Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 316 Xiangbei's Strange Costumes

On that day, the Kanagawa delegation, together with the chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee, embarked on their journey back to Kanagawa.

Throughout the journey, they were filled with excitement and pride.

They have just successfully defended their title at the Autumn National Sports Games, bringing honor to Kanagawa once again.

During the event, the chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee took the initiative to sit down with Kogure.

He knew very well that Kogure was the biggest contributor to Kanagawa's consecutive victories in the Autumn National Sports Tournament.

If it weren't for Kogure's heroics in knocking the referee off the field, the Kanagawa team would most likely have lost.

His consecutive victories in the Autumn National Sports Championship in Kanagawa have significantly boosted his chances of advancement.

After expressing his sincere gratitude, the chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee asked with a hint of anticipation, "Kogure, in what areas do you think Kanagawa can make improvements to further enhance our influence?"

If Kanagawa's influence increases further, he is even more confident of further expansion.

Kogure pondered for a moment, then said, "We in Kanagawa have several national-level teams, a passionate basketball atmosphere, and an enthusiastic fan base, yet we have never hosted one of the three major tournaments."

Since Akita Prefecture can do it, Kanagawa Prefecture can also try to become the host of the Winter Tournament, and further promote the development of basketball in Kanagawa through a national-level competition.

Upon hearing Kogure's words, the chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee fell into deep thought.

"Kogure-kun, your suggestion is practical and has given me a lot of inspiration. When I get back, I will personally draft a detailed application report to present our plans and vision to the national organizing committee and apply to become the host of the Winter Games."

The chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee clapped his hands excitedly and made a decision on the spot.

"However, this may require Coach Anzai's help."

The chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee rolled his eyes slightly; he knew very well how much influence Coach Anzai wielded in the basketball world.

Coach Anzai has a long and distinguished career in the basketball world, and his status in the island nation's basketball scene is comparable to that of the Yuan family, which has been known for its long and distinguished lineage.

To sum it up in one sentence: His students and former subordinates are all over the world!

The chairman of the national organizing committee is a teammate of the national team who was mentored by him; the vice chairman is his apprentice, and he also has connections with many other high-ranking officials.

If Coach Anzai is willing to take the lead, Kanagawa becoming the host of the Winter Championship is a given.

"I'm sorry, I can't make that decision for the coach. You'll have to talk to him yourself."

Kogure immediately saw through the other party's intentions, but he would never offer any help.

While Coach Anzai's personal involvement could significantly increase the chances of becoming the host country, such assistance comes at a price.

This will deplete your social connections, and social debts are often the hardest to repay.

Even if Kanagawa becomes the host of the Winter Tournament, Shohoku will not gain any substantial benefits.

The reason is simple: Shohoku is the national champion and automatically qualified for the winter tournament, so they don't need to participate in the regional winter selection tournament to compete for a spot.

Kogure paused slightly, then changed the subject: "However, I will convey your request to him, but ultimately it will depend entirely on his personal wishes and judgment."

Kogure's words were full of respect for Coach Anzai, while also making his own stance clear.

"Then I'll leave it to Kogure-kun."

The chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee breathed a slight sigh of relief. As long as Kogure helped to relay the message, he had hope of persuading Coach Anzai.

Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch; if you want Coach Anzai's help, you'll inevitably have to pay a price.

"By the way, I believe the coaches from Shoyo, Ryonan, Kainan, and Takezato will also be very interested."

Having gone all the way, Kogure offered another suggestion.

Unlike the prefectural tournament, Kanagawa only has one spot in the winter tournament, making it highly competitive.

Even a team as strong as Shohoku could still suffer a crushing defeat.

Therefore, these qualified universities will do their best to help Kanagawa become the host of the Winter Tournament.

In this way, Kanagawa can gain an extra spot, greatly increasing its chances of qualifying.

"Makes sense!"

The chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee's eyes lit up; he would naturally not give up if it could increase the success rate.

Although Coach Taoka, Coach Takato, Coach Kitano, and Coach Takezato were far less influential than Coach Anzai, they could still provide some help.

After making the decision, the chairman of the Kanagawa organizing committee did not immediately go to Coach Anzai, but instead walked towards Coach Taoka's seat.

He decided to persuade the other coaches first, and then visit Coach Anzai last.

If you can't even convince other coaches, then you shouldn't count on it.

Before we knew it, the Shinkansen had successfully arrived in Kanagawa Prefecture.

When they stepped out of the station, they were greeted by a sea of ​​jubilation.

Thousands of fans and students spontaneously gathered on both sides of the station, holding up banners and beaming with excitement.

After the finals, the news that Kanagawa had won the Autumn National Sports Championship for the second consecutive year had spread throughout the city.

Although the National Sports Festival during the Autumn Festival has the lowest prestige among the three major national sports events, it has the greatest impact on the region.

The reason is simple: national and winter tournaments are more for individual enjoyment, and fans from other universities are not enthusiastic about them.

