A week later, the National Tournament bracket and team ratings finally reached Ryonan High School.
In the tactics room, the team members had already gathered in a circle, even Sendoh, who usually leaned casually against the back of his chair, now sat with a straight back, his gaze fixed on the tactics board in front of him.
Shimamura Yoko walked in with light steps, holding the bracket that determined the team's fate, and carefully smoothed it out, placing it in the center of the tactics board, then neatly attaching a printed rating table next to it.
Taoka Moichi stepped forward, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present, exuding an inherent aura of authority that brooked no idleness.
His fingertip landed on the name “Ryonan (Kanagawa),” pausing for two seconds before he spoke: “In the left half, spot 29, our Ryonan—a first-round bye.”
“A bye?” Uekusa’s eyes widened in surprise, and he instinctively leaned forward; Koshino also nodded, “So we don’t have to play the first game?”
“Don’t get carried away!” Taoka glared at them, then moved his finger upwards, pointing at two adjacent team names, “A bye isn’t for you to rest. Our opponent in the second round will be the winner between Seifuu Gakuen and Mamiyanishi.”
He emphasized, “Both of these teams that made it to the National Tournament are tough opponents. No matter who we face, we have to give it our all!”
Everyone’s eyes simultaneously fell on the names Seifuu (Miyazaki) and Mamiyanishi (Iwate), and a moment later, they responded in unison: “Understood!”
Taoka then raised his hand, pointing to the entire bracket: “First, let’s go over these teams to get a general idea.”
Everyone’s gaze was immediately drawn to the dense list of team names on the tactics board, their eyes slowly moving down the list in the left half—
1. Sannoh Industrial (Akita)
2. Kazami (Gunma)
3. Toyotama (Osaka)
4. Kumamoto Third (Kumamoto)
5. Hojo Fourth Commercial (Fukuoka)
6. Yokotama Industrial (Hyogo)
7. Aiwa Academy (Aichi)
8. Umezawa (Saitama)
9. Hoshikawa Jitsugyo (Ishikawa)
10. Nakamura North Commercial (Wakayama)
11. Tobita Second (Tokushima)
12. Tochigi First (Ibaraki)
13. Takamizawa (Hokkaido)
14. Yurai Industrial (Hiroshima)
15. Urayasu Commercial (Chiba)
16. Roan (Kyoto)
17. Hamanomori (Shizuoka)
18. Korakuen (Yamagata)
19. Oki Shoko (Shimane)
20. Tang 館
21. Akita Tsukikan (Tokyo)
22. Nuekubara (Gifu)
23. Jitsudabashi (Oita)
24. Kinzan Commercial (Niigata)
25. Otamori (Shiga)
26. Doryo University Affiliated (Ehime)
27. Mamiyanishi (Iwate)
28. Seifuu (Miyazaki)
29. Ryonan (Kanagawa)
Next, their gaze shifted to the right half—
30. Hakata Shodai Affiliated (Fukuoka)
31. Kainan University Affiliated (Kanagawa)
32. Oji Gakuen (Nara)
33. Naha Suisho (Okinawa)
34. Konan (Tottori)
35. Shiramatsu (Fukushima)
36. Momokura Industrial (Okayama)
37. Kai (Yamanashi)
38. Shimanamigakuen (Nagasaki)
39. Jinbo University Affiliated (Tokyo)
40. Toko Third Commercial (Toyama)
41. Hishinan (Kagawa)
42. Agematsu Commercial (Nagano)
43. Kitanosaka (Hyogo)
44. Hakozaki (Miyagi)
45. Tomioka (Chiba)
46. Daiei Gakuen (Osaka)
47. Oiwa Shimizu (Hokkaido)
48. Toyokawa (Hiroshima)
49. Sakurashin (Tokyo)
50. Oibaru (Mie)
51. Horitana (Fukui)
52. Daisho (Aomori)
53. Oyama North (Tochigi)
54. Osumi Second (Kagoshima)
55. Yano Industrial (Saitama)
56. Tsuchinohigashi (Kochi)
57. Josei (Shizuoka)
58. Haraguchi Commercial (Yamaguchi)
59. Meihou Industrial (Aichi)
Gu Jin’s gaze swept across the right half, finally settling on “31. Kainan University Affiliated (Kanagawa),” his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
This position... he mused to himself, in terms of danger, it was probably second only to Shohoku’s “Group of Death” in the original story.
“Alright, our rating this time is AA, but we can’t get complacent.” Taoka Moichi’s voice carried a hint of subtle relief, yet he maintained a stern expression, his gaze sweeping over everyone, “A high rating is recognition, but also pressure. Whether we can hold our own on the court still depends on our real ability.”
Gu Jin was even a little surprised; when he looked up at the rating table, a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes—he really hadn’t expected the committee to give Ryonan such a high evaluation.
His gaze was fixed on the rating column in the table, going through it line by line:
There were three AA-rank (S-rank) teams: Sannoh Industrial (Akita), Hakata Shodai Affiliated (Fukuoka), and Ryonan High School (Kanagawa).
There were two A+-rank teams: Meihou Industrial (Aichi) and Akita Tsukikan (Tokyo).
There were five A-rank teams: Kainan University Affiliated (Kanagawa), Aiwa Academy (Aichi), Daiei Gakuen (Osaka), Josei (Shizuoka), and Toyotama High School (Osaka).
There were seven B+-rank teams: Seifuu Gakuen (Miyazaki), Mamiyanishi (Iwate), Kazami (Gunma), Roan (Kyoto), Kumamoto Third (Kumamoto), Kinzan Commercial (Niigata), and Jitsudabashi (Oita).
There was no B-rank in the ratings; all teams not listed as B+-rank were C-rank.
After reading the rating table, Gu Jin understood—it was indeed so.
Kainan and Aiwa, two A+-rank powerhouses that had consistently been in the National Tournament semifinals for years, were directly downgraded to A-rank simply because they failed to win their Prefectural Tournament, while Akita Tsukikan, which had won six consecutive Tokyo regional championships, was promoted to A+-rank.
Behind this seemingly unreasonable categorization lay the committee’s obsession with “champion bloodline,” and also a hint of deliberately creating chaos.
His fingertip tapped lightly on the table, not fast, but it felt like it was tapping on his heart.
It seemed the National Tournament was much deeper than he had anticipated.
Paper ratings were never accurate; among those underestimated names, who knew how many undercurrents could overturn the chessboard.
Just like in the original storyline, Shohoku, despite being only C-rank, was able to defeat Sannoh;
And Osumi Second from Kagoshima, the team that was very likely to be the ultimate champion in the original storyline, was also quietly listed as C-rank, inconspicuous.
Although the original storyline had already deviated due to his arrival, preventing Shohoku from appearing on the National Tournament stage, some trajectories still seemed to align with past logic.
These underestimated names perhaps held the power to overturn the battle.
He withdrew his gaze, his fingertip tapping lightly on the table.
Moreover, without Shohoku, the plot-killer, in the upper left half, who knew how strong Sannoh Industrial would become?
In short, he could no longer view this National Tournament with any preconceived notions—whether based on memories of the original storyline or this flimsy rating table.