"Gu Jin, I think Sakuragi will definitely become an excellent player. Once his father is out of danger, ask him if he wants to come to Ryonan," Taoka Moichi said seriously.
"Coach, do you mean you want to recruit Sakuragi into the Ryonan Basketball Team?" Gu Jin asked, somewhat surprised.
"Mm, if he agrees, there's no need to worry about the transfer. I believe my judgment is not wrong; he is a player with great potential," Taoka Moichi nodded in response.
"Okay, Coach, I will definitely talk to him. With Sakuragi joining, I believe we will definitely make it to the National Tournament and win the championship," Gu Jin said with determined eyes.
"Oh? You think so highly of him?" Taoka Moichi questioned with a hint of surprise.
"Coach, Sakuragi is someone who can create miracles," Gu Jin replied with great certainty.
Taoka Moichi smiled noncommittally and said to Gu Jin, "Gu Jin, you stay with him. I'll head back first."
"Coach, I'll see you out," Gu Jin quickly said.
After seeing Taoka Moichi off, Gu Jin stayed at the hospital to accompany Sakuragi Hanamichi, while Shimamura Konan took Shimamura Yoko home first.
Soon after, Mito Yohei and others also arrived at the hospital.
Mito Yohei saw Gu Jin and quickly went up to him, saying, "Gu Jin, it's great that you're okay. When we arrived, it was a mess, and we were worried about you."
"I wasn't injured. Those people were temporarily driven away, but by the looks of them, they won't give up. Now is not the time to talk about this; let's go see Sakuragi first," Gu Jin said in a low voice.
"Okay," Mito Yohei responded.
"Yohei, you guys are here?" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked up at them, his voice tinged with fatigue.
"Sakuragi, how is your dad doing now?" Mito Yohei and the others quickly walked to the bedside, asking with concern.
Sakuragi Hanamichi lowered his head, his voice a little muffled, "I still don't know..."
Six hours later, a nurse walked out of the operating room: "Is Sakuragi Zhe Xiong's family here? Please come."
Sakuragi Hanamichi immediately stood up: "I am."
The nurse glanced at him and said, "The patient needs to be hospitalized for observation. Please come with me to complete the procedures first."
"Then how is my dad now? Is he any better?" Sakuragi Hanamichi eagerly pressed.
"You can ask the attending doctor about the specific situation later," the nurse said, then turned and walked towards the nurses' station.
"Sakuragi, I'll go handle the procedures. You wait here for the doctor so you can get any news immediately," Gu Jin said, patting his shoulder.
Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at him, his eyes filled with gratitude: "Gu Jin, thank you."
Gu Jin turned and followed the nurse to complete the hospitalization procedures. Not long after, a doctor walked out of the operating room, taking off his mask.
"Doctor! How is my dad?" Sakuragi Hanamichi immediately rushed forward, his voice full of tension.
"Don't worry, the surgery was very successful," the doctor said gently, "However, he still needs to be hospitalized for observation after the surgery to see how he recovers."
Sakuragi Hanamichi's tense shoulders instantly relaxed, and he quickly bowed: "Thank you, Doctor!"
...Three days later, in the afternoon, in front of Ryonan High School.
As Gu Jin walked out of the teaching building, he saw a familiar figure—that striking red hair was particularly eye-catching in the crowd.
"Sakuragi, over here!" Gu Jin quickly walked over, "How is Uncle Sakuragi recovering?"
"Much better!" Sakuragi Hanamichi straightened his back, "Gu Jin, I came here this time to thank Coach Taoka."
Gu Jin looked at him and suddenly asked, "Sakuragi, do you want to play basketball?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head: "But I've never played before... However, I mentioned what you said last time to my dad. He especially wants me to come to Ryonan, and he also said I must properly repay Coach Taoka for saving his life."
"Then that's perfect, I'll take you to see Coach Taoka," Gu Jin said with a smile.
The two walked towards the Ryonan Gymnasium.
Inside the Ryonan Gymnasium, the players were undergoing their daily training, and the sound of basketballs bouncing on the floor rose and fell.
When Gu Jin walked in with a red-haired teenager, the training movements slowed by half a beat, and everyone looked over with some confusion.
