After Coach Anzai and Takenori Akagi left, Sakuragi Hanamichi continued to train alone in the basketball gym, just like always.
He was in a good mood at the moment. He had been worried that he would have a dispute with Takenori Akagi over starting positions and the number 10 jersey when playing against Ryonan. He didn’t expect everything to go so smoothly.
Even Coach Anzai personally told him that he should be trained as a secret weapon.
It feels so good to be valued!
This is probably what they call the realization of self-worth.
"Hanamichi, so you really are training here."
Yohei Mito, along with his brothers and Hikoichi Aida, arrived at the basketball court.
Sakuragi Hanamichi picked up the basketball and looked at Aida Hikoichi next to Mito Yohei with a puzzled expression.
Who is this short guy?
How did she end up with Yohei Mito?
Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded to Mito Yohei and hummed in agreement.
Yohei Mito pointed at Hikoichi Aida, "Hanamichi, he is Hikoichi Aida from Ryonan. His sister is a basketball reporter."
At this point, Mito Yohei asked Aida Hikoichi, "Oh, by the way, what's your sister's name again? Which newspaper is she a reporter for?"
Hikoichi Aida immediately looked at Hanamichi Sakuragi with a respectful attitude, "My older sister is Yayoi Aida, and she is a senior reporter for Weekly Basketball magazine."
Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at him strangely. It turned out that the person in front of him was the guy who was collecting information everywhere. It seemed that he was also a bench player on the Ryonan basketball team.
Oh, right, he's a benchwarmer; he never gets a chance to play, he's just a janitor.
However, his appearance is quite different from that in the anime.
But the question is, how did it come to be Yohei Mito who brought him here?
As far as I can remember, in the anime, it seems that Sakuragi Hanamichi was training alone in the basketball gym when he encountered Aida Hikoichi. At that time, the silly Aida Hikoichi mistook Sakuragi Hanamichi for Rukawa Kaede, and then Sakuragi Hanamichi rewarded him with an invincible iron headbutt.
At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Mito Yohei with a puzzled expression and asked, "Yohei, what's going on?"
Yohei Mito laughed and said, "Hanamichi, we think you'll definitely become an excellent basketball player, so we brought him here to meet you. Maybe in a while you'll be interviewed by his sister and featured in that basketball magazine."
Gao Gongwang hurriedly said with a smile, "Yes, yes! There might be a lot of pretty girls coming to find you because of your name. Don't worry, I'll help you deal with them."
Oonan Yuji also chuckled lewdly, "And me, I can help you with those girls too. Don't worry, I won't mind the effort."
Chuichiro Noma replied in a serious tone, "It is my duty to help you with this kind of thing."
Sakuragi Hanamichi's lips twitched violently a few times.
You guys really know how to have fun!
The problem is, Coach Anzai is planning to train me as a secret weapon, so how can I dare to stand out now?
But, I've already traveled through time, what's the point if I don't show off?
Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Aida Hikoichi in front of him and fell into thought.
At this moment, Aida Hikoichi, being the curious child he is, started to get excited. He gestured with his hand to show Sakuragi Hanamichi's height, "Wow! You're so tall! I wonder who's taller, you or Rukawa Kaede."
Then, Aida Hikoichi stared at Sakuragi Hanamichi's hair. "My god! You have red hair! That's rare. Is it natural or did you dye it yourself?"
Out of professional habit, Aida Hikoichi took out his notebook, which he always carried with him, to record all the information about Sakuragi Hanamichi, whom Mito Yohei had touted as a genius.
When Sakuragi Hanamichi saw this scene, he suddenly thought of a scene from the anime. It seemed that when Shohoku went to play in the national tournament, Aida Hikoichi had collected information on the opponents in advance and provided it to the Shohoku basketball team.
This Aida Hikoichi should be closely united with me!
At this moment, Aida Hikoichi asked, "Sakuragi Hanamichi, I heard from Mito Yohei that you are a beginner in basketball, that you have only been playing for less than a month, is that true?"
"Hmm," Sakuragi Hanamichi responded.
Hikoichi Aida excitedly continued, "When you had your one-on-one match with Captain Takenori Akagi, did you really defeat him? Did you really defeat Captain Takenori Akagi with a dunk?"
"Um..." Sakuragi Hanamichi hesitated.
If we continue talking about this topic, Aida Hikoichi will definitely see me as a super strong rookie, and he will definitely tell the people of Ryonan about me.
Then the people from Ryonan won't underestimate me; instead, they'll focus their defense on me, which is bad!
At this moment, Aida Hikoichi asked again, "I heard that Captain Akagi Takenori's sister is your girlfriend, is that true?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was taken aback, then looked at Mito Yohei.
Yohei Mito smiled excitedly at Hanamichi Sakuragi, his eyes seeming to say, "We're brothers, no need to thank me."
Sakuragi Hanamichi: "..."
Suddenly, Sakuragi Hanamichi had a flash of inspiration and had an idea!
Sakuragi Hanamichi's gaze deepened as he said, "Aida Hikoichi, there's something you don't know. Captain Akagi Takenori was actually letting me win that day. How could a basketball novice like me possibly beat Captain Akagi Takenori? Especially with a dunk. Do you think that's possible?"
After thinking for a moment, Aida Hikoichi replied, "Indeed, even our Captain Uozumi considers Captain Akagi Takenori to be his strongest opponent. Logically speaking, it's impossible for a beginner like you to defeat Captain Akagi Takenori."
Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded and said, "Yes, there is a reason for that."
Oh? Is there something more to this?
Reporters are most sensitive to gossip, and Aida Hikoichi, who aspired to be a basketball reporter, immediately became interested: "What's the reason?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually, it's because of Akagi Haruko. Akagi Haruko is my girlfriend, and she really wants me to join the basketball team so she can see me and her brother playing together every day. But the basketball team has an evaluation process for newcomers, and they can't make an exception just because I'm Akagi Haruko's boyfriend. So Captain Akagi Takenori personally evaluated me, and then..."
At that moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi blinked. "You... you should understand, right?"
Hikoichi Aida exclaimed in shock, "You mean, Captain Takenori Akagi deliberately lost to you? His goal was to get you onto the basketball team?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi sighed, "Sigh, basketball isn't just about fighting and killing; it's about human relationships and social interactions!"
Mito Yohei: "..."
Takamiya Nozomi: "..."
Ohkusu Yuji: "..."
Noma Chuichiro: "..."
Hikoichi Aida quietly wrote down Sakuragi Hanamichi's words in his notebook.
Suddenly, Sakuragi Hanamichi patted Aida Hikoichi on the shoulder and said, "Aida Hikoichi, right? I think you're a good person, someone I can get along with. Do you want to know about Rukawa Kaede and Akagi Takenori? I know a lot about them."
Upon hearing this, Aida Hikoichi immediately nodded rapidly!
"What? You're saying Rukawa Kaede doesn't like women at all? Is that true?"
"Well! Actually, you can't say that entirely. It's just that Rukawa's mind is entirely on basketball."
"My God! Captain Takenori Akagi is actually kneeling on the ground begging you to join the basketball team?"
"Shh! Keep your voice down. You should keep this to yourself. Don't go around telling everyone. I've only told you."
...
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