Originally, he had planned to use Sendoh as "bait."
After all, everyone had seen Sendoh's performance that year. It was every bit as impressive as Kaede Rukawa's dominant play in junior high.
Taoka knew that Rukawa was more obsessed with facing strong opponents than with teamwork.
So he had intended to entice Rukawa with the prospect of "challenging Sendoh."
But just yesterday, he had unexpectedly learned that Shirasawa had joined Shohoku.
Remembering the junior high final, Taoka immediately came up with an even better idea.
"Revenge."
In those final fifty seconds, Shirasawa's defensive stop and pass had thwarted Rukawa, who had almost single-handedly turned the game around.
With Rukawa's personality, how could he possibly not want to win it back?
Sure enough, when Rukawa heard where Shirasawa was going, his eyes immediately changed.
After a moment of silence, a sharp intensity faintly emanated from him.
"I'll join Ryonan," Rukawa said.
Moichi Taoka's lips curled upward in satisfaction, and he nodded.
At that moment, his eyes were full of anticipation for the future.
Over at Yokota Junior High School, the third-year graduation ceremony had just ended.
Students lingered at the school gates, reluctant to say goodbye. Shirasawa was among them this time.
But his reputation was so great that the boys hardly dared approach him.
His desk drawer, on the other hand, had been stuffed with pink envelopes.
To the boys, Shirasawa was synonymous with "not someone to mess with."
The girls didn't see it that way. That was called bad-boy charm, understand?
When you were handsome enough, no problem was really a problem.
Coach Takizawa walked Shirasawa all the way outside the gates.
Now that he was a championship-winning coach himself, even his stride had a spring to it.
"Xiao Bai," he rambled on, "when you get to Shohoku, make sure you listen to Coach Anzai. He's a renowned coach."
"And try not to cause trouble at school anymore!"
"It won't be like here. If something really happens, no one there will protect you the way we did..."
"Come back and visit when you have time. You could help the team organize its training records."
Listening to his coach's nagging, Shirasawa actually felt quite warm inside.
After leaving school, Shirasawa headed home alone.
It was that very day that he heard some rather unexpected news.
Kaede Rukawa of Tomigaoka Junior High School had actually joined Ryonan High School.
Every move a player of his caliber made attracted attention.
Shirasawa really hadn't expected this change.
It seemed his arrival had indeed caused some deviations in this world.
It was most likely because of that final.
That old fox Moichi Taoka really knew how to seize an opportunity.
With this, Ryonan's strength on paper was quite frightening.
Uozumi, Sendoh, and Kaede Rukawa-with those three together, their explosive scoring ability alone was probably already national-class.
Besides, Ryonan would later gain Kiccho Fukuda as well.
He might not look like much, but his scoring ability was anything but weak.
Things had just become even more interesting.
Shirasawa thought he needed to hurry up and get Shohoku's lineup properly integrated, too.
That would prevent any more unforeseen complications.
The "Alley-Oop City" plan had to get underway as soon as possible. Otherwise, he couldn't farm assists or improve his own abilities quickly.
As he pondered this, Shirasawa looked up and suddenly realized he had taken the wrong road.
He glanced around. He couldn't find a street sign, but he did see several people furtively crouching beside a wall, pulling at something.
There was a short, chubby guy, a guy with curly blond hair, and two ordinary boys with their hair slicked back.
Shirasawa narrowed his eyes for a look and was amused. Isn't that the Sakuragi Gang!
He quietly approached the corner and peeked around it. Sure enough, he spotted Hanamichi Sakuragi's red hair. Sakuragi was hunched over, his whole face flushed even brighter than his hair. A girl in a school uniform stood opposite him, her head lowered as her fingers twisted the hem of her clothes.
After a few seconds of silence, Sakuragi finally scratched the back of his head and stammered:
"Um... Yoko..."
"Well, we've graduated now, and we might not see each other anymore..."
"So... how about we try going out?"
Yoko lowered her head even farther, pressing her lips tightly together.
"Sakuragi..."
Seeing her reaction, Sakuragi immediately grew anxious.
"Yoko, I'm serious!"
"I really like you!"
Yoko took a deep breath and finally raised her head.
"I'm sorry, Sakuragi... I like Oda from the basketball club."
With that, she turned and ran, her uniform skirt tracing an arc through the air.
A gust of wind stirred Sakuragi's red hair, making him look rather forlorn.
Just then, the four guys at the corner darted out!
Shirasawa stared. Like a magic trick, they actually produced little horns, streamers, and a bottle of champagne!
"Congratulations, Sakuragi! A perfect finish to your junior high career!"
"Toot, toot, toot! Number fifty! An epic Wako Junior High School record that no one will ever surpass!"
With a pop, the champagne cork flew into the sky.
Shirasawa watched in amazement. Seriously, they even carry that stuff around?
"We've got to drink our fill tonight, Sakuragi!"
They crowded around Sakuragi, laughing and joking, deliberately rubbing salt into his wound.
Sakuragi was so furious his hair practically stood on end. He grabbed the short, chubby Nozomi Takamiya and aimed his forehead at the other boy's, about to deliver a headbutt-
"Wait."
Yohei Mito reached out and held Sakuragi's head in place.
"Never mind us," he said, turning his head. "There's someone else over there enjoying the show."
Several pairs of eyes shot toward the corner.