The Autumn National Sports Tournament, on the other hand, is a typical example of "enjoying something for everyone," as it is more widespread and represents the honor of the entire Kanagawa Prefecture.

Therefore, countless basketball fans spontaneously joined the celebration, sharing in this glory and joy.

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the fans, the players of the Kanagawa representative team appeared extremely excited.

They began waving to the fans, expressing their gratitude.

At this moment, they represent not only themselves, but also the entire Kanagawa region. This honor belongs to everyone present.

As the procession moved slowly forward, the celebratory atmosphere grew increasingly intense, as if the entire city had been engulfed in a sea of ​​celebration.

Of course, this is an illusion. In that era, basketball was ultimately a niche sport and did not have the same influence as it has in later years.

When Kogure and his teammates returned to Shohoku, the setting sun painted the sky a brilliant golden-red.

They were exhausted, but their faces were beaming with satisfaction.

As the group approached the basketball court, Kogure's ears twitched slightly, as if he had caught some unusual sounds.

The sound was faint, but full of rhythm, and it was very familiar to him.

That's the sound of a basketball hitting the floor!
Kogure chuckled and said, "Huh? I didn't expect anyone to be practicing at this hour!"

Judging from the timeline, the club activities had already ended.

The basketball court should have been quiet, but the continuous sound of basketballs broke the silence, making people wonder who was still sweating inside.

Mitsui also heard the commotion. His eyes darted around, and a sly smile appeared on his face. He asked, "Why don't we all guess who's practicing in there?"

Takenori Akagi was the first to speak: "I guess it's Okamoto and Yamamoto!"

Nobuhiko Okamoto and Kuma Yamamoto are the main substitutes for Shohoku High School. In order to avoid being overtaken by the freshmen, they have been training even harder recently.

"It might be Miyagi!"

Tetsuya Naito also joined the speculation.

A month ago, Miyagi experienced a setback and clearly matured a lot, which is why he was able to focus his attention on basketball training.

In short, the possibility of Miyagi undergoing additional training is not small.

Everyone chimed in with their own guesses.

Just as everyone was discussing this, Kogure interrupted them directly: "Alright, stop guessing, let's go in and see for ourselves."

So the group quickened their pace, pushed open the doors of the basketball court, and prepared to find out what was going on.

As soon as they entered the basketball court, Kogure and his teammates were taken aback by the scene before them.

A huge green caterpillar was pupauring on the floor, its eyes, as big as copper bells, gleaming strangely under the light.

"Wow, you're back!"

Sakuragi's voice broke the silence. He hurriedly took off the caterpillar headgear, still looking optimistic and not embarrassed at all about his caterpillar costume.

His hair was wet and he was drenched in sweat, as if he had just come out of the water.

Even though it is autumn now, it is still early autumn, and the lingering warmth of summer still lingers here.

shuh~
At that moment, the sound of a basketball piercing the rim rang out.

Everyone looked in the direction from which the sound came and found Rukawa Kaede practicing his shooting.

There were only these two people in the entire basketball court.

Upon spotting Kogure and the others, Rukawa stopped training and walked over.

At this moment, Kogure looked Sakuragi up and down carefully, and asked curiously, "Sakuragi, why are you dressed like this?"

Sakuragi shamelessly said, "This was brought over by a fox. How about it? Isn't it cool?"

Following overalls and a green bodysuit, Shohoku now has another outlandish outfit.

"It was so ugly. I have to say, I'll probably never forget the pathetic sight of you crawling on the ground like a pupa."

Mitsui laughed heartily, showing no respect for Sakuragi whatsoever.

His teammates responded with good-natured laughter. With Sakuragi, the atmosphere in the Shohoku team was noticeably more relaxed.

"Sakuragi, you still haven't told us why?"

"I just challenged the fox to wear a mascot costume and pupate around the court, and you've all seen the result."

Despite losing to Rukawa again, Sakuragi didn't seem upset.

In fact, they have already faced off countless times.

Whenever Sakuragi felt he had made progress and wanted to prove himself, he would challenge Rukawa.

Despite always ending in Sakuragi's defeat, he never gets discouraged.

The reason he was able to face failure so calmly was because he felt that he had made progress.

Kogure then asked, "What was your score this time?"

"5:3, but unfortunately they faltered at the end!"

As Sakuragi finished speaking, a hint of resentment crept into his voice.

He has made great progress recently, and the gap between him and Rukawa Kaede has narrowed further.

"However, I will definitely win next time!"

Sakuragi clenched his fist, his eyes filled with determination.

In Sakuragi's heart, Rukawa is not only a rival, but also a source of motivation that inspires him to keep moving forward.

After each defeat, he would train even harder and strive to improve his skills.

While Rukawa Kaede appeared to have won, he actually felt the pressure and dared not slack off in the slightest to avoid being overtaken by Sakuragi.

This is also the main reason why they did not welcome Kogure and the others.

"I'm not going to talk to you anymore, I need to finish my punishment first!"

Sakuragi put the headgear back on and continued to pacify the basketball court.

(End of this chapter)