"Oh right, Sendoh isn't here yet."
Taoka glanced at his watch, his brow furrowing slightly.
But then it smoothed out again, "But to deal with you all, even without Sendoh, Uozumi and the others are more than enough."
"Arrogant!"
At that moment, the other players present all clenched their fists.
Just then, a lazy voice abruptly rang out.
"Um... excuse me."
Everyone looked towards the source of the voice.
They saw Hayashi Rin raising one hand, the other hand still rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"May I ask, where is the visiting team's bench?"
"The lighting here is too harsh. Is there a spot... with dimmer light, and preferably some ventilation?"
The entire gym fell dead silent.
Taoka Moeichi was stunned.
Uozumi was stunned.
Even Akagi felt his face burning with embarrassment.
This guy...
At this moment of high tension, with the atmosphere thick with hostility.
His concern was actually where he could sleep comfortably?!
"Pfft..."
Within the Ryonan team, someone couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahahaha! Is this Shohoku's new recruit?"
"Is he here on vacation?"
"I'm dying of laughter, Captain Akagi, where did you find this clown?"
Mocking laughter surged in like a tide.
Taoka Moeichi even shook his head, the contempt in his eyes deepening.
"It seems I overestimated you."
"Akagi, with players who have this attitude, you can't win."
Akagi took a deep breath and turned to look at Hayashi Rin.
There was no blame in his eyes; instead, there was a hint of deeper meaning.
"Hayashi Rin."
"Go sit down."
"But remember what I said yesterday."
Akagi's voice was only audible to Hayashi Rin, "If the situation turns bad, you get your ass on the court."
"Roger that, Captain."
Hayashi Rin acted as if granted a great pardon.
Completely ignoring the surrounding laughter, he walked straight to the long bench in the corner.
He found the most comfortable angle, draped a towel over his head.
But the instant the towel covered his face, a barely perceptible glint of cold light flashed in his dead fish eyes.
[System Notification: Detected enemy coach Taoka Moeichi's group taunt]
[Mission Issued: Moment to Shut Them Up]
[Mission Objective: Make Taoka Moeichi show an 'incredulous' expression at least three times during the match]
[Mission Reward: Stamina Potion (Medium) x1, Skill Point x1]
[Failure Penalty: Forced participation in a one-week hellish physical training regimen]
"Tsk."
A soft sigh came from under the towel.
"I just wanted to be in peace and quiet."
"You had to force me to work overtime..."
"Why are all the old men these days like this?"
"Sendoh isn't here, I'll take a nap first."
...
"Hurry, hurry! The game seems to have already started!"
The gymnasium's heavy iron door was pushed open a crack as three girls squeezed in, panting heavily.
Akagi Haruko ran at the front, her cheeks flushed from the intense running.
Fujii and Matsui behind her were even more out of breath, hands on their knees, unable to straighten up.
"Phew... made it."
Haruko patted her chest, her gaze eagerly turning to the court.
But the next second, her movements froze.
In the front row of the stands.
Three girls in matching uniforms were waving pom-poms in perfect unison, their shrill voices piercing like a magic spell.
"Rukawa Kaede! Rukawa Kaede! L-O-V-E! Rukawa Kaede!"
The Rukawa Kaede Fan Club.
Their fanatical energy felt especially jarring in the sparsely populated gymnasium.
"Uh..."
Haruko awkwardly hunched her shoulders slightly and quietly led her friends to a corner seat.
"Um... Rukawa-kun's popularity is really high," Fujii whispered.
On the court.
The referee blew his whistle.
"Beeeeep——!"
Akagi Takenori and Uozumi Jun, two giant towers, jumped simultaneously.
"Hah!"
With his astonishing jumping speed, Akagi's fingertips touched the basketball first.
The ball was tipped towards Shohoku's backcourt.
"Nice ball, Gorilla!"
"Knock that Monkey Boss down!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi waved his fists from the sidelines, his voice loud enough to be heard on the second floor.
"Shut up! That's the captain!"
Ayako rapped Sakuragi on the back of his head with her paper fan.
In the stands, Mito Yohei and the other three members of Sakuragi's Gang were leaning against the railing, drinks they'd just bought in their mouths.
"Wow, Hanamichi is still so full of energy."
"But it looks like he's riding the bench again."
"He is a secret weapon, after all, hahahaha."
Okusu Yuji laughed heartlessly.
The situation on the court suddenly changed.
Yasuda had just caught the ball tipped by Akagi and was preparing to dribble past half-court.
A figure in blue and white suddenly darted out from the side.
Ryonan's number 6, Uekusa Tomoyuki.
Even within the defensively renowned Ryonan team, his stealing ability was among the best.
"Slap!"
A crisp sound of a steal.
Yasuda only felt the ball vanish from his hands.
"What?!"
Before the Shohoku players could react.
Uekusa had already driven all the way to the basket for an easy layup.
2:0.
Ryonan drew first blood.
On the sidelines, Taoka Moeichi crossed his arms, a smug smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Hmph, just as expected."
"Aside from Akagi, Shohoku's Point Guard is too inexperienced."
"Just shut down Akagi and exploit the opposing guard's mistakes..."
"This year, our Ryonan will definitely make it to the National Tournament!"
Taoka looked at the flustered Yasuda on the court, secretly pleased.
Shohoku offense.
Akagi Takenori positioned himself in the low post, Uozumi like a massive boulder pushing against his back.
"Give me the ball!"
Akagi roared.
The ball was passed to Akagi.
He backed down, suddenly powered through Uozumi, turned, and went for a powerful dunk.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Uozumi let out a furious roar. His massive body actually sprang up again, a huge hand slamming down hard on the basketball.
"Boom!"
A block, taking down both man and ball!
"So strong..."
Kogure picked up the loose ball and attempted a mid-range shot.
"Slap!"
Another huge hand. Uozumi had actually jumped a second time, swatting Kogure's shot out of bounds.
"My god! Is that big guy a monster?"
"Two huge blocks in a row!"
A gasp of astonishment rose from the spectator stands.
The next few minutes became a nightmare for Shohoku.
Rukawa Kaede tried to drive, but was disrupted by Uozumi's defense, his shot missing.
Akagi attacked the basket again, committing a traveling violation under the double-team of Uozumi and forward Ikegami.
On Ryonan's side, their offense flowed smoothly.
Koshino's three-pointer, Uekusa's fast break, Uozumi's dominance inside.
The numbers on the scoreboard were jumping wildly.
10:0.
14:0.
Shohoku hadn't scored a single point yet.
"Yes! That's it!"
"Crush them in one go!"
"We're going to score 100 points!"
On the Ryonan bench, the players' morale soared, their roars shaking the gym.
On the Shohoku side, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.
"Coach! Let me play!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi could no longer sit still.
He rushed in front of Coach Anzai, his face practically pressed against Coach Anzai's glasses.
"Look at that fox Rukawa, he's completely useless!"
"Only This Genius can save the team!"
"Let me go up there and knock that Monkey Boss flying!"