Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 358 Love and the Three Giants

Shortly after Kogure and the others returned, a new graduation season began on this very day.

The air in the Shohoku basketball arena was filled with an indescribable heavy atmosphere.

On the floor, the marks of basketballs and traces of sweat intertwine, bearing witness to countless days and nights of hard training and sweat.

"Coach, Captain, it's time for us to go!"

Sato Ichiro said, his voice choked with emotion, tears welling in his eyes.

The other graduates nodded in agreement, almost as if they were about to say, "Me too."

Ichiro Sato is the representative player among this year's graduates!
Once upon a time, Ichiro Sato was a useless player, but under Kogure's influence, he changed his playing style, successfully made a name for himself, and was eventually admitted to Hainan University.

That's right, Hainan University!
As one of the starting five of Shohoku, Ichiro Sato may seem ordinary, but he has many unique characteristics.

This type of tall shooter with a soft touch is something many university teams lack.

In addition, let's not forget the achievements that Shohoku has made in the past two years, which has also added a lot of points to Ichiro Sato's image.

Apart from Ichiro Sato, the other graduates were all admitted to good universities.

Ichiro Sato's voice echoed in the empty basketball arena, carrying a hint of reluctance and sadness.

Besides him, there were also Masaru Ito, Ohno Suzuki, and others who reluctantly said goodbye to Coach Anzai and their teammates.

After the Winter Games ended, they did not leave the team, but stayed until the very last moment, even training with their teammates on the last day.

As the farewell words fell, the graduating high school seniors stepped forward one by one to embrace Coach Anzai and his teammates tightly.

"Oh, hehehe, then I wish you all the best for the future, and hope you'll come back to visit often when you have time."

Coach Anzai let out his signature hearty laugh, looking at the players who were about to leave the team, his heart filled with emotion.

Coach Anzai was recently discharged from the hospital and has been undergoing rehabilitation training at home ever since.

It wasn't until graduation season that he made a special trip to the basketball court.

"team leader!"

Finally, the players, led by Ichiro Sato, surrounded Kogure.

Compared to Coach Anzai, who was not very responsible, Kogure, as captain, was clearly more responsible.

It was under Kogure's influence that they were willing to put in the effort and stop being hopeless losers like before.

"Even after you go to university, I hope you can stay true to your original aspirations. Keep it up!"

Kogure offered a word of encouragement, then extended his right hand and placed it in front of everyone.

Ichiro Sato was the first to place his right hand on it, and the other teammates followed suit.

The players sat in a circle, their eyes filled with anticipation for the future.

"Shohoku will win!"

For a moment, the sound of everyone shouting in unison echoed in the basketball court.

In the end, with mixed feelings, Ichiro Sato and the others left the Shohoku basketball arena, looking back every few steps.

Their high school basketball careers are over, and from now on they will go their separate ways.

But this experience will forever be etched in their hearts and become the most precious treasure in their lives.

With the departure of Ichiro Sato and others, the Shohoku team re-selected a vice-captain.

Ultimately, Mitsui beat Akagi to become the vice-captain.

Besides the Shohoku team, graduates from other major universities also went their separate ways.

Among them, the biggest loss was suffered by Hakata University of Commerce Affiliated School, because they lost their ace player - Nohisuke Suzuki.

Of course, the losses suffered by Hainan Affiliated High School were also considerable.

With the graduation of Kazuhiro Ikeda, Hainan High School's inside game is no longer as strong.

Comparatively speaking, the strength of strong teams such as Shohoku, Sannoh, Shoyo, Ryonan, Aiwa, and Daiei has not been significantly reduced.

On the same day, Kazumi Kawasaki resigned from his position as coach Tsukubu and officially took over as coach Takezato.

Despite its decline, Buri remains a strong nation and has even won a national championship.

Due to Kazumi Kawasaki's immense charm, a scenario similar to Coach Kitano's transfer to another school occurred again, with Tsukubu players including Tomokazu Godai and Hiroshi Natsume resolutely choosing to transfer to Takezato.

In this way, it is almost equivalent to the fusion of Takezato and Tsukubu!

Furthermore, an American player was also with Coach Kazumi Kawasaki.

That's right, it's Mike Okita!

During his time in America, Coach Kazumi Kawasaki unexpectedly met Mike Okita.

With mutual affection, the two hit it off immediately, and Coach Kazumi Kawasaki eventually brought Mike Okita to join Takezato.

In a short time, Buri's strength increased dramatically.

This is equivalent to incorporating the essence of Tsukubu and Green Light High School into the Wuli team.

