Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 360 Animal Team VS Monkey Team

As for why Kogure had the three of them team up, there are probably three main reasons.

First, Akagi and Uozumi are both senior high school players, and they admire each other. The other four are junior high school graduates and are the same age.

Second, he wanted to see if there was any chemistry between Rukawa and Sakuragi.

Third, the two teams consisted of five monkeys and one fox, making it a pure animal competition that satisfied Kogure's desire for excitement.

Shohoku Animals vs. Ryonan Monkeys!
"It would be even better if Rukawa Kaede were replaced by Kawada!"

Kogure rested his chin on his right hand, still feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

As is well known, there are six ape-like creatures in SD: the red monkey, the golden monkey, the wild monkey, the gorilla, the monkey boss, and the East African ape-man.

If the 'East African Man' were here, it would be an internal war among monkeys—a monkey king competition!

"Boss Monkey, wild monkey, golden monkey, we've got this in the bag!"

Sakuragi stood between Akagi and Rukawa, hands on his hips, laughing loudly, striking the pose of the Uchiha Four Laughing Heroes.

The sky cleared and the rain stopped, and Sakuragi felt like he was back to normal.

In Sakuragi's eyes, that's probably how it was converted.

gorilla ≥ monkey boss
Sakuragi > Golden Monkey
Rukawa Kaede = Wild Monkey

Don't ask why Rukawa Kaede is like a wild monkey; it's all because Sakuragi is acting out of personal bias.

Overjoyed, he seemed to have forgotten one thing.

Rukawa Kaede is recognized as the top graduate of junior high school. If Kiyota Nobunaga and Rukawa Kaede are ranked together, wouldn't that mean that Kiyota Nobunaga is superior to Sakuragi?

All I can say is that Sakuragi's thinking was too simplistic.

Kiyota Nobunaga pointed at Sakuragi in exasperation and said, "Red-haired monkey, even if we win, it's not your achievement!"

Despite Kiyota Nobunaga's great confidence in his own abilities, he was facing Rukawa Kaede.

During his third year of high school, Kiyota Nobunaga fought against Rukawa Kaede and was completely overwhelmed by him, with little chance of fighting back.

Therefore, he knew very well that he was no match for Rukawa Kaede.

In addition, Uozumi is also known as the second-best center in Kanagawa Prefecture, while the best center in Kanagawa is Akagi.

It's obvious that Sakuragi's teammates are stronger than them.

"Red-haired monkey, don't be so smug. Even if you have better teammates, I will still beat you!"

Unlike Kiyota Nobunaga, Nango Koichiro, whose personality is almost identical to Sakuragi's, remains full of confidence.

"This is a headache!"

'Monkey Boss' Yu Zhu felt as if several monkeys were constantly shouting in his ears, and he couldn't help but clench his fists.

Beside him, Kogure felt sorry for Monkey Boss.

In the original work, Monkey Boss is quite pitiful. He is also the only player who is ranked in the top 20 of Slam Dunk but has never made it to the national level.

It still looks pitiful now, because the future Ryonan will have four major problem children.

Sendoh and Fukuda are actually alright; one is lazy and the other is vain, but at least they are less troublesome than the two monkeys.

Kiyota Nobunaga and Nango Koichiro seem to be difficult to manage, both of them having noisy and argumentative personalities. It remains to be seen whether Uozumi can keep them in check.

Here's the problem: the eldest monkey is also an excellent cook... Given the personalities of these two monkeys, they'll probably be frequently freeloading off each other's meals.

Kogure couldn't help but admire that Uozumi could juggle playing sports and cooking so well.

Soon, the two teams took to the field.

Because they had just trained in the basketball gym, Akagi and Rukawa were able to go on the court without warming up.

Mitsui served as the temporary referee, while Kogure and his teammates, along with the Sakuragi Army, stood by and watched the spectacle.

Kogure sat down next to Mito Yohei and asked, "Yohei, are you interested in joining the Shohoku basketball team?"

To increase Sakuragi's enthusiasm for training, the Sakuragi Army often took turns training with him.

But talent determines the ceiling, and among the Sakuragi Army, only Mito Yohei showed potential.

It was precisely because of the trio of Sakuragi, Mito Yohei, and Oda Ryusei that Wako Junior High was able to reach the finals of the prefectural junior high school tournament.

Unfortunately, they ultimately lost to Rukawa Kaede, who arrived late.

If given the chance to do it all over again, Kogure would favor Wako Middle School.

There's no way around it, Sakuragi's progress is just too fast.

In just six months, Sakuragi further narrowed the gap with Rukawa.

One excels at defense, the other at offense!
Yohei Mito has also made significant progress, but this is only because he hasn't focused all his energy on basketball; otherwise, his progress would certainly have been even greater.

Even so, Yohei Mito has already reached the level of a key substitute for a strong team.

