Aomine Daiki Template in Slam Dunk

Four days later.

May 19th.

This was the day the Kanagawa Prefectural Tournament officially began.

In front of Shohoku High School's main gate.

The Shohoku basketball team had already gathered.

"That bastard is late again!" Akagi Takenori's forehead veins bulged as he roared in rage.

He looked exactly like an enraged gorilla.

Mitsui Hisashi, who had gotten a taste of Aoi Kunisaku's habitual lateness, muttered, "A guy with no sense of time like that—how the hell is he so good at basketball?"

Miyagi Ryota spread his hands with a helpless expression. "Who knows?"

Ayako stared anxiously at her phone, which wouldn't connect. Her brows were tightly furrowed. "That idiot Aoi being late is one thing, but why isn't Kanon picking up either?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi jumped in with his usual sarcasm. "Let's just leave that ghost-boy behind and go! With the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi here, we'll win even without him."

Everyone ignored him.

They all knew how strong Aoi Kunisaku was.

Even though today's opponent was Miuradai and they were confident about winning, having Aoi on court would give them more peace of mind.

Rukawa Kaede leaned silently against a nearby tree, wearing headphones, looking indifferent to everything around him.

Coach Anzai stood in front of the bus, checked his watch, and looked up at the group. "Time's up. Since Aoi isn't here, we won't wait. Let's go."

Meanwhile, at the Kanagawa Prefectural Gymnasium—

This was the venue for today's match between Shohoku and Miuradai.

At the moment, the stands had only scattered spectators.

Since Shohoku and Miuradai weren't particularly famous in the past, not many had come to watch the match.

Then, a group of about a dozen people appeared from the upper-level passage on the second floor of the gym.

A sharp-eyed spectator immediately shouted in surprise.

"Look over there!"

"It's Ryonan! That's Ryonan's team!"

"Whoa, they're so tall!"

"Which one is Sendoh?"

"It's the cool-looking one with the spiky hair."

As soon as some girls spotted Sendoh Akira, screams broke out.

"Kyaa... Sendoh! Look this way!"

Hearing the whispers and the girls' excited screams, the Ryonan team all turned their eyes toward Sendoh.

Aida Hikoichi looked on enviously. "Sendoh-senpai is so popular!"

Sendoh gave them a helpless smile. "Can't help it, I guess."

Koshino Hiroaki, with his perpetually half-lidded eyes, grumbled with a tinge of jealousy. "He's just a little good-looking and a little good at basketball…"

Ikegami Ryoji clicked his tongue. "We've seen this scene plenty of times already."

Uozumi Jun didn't care. His full attention was already locked onto today's Shohoku match.

Before long, the Ryonan group found seats and sat down.

Aida Hikoichi looked toward the western court and said, "I wonder how Shohoku will do against Miuradai? They're not an easy team."

Koshino Hiroaki said confidently, "As long as that guy is there, Miuradai doesn't stand a chance."

"Huh? You mean Aoi Kunisaku, senpai?" Aida scratched his head.

"Not just Aoi Kunisaku," Sendoh interrupted. "There's also Rukawa Kaede and Akagi. You can't underestimate that Sakuragi Hanamichi guy either."

Hearing that, Aida started muttering to himself, "Aoi Kunisaku, Rukawa Kaede, Akagi... and then Sakuragi Hanamichi..."

As he spoke, his eyes widened. He couldn't help but shout, "Whoa! Shohoku's crazy strong now!"

Uozumi added, "Shohoku has completely transformed. Anyone still thinking it's just Akagi's team is going to lose hard."

While Ryonan was discussing the match—

The doors at the end of the player tunnels for both Shohoku and Miuradai opened simultaneously.

Players from both sides stepped onto the court, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the gym.

"Wow, so tall! That must be Akagi Takenori!"

"I heard Shohoku beat Ryonan by more than 30 points in a practice match!"

"Is that Rukawa Kaede? He's hot!"

"Who's the red-haired guy?"

"Which one's the legendary strong guy from Shohoku?"

…

The crowd buzzed with discussion, eyes scanning the court, trying to spot players they recognized or had only heard about.

Elsewhere in the stands—

A man and a woman were snapping photos nonstop of the Shohoku and Miuradai players.

They both had press tags around their necks labeled "Basketball Weekly Reporter."

Their names were printed clearly on the tags.

Aida Yayoi.

Nakamura Taizou.

Staring at the players already on the court, Aida Yayoi said, "I heard Miuradai's aiming to beat Kainan this year, and with Shohoku adding super rookie Rukawa Kaede, this game's gonna be intense."

As if remembering something, she started scanning the Shohoku lineup. "Weird…"

"What's wrong, Aida-senpai?" Nakamura Taizou asked curiously.

Aida Yayoi frowned in confusion. "I heard Shohoku has another amazing first-year besides Rukawa Kaede. Why isn't he here?"

She compared the roster notes in her notebook while scanning the court.

Her gaze landed on Sakuragi Hanamichi, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota.

Those three looked unfamiliar. "Could it be one of them?"

The Ryonan players, seeing Shohoku's lineup, instinctively searched for that unforgettable figure.

Nope. Still no sign.

"Strange. He's not here?" Ikegami Ryoji muttered.

"Aoi Kunisaku isn't around!" Aida Hikoichi said.

Koshino Hiroaki frowned. "Is he not playing this match?"

Uekusa Tomoyuki added thoughtfully, "Maybe. Shohoku still has Rukawa Kaede, maybe they're trying to conserve strength."

Then Sendoh Akira spoke. "Or… maybe that guy just hasn't shown up yet."

He remembered the practice match. That guy had only come out during the second half.

Hearing that, the Ryonan group fell silent.

It wasn't impossible.

They didn't know Aoi Kunisaku that well, but he really had arrived in the second half last time.

Uozumi Jun let out a cold snort. "Cocky bastard."

…

At the Shohoku tunnel entrance—

Akagi Takenori shouted, "We must win this time. Let's go!"

"Yeah!" the Shohoku team answered in unison.

…

Across from them, the Miuradai players were all looking over at Shohoku with clear disdain.

Miuradai's captain, Murasame Kengo, raised an eyebrow. "Beating Ryonan by 30? Just a second-rate team. Nothing to brag about. This year, we only have one target—Kainan. We're settling last year's score. Shohoku? Don't make me laugh."

Both teams lined up.

The match was about to begin.

…

Elsewhere—

At a train station.

Shimizu Kanon wore a deeply frustrated expression and grumbled, "Seriously, the game's already started, Saku-chan… It's all your fault for missing the last train!"

Aaaahh…

Aoi Kunisaku yawned with sleepy eyes, dragging his voice as he said, "It's just Miuradai. Showing up late won't make any difference."

Shimizu Kanon glared at him. "You idiot, Saku-chan… This is Shohoku's first match in the prefectural tournament! What if something goes wrong? That'd be a disaster!"

"Hah?" Aoi dug in his ear, wearing a lazy smirk. "They've got Akagi, Rukawa, Mitsui, Miyagi. If they can't even beat Miuradai, Shohoku's basketball team might as well just disband."

"What kind of thing is that to say!" Shimizu Kanon snapped, cheeks puffed. "Everyone's working so hard! I'm just worried, okay?"

Right then, a new train slowly pulled into the station.

As soon as the doors opened, Aoi Kunisaku stepped on board.

"Saku-chan… Wait for me!" Shimizu Kanon shouted as she hurried after him, following close behind.

She looked out the window and silently prayed, "I hope everything goes smoothly. I gave them all the data… yeah, everything should be fine."