attack... and that was exactly what gave Coach Taoka the biggest headache. If Sendoh had been a little hungrier, they might have made it to nationals the previous year.
But now Rukawa was here, and he filled that gap perfectly. During their recent team practices, Rukawa inevitably found himself facing Sendoh. Except for the first day-when Sendoh had forgotten to go to school because he was fishing-every scrimmage afterward had ended with Sendoh's team keeping Rukawa pinned down, no matter how desperately he fought. It kept reminding him of those fifty seconds in the junior high final when Shirasawa had completely shut him down.
Eventually, Rukawa couldn't take it anymore and challenged Sendoh to one-on-one games. Sendoh always agreed with a smile. "Sure." They had played three times so far, and Rukawa had lost all three. The first game had been particularly bad. Playing to eleven, he had only scored four points, with Sendoh practically controlling him on both offense and defense. The next two had gone a little better, and the gap had narrowed, but he was still a long way from winning.
It was the first time since he had started playing basketball that Rukawa had been suppressed like this. Instead, it had completely ignited his refusal to lose, and every day was nothing but training upon training. If this had been the present day, his social media handle would probably have been "Work hard, work hard, then work harder"...
Coach Taoka was happily envisioning Ryonan's glorious future when the team's newcomer, Hikoichi Aida, rushed into the gym.
"Coach! Sorry I'm late!"
Taoka sighed. Ryonan had always been known for its strict discipline, yet three rule-breakers had suddenly appeared on the team. The first was the fishing enthusiast, Sendoh. The second was Rukawa, who could sleep like nobody else. Taoka couldn't do much about those two. They were just that good. Anyone who had a problem with it could beat them first. The third was Hikoichi Aida, standing right in front of him.
As far as playing basketball went, Hikoichi wasn't cut out for it however you looked at him, and he wasn't interested in it himself. His passion was gathering information on players and analyzing data. In the future, he would probably start out as a scout and gradually work his way toward coaching or team management. That might seem like a decent career path, but it was still a matter for the future. Taoka had only accepted him onto the basketball team as a favor to his older sister-Yayoi Aida, the well-known Basketball Weekly reporter-who had personally asked him.
Taoka hadn't expected much from him, but he had discovered that the boy was quite sharp, so he let him do what he enjoyed and lend a hand along the way, giving him the grand title of team manager.
By now, three days had passed since Hikoichi had last shown up.
"Hikoichi, haven't you been slacking off a little too much lately?" Taoka put on a stern expression.
Hikoichi Aida simply chuckled, not taking it too seriously. "Sorry, Coach. I didn't get a chance to report to you, but I was actually taking care of something big!"
Taoka glanced at him. "You'd better give me a convincing reason, or even your sister's name won't get you any favors."
Hikoichi hastily slapped the notebook he carried onto the table.
"Coach, something huge has happened!"
"I secretly went to scout Shohoku a few days ago and discovered an incredible newcomer! He defeated Takenori Akagi, and they even call him Shohoku's next pillar!"
"I spent three whole days investigating this mysterious expert, but I went through all the junior high and high school game records and couldn't find his name anywhere. Not in any region!"
"He's definitely going to become a major enemy for Ryonan! He told me himself that he'd lead Shohoku to beat us!"
Moichi Taoka froze for a moment.
The boy's greatest virtue was that he never lied. Going by what he had said, had Shohoku really landed someone formidable? Even Akagi had lost to him? Considering Coach Anzai's usual way of doing things, it really might be true.
Now he had no choice but to take this seriously. Their goal this year was the national championship, and they had to take every step carefully. They couldn't underestimate a single opponent. Shohoku, in particular, was also in Kanagawa and a direct competitor. They could be even less careless with them.
"Hikoichi, you did well this time. I'll overlook your absence these past few days, but there won't be a next time." Moichi Taoka's tone softened a little.
Hikoichi Aida nodded quickly, then couldn't resist asking, "Coach, now Shohoku has that mysterious expert, plus Shirasawa, who beat Kaede Rukawa, and Takenori Akagi holding things down. Things don't seem to be looking too good for us!"
Yet Moichi Taoka remained exceptionally composed.
His gaze shifted slightly, and he gave a faint smile.
"It looks like we really do need to size up Shohoku before the prefectural tournament begins."
"What?"
"A practice game??"
Everyone froze the moment Coach Anzai announced the decision.
Shohoku had never played a practice game since the team was founded, which had something to do with how weak they were.
Even if a team wanted a weak opponent to help them find their form before the prefectural tournament, Shohoku wouldn't agree.