“Look at that guy!” someone in the audience suddenly exclaimed.

“Who is it?” The person next to him craned his neck to look.

“I’ve seen him before, he’s Gu Jin from Ryonan High School in Kanagawa Prefecture!”

“Gu Jin? The player who was rated S-class in the newspapers a while ago?”

“Yes, that’s him!”

“Wow, he looks even handsomer in person than in the reports.”

Aida Hikoichi leaned over, his eyes full of surprise: “Gu Jin, you’re so famous now? People in Fukuoka actually recognize you?”

“Not really,” Gu Jin smiled faintly, his gaze returning to the court, “Let’s focus on the game.”

Aida Hikoichi nodded repeatedly: “Right, the game! I need to pay close attention and report everything in detail to Coach Taoka when we get back.”

Just then, a discordant sneer came from the front row, particularly grating: “Heh, Ryonan? Just a third-rate team! Everyone knows that so-called Public Welfare Cup was just a gimmick!”

The speaker was a man with a small braid, his face showing undisguised disdain.

Aida Hikoichi recognized him at a glance and frowned: “I wondered who it was, turns out it’s someone from Toyotama.”

That person was Kishimoto from Toyotama. He suddenly turned around, saw Aida Hikoichi, and his eyes instantly turned fierce: “Kid, it’s you again? You got away in Osaka last time, but today I’m going to properly teach you a lesson!”

A few days ago, when Aida Hikoichi was watching a game in Osaka, he ran into a junior high school classmate – a player now on the Toyotama team. At that time, Kishimoto was mocking Sendo, and Aida Hikoichi fiercely retorted, creating bad blood between them.

Gu Jin scrutinized Kishimoto for a moment, finally remembering where he had seen him before, and his eyes darkened.

“Teach me a lesson? Do you think I’m scared of you?” Aida Hikoichi retorted without showing any weakness.

Gu Jin placed his hand on his shoulder, his tone calm but with a hint of coldness: “Hikoichi, no need to bother with him. It’s just a few dog barks.”

“Bastard, what did you say?!” Kishimoto suddenly stood up, pointing at Gu Jin and roaring.

Gu Jin looked up and swept his gaze over him, his tone even lighter: “It seems he doesn’t understand human language.”

“Do you believe I’ll hit you right now?” Kishimoto was completely enraged, clenching his fists.

Gu Jin met his gaze, enunciating each word: “I don’t.”

“You Ryonan guys only know how to talk big!” Kishimoto gritted his teeth, “Just wait until the game is over, you’ll see!”

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of mockery: “As far as I know, some people seemed to have lost to Daiei not long ago, right? But I wonder if you’re aware how many points your ‘third-rate team’ won against Daiei in the Public Welfare Cup?”

“That was just good luck for you, just a show!” Kishimoto retorted stubbornly.

Gu Jin couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on him, uttering two words: “Idiot.”

“You’re asking for it!” Kishimoto completely exploded, swinging his fist and about to charge over, but his arm was firmly held by a hand beside him.

Gu Jin looked up. The one holding Kishimoto was a boy with a buzz cut and sinister eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips. It was Nan Lie, the captain of Toyotama.

Nan Lie’s fingers were clasped on Kishimoto’s arm, the force seeming light, yet it rendered the furious Kishimoto unable to move.

He slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Gu Jin’s face. His eyes were like ice, mixed with a sticky scrutiny, much like a venomous snake flicking its tongue in the shadows, outwardly calm, but its fangs already secretly aimed at its prey.

Gu Jin raised an eyebrow—this person was far more dangerous than the boisterous Kishimoto.

He’s a formidable opponent! But, so what?

Nan Lie gently pushed away the still struggling Kishimoto, a remarkably gentle smile on his face, but his tone lacked warmth: “I apologize, my teammate is a bit hot-headed and speaks without thinking. I’ll apologize to you on his behalf.”

His smile was faint, but the lines around his eyes revealed an indescribable shadow, like a thin sugar coating wrapped around an unhidden blade.

That “apology” sounded polite, but the provocation and scrutiny in his eyes were more unsettling than Kishimoto’s roar.

“No need.” Gu Jin met his gaze, his tone calm and unwavering.

Nan Lie smiled, not responding, just patting Kishimoto’s back and quietly saying, “Sit down.”

Kishimoto glared fiercely at Gu Jin, then was pressed back into his seat by Nan Lie, still muttering something, but no longer daring to act impulsively.

Nan Lie looked back at the court, the lines of his profile appearing somewhat stark under the lights, with only occasional glances at Gu Jin, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, carrying a hint of dangerous probing.

Gu Jin withdrew his gaze, but he knew in his heart—the troubled waters of Toyotama would likely be unavoidable.

Who was Nan Lie? Gu Jin knew him too well.

In the original work, he was the “Ace Killer” who would stop at nothing to win, seemingly calm and restrained, but in reality, he harbored a fiercer fire and a crueler heart than Kishimoto.

His “apology” was never a retreat, but a build-up before the storm—like a venomous snake coiling itself, not giving up its attack, but merely waiting for the most opportune moment to strike.

Gu Jin glanced at Aida Hikoichi, who was still muttering softly beside him, “Toyotama really has no class,” and unconsciously tapped his knee with his fingertips.

That look from Nan Lie just now clearly carried a sense of evaluation and calculation.

Ryonan had beaten Daiei and made a name for itself in the Public Welfare Cup. Now, with himself, an S-class player, appearing here, Toyotama had probably already marked him as a potential “trouble.”

Moreover, on the match schedule, Ryonan would most likely occupy the same division as Shohoku in the original manga.

They would most likely meet in the first round! (Although Hainan lost to Ryonan, their performance last year would naturally place them in a seeded team’s division!!!)

The game on the court continued, Hakata Shodai High School’s teamwork still airtight.

But Gu Jin knew in his heart that compared to the outcome on the court, that brief conflict just now might be a more alarming signal.

The people of Toyotama always held grudges, especially someone like Nan Lie. The gentler his smile on the surface, the more sinister the schemes he might be brewing in his heart.

The current calm was nothing but a facade.

However, it was still the same—so what!

Gu Jin looked back at the court, but his peripheral vision would unconsciously sweep over those two figures in the front row.

This mission to scout the enemy seemed destined to be far from simple from the very beginning.