Sakuragi Hanamichi ignored the surrounding gazes and followed Gu Jin directly towards Taoka Moichi on the sidelines.
As soon as Sakuragi Hanamichi saw the figure in a tracksuit on the sidelines, his steps subconsciously slowed. When he reached Taoka Moichi, he respectfully bowed: "Coach Taoka, thank you. My dad was able to overcome the difficulties thanks to your help."
He bent deeply at the waist, not raising his head as he spoke, his voice tinged with nervousness but full of genuine respect.
Taoka Moichi put down the tactics board in his hand, looking at the red-haired teenager in front of him, a smile in his eyes: "It's good that your father is fine. By the way, how have you considered what Gu Jin talked to you about?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi scratched his head, his face a little red: "My dad told me to listen to you carefully. It's just... I really haven't played basketball."
Taoka Moichi raised his hand and blew a whistle—"Toot—"
As the sharp whistle echoed in the Ryonan Gymnasium, the training players immediately stopped their movements and all looked over.
Taoka Moichi announced loudly, "Everyone stop for a moment."
The players gathered in twos and threes, their gazes uniformly falling on Sakuragi Hanamichi's red hair. Some had already started whispering, "Is this the person Gu Jin mentioned?"
"He looks energetic, but can he play basketball?"
With so many eyes on him, Sakuragi Hanamichi's hands clenched into fists, but he maintained his respectful posture towards Taoka Moichi, not daring to even twitch his shoulders.
Taoka Moichi pointed to a basketball on the sidelines: "Sakuragi, go get a ball and try dribbling a few times. Don't be nervous, just consider it a warm-up."
"Yes!" Sakuragi Hanamichi responded crisply, then quickly ran to pick up the ball. But once the basketball was in his hands, he held it like a hot potato, his fingers stiffly gripping it.
He remembered seeing the players dribble with their wrists earlier, so he tried to press down—but the force was too strong, the ball hit the ground with a "thwack," bounced directly higher than his head, and rolled away into the crowd.
"Hahahaha!" Someone couldn't help but laugh, "He dribbles like he's throwing a shot put!"
"He can't even hold the ball steady?"
The laughter grew more noticeable, and Sakuragi Hanamichi's ear tips instantly turned bright red. He quickly ran to retrieve the ball, almost tripping over his own shadow as he bent down, which caused another round of low laughter.
Gu Jin stepped forward and said to him, "Sakuragi, don't mind them. It's normal since you haven't played basketball before. But your athletic talent won't lose to anyone. Come on, use your explosive power and jumping ability to show them." He casually picked up a basketball from the ground, twirled it twice on his fingertips, "Watch closely."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Jin, without a run-up, stood in place, bent his knees, and exerted force—his body shot up like it was sprung, his hands gripping the basketball above his head, and he slammed it fiercely into the hoop! With a crisp "clang," the basketball was firmly pressed into the hoop, and the net swayed with the force.
He landed steadily, clapped the dust off his hands, and raised his chin at Sakuragi Hanamichi: "Just like that. Don't worry about whether the moves are correct, just jump."
The players on the sidelines were used to it—Gu Jin's jumping ability was already one of the best on the team.
Sakuragi Hanamichi bit his lip, gripping the ball tightly in his hands.
He looked at the backboard, with only one thought in his mind—he couldn't embarrass his benefactor.
He took two steps back, then suddenly burst forward, but he couldn't control his direction, his body swayed, and what should have been a jump towards the hoop turned into a diagonal dash towards the backboard.
"Watch out!" Someone shouted.
The next second, with a dull "thud," Sakuragi Hanamichi solidly hit the backboard with his forehead, his entire body bounced back, and he fell directly to the ground, covering his forehead with a hiss.
But the players who had been laughing earlier were now completely silent.
Everyone's eyes were wide—when Sakuragi Hanamichi jumped just now, the height of his toes off the ground almost exceeded half a person, and the spot where his forehead hit was half a section higher than where the tallest center on the team usually could reach!
Even Gu Jin's jumping height when he just dunked might not have reached that position.
His jumping ability was almost as if he had flown into the air.
Taoka Moichi's hand, which had been resting on the tactics board, unconsciously clenched, his knuckles slightly white.