Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the start of a new school term again.
Players from various schools gradually made their way back to campus during this time.
After saying their farewells, the teams from Tōō, Seirin, and Kaijō returned home.
Led by Miyamoto, the members of Kirisaki Daiichi also headed back to Japan.
Shūtoku and the others were likewise preparing for the new term.
It could be said that over the entire summer, everyone had improved.
All of them were preparing for the Winter Cup.
On the plane.
Shogo Haizaki stretched lazily and said with a sigh,
"We're finally heading back. These past few months really felt like a dream."
Makoto Hanamiya glanced at him and replied,
"Of course it felt like a dream. Getting crushed by Zack over a hundred times would feel surreal to anyone."
Shogo Haizaki's expression immediately darkened, and he stopped talking.
That was the truth. Over the past few months, Shogo Haizaki had truly experienced what "heavenly treatment" meant.
He had been beaten relentlessly by Zack in one-on-one matches, losing close to a hundred games.
Truly undefeated in defeat.
As for Makoto Hanamiya, his trash talk had become even sharper over these past months.
And the reason...
He trained under Victor.
Shuzo Nijimura wore an eye patch and was clearly asleep.
Murasakibara continued eating chips, though a closer look revealed his muscles had become more defined.
They carried a clear sense of power.
Dicky Anthony chewed gum, staying out of the conversation.
Before long, the plane slowly landed.
The Kirisaki Daiichi group returned once more to Japan.
After giving a few simple instructions, Miyamoto dismissed everyone to go home.
...
A few days later.
"Hey, Hanamiya, I'm busy!"
Shogo Haizaki followed behind Makoto Hanamiya with a displeased look, clearly unwilling.
Behind him were Kentaro Seto and the rest of the Kirisaki Daiichi bench players.
Faced with Haizaki's impatience, Makoto Hanamiya showed no reaction. He simply waved his hand.
"I haven't trained these past few days, and it feels weird. So I found a street court to play a bit."
Shogo Haizaki's face filled with black lines.
"You didn't have to drag me along!"
Makoto Hanamiya smiled faintly, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Who told you to come knocking on my door yourself?"
Shogo Haizaki's face turned even darker.
That was true. He had shown up on his own.
As for why, he had planned to mess with Makoto Hanamiya.
He thought Hanamiya had just returned and hadn't set up any traps at home yet, so he wanted to catch him off guard and teach him a lesson.
The result...
He got completely outplayed...
And ended up becoming Makoto Hanamiya's errand boy.
Makoto Hanamiya was genuinely bored, so he signed up for a streetball tournament.
But playing alone would be pointless. Of course he had to bring his "good friends."
As they walked, they suddenly spotted a tall figure.
Shogo Haizaki froze for a moment and complained,
"Hanamiya, you even brought Murasakibara along???"
Makoto Hanamiya smiled.
"It's just for fun. One more or one less doesn't matter."
Hearing that, Shogo Haizaki didn't know what to say.
In reality, Makoto Hanamiya hadn't invited Murasakibara. With himself, Kentaro Seto, and Shogo Haizaki, they already had enough players.
Murasakibara came along because Miyamoto and Satsuki Momoi had gone out on a date, leaving him bored.
Of course, his main goal was...
Free food.
Murasakibara, munching on a snack stick, noticed Makoto Hanamiya and casually waved.
"Hey, Hanamiya."
Makoto Hanamiya nodded and led this freeloading giant toward the street court.
This street court was especially lively, with players everywhere.
Since Makoto Hanamiya had registered in advance, they were quickly scheduled for a match.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to..." [introduction omitted]
"Now, please welcome both teams with a round of applause!"
"Kirisaki Daiichi versus Seihō!"
When the audience heard the name Kirisaki Daiichi, shock spread across their faces.
"Kirisaki Daiichi? Did I hear that right? That Kirisaki Daiichi?"
"No way, the Summer Cup champions are playing streetball?"
"Am I really going to see [Magic Cube]? This isn't a dream, right?"
The crowd immediately focused their attention on Kirisaki Daiichi.
When they saw the tall figure, they all gasped.
"My god! It's real! I recognize that big guy! Kirisaki Daiichi's starting center. The center from [Generation of Miracles], Atsushi Murasakibara!!!"
"No way, it really is Kirisaki Daiichi! I came at the perfect time today!!!"
The audience was buzzing with excitement. After all, getting to watch the Summer Cup champions on a street court was incredibly rare.
Just as they were anticipating Miyamoto's appearance, the Kirisaki Daiichi lineup had already taken the court.
Seeing that Miyamoto wasn't there, the crowd felt a brief moment of disappointment.
But only briefly. The players present were more than enough to draw attention.
"Damn! Not just Murasakibara. There's also Kirisaki Daiichi's [Lone Wolf] Haizaki and [Bad Boy] Hanamiya!"
"What about the others?"
"Uh... they look like substitutes. I don't really recognize them."
Poor Kentaro Seto. He had now fallen to the point where no one recognized him.
But Kentaro Seto didn't care at all.
Getting paid without having to put in effort. It was perfect.
When Seihō's players stepped onto the court and saw that towering figure along with Makoto Hanamiya and the others, their expressions immediately turned serious.
They had never expected that such a small streetball match would attract such a major force.
This was getting intense.
Soon, the game began.
Murasakibara had little interest in this kind of match. After securing possession, he simply returned to the basket and stood there like a pillar.
He left the offense entirely to the others from Kirisaki Daiichi.
Shogo Haizaki also showed little interest in attacking. Standing beyond the three-point line, he seemed lost in thought.
Occasionally, when Makoto Hanamiya passed him the ball, he would casually take a shot.
Tomoki Tsugawa, who was guarding him, had an extremely grim expression, his heart filled with frustration.
No motivation at all?
He was defending with everything he had, but the completely uninterested Shogo Haizaki could break past him with just a few casual moves.
Even a simple shot was impossible for him to stop.
The overwhelming gap left Tomoki Tsugawa feeling deeply powerless.
So this is the strength of a champion?
Makoto Hanamiya, on the other hand, showed a bit of interest and played a few possessions casually.
After realizing there was no challenge at all, he stopped attacking and let Kentaro Seto and Kazuya Hara enjoy themselves.
The game ended quickly.
Seihō had no ability to fight back at all.
Kirisaki Daiichi secured an easy, lopsided victory.
.......
...
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