Chapter 058: Training Data Player Sendo Akira, Fully Prepared for Nationals

After the second-round match, with Shigure Akihito's strength continuing to rise in shocking fashion, improving with every single game, Teiko encountered virtually no real resistance in this year's Tokyo preliminaries.

Third Round

Teiko vs. Hōdera

129–47

Fourth Round

Teiko vs. Akishima First

134–59

Then came the fifth round...

The sixth round...

Victory after victory, Teiko blazed its way into the finals of the Tokyo district qualifiers.

It was there that, for the first time, Shigure Akihito felt that, within this Teiko-dominated Tokyo scene, there were still teams capable of putting up a bit of a fight when facing Teiko's full starting lineup.

Well... just barely.

In the final match against Hakusen Junior High, it was clear that their overall caliber stood above every team Teiko had faced in the earlier rounds.

This was a team that specialized in run-and-gun basketball, a full-court offensive machine. For the first time since the tournament began, Teiko encountered an opponent that could still punch back when attacked.

In the first half, although Hakusen remained at a disadvantage, they pushed hard with relentless pace and lightning-fast counterattacks, managing to play two decent quarters against Teiko.

On the surface, the score margin kept growing in Teiko's favor, but judging from Nijimura Shuzō's serious expression from start to finish, it was obvious their opponents were no pushovers.

Final Score

Teiko vs. Hakusen

139–81

Even so, Teiko once again dominated, securing Tokyo's #1 seed and heading to Nationals.

And so...

What awaited Shigure Akihito now,

Was the national stage.

[Current Quest: "Teiko Starting Five"]

Quest Objective: Before the All-Japan Junior Nationals end, secure your position as a starter on the Teiko basketball team, and play in no fewer than 5 games at Nationals.

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Sendo's Shadow,

Sendo Akira

Ultimate Move: Sendo's Shadow

Exceptionally refined feints that seem to create a phantom to deceive the opponent, granting expanded space and opportunity on offense. (While in "Sendo's Shadow" mode, all abilities are enhanced.)

Low Flight: Bends the body nearly parallel to the floor, bursting forward like flying inches above the court.

(Shadow: Low Flight – fake a pass using Sendo's Shadow to distract defenders, then burst past them.)

Flying Tomahawk: Leaps up directly from Low Flight, finishing with a powerful tomahawk dunk.

(Shadow: Flying Tomahawk – feint a low flight move to bait the defender, then rise and slam.)

Pull-Up Fadeaway: Shoots from a sudden jump in place with a high-difficulty fade.

(Shadow: Pull-Up Fadeaway – fake a low flight move to trick the defender into jumping, then fade away.)

Volleyball Block: Leaps and swats the opponent's shot with the same motion as a volleyball spike.

Shadow Flash Catch: While receiving a long-distance pass, fakes toward one side, then instantly cuts the other direction to shake the defender and receive the ball.

Talent Enhancements

Shigure Akihito unlocked two critical and investment-heavy talents:

Sendo Akira – Ultimate Shadow: Increases the limit on "Ultimate Moves" to 4, enabling combo chaining and energy banking, instead of using them the moment they're charged, preventing wasted cooldowns.

As for the remaining talent cards,

Shigure Akihito invested all of them in Kamizumi Ichirō:

Kamizumi Ichirō – God's Domain II: After making a three-pointer within the mark, it evolves to second-tier, granting an additional 10% bonus to general and wide-open three-point shots.

Kamizumi Ichirō – God's Domain III: After making two threes within the mark, it evolves to third-tier, granting anti-interference boosts (+15% interference resistance, +10% three-point accuracy).

Player Advancement

The current main investment was the C-rank player Kiyota Nobunaga.

However, progressing from C to B rank saw an explosive spike in required advancement cards.

Even with all the prelim games played and many talents unlocked, Shigure still lacked enough cards for the next leap.

As for player coins,

He managed two more ten-pulls.

Unfortunately, most rewards were talent cards, already fully allocated.

With all this...

By the end of the qualifiers, Shigure Akihito was fully prepared to take on the All-Japan Junior Nationals and the top teams from across the country.

Then came August.