As for why they recruited Yohei Mito, it was because Kogure had decided to study in America after the National Tournament.

If Kogure wins both the prefectural and national tournaments, he can fulfill his promise.

NO1, NO2, NO3...

By then, Shohoku urgently needed to strengthen their point guard position; relying solely on Miyagi would definitely not be enough.

Miyagi is quite strong, but his height limits his potential.

If Yohei Mito were to serve as a substitute, he could make up for some of the shortcomings.

At the same time, Kogure was also thinking about the future of Shohoku.

With Rukawa, Sakuragi, and Yohei this year, and Mizusawa Ichiro next year, even after Mitsui and Akagi graduate, Shohoku's minimum standard can still be guaranteed.

In this way, at least for the next few years, Shohoku will be able to maintain its dominance.

When the game eventually comes to the NBA, Shohoku will become a 'holy land' for basketball fans, and there will be no need to worry anymore.

"Okay, I'll keep Sakuragi company."

Yohei felt valued because of Kimoku's personal recruitment, and coupled with his brotherly loyalty, he readily agreed.

Beside them, the three goofballs sat upright, waiting for Mu Mu to speak.

They waited and waited, but the wooden curtain showed no sign of speaking again.

It was obvious that Mumu didn't think much of them.

No, don't you guys have any self-awareness?
Although the three idiots are all physically excellent, firstly, they find it difficult to concentrate on learning, and secondly, their technical talent is not high, at least not comparable to Yohei.

Not only does physical ability require talent, but technical skills also require talent.

Relatively speaking, physical talent is more important.

This can be seen from gOat.

After all these years, his skills are almost unchanged from when he first joined the league.

Yes, still at Rokuburou's level.

It's no wonder that saying "You play like a gOat" has become an insult. It not only means you lack skill, but also that you have character flaws.

The reason why gOat's reputation is so bad in the future is mainly due to his actions.

It was at this moment that the duel officially began.

The first move was decided by a coin toss, and Team Uozumi was lucky enough to get the first move.

Beyond the three-point line, Nango Koichiro quickly passed the ball to Kiyota Nobunaga.

Rukawa was on high alert, his defense was much stronger than in last year's junior high school tournament, putting Kiyota Nobunaga under immense pressure.

"How did Rukawa's defense suddenly become so good?"

Kiyota Nobunaga looked disheveled under Rukawa's defense, but fortunately, he was good at dribbling and managed to protect the basketball.

Last year in the junior high school tournament, when the two faced off, even though he was at a disadvantage, he didn't end up in such a sorry state.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Uozumi quickly stepped forward to shield Kiyota Nobunaga.

Uozumi's screen was of high quality, allowing Kiyota Nobunaga to temporarily get rid of Rukawa.

Kiyota Nobunaga breathed a sigh of relief and immediately dribbled the ball straight to the basket.

Just as Akagi was about to step forward, Kiyota Nobunaga pretended to pass the ball to Uozumi, who was making a run down the court. This caused Akagi to instinctively stop and focus his attention on Uozumi.

However, Kiyota Nobunaga did not pass the ball. By the time Akagi reacted, Kiyota Nobunaga had already rushed to the basket and dunked the ball over Akagi.

Bang! !
Wow, that guy can jump so high!

"No way, he looks like he's under 1.8 meters tall, and he can dunk!"

……

As Kiyota Nobunaga scored with a dunk, the other Shohoku players, except for Kogure, were all shocked.

In Slam Dunk, Kiyota Nobunaga would easily rank in the top three in terms of jumping ability alone.

Hua Hua Hua~
The spectators surrounding the basketball court also applauded.

"Hahaha, see that, you red-haired monkey? This is my power!"

After landing on the ground, Kiyota Nobunaga put his hands on his hips, tilted his head back, and let out a triumphant laugh.

"Don't get cocky. It's just a dunk, I can do that too!"

Sakuragi curled his lip, revealing a disdainful expression.

So what if he can jump high? His jumping ability is in no way inferior to Kiyota Nobunaga's, and his jumping speed is quite astonishing.

Rukawa silently walked to the three-point line and then passed the ball to Akagi, who was in position.

"That wretched fox, he didn't pass the ball to me!"

Sakuragi glared angrily at Rukawa. If looks could kill, Rukawa would have died a thousand times over.

"You big idiot, this is not your attack range!"

Rukawa pointed to where Sakuragi was standing and offered a rare explanation.

Because he was too eager, Sakuragi stood a step outside the three-point line.

This is clearly not within Sakuragi's scoring range.

Of course, Sakuragi can make breakthroughs, but Rukawa is clearly more confident in his ability to do so.

Akagi caught the ball with both hands and then passed it back to Rukawa.

Kiyota Nobunaga immediately engaged him, but Rukawa Kaede easily broke through his defenses.

Just as Rukawa was about to rush into the basket, Nango Koichiro rushed up in time.