This Buri team boasts many outstanding players such as Koko, Kazuo Imamura, Mike Okita, Tomokazu Godai, and Ebina, so their strength is self-evident.

With the significant increase in strength of Buri High School, it is showing signs of surpassing Hainan High School.

Amu saw this and was anxious; he was devastated.

This means the competition in Kanagawa is becoming even fiercer!

Therefore, he decided not to wait any longer and resolutely submitted his application to withdraw from school.

However, Mikoshiba was even faster than Maki!
After being persuaded three times by Moroboshi Dai, Mikoshiba was moved and became the first to switch allegiance to Aiwa Academy.

As for Jun Tsuchiya, no matter how much Dai Moroboshi tried to persuade him, he ultimately chose to refuse.

What infuriated Moroboshi the most was that Jun Tsuchiya had secretly contacted Hiroshi Morishige.

As for how Moroboshi Dai made the discovery?
In order to successfully recruit Morishige Hiroshi, he specifically assigned two Aiwa and backup players to keep an eye on Morishige Hiroshi.

Originally, this was just a casual move, but it unexpectedly yielded a rewarding result.

They discovered that Jun Tsuchiya had entered Hiroshi Morishige's house, which disrupted Dai Moroboshi's plans.

Under these circumstances, Moroboshi Dai had no choice but to speed up the process of recruiting Morishige Hiroshi, and immediately rushed to Morishige Hiroshi's house with Ai and Coach.

This was, after all, Aichi Prefecture, and in the end, Jun Tsuchiya could only leave in disgrace.

Most importantly, Morishige Hiroshi refused to go to school in another prefecture.

This is understandable; given similar academic levels, many people will choose the school closer to home.

Despite Tsuchiya Jun's kind words and numerous promises made in public, he could not sway Morishige Hiroshi.

Even so, Aiwa Academy was still tricked by Jun Tsuchiya.

Because Jun Tsuchiya spoiled Shigehiro Morishige's appetite.

Aiwa Academy will have to pay a higher price to recruit Morishige Hiroshi, otherwise he might be recruited by other Aichi high schools, especially Meihou Industrial.

As for how Maki found out about this, it was mainly because when Moroboshi Dai was having a long phone conversation with him, he poured out a lot of his troubles to him.

After learning that Mikoshiba had transferred to Aiwa Academy, Maki became even more excited.

With Moroboshi Yamato and Mikoshiba, plus Morishige Hiroshi, who's considered the second-best high school student in junior high, Aiwa Academy's future looks incredibly promising. They're on track to win the championship!

As for who is the top high school student in junior high school, it is naturally Rukawa Kaede, who won the national junior high school championship.

On this day, Amu finally revealed his true colors to Hainan High School, deciding to bring his talent to Aichi Prefecture!
For Hainan High School, Amu is their star player. Without Amu to protect them, the consequences would be unimaginable.

The school administration in Hainan immediately informed Coach Gao about Amu's transfer.

Coach Gao Tou was clearly surprised, because he hadn't told Maki about transferring schools.

He was kept in the dark the whole time!

This is almost identical to when gOat decided to bring his talents to Miami.

Coach Gao was utterly disheartened.

His position as head coach was already precarious, but he made many promises before Hainan High School decided to give him one last chance.

As a meritorious coach of Hainan Affiliated High School, Gao Touli is quite skilled.

Now things are really messed up. Once Amu leaves, Hainan High School will definitely suffer a heavy blow.

Let alone making it to the national competition, they might not even make it to the joint finals of the county competition.

With Ikeda and Hiroshi leaving the team, Hainan High School is left with only Maki to fill the gap.

If they lose Amu, Hainan High School will only be at the level of the top eight in the county competition.

Hainan High School cannot afford to lose Amu!

Gao Touli was eager to find Amu. At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: to persuade Amu to give up his plan to transfer schools.

Upon arriving at the teaching building, Coach Gao's eyes scanned each face eagerly.

Soon, he finally spotted Amu.

Coach Gao Tou ran up to Amu, panting, trying to persuade him to change his mind.

"Amu, are you really going to leave? Have you thought this through?"

Gao Touli's voice was filled with anxiety and unease.

However, instead of answering, Amu asked, "Coach, do you remember what you said to me back then to persuade me to join Hainan High School?"

A hint of reminiscence flickered in Amu's eyes. Before Coach Gao could answer, he continued, "You said my stage was in the whole country. If Hainan High School couldn't make it to the national competition, I could drop out at any time. Now, it's been two whole years, and I see no hope at all!"

At this moment, Coach Gao was speechless, not knowing what to say.

He was extremely anxious, cursing himself for being too confident and giving others cause for criticism.