The National Tournament was about to begin.

"Zenchū" , short for Zenkoku Chūgakkō Basukettobōru Taikai ,

The National Junior High Basketball Tournament.

Held every August, it is the highest level competition for middle school basketball, equivalent in status to the high school Inter-High (IH) tournament.

24 teams participate: 23 selected from 9 regional divisions, plus 1 seeded host team each year.

Format:

Draw & Group Stage:

Teams are divided into groups of 3, playing round-robin matches.

Top 2 from each group:

Advance to the elimination rounds.

Champions:

The team that wins the final in this single-elimination tournament.

Unlike the leisurely-paced qualifiers, teams that gather here must finish the entire tournament within three days.

That's right, every team has to play two full games per day.

Six games in three days.

Of course, only two teams will survive to play all six, those who make it to the finals.

And one of them will raise the Zenchū championship trophy.

At this moment,

Among them, including Teiko,

24 elite squads from across Japan stood assembled in the central arena.

All around them,

Flashbulbs fired off constantly, thanks to the waves of sports journalists snapping photos from every angle.

Though Shigure Akihito wasn't especially familiar with them, the upperclassmen took the time to introduce him and Nijimura to the most famous teams and players, especially those regulars who frequently appeared in basketball magazines.

The festive opening ceremony eventually concluded.

"Now then…"

"I hereby declare the National Junior High Basketball Tournament, "

"Open!"

Moments later,

As the opening ceremony wrapped up and teams began filing out, a sudden wave of sports reporters surged onto the court, splitting off in different directions to chase interviews.

One particularly large cluster swarmed Teiko, surrounding the entire team in a spectacle of flashes and microphones.

But Shigure also noticed,

The largest swarm of all was headed toward a squad wearing pure black uniforms, exuding an aura of rigorous discipline and elite training.

Shigure Akihito: "..."

Could that be last year's champions...

Okayama Junior High from Ibaraki Prefecture?

Bump, !

"Eh?"

Shigure turned around after being nudged, only to meet Nijimura Shuzō's annoyed face.

Apparently, reporters had cornered him already.

But the moment they noticed Shigure and caught sight of the number on his jersey, their eyes lit up.

"You're Shigure Akihito, right?"

"One of Teiko's Twin Stars from Tokyo?"

"Word is that in the Tokyo prelims, you averaged almost 40 points in just three quarters per game, is that because the competition was weak?"

"Also, between you and Nijimura Shuzō, both first-years, did your dominance push a player like him to rack up double-digit assists as a power forward?"

"What does your senior point guard think of that dynamic, ?"

Shigure Akihito: "…!?"

This reporter was seriously,

Way too aggressive.

As he thought that, the reporter fired off another loaded question:

"Do you think last year's all-third-year Okayama Miracle will go back-to-back?"

That gave it away.

"You're from Okayama, aren't you?"

Reporter: "…"

Not bothering to expose the man any further, Shigure calmly took the reins.

Though he'd never experienced a press ambush himself, he'd watched enough NBA high-IQ interviews to know how to handle one.

Unlike Nijimura, who clearly didn't like dealing with the press, Shigure offered a polite smile and stepped in to relieve him.

When asked about Teiko, he gave carefully measured, repetitive fluff.

When asked about Okayama, he offered lavish praise, then at the end, delivered a subtle humblebrag to balance things out.

It was so flawlessly scripted that Nijimura and the others beside him were stunned into silence.

Even the basketball magazine reporter was left speechless.

"This first-year from Teiko... What in the world...?"

The guy stood there, dazed.

After reviewing the whole interview, he realized:

He hadn't actually gotten any real answers.

Especially about Teiko's true strength,

Shigure dodged everything.

Reporter: "…"

Well then, he'd just have to see it for himself on the court.

After all, rumors were always exaggerated.

Last year's "Okayama Miracle" had been a team of no-names who exploded into prominence through teamwork, discipline, and strategy, not raw talent.

If anything, they were dubbed a "miracle" because none of the five players were top-tier prospects.

But a traditional powerhouse like Teiko...

Could they really rise so far, so fast, just because of two first-years?

End of chapter...

To be continued...

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