The next day.
Hiroshima Central Gymnasium.
Inside the venue for the Shohoku High School vs. Takamizawa match.
By now, the spectator seats were completely packed.
The press section had arrived early and finished setting up their equipment, just waiting for the game to begin.
Shohoku was without a doubt the most talked-about team right now—no exceptions.
Takamizawa might not be well known, but anyone with a bit of insight already knew.
There was someone on Takamizawa whose playstyle was extremely similar to Aoi Kunisaku's.
That was one of the main reasons the venue had drawn such a large crowd.
Every other team that made the final eight had already taken their seats in the audience.
That showed just how much attention Shohoku was getting.
Time passed quickly, and it was soon time for the game to begin.
Bang…
Bang…
Two heavy metal doors suddenly echoed through the gym.
On both sides of the court, the doors to the player tunnels swung open one after another.
Even before the players stepped out, a tidal wave of cheering and shouting erupted from the stands.
Nearly all of the noise was in support of Shohoku.
As for Takamizawa, not only were their supporters drowned out by the Shohoku fans, but it was like no one was even cheering for them at all.
The entire arena was a sea of voices cheering for Shohoku.
Inside Takamizawa's hall…
The players all stopped in their tracks. None of them dared step out right away.
This was their first time facing this kind of overwhelming atmosphere—an entire crowd cheering for the opponent.
They hadn't even shown their faces yet, but the invisible pressure was already pressing down on them.
Takamizawa's coach forced himself to stay calm. He let out a deep breath and said, "This is something we'll have to face eventually. Let's go. Don't let everyone look down on us."
At his words, the Takamizawa players pulled themselves together. They took deep breaths and finally stepped out of the tunnel.
Before long, both Shohoku and Takamizawa had appeared before the full crowd.
"Shouhoku… Shouhoku… Shouhoku…"
The cheers echoed endlessly, not fading even for a moment. It felt like they might never stop.
Takamizawa's players glanced nervously at the crowd around them, many of them swallowing hard, their knees trembling.
Being on the receiving end of such lopsided support made them feel like helpless chicks, shivering in the cold.
The only one who stayed relatively composed was Himono Taira.
He didn't care who the crowd was cheering for. His full attention was locked onto the Shohoku team.
His eyes scanned the group nonstop, but after a long search, he still hadn't found the one person he was looking for.
At the same time, the cheering for Shohoku gradually began to die down.
It seemed the crowd had noticed something was off.
"Wait a sec, isn't Shohoku missing someone? I don't see number 9."
"Huh? Now that you mention it… yeah, Aoi Kunisaku isn't with them."
"Why isn't Aoi Kunisaku here? I came just to see him play today!"
"What's going on? Is Shohoku trying to hide their strength?"
…
A chorus of puzzled voices rippled across the stands.
Some fans who knew Shohoku better were a little more rational—like the members of Kainan.
Kiyota Nobunaga looked down from above, blinking. "That guy probably just overslept again!"
Jin Soichiro thought for a bit, then analyzed calmly, "Not at this hour. Must be some other reason. What do you think, Maki-san?"
Maki Shinichi glanced at Shohoku, then looked over at Takamizawa. A slight smile curved on his lips. "He probably thinks this game isn't worth his time."
…
Elsewhere.
The players from Meihou sat together in one corner of the stands.
Morishige Hiroshi stared at the Shohoku squad below. He frowned slightly. "Doesn't look like that guy's there…"
Meihou's coach wore a confused look.
The rest of the Meihou players were curiously watching the Shohoku team.
After all, this was the team that had taken down Sannoh.
They wanted to see what exactly made Shohoku so different.
But no matter how closely they looked, they couldn't see anything particularly special.
Well—maybe one thing.
Among Shohoku's players, there was a girl with a graceful figure, curves in all the right places, and an insanely cute face.
With just one glance, their eyes were all locked on Shimizu Kanon.
…
The other top-eight teams had similar reactions.
They didn't know much about Shohoku either.
They only knew Shohoku beat Sannoh, and their players each had their own distinct strengths. But beyond that, they didn't have much else.
Not everyone could research as thoroughly as Shimizu Kanon.
…
Amid the noise of the stadium, the match between Shohoku and Takamizawa soon began.
Both teams stepped onto the court.
At that moment, Himono Taira walked up and asked Shohoku's players, "Um… excuse me, is Aoi Kunisaku not here?"
Hearing someone mention Aoi Kunisaku, all the Shohoku players turned toward him.
Sakuragi Hanamichi said, "Why are you asking about that 'soulless demon'?"
Himono Taira smiled a little and replied, "It's nothing. Just asking."
Miyagi Ryota added, "That guy said he didn't want to play this match. He's probably still sleeping back at the inn."
Uh…
Hearing that, Himono Taira froze for a second.
Didn't want to play?
Sleeping at the inn?
It seemed like he didn't realize Aoi Kunisaku had no intention of showing up.
He spoke boldly, without shame. "You guys better call him here. Otherwise, you're going to lose badly."
At that, all of Shohoku's players glared at him sharply.
Sakuragi Hanamichi gave him a once-over and asked, "Who the hell are you? Talking like that in front of this genius?"
Himono Taira smiled smugly and introduced himself. "I'm Himono Taira, a main player from Takamizawa. To be honest, I've already played against Aoi Kunisaku. Sure, I lost. But that doesn't mean I'll lose to the rest of you."
He paused, then tried to copy Aoi Kunisaku's tone. "Try not to disappoint me."
"What did you say?" Sakuragi Hanamichi stared at the guy, getting more irritated by the second.
Shohoku's players all shot death stares at Takamizawa.
Mitsui Hisashi muttered with annoyance, "So this is that Himono Taira? Doesn't look like much."
Akagi Takenori glared with half-lidded eyes. "What a cocky bastard."
Miyagi Ryota said coldly, "Even his tone sounds like that bastard. Pisses me off."
On Shohoku's bench.
Kogure Kiminobu twitched. "Why do I feel like I've seen this before?"
Ayako blinked, uncertain. "That guy just now… he really acted a lot like Aoi Kunisaku."
Shimizu Kanon held her forehead, looking speechless. "He even copied Saku-chan's way of speaking…"
Unlike the others, she had actually investigated Himono Taira. She'd also confirmed his ability with Aoi Kunisaku himself.
So what she was seeing now was textbook chuunibyou—terminal stage. No cure.
At first, she thought he was just copying Aoi Kunisaku's playstyle to improve his own game.
But now it seemed… he was trying to imitate the person himself.
She really couldn't tell what this guy was thinking.
The most absurd part was, this guy actually led his team into the national top eight by copying someone else.
Now that was just plain ridiculous.