The rest of Shohoku's players all panicked.
There was clearly no avoiding this fight, but no matter how well Shirasawa and Sakuragi could fight, there were only two of them. The other side had more than a dozen!
Should we... go help?
Hisashi Mitsui threw his head back and laughed. This was exactly what he wanted.
"Miyagi, your teammates have way more guts than you. Now this is fun."
"You're Shirasawa, right? Perfect. Today, I'll make you suffer everything A-De went through!"
The swelling on Tetsuo Hotta's pig-like face had gone down considerably. Seeing his buddy stand up for him moved him deeply.
He walked over beside Mitsui and glared arrogantly at Shirasawa.
"Today, you and I are settling the score."
The corner of Shirasawa's mouth lifted into a meaningful smile.
The next second,
he suddenly charged!
Shirasawa moved so abruptly that Mitsui and the others had no time to react.
Even Tetsuo Hotta, who had suffered at his hands before, had forgotten that Shirasawa never made threats before a fight...
He went straight to hitting.
In the blink of an eye, Shirasawa was in front of Tetsuo Hotta, doubling him over with a punch.
Spit flew from Tetsuo Hotta's mouth.
At that moment, he desperately wanted to yell, "Why me again?!"
But he no longer had the chance.
Shirasawa dropped him with a single punch.
Beside him, Mitsui's expression changed dramatically.
He hadn't expected Shirasawa to actually attack, much less be such a good fighter!
Mitsui looked down at Tetsuo Hotta curled up on the floor, then pointed at Shirasawa in disbelief. "You actually hit him? Aren't you afraid of getting banned from playing?"
The words had barely left his mouth when Shirasawa seized his wrist, gripping so hard that Mitsui's face twisted.
Ryota Miyagi watched, dumbfounded.
It's over. Xiao Bai's completely lost it! There's no stopping him!
Yet despite that thought, warmth filled his heart.
His buddy was standing up for him regardless of the consequences. What could show greater loyalty than that?
Shirasawa's attack was like setting off a powder keg.
Tetsuo took off his jacket, grabbed a nearby mop, and walked toward Shirasawa.
His underlings swarmed forward too.
Ryota Miyagi straightened up as well. At this point, why worry about the consequences?
Shirasawa had already charged ahead for him. With a buddy like that, what more was there to say?
Without another word, he charged straight to the front!
Hanamichi Sakuragi refused to be left behind. Afraid that Shirasawa and Miyagi would steal all the glory, he immediately charged out alongside Miyagi, one on either side!
Ayako covered her mouth in shock. At a complete loss, she could only look to Kogure for help.
But Kogure seemed to have been moved by the three boys' loyalty too. Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he ran to the windows and swept the curtains shut.
Silently taking on support duty...
It all happened in a flash. The two sides collided.
Hanamichi Sakuragi fought with broad, sweeping movements, dropping an opponent with each hand.
Ryota Miyagi used his speed, launching a flying kick with the momentum of his charge and sending someone flying!
Mop in hand, Tetsuo was just about to reach Shirasawa,
when a small, thin figure stepped into his path.
"Y-you're their leader, right? Please, tell them to stop! And don't hurt Shirasawa either. Our basketball team... is counting on those guys!"
No one had expected that, apart from those three, Yasuharu Yasuda would be the one brave enough to rush forward!
Yasuda seemed to have exhausted a lifetime's worth of courage. His whole body trembled after he spoke.
Tetsuo smiled. "You've got some guts, kid."
But Shirasawa's gaze sharpened.
He released Mitsui and rushed over!
Just behind Tetsuo, a club was swinging toward Yasuda!
Crack!
Just as the club was about to strike Yasuda, Shirasawa arrived and took the blow squarely on his forearm, then kicked the attacker to the floor.
Standing nearby, Tetsuo clapped leisurely. "Well, aren't you fired up."
But before he finished speaking, Shirasawa's fist smashed into his face.
The blow left Tetsuo dazed.
He had been so relaxed because the presence he had built up over years on the streets meant no one dared attack him outright when he stood there. Even if someone did, he could react immediately-he had fought his way through one battle after another to become the leader.
But Shirasawa's speed was completely beyond his expectations. His intimidating presence might as well not have existed in front of Shirasawa.
By the time Tetsuo reacted, he had lost a molar, and blood was running from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped the blood from his mouth. His earlier look of relaxed confidence vanished completely.
He seemed like a different person now, his face livid and his eyes as vicious as a vengeful ghost's. He pushed off the floor and charged at Shirasawa!
While Shirasawa and Tetsuo fought one-on-one, Sakuragi and Miyagi were already struggling on the other side.
Although the two still held a slight advantage, their opponents outnumbered them, and both had taken plenty of hits.
In the thick of the fight, Ryu, the second-in-command of Tetsuo's gang, silently crept behind Miyagi and dropped him with a blow from his club.
The moment Miyagi fell, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
He lay on the floor clutching his head as the others surrounded him, kicking and beating him.
Hanamichi Sakuragi wanted to help, but the others gave him no chance.
Meanwhile, Mitsui and Ryu had joined up. Their target was clear: the Shohoku players on the edge of the fight.
In Mitsui's words, today was doomsday for the entire basketball team-not a single one of them would get away.
An indiscriminate assault followed.
