"But these Shohoku punks really don't know their place!"
Tetsuya Naito tugged at the corner of his mouth, giving a faint smile.
"I watched half the game. Shohoku's only at elementary-school level. Once I get out there, I'll teach them what a real game looks like."
Miuradai's coach, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke.
"Go on, Naito. Put some pressure on Shohoku and turn this game around."
With that, he gave Kengo Murasame a meaningful glance.
"Murasame, make sure you know how far to take things."
Kengo Murasame grinned and nodded knowingly.
The players from both teams returned to the court.
The second half was about to begin.
As soon as Tetsuya Naito stepped onto the court, several Shohoku players froze for a moment.
Akagi was already broad, but this guy was even broader than him!
Did he really play basketball?
Had some bodybuilding coach wandered onto the wrong set...?
Meeting the several gazes sizing him up, Tetsuya Naito grinned, his arrogance rivaling Hanamichi Sakuragi's.
"My name is Tetsuya Naito."
He raised his chin, his voice a deep rumble.
"You'll remember that name soon enough. I guarantee you won't forget it even in your dreams."
The faces of Shohoku's starters fell a little, a snarky remark stuck in their throats, unable to come out or go down.
Both teams took their positions.
The second half officially began!
Under the prefectural tournament rules, both halves began with a jump ball for possession.
The referee tossed the ball into the air.
Takenori Akagi tipped it easily, giving Shohoku possession.
The moment Shirasawa caught the ball, cheers erupted from the stands.
Clearly, his performance in the first half had thoroughly fired up the crowd.
Shirasawa dribbled into the frontcourt.
After a slight pause, he suddenly accelerated!
Kazuo Araki was clearly still shaken by his fall just before halftime.
Now he dared not guard too closely, afraid of embarrassing himself again.
Shirasawa beat him with a single change of direction.
At the same time, Hisashi Mitsui cut into the paint from the wing, used Hanamichi Sakuragi as a screen, then pivoted and suddenly reversed course toward the three-point line.
Although a defender was still on Shirasawa.
Mitsui believed the pass would come.
Sure enough.
With the defender close against him, Shirasawa suddenly sent the ball behind his back.
The basketball flew straight toward the left three-point line!
The paths of ball and player were like two intersecting lines, heading precisely toward the same point.
Mitsui caught the ball, turned, jumped, and released in one fluid motion.
But just then.
Mitsui's pupils contracted.
Tetsuya Naito was charging straight at him! He looked like a crazed bison.
He charged faster than Mitsui could rise for his shot!
Even Hisashi Mitsui tensed at the sight of that massive body bearing down on him.
That instant of disruption had already changed the feel of his release.
Mitsui's eyes flew wide.
"Rebound!"
As an elite shooter, he knew things were wrong the instant the ball left his hand.
Tetsuya Naito's momentum was simply outrageous.
To Mitsui, he seemed to be charging straight at his body.
But in the end, Naito did not hit him.
As he reached Mitsui, Naito abruptly checked his momentum.
Screech!
His soles scraped against the floor with an ear-piercing sound.
Their feet were almost touching.
Naito forcibly twisted back around just like that!
Pushing off again, he charged straight toward the basket!
Even without Mitsui's shout, Akagi and Sakuragi had already established position beneath the basket, ready to fight for the rebound.
Clang!
Just as Mitsui had expected, the basketball bounced off the rim.
Hanamichi Sakuragi grinned.
Another chance to shine!
This was the Shohoku Five Tigers' first missed shot since they had come on with five minutes left in the first half.
Sakuragi and Akagi had already secured the most favorable positions under the basket.
Kengo Murasame and Kawasaki could not squeeze their way in at all.
Judging the ball's trajectory, the two jumped together.
Tetsuya Naito arrived.
He planted his foot hard and launched himself into the air!
A dull collision sounded.
Like a train unable to stop, Naito smashed straight through the gap between Sakuragi and Akagi.
Both lost their balance in midair.
After landing, Sakuragi staggered a few steps but managed to steady himself.
Takenori Akagi's massive body could not stop its momentum, however, and he toppled sideways the moment his feet touched the floor.
With a crash, he fell straight onto the court.
Tetsuya Naito grabbed the rebound, and when he landed, he still had not absorbed all the force, squeezing the ball in his hands out of shape.
"Holy shit! That musclehead knocked Gorilla over?!"
"That's terrifying. I'd end up in the hospital if I took a hit like that..."
"Who is this guy? How can a high schooler have a body like that?"
Even the spectators dozens of meters away felt the impact.
Haruko Akagi held a hand to her chest, watching the court anxiously.
Her brother, who was like King Kong, had never been knocked down before.
And with Akagi's weight, a fall like that would only hurt him more than an ordinary person.
"Big brother..." Haruko murmured.
Yohei and the others beside her were not quite so worried, but their faces were full of shock.
One guy knocked both Sakuragi and Gorilla aside at once?
Was he even human?
The referee's whistle blew.
He called Tetsuya Naito for a charging foul.
The flesh on Naito's face twitched as he glared fiercely at the referee.
"How did I foul them? They're just too weak!"
The referee recoiled a step in fright.
Naito sighed and reluctantly raised his hand.
Shirasawa and the others came over to help Takenori Akagi up.
Akagi shook his dazed head. "I'm fine."
"That number nine is really strong. All of you, be careful."
They nodded. That plainly visible impact was certainly no joke.
Shirasawa, however, gave a meaningful smile.
"Don't worry too much. He's just a reckless hothead."
With that, he turned away to prepare for the next possession.
