Chapter 069: The Down to Earth Okayama, Everyone Will Cheer for Us

That very afternoon.

The match between Teiko Junior High and Okayama Junior High was about to begin.

Spectators in the arena buzzed with conversation. Everyone was talking about Teiko, returning to the finals this year, with their jaw-dropping first-year twin stars, and on the other side, Okayama, who had surged through their bracket with an even more dominant run than last year.

Even though the high school IH preliminaries hadn't concluded yet, the national finals of this junior high tournament had become the center of the entire basketball world.

Fans of Teiko were hoping the third-years could seize the championship before graduation. Fans of Okayama were dreaming of taking a second consecutive title into high school with them.

As the buzz of anticipation filled the air, the venue was already packed an hour before tipoff. The gym pulsed with noise and energy.

Looking across the stands, one could clearly see the sharp dividing line between the two cheering sections, on one side, Teiko in white; on the other, Okayama in black.

"Invincible in a hundred battles!"

"Where the mountains end, the rivers flow on!"

These slogans blazed across banners, accompanied by thunderous cheers that made everyone feel the intensity of both teams' hunger for victory, and further ignited the enthusiasm of the neutral spectators.

Meanwhile, both teams, Teiko and Okayama,

Were momentarily halted before entering the court, surrounded by on-site basketball magazine reporters.

On Teiko's side,

"Shigure-kun, you're about to face a formidable Okayama team in the finals. Are you feeling any pressure or nerves?"

It wasn't an idle question. No matter how outrageous Shigure Akihito's performance had been in this tournament, he was still a first-year rookie. With the championship within reach, it would be perfectly normal if he were affected by the pressure.

The reporter was genuinely curious.

And then,

He saw Shigure Akihito shake his head.

"Not at all~ No matter who the opponent is, I never feel pressure or nerves. In fact, the stronger they are…"

In his mind: The better the reward~

Out loud: "…the more fired up I get~"

There was an unmistakable excitement in Shigure's voice that instantly boosted morale throughout the Teiko lineup.

On the other side,

Over at Okayama's camp.

Unlike Teiko, where the first question was directed at the superstar rookie, the question here went straight to their captain, Hagioka Kasayuki.

When asked about their thoughts on the championship, Hagioka responded with his usual calm:

"No matter what goal you aim to achieve, you have to take it one step at a time, with your feet firmly on the ground."

"And in that regard, I believe we've done the preparation."

The implication was clear.

After both teams entered the court,

Shigure Akihito finally laid eyes on something that hadn't appeared in the original storyline,

the so-called "Miracle of Okayama."

Black uniforms.

A starting five that boasted the tallest average height in all of junior high.

Well-sculpted muscles.

They already looked more like a high school team.

The aura they gave off was different.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Okayama's warm-up session wasn't flashy on purpose, but even their point guard was casually throwing down dunks off give-and-gos, eliciting waves of awe from the crowd.

On Teiko's side, the bench players practicing their jump shots were visibly shaken.

"None of Okayama's starters may be the absolute best at any single skill, but together, as a unit, they're the strongest team in the nation. Even Teiko doesn't compare!"

"Tch… it's just dunks, right? Shigure can dunk better than all of them!"

In the stands, Kurone Shinji, who had come to watch the game with Fukaya Reiji, immediately countered a random uncle who was going on about Okayama's talent.

Beside him, Fukaya nodded quietly.

The uncle glanced over with a frown, and was met with a 190cm-tall high school-sized middle schooler scowling back at him.

The uncle: "..."

So tall!

Is that the Teiko uniform?

What are middle schoolers eating these days?!

On the court,

Teiko continued warming up methodically.

But once they heard Okayama repeatedly slamming the rim, they couldn't help but glance over.

Especially the bench players.

"Stay sharp! Don't let them distract you!"

"Aside from Enjōba, our starters can all dunk too! Shigure's flying dunks don't impress you anymore?"

