However, as Hisashi Mitsui was leaving, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.
"It's them!" Mitsui recognized them immediately.
Not far away, two people were walking with their backs to him. One was tall and strong, about the same size as Akagi, and the other was about the same height as Mitsui, with striking light brown hair...
Mitsui was certain that these two were the same two who had been talking about him in the stairwell.
That hairstyle and hair color are definitely right, but just looking at the back, you can't tell which one is that arrogant junior.
Mitsui felt a surge of anger just thinking about those words.
Smash it!
Good heavens, it's true what they say: when the tiger's away, the monkeys reign supreme!
He absolutely had to find out who this person was.
"Hey! You two in front, stop!" Mitsui quickened his pace and shouted.
The two people turned around at the sound.
Two completely different faces were reflected in Mitsui's eyes.
One photo shows a fierce-looking man, while the other shows a fresh-faced, rather handsome young man.
Mitsui immediately understood.
That fierce-looking, tall man could never produce such a clear and cheerful voice; it's such a mismatch.
And that other face... the more I look at it, the more familiar it seems...
"Hey? Isn't that Mitsui- senpai? What a coincidence to run into him here!"
Sure enough, the junior was the one with brown hair.
But Mitsui still couldn't remember who he was.
Seeing that Mitsui didn't say anything, he smiled and moved closer, his smiling face looking innocent and radiant.
The way he said things like "I'll beat you up" just sounded out of place coming from his mouth.
" Mitsui- senpai, don't you remember me? I'm Ichiro Katsumi! Ichiro Katsumi from Takeishi Junior High!"
Ichiro Katsumi...
Hearing this name, Mitsui finally made some sense of it.
Back then, he was arrogant and wouldn't take the substitute players too seriously. At most, they were just nodding acquaintances, and only if the other player greeted him first.
But to say that after three years, he has completely forgotten his name and appearance would be an exaggeration.
In my memory, Ichiro Katsumi was a short and thin man.
This person doesn't match up at all; they even look different.
Ichiro Katsumi looked down at himself, then laughed as if suddenly realizing something, "Oh, so what Mitsui- senpai remembers is probably me from three years ago."
"I've grown almost 20 centimeters in the last three years, and... I've also become quite handsome."
"Let me reintroduce myself. Ichiro Katsumi, the top shooting guard at Ryokufu High School."
" Mitsui- senpai, please take care of me from now on."
"You! You... what did you hear?"
Ichiro Katsumi didn't seem scared at all; on the contrary, he was quite noisy.
Mitsui frowned at him. "'You can beat me to a pulp,' did you say that?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ichiro Katsumi's feigned expression vanished, replaced by a half-smile, "Yes, I admit it."
" Mitsui- senpai, I'm not the same person I used to be."
"But I'm not like that boring guy Hasegawa. My goal isn't just to beat you," he paused, his tone brimming with undisguised confidence, "I want to beat the entire Shohoku."
Mitsui was a little confused.
He had heard of Ryokufu High School, a newly established private elite school in the last two years, but his basketball team... he had never heard anyone mention it.
Moreover, the prefectural tournament has now reached the semi-finals, leaving only four teams from Kanagawa.
Defeat Shohoku?
You'll have to have that opportunity, though.
What infuriated Mitsui the most was that this guy actually admitted it so openly, admitting that he could beat him to a pulp!
Mitsui's temper flared up instantly.
"Your lousy basketball team isn't even qualified to play against Shohoku," he said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly. "But I don't mind playing with you, letting you wake up and know your own limitations!"
Ichiro Katsumi didn't back down at all, still wearing that amiable smile on his face.
"Sure, I'd be happy to oblige, Mitsui- senpai."
But the tall guy next to him suddenly reached out and grabbed him.
"No." The big man's voice was muffled. " Eri instructed us not to reveal our full strength before defeating Shohoku."
"And we have to go, we're running out of time."
Ichiro Katsumi shrugged regretfully. "Fine..."
"I only wanted to spar with Mitsui because he's also Shohoku Team." He turned to Mitsui, a hint of something else in his smile. "But business is more important, Mitsui- senpai. It seems our duel will have to wait until the official match."
The back-and-forth conversation between the two completely baffled Mitsui.
"What are you two blabbering about?" Mitsui said irritably. "All talk and no action?"
Ichiro Katsumi sighed, "It's not that I'm afraid to fight, it's that I really can't fight right now. I have something very important to do next, and maybe... it will be a big favor for Shohoku."
After saying that, he didn't wait for Mitsui's reaction and turned to leave with the big guy.
Mitsui cursed a few times behind them, but the two men didn't even turn their heads.
"Damn it," Mitsui was furious, "Are all the new recruits this arrogant these days?"
" Ichiro Katsumi, Ryokufu... I'd like to see what you've got to fight Shohoku!"
At an outdoor basketball court in Nishi Ward, Kanagawa Prefecture.
"Oh--what a pity, I didn't get to fight Mitsui- senpai." Ichiro Katsumi stretched lazily, his tone full of boredom.
The tall guy who was always by his side was his teammate at Ryokufu High School, center Mitsuaki Nadaka.
The Ryokufu Basketball Team was only established this year, and because it was established so late, it didn't even make it into the county tournament.
However, their way of forming teams is quite unique.
Ryokufu's first advantage is that it has money.
The second advantage is that they are extremely wealthy...
So they came up with a "mercenary" model, hoping to assemble the strongest team.
To put it bluntly, they specifically target the best players, showering them with money and the best training conditions to ensure they can comfortably stay at Ryokufu until graduation.
The Eri Fujisawa came from their team manager—who is also the daughter of the chairman of Ryokufu High School.
She actually knows nothing about basketball...
It's purely because the high school basketball league is popular now, and I want to form a championship team to bring some prestige to the school.
Her "mercenary" philosophy also has one rule: she doesn't recruit players from strong teams.
Because those were the opponents she had to defeat.
Only by defeating strong teams can Ryokufu's power be truly demonstrated.
Therefore, her recruitment targets were the star players of second- or third-tier teams.
They brought these isolated, powerful individuals together, hoping that the sum of its parts would be greater than the sum of its parts.
For example, Mitsuaki Nadaka.
He's a bit like a budget version of Takenori Akagi...
The team's record is terrible, and the teammates are unhelpful, but the individual players are definitely talented.
Ryokufu set its sights on him and extended an invitation with tempting terms: not only would it provide money, but it also promised to recruit top talents from all walks of life to form an invincible team.
Mitsuaki Nadaka had absolutely no reason to refuse.
Ryokufu recruited about ten players like him in total.
With the addition of newcomers like Ichiro Katsumi, the framework of the Ryokufu Basketball Team was finally established.
Speaking of newcomers, Kaede Rukawa, who has been the most popular this year, is certainly on their target list.
Unfortunately Kaede Rukawa completely ignored this.
That day, as usual, Kaede Rukawa rode his bicycle with his eyes half-closed, half-asleep...
Eri Fujisawa got out of a van and blocked his way.
But to her utter surprise, Kaede Rukawa didn't see her at all—he was asleep.
With a loud crash, the person and the car slammed into the car door.
The car being hit was no big deal to Eri Fujisawa; she took the opportunity to chatter on about recruitment.
Kaede Rukawa simply replied, "You're sick..."
He picked up his bicycle and walked away without looking back.
They neither responded to the recruitment nor mentioned the car accident...
This deeply wounded Eri Fujisawa's pride, making her even more determined to assemble this mercenary team.
We'll beat those self-important so-called "strongmen" to a pulp!
Ichiro Katsumi had mentioned wanting to play against Shohoku, which was Ryokufu's top priority this year. Shohoku was incredibly popular right now, making them the perfect stepping stone. Eri Fujisawa planned that no matter how Shohoku fared, she would still pay to arrange a match so that Ryokufu could officially gain recognition. Losing? She hadn't even considered that, after all, she had immense confidence in this mercenary team and still had a star player in hand.
Right now, Ichiro Katsumi and Mitsuaki Nadaka were waiting for their ace. The three of them had arranged to meet a player who perfectly met all of Ryokufu's requirements. Ichiro Katsumi, with his sharp eyes, called out, "He's here!"
Mitsuaki Nadaka turned his head and asked, "Who is it?"
Ichiro Katsumi pouted. "It's not the one you're hoping for..."
He sighed, his face full of disappointment. The person who came was not the one he was hoping for. Ichiro Katsumi was hoping for ace Michael Okita. Michael Okita and Eri Fujisawa had known each other since childhood. Okita came from a distinguished family; he was of mixed race, with a Westernized appearance and basketball skills. He traveled both domestically and internationally, and his basketball style was incredibly unconventional. His physique was also outstanding. This time, upon returning to Japan, Eri Fujisawa gave him a call, and he came to be the leader of Ryokufu, helping them conquer the Ryokufu. However, Michael Okita's return wasn't for money; he was drawn by the booming high school leagues of the past two years, which had produced many star players.
Ichiro Katsumi was the last to sign, and coincidentally, Michael Okita was abroad, so they hadn't met yet. He was really looking forward to it, since he found Michael Okita was also an interesting person. Today, Michael Okita officially returned to Japan, and the first thing he did was meet with Ichiro Katsumi and Mitsuaki Nadaka to recruit new members.
At that moment, their target came over: Kiccho Fukuda, a former Ryonan player. A year ago, Fukuda joined Ryonan as a rookie. His offensive skills were second only to Sendoh, but he was stubborn and had a strong sense of pride. Coach Moichi Taoka was very strict and thought Fukuda had potential, so he trained him hard and often scolded him. However, Taoka wanted to develop him, but he used the wrong method.