"Weak!"
Akagi suddenly exploded with force.
It was the legendary "Butt Technique" personally taught to him by Shaquille O'Neal during his training in America.
He lowered his center of gravity, drove his power through his hips, and unleashed it all in an instant.
And away you go!
BOOM!!
Iwata Mitsuaki felt an overwhelming force crash into him like a landslide.
There was absolutely nothing he could do to resist.
His center of gravity disappeared completely as he stumbled backward several steps.
Then he dropped straight onto his butt.
BAM!
The entire arena erupted.
He just knocked him flying?!
Is this a sumo match or a basketball game?!
Akagi didn't hesitate for even a moment.
He turned.
Jumped.
Both hands raised the basketball high above his head like Mount Tai descending upon the earth.
"RAAAAAAAHHHH!!"
BOOM!!!
The rim let out a pained shriek, as if it were about to snap off the backboard.
Akagi Takenori.
A two-handed power dunk!
The beauty of sheer violence was on full display!
After landing, Akagi looked down at Iwata, who was still sitting helplessly on the floor.
His gaze was like King Kong looking down upon a tiny ant.
"Don't get in my way."
Pure dominance.
At this moment, Akagi was no longer merely the "Gorilla" of Kanagawa.
He was the true...
King of the Paint.
King Kong had descended!
...
"What a play!!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had just entered the game, screamed excitedly.
He was even more excited than if he had scored the basket himself.
He rushed over, wanting to high-five Akagi.
"Gorilla! That was awesome!"
"That was the Butt Technique, right?"
"I've practiced that one too! I'm familiar with it!"
Akagi looked at the bald-headed idiot in front of him.
The corners of his mouth actually curled into a rare smile.
This guy was usually incredibly annoying and constantly caused trouble.
But there was no denying it.
His energy really could infect the entire team.
He was a perfectly qualified team mood-maker.
Smack!
The two high-fived.
The sound rang out crisply.
Cheers erupted throughout the stands.
"Who is that No. 4?!"
"He's insane! He just knocked the guy flying!"
"Did he come here driving a bulldozer?!"
"That physical strength doesn't look anything like a high school student! I'd believe it if you told me he was a professional!"
"And what about that No. 16 earlier..."
"Just what kind of team is Shohoku?"
"Are they really a C-level team? This lineup is S-level!"
The reporters frantically snapped their cameras, burning through film as if it were free.
Everyone had originally expected this to be a one-sided slaughter.
It certainly was.
The only problem was...
Toyotama, the seeded team, was the one getting slaughtered!
This was definitely going to be tomorrow's big news.
Front-page material!
...
Shohoku Bench
Kogure Kiminobu excitedly jumped to his feet.
His glasses were completely fogged up.
He stared at the figure dominating the paint, his eyes beginning to redden.
Ever since their first year...
Akagi had dreamed of conquering the nation.
Back then, everyone had laughed at him.
They thought he was dreaming.
His teammates left.
No one understood him.
Only Kogure had stayed by his side, watching him stubbornly pursue that ridiculous dream.
He had watched Akagi practice alone late into the night.
He had watched the tears of frustration in Akagi's eyes after every loss.
And now...
That dream was no longer just a dream.
It was finally within reach!
"Akagi..."
Kogure cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted with all his strength:
"Do you see that, Toyotama?!"
"This is the strength of Shohoku!!"
"This is the captain who is going to lead us to the national championship!!"
That one roar released three years of pent-up frustration from Shohoku.
It gave voice to everyone who had spent years being overlooked.
And it set the entire arena ablaze!
Akagi heard him from the court.
He didn't turn around.
Instead, with his back facing the bench, he raised his right fist high into the air.
A silent response.
But I knew.
Inside, Akagi was quietly thinking:
This isn't enough.
That last play had sent Iwata flying.
But if it had been that guy...
If it had been Uozumi.
His old rival who had fought with everything he had to stop Akagi during the prefectural tournament.
He definitely wouldn't have gone down that easily.
Too bad you aren't here, Uozumi.
Akagi sighed inwardly.
I'm stronger than I used to be.
Much stronger.
Strong enough to scare even myself.
If you were here, you'd definitely be shocked.
Your strength is several levels above these soft Toyotama big men.
...
High up in the stands.
This was the best vantage point in the entire arena, overlooking the whole court.
The so-called "God's-eye view."
A group of boys wearing dark-colored jerseys sat quietly together.
Their presence was completely out of place amid the noisy crowd.
Calm.
Cold.
Each one seemingly came with his own background music.
Like an immovable mountain.
Sannoh.
The pinnacle of Japanese high school basketball.
The reigning kings who had conquered the nation for three consecutive years.
A team that existed on the level of a final boss.
Coach Domoto Goro stared intently at Akagi on the court.
"This center..."
"He's got something."
Domoto drew a circle on the tactical board.
"Strength."
"Technique."
"And that kind of dominance."
"Even on a national level, he's among the best."
"Kawata."
Domoto turned toward the hulking player sitting beside him.
His appearance was somewhat intimidating.
Kawata Masashi.
The best center in Japan.
Broad enough to look like a wall.
"If it were you, could you handle him?"
Kawata calmly chewed his gum.
His eyes remained completely tranquil.
"No problem."
"His technique is pretty good, but he's still lacking a little in terms of strength."
"I have nine ways to shut him down."
"Nine."
"But..."
Kawata's eyes shifted toward Shohoku's bench.
Toward the figure sitting there with a towel draped over his head.
"The one I'm interested in..."
"Is that No. 16."
Domoto nodded.
The tip of his pen tapped firmly against the tactical board.
"Exactly."
"That No. 16..."
"Makino Juro"
"He's only played a few minutes, but every second has produced something."
"Everything he's shown is difficult to read."
"An ultra-long-range three."
"Explosive speed."
"Precise steals."
"And that..."
"Completely unnatural sense of tempo."
"A sharpshooter?"
"Or an all-around player?"
"Unfortunately, his playing time has been too short."
"We don't have enough of a sample size."
"And there isn't enough data from his previous games."
Domoto's brows furrowed slightly.
As the coach of the reigning kings, Sannoh, he rarely encountered an opponent he couldn't immediately figure out.
But this Shohoku...
They seemed far more dangerous than they had appeared on tape.
A serious problem.
...
At another section of the stands.
The members of Kainan University Affiliated High School had also noticed Sannoh.
Kiyota Nobunaga pointed toward them, shouting in exaggerated surprise like a monkey who had never seen the world before.
"Captain Maki! Look!"
"That's Sannoh!"
"Sawakita Eiji! Fukatsu Kazunari! And Kawata Masashi!"
"They're all here watching Shohoku's game?!"
"Shohoku's getting way too much attention!"
Jin Soichiro was equally surprised.
"Usually, Sannoh only sends scouts to watch first-round games, right?"
"All of them showing up..."
"That means they're taking Shohoku very seriously."
Maki Shinichi crossed his arms.
His eyes moved between Sannoh and Shohoku.
Finally...
His gaze settled on Makino Juro
A meaningful smile appeared on his face.
"Heh..."
"That guy Makino Juro really knows how to stir things up."
"It's only the first game, and he's already caught the attention of the kings."
Maki recalled the fear of being dominated by Makino Juro during the prefectural tournament.
That unfathomable strength.
Those eyes that seemed capable of seeing through everything.
It was like Makino Juro had activated a full-map vision cheat.
"I wonder..."
"How does Sannoh view Juro's strength?"
"Do they see him as a threat?"
"Or..."
"Is he merely an interesting prey?"
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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