Meanwhile, Hanamichi Sakuragi was still standing where he was, glaring at Tetsuya Naito through gritted teeth.
He had never lost out in strength before, and he refused to accept it.
Tetsuya Naito met his gaze and shook his head disdainfully.
"You're too weak. I wasn't even trying."
Sakuragi's eyes widened, and he was about to retort when Akagi's big hand landed on his back.
"We're inbounding. Focus on the game!"
Sakuragi shot Naito a murderous look before following Akagi away from the basket.
Mitsui inbounded from the sideline.
The ball went to Shirasawa.
Shirasawa continued to toy with Kazuo Araki, beating him easily.
For one thing, Kazuo Araki was afraid of embarrassing himself again.
For another, he really could not stop him...
Shirasawa beat him a different way every time.
This game could practically be edited into a dribbling highlight reel.
Shirasawa continued driving inside.
Facing two defenders coming over from either side, this time he did not pass to his better-positioned teammates.
Instead, he charged straight at them!
Between the two, he swept the ball behind his back and through the legs, then darted forward, slipping through successfully.
Just then.
Tetsuya Naito lowered his bald head and charged forward heedlessly!
Seeing this, Shirasawa stepped forward and calmly jumped.
He was not moving fast or jumping high, as though waiting for that rampaging bull...
Tetsuya Naito flashed a vicious grin and launched his whole body toward Shirasawa.
An instant before they collided, Shirasawa flicked his wrist and released a floater.
The whistle sounded at the same time.
The ball sank cleanly through the net.
Shirasawa had been prepared. The collision was entirely expected, and he had chosen a floater precisely to maintain his balance.
He twisted sideways as he landed and stood firm.
Tetsuya Naito, however, could not stop his momentum at all, charging another two or three meters after landing and nearly taking out the referee...
The basket counted, and one!
Mitsui immediately ran over, afraid the collision had hurt Shirasawa.
Shirasawa gave a calm smile, looking completely at ease.
"Against someone who charges around like that, you just have to control the tempo."
Mitsui paused slightly at his words.
Now Mitsui understood completely. If he had shot decisively earlier, he would have had a three-pointer and a free throw, exactly like Shirasawa's play!
But on second thought, he did not have Shirasawa's physique. If he really took that hit, he would probably have ended up on the floor.
Control the tempo...
Mitsui's eyes lit up, and he nodded as though something had clicked.
Shirasawa stepped up to the free-throw line, flicked his wrist, and sank the extra shot cleanly.
Miuradai began its first offensive possession of the second half.
Tetsuya Naito had played less than a minute and already had two fouls, leaving him furious.
He held out his hand for the ball right in the backcourt. Once he caught it, he widened his eyes, lowered his head, and charged toward the frontcourt!
With his bald head slightly lowered, he looked just like a locomotive running at full power, paying no attention to anything around him as he charged blindly ahead.
Ryota Miyagi wanted to go for a steal, but he could find no opening at all, only feeling a gust of wind barrel past him.
Of course, you could also establish position ahead of time and draw an offensive foul.
But the price might well be that he picked up a foul while you went straight to the bench for a rest...
Seeing Naito's unstoppable advance, Takenori Akagi tensed every muscle and took a heavy step forward, ready to hold this final line of defense.
Just then.
Shirasawa suddenly flashed out from diagonally behind him, timed it perfectly, and stripped the ball away in one swipe!
Steady, precise, ruthless!
Naito seemed completely oblivious, still charging forward on momentum.
At that moment, quite a few experienced players saw what was going on.
Good grief, this guy didn't use his brain at all when he played!
After making the steal, Shirasawa immediately launched a long pass.
The basketball traced an arc over the heads of several Miuradai players, landing precisely in the paint.
Ryota Miyagi arrived with the ball and made an easy layup for another two points!
"Why are you charging blindly with your head down?! How many times have I told you?!" Kengo Murasame roared furiously from the sidelines.
That habit of charging with his head down was something Naito had picked up playing American football.
With his overwhelming strength and speed, he had no need to change direction. He could just lower his head, grit his teeth, and knock his opponents over to score a touchdown.
But the rules on a basketball court were different.
Nobody would stand there foolishly and meet him head-on, and running into someone could easily earn him a foul.
Murasame had reminded Naito about this plenty of times, telling him to learn to control his body.
But clearly, Naito was already getting carried away.
How could he think about all that now? In his eyes, there was no real difference between the basket and the goal line anymore.
He nodded perfunctorily, both fists clenched tight.
He wanted to devour Shirasawa alive!
In the stands, Moichi Taoka gave a knowing smile.
"Shirasawa has completely exposed Miuradai's trump card. From this point on, the game will be played entirely at Shohoku's pace."
Beside him, Hikoichi Aida looked puzzled as he listened.
"Coach, do you mean Miuradai's number nine? He just knocked even Captain Akagi aside! I think he's a huge threat to Shohoku."
Moichi Taoka gave a soft snort. "A threat? Heh... he's not even as good as that Saku..."
Halfway through his sentence, Moichi Taoka suddenly felt his rear end clench...
He promptly swallowed the rest of his sentence.
"Ahem... Sendoh, if it were you, you should be able to see through this guy pretty quickly too."
But it was Hikoichi Aida who answered him.
"Coach, are you looking for Sendoh? He went out during the first half."
"Oh, right, Kaede Rukawa left at some point too."
Taoka looked back. Sure enough, Sendoh's seat was empty, with only that sketchbook left behind, suggesting he would probably be back...
As for Kaede Rukawa's seat, it had long since been completely empty.