The dim overhead light of the bus flickered as Nekoma High rattled through the Miyagi countryside, the long drive home from practice stretching into the night. In the back row, Kenma Kozume sat hunched over a weathered notebook. His pen moved in rhythmic, precise strokes, the ink forming a complex web of diagrams and shorthand that only he could decipher.
"Kenma," a voice rumbled from the seat behind him. Kuroo Tetsurō leaned over the headrest, his hair even more chaotic than usual after a two-hour scrimmage. "The Inter-High regional brackets just dropped. Come check the matchups for once."
Kenma didn't look up, his eyes tracked a margin note he'd circled three times. "I'm busy recalibrating the threat levels, Kuroo."
"Still with the game talk?" Kuroo chuckled, shaking his head. "You're going to give yourself a migraine before the tournament even starts."
"It's not a game. It's just observation," Kenma murmured. He had been reviewing a series of detailed notes sent to him from an old contact currently playing for Kitakami West. Kitakami was known for their defensive style—a team that focused almost entirely on a disciplined, suffocating interior defense. They were built to win low-scoring wars of attrition.
But the report Kenma had received was sobering. The final score of their scrimmage against Yosen was 54 - 0.
"Kitakami West didn't even score a point," Kenma said, his voice dropping an octave. "They couldn't get a single ball into the hoop. Their captain said it felt like the air in the paint had turned into a solid wall."
He turned the page, revealing a profile he had spent the last three hours building based on those notes.
Personnel Analysis: Murasakibara Atsushi (Yosen High)
Physical Strength
10+
Absolute dominance; backboard-breaking power.
Reflexes
9
Able to react to multiple coordinated attacks back to back. Really high for such a huge player.
Speed
8
Covers the entire three-point arc's interior in one step.
Endurance
Minimum 4
Little information due to very little effort spent in the match. Possibly low due to large body.
Shooting
?
No shots taken. No offensive movement.
X factor
10+
Recorded 22 blocks. Extreme interior defense. Paint lockdown. Very tall, very strong, long limbs, incredible reach, very high reflexes.
"Twenty-two blocks?" Kuroo whistled, though he couldn't see the full spread of numbers on Kenma's page. "In one game? That's crazy. Even if he's tall, he's just one guy."
"He's not the only one," Kenma said, tapping a second name on the page. "The notes mention a shooting guard named Tatsuya Himuro. While he stood still and blocked everything, Himuro did all the scoring. He scored nearly every point for them. He has a shot that the Kitakami defenders described as 'disappearing' right as they tried to block it."
Kenma stared at the ink on the page. "Yosen has found a perfect balance. They have a static, immovable object at the center, and a fluid, untouchable scorer on the perimeter. It's an efficient system."
Kuroo leaned back, his playful grin fading into something more focused. "And Kitakami? They're no slouches. If their interior defense couldn't even foul him properly to stop the momentum, we're looking at a serious problem."
"Actually," Kenma murmured, his pen hovering over a blank section of the page. "The fact that he doesn't move is the only reason we have a chance. He's like a boss with a fixed aggro radius... if he doesn't move, we can bait him."
Kenma looked at a small, handwritten note in the corner of his book 'tests for possible anti big man strategies'. "Kuroo," Kenma said, finally closing the notebook. "Tell Lev to stop practicing his offense for a bit. He needs to learn how to go against someone bigger and stronger than him ."
"Get Lev away from dunks?" Kuroo raised an eyebrow. "You know how much he's gonna start complaining."
"He will agree if it means Nekoma's victory." Kenma replied, turning his gaze back to the dark landscape passing by the window.