Chapter Summaries

Shohoku returned to Kanagawa as national champions, and the team received new attention, opportunities, and acclaim. At the gym, Akagi, Kogure, and Mitsui declined to play in the Winter Selection Tournament, leaving Shohoku facing the end of its championship lineup.

• Shirasawa, Sanae, and Yayoi celebrated Shohoku's victory together at the hotel, and Sanae and Yayoi grew much closer afterward.
• Shohoku returned to school with the championship trophy, while Akagi's family celebrated his title and learned that the team might be invited to an international tournament.
• After Shohoku's championship drew national attention, Sakuragi rose to tenth in the player rankings and Shirasawa became the country's top-ranked high school player.
• Shohoku gathered to decide whether its third-years would play in the Winter Selection Tournament, and Akagi, Kogure, and Mitsui each declined.

Takenori Akagi named Ryota Miyagi Shohoku’s next captain, and Coach Anzai announced that Shohoku would compete in the Four Nations Youth Invitational Tournament. Meanwhile, Goro Domoto reconsidered Eiji Sawakita’s plans to go abroad, and the chapter ended as Shohoku learned about its formidable international opponents.

• Takenori Akagi appointed Ryota Miyagi captain and told Hanamichi Sakuragi he could earn the role later by protecting Shohoku’s paint.
• Coach Anzai announced that Shohoku would play in the Four Nations Youth Invitational Tournament beginning May 3.
• Goro Domoto learned Sannoh would not be invited, then decided to ask Eiji Sawakita to stay and help rebuild the team.
• Eiji Sawakita said he wanted to challenge Shirasawa one-on-one before deciding whether to go abroad, and Domoto agreed to accompany him to Shohoku.
• News of Shohoku’s invitation spread nationwide, and Ayako briefed the team on Kimchi Country and the powerful Chariot Country roster.
• Ayako presented information on Shohoku’s final opponent, Lighthouse Country.

Shohoku studied the powerful Lighthouse Country team ahead of the Four Nations Invitational, while Eiji Sawakita visited Shirasawa and challenged him to play. At the private court, Sawakita began a best-of-three one-on-one match with Shirasawa, and the first game was tied 2-2.

• Ayako briefed Shohoku on the three foreign teams, including Lighthouse Country’s star Alex and dominant center Robinson.
• Goro Domoto and Eiji Sawakita arrived at Shohoku, where Sawakita challenged Shirasawa to a one-on-one match after practice.
• Shirasawa took Sawakita to the agency’s private gym, where Sendoh, Rukawa, Michael Okita, and others had gathered.
• Shirasawa asked Michael to assess Sawakita’s readiness for Lighthouse Country, and Michael said Shirasawa would soon rank among that league’s best.
• Sawakita chose to challenge Shirasawa in a best-of-three match to 11 points, and the first game began with Sawakita scoring before Shirasawa tied it at 2-2.

After defeating Eiji Sawakita in one-on-one, Shirasawa persuaded him to postpone going to Lighthouse Country and join his team for a year; Akira Sendoh joined as well. The chapter ended with Shohoku opening the Four Nations Youth Invitational against Changwon High School.

• Shirasawa beat Sawakita in their second one-on-one game, and Sawakita accepted that he needed to improve before pursuing a career in Lighthouse Country.
• Sawakita joined Shirasawa's group after playing Michael, Kenji Fujima, Kaede Rukawa, and Akira Sendoh, then agreed to take a leave of absence and train near Base Camp.
• Sawakita and Sendoh both joined Shirasawa's team, which also included Rukawa and Hanamichi Sakuragi.
• Shohoku finished its week of intensive training and opened the Four Nations Youth Invitational against Changwon High School in front of a packed crowd.
• Ryota Miyagi led Shohoku's opening chant as the tournament's first game began.

Shohoku crushed Changwon in its first game of the four-country tournament, with Shirasawa shutting down Park Shuo-qi and the starters building a huge lead before the reserves finished the match. After Shohoku won by 39 points, the team stayed to watch Chariot Country face Lighthouse Country, where Sakuragi spotted a player he thought looked like a gorilla.

• Akagi won the opening tip, and Shirasawa set up Sakuragi for an alley-oop before Sakuragi was taken out to rest his injury.
• Miyagi and the Shohoku defense sparked fast breaks while Shirasawa held Park Shuo-qi scoreless and later drew a blocking foul while dunking over him.
• Shohoku led Changwon 58-16 fifteen minutes into the first half and held a 51-point advantage at halftime.
• Coach Anzai substituted Shohoku's starters early in the second half, Changwon replaced its starters as well, and Shohoku won by 39 points.
• Shohoku stayed to watch Chariot Country play Lighthouse Country, and Sakuragi called Lighthouse Country's number eighteen the king of gorillas.

