The next morning, Sakuragi Hanamichi set off from home early.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was in a very good mood throughout the journey.

Although Shohoku lost to Ryonan yesterday, the game was still very exciting for Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was transported from another world.

He used his sculpted buttocks to smack Uozumi, defended against Uozumi with Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, coordinated with Rukawa, slammed home a powerful dunk, and even delivered a massive block on Sendoh.

Recalling the events of yesterday, Sakuragi Hanamichi smiled, looked up at the clear blue sky, and exclaimed, "This is what beautiful youth is! This is the life I've always longed for! To hell with going to work every day and paying off bank loans!"

Suddenly, Sakuragi Hanamichi remembered something. He clapped his hands excitedly and said, "That's right! Sendoh's expression and actions yesterday clearly meant he agreed to go fishing with me sometime. That's great!"

Before he knew it, Sakuragi Hanamichi, with a smile on his face, arrived at the school gate.

To Sakuragi Hanamichi's surprise, his four best friends, Mito Yohei, Takamiya Nozomi, Oonusu Yuji, and Noma Chuichiro, were already standing at the school gate early in the morning.

What's going on here?

wait for me?

Despite his doubts, Sakuragi Hanamichi greeted his teammates cheerfully, "Good morning, guys!"

"Good morning, Hanamichi!"

Sakuragi's four best friends greeted him, but their expressions seemed somewhat conflicted and hesitant.

Sakuragi Hanamichi frowned and asked, "Guys, what's wrong with you guys?"

Yohei Mito immediately smiled, though it was a somewhat forced smile, and said, "Hanamichi, winning and losing are common occurrences in war. Losing to Ryonan yesterday is normal and nothing to worry about."

Sakuragi Hanamichi: "???"

Sakuragi Hanamichi was clearly a bit confused.

Takamiya Nozomi immediately added, "Yeah, yeah! I heard that Ryonan was one of the top four teams in Kanagawa Prefecture last year, while Shohoku is not even a top team, so losing to Ryonan is not shameful at all."

Yuji Oonan also hurriedly said, "That's right! Moreover, during the game, Shohoku took the lead over Ryonan twice, which is already very impressive."

Noma Tadashiro nodded vigorously and said, "Yes! You know, Shohoku was down 0-19 points to Ryonan at the start, but they only lost to Ryonan by 1 point in the end, which is really amazing."

So the guys were worried I was feeling down because I lost the game yesterday.

Am I really that bad at handling stress?

Why are my brothers so worried about me just because I lost a game?

But then again, where else can you find such a good brother?

In an instant, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt a warmth in his heart; it felt so good to be cared for!

Sakuragi Hanamichi then flashed a bright smile.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's smile startled the four people around him, including Mito Yohei, who quickly exchanged glances.

Yohei Mito's eyes seemed to say, "My God! It seems that Hanamichi has been quite traumatized! He would never have acted like this before."

Takamiya Nozomi's eyes seemed to say, "Yes! If this were before, as soon as he heard us mention yesterday's loss, he would have already used his invincible iron head technique before we could even finish speaking."

Oonan Yuji's eyes seemed to say, "Everyone, pay attention! In less than three seconds, Hanamichi will definitely reveal his true colors and he'll definitely attack us."

Noma Chuichiro's eyes seemed to say, "Sigh! After all, Hanamichi is our good brother. If our good brother is in a bad mood, we can only bite the bullet and go for it. What else can we do? If we get beaten, we get beaten..."

Suddenly, Sakuragi Hanamichi's smile vanished.

Mito Yohei and the other three immediately tensed up.

Is this... time to make a move?

Sigh, being a brother is really tough!

But the next moment, Mito Yohei and his three companions were completely dumbfounded!

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood facing the gate of Shohoku High School and shouted, "Look! These are all my good brothers! I, Sakuragi Hanamichi, have a group of good brothers! Ahahaha..."

Sakuragi Hanamichi's shout really startled the other students around him.

The students looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi and his group with a hint of fear, and didn't even dare to look them in the eye, only daring to steal glances at them from the side.

Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't care about any of that. At this moment, he just wanted to shout to the whole world that he had a group of good brothers!

At this moment, the most shocked were Mito Yohei and the others, who looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi in disbelief.

Is this still the Sakuragi Hanamichi I know?

Is this still the same Sakuragi Hanamichi who gets dejected and throws tantrums at the slightest setback or failure?

Is this still the same Sakuragi Hanamichi who always uses his iron head technique to attack his buddies?

Mito Yohei and the others were so shocked that they didn't know what to say.

Seeing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi deliberately pretended to be a little angry and said, cursing, "Hey, what's with that expression? Aren't you happy being my brothers? Am I supposed to yell at the school gate again and say that you're not my good brothers?"

But as soon as Sakuragi Hanamichi finished speaking, before his brothers could react, he immediately burst into a bright smile.

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood smiling between Mito Yohei and Takamiya Nozomi, putting his arms around their shoulders on either side. "Good brothers, let's go to class!"

In an instant, Yohei Mito and the others all broke into happy smiles and laughed heartily, "Let's go! Let's go to class!"

However, Takamiya Nozomi still mustered up her courage and said, "Hey, Hanamichi, to be honest, I feel like you've changed a lot lately!"

Upon hearing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly stopped, raised an eyebrow, and said with a strange expression, "Big? How do you know my place is big? Hey, you fatso, tell me right now, where did you put the camera in my house?"

There?

Camera?

The brothers were taken aback at first.

Then, with a "whoosh" sound!

The brothers couldn't hold back and started yelling!

Chuichiro Noma laughed wildly, "Hahaha, awesome, awesome!"

Yohei Mito clutched his stomach and laughed, "My God! Flower arrangement still involves jokes like this? I'm dying of laughter, oh ho ho ho..."

Oonan Yuji then looked at Takamiya Nozomi with a wicked grin, and said, "Hey, you didn't actually do that, did you? Hahahaha..."

Before Takamiya Nozomi could answer, Oonan Yuji burst into laughter.

Takamiya Nozomi, who had only intended to check on Sakuragi Hanamichi, never expected things to turn out this way, to the point that he couldn't help but laugh. He chuckled and scolded, "Sakuragi Hanamichi, when did you become like this?"

But then, Takamiya Nozomi squinted and retorted, "Look at you? With your little toothpick? Tch..."

Sakuragi Hanamichi laughed heartily, not responding. He was just joking; he'd stop there.

Unexpectedly, Oonan Yuji then said, "A toothpick? Flower arrangement, can you tolerate this?"

Noma Chuichiro immediately suggested, "How about we find a place to have a match?"

Yohei Mito pondered, "How about I go find a measuring tape?"

For a moment, Yohei Mito, Yuji Okusu, and Tadashi Noma burst into laughter again.

Sakuragi Hanamichi: "..."

Takamiya Nozomi: "..."