Inside the Shohoku Basketball Gym, the atmosphere of the intra-squad scrimmage grew increasingly tense as the freshman team, led by Shin Saionji, unexpectedly and gradually seized the initiative.
The players on the upperclassman team wore grim expressions. They had thought their experience would allow them to easily suppress the newcomers, but reality proved far more brutal than they had imagined.
Shin Saionji's floor-general ability kept the tempo of the entire match firmly in the hands of the freshman team!
Takenori Akagi stood under the basket with a heavy frown, his gaze locked tightly onto the cool, ball-handling teenager who seemed capable of seeing through everything.
"Just what in the world is this guy's background?"
The upperclassman team quickly adjusted their strategy, deploying a double-team defense in an attempt to use their physical advantage to restrict Shin Saionji's passing lanes.
Yet Shin Saionji merely glanced indifferently at his opponents, the corners of his mouth curving upward in a slight smirk.
Through the vision of the Demon King's Eye, every tactical maneuver was laid bare and analyzed to perfection.
As the upperclassman defenders rushed forward to apply pressure, Shin Saionji suddenly executed a sharp crossover, threading the ball right through the defender's armpit and delivering it with pinpoint accuracy to Kaede Rukawa!
Kaede Rukawa caught the ball, smoothly transitioned into a pull-up jumper, and watched as it swished cleanly through the net!
"Tch, still just as accurate." Kiminobu Kogure sighed, looking at Shin Saionji with eyes full of shock.
"His passing... it's completely unsolvable." Ayako recorded data at lightning speed from the sideline, her expression filled with utter disbelief.
Yet the upperclassman team refused to collapse easily. They amped up their physicality on offense, trying to leverage Akagi's height and strength to score inside.
"Give me the ball!" Akagi bellowed from the low post, his sturdy frame standing like a miniature mountain in the paint as he assumed a definitive scoring posture.
The upperclassman point guard immediately lobbed the ball into the paint, and Akagi leaped high into the air, intent on throwing down a direct slam dunk!
Yet at that exact moment—
A lightning-fast figure suddenly darted in!
It was Shin Saionji!
Reading Akagi's movement with absolute precision, the moment his opponent left the floor, Shin Saionji closed the gap instantly to contest and disrupt the dunk!
"What?!"
Akagi's dunk was spoiled, the basketball glancing off the rim and bouncing away!
"This guy even dares to guard Akagi?" Shohoku's veteran players were left completely dumbfounded.
Kaede Rukawa immediately secured the rebound and swiftly initiated a fast break!
Just as the upperclassman defenders scrambled back to cover, Shin Saionji had already sprinted into the frontcourt with astonishing speed. Spotting a defensive gap in the upperclassman formation, he delivered a precise bounce pass that zipped right through a narrow seam between two defenders!
Kaede Rukawa caught the pass completely unguarded and easily laid it in for two points!
The freshman team's transition from defense to offense had flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and flowing water!
"This guy... he's practically a commander on the court," Kiminobu Kogure marveled.
"Not only can he see through the game, but he dictates its rhythm," Ayako muttered to herself, staring intently at Shin Saionji with inner awe. "If he's allowed to run Shohoku's offense, then truly..."
Even so, the upperclassman team refused to roll over and die.
They ramped up their defensive intensity against Shin Saionji, denying him easy passes and applying direct body contact in an effort to disrupt his rhythm.
Faced with this aggressive checking, Shin Saionji showed no panic.
The Demon King's Eye had already clearly anticipated the opponent's tactical adjustment.
As the upperclassman defender tried to block his driving lane, Shin Saionji suddenly executed a tight behind-the-back dribble, shook off his marker, and drove straight into the paint!
"Trying to shoot?" Akagi let out a cold snort, raising both hands high to prepare for a block!
Yet the instant he jumped, Shin Saionji suddenly flicked a no-look pass, floating the ball out toward the perimeter from right beside Akagi!
Kaede Rukawa was already waiting there, catching and releasing the ball in one motion to drain a three-pointer!
"This guy..." Akagi landed, his brow furrowing even deeper.
This was no longer something an ordinary talented player could pull off.
Shin Saionji's basketball IQ far exceeded anything he could have imagined!
The game continued, but the momentum had tilted completely in favor of the freshman team.
Even though the upperclassman team tried to lean on their experience, they were utterly incapable of controlling the tempo against Shin Saionji's terrifying floor-control.
Coach Anzai remained standing on the sideline, his eyes squinted into crescent moons as a gentle smile lingered on his face.
Chapter 8: Hanamichi Sakuragi's Restlessness and Coach Anzai's Astonishment
Inside the Shohoku Basketball Gym, the intra-squad scrimmage had reached a white-hot phase.