If they can only slow him down a little, Kiyota Nobunaga will catch up again.

In this situation, Rukawa, unusually, did not go it alone, but instead turned and passed the ball to Sakuragi, who was in an open position.

Unfortunately, Sakuragi was sulking and not very focused. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.

bang~
The basketball landed heavily on Sakuragi's face with a dull thud.

When the basketball landed on the ground, a clear basketball mark appeared on Sakuragi's face.

The basketball bounced twice on the ground and rolled out of bounds.

Hahahaha!

At this moment, many onlookers burst into laughter.

"Damn it, Rukawa Kaede!"

Sakuragi flew into a rage and blamed all the blame on Rukawa.

"Sakuragi, stop fooling around!"

Suddenly, a huge shadow loomed over Sakuragi.

Sakuragi looked up and saw Akagi clenching his right fist, glaring at him fiercely.

"Gorilla, you've misunderstood. I was saying that Rukawa Kaede's story is good!"

Fearing a sudden punch from above, Sakuragi immediately put his arm around Rukawa's shoulder, looking like best buddies.

Rukawa slapped away Sakuragi's right hand that was hooked around his neck, then patted the spot where Sakuragi had touched him a few times, showing a disgusted expression.

"I wonder if idiocy is contagious?"

"Damn it!"

Sakuragi was furious, but the moment he met Akagi's fierce gaze, he instantly became 'well-behaved' again.

It can only be said that one thing subdues another!
In Shohoku, Sakuragi was most afraid of Akagi.

Offense and defense reversed!

As soon as Kiyota Nobunaga received the basketball, he immediately called for a screen from Uozumi, hoping to get an easy scoring opportunity like in the previous round.

Unfortunately, Rukawa was already on guard and quickly bypassed Uozumi when he came up.

Because of Uozumi's cover, by the time Kiyota Nobunaga realized what was happening, it was too late.

slap~
The basketball was slapped away.

Sakuragi picked up the basketball and went to the three-point line, ignoring Rukawa Kaede, and immediately began a bulldozing drive.

Koichiro Nango immediately went to meet him. His physical abilities were not much inferior to Sakuragi's, and he managed to stop Sakuragi.

Sakuragi tried to break through in other ways, but he clearly hadn't fully mastered these techniques. Instead, he found himself in grave danger under the pressure from Nango Koichiro.

"This way!"

Suddenly, Rukawa Kaede's voice rang out.

Upon seeing that it was Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi immediately refused.

He simply didn't want to pass the ball to Rukawa!
slap~
Suddenly, a small hand emerged from Sakuragi's blind spot and swept upwards.

He was none other than Kiyota Nobunaga.

After gaining possession of the ball, Kiyota Nobunaga dribbled to the three-point line and then passed the ball to Uozumi, who had landed in position.

Although Uozumi's overall strength is not as good as Akagi's, he has an advantage over Akagi in one aspect: his ability to provide support.

As a defensive-minded supporting center, Uozumi's role in the team is no less important than Akagi's.

Uozumi first pretended to back down Akagi, then quickly set up the ball.

The basketball flew towards the basket, and Koichiro Nango leaped up, grabbing the ball with both hands as if to slam it down.

"Think beautifully!"

However, at that moment, Sakuragi slapped the basketball with his right hand.

"Drink!"

Sakuragi gave it his all, and the two were locked in a stalemate in the air for a moment before finally falling down together.

The basketball rolled to the ground, and Kiyota Nobunaga immediately pounced on it, but Rukawa Kaede grabbed it first.

Team Akagi launched another offensive.

Sakuragi received the basketball from Akagi and eagerly wanted to shoot.

Unfortunately, despite Nango Koichiro's desperate defense, the basketball hit the front of the rim.

At the crucial moment, Rukawa Kaede leaped up and, while catching the ball, delivered a graceful tomahawk dunk.

"Wow, Rukawa Kaede has stolen the spotlight again!"

Looking at Rukawa hanging from the basketball hoop, and especially hearing the girls' frantic screams, Sakuragi was consumed by jealousy.

He also imagined that Rukawa Kaede was so popular with girls, otherwise he wouldn't still be single, especially with the favor of Shimamura Yoko.

Unbeknownst to Sakuragi, Yoko already had someone she loved.

Despite Sakuragi being a core member of Wako Middle School, the girls' impression of him as a delinquent was too deeply ingrained.

This is also the main reason why Sakuragi was not very popular with girls, even though he led Wako Middle School to win the runner-up title in the prefectural junior high school tournament.

Compared to Sakuragi, Rukawa is the complete opposite.

Rukawa Kaede is very popular with girls, but he is still single because basketball is all he cares about.

This is undoubtedly a typical Sicoma man!
"These two are really a headache!"

Outside the arena, Mu Mu shook his head in disbelief.

(End of this chapter)