On the court.
Rukawa Kaede landed.
Without even sparing Minami Tsuyoshi a glance, he turned and walked away.
When he passed the Shohoku bench, however, his footsteps suddenly stopped.
He looked toward Makino Juro, who was lying in his chair and pretending to be dead.
Rukawa raised a hand and made a shooting gesture.
His expression was calm, but the provocation in his eyes was unmistakable.
"See that? I learned it too."
Juro slightly lifted the towel covering his face, revealing one dead-fish eye.
Looking at Rukawa's tsundere expression, which practically screamed, Hurry up and praise me, Juro rolled his eyes dramatically.
The mental barrage inside his head went wild.
What are you showing off for?
It's just a quick-release three-pointer. You're acting like you just saved the galaxy.
Mine came from the System. It's a cheat-level shot with a one-hundred-percent success rate.
Yours is, at best, a cheap knockoff.
You only got lucky. If your next shot hits the rim, I'll never let you hear the end of it.
Although his inner complaints were overflowing, Makino Juro still lazily raised one thumb and waved it around halfheartedly.
"Fine, fine. You're the strongest. You're the best."
"Just hurry up and finish the game. I want to go back to the hotel."
Rukawa stared at that perfunctory thumbs-up.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
That bastard… He's seriously irritating.
But instead of extinguishing his fighting spirit, the sight made the flames in his eyes burn even hotter.
Since you don't want to move, then I'll be the one to end this game.
...
"Counterattack!"
"Everybody, run!"
Minami snatched up the basketball and shouted like a madman.
Being drilled in the face by a first-year rookie was humiliating enough.
Being drilled in the face with his own move was even worse.
It was practically the same as having his face pressed against the ground and rubbed into the dirt.
If he didn't get his revenge, how was he supposed to continue calling himself the "Osaka Scoring King" in the basketball world?
Minami's roar jolted the Toyotama players awake.
That's right. We're an A-ranked powerhouse. How can we let a bunch of C-ranked rookies bully us like this?
Run!
As long as we get moving, we still have a chance!
Itakura pushed the ball forward at incredible speed.
Once Toyotama's famous run-and-gun offense got going, its threat was truly immense.
The ball moved rapidly from player to player, eventually reaching Minami at the top of the arc.
Only five seconds remained on the shot clock.
"Akagi's been trapped! The paint is wide open!"
A sharp glint flashed through Minami's eyes.
An opportunity!
He lowered his center of gravity, preparing to drive straight through.
But standing in front of him was an iceberg.
Rukawa Kaede.
"Get the hell out of my way!"
Minami roared as he used his polished change-of-direction skills, trying to throw Rukawa off balance.
Left?
Right?
His feints were so convincing that an ordinary defender would have already had his ankles broken.
But Rukawa…
His eyes had changed.
Deep within his normally indifferent black eyes, a beast-like red glow suddenly ignited.
That was [Wild Instinct].
After being "trained" by Juro and Sendoh during the prefectural tournament, Rukawa had awakened the instincts of an apex predator.
At this moment, Minami was no longer a person in Rukawa's vision.
He was prey.
Terrified, desperate prey.
Every one of Minami's breaths, every slight tremor in his muscles, and even the direction in which his eyes would drift next were all clearly reflected in Rukawa's mind.
"Too slow."
The instant Minami took his first step...
Rukawa moved.
Not backward.
Forward.
Like a red fox closing in on its prey, he moved fast, precise, and ruthless, sinking his teeth into the prey's throat.
Smack!
A sharp sound rang out.
The basketball was forcibly stripped from Minami's grasp by Rukawa's long, powerful hand.
"What?!"
Minami suddenly felt the weight disappear from his hand and froze in place.
How is this possible?
I clearly threw him off balance!
Can this guy read minds?!
Before he could react, Rukawa had already sped away with the ball.
A fast break!
One player and one basketball, a streak of black lightning tearing through the defense in an instant.
"Stop him!"
Itakura and Iwata desperately chased after him.
But in front of Rukawa with [Wild Instinct] activated, their speed was as slow as old women crossing the street.
One step inside the free-throw line.
Rukawa took flight.
