Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 313: Obsequious to outsiders, but fiercely assertive at home!
Kogure was inspired by the future Joel Anthony!
During a contest for the ball with Yao Ming, Joel Anthony elbowed a referee in the head.

At the time, the referee reviewed the footage countless times and finally determined that Anthony had not done it intentionally before he had no choice but to swallow the blood and accept his bad luck.

The difference is that Joel Anthony's action was accidental, while Kogure's was definitely intentional.

Kogure elbowed the chest instead of the head because it was harder to dodge.

Furthermore, an elbow strike to the head can be fatal; if he's unlucky, Kogure might be begging the referee not to kill him.

In fact, Kogure had a backup plan.

If the elbow strike fails, he might use the celebration move to punch the referee.

In a 2013 game between the Bulls and the Mavericks, Boozer completed a 2+1 play against Nowitzki under the basket. Overly excited, Boozer suddenly turned around and waved his fist in celebration, but his fist struck the referee in the abdomen as he turned.

In principle, players who touch the referee should be called for a technical foul and may be ejected or suspended.

However, Boozer was not punished in any way, nor was he suspended or fined.

Despite Kogure's feigned apology, the referee clearly did not accept it.

Because once might be an accident, but twice is not necessarily the case.

He had been 'violated' by Kogure twice in a row, and each time it was more brutal than the last.

However, he was troubled by the lack of evidence.

At that moment, two assistant referees rushed in.

However, they did not believe that Kogure did it on purpose.

From Kogure's perspective, it was almost impossible for him to know the referee's location at that time.

So, this was entirely an accident.

What they didn't know was that Kogure was able to elbow the referee because of his superhuman reflexes and sixth sense.

The two assistant referees immediately began to inquire about the referee's condition.

"Broken ribs...broken!"

The referee clutched his chest in pain. When Kogure elbowed him, he clearly heard the sound of bones breaking, possibly more than one.

After catching his breath, the referee continued, "He absolutely did it on purpose, you must send him off!"

As he spoke, the referee's eyes were filled with anger and hatred as he looked at Kogure.

The two assistant referees looked at each other, but they did not follow the referee's instructions.

If they were ordinary players, they might have given their colleagues some face and sent them off the field.

But Kogure is different!
Kogure is not only the highest-ranked high school student in the nation's history, but also has a fervent fanbase known as "Kogure no Mikoto".

Those were crazy female fans who occupied two and a half entire seats.

They certainly couldn't afford to offend this crazy group for the sake of their colleagues, otherwise they might not even make it out of the stadium.

It was at this moment that the chairman of the national organizing committee led the way onto the field, his tone stern: "Enough! How long do you want to embarrass yourself? This was just an accident!"

The referee lay on the ground, gazing sadly at the chairman of the Akita organizing committee beside him.

The chairman of the Akita organizing committee turned his head away, pretending not to recognize him.

"Alright, get this disgraceful guy out of here!"

Under orders from their superiors, medical personnel immediately carried the referee away.

Following in the footsteps of Dai Moroboshi, another person has received the treatment of being carried on a stretcher.

The difference this time is that it's the head referee.

After the head referee was urgently carried away, the chairman of the Akita organizing committee hurriedly said, "Chairman, I think Oki should be the head referee!"

The "Daimu" he mentioned is a substitute referee.

However, the chairman of the national organizing committee showed a hint of displeasure on his face.

"Enough, this farce should end now. The first assistant referee will temporarily take over as the head referee!"

His words exuded an unquestionable authority.

As the chairman of the national organizing committee, he would never allow his subordinates to make decisions without permission, especially in such an important competition.

Besides, how could he not guess the other party's intentions?

In this situation, maintaining stability and order in the competition is of utmost importance.

At the same time, it is also necessary to safeguard the reputation and fairness of the Autumn National Sports Games.

As referees, our primary task is to maintain fairness and order in the game, not to aid and abet wrongdoing like in the future NBA.

The Akita organizing committee was unwilling, but dared not disobey the orders of their superiors, and reluctantly agreed.

In reality, his opinion is not important.

Soon, under the arrangement of the chairman of the national organizing committee, the first assistant referee temporarily took over as the head referee to maintain order on the field.

The second assistant referee then took over the duties of the first assistant referee, allowing the match to proceed smoothly.

Before returning to the field, Naito gratefully said to Kogure, "Captain, thank you for helping me get revenge!"

Before he fouled out, he clearly remembered what Kogure had said to him.

