‘That’s exactly the problem—I don’t know how to show you!’
With no other option, Aizen drove to the basket and leaped up for a dunk.
That was the one thing he felt confident about.
His ball skills might not be great, but his body was no joke.
With 100 being the maximum, his Strength and Stamina were both pushing 90 points.
His Jumping ability was also impressive at 85 points—which was exactly why he could dunk despite being only 175 cm tall.
He figured this alone was pretty impressive, right?
Basketball was the sport that relied most heavily on physical talent, bar none.
Look at LeBron James—when he first came into the league, he had next to no real skills.
He just bulldozed his way through using his freakish athleticism, and he still dominated.
He couldn’t compare to LeBron, but in a country like Japan?
He was definitely above average.
Sure enough, when the club members saw Aizen dunk while wearing a judo uniform, quite a few of them were genuinely shocked.
Keep in mind, Aizen hadn’t changed a thing when he left the judo club—he was still barefoot!
Shirogane Kozo nodded approvingly, ‘Being able to dunk at this age—the kid’s physical gifts lived up to expectations.’
Junior high was a period of rapid growth.
Based on Aizen’s current height, he’d probably reach at least 180 cm by the end of his third year, possibly even taller.
If he didn’t leave the judo club and developed naturally, by high school he’d probably be able to punch through telephone poles one-handed.
Teiko needed a beast like this.
Then he noticed Aizen just kept dunking.
Standing dunk.
Running dunk.
One-handed.
Two-handed.
On and on and on…
Aizen: ‘Why haven’t they told me to stop yet?
How many different dunks do these guys want me to do?
I’m running out of ideas here!’
“Aizen, how about you try some mid-range jump shots?” Shirogane Kozo directed him.
“…”
‘Weren’t Japanese people supposed to be polite?
How come all they do is ask for impossible things!’
His Close Range shooting was 56, and his Mid-Range was only 50.
He couldn’t even make open shots consistently!
‘This is it.
I’m doomed!’
No way around it—he had to join this basketball club regardless.
He couldn’t exactly just go toe-to-toe with the head coach right off the bat, could he?
Clang~
Aizen’s wide-open mid-range jumper clanked off the rim with authority.
“Take your time, don’t rush.
Find your rhythm.” Shirogane Kozo was still being encouraging.
Aizen nodded, walked to the free-throw line, and shot again.
Clang~
The rim rattled violently—you could tell just how hard that miss was.
‘Oh, come on!
At least let me make one by luck!’
Without needing Shirogane Kozo to say anything, Aizen scooped up the ball and kept shooting.
Miss.
Miss.
Finally, after three consecutive misses, he managed to sink one.
“I made it!” Aizen immediately turned around with a ‘so what do you think?’ expression.
Aomine Daiki nearly choked laughing on the sideline, ‘What’s so hard about making a single shot?’
‘What the hell is this dark-skinned guy laughing at?’
Aizen asked, “Wait, does your basketball club have international players or something?”
“International players?
Where did that come from?” Shirogane Kozo was confused.
“We don’t have any international players.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Aizen pointed aggressively at Aomine Daiki.
“He’s so dark—even if he’s not African, he’s got to be from Saudi Arabia or something!
You can’t fool me!”
Aomine Daiki: @#$%^&*!
“PFFT!” Momoi Satsuki burst out laughing right then and there, quickly covering her mouth.
Nijimura Shuzo had a ‘I knew it’ expression on his face, ‘This Aizen was indeed the walking definition of a troublemaker.’
Shirogane Kozo was speechless too.
“Let’s forget about all that for now.
Keep shooting.
Try adding some variation—like a fadeaway.”
‘Fadeaway jumper?’
‘Fine, I love that move—it’s beautiful!’
Aizen immediately got to work, doing a full back-turn fadeaway even with no defender in sight.
The form was absolutely picture-perfect.
Clang!
Another miss.
Aizen couldn’t have cared less.
It’s all about style points anyway—who cares if it goes in?
Looking cool is what matters!
Clang!
Another brick.
Momoi was starting to worry about whether the rim might actually fall off.
But Aizen was having the time of his life, putting on a live performance of ‘one fadeaway leads to three bricks’.
‘Great act, but please don’t do it again!’
Shirogane Kozo could see it now—Aizen’s basketball fundamentals were absolutely terrible.
He was barely better than a complete beginner.
“Alright, that’s enough for now.”
“I can keep shooting!”
Aizen was reluctant to stop, but then he realized—this meant he’d failed the tryout.
He started to regret not getting familiar with his new body first.
His shots were either too short or too long—he had absolutely no feel for the basket.
“Coach…” Aizen gave an awkward laugh.
He was feeling pretty bummed now.
A golden opportunity had been right in front of him, and he blew it.
The blame fell squarely on getting too carried away with that ‘one fadeaway to three bricks’ routine—he just couldn’t stop himself!
Aizen sighed inwardly, looking at the basketball in his hands.
He clenched his teeth in frustration.
He’d been watching basketball for over a decade—there was no way he didn’t love the sport.
Tracy McGrady’s 13 points in 35 seconds.
Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game.
The Cavaliers’ miracle comeback in the 2016 Finals.
Stephen Curry’s impossible half-court game-winner.
So many moments, so many memories—they were all carved into his DNA.
But in the end, he could only watch from the sidelines.
He’d never earned the right to stand alongside those legends.
‘Whatever.
If my shooting’s this bad, I might as well go back home and inherit Dad’s convenience store.
I’ll call him later and tell him to stock up on spicy sticks.
Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.’
“Thanks for giving me a chance.”
Aizen handed the ball back with both hands and turned to leave.
“Hey, where are you going?” Shirogane Kozo called after him.
“Huh?” Aizen scratched his head, ready to head back to the judo club to change his clothes.
“I’m heading back to the judo club.”
‘What?!’
‘After all that trouble finding a beast of a player, there’s no way I’m letting you go!’
“What are you talking about?
You’ve got natural talent for this!
You were born to play basketball!”
At this, Aizen looked completely lost.
Nijimura Shuzo and the others had expressions that clearly read “Coach, what the heck are you saying?”
‘Isn’t that completely backwards?’
“Haha, you haven’t discovered your true talent yet.
Now let’s do something you’re actually good at.”
With that, Shirogane Kozo called over the player who had been laughing the hardest earlier—Aomine Daiki.
“Aomine, come here.
I want you to go up against him.”
“Me?
Sure!”
Aomine Daiki perked up at the prospect of playing, happily jogging over.
The two players were similar in height and build, facing each other with competitive fire in their eyes.
‘Can’t score?
Then I’ll focus on defense.’
That was Aizen’s thought.
Since Shirogane Kozo hadn’t let him leave, he must have been considering his defensive abilities.
‘Bring it on, you dark-skinned punk!
I’ll lock you down so hard your own mother won’t recognize you!’
‘This Aizen may be raw, but he’s got heart—and I love playing against this kind of guys.’
Aomine Daiki was genuinely excited.
He’d noticed the look on Aizen’s face earlier—that look of unwillingness to give up.
He got that same look every time he lost.
“My bad, Aizen.
Sorry for laughing so loud back there.
Everyone has the right to play basketball.
You too.”
“But I’m not going to go easy on you.
And don’t you give up either.
At worst, I’ll practice with you from now on.”
People who love basketball—none of them are bad guys.
They’re all real ones.
That’s what Aomine Daiki believed.