Yasuda, Kuwata, even Kakuta and Shiozaki became prey, chased and beaten like a flock of sheep pursued by two wolves.
At that critical moment, a sudden noise came from the second-floor window, and four figures jumped out.
"Sorry we're late."
Hearing that familiar voice, Sakuragi looked up. The speaker was none other than Yohei Mito.
With that, Yohei Mito and the others leaped down and plunged straight into the fight.
Their arrival immediately made the battle's outlook clear.
Miyagi seized the opportunity to break out of the encirclement and fight back.
Seeing things stabilize over there, Shirasawa felt a little more at ease.
After exchanging more than a dozen rounds with Tetsuo, he had actually gained the upper hand. But Tetsuo was no small fry, and he could really take a beating... Even with blood covering his face, he kept charging desperately at Shirasawa, keeping him occupied.
Seeing their leader losing, several underlings rushed in too, leaving Shirasawa unable to break away for the moment.
Yohei Mito charged at Mitsui, who was playing "hawk catching chicks," and punched him to the floor.
He had just turned to deal with Ryu when Mitsui staggered to his feet again.
With a savage expression, he roared and swung at Yohei.
Mitsui was a professional when it came to basketball, but fighting was Yohei's specialty.
Mitsui went down again without even touching him.
Panting heavily, Mitsui looked back and realized that the situation had changed completely.
With the Sakuragi Gang joining in, Sakuragi and Miyagi's side had gained an overwhelming advantage and was on the verge of winning.
What shocked him even more was that even Tetsuo had been beaten so badly by Shirasawa that he could barely stand!
Mitsui howled defiantly, "Who the hell are you?! Why are you here?!"
Yohei Mito snorted and answered him with his fist.
Elsewhere, Ryu had just knocked down Tetsushi Shiozaki and turned toward Kuwata.
Little Kuwata's legs gave out in fright, and he dropped straight to the floor.
Ryu approached step by step as Kuwata scrambled backward in panic.
With Tetsuo nearly beaten to the floor by Shirasawa, Ryu should have gone to help.
But he didn't. Instead, he stayed outside the main fight, picking on the beginners here and occasionally glancing toward Tetsuo, as though considering something.
Ayako, who had been at a loss all this time, saw Kuwata in danger. Finding courage from somewhere, she rushed in front of him.
Her body trembled involuntarily. She opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound.
Ryu looked her over with interest, then suddenly swung a slap at her!
Whoosh-
Ayako instinctively ducked, barely avoiding it.
Her delicate face had gone pale with fright.
Shirasawa happened to witness that very scene.
Like a tiger released from its cage, Shirasawa instantly charged at Ryu!
Ryu suddenly felt murderous intent closing in. He turned, and Shirasawa was already in front of him.
Shirasawa seized that arm and drove a heavy punch into his face!
Ryu couldn't even collapse. Shirasawa held his arm in an iron grip, yanked him back, and smashed another punch into him!
After two punches, Ryu's nose was visibly crooked. But Shirasawa had no intention of stopping, and a third punch was about to hit his face.
Ryu had gone completely limp, standing only because Shirasawa was holding him up. Just as the fourth punch was about to fall, Ayako's cold, trembling hand suddenly caught Shirasawa's wrist.
Tears still clung to her face. Clearly terrified, she looked at Shirasawa and choked out, "Xiao Bai, stop... Something bad will happen if you keep hitting him!"
She knew Shirasawa was furious because he thought she had been hit, so she hurriedly added, "I'm fine! He didn't hit me! Let go of him. You really could kill him!"
Shirasawa carefully examined her face. Only after confirming she was unharmed did he let out a breath of relief. He loosened his grip, and Ryu collapsed straight to the floor. Reaching out to wipe the tears from Ayako's face, he softened his tone. "As long as you're okay. Don't be scared. This is almost over."
Ayako sobbed a few times, then slowly calmed down. Having Shirasawa beside her reassured her considerably. "Be careful," she said softly, her eyes full of worry.
Just then, Tetsuo staggered to his feet once more. He paid no attention to how the fighting around him was going. He had eyes only for Shirasawa. This was the first time he had met such a tough opponent. Though he was covered in injuries, a strange excitement surged within him.
Shirasawa shielded Ayako behind him, then moved, charging into the fight again.
Meanwhile, over by Yohei Mito, Hisashi Mitsui, the instigator of it all, had been beaten so badly that he couldn't even crawl up. He couldn't accept it, much less concede. His mind was a jumble of "ifs"-if Yohei and the others hadn't come, if that accident three years ago had never happened...
Mitsui knelt on the floor, blood and tears mingling. He hated fate for toying with him, and hated his own uselessness even more.
To Yohei, Mitsui seemed to have gone mad, his expression twisted and his eyes constantly shifting. Then he actually forced himself upright again and lurched toward him, roaring, "I'll kill you!!"
Yohei Mito shook his head. The gap between them was so great that even he was beginning to feel bad about beating him. "Looks like you still won't give up." With that, he unleashed another flurry of punches and kicks.
Thud! Thud...
But this time, no matter how hard he was hit, Mitsui simply refused to fall, even with both legs shaking like leaves.
Yohei Mito watched him coldly, preparing to finish it with the next blow. Just then, Kiminobu Kogure walked over and put a hand on Yohei's shoulder. "That's enough, Yohei. It's already enough."