Shohoku watched Chariot Country and Lighthouse Country's Cheetah Team begin their game, sizing up the towering Hoffmann and explosive Alex as future opponents. Hoffmann revealed that he could score from both mid-range and beyond the three-point line, leaving Sakuragi irritated by the resemblance to Masashi Kawata.

• Yasuda and the Shohoku players were stunned by Chariot Country's height, especially the 215-centimeter Hoffmann, whom Kogure identified as a challenge for their next game.
• Akagi hoped Sakuragi would rise to the challenge against Hoffmann, while Sakuragi focused on Robinson and joked that he looked too much like an ape to play basketball.
• Robinson won the opening tip, and Alex raced downcourt to score a powerful one-handed dunk for the Cheetah Team.
• Chariot Country slowed the game and fed Hoffmann, who created space for a mid-range turnaround jumper and made it.
• Alex answered with a three-pointer, and Hoffmann then hit a three of his own, shocking the Shohoku spectators.
• Sakuragi compared Hoffmann to Masashi Kawata, complained about an inside player shooting threes, and asked Akagi, "Right, Gorilla?"

The Cheetah Team overwhelmed the Chariot Team after Robinson shut down Hoffmann, while Alex dominated on offense. As the Cheetah stars discussed Shohoku, Alex reminded Robinson of a powerful player they had met the previous year who had claimed to be from Shohoku.

• Alex scored 26 points and Hoffmann scored 23 as the Cheetah Team led the Chariot Team 51-45 at halftime.
• Shirasawa told Sakuragi to study Robinson’s defense, and Robinson began guarding Hoffmann closely in the second half.
• Robinson blocked Alex’s shot and dunked, then held Hoffmann to one basket in four attempts as the Cheetah Team built a commanding lead.
• The Cheetah Team removed Alex and Robinson with the score at 85-59, and the Chariot Team conceded by sending in a reserve.
• Hoffmann struggled with the loss as his coach reassured him, while Alex and Robinson rested on the bench.
• Robinson dismissed Shohoku’s players, but Alex recalled a powerful player they had met the previous year who had said he came from Shohoku.

Alex and Robinson suspected Shohoku’s Shirasawa played street basketball, while Alex remembered meeting and losing to Sota Miyagi on an outdoor court years earlier. After Cheetah’s opening win in the Four Nations Tournament, Alex planned to search Cherry Blossom Country for Sota, leaving Shohoku and Cheetah tied atop the standings.

• Alex and Robinson noticed that no photos or league records existed for Shohoku’s Shirasawa and guessed he played street basketball.
• A year earlier, Alex and Robinson faced Sota Miyagi on an outdoor court, where Sota led his team back into the game before an opponent collided with him and injured his ankle.
• Alex learned Sota’s name and that he came from Cherry Blossom Country, and he never forgot his wish to defeat him.
• When Alex found no Sota Miyagi in Cherry Blossom Country’s high school basketball scene, he decided to search the country’s street courts instead of focusing solely on the tournament.
• Cheetah defeated Chariot Country, leaving Cheetah and Shohoku tied with one point each before the second round.

Ryota Miyagi refused to give up his number 7 jersey and remembered how it connected him to his older brother, Sota Miyagi, a celebrated basketball prodigy. The chapter ended by recounting Sota’s extraordinary first year in junior high, while revealing that Kuwata and Alex were also connected to his legacy.

• Shohoku captain Ryota Miyagi told Kuwata he would keep wearing number 7, despite Kuwata hoping to claim it because he admired the player who had worn it.
• Miyagi took off his worn wristband and recalled that his older brother had worn number 7 and taught him to play basketball.
• Miyagi remembered that Sota Miyagi had dreamed of defeating Sannoh Industrial High School and reflected that he had already accomplished that feat.
• The narration revealed that Kuwata’s admired number 7 and the person Alex had been seeking were both Sota Miyagi.
• The chapter recounted how Sota Miyagi led his team to a junior high championship as a first-year and became the league’s first first-year MVP.

Ryota Miyagi remembered his missing older brother, Sota, and resolved to give up the number 7 jersey as Shohoku prepared to face Chariot Country. As the team rested before the game, Ryota struggled with the pressure of captaining Shohoku and felt an unexplained unease.

• Goro Domoto recalled how Sota Miyagi had once vowed to defeat Sannoh all by himself and how Sota later vanished in a maritime accident.
• Ryota Miyagi remembered his close bond with Sota, the years he spent trying to follow his brother in basketball, and why he left Okinawa for Shohoku.
• Ryota closed his locker and decided to give up number 7, bringing Sota's legend to a close.
• Spectators gathered to watch Shohoku face Chariot Country, whose full-strength champion team had recently lost to the Cheetah Team.
• Takenori Akagi teased Hanamichi Sakuragi, who boasted about his national ranking before Akagi pulled him into a headlock.
• Yasuharu Yasuda told Shohoku to rest before entering the game, while captain Ryota felt waves of unease.

