Aomine Daiki Template in Slam Dunk

Time passed.

Outside the doors of the Kanagawa Gymnasium, Aoi Kunisaku and Shimizu Kanon finally arrived.

"We finally made it. Saku-chan, hurry up a bit!" Shimizu Kanon let out a long sigh, her face full of urgency.

Aoi Kunisaku responded irritably, "Yeah yeah, I got it."

Shimizu Kanon glanced at the time on her watch and said worriedly, "I wonder how the game's going right now."

Pulling Aoi along, the two of them jogged quickly and finally reached the gym.

As they came out of the players' tunnel, they saw Shohoku making a substitution.

Shimizu Kanon immediately looked up at the scoreboard.

Shohoku 10 – 32 Miuradai.

Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the score. "What the—? We're behind by over 20 points?"

Aoi Kunisaku saw it too, but didn't seem the least bit bothered.

To him, a 22-point gap was nothing. He could close that in minutes.

The real question was—was Miuradai really that strong?

He spotted Kogure Kiminobu and the others walking off the court drenched in sweat, and then noticed Rukawa Kaede and his group stepping on without a single drop of sweat, just full of killer intent.

That explained it. "So they weren't playing earlier."

"Coach Anzai…" Shimizu Kanon tugged Aoi along and quickly walked over to Coach Anzai.

She bowed deeply, apologetic. "We're really sorry, Coach Anzai. We got here late."

Hohohoho…

Coach Anzai smiled as he looked at Shimizu Kanon, then turned to Aoi Kunisaku. He spoke slowly, "Good that you're here. Watch the game first."

Shimizu Kanon and Aoi Kunisaku found seats and sat down.

Ayako spotted them and called out, "You finally made it. I thought you were gonna show up in the second half again, like last time!"

Shimizu Kanon gave an awkward smile. "Sorry about that."

Ayako waved it off. "It's not hard to guess it wasn't your fault."

Then her eyes flicked to Aoi Kunisaku, sitting beside Kanon without a trace of guilt on his face. She said, "Aoi, we're down so many points to Miuradai, don't you have anything to say?"

Aoi Kunisaku glanced at her and replied casually, "I wasn't the one who let the team fall behind by 22. What's there to say?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Kogure Kiminobu and the others who had just come off the court all showed signs of guilt and lowered their heads.

"Saku-chan…" Shimizu Kanon quickly gave him a warning.

Ayako sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You really are hopeless."

…

Shohoku's new lineup:

Small Forward, #11, Rukawa Kaede, 1st year.

Power Forward, #10, Sakuragi Hanamichi, 1st year.

Point Guard, #7, Miyagi Ryota, 2nd year.

Shooting Guard, #14, Mitsui Hisashi, 3rd year.

…

On the second floor of the gym, the Ryonan crew perked up the moment Shohoku made the substitution.

Aida Hikoichi stared excitedly at the four new players. "Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi are finally on. Huh? Wait, who are those two?"

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Mitsui Hisashi and Miyagi Ryota. He checked the notebook in his hand and frowned. "Why aren't these two in my scouting files?"

Ikegami Ryoji looked at Miyagi Ryota wearing jersey #7 and gasped. "That's him… Isn't that Miyagi the point guard?"

Uozumi Jun also looked surprised and puzzled. "Why didn't he play last time?"

"Which one is it?" Aida Hikoichi asked quickly.

Koshino Hiroaki replied, "The shorter one in jersey #7."

"That's Miyagi?" Aida muttered.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something. His eyes lit up and he suddenly shouted, "Hey! It's Aoi Kunisaku!"

That shout immediately drew everyone from Ryonan's attention.

They all turned toward Shohoku's bench.

When they spotted Aoi Kunisaku sitting there like he had all the time in the world, no one even noticed when he arrived—their expressions instantly changed.

"That guy…" Uozumi muttered, his face darkening.

Koshino couldn't help but comment, "He's still as chill as ever, huh."

Ikegami guessed, "Wonder if he's playing today?"

…

Twelve minutes had passed in the first half.

Once the match resumed, the tide immediately shifted.

Miyagi Ryota kicked things off with a Fast Break.

He swiftly blew past Miuradai's point guard, cutting into the paint like a black flash.

Murasame Kengo rushed to intercept, planting himself in Miyagi's path.

But Miyagi reacted in a flash. He slammed the ball sideways onto the court, and it bounced perfectly into Akagi Takenori's hands.

Miuradai's paint was wide open.

Akagi jumped without resistance and slammed the ball through the rim with one hand.

Bang!

A thunderous Dunk.

Shohoku 12 – 32 Miuradai.

Switch to defense.

Miuradai began their counter.

Their point guard tried to slow the pace, but after a few steps, Miyagi Ryota closed in and stole the ball.

No hesitation. Miyagi dashed down the court with it.

Just before the three-point line, Miuradai's shooting guard blocked his path.

