Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 362: The Plot of the Year!
Time flies by unnoticed, and in the blink of an eye, universities across the country are once again welcoming the start of a new semester.

This semester marks the beginning of the SD storyline year, and also signifies that Kogure, Mitsui, and Akagi have officially become third-year high school students.

The difference is that, because of Kogure, the storyline of Slam Dunk was completely changed.

Hainan High School is no longer the king of Kanagawa, but has been replaced by Shohoku High School, which even won the national championship twice and is in unparalleled glory.

In addition, Ryonan, Shoyo, and even Takeshi have all achieved excellent results nationwide.

During the holiday, Kogure did not slack off and continued to train as hard as ever.

Besides Kogure, many of the Shohoku players also showed great enthusiasm for training.

They often work hard and hone their skills in the stadium.

The reason is simple: the annual college admissions season is approaching again.

Nobody wants to fall behind and be relegated from the starting lineup to the backup. The best way is naturally to work hard to improve oneself.

In the intensely competitive atmosphere, almost every player from Shohoku was working hard silently.

If we're talking about the most relaxed person in the entire Shohoku region, then Coach Anzai is probably the one.

However, compared to before, Coach Anzai's attendance rate has increased significantly, from working three days and resting two days to resting all day.

In addition, Coach Anzai is also working hard to lose weight to avoid a recurrence of heart disease due to excessive weight.

Similarly, Coach Anzai did not come forward to recruit outstanding junior high school students during the holidays.

This is the complete opposite of Coach Taoka's constant travels; they are two extremes.

Jingle bell bell~
In the afternoon, the shrill school bell rang, signaling the official end of the first day of classes.

The students poured out of the classroom with great enthusiasm and youthful energy, as if all their pressure and constraints had been released at that moment.

This period is also the busiest time for various clubs and organizations.

Every club is doing its utmost to enthusiastically recruit past freshmen, hoping to inject fresh blood into the club.

Of these clubs, the basketball club is naturally the most eye-catching.

The basketball club's booth was packed with people, with countless freshmen eager to join the basketball club and become one of its members.

The basketball club's booth was still located at the entrance of the basketball stadium, and was managed by Mitsui, the newly appointed vice-captain of Shohoku.

Besides Mitsui, he also had Kakuta Daichi, Miyagi, Yasuda, and others assisting him in his work.

As for the other players, they are engaged in daily training.

"Damn it, I should have made Akagi the vice-captain!"

Mitsui's right hand seemed to dance with afterimages, pushing his hand speed to the limit as he copied down the names of the new students one by one.

Despite this, the number of new students enrolling has not decreased; on the contrary, it has increased.

Besides freshmen, there are also occasional upperclassmen who want to join the Shohoku team.

The surrounding noise made Mitsui feel like he was being swarmed by flies.

So annoying!
There was no way around it; there were just too many students applying to join the basketball club.

Yes, there are quite a few more than last year. Maybe half of the freshmen will choose to join the basketball club.

As for how many people will become regular starters, that remains to be seen.

Seeing this, the other clubs were not to be outdone and tried their best to get a share of the pie.

Among them, Tatsuhiko Aota of the Judo Club personally took part and even displayed the trophy symbolizing the prefectural championship.

Unfortunately, the judo club was still no match for the Shohoku team, and there was a huge gap between the two.

Last year, the Shohoku team was undefeated and won the national double championship, thus becoming the most popular club in Shohoku High School.

While Mitsui was busy, Kogure and Ayako were not idle either.

At this moment, the two are interviewing a manager's assistant.

"Captain, I didn't expect so many girls to apply for just an assistant position. It feels like there are even more people applying for the manager position than last year."

Looking at the long queue, Ayako couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

Fortunately, she managed to find a strong man to help her.

Beside him, Kogure rested his chin on his hand and said listlessly, "Ayako, you're the one who wanted to hire an assistant, why did you drag me along?"

"Hey, Captain Kogure, you recruited a basketball manager last year, so you have experience in this area, unlike me who is completely clueless!"

Ayako had one more thing she didn't say: as long as Kogure was in charge, these little sluts would definitely behave very seriously.

It was at this time that it was finally Mari Kawai's turn.

"Mari, what are you doing here? This time we're not hiring a manager, we're hiring an assistant!"

Ayako stared at Mari Kawai in surprise, thinking that Mari Kawai had misread it.