Enjōba Masayoshi: "…"

Thanks for the shoutout, I guess…

Izawa Shō, tasked with anchoring this key match, barked orders at the subs, while Nanaki Asahi followed up with a softer tone:

"Warm up properly. This is the finals. Even as a sub, you have to be ready to check in anytime."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Their voices were strong, but the nervousness still showed.

Even among the current roster, not one player had championship experience.

They'd never taken that final step, something hard to articulate but painfully evident.

In terms of sheer presence, Okayama had the edge.

Even though Shigure and Nijimura were dunking casually during warm-ups, Okayama's players, including the bench, never got distracted for even a moment.

Just then, Shigure Akihito picked up a basketball and quietly walked to midcourt.

With the massive final-day audience, many spectators were seeing Teiko live for the first time, and all eyes turned curiously to jersey #7.

Is he going to sprint from midcourt and go for a dunk?

Across the court,

Okayama's players also finally noticed Shigure moving toward their half.

And then, they saw:

Shigure bent his knees, palmed the ball…

Lifted his arm,

From center court, he launched a high-arcing three-pointer.

Swish!

A clean, crisp sound echoed as the ball dropped through the net.

"..."

A beat of silence, then the crowd erupted.

"That was so far!"

"He hit that?!"

"That's Teiko's ace! The long three is his signature move!"

"What?!"

"He can shoot that in-game too?!"

In the stands, Kurone and Fukaya looked at each other in disbelief.

They had just been released from training and were seeing this version of Shigure for the first time.

This guy's long-range shooting is outrageous now…

On the court,

Whoosh!

Shigure wasn't done.

After that first deep shot, he repositioned quickly. As soon as he landed, a pass from Nijimura came flying in with perfect timing.

And then,

Another soaring, elegant "Shinzō Ichirō Super-Deep Three".

His motion was fluid, effortless.

Swish!

The net rippled again.

Shigure continued drilling long-range threes from the center circle, each deeper than the last, until he even stepped behind midcourt and kept draining shots.

He could do this thanks to his newly acquired Shinzō Ichirō talent:

[Divine Limit]

When a three-pointer is made within "Divine Domain," its effective range expands. This can occur up to 3 times.

Also, thanks to previous match rewards, he had just advanced another skill:

[Name: Shigure Akihito]

[Position: PG / SG / SF]

[School: Teiko Junior High (1st Year)]

[Height: 176 cm]

[Grade: B]

Offense

Layup: 110

Close Shot: 91

Midrange: 105

Three-Point: 120

Dunk: 111

Playmaking

Passing/Control: 103

Dribbling: 88

Athletics

Strength: 90

Agility: 99

Vertical: 112

Toughness: 95

Defense

Rebounding: 100

Blocking: 98

Disruption: 92

Steals: 97

Unlocked Players:

Godai Tomokazu

Kiyota Nobunaga

Uekusa Tomoyuki

Shinzō Ichirō

Sendō Akira (Training Data)

Fujima Kenji

The crowd was going wild. And this was just warm-up.

You could only imagine how thrilling the actual game would be.

Even Okayama's players, watching from up close, were stunned.

"He's insane…"

"But I won't let him shoot that freely during the game. Doesn't matter how far he stands, if he can't shoot, it's meaningless."

Okayama's shooting guard, Raigū Tōsei, grinned broadly.

His upbeat tone stood out among the calm and collected atmosphere of the rest of Okayama, but no one was surprised.

They all knew: Raigū might speak casually, but when it came to the game, he was the embodiment of Okayama's down-to-earth philosophy.

Even so, captain Hagioka still reminded him:

"Don't let your guard down."

"Mm~ Leave it to me!"

Soon, warm-ups ended.

At the sound of the referee's whistle, both teams approached midcourt for the ceremonial handshake.

As predicted, Okayama's starting lineup remained unchanged:

C: Hagioka Kasayuki – 193 cm

PF: Tajika Makoto – 187 cm

SF: Hino Shinya – 185 cm

SG: Raigū Tōsei – 185 cm

PG: Tonochi Kaoru – 183 cm

Shigure Akihito felt the pressure of their sheer height as he approached for the handshake. For junior high players, these guys were massive.

