Chapter 346

"Senior Kakita Yishi, should Shinkan Already recruit so many new students this year? Those unfamiliar faces must all be first-years, right? Senior Kakita Yishi doesn't think that leading a group of newcomers will allow them to make a breakthrough at the I·H, does he?"

Kakita Yishi smiled.

Yanshan...

The times have changed. The old belief that only players personally honed under one's own hand are good players no longer works; this era demands talent~

And unfortunately, the most talented one is at Shinkan Already this year~

However...

You, who haven't paid any attention to middle school basketball, probably aren't clear on the current situation in high school basketball, are you~

Kakita Yishi smiled and said, "It's a pity we didn't meet you at last year's I·H. I heard your final results were quite good; you made it to the top 16 last year, didn't you?"

"I'm quite looking forward to this match. Yanshan, as your senior, I can't afford to lose to you."

Hearing this, Coach Yanshan of Ichibon Shōgyō narrowed his eyes and let out a cold sneer. Although he appeared quite disdainful, his gaze never once shifted from Yukimiya Kazuma and the others.

After all, that build...

A promising prospect, visible to the naked eye.

Suddenly, not seeing anyone on the Shinkan Already side, Coach Yanshan silently waved his hand backward. Two burly players, seeing this, suddenly stepped out from the Ichibon Shōgyō lineup.

The two approached the bald head of the player currently leading Ichibon Shōgyō's warm-ups and whispered a few words. That bald player hesitated for a moment, then stepped out with them, their target being the direction of Shinkan Already.

No one else noticed this.

But Yukimiya Kazuma noticed it immediately.

Yukimiya Kazuma: "..."

What for?

The bald coach of Ichibon Shōgyō, judging by his earlier demeanor, seemed to have been subtly mocked by his own coach.

Could he be so angry that he's blatantly pulling some underhanded tricks?

Dakou Longzhi was doing warm-up exercises. Playing a practice match against the number one seed from Gunma, he was the most enthusiastic, after all, Kitagawa Middle School was the number one seed in Gunma during middle school.

"Hello, I'm Ihara Masaaki. I was under the impression that Senior Kuriki Noboru was supposed to match up against me today?"

Hearing this, Dakou Longzhi turned his head. Looking over, he saw that the speaker was indeed his target for today, Ichibon Shōgyō's small forward, Ihara Masaaki.

"No."

"The one matching up against you is me."

Hearing this, Ihara Masaaki paused for a moment: "A first-year?"

Dakou Longzhi frowned: "All of Shinkan Already's starters this year are first-years."

The opponent...

Doesn't know him.

"So it's just a bunch of first-year brats. Ihara, let's go. You don't need to personally deal with these people."

Standing beside Ihara Masaaki were two tall, bald bodyguards. Their gazes fell respectively on Yukimiya Kazuma and Tsuchiya, perhaps because the two of them were the tallest players on the Shinkan Already team.

(caaj) And upon hearing their words, Yukimiya Kazuma immediately understood.

Oh...

They are the cannon fodder responsible for getting their faces slapped.

In front of the Ichibon Shōgyō bench, the coach glanced toward Shinkan Already and then spoke:

"Our opponent for the practice match is Shinkan Already. You've probably heard that they are considered a powerhouse team in the Tokyo region, but nationally, their strength should be comparable to ours."

"But that was the situation before last year..."

"The four starters of Shinkan Already in the previous tournament were all third-years. This year, they have all graduated. Of last year's starting lineup, only Kuriki Noboru remains."

"And..."

"This year, Shinkan Already's starting lineup consists entirely of first-years!"

"Everyone knows clearly that talent like Ihara's also went through hardships, spending over a full year to hone his strength before he could play in his second year!"

In front of the Ichibon Shōgyō bench, Coach Yanshan was explaining the creed he had always upheld to his players: only through enduring grueling training and tempering can one become an outstanding player.

"The entire starting lineup is first-years?"

"Yes."

"We've already confirmed it."

"First-years... in our Ichibon Shōgyō, they can't even play in matches and can only train desperately. Even in the second year, there's only Ihara."

"Perhaps, this I·H, Shinkan Already no longer has sufficient strength."

"Eliminated in the first round?"

Coach Yanshan looked at his players, his expression becoming serious: "Although Shinkan Already's strength is not what it used to be, we must still go all out!"

"I have only one requirement! Crush Shinkan Already's first-years!"

"Can you do it!?"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"... What can you do... huh?"

As far as the eye could see.

Shinkan Already's warm-ups were halfway through.

That first-year number 12 suddenly tossed a ball casually toward the basket.

Boom~!

The ball slammed against the backboard and bounced back!

In an instant!

Clang~!

A figure moving impossibly fast, white hair tracing a white line, hung from the rim with both hands the very next second!

The height of that jump and dunk—his head must have brushed the rim?!

This scene immediately drew everyone's attention.

And at that moment, the players of Chihon Commercial finally noticed that after the tall white-haired man took off his jacket, the jersey underneath was number 4!

After letting go, Yukimiya Kazuma accelerated toward the other half-court, moving so fast he didn't look like a center, and another ball was passed to him right after.

Dribbling...

Accelerating...

Jump!

One small step inside the free-throw line!

Windmill!

Clang~!

The clanging tremor struck Chihon Commercial squarely on the head, making everyone's scalp tingle!