The next day.
Kubo Jun once again dedicated substantial ink to cover the high-profile battle between Teikō and Kaisei Middle School.
Every year when the National Tournament begins, the organizers schedule a few high-interest matchups to attract viewers.
As a seeded team in the Tokyo region, Teikō's match against Kaisei was, without question, the day's centerpiece.
Tendou Kageyoshi, with just one game, had successfully entered the ranks of the most talked-about junior high players in all of Tokyo.
Setting aside his strength, his handsome appearance and flamboyant personality helped him gain a large fanbase.
Rumor had it that girls at Teikō had already begun organizing a fan club for Tendou.
At Teikō games from now on, it wouldn't be surprising to see cheer squads shouting slogans like "Tendou-sama for life."
Many coaches from Tokyo's high school basketball teams had unsurprisingly taken notice of this genius.
And so—
At Teikō's second match, people noticed something odd: a ton of high school coaches were present, including a few from top-tier programs.
"Wait, isn't that the head coach of Seihō High, the King of the North?"
"What's he doing here watching this game?"
"Obviously to see Tendou."
"But he's only a first-year. He won't even be in high school for another three years!"
"What's so strange about that? Didn't Nijimura Shūzō attract a bunch of coaches in his first year too?"
"Even the coach of Senshinkan is here. And look! That's Shūtoku's head coach—former national team player, Masaaki Nakatani!"
Tokyo's high school basketball scene has three dominant powers:
The King of the North – Seihō
The King of the East – Shūtoku
The King of the West – Senshinkan
Sure, in the anime, only Shūtoku—where Midorima plays—is shown in depth, and the other two kings get wrecked. But at this point in the story, the Three Kings still have massive influence in Tokyo.
And now, all three of their head coaches had taken time off from their own national tournament prep just to attend a middle school game.
"It really is lively today," Akashi said calmly, taking everything in. But when he looked at Tendou Kageyoshi, his eyes showed a rare competitive spark.
Last game, Harasawa Katsunori had singled out only Nijimura and Tendou for a chat.
The rest of the first-years had taken note—even if no one said it aloud, they were clearly fired up inside.
Tendou glanced at the cheer squad in the stands: girls in matching uniforms with "Tendou Squad" written on their headbands, completely surrounding Amanai Riko.
"Yeah, it's pretty lively," he said, nodding.
His fan club had officially formed before the second match.
And it was pretty sizable—over 30 or 40 girls.
Akashi wasn't sure if Tendou was pretending not to notice the high school coaches or genuinely didn't care. He just smiled and shook his head.
Midorima, on the other hand, gave a cold snort and habitually pushed up his glasses.
Then—
The game began.
In the first quarter, Teikō played solid and steady, finishing 26–10 and leading by 16.
It was a wide margin, but not an insurmountable one.
But starting from the second quarter, things began to change.
Aomine and Midorima went full throttle, racking up a 20–4 run in just half a quarter. Even repeated timeouts by the opposing coach did nothing to stop Teikō's onslaught.
Even Akashi, who usually stuck to playmaking, began showcasing his scoring repertoire.
Mid-range jumpers, layups, even hitting 2-for-2 from three-point range.
Their opponent, Meisei Academy, probably wanted to call the cops.
If the first quarter was intense, the second was pure insanity.
Teikō outscored them 43–13, beating them by 30 points in a single quarter!
Thirty!
And Meisei hadn't even reached 30 total yet after two quarters!
Their horrifying performance naturally sparked discussion among fans. Meisei, already lacking a fanbase, was now completely abandoned.
69–23.
Even if Meisei wasn't a powerhouse, losing by 46 points at halftime was... seriously, are they okay?
After Tendou's domination in the first game, now Akashi and the others began displaying their own brilliance.
High school coaches like Masaaki Nakatani originally came to scout Tendou...
But by halftime, they'd all started scribbling notes on multiple players.
It was infuriatingly tempting.
Did Shirogane Kōzō save the galaxy in a past life or what?
How does he have this many cards to play? At this rate, he's shortening his lifespan with how stacked this roster is.
Shirogane had no choice but to wave the white flag early. The fired-up first-years didn't play the second half.
Even so, Teikō still won 119–42, blowing out their opponents by 77 points.
The will of 7 is everywhere.
A youth storm began sweeping through Tokyo.
In the matches that followed, Teikō continued to obliterate opponents—winning by an average margin of over 50 points per game.
More and more people began paying attention to Teikō's group of first-year prodigies.
Tendou Kageyoshi, thanks to his exceptional looks, was even offered a modeling job.
...
"Modeling?"
"That's right, Tendou-kun. You have the most outstanding appearance I've seen in years. You'd be perfect for modeling. And if you start gaining popularity now, it's not impossible for you to break into the entertainment industry in the future!"
"I'm a basketball player. I'm not interested in showbiz."
"There's money in it."
"Money?"
At a local café, Tendou had been approached again—this time not by a high school coach, but by a talent agency rep.
He got excited for a second but quickly calmed down. Modeling didn't exactly sound that profitable...
"How much money are we talking?"
"Ten to twenty million yen per year."
"Say what?"
Was this guy serious? That kind of salary?
The story takes place around 2009. At that time, 20 million yen was about 900,000 RMB.
A million RMB a year? That's a lot.
"You're not scamming me, are you?"
The middle-aged man wiped his sweat. In his mind, he was grumbling about how cocky this kid was—"This 'ore' this, 'ore' that... zero respect! If you weren't so damn handsome, I wouldn't even bother with you!"
"Of course, it's not a starting salary. But Tendou-kun, you have the potential to be a top model. I believe you'll hit that number in no time."
"Tch. So you're just selling dreams again."
He'd been fed enough empty promises in his past life. He wasn't looking to eat any more of that crap this time around.
...
The next day, Teikō Basketball Club.
"What? Tendou's becoming a model?!"
Aomine's voice echoed through the gym.
This dude was a real man—he loved looking at swimsuit gravure idols.
Now, hearing that his own teammate was about to work with those models... yeah, he was jealous.
Why do I have to be under the car, while Tendou gets to ride in it?
"Distracted by pleasure. Lacking ambition. No drive..." Aomine threw out every phrase he could think of to scold Tendou, then turned to Amanai Riko.
"Why didn't you stop him?"
"He said he wanted to experience different walks of life. What could I do?" Riko pouted.
"Didn't his boss at the café stop him?"
"Nope. In fact, the boss said modeling suits him and would attract more customers. She even said he doesn't have to come in as often—once a week is fine, and she'll still pay him full wages."
There's no justice in the world!
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