Miyagi kept his eyes ahead, but his hands didn't stop.

He swiftly moved the ball behind him and passed it to Mitsui Hisashi, who had cut in from the wing.

Mitsui caught the ball, jumped on the spot, raised it with both hands, aimed for the hoop—

Before Miuradai's players could react, his wrist flicked, and the ball flew.

It arced beautifully through the air and—

Swish—right into the net.

Mitsui Hisashi's shooting form was beautiful.

Up in the stands—

Uozumi Jun stood up from his seat in shock and shouted, "No doubt about it! That's Mitsui Hisashi from Takeishi Junior High!"

Mitsui Hisashi?

Most of Ryonan's first- and second-year players had never heard the name before.

Uozumi's expression grew serious. "That #14, he was the Junior High MVP."

Junior High MVP?

The Ryonan players were stunned.

Someone who could earn that title definitely wasn't ordinary.

At the very least, he had to be on the level of Rukawa Kaede or Sendoh Akira.

Koshino Hiroaki chimed in, "And that #7—he's Miyagi Ryota, the lightning-fast point guard."

Aida Hikoichi stared at Mitsui Hisashi and Miyagi Ryota and was filled with regret. "I didn't even know about the Junior High MVP and Miyagi Ryota…"

Uozumi frowned and silently calculated in his head. "Akagi, Rukawa, Miyagi, Mitsui…"

Then he looked toward the Shohoku bench, where Aoi Kunisaku was dozing off. "And Aoi Kunisaku. That guy alone is a handful. Shohoku's level has skyrocketed."

…

On the court—

The match continued at a furious pace.

Under Miyagi Ryota's sharp orchestration, Shohoku slowly closed the gap.

17–32.

25–36.

27–38.

…

Before anyone realized it, the score had moved to 33–42.

Shohoku had cut Miuradai's lead from over 20 points down to just 9.

Everyone in the arena was dumbfounded—except for the Ryonan crew, who saw it coming.

…

Click... click... click...

Aida Yayoi rapidly snapped photos with her camera, capturing every highlight from Shohoku's comeback.

She murmured to herself in surprise, "Shohoku's a totally different team now. Rukawa Kaede, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota… it's not a one-man team around Akagi anymore."

Suddenly, she remembered a rumor she'd heard.

Shohoku supposedly had a player even stronger than Rukawa Kaede.

She scanned the Shohoku bench until her eyes landed on Aoi Kunisaku.

"Did he show up earlier?" she muttered as she stared at him. "Could it be him…?"

But the way Aoi Kunisaku sat there, half-asleep, didn't match the image of a basketball monster at all.

Aida Yayoi shook her head. "No way it's him…"

…

Tweet—!

Just then, a sharp whistle rang out, grabbing everyone's attention.

The referee pointed to Sakuragi Hanamichi and said sternly, "Shohoku #10, Defensive Foul."

"Huh?" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked down at the Miuradai player he'd knocked over. He was totally confused. "I didn't mean to! He ran into me!"

No one paid attention to his protest.

The referee signaled him to raise his hand.

Sakuragi sighed and obediently lifted his arm.

But moments later, another whistle blew.

Play was halted again.

The referee pointed to Sakuragi Hanamichi once more. "Shohoku #10, Offensive Foul."

Everyone on the court froze.

Two fouls in under a minute?

How did he even manage that?

And that still wasn't the end.

Seconds after play resumed—

Tweet—!

Everyone turned in unison toward Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Sure enough, he didn't disappoint.

The referee called out, "Shohoku #10, Defensive Foul."

Sakuragi couldn't take it anymore. He ran straight at the referee and shouted, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?!"

"What did you say?" the referee's face darkened. He glared at Sakuragi.

The Shohoku players collectively froze—this wasn't good.

But Sakuragi kept going. He pointed and yelled, "You're totally siding with Miuradai! Admit it!"

Akagi Takenori dashed over and slammed his fist into Sakuragi's head. "Cool it!"

But it was already too late.

The whistle shrilled once more.

"Shohoku #10, Technical Foul."

Boom—

The announcement hit Shohoku like a thunderclap.

No one could believe what they were seeing.

Four fouls in under a minute.

That might be a world record.

Coach Anzai didn't hesitate. "Aoi, warm up."

Aoi Kunisaku said nothing. He stood up right away.

He looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi on the court and couldn't help but marvel.

In a way, Sakuragi really was in a league of his own.

Tweet—

Shohoku called for a substitution.

As Aoi Kunisaku stepped forward, everyone from Ryonan locked eyes on him.

Even Shohoku's players turned to look.

No one knew why, but the air in the gym suddenly felt different.

The audience couldn't explain it, but something had clearly shifted.

"He's finally stepping in," Sendoh Akira said, narrowing his eyes.

Aida Yayoi, with her sharp basketball instincts, sensed it too.

She stared hard at Aoi Kunisaku and whispered, "The atmosphere just changed… Is it because of him?"