Before Shohoku’s game against Sannoh Industrial High School, Moichi Taoka noticed a stranger whose appearance brought back memories of Sota Miyagi’s early rise and the recruiting battle around him. Shohoku and Sannoh took the court amid deafening cheers, with Shohoku’s five players ready to show how much they had grown.

• Shohoku fans filled the arena, and Moichi Taoka told Hikoichi Aida that Shohoku had a sixty percent chance of winning.
• Hikoichi noticed a stranger who looked like a basketball player, and Taoka became distracted after seeing him.
• Taoka remembered spotting Sota Miyagi as a child, the coaches who later tried to recruit him, and his sudden disappearance.
• Shohoku and Sannoh Industrial High School emerged to a roaring crowd as Kiminobu Kogure and his teammates expressed confidence in Shohoku.
• The chapter described how Shirasawa, Ryota Miyagi, Hisashi Mitsui, Hanamichi Sakuragi, and Takenori Akagi had developed into a powerful team.

Shohoku faced Chariot Country despite a major height disadvantage, but Shirasawa opened the game by stealing the ball and scoring through contact. His dominant three-point play left the crowd confident and convinced Wagner that Shirasawa was as dangerous as Alex.

• Akagi and Sakuragi lined up against much taller opponents, and Akagi told Sakuragi to hold his position for the opening tip.
• Brad beat Akagi to the jump ball, giving Chariot Country possession as Shohoku fell back on defense.
• Shirasawa charged forward, stole the ball, and raced past the defense while Wagner struggled to keep up.
• Wagner fouled Shirasawa after failing to stop him, but Shirasawa finished the layup for a three-point play.
• Wagner warned Hoffmann that Chariot Country had to keep a close eye on Shirasawa or face the consequences.

Shohoku opened against Chariot Country with Shirasawa scoring first, but Hoffmann answered with a three-pointer and repeatedly scored over Sakuragi. As Shohoku struggled to adjust to Chariot Country’s speed and size, Akagi urged Sakuragi to study Robinson’s defense and stop jumping at every shot.

• Shirasawa made his opening free throw, giving Shohoku a 3-0 lead, and Miyagi praised him.
• Wagner passed to Hoffmann, who shot over Sakuragi’s defense and scored Chariot Country’s first three-pointer.
• Akagi scolded Sakuragi for talking at Hoffmann instead of focusing, while Uozumi reassured Hikoichi that Sakuragi could close the gap.
• Chariot Country’s speed and defensive reach troubled Shohoku, while Shirasawa and Hoffmann traded baskets.
• Kogure and Yasuda worried that Hoffmann’s shooting style prevented Sakuragi from using his strength in physical battles.
• Akagi told Sakuragi to judge Hoffmann’s shots before jumping and to remember Robinson’s defense against him.

Shohoku struggled against Chariot as Sakuragi failed to contain Hoffmann, while Taoka recognized a spectator as the long-missing Sota Miyagi, Ryota’s older brother. Sota revealed that he had survived a shipwreck, lost his memory, and spent years playing basketball around the world; he agreed to talk with Taoka after the game.

• Sakuragi continued trying to stop Hoffmann, while Shohoku trailed Chariot 25–27 twelve minutes into the first half.
• Aida, Uozumi, and Taoka spoke with a stranger who asked about Shohoku’s number seven, Ryota Miyagi.
• Taoka tested the stranger by naming Ryota Miyagi, and the man reacted strongly before saying his surname was Miyagi.
• Taoka identified the man as Sota Miyagi, and Uozumi recalled Taoka’s long-standing regret over failing to recruit him for Ryonan.
• Sota said he had lived abroad and could barely remember his past, then asked Taoka to talk after the game.
• Sota’s history revealed that he survived a shipwreck, was rescued by a wealthy traveler, and spent years playing pickup basketball around the world.

Sota Miyagi reunited with his past when he met his younger brother Ryota and learned from Moichi Taoka how highly his old basketball talent had been regarded. As Shohoku narrowly led Chariot Country late in the first half, Hanamichi Sakuragi dominated the rebounds and made his boast about dominating the whole world seem possible.

• Sota Miyagi told Moichi Taoka that he had amnesia and had returned to Japan, and Taoka promised to talk with him after the game.
• Uozumi and Hikoichi Aida learned about Sota’s history, and Taoka said Sota had once been talented enough to compete at the high school level.
• Hikoichi asked Sota about basketball and returned saying Sota believed he was now stronger than he had been before.
• Shohoku rallied behind Shirasawa and held a 51–50 lead over Chariot Country with the first half nearing its end.
• Hanamichi Sakuragi repeatedly outmaneuvered Chariot’s tall players to grab rebounds, while Shirasawa, Mitsui, and Akagi also helped keep Shohoku competitive.

