That's not all. Tomorrow we're going back to Kanagawa for another three days of celebration. Shohoku High School made a fortune because they won the national championship, instantly becoming a top basketball school. I bet Anzai's retirement salary will double.
Needless to say, the threshold of Shohoku High School will be overwhelmed with visitors in the new semester. Who wouldn't want to join the national champion team, especially with the number one high school student in the country, Shirasawa? There are still two years left, and countless people want to ride the coattails of the championship. When the school learned that Sanae and Yayoi were both there, they immediately pleaded with them to stay and celebrate with the team.
Even if the school hadn't said anything, the two of them would have stayed anyway, but they wouldn't have participated in the group celebration; they would have celebrated alone with Shirasawa. Taking advantage of the free time, the three of them returned to the hotel, went into Sanae's room, and had a few drinks.
After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, both women were slightly tipsy. Yayoi Aida couldn't help but glance at Shirasawa's muscular physique. The words Sanae had said during the match, " Shirasawa is very strong," were still ringing in her mind. Whether it was shyness or the effects of the alcohol, her cheeks remained flushed, and she was somewhat out of sync with the conversation.
Yayoi Aida finally asked, "Are you hot?"
Seeing Yayoi Aida's reddened ear tips, Shirasawa smiled, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Although he had just exhausted himself on the court, his eyes were still very bright.
Yayoi Aida's face burned even hotter under his gaze, and after stammering for a while, she managed to squeeze out, "Ah... a little..."
Shirasawa pointed towards the bathroom and said, "Why don't you go take a shower? It's still early."
Yayoi Aida couldn't wait to escape this awkward situation, so she nodded quickly and slipped into the bathroom in her slippers.
Before she could even adjust the water temperature, Sanae covered her mouth and burst into laughter, shoving open the bathroom door.
Yayoi Aida just shouted, "What are you doing!"
Sanae squeezed in, shouting, "Let's shower together!"
He then stared at her figure and exclaimed, "Wow! Yayoi, you have such a great figure!"
Just as they were having a good time, the bathroom door was suddenly pushed open, and Shirasawa stood in the doorway, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Hi~"
He said, squeezing inside, "Besides, my 'confidant' is right here."
Yayoi Aida screamed in fright, but before she could speak, Sanae covered her mouth and stuffed a bath sponge into it.
Shirasawa chuckled and shook the basketball in his hand. "Let the basketball fly for a while? Let the two of you 'fly' first!"
After all that fuss, Yayoi Aida collapsed in the bathtub, looking weakly at Sanae. After a long pause, she finally managed to blurt out, "You're not human!"
These words were exactly the same as what Sanae had said before. The two looked at each other and saw a knowing smile in each other's eyes.
This isn't about his character, but rather his physical strength—he had just finished a final match where he was almost cramping up, and not only had he been playing non-stop without rest, he had also "fought" against the two of them.
The key point is that they were actually beaten to their knees!
At this moment, their legs felt so weak, as if they were walking on cotton, and they could barely stand. Their legs were trembling uncontrollably.
Just now on the "battlefield," the two of them, one defending and the other attacking, even managed to put together a tacit understanding.
After the "battle" ended, he came to his senses, his face showing both embarrassment and a strange, indescribable feeling.
After that night, their relationship progressed rapidly, becoming even closer than that of blood sisters.
Shirasawa walked out, drying his hair, and muttered to himself: So this is what Emperor is like.
That Maki the Emperor? He knows nothing! He doesn't even deserve to be called Emperor.
The next day, the Shohoku team slept soundly until noon, when they finally got up with their hair all disheveled.
After packing their bags, they hurried back. Back when they first arrived in Hiroshima, weren't they all newbies assigned to the "hellish team"?
Even their own people thought they would lose the first game, but who could have imagined that they would become the last team to leave Hiroshima and bring the championship trophy back to Kanagawa for the first time.
Ryonan hasn't been idle either; they returned to Kanagawa yesterday and made it to the national semi-finals, much to the delight of the school administration.
However, the county government didn't make any breakthroughs. Last year, Kainan University Affiliated High School also reached the semi-finals, but this year is different. One semi-finalist and one overall champion make a completely different difference. This is the first time the county government has achieved this result. It's unprecedented!
At this rate, Kanagawa will likely get an extra spot next year, and maybe all three teams will be able to go to the national tournament.
The semifinals of the county tournament will definitely be much more interesting than this year. This year, the battle for third and fourth place between Kainan and Takezato was purely based on nostalgia and had little competitive element.
As a result, Kanagawa is destined to become a basketball powerhouse, with top players from all over flocking there. Kanagawa's strength will definitely surge in the next three years, maintaining its leading position nationwide.
To talk about expanding our strength, we must Kanagawa Yokota Junior High School, Kanagawa's talent pool!
This school is now the super team of junior high school basketball, attracting many promising newcomers who want to achieve good results and be noticed by high school teams.
Yokota benefited the most from Shohoku's championship victory; who wouldn't want to go to Shohoku?
The best stepping stone to Shohoku is Yokota. First, it's close by, both being in Kanagawa. Second, Shirasawa came from Yokota. Third, Yokota's head coach, Kazuharu Takizawa, is a disciple of Coach Anzai.
With so many reasons combined, Yokota became the best stepping stone to Shohoku, and of course, the competition was extremely fierce.
Kazuharu Takizawa was so happy he went crazy. He even considered asking the school to build a statue of Shirasawa, but then he thought it was too unlucky and gave up the idea.
The entire Shohoku team returned to school with their honor, placing the championship trophy in the most prominent position in the stadium.
