Takenori Akagi, known to everyone as the 'Gorilla', marched into the gym. His presence alone was enough to make the air feel heavy. He stared at the red-haired boy standing next to his sister, Haruko.
"Who is this punk?" Akagi's voice boomed, echoing against the high ceiling.
Before Haruko could explain, the System buzzed in Sakuragi's mind.
[New Urgent Quest: The Gorilla's Challenge!]
[Objective: Win a one-on-one duel against Takenori Akagi.]
[Reward: +200 EXP, Skill: 'Power Rebounder', and 50 System Points.]
[Failure Penalty: -50% Stamina for 24 hours.]
Sakuragi didn't flinch. Instead, he spun the basketball on his fingertip, a smirk playing on his lips. "I'm the man who's going to take your spot as the captain, big guy."
The gym went dead silent. The basketball club members who had just arrived gasped in terror. No one ever spoke to Akagi like that.
"A duel," Akagi growled, throwing his gym bag aside. "One basket. If you score, I'll listen to your nonsense. If you lose, you never set foot in this gym again."
"Deal," Sakuragi said, his eyes glowing with a faint blue light as the System activated his 'Iron Wall Defense' skill.
He could see Akagi's stats hovering in the air. Level 45. Veteran Center. Sakuragi was only Level 2, but he had something Akagi didn't: a future-tech advantage.
"Get ready, Gorilla," Sakuragi whispered, crouching into a defensive stance. "The era of the Red-Haired Genius starts now."