If you can't solve the problem, then solve the person who caused it!

Now that the referee has been elbowed by Kogure, Naito naturally knows that this is Kogure's counterattack.

Kogure glanced around and said solemnly, "Shut up, this was just an accident!"

Naito, with his big mouth, was as if he wanted everyone to hear it.

Upon hearing Kogure's words, Naito quickly corrected himself: "Yes, yes, it was just an accident!"

After the game restarted, since it had just been classified as an accident, possession of the ball remained with Kanagawa.

Soon, Kogure received the basketball again.

Kogure caught the ball steadily, assumed a triple threat stance, and was ready to launch an attack at any moment.

Zebei quickly adjusted his position, keeping a step's distance from Kogure, his eyes fixed on him, ready to react at any moment.

Suddenly, Kogure broke through with the ball almost without warning.

As one of the top high school players in the country, Sawakita may not be as good as Kogure, but his abilities should not be underestimated.

He not only possesses top-notch physical attributes, but also outstanding defensive skills.

When it comes to perimeter defense, Sawakita is undoubtedly the best in Slam Dunk.

Faced with Kogure's breakthrough, Sawakita quickly moved to the side, successfully blocking his opponent's breakthrough route.

Using a crossover dribble, Kogure easily evaded Sawakita and passed him.

Sawakita chased back desperately, not wanting to give Kogure an easy chance to score.

Chi~
Kogure suddenly stopped, then started again, successfully shaking off Sawakita and heading straight for the basket.

Seeing this, Kawada had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to meet him.

Facing Kawata's defense, Kogure jumped up and made a layup in mid-air to avoid the block, then switched hands and put the ball into the basket.

The basketball spun once on the rim before finally falling into the net.

A thunderous roar of applause and cheers erupted inside the stadium.

Beep~
However, at that moment, the referee blew his whistle.

Kogure felt a chill and turned to look at the referee.

"Could this guy have been bribed too?"

If these two assistant referees are also on the opposing team's side, then things could get complicated.

After all, he couldn't very well send all three referees off the field; that would be too deliberate.

"White team's number 8 commits a defensive foul, Red team's number 4 gets a free throw!"

The referee made a gesture and then made the ruling.

After learning that it wasn't Kogure who committed the foul, the Kanagawa players visibly breathed a sigh of relief.

sigh~
Mu Mu made a penalty hit, completing 2+1!

Staring at the score on the electronic scoreboard, Kogure muttered to himself, "15 points short!"

Offense and defense reversed!

Fukatsu dribbled the ball past half-court and began to organize the team's attack.

Seeing no opportunity, Fukatsu passed the ball to Kawata. Facing Akagi's defense, Kawata faced the basket and attacked.

Because he has only been an inside player for a short time, Kawata has not yet developed his back-to-the-basket skills and still mainly plays like a guard.

Compared to Akagi, Okawata is faster and more agile.

In the blink of an eye, Kawada successfully broke through Akagi's defense and drove straight to the basket.

Just as he jumped to dunk, suddenly, a large hand slapped the basketball, delivering a resounding block.

At the same time, a powerful force came from behind, sending Kawada flying.

"asshole!"

Kawada quickly stood up from the floor and glared menacingly at the other party.

Upon realizing it was Kogure, Kawada's arrogant demeanor vanished instantly.

His biggest fear is Kogure!

However, Kogure had no intention of letting him go.

After stealing the basketball, Kogure said with a mocking smile, "So subservient to outsiders, yet so ruthless to your own people. You're just like everyone else!"

Kawada's expression changed drastically, his face turning pale and then red, and he subconsciously clenched his fists, looking like he was about to explode.

However, he ultimately held back and did not utter any rebuttal.

His eyes were filled with resentment and anger, but for some reason, he dared not respond.

This is mainly because our strength doesn't allow it!

He is good at persuading people with reason, but Kogure is clearly better at it!

Kogure: I not only read the Spring and Autumn Annals, but I also read the Analects of Confucius. I am best at persuading people with virtue!

Kawada's silence seemed to silently confirm Kogure's irony.

Not far away, Zebei, who saw this scene, couldn't help but reveal a gloating smile.

As luck would have it, Kawada happened to spot Sawakita's smile.

"what are you laughing at?"

Kawada grabbed Sawakita's neck tightly, wanting to teach this impolite junior a lesson.

"Let...let me go!"

Zebei's face turned red, and he could barely breathe.