No wonder Coach Platinum changed the starting lineup for Teiko:

C: Ōkura Masaaki – 190 cm

PF: Izawa Shō – 184 cm

SF: Uchiumi Masahiko – 183 cm

SG: Shigure Akihito – 176 cm

PG: Nijimura Shuzo – 175 cm

In this highly anticipated final, Teiko made their move first, switching Nijimura from power forward to point guard, pushing former PG Enjōba to the bench, and reinstating Izawa as starting power forward.

The crowd exploded,

"They're going with this lineup?"

"Makes sense. Okayama's size is basically high school level."

"Even their guards are big and athletic. That kind of team requires hard work to build."

"Just like Captain Hagioka says, Okayama plays grounded basketball."

"But is it really okay to play Nijimura at point guard? He's always been a power forward!"

"Haven't watched much Teiko, huh? Honestly, with how dominant Nijimura's been at PF, I always thought he'd make an elite PG too."

"Yeah, his playstyle fits the position perfectly."

Beeep, !

Finally, the game began.

The jump ball between Ōkura and Hagioka was close, they were nearly identical in size and skill, but Hagioka won it with slightly better wingspan.

Tap, !

Okayama's point guard, Tonochi Kaoru, caught the ball.

Right away, Okayama executed like a machine.

Despite Teiko's surprise lineup, they didn't flinch. Even Tonochi, facing Nijimura's aggressive pressure, advanced steadily and smoothly.

Shigure Akihito: "..."

Impressive…

A point guard who stayed cool under Nijimura's suffocating one-on-one defense,

That was rare.

He wasn't just advancing the ball, he was scanning for passes the entire time.

Truly remarkable.

After crossing half-court, Tonochi made no flashy moves, just basic ball protection.

In the split second Nijimura moved in,

Whoosh!

A crisp wrist flick,

And the ball zipped perfectly into the hands of Hino Shinya, the small forward.

Right as Hino curled off a screen from Hagioka, he rose and nailed the jumper before Teiko's SF could recover.

From PG's pass,

to SF's curl,

to C's screen,

to the final shot,

Every movement was tight and precise.

Their tactical execution was elite.

Teiko had expected this and didn't panic. Nijimura took the baseline inbound, calmly pushing past halfcourt with excellent ball-handling.

For his first start of the tournament, Izawa stepped up to the top of the arc to screen.

As Nijimura moved right off the screen, Okayama instantly switched, PF Tajika and PG Tonochi executed a perfect switch.

That was Okayama's defensive strength.

From bigs to guards,

Height, agility, switching,

They could rotate between four positions seamlessly, completely nullifying one of the most common middle school offensive strategies: the pick-and-roll.

187cm Tajika defending 175cm Nijimura?

Even with the size mismatch, Tajika didn't slack.

"So this is Teiko's Nijimura Shuzo…"

"A first-year... truly blessed by the heavens."

But even though none of Okayama's players, aside from Hagioka, ranked as the nation's best individually, they had already learned:

Ordinary people,

With steady, grounded effort,

Can shatter the despair that comes from being "average."

And that belief,

Over time,

Becomes second nature.

Becomes…

Confidence!

Boom!

In that moment, Nijimura launched forward!

But,

Thud, !

The moment they collided, Nijimura's pupils contracted!

Shigure Akihito: "!?"

No way!

Nijimura's explosive drive… got blocked?!

This wasn't just raw power, it was Nijimura's usual dual-force assault: lightning-speed and surgical analysis of the defender's weak spot.

On this stage, it had never been stopped before!

Hiss, !

Tajika spread his arms!

His 187cm frame now loomed even larger with that successful block. And as he widened his stance, every single Okayama player turned their eyes toward the arc.

In that moment, Shigure seemed to see Okayama's symbolic black uniforms rise,

Like a chain of mountains stretching endlessly.

Tajika smiled, sinking into his stance.

"Did you hear that?"

"We are the down-to-earth Okayama, and everyone will cheer for us!"

And in the next second,

He was answered by Nijimura's icy glare,

And the roar of a lion's shadow rising behind him.

End of chapter...

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