Inside the Shohoku Basketball Gym, the echoing sound of bouncing basketballs resounded through the spacious hall as the freshmen stood in a single line, waiting for the tryouts to begin.
Takenori Akagi stood at the very front of the line, his arms crossed over his chest, his stern gaze sweeping across the group of freshmen before him.
"Now that you've joined the Shohoku Basketball Team, you must show the proper attitude!"
"Starting today, whether it's physical conditioning, technical skills, or tactical understanding, you will undergo strict training."
Akagi's tone left no room for question, and the atmosphere inside the basketball gym instantly grew a little tense.
Standing at the back of the line, Hanamichi Sakuragi scratched his head dismissively, thinking to himself, "Hmph, training and all that is completely unnecessary for a genius."
However, his "path of genius" was soon dealt a harsh reality check.
Akagi looked over the freshmen before him, paused for a moment, and said, "Those with different foundations will have different training routines."
"Those with basketball experience, head to mid-court for basic one-on-one drills."
"Those with no basketball background, go to the corner and work on fundamentals."
Hearing this, Hanamichi Sakuragi froze abruptly.
"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" Hanamichi demanded, his eyes widening in dissatisfaction.
Akagi cast a cold glance at him and stated bluntly, "Sakuragi, you've never played basketball before, have you? Start with the basic drills."
"Are you kidding me? A genius doesn't need basics!" Hanamichi put his hands on his hips, looking utterly confident.
"……Shut up and get over there to train right now." Akagi pointed toward the corner of the gym, speechless.
Muttering under his breath, Hanamichi nonetheless dragged himself reluctantly to the designated spot.
The Shohoku tryouts had officially begun.
Over in the corner, Kiminobu Kogure was in charge of supervising the basic drills, which mainly consisted of getting the inexperienced freshmen to practice fundamental dribbling and shooting.
"All right, let's start with dribbling," Kogure said with a smile.
"Dribbling? How hard can that be!" Hanamichi casually grabbed a basketball and patted it a few times.
*Thump—*
Using way too much force, the ball bounced straight out of his hand, slammed against the wall, and rebounded back.
"Pfft, hahaha!" Hearing this, the veteran players not far away burst out laughing.
Adjusting his glasses, Kogure said helplessly, "Don't hit the ball so hard when you dribble; pay attention to your touch."
"Hmph, who needs it!" Defiant, Hanamichi picked up the basketball and resumed dribbling.
Yet in less than two minutes, he batted the ball clear out of the gym again.
Watching Hanamichi's clumsy display, veins bulged on Akagi's forehead, and he couldn't help roaring, "Sakuragi!! Are you even listening?!"
"Huh? I'm practicing seriously!" Hanamichi protested, hands on his hips and looking entirely justified.
Akagi took a deep breath, fighting hard to control his rising anger.
The subsequent shooting drills proved to be an even greater disaster.
"Stand at the free-throw line and try to shoot," Kogure instructed patiently.
Hanamichi grabbed the ball, struck a confident pose, took a deep breath, and then—
*Bang!!*
The basketball slammed fiercely against the backboard and bounced far away, leaving the entire gym in dead silence.
"Pfft, hahahahaha!!" The surrounding veterans burst into laughter all over again.
"You idiot, shooting is meant for putting the ball in the basket, not for attacking the backboard!" Akagi bellowed, at the end of his rope.
"Hmph! That was just a warm-up shot! I'll make the next one!" Hanamichi stubbornly pressed on with his shooting, only for—
*Bang!* The ball flew toward the backboard...
*Bang!* The ball hit the rim...
*Bang!* The ball flew straight out of the gym...
"..." Akagi's face had turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"This guy really is..." Kogure shook his head with a wry smile.
"Hmph, now *that's* exciting!" Hanamichi grinned, still completely unfazed.
The veterans didn't even care to make any more remarks.
In contrast to Hanamichi's chaotic performance, the other freshmen's training proceeded in an orderly fashion.
Kaede Rukawa remained as aloof as ever; during the scrimmage drills, he displayed astonishing speed, penetration, and shooting ability, leaving the veteran players thoroughly shocked.
"This guy... is he for real?"
"He's completely unguardable!"
Akagi stared at Kaede, his gaze flickering slightly.
"This guy... has got real talent."
Meanwhile, Shin Saionji quietly went about his own training. His ball-handling was steady, and his passes were precise; rather than deliberately showing off his full capabilities, he chose to gradually adapt to the team's rhythm.
Observing from the side, Kogure looked thoughtful. "This Saionji has very solid fundamentals... He doesn't look like someone with zero experience."
By comparison, Hanamichi's training remained an absolute mess.
Looking at him, Akagi let out a deep sigh. "This idiot... can he really play basketball?"
After an afternoon of tryouts, everyone was thoroughly exhausted.
Standing at the front of the line, Akagi gave a concluding summary: "Today was just the most basic training. Next up, we'll be stepping things up with higher-intensity scrimmages."
"Of course, if you want to secure your place on the Shohoku Basketball Team, you have to prove yourselves in actual games."
"Over the next few days, we will arrange intra-squad matches."
At these words, everyone perked up instantly.
"An intra-squad match?" Shin's gaze lit up slightly.
"Hmph, finally get to play real games?" Kaede said coldly.
"A match? That's my specialty!" Hanamichi Sakuragi pumped his fist in excitement.
Kiminobu Kogure smiled faintly and adjusted his glasses. "Looks like everyone is looking forward to it."
Watching the group of players before him, Akagi's heart swelled with complex emotions.
The Shohoku Basketball Team had finally welcomed a new generation.
But could they truly change the destiny of Shohoku?
Only time would tell—after the intra-squad matches had run their course.