Inside the Hiroshima Arena.
The roar of the crowd nearly blew the roof off.
The heavy thud of the basketball hitting the floor was completely swallowed by the tsunami of cheers surrounding the court. The entire audience had gone wild.
A fat man wearing a striped T-shirt jumped excitedly into the air.
Waving his inflatable cheering stick, he shouted, "That was insane! Looks like Shohoku beating Kainan wasn't a fluke after all!"
Beside him, a tall, skinny man pushed up his glasses and sucked in a cold breath.
"Shohoku's lineup is unbelievable."
"That number four, number eleven, and number sixteen who just broke someone's ankles… They're all incredible!"
"They had no reputation at all, yet they're ridiculously strong!"
Several high school girls in the row behind them were screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Number eleven's double-clutch was so freaking cool!"
The atmosphere throughout the entire arena had completely reversed.
The mocking voices that had ridiculed Shohoku at the beginning were nowhere to be found. Every single one had been replaced by shock and admiration.
The fans who had originally supported Toyotama were now completely silent, staring blankly at the glaring difference on the scoreboard.
The male leader of Toyotama's cheer squad bit his lip so hard that it nearly bled. He did not even notice when the small megaphone slipped from his hand and hit the floor.
An A-ranked team was being crushed beneath the feet of a C-ranked team.
It was as if their pride had been thrown onto the ground and trampled into the dirt.
At the Shohoku bench.
Kogure Kiminobu sat on the edge of the long bench, both hands gripping his knees tightly. His palms were already soaked with cold sweat.
Unlike the optimistic spectators, he was not celebrating.
His eyes had never left Rukawa Kaede on the court.
"On the surface, Rukawa looks like he's scoring effortlessly," Kogure said in a lowered voice. "But the situation isn't that simple."
Yasuda turned toward him with a completely confused expression.
"Kogure-senpai? Isn't Rukawa going absolutely crazy out there?"
Kogure shook his head and pointed toward Toyotama's half of the court.
"Look closely at that number four's defense."
"Pay attention to his footwork and leg strength. He's been sticking to Rukawa like glue the entire time. He hasn't given him any extra room to break through."
Kogure swallowed, his voice growing tense.
"And after Makino Juro left the court, Toyotama shifted all of its defensive pressure onto Rukawa and Captain Akagi."
The Shohoku substitutes exchanged glances.
Kakuta Satoru wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a bitter smile.
"Everyone's incredible. Our opponents are one of the top eight teams in the country."
"That pressure coming at us is so intense that we can barely breathe just sitting here on the sidelines."
Ayako snapped her folding fan shut and smacked it against her left palm.
"Look. The way the spectators are looking at us has already changed."
"As long as we keep the tempo under control, we can win this game!"
On the court.
Sakuragi Hanamichi stood near the free-throw line.
For once, he did not shout or rush around while getting back on defense.
He simply stared ahead.
At the end of his line of sight was Rukawa Kaede's back, drenched in sweat.
Rukawa was coldly watching his opponent, resembling a lone wolf ready to pounce.
Sakuragi's lips moved slightly as he muttered under his breath.
"When did that damn fox start playing basketball…?"
The image of Rukawa's previous shot replayed over and over in his mind.
That terrifying speed.
That absurd accuracy.
And the rock-solid balance he had maintained during the midair collision.
Those things had clearly been forged through countless days and nights of sweat.
Sakuragi clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his flesh.
The referee's whistle suddenly rang out.
Toyotama inbounded the ball.
Kishimoto Minori received the pass and charged forward like a rabid dog.
Miyagi Ryota shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Get back on defense! Shut this play down!"
Akagi and Rukawa took off at full speed.
Only Sakuragi remained rooted to the spot like a wooden statue.
In the stands, Mito Yohei leaned against the railing and chuckled.
"Oh, oh. Rukawa's really fired up now. He's finally brought out the skills he's been saving for last."
Takamiya Nozomi stuffed a large handful of popcorn into his mouth and spoke unclearly.
"Toyotama's about to regret this."
At the Shohoku bench, Makino Juro looked at the still-dazed Sakuragi and sighed helplessly.
He slowly stood up, put both hands into his pockets, and walked to the sideline.
His gaze calmly settled on the red-haired boy.
"Sakuragi."
Makino Juro's voice was not loud, but it carried with extraordinary force, striking directly into Sakuragi's ears.
Sakuragi shuddered and abruptly turned his head toward the sideline.
Makino Juro looked straight into his eyes and spoke in an unhurried tone.
"Stop spacing out. Open your mind."
"Watch his movements carefully. Study his techniques carefully."
He paused for a moment, his voice becoming heavier.
"Then go sweat more than he does."
"Otherwise, you'll spend your entire life staring at his back."
Sakuragi fell completely silent.
Those words were like a heavy hammer, smashing apart the last trace of wishful thinking in his heart.
Ayako also walked over to Juro and added as she looked at Sakuragi, "Rukawa was already an excellent player back when he was at Tomigaoka Middle School."
"He's suffered through far more than you have. You've only been playing basketball for a few months."
Sakuragi lowered his head and stared at his broad, thick palms.
They were covered in rough calluses.
The marks had been carved into his hands by tens of thousands of monotonous practice shots.
"So it really is experience that separates us?"
Sakuragi gritted his teeth and suddenly shook his head.
"No, no, no! If I admit that, wouldn't I be admitting that this genius is inferior to that fox?"
He abruptly raised both hands, swung his arms wide, and slapped himself hard across the face.
Smack! Smack!
Two crisp slaps rang across half the court.
Sakuragi's cheeks visibly reddened.
The confusion in his eyes vanished completely.
He turned around, transformed into an enraged red leopard, and charged toward the defensive end.
Kishimoto was just preparing to jump for a layup when a massive shadow suddenly descended over his head.
Sakuragi leaped high into the air and let out a thunderous roar.
"Don't even think about scoring!"
BAM!
The basketball was violently swatted out of bounds by a huge hand.
The entire arena erupted in shock.
Kishimoto stumbled slightly after landing and glared viciously at Sakuragi.
"You red-haired monkey!"
Sakuragi glared right back without holding anything back.
"You ponytail! This genius is the man who's going to carry the entire game!"
The game continued, and Shohoku switched to offense.
Miyagi dribbled the ball across half court while Sakuragi fought fiercely for position in the paint.
But his eyes were not on the ball.
Instead, they locked onto Rukawa Kaede like a radar.
Rukawa cut to the left.
Sakuragi stared fixedly at his footwork.
Rukawa stopped abruptly.
Sakuragi carefully broke down the changes in his center of gravity.
Rukawa rose for a shot.
Sakuragi desperately memorized the mechanics behind his release.
At that moment, Sakuragi's brain was like a dried-out sponge, greedily absorbing every movement Rukawa made.
That kind of pure concentration was precisely the strongest weapon behind his savage growth.
In the Kainan High observation area.
Kiyota Nobunaga grabbed the back of the seat in front of him and leaned halfway over it, his face full of confusion.
"Captain Maki, you said Rukawa needed to be careful?"
"That fox is clearly at the height of his momentum right now."
Maki Shinichi sat with his arms crossed, his brows tightly furrowed.
His gaze was firmly fixed on Toyotama's number four.
"Rukawa is up against, Minami Tsuyoshi, is no ordinary opponent."
Maki's voice carried a hint of solemnity.
"He's extremely dangerous."
Kiyota froze.
"Dangerous?"
"Can he really be more dangerous than Makino Juro?"
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer