Kuroko's Basketball template: the king of slacking off, Shohoku's strongest sixth man.

Kishimoto Minori ran back for her life, roaring at Nan Lie:

"Get back on defense! What the hell are you standing there for?!"

Nan Lie dragged his leaden legs and turned around, his lungs burning with pain.

My vision became increasingly blurry, and my mind was filled with that kind figure.

Ryota Miyagi dribbled the ball at breakneck speed and delivered a through ball to the left.

Rukawa Kaede reached out to catch the ball, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.

His stamina bar was completely depleted, and Zone was forced offline. He was now relying solely on his inherent grit to hold on.

His left eye was covered with a thick bandage, resulting in a large blind spot.

Daijiro Itakura spread his arms wide, blocking the way: "Don't even think about getting past!"

Rukawa Kaede didn't even try to brake.

With a shift in his center of gravity, he slammed his right foot off the floor, and with a swift crossover, he forcefully blew past Itakura's defense.

Mitsuaki Iwata fiercely covered the inside, standing like a human wall in mid-air.

Rukawa Kaede leaped up defiantly against the defense, his body folding into an exaggerated arc in the air.

The two collided violently, their muscles colliding with a dull thud that made your teeth ache.

Rukawa Kaede completely lost his balance, but at the limit of his fall, he deftly flicked his wrist.

The basketball grazed the backboard and fell precisely into the net!

"Beep—!"

The referee blew his whistle: "Goal! Penalty kick-off!"

The entire audience gasped.

"Can a one-eyed fighter really withstand a 2+1 attack?"

"This kid's gone berserk!"

"Is this guy crazy?!"

Nan Lie stood frozen outside the three-point line, as if his soul had been drained away.

What... are we doing this for?

The stadium before my eyes gradually distorted, and the floodgates of memory burst open.

The office of the school's board of directors two years ago.

Nan Lie and Kishimoto kept their heads bowed, their voices pleading, "Please don't fire Coach Kitano!"

The school board member leaned back in his leather chair, coldly flipping through the report cards: "Fengyu wants the top four in the country, not some childish running and blasting game."

The request was ruthlessly crushed.

New coach Kim Hyeong took office, standing in the center of the field with a tactical board in hand: "Toyotomi's offense is first-rate, but their defense is simply appalling."

Nan Lie and Kishimoto stood in the line, their eyes so cold they could kill.

They didn't take the new coach seriously at all.

"We will use Coach Kitano's tactics to reach the semi-finals."

"We're going to prove Coach Kitano right!"

"If we win, maybe he can come back."

Once this idea takes root, it grows wildly into an obsession that cannot be eradicated.

At the free throw line.

Rukawa Kaede caught the basketball tossed to him by the referee, dribbled it twice, and took a deep breath.

Then, he simply closed his only remaining right eye.

The entire place was deathly silent; even breathing could be heard clearly.

"Not again?!"

Kiyota Nobunaga jumped up and down in the stands.

Rukawa Kaede completely shut out the noise from the outside world.

With knees slightly bent and arms raised, he flicks his fingers purely with muscle memory and exceptional ball control.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc.

With a "whoosh," it went into the net hollow!

The Hiroshima Stadium erupted in cheers that nearly lifted the roof off.

Sakuragi Hanamichi curled his lip and snorted coldly: "You stinky fox, all you do is show off."

But the admiration in his eyes was impossible to hide.

Lin Bei leaned back in his chair, chewed on the mint in his mouth, and a smile played on his lips:

"This kid's comprehension is off the charts; he's really mastered the ball control."

Nan Lie stared intently at Rukawa Kaede, who was retreating to defend. That pure and innocent back view was so dazzling that it made people jealous.

He lowered his head and looked at his hands, which were trembling uncontrollably.

"I, the so-called ace assassin, not only failed to kill the opposing ace."

"Will this damn guilt kill me instead?"

My heart was clenched tightly, and a feeling of suffocation washed over me.

Feng Yu serves the ball from the baseline.

The basketball was passed to Nan Lie, who gritted his teeth and dribbled forward at breakneck speed.

Coach Jinping stood on the sidelines, his hands gripping his clothes tightly.

Looking at that stumbling figure, my eyes were completely red.

"I fucking hate you brats the most."

He screamed inwardly, "But I still don't want you to lose!"

Nan Lie had just crossed the halfway line when Rukawa Kaede relentlessly closed in.

The two players were locked in a tense standoff beyond the three-point line.

Coach Jinping closed his eyes, tears splattering onto the back of his hand:

"Because you all risked your lives, just to bring Coach Kitano back..."