Last year, the two were major rivals, but Kogure ultimately chose Ayako.

"I applied for the assistant position, Ayako. Please help me out as a classmate!"

Mari Kawai is extremely jealous of Ayako, but in order to become the manager's assistant, she is willing to lower herself a bit.

There's no way around it, there are just too many people signing up. I'm afraid half of the girls in Shohoku High School are in line.

"Relax, you know perfectly well that my word doesn't count!"

Ayako gave a perfunctory reply, but there was no doubt that she was unwilling in her heart!

As her classmate, how could she not know Kawai Mari's personality?

If Mari Kawai becomes the manager's assistant, she'll definitely have a lot of headaches to deal with.

"Mari, as you can see, I'm very busy right now, so I won't chat with you anymore. Okay, next!"

After the interview process was over, Ayako didn't chat with Mari Kawai but started registering the next girl.

Before long, a familiar figure came into Kogure's view.

Shimamura Yoko!

Kogure was also surprised that Shimamura Yoko chose Shohoku instead of Takezono!
This is probably related to the fact that Yoko Shimamura and Ryusei Oda did not become a couple.

As for why he joined Shohoku, Kogure didn't think much about it.

Kogure took a closer look and noticed that Yoko's appearance had changed somewhat compared to last year. Her cheeks had lost some of their baby fat, and she looked much more refined.

The leaves have changed so drastically that they are almost unrecognizable.

"A very pretty girl!"

Ayako was somewhat surprised, and then began to ask Yoko about her experiences.

The girls who are able to get here have passed the preliminary test.

Although the number of people was much smaller, there were still twenty or thirty people.

Most of the girls who passed the preliminary test had served as basketball team managers during junior high school, accumulating a wealth of experience.

Finding a suitable assistant among these girls will require a considerable amount of time and effort.

At this moment, Yoko glanced shyly at Kogure, then quickly turned her gaze to Ayako.

Kogure, with his own reaction, naturally noticed Yoko's unusual behavior.

He was already used to it.

There's no way around it, he's the 'Shohoku Succubus'.

At this point, Ayako began her interview.

"Shimamura Yoko, do you have any experience in this area?"

"I was the basketball manager at He Guang Middle School!"

Ye Zi twisted her hands together, her palms sweating, and she looked very nervous.

Kogure glanced at Yoko in surprise; he hadn't expected Yoko to have such a resume.

"Wako Middle School!"

Ayako looked up at Yoko in surprise.

She naturally recognized Wako Middle School, after all, last year Wako Middle School formed a trio of top talents, which almost caused Fuchiu Middle School to fail.

Even so, Wako Junior High School still won the runner-up title in the county junior high school competition!

Given the strength of Wako Middle School, if they advance to the national competition, they have a good chance of becoming one of the top four.

Unfortunately, Kanagawa only had one spot for the junior high school tournament. In the end, Sakuragi and Yohei both came from Wako Junior High School.

Undoubtedly, being the manager of the basketball team at Wako Middle School is a plus for Ye Zi.

Then, Ayako asked a few more questions.

Ye Zi suppressed her shyness and answered truthfully.

As per procedure, Ayako also asked about the assistant's responsibilities.

She doesn't want to hire an assistant who can't tell the difference between the king and queen!
Manager's assistant is a position that assists the manager.

This is also why she didn't want to recruit Mari Kawai; given her spoiled princess attitude, it's hard to say who would be serving whom.

Ye Zi racked her brains, and after a slight pause, she slowly began to speak: "The assistant manager of the basketball department is responsible for assisting the manager in handling various administrative and organizational tasks to ensure the smooth operation of the team..."

Ayako was very satisfied with Yoko's answer.

However, there are still many girls who haven't gone through the interview process yet, so there might be even better ones out there.

"You can go back now. We'll let you know as soon as we get a reply!"

"Thank you!"

After thanking her, Ye Zi left, turning back every few steps.

"Captain, she seems to have a crush on you!"

Ayako naturally noticed Yoko's little trick and couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

Having spent so much time with Kogure, how could she not like him!
After all, Kogure is far superior to Miyagi.

As a girl, Ayako naturally hopes that her other half is outstanding enough.

In the Shohoku team, Kogure was undoubtedly the best.

Not long after, the recruitment process for the manager's assistant was finally completed!

After the interview, Ayako couldn't help but stretch, revealing her beautiful figure.

