The rivalry between Aizen and Aomine continued all the way until everyone finished their run.
Thanks to those two, Nijimura Shuzo noticed that the team completed their warm-up drills about ten minutes faster than usual today.
The downside was that everyone was much more exhausted than normal—many of them were gasping for breath after the run.
Aizen and Aomine were no exception, but those two were something else—they refused to admit defeat even when they were dead tired.
“Hahahaha, aren’t you exhausted?
If you’re tired, go take a rest.
No need to hold it in—holding it too long is bad for you.”
“Hehehehe, this is nothing.
Let me tell you, my normal training intensity is way higher than this—like three or four times higher.
This level of training isn’t even enough to warm me up properly.”
“Is that so?
I normally run ten kilometers without even breathing hard.
Look at me right now—my face isn’t even red.”
“How could you even show redness?
You’re as dark as charcoal—”
“Hey!
Don’t make it personal, pretty boy!”
Bang~
Their heads smashed right into each other.
Both were gritting their teeth, refusing to be the first to back down.
“Isn’t this getting a little out of hand?”
“Don’t worry about it.
Those two have incredible physical talent.
This level of intensity won’t cause them any problems.”
The assistant coach wasn’t concerned.
Aizen and Aomine’s stamina had exceeded his expectations.
Not only had they been sprinting at full speed the entire time, but they’d also been shoving each other back and forth non-stop.
Based on his calculations, even doubling their training intensity wouldn’t be an issue.
“I meant the other club members.”
Looking at the rest of the team sprawled out everywhere, Nijimura Shuzo shook his head.
Murasakibara was ready to commit murder.
It was all those two idiots’ fault—he’d run himself to death because of them.
Aomine’s eyes lit up immediately.
He cracked his knuckles eagerly.
This was the moment he’d been waiting for.
Today, he was going to get his revenge and show that pretty boy what real basketball looked like.
Aizen chuckled to himself.
Of course he knew exactly what Aomine was thinking.
‘I am no longer the Aizen of yesterday.’
He was also secretly looking forward to it, determined to show everyone in the basketball club what a true genius looked like.
From a complete basketball novice to a national-level player in just one day—scared yet?
“Hey, charcoal, why don’t you sit out today’s scrimmage?
I’m afraid if I use even a little bit of strength, I might knock you right into the next prefecture.”
“Knock me out?
Hahahaha!
You don’t actually think I was really hurt when you threw me yesterday, do you?
I was just going easy on you!
When I hit the floor, I didn’t feel a thing!”
Aomine laughed out loud, but veins were bulging on his forehead.
In all his years, he’d never been beaten that badly!
“Oh, and since this is your first team practice, let me give you some friendly advice—whatever you do, don’t guard me.
Because today, we’re playing proper basketball.”
Aomine was worried Aizen might start something crazy again, so he quickly warned him that this was a real basketball game, not yesterday’s judo match.
Aizen felt like Aomine was talking out of both sides of his mouth, and there was some subtext there, ‘Was this guy looking down on my basketball skills?’
“Hahaha, what are you even talking about?
I was just nervous yesterday since it was my first time.
Today, I’ll show you what a real genius looks like.”
Aizen had already pictured Aomine being fooled by his moves until he questioned his entire existence.
But just as they were both ready to show off, Shirogane Kozo didn’t even put Aizen in the scrimmage lineup.
Instead, he had him practice basic ball-handling drills on the sidelines.
“Practice hard, Aizen.
If you want to succeed in basketball, just knowing how to fight isn’t enough—you also need to know how to play.
Fundamentals are extremely important.”
Aizen: “…”
‘My fundamentals are already national-level!’
Aizen’s mouth twitched. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
He told the coach he wanted to play.
Shirogane Kozo just smiled and said, “You’ll get your chance later.”
Aizen had no choice but to obey, doing basic dribbling drills on the sideline, just like Sakuragi had done at the very beginning.
While Aizen was practicing fundamentals, Shirogane Kozo was seriously observing the scrimmage match.
Teiko was a national powerhouse with its own unique basketball philosophy.
“Absolute victory!”
Yes, Teiko was exactly that arrogant.
They didn’t care much about tactical systems or formations.
Shirogane Kozo had absolute confidence in his ability to fully unleash his players’ basketball characteristics and talents.
He was the type of coach who excelled at discovering and developing player potential.
“Sigh, Taguchi got locked down again.
Nijimura can’t even get the ball.” The assistant coach sighed as he watched the first-string starters struggle to move the ball.
Because Taguchi’s opponent today was none other than first-year newcomer, Akashi Seijuro.
Not only could he not score, but he couldn’t even get the ball to the team’s ace, Nijimura Shuzo.
With that kind of performance, what hope was there of winning a national championship?
If you can’t load the bullets into the gun, even a Desert Eagle is just a fancy paperweight.
On the other hand, the first-year team, orchestrated by Akashi’s passing, was playing with exceptional organization.
Shirogane Kozo saw it differently.
He saw tremendous potential waiting to be unlocked in Akashi.
Excellent court vision, extraordinary observation skills, and unparalleled passing ability.
He couldn’t imagine how Akashi had managed to learn his teammates’ habits so thoroughly in just one week.
He knew exactly what each teammate excelled at, where they preferred to score, and he almost never made mistakes.
Aizen had an even clearer view of things.
He’d been keeping an eye on those kids the whole time.
Watching Akashi play immediately reminded him of NBA all-time assists leader, John Stockton.
Stockton played 19 seasons in the NBA, dishing out 15,806 assists with only 4,244 turnovers.
Second place was Jason Kidd, with 12,091 assists and 4,003 turnovers in his career.
Comparing the two, Stockton’s efficiency at setting up teammates for scores was simply astonishing.
Right now, Akashi gave him that exact same feeling.
Even though he didn’t initiate much offense in every game, by the time the game was over, he’d quietly put up double-digit points and assists without anyone noticing.
Akashi’s talent was absolutely on par with those obvious physical specimens like Aomine and Murasakibara.
This was a piece of gem that was already perfectly carved.