In the stands, several well-known high schools were waiting for him to say yes.
The high school league, teeming with talented players, was his next stop.
So trying to fire him up or put pressure on him was useless.
At this juncture, winning was what mattered most.
After a brief rest and adjustment.
The second half was about to begin!
This time, both teams stepped onto the court with their full lineups.
Seeing Kaede Rukawa finally appear, the Tomigaoka students in the stands erupted in cheers.
Quite a few coaches in the stands craned their necks too, eager to see just how capable this super rookie was, and whether he could really breathe life into this hopeless game.
Coach Taoka of Ryonan rubbed his chin, a meaningful smile on his face, and murmured, "If Kaede Rukawa can't even handle a situation like this, there's probably no need for Ryonan to open its doors to him."
He paused, then added, "After all, we already have Sendoh. Someone who isn't good enough would only get in the way."
The "Sendoh" he mentioned was, naturally, Ryonan's newly established ace, Akira Sendoh.
Taoka had long since studied Rukawa's previous game footage over and over. To put it plainly, the kid's current style required having the ball in his hands. If he wasn't good enough, forcing him into Ryonan's system would only disrupt Sendoh's rhythm and the whole team's coordination.
But what if Rukawa really was that good?
Then, with him and Sendoh joining forces...
Just imagining that scene made Taoka feel a little fired up. He quickly pinched his thigh to drag his thoughts back.
The referee's whistle blew, and the second half began!
The moment Rukawa came on, Tomigaoka seemed to receive a shot of adrenaline. The whole team came alive.
The players' eyes looked different, and even their movements whipped up a breeze.
Tomigaoka secured possession and fed the ball straight to Rukawa without a second thought.
Rukawa's gaze turned cold. A change of direction and a burst of speed left his defender behind, and he drove straight to the basket for an easy score.
Tomigaoka's head coach pumped his fist and roared excitedly from the sideline. He had already shouted his voice hoarse, making it grating to hear.
They were still down by 19.
But after Rukawa scored that basket, the atmosphere in the arena noticeably began to tilt.
There was no helping it. Yokota Middle School's fans couldn't match the noise from Tomigaoka, where nearly half the school's girls had come to cheer.
On the bench, Shirasawa was enjoying the show.
Ever since Rukawa's first basket, he had noticed Coach Takizawa getting restless.
The overall standard of this year's middle school league really wasn't anything special.
There wasn't another player who stood head and shoulders above the rest like Rukawa.
Deep down, Coach Takizawa did somewhat believe Rukawa could turn the game around single-handedly.
Shirasawa was simply enjoying the spectacle, with no concern for how big a mess it became.
He didn't care who won or lost. Watching Rukawa stomp noobs made for pretty entertaining viewing too.
He treated it like scrolling through short videos to pass the time.
As for when he would get to play, he wasn't particularly anxious.
He had already said his piece, and the coach had agreed. Surely he wouldn't go back on his word. The old guy was pretty nice...
The action on the court grew fiercer, and the cheers rose louder with each wave.
Rukawa led his team on a 12-4 run.
In the blink of an eye, the gap shrank to 11!
And only six minutes had passed.
Ten points was a threshold.
A single-digit deficit and a double-digit deficit were two entirely different situations.
Coach Takizawa hurriedly called a timeout, hoping to break Tomigaoka's momentum.
During the timeout, he did everything he could to fire up his players, shouting at them to focus.
But it had little effect. The young players were somewhat shell-shocked. The first half had gone too smoothly, and now that their opponents had suddenly caught up, they couldn't readjust their mindset so quickly.
Just then.
A voice cut in, quiet but enough to make everyone jolt.
"If you don't get a stop on the next possession, I think you'll all need a little extra after practice."
Leaning back in his chair, Shirasawa watched the court with a faint, ambiguous smile. Once he finished, his gaze slowly swept over everyone.
That invisible pressure instantly sent chills down their backs.
They snapped awake.
However scary Rukawa was, could he possibly be scarier than Boss Bai?!
"Defense!"
The captain sensibly took the lead in shouting. Under Shirasawa's "encouragement," the team's morale was finally dragged back up.
At least on the next possession, they would defend with everything they had.
The timeout ended, and the players returned to the court.
Coach Takizawa sat beside Shirasawa and patted his shoulder gratefully.
"Xiao Bai, I barely recognize you today."
Shirasawa merely smiled without answering.
Takizawa said no more either.
Today, Shirasawa had not only volunteered to play, but had also found a way to encourage the team, even if his method was a little unusual...
None of that had ever happened in the past three years.
Coach Takizawa had no time to dwell on it. The players on the court had actually stopped Rukawa on this possession!
Their lead remained in double digits for the time being.
At least they could catch their breath and run a little more time off the clock.
The game became a tug-of-war.
The gap swung back and forth between nine and eleven points.
Every player on the court fought with bloodshot eyes.
Until the final five minutes remained.
Rukawa rose against the defense and cleanly sank a three.
The score became 84-78, cutting the gap to just six!
By then, Rukawa alone had scored 33 points in the second half.
Almost single-handedly, he had turned a game on the verge of becoming a blowout back into a contest.
And his performance wasn't over yet.
