Chapter 359

Kenichi Okamura had no idea whatsoever what the situation was.

Masako Araki glanced at everyone, seeing they wore expressions much like Kenichi Okamura's, while the only one whose expression remained unchanged was Atsushi Murasakibara, who had been crunching snacks noisily.

But as for this guy...

No need to ask; asking would be pointless anyway.

Masako Araki slightly closed her eyes; she felt things were getting troublesome, facing such a huge problem right at the first stage of I·H.

Regarding the showdown between Izunomiya and Touou, or rather the duel between Yukimiya Kazuma and Aomine Daiki, she naturally understood clearly what the things reflected by this match meant.

Except for the Zone.

Aomine's agility, ferocity, super-high-speed dribbling, and his outrageous, unrestrained shooting.

Yukimiya's special binding defense, strength and technique, inside footwork, godlike passing, and extraordinary shooting and blocking.

And most importantly...

The setup.

The strength both displayed far exceeded the level of a Gao Zhongsheng; the ace of the Generation of Miracles and the Unchallenged King were both true monsters.

Aomine Daiki's immense talent, reaching the point where he could enter the Zone realm by his own power, seemed to her simply a tall tale.

What surprised her even more was that even so, he still lost.

From the look of the match, it seemed Yukimiya Kazuma entered the Zone under Aomine's pressure, and for this reason Izunomiya secured victory.

But in fact, before this, Yukimiya had indeed used his own abilities and setup to successfully hold back the Zone-entering Aomine; even if Yukimiya hadn't entered the Zone later, Yukimiya Kazuma, who had exhausted Aomine to the limit and almost dragged the Zone out, would likely have led Izunomiya to victory.

Judging from his performance, he seemed to have anticipated Aomine entering the Zone from the start, so he firmly executed the stamina-exhaustion tactic from the very beginning.

Not only was his personal ability formidable, but more importantly were his strategic choices and execution.

And...

That opening three-pointer...

Was it really just a coincidence?

And...

Could he enter the Zone on his own now?

Tsk!

There are too many issues to consider.

Just as Masako Araki was pondering bitterly, a series of rustling sounds from chewing snacks suddenly rang in her ear, making the veins on her forehead bulge; she sharply slashed the bamboo sword in her hand onto the table before her!

"Murasakibara!"

"Be quiet!"

"Or I'll confiscate all the snacks you're hiding in your locker!"

"And..."

"Didn't Yukimiya Kazuma compete against you Generation of Miracles in middle school? Don't you have any useful information?!"

Masako Araki hadn't expected Murasakibara to tell her anything useful at all, yet she didn't expect Murasakibara to actually frown and ponder for a while, perhaps because of the threat regarding the snacks.

"Yukimiya hides a lot; even Momo can't be sure. I only know he's very strong~ But I didn't expect him to actually beat Aomine~"

Hearing this, Masako Araki was instantly stunned; she knew that although Murasakibara wasn't interested in basketball, his competitiveness deep down was extremely strong, and he would never easily say someone was very strong, usually saying the most was that he could 'easily crush whoever'.

Except for Akashi, who could leave him speechless...

At this thought, Masako Araki's eyes widened instantly. "You lost a match against him?!"

Crunch~!

Murasakibara squeezed hard, completely crushing the snack in his hand. "Hah? How could that be? It was less than one quarter; Yukimiya blocked one shot... I also blocked one shot from him!"

"He spun around in front of me, swaying back and forth..."

"Anyway..."

"If I meet Yukimiya again, I'll definitely crush him!"

Eh?!

Yukimiya Kazuma was blocked by Murasakibara on one shot?

What kind of joke is this?!

Masako Araki's long black hair seemed about to explode from Murasakibara's anger; she tightened her grip on the bamboo sword and walked toward Murasakibara. "And then?! I advise you to tell me everything you know, in full detail!"

"Otherwise, your privilege of eating snacks for the entire year is completely cancelled!"

Atsushi Murasakibara: "!?!"

·· 0 flowers 0 ·········

Quickly.

They arrived at the I·H main tournament, the day of the first round: Izunomiya vs. Youzen.

The entire Izunomiya team was fully prepared, ready to embark on this year's I·H national tournament journey.

Inside the venue.

Just from the setup on site, it was one level higher than during the All-Japan Middle School tournament.

At least back then, no shops were visible inside the venue, nor were there various sports equipment advertisements posted around.

Tsuchiya Dahe, who was lingering at the shoe store, suddenly noticed that Dakou Longzhi's shoelaces weren't tied, and immediately spoke up to remind him: "Longzhi, your shoelaces aren't tied."

"Oh."

"Indeed, I should change to a new pair of shoes."

Dakou Longzhi squatted down, just as he was tying his shoelaces.

A figure suddenly swept past the two of them; in height, it was even a head taller than the 196cm Tsuchiya Dahe!

"Huh?"

"This place... I remember..."

"So it's not here either—where the hell is the store that sells delicious snack sticks?"

According to Tsuchiya, the only person with a height approaching 210 centimeters who speaks in such a lazy tone is...

Tsuchiya turned his head and his pupils shrank sharply.

Of course.

It's Murasakibara Atsushi!

While Tsuchiya was observing Murasakibara, another person wearing the same team uniform as Murasakibara walked around the corner ahead.

"Hey Murasakibara, don't go too far!"

"If you dare leave the team again!"

"Watch out for the coach's bamboo sword!"

Upon hearing Murasakibara's name, Okuchi Dakou Longzhi, who had been crouching to tie his shoelaces, immediately looked up—but he only caught a glimpse of Murasakibara's figure vanishing around the corner.

All that came through was the rustling of snacks being rummaged through, and muffled complaints about the coach muttered between bites.

Okuchi Dakou Longzhi was still lamenting that he hadn't seen Murasakibara with his own eyes, but not long after, the two who had reunited with the Izumi Shinkan teammates suddenly came face-to-face with the entire Yangquan team.

Yangquan's coach, Araki Masako, was the first to recover her composure and greeted Shi Tian Yishi, the veteran coach of the Chinese Basketball World, with a nod. Shi Tian Yishi, looking at the woman in the black suit who had once raced across the court as a national player, responded with equal respect.

Long Tian Zhang observed silently from the side; seeing them in person, Yangquan's height truly was overwhelming—this was the first time ever that Izumi Shinkan found themselves at a disadvantage in height.

There were three players over two meters tall...

Among them, Murasakibara Atsushi was nearly 210 centimeters!

Long Tian Zhang: "..."

Damn it...

Why do so few of us grow tall, while this monster who was already absurdly tall in middle school is still growing?!