"Pretty impressive!"

Kogure glanced at the two key points, then quickly looked away.

"Captain, do you have someone in mind?"

"As the basketball department manager, it's natural that you should be the one to decide on the assistant!"

Kogure waved his hand. He had been delegating authority recently because he knew very well that his time at Shohoku was coming to an end.

"I prefer Yoko Shimamura!"

Ayako hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose Yoko.

First, Ye Zi's resume is undoubtedly the best.

Second, Ye Zi's personality is not assertive; she is clearly a gentle and quiet type of girl.

Third, Ye Zi is a freshman in high school!

The reason why Shohoku recruited a manager's assistant was not only to reduce Ayako's burden, but also to cultivate the next manager.

Of all these girls, Ye Zi is undoubtedly the one who best fits the criteria.

"Then it's her!"

Kogure nodded in agreement; she wouldn't object to whoever Ayako chose.

The two left the office quickly.

It was already past 5 p.m.

The interview for the assistant manager took a full two and a half hours.

"team leader!"

As Kogure appeared, the players greeted him.

Unlike last year, the basketball department's recruitment process took a full five days this year.

In five days, nearly four hundred people applied to join the basketball club.

This is already more than half of the total number of new students!
During these five days, Mitsui also conducted an initial screening, ultimately selecting a dozen or so people.

These dozen or so new students all possess considerable strength and potential.

If placed in one of the top eight teams in Kanagawa, they would definitely become a key target for their development.

Unfortunately, this is Shohoku!

Whether they can even become starters for Shohoku is a question!
This is the day for club activities.

Kogure entered the basketball court and stood in front of the new students.

Before observing, Kogure thought to himself, "This year's freshmen might bring some unexpected surprises!"

Given Shohoku's appeal, the possibility of some surprises emerging from this year's freshmen is quite high.

As soon as Kogure entered, he became the focus of attention among the freshmen, who all looked at him with admiration.

Immediately, Kogure began to observe the quality of this group of new students.

All the first-year players from the original manga/anime were present: Sakuragi, Rukawa, Kentaro Ishii, Satoshi Sasaoka, and Toki Kuwata.

Because of Kogure, Sasaoka Tomo and the others were much stronger than their contemporaries, and barely passed the initial screening.

However, given their abilities, it would be difficult for them to become regular starters.

A team only has 12 starting roster spots, and most of them are taken by upperclassmen.

In order to improve the team's strength as much as possible, Coach Anzai adopted a rule of promoting the capable and demoting the incompetent.

For a period of time afterward, as long as the freshmen perform better than the senior players, they will have the opportunity to take their place.

This also made the role players of Shohoku feel precarious, and they had to train hard during the holidays.

In addition, there is Yohei Mito.

As for the remaining players, they were all unfamiliar faces.

While Kogure was observing, Sakuragi looked at Shimamura Yoko standing next to Ayako with surprise.

In her third year of junior high school, Yoko Shimamura became the manager of the basketball team at Wako Junior High School.

Just like in the original story, Sakuragi confessed his feelings to Yoko, but unsurprisingly, he was rejected.

Yoko thus became the fiftieth girl to reject Sakuragi!

At that moment, Yoko noticed Sakuragi's gaze, but did not make any response.

At this moment, Coach Anzai arrived late.

"I am Mitsuyoshi Anzai, the basketball coach. It's nice to see you all!"

"Hello, coach!"

The new students quickly greeted him.

After the introductions were finished, Coach Anzai waved, and Mitsui quickly brought over his personal chair.

Coach Anzai sat in a large chair, sipping tea with a cheerful smile, and handed over all matters concerning the basketball team to Kogure.

"I am Kiminobu Kogure, the captain of the basketball team. It's nice to see you all!"

"I am Mitsui Hisashi, the vice-captain of the basketball team!"

"I am Ayako Inoue, the manager of the basketball team!"

"I'm Yoko Shimamura, the assistant manager of the basketball team!"

As is customary, Kogure and the others first introduced themselves.

The next moment, Kogure was preparing to arrange for the new students to begin their daily training.

Suddenly, a figure came running into the basketball court, panting heavily.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!"

Upon discovering Kogure, the freshman exclaimed dramatically, "Wow, I've finally seen the real Kogure! I'm so excited!"

Kogure glanced at the other person instinctively, then looked surprised.

(End of this chapter)