Aoi Kunisaku looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi like he was an idiot.
This guy was unbeatable in some ways—his shamelessness had to be the best in the world.
Shimizu Kanon couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
If it were anyone else, they wouldn't dare say something like that. Only Sakuragi Hanamichi could be that unfiltered.
Just then, Sendoh Akira and Sawakita Eiji walked over.
The two of them gave Aoi Kunisaku a complicated look, then turned to greet the Shohoku group.
Sendoh waved at them and said, "Hey, everyone from Shohoku. Long time no see. Congrats on making it to the top 4."
Sakuragi Hanamichi stepped forward, stood in front of Sendoh, and asked with a puzzled face, "Didn't Ryonan not qualify for Nationals? Why are you here?"
Uh...
Sendoh twitched at that. It stung a bit, but he still smiled and said, "Of course I came to watch the games. I heard you beat Sannoh, so I was curious how far you'd go at Nationals."
Hearing that, Sakuragi instantly lit up. He crossed his arms and laughed loudly. "Hahahaha… With the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi on the team, of course we're going all the way to the end! We're not like you guys from Ryonan—couldn't even make it into Nationals, hahaha..."
Sendoh's face darkened more with every word.
'Is this guy for real?'
Even someone as chill as him wanted to rip Sakuragi's mouth off.
Too much.
Ayako looked at Sawakita Eiji, confused. "Didn't Sannoh already head back to Akita?"
Sawakita sighed and explained, "My uncle lives around here, so I didn't go back with them. I plan to head back after the tournament ends."
Rukawa Kaede stepped up to Sendoh and Sawakita then. His eyes were full of fighting spirit. "Let's play a match."
Seeing the determined look in his eyes, Sendoh raised his hands with a helpless smile. "Come on, give me a break! Look at me, I'm wiped out."
Rukawa sized Sendoh up. He was soaked in sweat and clearly looked drained.
Then he turned to look at Sawakita Eiji.
Sawakita just shrugged like Sendoh. "Same here. If you want a match, let's do it another time."
Since both refused, Rukawa didn't push it.
Kogure Kiminobu glanced at his watch and reminded the group, "It's almost noon. Should we head back for now?"
Aoi Kunisaku's stomach growled a bit too. He turned to Shimizu Kanon and said, "Kanon, let's go eat."
"Okay!" Shimizu Kanon quickly followed after him.
The rest of the Shohoku crew said their goodbyes to Sendoh and Sawakita, then left.
Sendoh watched them walk away and muttered with meaning, "Shohoku's really something now."
"Yeah," Sawakita agreed with a nod. His gaze turned serious. "If we're thinking about revenge, looks like our chances are slim."
…
After lunch, the Shohoku group took a short rest at Chidori-sou, then headed out again toward the gymnasium.
Their goal was to watch the two afternoon matches.
The matchups were Hakata High vs. Kakutsuru High, and Daiei vs. Meihou.
Both were powerhouse clashes. Each team had serious strength.
Especially the match between Daiei and Meihou—that was the one Shohoku was watching closely.
Both teams were regulars in the top 4 at Nationals in past years. Their strength wasn't far behind Sannoh Kogyo's.
Definitely not to be underestimated.
This year, Meihou had brought in a powerhouse center—Morishige Hiroshi.
Shimizu Kanon had looked through Meihou's past match records and found that Morishige Hiroshi had already shown insane strength in the first game of Nationals—dropping 50 points, 22 rebounds, and 10 blocks.
In every match since, his performance had stayed explosive.
So far, he was averaging around 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game.
In a way, his presence was just as eye-catching as Aoi Kunisaku's.
When the Shohoku group arrived at the gym, the match between Hakata High and Kakutsuru High had already begun.
Because Hakata High had recruited a pretty strong first-year this year, they were a bit stronger overall than Kakutsuru.
After a heated battle, Kakutsuru High lost to Hakata High in a close match.
Hakata High advanced to the top 4.
Nobody from Shohoku seemed surprised by the result.
After all, there wasn't a huge gap between the two teams in terms of skill.
Either team winning would've made sense.
Next, the match everyone had been waiting for—Daiei vs. Meihou—finally began.
As time passed, both teams started appearing before the crowd.
Daiei was the first to enter the spotlight.
As their players walked out of the tunnel one after another, a tall figure in a green number 4 jersey instantly caught attention.
Shimizu Kanon pointed him out and said, "That's Daiei's captain, Tsuchiya Atsushi. He's skilled, calm, and great at setting up the offense. He's an excellent playmaker, kind of like Sendoh from Ryonan."
Kogure Kiminobu was a bit surprised. "If he's like Sendoh, he must be really strong."
Shimizu Kanon nodded. "Yeah. The fact he led his team this far already proves how strong he is. It's just that…"
She turned her gaze toward the other tunnel.
At that moment, Meihou's players walked out.
Morishige Hiroshi, nearly two meters tall, had visibly cut muscles on his bare arms. The pressure he gave off was massive. Everyone's eyes locked on him.
"Morishige Hiroshi. Height: 199 cm. Weight: 100 kg. Way stronger than your average high schooler, and crazy athletic. He's without a doubt the number one center in the tournament," Shimizu Kanon explained.
"Hah? Him? Number one?" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked annoyed.
To him, the guy was just tall. No big deal.
"Don't underestimate him, Sakuragi," Akagi Takenori cut in.
Just from Morishige's height and build alone, he gave off an invisible pressure.
Even though Akagi's height was similar, the difference in body size was obvious.
Akagi weighed 90 kg, a full 10 kg lighter than Morishige.
That might not sound like a lot, but on the court, it made a big difference.
In a physical clash, if both used the same amount of force, the one weighing 100 kg—Morishige—would win.
Unless Akagi could bring 10 kg more power, he'd have a hard time matching him.