Joy was impossible to hide on Takenori Akagi's dark face. This was the first time the basketball team had received such attention and cheers at school. From now on, the Shohoku Basketball Team would no longer be alone.
Kogure also held several newspapers.
Listening to the cheers around him, he unconsciously tightened his grip on the papers until his knuckles turned pale. "Akagi," he said, his voice trembling with excitement, "things really are different for us this time."
"When we conquer the nationals, we'll leave the boldest mark in Shohoku's history!"
Akagi fought down the surge in his chest and gave a snort, feigning composure. "Don't let outside distractions get to you! We've only won one game. Training has to remain our focus!"
As he spoke...
An outrageously arrogant laugh suddenly rang out.
"Hahahahaha!"
Just hearing it made Takenori Akagi's brows knot.
His fists clenched unconsciously, his knuckles cracking.
Hanamichi Sakuragi stood with his hands on his hips, his head held high.
"Are you all cheering for a genius like me?"
He shouted smugly, several pictures cut from newspapers and magazines actually stuck to his body.
"Who cares about making the papers? This genius Sakuragi's next goal is to get Shohoku on TV!"
Shirasawa was clearly the star of those pictures, yet somehow, Sakuragi could be spotted to some extent in every one.
"Then you can all stick your chests out and tell people you went to school with the genius Sakuragi! Hahahaha!"
He had even used a red pen to circle his own figure in the pictures, however blurry, afraid people might miss him.
Akagi could take no more and chose the most direct approach.
He brought down his fist and ripped off all the pictures for good measure.
"How much longer are you going to embarrass yourself, you idiot?"
He roared, veins throbbing on his forehead.
"Now! This instant! Get your ass to the gym and train! Don't even think about leaving all day!"
Just then, the students around them, especially the girls, suddenly erupted into even louder cheers.
Sakuragi and the others turned to look.
Shirasawa was walking into the school at an unhurried pace.
Hanamichi Sakuragi's face fell, and he pointed at Shirasawa with an aggrieved look.
"Gorilla, I think Xiao Bai looks way too arrogant when he walks."
"You should..."
Before he could finish, Akagi's fist struck again.
Then Akagi looked at Shirasawa, surrounded by the crowd, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"He deserves to have people crowding around him like that," he said quietly.
"Give it here! Pass to me!"
"Witness this genius's dominance under the basket!"
"Again! The king of the paint!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi grabbed four or five offensive rebounds in a row over Satoru Kakuta.
To Kakuta, Sakuragi was like a tireless spring, bouncing back and forth above his head.
He was frantic, but there was nothing he could do.
Sakuragi snatched another rebound and landed heavily.
A fierce look had already appeared on his face.
"Watch me under the..."
He was only halfway through his boast when Akagi's grim face suddenly appeared right in front of him.
"Give me the ball!"
With that, Akagi snatched the ball straight from his hands, rose up, and threw down a thunderous dunk!
The rim groaned, and Kakuta's calves went weak from the impact.
"Damn Gorilla!" Hanamichi Sakuragi ground his teeth in fury.
He lowered his head and stared at his large hands.
Why couldn't he put it in...?
He was so close to the basket, yet his hands simply had no accuracy. It was as though someone had put a lid on the hoop.
Meanwhile, over on the other side, Hisashi Mitsui could sink shot after shot from miles away.
A genius wasn't supposed to have weaknesses...
Sakuragi let out a rare sigh, feeling a little down.
"If this keeps up... Yoko's going to be disappointed in me."
That was right. The person on his mind was his old classmate and dream girl-Yoko Shimamura.
Ever since they parted at Takezono, he had heard nothing from Yoko.
Sakuragi himself had plunged headfirst into basketball, even seeing Nozomi Takamiya and the others less often.
That lasted until the prefectural tournament began and Shohoku won its first game.
According to Yohei Mito, they had glimpsed a girl while leaving whose profile looked just like Yoko's.
Checking out pretty girls was one of Yohei and the others' "missions" when they went to games, so naturally, they paid closer attention to the girls.
Although he hadn't seen her face clearly from the front, judging by her figure and profile, Yohei thought it was almost certainly Yoko.
When Sakuragi heard, he nearly leaped into the sky with joy.
Takezono had played yesterday too!
Yet Yoko had appeared beside Shohoku's court. Even someone as straightforward as Sakuragi could read something into that.
Yoko must have come to watch him!
Surely she couldn't have come to watch Miuradai, which she had nothing to do with.
Besides, Yoko had stayed until the game ended, and he had fought until the very last moment himself.
The more Sakuragi thought about it, the more certain he became.
That was why he had been putting extra effort into training these past two days.
If there was a first time, there would be a second. Sakuragi had a feeling Yoko would come to the next game too!
Then he had to show her his coolest side!
But... this damn ball just wouldn't fucking go in...
As his thoughts wandered, a basketball suddenly flew toward him.
It struck him square in the face.
His nose started bleeding on the spot.
"You idiot, what are you spacing out for?"
