Seihō Basketball Club.
"Hey, Yuuto, want to check this out tomorrow?" Tsugawa Tomoki walked over with a poster in hand.
They didn't need to play in the Winter Cup qualifiers, but Seihō's training never stopped—not with a Grand Slam as their goal.
Of course, players weren't machines. Every week there was a rest day for them to do whatever they wanted and recover from the exhaustion of extra practice.
"Street basketball tournament?"
It wasn't the theatrical exhibition match from the movie—this was a grassroots street ball competition organized by regular people.
Yuuto studied the poster, memories surfacing in his mind.
There had been a similar amateur tournament at the start of the second season in the original story.
Registration was open to anyone. All you had to do was form a team and show up.
The reason he remembered it was because Murasakibara Atsushi and Himuro Tatsuya made their first appearance at this very event.
In that case...
"Sure, let's go have some fun."
There weren't many players left in the country who could hold his interest anymore. Murasakibara and Himuro were two of the precious few.
"Since even the King himself has spoken, we commoners shall follow." Kasuga Ryuhei said half-jokingly. "Count me in, Tsugawa!"
"I'll tag along too. Think of it as a team outing." Iwamura Tsutomu and the others chimed in one after another, treating it as a casual excursion.
...
The next day.
Street Basketball Tournament venue.
Yuuto arrived at the entrance with Sora at his side. Tsugawa Tomoki and the others had already been waiting for a while.
"Over here, Captain!"
"Coming."
Yuuto and Sora walked over to join up with the Seihō crew.
The turnout was impressive. Events like this happened at most once a year, drawing street ball enthusiasts from all over—some traveling considerable distances just to participate.
Beyond the hardcore street ballers, there were also regular players and curious onlookers who'd come to watch.
Among them were members of Seirin.
"Yuuto?!"
"The King's Seihō squad!"
At the sound of these voices, Yuuto's group turned while approaching the registration booth to find familiar faces.
Sora tilted her head, peeking out from behind Yuuto to see the Seirin contingent.
It wasn't the full roster—just Kagami, Kuroko, Kiyoshi Teppei, and a few other first-years.
"Oh, it's you guys." Yuuto greeted Kagami and the others with a casual wave.
A short while later, the two groups found a grassy spot to sit and wait for the tournament to begin.
Sora had bought a hot dog and was nibbling on it beside Yuuto, occasionally offering him bites. The sight drew more than a few envious glances.
"So what brings you here? Don't you have practice?" Kasuga Ryuhei plopped down beside them. "The Winter Cup is right around the corner, isn't it?"
"We still train, but today's a rest day."
At this, the Seirin players couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy.
As national champions, Seihō had secured a direct spot in the finals bracket without needing to go through qualifiers.
"I see. So how are things? Teppei, you good to play again?" Iwamura Tsutomu asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"Yeah, pretty much back to normal."
"That's good to hear. But be careful during the Winter Cup."
At this, Iwamura and Kasuga's expressions turned serious.
Kagami, Kuroko, and the other first-years looked confused.
"What do you mean, 'be careful'?"
"You didn't tell them?" Iwamura looked at Kiyoshi Teppei, who shook his head—he hadn't wanted his teammates to worry too much about him.
Noticing the questioning looks from Kagami and the others, Iwamura finally revealed the truth. "Kiyoshi's injury wasn't an accident. It was deliberate."
What?!
Kagami and Kuroko's expressions shifted immediately.
Though they hadn't known Kiyoshi long, they could tell he was a genuinely good senpai.
"What happened?" they pressed.
"Kirisaki Daiichi. And Hanamiya Makoto—he's one of the Uncrowned Kings, just like Kiyoshi." Kasuga began slowly, a flash of disgust crossing his face. "But unlike the other four, Hanamiya doesn't play basketball because he loves it."
He recounted what had happened when Seirin faced Kirisaki Daiichi last year.
During that match, Hanamiya had used violent tactics to take Kiyoshi out of the game. The injury had required months of treatment, causing Kiyoshi to miss this year's Inter-High entirely.
The Seirin players' anger flared immediately upon hearing this.
They'd assumed Kiyoshi's injury was just bad luck. They never imagined it was intentional.
"How could they do that? Didn't the referees do anything?"
"It's not that they didn't want to—they just couldn't see it." Yuuto said, then leaned down to give Sora a quick kiss, smoothly swiping her bag in the process. "It works something like that."
Sora's face flushed bright red, and Kagami's group was momentarily stunned by the public display of affection.
Broad daylight! Right out in the open! How could they just...
"You mean they block the refs' line of sight before making their moves?"
Leave it to Kuroko to stay completely unfazed by Sora's cuteness, focused entirely on the basketball discussion. No wonder the guy was such a formidable player.
Kagami and the others snapped back to attention, their expressions grave.
"Yeah, their dirty plays are incredibly subtle. So if you run into them during the Winter Cup, be careful. The refs won't be on your side." Yuuto warned them. "Especially you, Teppei. Another injury like that might end your career for good."
His blunt words sent a chill through the Seirin players.
Still, someone tried to stay optimistic. "There are so many teams competing. We might not even run into them, right?"
"No." Iwamura's expression was deadly serious. "Setting aside Hanamiya's despicable personality, Kirisaki Daiichi's strength is genuinely top-tier."
"You'd better hope they get eliminated early by Tōō or Shutoku. Otherwise, you'll almost certainly cross paths."
Kasuga didn't like Hanamiya, but he couldn't deny the man's abilities.
"That guy's IQ is 160. His strategic capabilities are on par with any Generation of Miracles member."
"First round starting! Seihō, please report to the court!"
The announcement signaled that Seihō's match was about to begin.
"That's our cue. Catch you later."
Yuuto dusted himself off and pulled the still-blushing Sora to her feet.
"Oh... right." The Seirin players were still processing everything they'd just heard, wondering what they'd do if they really did face Kirisaki Daiichi.
Kiyoshi Teppei, ever the optimist, reassured his teammates.
"Relax. If we meet them, we beat them fair and square. Besides, maybe they'll run into Shutoku or Tōō before we even get the chance."
"True. Seirin's match is starting—want to go watch?"
"Let's go!"
...
Meanwhile, Yuuto had led his group to the court.
Their opponents were already waiting. One player caught his attention immediately—short black hair with long bangs covering half his face, a beauty mark beneath his eye.
Himuro Tatsuya. Kagami Taiga's brother.
"This should be interesting. I've never played street ball before—wonder what it'll be like?"
"Most people here are just enthusiasts. It's more about enjoying the game than winning, Tsugawa."
Seihō wasn't here to dominate. They were here to relax and experience something different.
They'd grown up playing organized basketball. Street ball was unfamiliar territory.
"Wait, that's the Seihō basketball club!"
"Seihō? The national champions Seihō?!"
"Who else? Look, that's Yuuto! It's really him!"
Their appearance caused quite a stir.
After all, they were the fresh-faced national champions. Himuro Tatsuya noticed too.
"Yuuto!"
His calm expression changed instantly, eyes fixed intently on the newcomer.
"Where's Murasakibara? He should be here with you, right?"
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"