On offense, he was still dominating.
In the stands, however, Sanae Nakagawa kept her eyes on Shirasawa, who lounged on the bench.
Her eyes shone as she stared at his handsome face with its slightly devil-may-care air, and the corners of her mouth curled up unconsciously.
In her eyes.
If Shirasawa was willing to take basketball seriously, he would definitely be the one dominating the court and drawing cheers from the entire arena right now.
But this guy...
"Huh?!"
Suddenly, Sanae Nakagawa's mouth fell open in disbelief.
"Xiao Bai, go warm up."
Only three minutes remained in the game.
The moment Coach Takizawa said that, all the Yokota players froze.
Shirasawa turned his head, his expression unchanged, and simply looked calmly at the coach.
Takizawa's lips moved as he said a few words in an extremely low voice.
After listening, Shirasawa's lips lifted slightly.
"You made the right choice."
He didn't seem surprised by the arrangement at all.
With that, he casually tossed aside his jacket, walked to the sideline, and began loosening up his arms and legs.
Now it wasn't just Yokota's own players who were stunned. Even the opposing Tomigaoka players, Sanae Nakagawa in the stands, and indeed the entire audience were somewhat bewildered.
In fact, quite a few people had noticed Shirasawa ever since he entered the venue.
At 188 centimeters, he was exceptionally tall for a middle schooler. Add his solid build, which marked him as a natural athlete, and he was hard to miss.
At first, some had wondered whether he might be some secret weapon Yokota was hiding. Even Tomigaoka's coach had glanced his way from time to time.
But as the minutes and seconds passed, through the one-sided first half and the second half in which Rukawa carried his team alone as they chased the score, the tall boy remained on the bench without moving.
Who could have imagined that at this critical moment, in the final three minutes with the score so tight, this mysterious figure would actually get up to warm up!
"That old rascal Takizawa... just what is he up to?"
Moichi Taoka rubbed his chin, his brow tightly furrowed.
Sanae Nakagawa could only feel her heart pounding.
The scene before her was exactly what she had dreamed of.
On the bench, a substitute worked up the courage to edge over to Takizawa. "Coach, this..."
Takizawa raised a hand, stopping him.
His original plan had been to let Shirasawa play once victory was assured in the second half, giving him a taste of the game and a little glory along the way.
But plans couldn't keep up with change. Rukawa's explosive performance had completely disrupted everything.
Now, with just over two minutes remaining, Yokota led by only two points.
And in terms of momentum, Tomigaoka, mounting a desperate second-half comeback, had completely gained the upper hand.
If things continued this way, Tomigaoka would definitely win.
So Takizawa gritted his teeth and took this gamble.
He would send Yokota's most mysterious player-Shirasawa-out to disrupt things!
At least he could throw Tomigaoka into disarray first.
Judging by the reaction, it seemed to be working reasonably well.
The figure warming up lazily on the sideline had successfully caught the Tomigaoka players' attention. Even those on the court couldn't help getting distracted and looking over.
Some of them had heard of Shirasawa and knew he wasn't someone to mess with.
But they had never heard that he could play basketball.
Still, looking at that build... if he really could play...
In any case, they absolutely couldn't let their guard down!
Yokota really knew how to hold back. Did they have to wait until life or death was on the line before revealing their trump card?
Tweet-!
The whistle sounded.
The final fifty seconds.
The referee called a defensive foul on Yokota.
Tomigaoka received two free throws.
The score was tied at 90!
During this dead ball, Shirasawa, wearing the number 9 jersey, stepped onto the court.
"Coach Anzai, what's the meaning of Yokota's substitution?" In the stands, Kiminobu Kogure pushed up his glasses, looking puzzled. "If number 9 is their secret weapon, why wait until now? But if he isn't... isn't sending him in now just fooling around?"
Like most people, he couldn't make sense of it at all.
Coach Anzai, however, chuckled.
With his experience, tricks like these on the basketball court rarely escaped his eye.
"Kogure, the fact that you're thinking that means Coach Takizawa has already achieved his objective."
"This player is Takizawa's last card, and his riskiest."
"I imagine he probably made the decision on the spur of the moment too. Ho ho ho ho..."
"But this boy... is no ordinary player."
Looking at Coach Anzai's beaming face, Kogure grew even more confused.
That sounded... almost like he hadn't said anything at all?
But the coach seemed to think highly of number 9?
Hmm... judging by his bearing, he really did look like an expert.
Under everyone's gaze, Shirasawa officially stepped onto the court.
Right now, the system in his head rated him as "starting-caliber player with excellent passing," with all his attributes hovering around 70. Honestly, quite a few players on the court had lower overall abilities than he did.
As for what position he would play... none of Yokota's players on the court knew.
But Coach Takizawa swept his hand out and pointed straight at Kaede Rukawa!
That move sent the air of mystery surrounding Shirasawa surging up another notch.
Shirasawa and Rukawa were about the same height, but Shirasawa was clearly more solidly built.
Add his naturally fierce edge and the coach's undisguised trust.
If someone said he was on Rukawa's level, probably no one would dare doubt it.
Even Rukawa himself had now shed every trace of ease and fixed a sharp gaze on him.