Hisashi Mitsui shook his head helplessly. He had thrown that pass.
But he immediately sensed something was off.
Sakuragi hadn't jumped up to curse or brag about himself as he usually did.
Instead, he was staring straight at him.
That look... was there even a hint of some indescribable "eagerness" in it?
Mitsui couldn't help shuddering.
"Stop looking at me like that. It's disgusting..." he said with distaste.
Hanamichi Sakuragi seemed not to hear him.
He bounded over to Mitsui in a few strides, his face unusually serious.
"Mitchy!" He grabbed Mitsui's arm.
"Teach me how to put the ball in the basket! Please!"
Mitsui could make every shot from so far away. If he passed that skill on to him, wouldn't the title of king of the paint be his for the taking?
Mitsui curled his lip in distaste.
"I heard Xiao Bai and Akagi both taught you, and neither of them could do anything with you in the end..." He folded his arms. "Just stick to grabbing rebounds."
But Hanamichi Sakuragi shook his head vigorously, his eyes frighteningly bright.
"That's different!" He moved a few steps closer. "The genius Sakuragi's approach is to combine everyone's strengths! Yours are the only ones I'm missing now, Mitchy!"
Rubbing his hands, he added, "You went three years without touching a ball and you're still this accurate. You must have some secret trick, right? Don't be stingy. Sharing won't cost you a piece of flesh!"
That struck a chord with Mitsui.
It was true he had wasted three years, but he really hadn't lost any of his shooting touch.
Mitsui's lips curved upward, a little smug.
"It's called talent. There's no secret trick." He paused, then relented at the sight of Sakuragi's pleading expression. "Still, I can tell you about the technique."
The two walked under the basket.
Mitsui casually took a few shots, and the ball swished through the net as though it knew the way.
"Listen, Sakuragi," he said, demonstrating. "When you shoot under the basket, whether it's a shot or a layup, that final touch comes from your wrists and fingers."
"But you? You practically try to put strength into your toes too. No wonder the ball won't do what you want."
Sakuragi nodded as though he had finally understood.
He walked beneath the hoop, repeating silently to himself, Soft touch. Relax...
But the moment the ball reached his hands and he jumped, everything changed.
His hands were as stiff as a pair of iron shovels!
When Shirasawa had given him special training over the break, he had at least made three or four out of ten.
But after these actual games, Sakuragi had improved in other areas, while his hands alone seemed to have grown stiffer and stiffer.
Mitsui pressed his forehead in frustration.
Sakuragi practically existed to prove that shooting really did require talent...
"All right, all right. I've told you the secret. Practice on your own." He waved a hand and hurried away. "Remember, relax, relax, and relax some more!"
Now he finally understood exactly how Shirasawa and Akagi had felt back then.
Game day.
The second round of group matches began on schedule.
This Group C game undoubtedly drew the most attention.
Shohoku versus Jino!
Kakuno High School had always had mediocre results. The only reason it could draw so much attention this time was that its opponent was Shohoku.
Ever since the first round ended, Shohoku's popularity had soared.
If Akagi hadn't stubbornly stopped them, reporters would have barged into practice to conduct interviews.
A great many fans wanted to watch Shohoku play, and even more wanted to see for themselves just how good Shirasawa was.
Just how capable was this newcomer, who shared equal billing with Ryonan's Sendoh as one of the "Twin Hawks of Kanagawa"?
An hour before tip-off, the area outside the gym was already packed with people.
A mere group match had somehow taken on the atmosphere of a semifinal.
Two students in school uniforms stood at the entrance, one looking defiant, the other gentle and refined.
The gentler-looking one, in particular, soon prompted quiet discussion among the people nearby.
He was the second-year shooter who had recently risen to prominence at Kainan University Affiliated High School,
Soichiro Jin!
The boy beside him, with slightly tousled hair and a defiant expression, was also from Kainan.
A first-year newcomer, Nobunaga Aota.
"Are prefectural tournament games all this over the top now, Jin?" Nobunaga Aota glanced around dismissively. "I thought only our Kainan games drew crowds like this."
Jin smiled faintly.
Since Kainan had selected Aota, his ability naturally went without saying.
That was why the kid had an innate streak of arrogance too.
His level of confidence was probably no lower than that redheaded kid from Shohoku's...
Jin understood what Aota was getting at.
Ever since Shinichi Maki had arranged for the two of them to watch this game, Aota had been nursing his displeasure.
Because Shinichi Maki had specifically instructed them:
"There's a newcomer at Shohoku you must pay particular attention to."
Even without a name, Aota knew whom he meant.
Shohoku's number nine, Shirasawa, who had been making waves lately!
Ever since they arrived at the gym, talk of Shirasawa had never stopped reaching their ears.
And with the lively scene before them...
They were both first-year newcomers, yet Shirasawa was clearly receiving more attention than he was.
Some reports had even begun comparing Shirasawa with Shinichi Maki.
After just one game, his fame had shot straight into Kanagawa's top ranks.