"Remember! Absolutely do not let Coach tire himself out. His body hasn't fully recovered yet. If anything happens, you must find a way to deal with it yourselves, understand?"
"Y-Yes… I understand."
"And another thing..."
Mitsui, acting like an old man, kept reminding Yasuda to pay close attention to Coach Anzai's condition. If anything seemed wrong, he was to take the coach to the hospital immediately—no hesitation.
Outside the gymnasium, Rukawa Kaede leaned against the wire fence, dozing with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, Miyagi stood nearby, watching the baseball team practicing on the field.
Sakuragi complained to Nango, "Seriously, we had to come all the way out here just to practice on a weekend."
"No choice," Nango replied with a helpless smile. "Otherwise, it wouldn't be fair to everyone."
After saying that, he casually asked, "By the way, how are things between you and Haruko? Did you two go on a date afterward?"
"Hehe..."
Sakuragi simply grinned foolishly without answering.
"Oh? Getting shy now? Alright, I won't ask anymore."
Nango turned away as if he had lost interest and pretended to watch the baseball team practice, using a classic tactic—retreating in order to make Sakuragi speak up on his own.
"I…"
"Let's go! Time to depart!"
Sakuragi had just begun to take the bait when Mitsui walked out of the building and immediately led the team toward their destination—the Kanagawa Prefecture General Gymnasium.
For the next month, they would practice there every weekend together with players from other schools.
All of it was preparation for the National Sports Festival in autumn, commonly known as the Autumn National Sports Festival.
Before this year, the championship of this event had always been dominated by Akita Prefecture.
The reason was simple.
The most powerful high school basketball team in the country—Sannoh Industrial—was from Akita.
However, things were very different this year. The rule allowing mixed prefectural teams had added a great deal of uncertainty to the competition.
Moreover, Sannoh Industrial's undefeated myth had already been shattered by Shohoku.
Perhaps it was the beginning of a new era.
*
"It's you again? Yaru?"
"Red-haired Monkey?!"
The moment they stepped through the gymnasium's main entrance, they spotted a lone "Yaru" standing in front of a vending machine choosing a drink.
As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes burn with anger.
Sakuragi immediately started arguing with Kiyota.
Captain Mitsui stepped forward and separated the two before asking Kiyota, "Has your team already arrived? I thought we agreed to meet at two."
Still glaring at Sakuragi, Kiyota explained, "Coach said there were some things that needed to be handled in advance, so we came half an hour early."
"Oh, right. The Ryonan team has also arrived. Since you guys are here too, that means only the Shoyo team is left."
"Is that so? Then we'll go get changed first. See you on the court later."
Now that everything was clear, they didn't waste any more time and quickly went to find a place to change.
Miyagi pulled his jersey out of his bag and calculated out loud.
"There are four teams in total. If three players are chosen from each team, that makes twelve players exactly."
Mitsui nodded and continued the thought.
"That means it will probably be like when we joined the Youth Team—there will be another round of selections."
Miyagi instantly felt uneasy.
Kanagawa Prefecture had far too many excellent point guards.
There were the experienced Maki and Fujima, as well as the monster rookie Nango.
Thinking about it this way, there might not even be a place for him. Why had he come at all?
While Miyagi worried about his future, Mitsui felt the same pressure.
The shooting guard position was also crowded with talent, and the biggest threat to him was Jin Soichiro from Kainan Affiliated High School.
Their playing styles were very similar.
But Jin was taller—and younger.
Nango and the others didn't share those concerns. Being selected was practically guaranteed for them; the only question was whether they would be starters or substitutes.
Of course, nothing was certain yet.
Anything could happen.
*
"I think you all know each other already, so we can skip the introductions."
Coach Taoka wore a rare smile.
Part of the reason was to help the players relax quickly, allowing them to become familiar with the environment and their teammates so they could form a competitive unit as soon as possible.
But there was another reason.
He was the head coach of this team, while Coach Takato was only the assistant.
That feeling…
was incredibly refreshing.
A rather dark thought even crossed his mind.
Mitsui, Miyagi, and Rukawa Kaede were finally under his command, meaning he could finally test the perfect lineup he had imagined.
What could be more satisfying than defeating his old rival while also fulfilling his long-held dream?
Coach Taoka felt there was nothing more satisfying.
Now it was his time to shine.
Watching Taoka's grin grow wider and wider, Coach Takato couldn't help but think bitterly:
"I've sat in that position for years anyway. Letting you have it for one year isn't a big deal."
The reason Taoka had become the head coach was because the two of them had held a secret competition—a spot-shooting contest, best of three rounds.
"Taoka Ali" won two rounds cleanly and secured the head coach position.
During their last phone call, neither of them had been willing to back down. In the end, they decided to let the players prove everything on the court.
Everyone would participate in the training camp, and whoever performed well would earn their spot.
As for who would lead the team?
Let their abilities speak for themselves.
Although the method was somewhat childish, it was undeniably fair.
"Alright then," Coach Taoka announced.
"Let's officially begin today's training!"
With those words, the competition for spots on the Kanagawa Prefecture representative team had officially begun.