The principal patted Akagi on the back, beaming from ear to ear. "We're getting a new gymnasium; the facilities will be several levels better!"
Takenori Akagi's face fell, and he slowly said, "Principal... I'm graduating..."
The principal's smile froze for a moment, a little embarrassed.
Third-year students Akagi, Kogure, and Hisashi Mitsui won't have the chance to enjoy this new stadium.
After the team disbanded, everyone went home to share the joy of winning the championship with their families.
That evening, the Akagi family threw a lavish feast. Takenori Akagi had not only won the national championship,
Moreover, he had already completed the assessment task given to him by Shota Sugiyama, and was practically one foot in the door of Fukazawa Sports University. Whether he would take the other leg was entirely up to him. After all, everyone knew how much a national championship could pave the way for his future.
"Mom and Dad! There's more good news than that!" Haruko Akagi jumped up, clutching her clothes. "My brother's Shohoku's game isn't over yet!" "They're going to play in the Four Nations Youth Invitational Tournament!" "That's an international tournament! Each country only sends one team!"
Upon hearing this, the whole family's eyes widened. An international competition? That was something they never even dared to dream of. Regardless of winning or losing, it would be of immense help to Akagi's future development.
However, Takenori Akagi waved his hand and said in a deep voice, " Haruko, just say this at home, don't tell anyone else. After all, we haven't received any official notification yet."
The entire Shohoku team went crazy for three days straight. To put it bluntly, they had a three-day break, allowing these guys who had endured a whole season to finally relax. But Akagi, being a top student, didn't have a single day of rest. As soon as he got home, he immediately went into his study and started his pre-exam sprint, giving it his all for the last few exams of high school.
For Akagi, test scores were completely unimportant. With his basketball skills, he could get into countless universities, including Fukazawa Sports University many people would kill for. But academic geniuses have their own stubbornness; they study not for others to see, but for themselves, and they don't take exams to get high scores, but to prove that their studies haven't been in vain.
In short, the world of academic geniuses is generally incomprehensible to ordinary people. In the words of his teammates, he was simply held back by basketball. But looking at his height and build, it seems that if he didn't play basketball, he really wouldn't have any other more suitable job.
Five days after the National Tournament ended, the entire Shohoku team returned to school. The students crowded at the school gate early in the morning, waiting to welcome the champion team. This time, not only the starting five, but even the substitutes were surrounded, and the applause and shouts were louder than anyone else's, letting everyone experience just how much change a championship can bring to the team and themselves.
" Sakuragi! Sakuragi's here!" A shout suddenly erupted from the crowd, and Hanamichi Sakuragi, head bobbing, squeezed his way in. " Sakuragi! You're awesome!" "You're a big celebrity now! No kidding, you're on TV!"
"I never expected you to be so good! Top ten high school player in the country! You're so cool!" The moment Sakuragi appeared, the place erupted in excitement. It was a world of difference compared to the quiet atmosphere during the prefectural tournament. He no longer needed to cut out those tiny photos from the newspaper and stick them on his body to show off.
These past few days, he's been all over the sports weekly magazines, and you can even see him on TV! This national tournament has shattered records everywhere, and the buzz is ridiculously high. Most importantly, " Slam Dunk " magazine has updated its national high school team ratings and high school player rankings.
Shohoku defeated Sannoh Industrial High School, becoming the only S-class team. Sannoh Industrial High School was demoted to A+ class, also unique in this respect. Ryonan and Meihou Industrial are both in A class, and their ratings will remain unchanged until the Winter Selection Tournament, after which they will be updated.
Regarding the national high school rankings, the top twenty positions changed significantly after the finals. The number one high school student in the country changed, with Shirasawa first place and Eiji Sawakita to second. The third, fourth, and fifth places were Masashi Kawata, Kazunari Fukatsu, and Shinichi Maki, respectively.
Hanamichi Sakuragi jumped from nineteenth to tenth, officially entering the ranks of the top ten high school players in the country. With all the third-year players graduating next year, Sakuragi's ranking will definitely rise further, and reaching the top five is not impossible.
In short, Hanamichi Sakuragi's future is bright; he has finally become the celebrity he's always dreamed of. "Hahahaha!" Sakuragi stood in the crowd, hands on his hips, laughing so hard he was almost out of breath. "It's nothing! I, the genius Sakuragi, only played at 70%, no, at most 40%! If this genius had gone all out, Sannoh wouldn't have even lasted half a game!"
Sakuragi spouted nonsense, but no one paid any attention. Because just then, the much-anticipated Shirasawa arrived! "Wow!!!" The crowd erupted instantly, surging towards Shirasawa.
A large area around Hanamichi Sakuragi immediately emptied. " Shirasawa!!" As soon as Shirasawa arrived, the scene completely spiraled out of control, especially the girls, who practically went crazy. They all wanted to press their chests against him.
This phenomenon would later spread throughout the country. The notorious delinquent in Kanagawa became a national idol in less than six months.
The Shohoku Basketball Gymnasium. This gathering carries a touch of sadness. The National Tournament has officially ended, and the third-year players have to choose whether or not to participate in the Winter Selection Tournament.
If they participate, they can still be teammates for a while; if they don't, they'll go their separate ways. For Shohoku, who have already won the national championship, the Winter Selection Tournament isn't really important; it's likely their farewell.
At 10:00 AM, all team members had assembled. Takenori Akagi was the first to decide to withdraw from the Winter Selection Tournament. Next, Kiminobu Kogure made the same choice. Finally, Hisashi Mitsui also declined.