Shohoku carried a narrow lead into the final minute of the first half as Shirasawa dominated and Sakuragi’s defense helped turn the game. Akagi and Sakuragi extended the lead with a fast-break dunk, and Miyagi ended Chariot’s last possession by stealing the ball.

• Shirasawa scored 35 points and added seven assists in the first half, while Wagner managed only two points and two assists against him.
• Sakuragi pressured Hoffmann into a rushed miss, and Akagi secured the rebound before throwing the ball ahead to Sakuragi for a fast-break dunk.
• Hoffmann acknowledged Sakuragi’s stamina and ability as Sakuragi returned to defend Chariot’s final possession.
• With Chariot trying to get the ball to Brad near the basket, Miyagi slipped between Brad and Akagi, knocked the ball loose, and dove to secure the steal.

Ryota Miyagi’s fast break was stopped by Hoffmann, but Shirasawa grabbed the rebound and dunked on him, giving Shohoku a dramatic three-point play. Shohoku ended the first half leading the Chariot Team 59-54, while Moichi Taoka began planning to recruit Sota Miyagi.

• Ryota Miyagi raced past two defenders, but Hoffmann blocked his layup and sent the ball bouncing away.
• Shirasawa collected the rebound and dunked over Hoffmann, drawing a defensive foul and earning a free throw.
• Ryota Miyagi and Shirasawa high-fived as Shirasawa celebrated dunking on the Chariot Team’s ace.
• Sota Miyagi watched Shirasawa’s play and wanted to face him, while Moichi Taoka saw an opportunity to recruit Sota to Ryonan.
• Shohoku’s defense forced the Chariot Team into a missed final shot, and the first half ended with Shohoku ahead 59-54.

Shohoku returned from halftime with renewed confidence while Chariot’s coach restored Hoffmann and Wagner’s composure, and the second half began with Akagi and Brad facing off at tip-off. Watching from the sidelines, Alex became determined to face Shirasawa in the next round, while accepting that he might never find Miyagi.

• During halftime, Chariot’s head coach rallied Hoffmann and Wagner, and both teams returned to the court ready for the second half.
• Akagi and Brad contested the opening jump ball as the second half began.
• Robinson and the Cheetah Team watched Shohoku lead Chariot, then went onto the court to warm up for their upcoming game against Changwon.
• Alex praised Shirasawa and resolved to face him in the next round, hoping Shohoku would win and reach the championship fight.
• Alex reflected on his draft plans and recognized that Robinson’s contributions had helped him win his high school championship.
• Alex concluded that Miyagi had likely used a false name and might remain impossible to find.

Shohoku’s coordinated offense, led by Shirasawa and Mitsui’s scoring, stretched its lead over Chariot to double digits. Chariot rallied after a timeout, and the chapter ended with Akagi and Brad contesting a rebound after Sakuragi forced Hoffmann into another missed shot.

• Shirasawa orchestrated Shohoku’s offense, and Mitsui scored repeatedly as Chariot struggled to cover the team.
• Mitsui hit another three off a Shirasawa pass, putting Shohoku ahead 77–66 and scoring fourteen points in the second half.
• Chariot’s coach called a timeout and berated his players after Shohoku opened an eleven-point lead.
• Chariot returned from the timeout with greater intensity, while Mitsui and Ryota Miyagi focused more on defense.
• Sakuragi’s intimidating defense unsettled Hoffmann, who missed his shot, and Akagi and Brad jumped to contest the rebound.

Hanamichi Sakuragi encouraged Takenori Akagi as Shohoku battled Chariot, while Shirasawa broke Chariot’s defense and helped Shohoku build an 89-77 lead with five minutes left. In the stands, Fukazawa’s Shota Sugiyama and Kazuo Karasawa assumed Akagi would join them, but other strong universities had begun pursuing him too.

• After Brad scored over Takenori Akagi, Hanamichi Sakuragi encouraged Akagi to fight back, lifting his spirits.
• Chariot switched to a defense focused on containing Shirasawa, but he countered with a deep step-back three-pointer.
• Shirasawa continued drawing defenders and setting up his teammates, and Akagi scored to put Shohoku ahead 89-77.
• Chariot’s offense faltered under pressure as Sakuragi defended Hoffmann for three possessions and Brad was called for a foul.
• Shota Sugiyama told Kazuo Karasawa that Fukazawa had to recruit Akagi, believing he would choose them, while other strong teams also showed interest in Akagi.