Under Shin Saionji's command, the freshman team's offense flowed smoothly and their defense remained rock-solid, allowing them to gradually take total control of the tempo. Meanwhile, although the upperclassman team still had Akagi anchoring them, they could find no way to contain Shin Saionji, and the score gap began to widen.
The scoreboard read: Freshman Team 36 – Upperclassman Team 28.
Though the upperclassman team mounted a stubborn resistance, they were already being led around by the nose.
Yet just as the match raged on, a commotion erupted from the bench along the sideline.
"Hey, hey, hey! How come I'm still not in?!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi leapt violently to his feet, pointing straight at Shin Saionji on the court and roaring, "How come this guy gets to have all the fun out there while I'm stuck sitting here watching?!"
Ayako, sitting beside him, calmly flipped the scoreboard without even raising her head. "Because your basketball skills aren't good enough yet."
"Wha—!" Sakuragi instantly bristled. "Are you kidding me?! I'm a genius!"
"A genius?" Ayako sneered, lifting her head to glare at him. "Then tell me, can you even dribble?"
Sakuragi choked, the corners of his mouth twitching.
"Well, can you shoot?"
Sakuragi's expression grew even more awkward.
"Do you even know how to run tactical plays?"
"Uh..." Beads of sweat popped up on Sakuragi's forehead as his eyes darted away.
Ayako spread her hands. "So do you honestly think you should be on the court?"
"Humph..." Sakuragi's face radiated stubborn defiance, yet he could find no grounds for a rebuttal.
He spun around sharply to look at Coach Anzai, who was standing off to the side looking completely relaxed, and hurried over to shout, "Old man! Hurry up and put me in! You saw it too, right? My talent is out of this world—leaving me on the bench is a complete waste!"
Coach Anzai maintained his gentle smile and drawled slowly, "Ho ho ho~ Sakuragi-kun, are you certain you're ready?"
"Of course!" Sakuragi puffed out his chest, confidently slapping his solid pectoral muscles.
"Oh~ then do you know what position you're supposed to play on the team?"
"Uh..." Hanamichi Sakuragi froze, falling into deep thought.
Coach Anzai narrowed his eyes slightly, the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening. "It seems you still need some time to truly understand basketball~"
"Wha—!!" Hanamichi Sakuragi looked as though he had been struck by lightning; he clutched his head and squatted down, taking ten thousand points of critical damage to his spirit.
Ayako covered her mouth and giggled from the sidelines. "Sakuragi, you'd better just sit down and watch the game quietly."
Sakuragi was so mad it made his teeth itch, but feeling entirely helpless, he could only cross his arms and glare with utter displeasure at the action on the court, muttering under his breath, "Damn it... I've gotta get out there..."
Yet even amidst the commotion on the sideline, Coach Anzai's gaze never once left a certain figure on the court—Shin Saionji.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, the smile at the corners of his mouth gradually fading as a rare expression of deep focus settled over his face.
"This kid..."
Out on the court, Shin Saionji continued to steadily dictate the flow of the game.
The upperclassman team had abandoned one-on-one defense against him, shifting instead to a zone defense in an attempt to limit his passing angles and court vision.
Yet none of this had the slightest effect on Shin Saionji.
The Demon King's Eye had already torn right through the defensive vulnerabilities.
The moment the upperclassman defenders shifted their positions, Shin Saionji had already seen through everything.
With a sudden, lightning-fast bounce pass, he threaded the ball right between the defender's legs, delivering it with pristine accuracy straight into the hands of Kaede Rukawa!
Kaede Rukawa didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second, driving straight in for a layup and two more points!
"Such a fast pass... This guy's court vision is practically like playing with the map fully revealed..." Kogure adjusted his glasses, his eyes brimming with astonishment.
Akagi's face turned dark and heavy; he already realized that Shin Saionji's presence was thoroughly altering the landscape of the match.
"We can't keep going like this," Akagi muttered under his breath. Striding forward, he took it upon himself to march straight toward Shin Saionji, preparing to challenge him head-on!
Shohoku's captain was finally stepping up!
Watching Akagi approach, Shin Saionji curved his lips upward in a faint smile, showing not a shred of fear.
"Finally... willing to take me seriously?"
The tension in the match escalated. Ayako quickly updated the score on her clipboard: Freshman Team 42 – Upperclassman Team 30. The lead had already stretched into double digits!
Standing by the sideline, Coach Anzai continued to squint at the court, a trace of an imperceptible smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
It had been many years since he last witnessed such an exceptional point guard at Shohoku...
"Ho ho~ This child..."
Coach Anzai gently stroked his chin, reaching an absolute and unwavering conclusion in his heart.
Shohoku had finally welcomed a true tactical core.
And this match was about to usher in its most fierce head-to-head clash yet!