His body stretched through the air like a longbow pulled to its limit.
Itakura and Iwata jumped at the same time, their four arms forming a human wall.
"Get down here!"
In midair, Rukawa faced the double block without the slightest trace of fear.
He forcibly twisted his waist and performed an exaggerated double-clutch layup, narrowly slipping past the two defenders.
He hung in the air.
It was as if he had escaped the pull of gravity itself.
Only after the two defenders began descending did Rukawa finally slam the ball toward the rim.
BOOM!!!
A one-handed tomahawk dunk!
A double-clutch dunk through a double-team!
A perfect display of the brutal beauty of basketball!
35–11.
Rukawa hung from the rim with one hand, his body swaying slightly as the red glow in his narrow eyes gradually faded.
He landed.
Then he coldly swept his gaze across the stunned Toyotama players.
His voice was not loud, but the humiliation behind it was devastating.
"You guys…"
"You're too weak."
...
In the stands, within the Kainan section.
Maki Shinichi's expression was grim as he stared fixedly at the court.
"That look…"
"That beast-like aura…"
"That guy, Rukawa Kaede, has gotten even stronger."
Beside him, Kiyota Nobunaga clicked his tongue, his face full of unwillingness.
"Tch! What's so great about that?"
"This great Nobunaga could dunk that ball too!"
"That damn fox just loves showing off!"
Maki shook his head, his gaze deep.
"No, Kiyota. Didn't you notice?"
"In that instant, his instincts surpassed his thoughts."
"That was the body's natural instinct. In other words…"
"The legendary… free basketball."
As he said this, a trace of worry crept into Maki's voice.
"And I feel like he's getting closer and closer to the door of the Zone."
"If he takes that final step, and we add the unfathomable Makino Juro…"
...
On the court, Toyotama's atmosphere had already dropped to freezing point.
They were down by twenty-four points after only ten minutes.
For a powerhouse famous for its offense, this was a devastating blow.
Minami stood at midcourt with both hands braced against his knees, sweat dripping heavily onto the floor.
His eyes were somewhat unfocused, but deep within them, a chilling intent was surging.
We're going to lose…
At this rate, we'll definitely lose.
The shadow of that number sixteen was still there.
Akagi was completely unstoppable in the paint.
And now even Rukawa, a first-year rookie, dared to climb onto his head and take a dump on him.
Minami raised his head and looked at Rukawa, who was watching him coldly from a short distance away.
That handsome face of his really makes me want to destroy it.
"If I can't beat him head-on…"
Minami straightened up and wiped away his sweat.
His expression suddenly became calm.
Too calm.
The eerie stillness before a storm.
"Then don't blame me."
Minami muttered under his breath, his voice seeming to rise from the depths of hell.
"Victory is the only justice."
"To win, I can do anything."
"Even if that means…"
"Destroying you."
His gaze locked onto Rukawa's knees and ankles.
It was the way an experienced butcher studied the pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
"That number sixteen slipped away too quickly just now. I didn't have a chance to make a move."
"Then I'll use you to make an example, Rukawa Kaede."
...
In the stands.
Maki suddenly stood up, his pupils shrinking.
As Minami's old rival, he was far too familiar with that expression.
It was the signal of a killer preparing to draw his blade.
"Not good! Rukawa's in serious danger!"
Unfortunately, his warning was drowned out by the deafening cheers from the crowd.
Rukawa remained standing coldly on the court, completely unaware of the danger about to descend upon him.
Meanwhile, at the Shohoku bench.
Makino Juro, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
His brows furrowed slightly.
An intensely unpleasant feeling surged through his heart.
Malice.
Pure malice.
Someone had developed murderous intent.
Makino Juro sat upright, his gaze as sharp as a blade, locking precisely onto Minami on the court.
When he saw the venomous look in Minami's eyes, the corners of Makino Juro's mouth slowly curved into a cruel smile.
His fingers tapped lightly against his knee, producing a rhythmic sound.
"You want to play dirty?"
"Interesting."
"But…"
A cold glint flashed through Juro's eyes.
"If you dare touch one of my teammates…"
"I'll show you what true…"
"Cruelty looks like."
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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