The blond Yuji Ohkusu strolled forward a couple of steps and gave Shirasawa a sidelong look.
"Hey, what are you looking at?"
Shirasawa said nothing. He simply watched Hanamichi Sakuragi with a smile.
He had just been thinking about Shohoku's lineup, and now he had run into the very person he needed. This was a future starter. Since they had crossed paths, he might as well settle things now before complications arose.
Sakuragi was still furious. The moment he saw Shirasawa, he redirected his anger, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to charge.
But Yohei Mito grabbed him.
"Sakuragi, this guy's no pushover."
Yohei studied Shirasawa, his tone cautious.
"Right? Shirasawa from Yokota Junior High School."
Kanagawa had plenty of delinquents, but only a few had big reputations. The Sakuragi Gang from Wako Junior High School and Shirasawa from Yokota Junior High School were among the top ones. Though they had never met, they had long been familiar with each other's names.
Shirasawa was still wearing his Yokota uniform. Combined with his bearing, that left Yohei fairly certain.
Shirasawa smiled without denying it.
"That's me."
"You're the Wako Five?"
Takamiya and the others immediately tensed. Yohei was right. This guy was trouble-in his most famous fight, he had single-handedly beaten all seven people who had ganged up on him. Without Sakuragi, they really weren't confident they could handle him.
Yohei Mito nodded.
"Looking for trouble? Then you've picked the wrong people."
He glanced at the furious Sakuragi and added:
"And the wrong time."
Sakuragi's clenched fists cracked.
"I don't care what your name is! You dare laugh at me? I'll beat you flat right now! Let go, Yohei!"
Yohei Mito still held him back. He wasn't afraid of fighting, but Sakuragi was in a rage right now. If those two fought, they were bound to cause a huge commotion. People were passing by on the street, and attracting the police would be trouble.
"Sakuragi, wait."
"If you're going to fight, don't do it here."
The smile never faded from Shirasawa's face.
This unexpected encounter had come at just the right time. He would win Sakuragi over the most direct way-fighting was his old trade.
The original owner of his body had already been Sakuragi's equal in a fight. With the system's physical optimization, plus all the ability points from the last game invested in athleticism, his violence rating now... had undergone a qualitative leap.
"You guessed right. I really am here to cause trouble," Shirasawa said unhurriedly. "But it has nothing to do with the rest of you. I'm only here for Hanamichi Sakuragi."
Those words were like pouring a ladle of oil onto a fire.
Sakuragi's rage instantly went off the charts. "You bastard! That's just what I wanted! I'll beat you flat!"
A few minutes later, they turned into a secluded alley.
The moment Yohei Mito and the others, who had been restraining Sakuragi, loosened their grip, Sakuragi tore free, sending three of them stumbling.
"Come on! I've been waiting long enough!"
Shirasawa loosened his neck, looking casual. "Since this is a one-on-one fight, it'd be boring without some stakes. Winning and losing should mean something, right?" He paused. "How about this? Whoever loses follows the other guy from now on. Well? Do you dare?"
Yohei Mito frowned at that.
So that was what Shirasawa was after. But Yokota's Shirasawa had always been a loner. Yohei had never heard of him forming a gang... Was he trying to gather some people because he was about to enter high school?
But Sakuragi had no interest in any of those twists and turns.
He didn't believe he could lose in the first place, and right now, his head was filled with nothing but anger. "Quit talking! Let's go!"
Before his words had even faded, Sakuragi charged!
Dull sounds of impact immediately rang through the alley.
Thud! Thud! Bam!
Yohei Mito and the others stared wide-eyed. They had never seen anyone fight Sakuragi like this. Even in his furious state, Sakuragi... actually seemed to be losing?
Was Yokota's Shirasawa really that strong?
Shirasawa drove a fist into Sakuragi's stomach.
Sakuragi staggered back two steps, hit the wall, and slid down to sit on the ground. Disbelief covered his face. His arms trembled slightly as he braced them against the ground, but he couldn't muster any strength.
This was the first time anyone had beaten him like this.
However unwilling he was to accept it, his body simply had no strength left to stand.
Yohei Mito and the others were stunned, too. Shirasawa's fighting ability was downright terrifying. Looking at him standing there now, it would be no exaggeration to say he could knock down another full-health Sakuragi.
"Sakuragi!"
Seeing that Sakuragi was essentially unable to fight anymore, Yohei and the others hurried over. Yohei Mito stood in front of Sakuragi. Although he knew he was no match for Shirasawa, if Shirasawa still wanted to fight, he would absolutely oblige.
That loyalty made Shirasawa raise an eyebrow.
He stepped back, signaling that it ended there.
Sakuragi sat on the ground, staring blankly and shaking his head as he muttered, "Impossible... This is impossible! It has to be an illusion!"
Shirasawa brushed the dust off his clothes. "Sakuragi, you lost. As agreed, you follow me from now on." He paused. "Of course, if you won't accept it, we can fight again anytime."
Sakuragi was still trapped in his own world and couldn't hear a thing.
Yohei Mito gave him a troubled look. At this point, the outcome would probably be difficult to change, but he had to find out what Shirasawa intended first.
"Shirasawa, what exactly do you want? Why are you trying to recruit us?"
Shirasawa shook his head helplessly, revealing two rows of white teeth in a harmless smile. "Fighting is just a delinquent's way of doing things. If I said I just wanted to be friends with you guys, would you believe me?"