He seemed to have forgotten that if he hadn't said that, Amu might not have accepted the offer from Hainan High School back then.

In order to persuade Amu to join Hainan High School, Coach Gao made many verbal promises.

Besides this sentence, there is also a plan to strengthen it every year.

Two years have passed, and Hainan Affiliated High School has become weaker year by year.

Last year, Takamiya Motoyu graduated, and with limited reinforcements, the team's overall strength actually declined rather than increased.

This year marks the graduation of Kazuhiro Ikeda, further marking the decline of Hainan High School.

Now, these promises have become shackles binding them.

"Amu, Hainan High School needs you, the team needs you, and your teammates need you too. There are many fans here who love you, and your hard work and talent have already been recognized. Stay, and let's create more glory together. I promise we'll make it to the national tournament next season!"

Coach Gao was extremely anxious, but he was still unwilling to give up.

If he loses Amu, he will lose all hope, and his time at Hainan Affiliated High School will be on the countdown.

In order to persuade Amu to stay at the school, they started to play the emotional card and a little bit of moral blackmail.

"Let alone the national competition, we might not even be able to secure a spot in the top four of the county competition!"

Amu shook his head, filled with pessimism about the future of Hainan Affiliated High School.

Originally, Shohoku, Shoyo, and Ryonan were stronger than Hainan High School. Now that the Takeshi team has recovered, how can Hainan High School possibly compete?

Kanagawa Prefecture is a veritable meat grinder; he's not going to play along.

Amu was silent for a moment, then said firmly, "Coach, I am very grateful for your trust and guidance over the past two years, but I need to think about my future. I need a bigger stage."

After a pause, Maki continued, "Coach, my home is in Aichi Prefecture, and I want to contribute to the basketball of my hometown. You know, Morohoshi and I are both brothers and rivals, and I've decided to encourage each other!"

Looking at Amu's determined eyes, Coach Takato knew that any further persuasion would be futile.

He sighed deeply, his heart filled with helplessness and disappointment.

Amu shook his head and left without looking back.

As for the transfer procedures, he decided to ask his father to handle them.

Watching Amu's departing figure, Coach Gao Tou tried several times to call him back, but couldn't find a good reason to persuade Amu.

He knew Amu's personality very well, and his persuasion was no longer going to change anything.

For Hainan High School, Amu was like a load-bearing wall of the building; his departure was undoubtedly a huge loss.

Amu's transfer to Aihe Academy caused quite a stir.

For a time, Aihe Academy became the focus of attention for national teams.

"Wow, Aiwa Academy first poached Mikoshiba from Changcheng High School, and now they've poached Maki Shinichi from Hainan Affiliated High School, forming a top-tier trio that has instantly become a favorite to win the championship!"

Upon receiving the news, Aida Yayoi immediately rushed to Aichi Prefecture with her assistant Nakamura.

She certainly wouldn't miss such big news.

"Ms. Aida, why are they called the Three Giants of the Peak?"

"Idiot Nakamura, they're all senior high school players, right at the peak of their high school years!"

Aida Yayoi's explanation made Nakamura suddenly understand.

There are clear reasons why later generations of fans always criticize the Heat's Big Three but rarely criticize the Celtics' Big Three.

At that time, the Heat's Big Three were at the peak of their playing careers, while the Celtics' Big Three were all in their thirties and on the cusp of their prime.

The nature of Love and the Big Three is exactly the same as that of the Heat's Big Three!
Dai Moroboshi: Wade!

Mikoshiba: Bosh!

Shinichi Maki: gOat!

Without a doubt, the eldest son of Aiwa Academy is Moroboshi Dai, and the second eldest son is Mikoshiba.

Why not Amu?
Mikoshiba has made it to the national tournament every year and even reached the top eight in the country. What does Maki have?
Are they among the top four in the county competition, or the runner-up in the winter selection tournament? Or perhaps the best lineup in the county?
There's absolutely no comparison!
In the realm of competition, results speak for themselves.

Without good results, Amu can't stand up straight even if he wants to.

This is similar to gOat joining the Heat. Wade has a championship and Finals MVP, what does gOat have to compare with him?
At that time, gOat's only notable achievement was a runner-up finish... and that was a runner-up finish after being swept by the Spurs!
In other words, Wade was too foolish to give the ball to GOat; otherwise, his historical status would definitely be higher.

Thus, Amu 'naturally' became the third leader of Aiwa Academy.

Amu's feelings were undoubtedly complicated, but he longed to enter the national competition stage and did not care about these trivial matters.

He's not a gOat, after all!

(End of this chapter)