Kanagawa was naturally not going to let such a good opportunity slip by.

"not good!"

It was only then that Kawada finally realized what was happening, hurriedly released Sawakita, and sprinted towards Akagi.

Zebei coughed twice and hurriedly rushed towards Kogure.

But by then, it was too late.

Kogure stood outside the three-point line at the top of the arc, and there was no one in front of him.

Since becoming the top high school student in the country, I have rarely had such a good opportunity.

Without hesitation, Kogure leaped high into the air, stretched out his arms, and flicked his wrist, sending the basketball flying from his fingertips.

sigh~
The basketball traced a beautiful arc through the air, piercing the net with a resounding thud.

His teammates spontaneously ran over and patted Kogure on the shoulder.

"Nine points left!"

With this three-pointer, Akita's lead was reduced to just 12 points.

"Defense!"

Inspired by Kogure, the Kanagawa players focused more on defense.

As for offense, if there aren't any good opportunities, then leave it to that man.

On the other side, the Akita players clearly increased their running distance, trying to score this goal.

After bringing the ball across half-court, Fukatsu waited for a while, and seeing that his teammates had not yet created an opportunity, he immediately signaled to Kawata to step up and set a screen.

Fujima subconsciously assumed that Fukatsu was trying to break through, and instinctively took a step back.

Unfortunately, Fukatsu didn't break through; instead, he leaped over Kawada, attempting to shoot a three-pointer.

Fujima only had time to wave his hand; he didn't have time to interfere at all.

bang~
However, Fukatsu wasn't very lucky; the basketball spun around the rim once before finally coming out.

Akagi and Kawada were locked in a tangled battle, neither wanting the other to grab the rebound.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kogure rushed into the paint and easily grabbed the rebound.

"Quick attack!"

Just as Kogure was about to grab the rebound, Fujima and Mitsui had already taken off, showing signs of becoming future gOat players.

Fukatsu and Matsumoto's expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly tried to get back on defense.

Kogure then used a long pass from the quarter-post to throw the ball forward.

The basketball transformed into a red phantom and appeared in front of Mitsui in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, Mitsui happened to be outside the three-point line.

As he caught the ball with both hands, Mitsui felt he didn't need to adjust and immediately assumed a shooting stance.

Just as Mitsui leaped up, Minoru Matsumoto rushed over.

He jumped up as well, trying to intercept, but ended up hitting Mitsui's arm instead.

pop~
Beep~
The referee blows the whistle at the appropriate time.

sigh~
Mitsui seemed unaffected; the basketball swished through the rim.

This almost perfectly replicates the famous scene from the Battle of Xiangshan in the original story, and it's still the same two people involved.

Poor Minoru Matsumoto, in the end, could not escape the fate of becoming a background character.

"White team's number 9 committed a foul, Red team's number 11 gets an extra free throw."

The referee immediately made a ruling.

The first assistant referee maintained a completely fair and impartial attitude, avoiding repeating the mistakes of the head referee.

He didn't want to be carried off on a stretcher!

Although he thought it was just an accident, what if it wasn't?
Soon, Mitsui stood at the free-throw line.

He didn't dribble; he shot the basketball straight out.

sigh~
The basketball hit the net.

"Mi-chan, Mi-chan!"

As Mitsui completed the 3+1 play, the fans, led by Tokuo Horita and his two teammates, cheered enthusiastically.

"How embarrassing!"

Mitsui couldn't help but cover his face, because Mi-chan refers to a cute girl or small animal, and originally meant "kitten".

Not only do fans call him Mi-chan, but his teammates also call him Xiao San, making him incredibly embarrassing.

In just over a minute, Kanagawa scored ten points, reducing Akita's lead to eight points.

beep~
To avoid demoralizing the team, Coach Domoto did not hesitate to request a timeout.

When the timeout ended, the Akita players' emotions had visibly stabilized.

On the field, Fukatsu extended his right index finger and shouted to his teammates, "Guys, we must score this ball!"

The Akita players looked serious; they knew very well the importance of this shot.

If this ball doesn't go in, the situation will become even more unfavorable for the Akita team.

This time, the Akita players noticeably improved their screens.

Soon, with the help of his teammates, Matsumoto Minoru shook off Mitsui.

Fukatsu immediately passed the ball, and Matsumoto Minoru caught it and shot.

Mitsui couldn't stop him in time and could only watch helplessly as Matsumoto Minoru jumped to shoot.

(End of this chapter)