Kanagawa Gymnasium.
Inside the arena of Group B's final.
"Shoyo! Shoyo! Shoyo!"
Shoyo's cheer squad yelled their lungs out, just like before, cheering wildly for their team.
But somehow, their voices now sounded weak, missing their former intensity—several decibels lower than before.
On the court, every player on Shoyo locked their gaze on the figure from Shohoku wearing jersey No. 9.
Aside from Fujima Kenji and Hanagata Toru, the rest of Shoyo had heard of Aoi Kunisaku—either from those two or through various reports.
Takano Shoichi stared hard at Aoi, his face tense, silently muttering, "So this is Aoi Kunisaku? He plays Power Forward like me. Both the captain and Hanagata warned me—this guy's no joke."
Nagano Mitsuru was also uneasy. "He's the rookie who's even better than Rukawa Kaede?!"
Hasegawa Kazushi tried to psych himself up. "Doesn't matter who he is. I just need to lock down my guy—stick to Mitsui."
Fujima Kenji wore a serious expression. His whole aura turned sharp, more focused than usual. He looked like he was ready for war.
Hanagata Toru stared through his glasses at Aoi, sharp and intense. He scoffed inwardly, I don't care how good you are. A 20-point gap doesn't just disappear like that. We're not Tsukubu—you won't run wild against us.
On Shohoku's side—
Akagi Takenori quickly passed the ball to Aoi Kunisaku.
Thump...
Thump...
Thump...
Aoi walked forward slowly, casually bouncing the basketball. His whole demeanor was loose—like a guy out for a stroll.
But that seemingly laid-back attitude pressed down on every Shoyo player like a giant invisible weight.
There was no reason for it, yet they all felt suffocated. Their breathing grew tight.
Fujima Kenji's face changed instantly. Inside, it was like a boulder had been dropped into still water, churning up waves.
He hadn't felt anything unusual watching Aoi's game from the stands.
But now, standing face-to-face with him on the court, he felt a strange sense of pressure—like he was being looked down on from above.
Not even when he'd faced Maki Shinichi from Kainan had he felt this.
What the hell.
They hadn't even clashed yet—why was there this overwhelming tension?
Fujima had already expected Aoi to be a major threat.
But now, he realized he'd still underestimated him.
The rest of Shoyo felt the same.
Hanagata Toru had thought their 20-point lead was more than safe.
But now, his expression wavered.
Normally, 20 points would mean a guaranteed win—against anyone.
But now, standing across from Aoi Kunisaku, he couldn't shake the feeling that this lead might not be enough.
Thump...
Thump...
Thump...
Aoi kept dribbling at an easy pace, scanning Shoyo's players like a searchlight.
His posture was relaxed. He grinned, lips curled with a cocky smirk. "Shoyo... don't disappoint me."
The moment those words dropped, every Shoyo player's expression turned dark.
Too arrogant.
Too wild.
Too full of himself.
Like they didn't even exist to him.
In that moment, a silent fury flared up from the Shoyo side.
Takano Shoichi's face flushed with rage. He lunged forward and blocked Aoi's path, shouting, "You arrogant punk—come on then!"
Aoi looked up, his gaze brushing over Takano like dust. Calmly, he said, "Then let's begin."
Thump...
Thump...
Thump...
The dribbling stopped abruptly.
In the same instant, Aoi exploded left like a black blur, darting forward in a flash.
So fast.
Takano's eyes shrank. Panic surged through him.
But he reacted quickly, stepping hard to the right, trying to cut off Aoi's drive.
But in the next moment, Aoi's posture didn't change—still leaning left.
And yet, his move suddenly shifted.
He spun like a top—lightning-fast—and in the blink of an eye, he slipped past Takano's right side.
A sharp gust of wind rushed by on the left. Takano's face twisted in shock. "That spin... so fast I couldn't even react!"
His balance had shifted completely right. All he could do was catch the blur of Aoi disappearing past his side.
The rest of Shoyo felt the same shock.
But they forced it down and scrambled to respond.
Fujima Kenji and Hanagata Toru quickly formed a two-man wall—Fujima stood firm just inside the Three-Point Line, and Hanagata held his ground in front of the Paint.
Nagano Mitsuru and Hasegawa Kazushi were locked in too, ready to help on defense and try to shut down Aoi Kunisaku's fierce attack.
Whoosh...
On the court, Aoi suddenly turned into a blazing red flash, surging forward like a bolt of lightning, cutting across Shoyo's half with unstoppable force.
In that instant, some in the crowd even thought they heard a crisp crack.
The red blur appeared like a ghost right in front of Shoyo's Three-Point Line.
Fujima Kenji's pupils shrank hard. A large bead of cold sweat slid down his cheek.
Too fast.
Way too fast.
He barely managed to catch Aoi's shadow, but his body froze up—like he was rooted to the spot.
He knew the truth. It wasn't that he was slow. Aoi's speed was just beyond what anyone could react to.
Thankfully, Fujima had been keeping a close eye on Aoi this whole time. That gave him just enough time to react.
He spread his arms wide like a tightened net. His eyes locked onto Aoi, watching every twitch, every breath, not missing a thing.
At the same time, Nagano made his move. He dashed in like a whirlwind, aiming to close in with Fujima and form a double team—trap Aoi before he could get any deeper.
But Aoi didn't care. He smirked, lips lifting in amusement.
His breakneck sprint suddenly halted, feet rooted like anchors. He stopped dead in front of Fujima.
In that moment, Fujima and Aoi looked like statues, frozen face-to-face.
Their eyes locked. The world around them felt still. Time seemed to pause.
Fujima struck first. He lunged forward, hand reaching to slap the ball from Aoi's grasp.
But in the very next second, Aoi exploded like a turbocharged engine. His speed jumped from zero to max in an instant.
His figure blurred and vanished from Fujima's view in a flash.
And just as Aoi's figure faded, Fujima found himself staring at Nagano's shocked face, eyes wide in disbelief.
They both froze, stunned.
Thump...
A sudden, sharp bounce echoed behind Fujima.
His gut sank. Aoi had broken past him.
Without thinking, he spun and shouted, "Hanagata—!"
He sprang into motion, trying to recover. His feet flew, aiming to join Hanagata Toru and trap Aoi again.
In the blink of an eye, Fujima and Hanagata formed a double wall. They boxed Aoi in the middle.
The crowd roared.
Fujima and Hanagata double-teaming a single player? That had never happened before.
Aoi stood calm between the Three-Point Line and Free-Throw Line. He looked like a beast cornered—but totally fearless.
With Hanagata's pressure in front and Fujima closing in fast from behind, Aoi didn't panic. In fact, a surge of excitement bubbled up inside him.
Now this is fun.
His grin widened. His eyes gleamed like a hawk.
He kept pushing forward, fast as ever. Just when everyone thought he'd force his way through, his wrist flicked back.
The ball whipped behind him in a sharp arc—a perfect Behind-the-Back Dribble.
Fujima and Hanagata's eyes instinctively followed the ball.
Before they could react, Aoi bent his knees and bounced the ball again—this time Between-the-Legs.
The basketball flew behind him like a spark.
At that exact moment, Fujima lunged forward and got right in his space.
But the ball had already slipped through Fujima's legs with eerie precision.
Then came the real move.
Aoi planted his feet, spun fast like a top, and slipped clean behind Fujima.
At the same time, his hand reached out and scooped the ball cleanly into his control.
Now Fujima's own body blocked Hanagata's line of sight.
Using Fujima as a shield, Aoi shut out the last defender.
The crowd stared in disbelief.
Aoi bent his knees and jumped, lifting the ball high, firing a shot.
The ball flew in a slightly awkward arc.
Whoosh...
It soared above both Fujima and Hanagata, slammed the backboard, and—after a tense beat—dropped cleanly through the hoop.
The scoreboard jumped.
Shohoku 2 to 24 Shoyo.
With Aoi Kunisaku's entrance, Shohoku finally broke the curse of zero points.