 Before Sakuragi and his gang arrive, Hotta and his cronies run into Kaede Rukawa on the school roof, who singlehandedly knocks out all four of them.Hotta is a good friend of Hisashi Mitsui, and backed him up when he challenged Ryota Miyagi to a fight a year ago.He and his friends provide the muscle again after Miyagi returns, and they join Mitsui in his attack on the basketball team.