Saturday—game day.
"BEEP!"
The opening whistle rang out as Haizaki Shogo leapt high into the air. Under the surprised gaze of the tall player opposite him, clad in white and purple vertical stripes, he slapped the ball away. The ball dropped straight into his teammate's hands.
Haizaki landed steadily, took the ball back from his teammate, and sprinted down the court at full speed.
One powerful step—he soared like a fish breaking the surface—and with both hands he slammed the ball viciously through the hoop.
"BEEP!"
Fukuda Sogo scored first. The overwhelming momentum—sharpened by Haizaki himself—stunned the players from Yosen High.
After scoring, Haizaki and his teammates hurried back on defense. Watching the group of tall players slowly close in, and feeling the pressure radiating from the Yosen team, Haizaki narrowed his eyes.
Yosen High's team might not have the terrifying height of the high school division—none of those towering giants over two meters—but compared to the almost entirely ordinary roster of Fukuda Sogo, Yosen's average height was surely above 185 cm. The pressure on Fukuda Sogo's players was crushing.
As expected of a traditional powerhouse, they inherited the basketball style of the high school division: a defensive-type team. Their defensive capabilities were indeed formidable.
Haizaki stopped one Yosen player on defense—but the other four Yosen players easily broke through Fukuda Sogo's defensive line and scored without difficulty.
Soon, Yosen casually made a basket and tied the score.
Taking the ball passed by captain Fukuda Sasaki, Haizaki dribbled while surveying the court situation. He had a bad feeling about this.
Because the opponent's average height was so high, the pressure on his teammates would be immense. He had forcefully dunked at the opening precisely to raise his team's morale.
That earlier dunk wasn't just flash—it was meant to boost his teammates' spirits while shaking the opponent's confidence.
But the momentum that had just been raised was immediately suppressed again when Yosen easily broke their formation and calmly tied the score.
This is bad!
Haizaki's mind raced. If he kept dunking to ignite morale, that would obviously be an unwise choice. Whether morale went up or not was one thing—but his stamina would drain at an accelerated rate.
That would be foolish and not worth the trade!
So the only path left now was to fight for points—ideally scoring as easily as possible.
Having figured that out, Haizaki dribbled and slowly approached the three-point line. Just as Yosen's defender tried to close in on him, he had already set his feet and taken the shot.
Bending slightly, he rose into the air. At the peak of his jump the ball left his hands, sailing past the outstretched palm of the Yosen player leaping to block it.
"SWISH!"
The ball slid cleanly through the net—Fukuda Sogo scored three points.
Seeing the ball go in, the players on the bench all jumped to their feet, raising their right hands to cheer.
Team assistant Shimizu Rena hugged the other girl assistant in celebration, then quickly grabbed her notebook and began writing furiously.
Watching this, the Yosen coach, a crew-cut middle-aged man, shot up from his seat, eyes full of shock and disbelief.
The message in Haizaki's three-pointer was crystal clear: he would not charge into the paint to clash head-on with Yosen's physically imposing players, and he wouldn't waste a single drop of stamina.
Instead, he would continually shoot threes—gradually stretching the score gap.
Realizing this, the Yosen coach felt irritated and helpless. This is bad! That number 6 from Fukuda Sogo is going to be a real problem!
By contrast, Fukuda Sogo's coach, Ichiro Kudo, clenched his fist in excitement. He was one step away from cheering together with the players—but for the sake of dignity, he held himself back.
Excellent. Powerful.
In that moment, Coach Kudo felt truly fortunate for bringing Haizaki onto the team and building the squad and its tactics around him. It was finally paying off. Haizaki had led them here, fought past Seiho, and was now suppressing Yosen—he had not let the team down.
"SWISH!"
Another three-pointer fell. Fukuda Sogo now led Yosen High 8–6, only five minutes into the game. The Yosen coach—already furious—had no choice but to call a timeout.
On the bench, Haizaki drank a sip of water, wiped his sweat with the towel Shimizu Rena handed him, and smiled his thanks.
The whistle blew—the game resumed!
Haizaki's pupils shrank. It was like a wall had suddenly appeared before him—Yosen had sent out their two strongest, tallest players to defend him.
The Yosen coach was no fool. He had seen through Fukuda Sogo's tactical core and intended to seal Haizaki, cutting off their scoring ability altogether.
Seeing the two towering players double-team Haizaki, everyone—on court and off—gasped.
Even Shimizu's face showed faint worry—let alone everyone else.
On the bench, Coach Kudo's brows knit tightly, his expression darkening as though someone owed him a fortune and refused to pay.
He saw further than his players—and he thought deeper.
On the surface, two men were defending Haizaki—but in truth, this was an enormous test of their team strategy.
If Haizaki continued trying to score on his own, it would only become harder—and drain even more stamina.
If he chose to pass, letting open teammates score, it seemed more reasonable—almost perfect.
But… was it really?
The moment Haizaki chose to pass, it would mean he no longer believed in his own ability and could only rely on teammates to score.
Even more frightening—at the very instant of that pass—the team's entire strategy could collapse. No tactics. No team spirit.
Coach Kudo was not the only one who understood this—the Yosen coach had seen it too.
Kudo glared sideways at the Yosen coach, silently roaring inside: You schemers… your hearts are filthy.
Soon, however, his gaze returned to Haizaki, dribbling upcourt.
Staring at him, Kudo could only choose to believe: Since you come from a team of the Generation of Miracles, I believe you are different. I believe you are also one of the Miracles—our own miracle at Fukuda Sogo.
At that very moment, Haizaki himself had already seen through Yosen's intention and the trap they were trying to spring.
"Just two guys to stop me? Who exactly are you underestimating?"
In the shocked, almost terrified eyes of the two Yosen players, Haizaki simply seemed to vanish—slipping past both of them with ease.
A sharp stop—jump shot!
"SWISH!"
The mesmerizing rustle of the ball sliding through the net echoed—Fukuda Sogo had claimed yet another three points.
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