"Oooooh~~~ We're already getting a chance to face the 'Kings'? I'm so pumped, Akashi!"
Clearly, not all of the freshmen were afraid of going up against the upperclassmen. For some, like a certain airheaded individual, the prospect only made them more excited.
Tsugawa Tomoki's enthusiastic voice drew the attention of several other freshmen. It was only then that most of them seemed to realize Akashi Asuka was standing right there.
Suddenly,
The eyes of several quick-thinking newcomers lit up.
"If we team up with that guy, won't our chances of passing the tryouts shoot way up?"
None of them really knew Akashi Asuka or what he was capable of. But given his towering height, even just having him grab rebounds under the hoop would give any team a massive advantage.
For a moment, many of them began inching toward him.
But of course, if the freshmen could think of this, there was no way the upperclassmen at Seiho High hadn't considered it too.
Just as the crowd began to stir, the upperclassman in charge of recruitment, none other than Seiho's core player, Kasuga Ryuhei, walked over with a smile.
"Oh, and just a heads-up to anyone planning to team up with Akashi-kun here: Since we suspect his skills may be a cut above the rest, any team with him on it will be facing a squad composed entirely of Seiho's main lineup!"
With that one announcement, the crowd that had started to drift toward Akashi dispersed like a flock of startled birds, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
In the end, only five players remained around Akashi Asuka, including Tsugawa Tomoki, just enough to form a team. Judging by their expressions, it was clear none of them stayed because they believed in him… they'd simply been too slow to react.
And when they finally realized what they'd signed up for, they began quietly inching away, hoping to slip out unnoticed.
But Kasuga clapped his hands cheerfully. "Perfect! Since we've got five here, you'll be a team."
The other four, aside from Tsugawa, visibly deflated.
"We're doomed… I'm definitely getting cut this time."
"This is impossible! We're up against Seiho's main squad! They made it to the national quarterfinals last year, how are we supposed to beat that?"
At first, they were thrilled to be grouped with someone as tall as Akashi Asuka, but the second they learned who they'd be facing, the mood flipped completely.
No matter how tall he was, there was just no way he alone could overcome Seiho's "Kings of Tokyo" lineup.
The gap in athleticism, experience, technique, and tactical awareness between upperclassmen who'd been to nationals and a bunch of first-years was simply too vast.
============
Not long after, all four teams had finished warming up.
Akashi Asuka and Tsugawa Tomoki donned white jerseys. Across from them, Seiho's main lineup appeared in black uniforms.
"Alright then… let's see what this year's freshmen have to offer,"
Standing by the court was a middle-aged man in a slightly outdated button-up shirt, his chin rough with stubble. Despite his old-fashioned appearance, he exuded a calm, unshakable confidence.
This was Matsumoto Yukinori, the head coach of Seiho High School.
Just like the coaches at other powerhouse schools, Shutoku, Kirisaki Daiichi, Kaijo, he was a former national player. In fact, they had all once played on the same team.
Standing beside Coach Matsumoto was a young woman with long blue hair, clipboard in hand, busily recording stats.
"Coach, are you sure it's okay to have Iwamura's squad go up against those rookies? That Akashi guy may look like a beast, but size doesn't always mean skill."
Her name was Kitayama Yuzuki, and she was the team manager.
Matsumoto stroked his chin thoughtfully. "True, but that kid doesn't give off a weak vibe at all."
He then added with a wry smile, "And really, it's because they're rookies that I'm putting Iwamura's team out there. If they get too full of themselves early on, it'll be a pain to manage later."
BEEP~~~
As his final word fell, the game officially began.
Jump ball at center court.
Akashi Asuka easily tapped the ball to Tsugawa Tomoki thanks to his overwhelming height advantage. As soon as the ball was in his hands, Tsugawa darted toward the basket.
"Alright! Let me score the first one!"
His acceleration was impressive. After all, he'd been training with Akashi recently. In order to both get past and defend against him, Tsugawa had put in serious work to improve his footwork and explosiveness.
"Oh? This brat's got some moves. Nice speed and footwork too."
Coach Matsumoto raised an eyebrow. Compared to Akashi, Tsugawa was the kind of player whose abilities were hard to judge from appearance alone. Up until now, his loud and playful attitude had been the only thing anyone remembered about him.
"Guess I underestimated him a bit."
Tsugawa had already made it into the paint, but just as he was about to go for the layup, one of the black team's players closed in fast.
"Whoa~~ That's some speed. No wonder they're called Kings! In that case..."
Spotting the shadow closing in from the corner of his eye, Tsugawa came to a sudden stop and launched the ball with a quick flick of his wrist.
"Hah! Too reckless, rookie. You think a wild shot like that's going in?"
Sakamoto Kenjiro, the small forward on Seiho's main team, instantly charged under the hoop. Years of experience let him read the trajectory with a single glance, it was definitely going to miss.
But as he leapt for the rebound, a massive shadow loomed behind him.
A hand reached up and snatched the ball cleanly above Sakamoto's head.
Akashi Asuka.
Without pause, Akashi whipped the ball back to the perimeter.
Tsugawa caught the pass with a grin.
"Dumbass. Of course I knew that shot wouldn't go in. But I also knew exactly who would get the rebound!"
He stepped back, rose, and launched a three-pointer.
The ball traced a smooth arc through the air and dropped cleanly through the hoop.
==========
You can find much more on my Patreon: Patreon.com/Veltoria
There are currently 5 active fanfictions on Patreon, with over 654+ advanced chapters available across them!
From Naruto Onwards, I Control Time — Up to Chapter 337
Haikyuu!!: Rise of Sengoku — Up to Chapter 279
Danmachi: Is It Wrong To Aspire to Be An Adventurer? — Up to Chapter 97
Legend of Hogwarts (Harry Potter x League of Legends) — Up to Chapter 218
I Am Luffy: Partner System Online (One Piece) — Up to Chapter 200
Playing Genshin Impact in Danmachi (Danmachi x Genshin Impact) — Up to Chapter 130
Kuroko no Basket: The Phantom Ace — Up to Chapter 59
Yukigaoka: Project Ace — Up to Chapter 53
Naruto: Starting from the Duel — Up to Chapter 43