Nan Lie's eyes were bloodshot. He lowered his shoulders and forcefully thrust into Rukawa Kaede.

"Get out of my way!"

He grabbed the ball and leaped up, slamming it into the basket without a care in the world.

Rukawa Kaede simultaneously leaped up, raising one arm high, completely blocking all shooting opportunities.

In mid-air, time seemed to stretch out.

Nan Lie's vision blurred for a moment as he faced the blinding searchlight overhead.

In a daze, he was transported back to that summer.

This was the first time I met Coach Kitano.

The kind old man held an old basketball and looked at him with a smile:

"Nan, do you like basketball?"

Nan Lie roared in his heart: Yes, I love basketball so much!

So what am I doing?!

next second.

Nan Lie crashed into Rukawa Kaede in mid-air, and the huge recoil force flipped him over.

He completely lost his balance and fell headfirst onto the floor.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud that sent chills down your spine.

Nan Lie's head slammed heavily onto the wooden floor.

Blood gushed out, flowing down his forehead and into his eyes.

The world before my eyes was completely dyed scarlet.

"South!"

Toyotama's group screamed in terror, and Kishimoto pounced on them like a madman.

Nan Lie lay in a pool of blood, the noise of the outside world completely gone.

My body felt very light, and my thoughts drifted to the farthest reaches of the earth.

At first, I just wanted to make an appearance.

I thought waving my elbow would scare them away; I never intended to actually hit them.

That was his first direct attack.

That ace from Xiangyang is a tough nut to crack.

Undeterred by any coercion, he faced the filthy elbow head-on.

We won precisely because the opponent lost their trump card.

Nan Lie closed his eyes, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

From then on, I actually began to justify this despicable act in my mind.

They felt that they would do anything as long as they could win.

The blood stained the floor, washing away the wounds of his soul.

From that day on, I was given a disgusting nickname—Ace Killer.

Nan Lie felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

Perhaps Coach Kitano had already heard about it.

Maybe... he'll be utterly disappointed in me.

……

A dull ache came from the back of my head.

The pungent smell of disinfectant went straight into my nasal cavity.

Nan Lie struggled to open his eyelids, his vision gradually focusing from blurry.

A pair of calloused hands were pressed against his forehead, with white medical gauze wrapped around it in circles.

"fool."

An old but gentle voice sounded from above.

"The opponent has already set up their position, and if you still insist on going in, you'll definitely get called for an offensive foul."

Nan Lie's eyes widened suddenly, and his breath hitched.

What came into view was a kind face.

With his graying hair and familiar wrinkles, he recognized Coach Kitano, whom he had always dreamed of meeting.

Several little boys wearing short sleeves peeked out from behind Kitano.

"Coach, is he really alright? He's bleeding so much."

A chubby boy grabbed Kitano's clothes, his face full of worry.

Kitano turned around, put on a stern face, and pretended to be angry.

"What are you all doing here watching the show? Get back to the stands!"

The children shrank back: "But it's on pause now."

Nan Lie was completely stunned.

He opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton, and he couldn't make a sound.

Kitano patted the chubby boy's head.

"The timeout is only one minute, hurry back to your seats or you'll miss the exciting game!"

The children ran off, playing and laughing.

Kitano turned his head, pointed at their backs, and smiled.

"I now teach elementary school students how to play ball."

"I often brag to them that Toyotama, who represents Osaka, was trained by me."

"They kept asking to come watch the game, so I brought them to Hiroshima."

Kitano's gaze fell on Minami's face, without a trace of reproach.

"But the children were frowning as they watched the game."

These words struck Nan Lie like a heavy hammer blow.

He turned his head away, while Coach Jin Ping beside him kept his head down, his fists clenched tightly into his trouser seams, and remained silent.

Nan Lie's eyes stung with tears.

Kitano stood up, dusted off his trousers, and prepared to leave.

"Coach Kitano...!"

Nan Lie sat up abruptly, the pain from his wound causing him to gasp.

He stared intently at the retreating figure: "Were you also a fast and ruthless teacher in elementary school?"

Kitano stopped and turned around with a smile.

That smile was as pure as it was two years ago.

"Still the same, 80% offense, 20% defense."

"While they weren't exactly professional level, they seemed to be having a lot of fun."

They had a lot of fun playing.

These words replayed wildly in Nan Lie's mind, like a lightning bolt cleaving through layers of fog.

He looked down at his hands.

These hands once hurt others in pursuit of victory, but they forgot the joy that basketball should bring.

"Happy Basketball..."

Nan Lie murmured to himself, tears welling up in his eyes.