"Uozumi, Nango, Sendoh, Jin, Maki—you five will be on offense first. Maki and Nango will start the attack with a pick-and-roll."
Coach Taoka continued assigning roles.
"Hanagata, Sakuragi, Rukawa, Mitsui, Fujima—you'll be on defense."
Just as Taoka Moichi finished speaking and was about to begin practice, a hand suddenly rose.
"Hm? Kenji Fujima, do you have a question?"
Fujima pointed toward the group where Shinichi Maki was standing and asked seriously,
"Coach… are they the starting lineup?"
Taoka paused for a moment.
In truth, both he and Takato had indeed considered that group the starting lineup. But saying it directly might discourage the other players.
So he replied tactfully,
"This is just a normal practice scrimmage."
Fujima spoke bluntly.
"I didn't come here to be Maki's substitute."
The entire gym fell silent.
"Heh," Maki muttered softly, amused. "He really says whatever he wants."
Both coaches frowned. They hadn't expected Fujima to challenge the arrangement before practice had even begun.
No matter how unwilling he was, Maki's overall ability was clearly superior.
To protect his student, Coach Takato spoke up.
"Fujima, are you saying you want to withdraw?"
"No."
Fujima answered immediately.
"Let's decide who deserves the starting position with a game."
Silence spread across the court.
Then Hisashi Mitsui stepped forward first.
"That's right. Let's use our strength to decide who deserves to start."
As he spoke, Mitsui deliberately glanced at Soichiro Jin.
Hmph.
So this is aimed at Kainan?
Just because we didn't make the national tournament this year doesn't mean you can look down on us.
Coach Takato glanced toward Maki and Jin.
His eyes clearly said: If you two perform poorly today, don't expect me to let it slide.
"Senior Taoka," Takato said calmly, "since the players have spoken, how about turning this into a proper scrimmage?"
Taoka nodded.
"Very well. We'll play using the groups I just assigned. Any objections?"
"No problem."
Fujima turned around and led his teammates away.
Taoka sighed inwardly.
If only Sendoh had the same competitive spirit as Fujima…
He admired Fujima's fighting spirit, but he didn't believe Fujima's side could win.
After all, the opposing lineup was simply too strong.
Uozumi looked at Maki with interest.
"Fujima seems serious. Don't underestimate him."
Before Maki could answer, Nobunaga Kiyota jumped in excitedly.
"Senior Maki would beat him easily even if he didn't take it seriously!"
"Kiyota," Maki said calmly, pushing him aside, "substitutes should stay quietly on the bench."
"Yes…"
After brushing Kiyota away, Maki turned back to Uozumi.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Once you step onto the court, you should always give it your all."
Uozumi smiled faintly but didn't reply.
Maki then looked toward the two most unpredictable players on the team.
"You two aren't planning to go easy, are you?"
Nango grinned and pointed toward the opposing side.
"Of course not. My teammates over there probably want to beat me up right now. I can't give them that chance."
Maki tilted his head toward the last unreliable member.
"And you? Don't start daydreaming on the court."
Akira Sendoh scratched his head and laughed lazily.
"Man… what a headache."
"Hahaha! Pretty boy, I didn't expect you to be so bold!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi slapped Fujima hard on the back.
"Don't worry! I'll help you beat that middle-aged guy!"
Fujima winced slightly from the force of the slap but forced a smile.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Sakuragi."
Mitsui crossed his arms.
"Fujima, do you have any strategy?"
Fujima shook his head honestly.
"To be honest, I don't. All I can do is give it everything I have. The guys over there… they're all monsters."
He paused before continuing.
"But I don't want to give up without even trying."
Kiminobu Kogure Hanagata remained silent.
He understood better than anyone how obsessed Fujima was with defeating Maki and Hainan.
I won't give up…
Mitsui smiled faintly.
He understood that feeling perfectly.
"You said something important earlier," Mitsui said. "None of us came here to be substitutes. I won't admit that I'm inferior to Jin."
"Sendoh is mine."
Kaede Rukawa dropped that sentence casually before walking away to warm up.
Watching the three fiercely competitive Shohoku players, Fujima suddenly understood something.
So this is why we always lose to Shohoku.
"Ha!"
Relying on his overwhelming height advantage, Uozumi jumped first and tipped the ball.
The starting team's offense began.
Nango moved forward to set a screen for Maki, but Maki raised a hand.
"No need."
Holding the ball calmly, Maki slowly said,
"I never expected we would face each other like this… or even have the chance to play together."
Fujima smiled.
"I didn't expect it either. But I'm not giving up the starting position so easily."
The moment he finished speaking, Fujima reached out to steal the ball.
Maki casually avoided it.
Yet instead of attacking immediately, he continued speaking.
"By the way… do you really care that much about the starting spot?"
Fujima frowned slightly.
"Of course not. I just want to compete with you."
"Heh."
Maki smiled.
Then he moved.
No complicated dribble.
No flashy crossover.
He simply accelerated.
And blew past Fujima.
Fujima could only chase helplessly behind him.
They reached the paint in an instant.
Hanagata rushed over to help defend, while Uozumi stood open under the basket with both hands raised.
If Maki passed the ball, it would be an easy dunk.
But Maki ignored him.
He drove straight toward Hanagata.
Hanagata knew exactly how terrifying Maki's ability was.
Instead of charging forward recklessly, he simply raised both arms high to contest the shot.
He didn't want the first possession to turn into a three-point play.
Maki remained completely calm.
In mid-air, he maintained perfect shooting form and released the ball with a high arc.
After landing, he didn't even bother to look.
Turning around with a faint smile, he said,
"Fujima… I accept your challenge."
Swish.
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.