Meiko Junior High School.
Or more specifically—Hanamiya Makoto!
Shirogane Kozo would never forget last year’s national tournament semifinal game.
Teiko had been leading by as much as 18 points in the first half, only to be completely turned around by Meiko Junior High, led by Imayoshi Shoichi and Hanamiya Makoto.
There was only one reason: Teiko’s star player Nijimura Shuzo got injured right at the start of the second half.
Under normal circumstances, Shirogane Kozo wouldn’t have feared Meiko Junior High.
Teiko was a seeded team destined to win the national championship—they hadn’t been afraid of going head-to-head with anyone.
The problem was that Meiko Junior High didn’t play normal basketball.
Hanamiya Makoto—a genius with an IQ of 160, excelled at adjusting his team’s formations and making steals.
He could observe opponents, identify their offensive weaknesses, and adjust his own team’s positioning to set traps, then use his elite stealing ability to launch devastating fast breaks.
Of course, if that was all there was to it, Shirogane Kozo wouldn’t have been so worried.
If one Shuzo wasn’t enough, he could use two.
If two weren’t enough, he had three.
Teiko had plenty of talent this year.
But Hanamiya Makoto wasn’t just about formations and steals—his playing style was disgustingly dirty.
In fact, he seemed to enjoy hurting people more than playing basketball.
He frequently used subtle, illegal moves to get opposing star players taken out of the game.
That’s exactly how Teiko had lost last year’s semifinal.
Nijimura Shuzo, a former biker gang member, had held back for the sake of his team and didn’t beat Hanamiya Makoto to death on the spot.
But by not beating him to death, Nijimura Shuzo himself got sent to the hospital by Hanamiya Makoto’s dirty plays.
And with their captain gone, Teiko lost their leader and fell apart, losing the game in heartbreaking fashion.
Unless they found a way to solve this problem, it didn’t matter how many geniuses Teiko had—Hanamiya Makoto would just keep taking them out.
The only hope was for some righteous force to eliminate Meiko Junior High before they could face Teiko, giving them a real chance at the championship.
But Meiko was actually pretty strong.
Imayoshi Shoichi and Hanamiya Makoto were both national-level guards.
Most teams simply couldn’t beat them.
Knock Knock Knock~
As he was stewing in his worries, the office door was knocked on, and his assistant coach rushed in looking flustered.
“Coach!
We’ve got a major problem!”
“What major problem could possibly be more serious than the fact that Hanamiya Makoto is still alive and well?”
The assistant coach had no idea how to answer that.
“Someone’s causing trouble at the basketball club.”
“Causing trouble?
How many people?”
“Just one…”
‘One single person dared to come cause trouble at my basketball club?’
“Let’s go.
Take me to see them.”
He had to see for himself which brave soul was bold enough to ride solo into the Teiko basketball club.
Shirogane Kozo hurried out of his office and arrived at the gymnasium, where he indeed saw a crowd gathered around.
The first thing he noticed was his prized player Nijimura Shuzo.
Then he saw Aizen, dressed ridiculously in a judo uniform with a bobtail cat on his head.
When he looked closer, he was absolutely shocked—someone so young already had a black belt.
This kid was seriously impressive.
He walked over and demanded, “Don’t you all have training to do?
Why are you all crowded around the entrance like this?”
“Coach!”
“Coach Shirogane!”
“Coach!”
Upon seeing him, the club members put down their brooms and stood at attention respectfully.
“Coach, it’s nothing serious.
Just someone causing trouble.
I’ll handle it.” Nijimura Shuzo explained.
“I’m not causing trouble!
Like I already told you, I’m here to join the basketball club!
I’m not here to fight one-on-one!”
“You keep mentioning fighting!
Just go back to your judo club and win your national championships already.”
Nijimura Shuzo said with clear exasperation.
In his view, Aizen had nothing better to do—he had insane judo talent, yet he wanted to play with a ball instead?
‘You think I want this?
It’s this damn system forcing me into it!’
“Hurry up and leave.
If you don’t go now, I’m going to get physical.”
Nijimura Shuzo cracked his knuckles and started shooing him away, but Shirogane Kozo cut in.
‘Finally, someone with some sense!’
“That’s right!
I’m genuinely serious about joining the basketball club!
I definitely never thought about beating all of you up!”
Nijimura Shuzo: ‘If you don’t want to fight, why do you keep saying that!?’
“Did you fill out the club enrollment form?”
“Yeah, right here!
Still warm and fresh!”
‘Hmm~’
Shirogane Kozo took the form and looked it over.
It clearly documented Aizen’s impressive achievements.
‘Three-time national judo champion!’
“Excellent.
I approve.
Our Teiko basketball club needs talent like you.”
Not just Nijimura Shuzo—even Aizen himself thought this coach had some serious issues.
What kind of talent was he, exactly?
All his skills were basic-level basketball fundamentals.
The guy couldn’t even win a pickup game at the local park.
Was this basketball club even legitimate?
“Coach~”
“Don’t say another word, Nijimura.” Shirogane Kozo waved him off, then turned to Aizen.
“Aizen, have you ever played basketball before?”
“Yeah, I’ve played.
Been practicing for about two and a half years.”
“Not bad.
Come on, let’s head to the court.
I want to see what you can do.”
Shirogane Kozo grabbed his whistle and led Aizen out to the basketball court.
He had all the other players move to the other side of the gym, leaving Aizen one full half-court to himself, and tossed him a basketball.
Aizen caught it one-handed.
With his new body, he could palm the ball easily.
“Looks good.
Height’s about the same as Nijimura’s—around 175 cm.
Wingspan exceeds height by over 20 cm.
And those hands are built for basketball.”
‘Jackpot!’
“Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” Shirogane Kozo was genuinely excited.
Aizen looked down at the basketball in his hands and muttered under his breath, ‘So this is a tryout, huh?’
‘I guess I was overthinking it.
This coach knows what he’s doing—he spotted my physical gifts right away and now he wants to see me play.’
The problem was, Aizen had no idea how to showcase himself.
More specifically, he had no idea what he was even capable of showing.
“How about I demonstrate some karate chops on wooden boards?”
BANG~
Everyone face-planted.
‘We’re playing basketball here, not fighting—what good would breaking boards do?’
Nijimura Shuzo, on the other hand, glanced at the coach’s eager face and immediately thought back to last year’s semifinal game.
“Let’s save that for later.
For now, just show us how you play.”