The spring breeze gently brushed against Shohoku High School, and cherry blossom petals fell with the wind, adorning every corner of the campus. Outside the teaching building, a girl with a ponytail was excitedly looking at the tall boy beside her, her eyes full of expectation.
"Hanamichi-kun, try making a dunk!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi, with his signature red hair, looked exceptionally dazzling in the sunlight. Hearing Haruko Akagi's encouragement, the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously, as if he could already foresee himself soaring into the sky and becoming the savior of Shohoku Basketball Team.
"Hmph, let me show you the power of a genius!"
Sakuragi moved his wrists slightly, bent his knees, and pushed off fiercely—
"Bang!"
The next second, his forehead collided solidly with the backboard.
The world seemed to freeze for a second. Sakuragi hung suspended in the air for a moment, and then the rebound force violently knocked him flat onto the ground.
"Hiss..." He lay on the ground, rubbing his throbbing forehead in pain, feeling as if the world was spinning.
Yet before he could even recover his wits, an exclamation sounded beside his ear.
"Hanamichi-kun, you're amazing!"
"Eh?"
Sakuragi blinked in a daze, looking up at Haruko, who still wore that incomparably excited expression.
"Your leaping ability is truly astonishing! To think you could jump to that height!" Haruko's eyes shone as she looked at him with delight. "If you receive professional training, you might just become a super basketball player!"
Those words struck Hanamichi Sakuragi's heart like a bolt of lightning.
A super basketball player...?
He gazed at the basket, visions flashing through his mind of himself dominating the stage at the national tournament, followed by Haruko cheering excitedly for him, and even... even...
"Wahahaha!"
Sakuragi suddenly leaped up from the ground, put his hands on his hips, and burst into a bold laugh: "Haruko-kun is right! A genius is meant to play basketball!"
Haruko nodded with a smile: "Then, Hanamichi-kun, would you consider joining Shohoku Basketball Team?"
Sakuragi's smile instantly froze.
A basketball team?
His mind conjured up an image of a bunch of sweaty, burly guys running desperately, and a wave of reluctance rose in his heart.
Yet when he turned his head and saw Haruko's gaze full of anticipation, his inner struggle came to an instant end.
"Fine! I'll join the basketball team!"
Thus began Hanamichi Sakuragi's legendary path with Shohoku.
Up in the second-floor corridor of the teaching building, Shin Saionji stood by the window, lowering his gaze slightly to look at the distant Shohoku Basketball Gym.
Shohoku Basketball Team was holding its official recruitment trials starting today.
Yet he knew very well that Shohoku was not a powerhouse, but rather a notorious one-man team.
In the Kanagawa Prefecture basketball world, Shohoku's record had never been quite ideal. For years, it had relied solely on Captain Takenori Akagi struggling to hold the team together alone, while the other players varied wildly in skill, making their overall competitiveness far inferior to powerhouses like Kainan, Ryonan, and Shoyo.
Even so, Shin Saionji knew that Shohoku was about to welcome two astonishingly brilliant players.
One was Kaede Rukawa, and the other was Hanamichi Sakuragi.
Once Ryota Miyagi returned to the team and Hisashi Mitsui turned over a new leaf, the Shohoku Five would be complete.
As for himself, he would quietly join their ranks as a point guard.
Just as he was deep in thought, a light set of footsteps approached from beside him.
"Eh? Are you a new student too?"
Shin Saionji turned back to see a smiling girl standing before him.
Haruko Akagi.
Her eyes were clear, carrying an infinite enthusiasm for new things, and her gaze was full of curiosity as she looked at him.
Shin Saionji paused slightly, then nodded.
"Yes."
Haruko blinked, looking at his straight posture, and couldn't help exclaiming: "Wow, you're so tall! Are you in the basketball club?"
"Not yet, but I'm planning to join."
"Really?" Haruko's eyes lit up instantly. "That's wonderful!"
She said excitedly: "My brother is the captain of the basketball team, Shohoku's center! If you join, you have to work hard!"
Shin Saionji smiled faintly: "Takenori Akagi?"
"That's right! He's really amazing!" Haruko said proudly.
Shin Saionji nodded gently, saying nothing more.
Haruko looked at him, suddenly feeling that this new student was a bit special. His tone was calm, yet not cold; compared to other freshmen, he seemed much more mature.
Just as she was about to say something else, a cheer suddenly drifted over from afar.
Turning her head, she spotted Sakuragi standing in the middle of the sports field, pointing a finger at the sky and laughing excitedly, surrounded by a few boys who seemed to be discussing something with him.
Haruko smiled and said softly: "Well, I'll be going ahead, Saionji-kun. See you at the basketball team!"
Shin Saionji nodded, watching Haruko's retreating figure as she ran toward the field, and smiled faintly.
Inside the Shohoku Basketball Gym, the annual freshman recruitment was underway.
At the registration desk, Vice-Captain Kiminobu Kogure adjusted his glasses, looked over the long roster of applicants, and nodded slightly: "We have quite a few more freshmen this year than last year."
Takenori Akagi stood nearby with his arms crossed over his chest, brow furrowing slightly, clearly more interested in quality: "Numbers mean nothing. The key is whether there's anyone who can actually play."
"We do have a few impressive talents this year," Kogure said with a smile. "Take Kaede Rukawa, for instance—rumor has it he's one of the top players in junior high."
Akagi gave a cold snort and said nothing further.
At that moment, a new student approached the registration desk.
"Shin Saionji..." Kogure murmured the name on the registration form, his eyes widening slightly as he looked at the statistics listed.
"189 cm, point guard?"
He raised his head to look at the boy standing before him—short black hair, deep eyes, and a steady expression.
Kiminobu Kogure was slightly taken aback. Shohoku had never had a point guard this tall before.
"Have you ever played in official matches?" Kogure couldn't help asking.
"No," Shin Saionji answered calmly.
"Then why do you want to play point guard?"
"Because I like it."
Kogure was stunned for a moment, then smiled faintly: "Having a goal is a good thing."
He stamped **"Approved"** onto the registration form and handed a Shohoku Basketball Team jersey to Shin Saionji: "Welcome to the Shohoku Basketball Team."
Shin Saionji nodded slightly, took the jersey, and walked deeper into the gym.
From this day onward, he officially became a member of the Shohoku Basketball Team.