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

Coach Anzai walked to the sink.

I slowly squeezed out some hand sanitizer and lathered it up.

Accompanied by the sound of water, he began to speak in a calm tone:

"I just checked Sannoh's starting lineup."

Mitsui paused for a moment, then suddenly looked up.

"There's only one person in their lineup who's different from before."

Coach Anzai pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped between his fingers.

"no the same?"

Mitsui's attention was instantly drawn away, and he had to suppress the embarrassment of having to urinate frequently.

He pressed on, asking repeatedly, "Is he my opponent? What exactly happened?"

Coach Anzai turned around.

Behind the glasses, his eyes, always squinting, stared intently at Mitsui.

"Today's player, Satoshi Ichinokura, is not only a defensive expert, but I've also heard that his three-point shooting is famous throughout the country."

Mitsui's pupils suddenly contracted.

Is he famous nationwide for his three-point shooting?

In other words, did Sannoh specifically hire a long-range pitching expert to keep a close eye on him?

Is this the king's way of defeating him?

Before Mitsui could finish processing the information, Coach Anzai took another half step forward.

That usually kind face now exuded an oppressive aura that seemed to see through everything.

"Mitsui." Anzai's voice was low, but it struck Mitsui's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Sannoh is really strong, because I can tell..."

Coach Anzai paused for a moment, then said, slowly and deliberately, "You're afraid."

The air froze completely in that instant.

Mitsui's breath suddenly caught in his throat.

He wanted to argue back, to shout at the top of his lungs, "I am the Man of Flame, how could I be afraid?"

But when he opened his mouth, his throat was so dry that he couldn't make a sound.

"Gulp."

Mitsui swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

That facade of toughness was shattered by Coach Anzai's single sentence.

Meanwhile, in another corridor not far from the lounge, the scene was completely different.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of the basketball hitting the wooden floor was deafening.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was jumping around in the corridor with a basketball in his arms, making his famously exaggerated gestures.

"Master! Master! Stop pretending to be asleep!"

Sakuragi shamelessly sidled up to the figure, his eyes gleaming with fanaticism.

"Just teach me that move!"

"It's that 'destructive hammer' you mentioned!"

"It spins around in mid-air with a 'whoosh,' and then rips the basket off the rim with a 'bang!'"

"This move is practically tailor-made for a genius like me!"

Lin Bei leaned against the wall and rolled his eyes in a very typical dead fish shape.

"Shut up, you're giving me a headache."

"That move is very hard on your back."

Not only do you need overwhelming core strength, but you also need wrist strength to pull the rim down.

Besides, you can't even manage to hit yourself in the face with the ball when you try to go for a layup, what are you trying to do with a hammer?

"Do you think you're from a demolition office?"

"You'll have to pay for the damage if you tear the basketball hoop, don't you understand?"

"How could a genius like me not be able to learn it!"

"Losing money is nothing, I have a master!"

Sakuragi ignored all advice, raised the basketball and roared, "Watch my genius hammer!" before leaping into the air.

As a result, he tripped over his own feet and fell face-first into the mud in the corridor.

"puff."

Lin Bei couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Just then, Coach Anzai appeared slowly behind the two like a ghost.

"Oh ho ho ho..."

"You two seem quite calm!"

Coach Anzai stood with his hands behind his back.

He smiled as he looked at Sakuragi lying on the ground, then at Lin Bei, who was leaning against the wall pretending to be dead.

Coach Anzai then touched the fat on his chin and glanced back and forth between the two men.

He then changed the subject: "But I have a feeling... you're all scared too, you're just pretending to be crazy to cover it up."

Sakuragi, who had just gotten up, dusted himself off.

He blinked his clear, foolish eyes and tilted his head to look at Coach Anzai.

With a look of utter disbelief, he said, "Dad, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"Afraid? Afraid of those monks from the Mountain King's tribe?"

"Those two words don't even exist in this genius's dictionary!"

Lin Bei remained leaning against the wall, not even moving his feet.

Upon hearing Coach Anzai's words, his dead fish eyes slowly turned around.

He didn't say a word, but just tilted his head slightly and stretched his neck forward.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Bei slowly raised his right index finger and pointed to his own nose with utter speechlessness.

On that expressionless face, two lines of words were clearly written...

I?

Scared?

I even took down the basketball hoop, and you're asking me if I'm scared?

Do you want to hear my name?

Coach Anzai's smile deepened as he looked at Lin Bei's arrogant demeanor.

Your gaze travels through a maze of passageways to the exit connecting the venue.

The outside world is like a fully erupted active volcano.

"The Mountain King! The Mountain King! The Mountain King!!!"

The deafening cheers and the synchronized banging combined to create a truly terrifying sound wave.

Takenori Akagi stood alone at the intersection of the shadows in the passageway.

Half of his body was hidden in the shadows, while the other half was illuminated by the stadium's bright lights.

He was like a silent, black iron tower.

I crossed my arms and listened quietly to the deafening roar outside that seemed to be about to lift the roof off.

His complexion was normal, and his breathing was steady.

"Pat-pat, pat-pat."

The sound of steady footsteps approached.

Coach Anzai silently walked up behind the captain of Shohoku High School.

My gaze went beyond Akagi's broad shoulders and landed on the surging ocean outside.

"Many of the spectators are die-hard fans of Sannoh Industrial," Coach Anzai said softly.

This is Hiroshima.

But at this moment, this is Sannoh's absolute home ground.

Akagi did not turn around; there was not a trace of retreat on his resolute face.

"yes."

"The scale of this cheering is really intimidating."

Akagi's voice was deep and resonant.

Despite saying that, his shoulders completely relaxed at that moment.

Akagi slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The cold air traveled straight through the trachea to the lungs, crushing the last trace of tension.

When he opened his eyes again.

A fierce glint, like that of a hungry wolf, burst forth from those eyes, which were as big as copper bells!

Akagi suddenly looked up, his gaze piercing like a knife as he looked at the frantically shouting audience above the stadium.

He grinned, revealing an extremely wild smile.

"To the fans of Sannoh Industrial, I'm truly sorry!"

Akagi's voice boomed through the empty corridor, carrying an undeniable domineering authority.

"Today, we will shatter your faith!"

Coach Anzai, standing behind him, nodded with satisfaction.

Looking at Akagi's broad, mountain-like back, he secretly cheered.

Pre-competition nervousness is a human instinct.

However, we must never cower in fear!

Only by smashing that high wall with our own flesh and blood can we truly transform!

As expected of Akagi.

Coach Anzai smiled.

This pillar of Shohoku has completely gone into berserk mode.

Ha ha ha.

A few minutes later.

Outside the Shohoku lounge, heavy footsteps approached from afar.

"Bang!"

The tightly closed iron gate was kicked open by a pair of strong hands!

Akagi Takenori's gaze swept over the team members who had already assembled, their eyes blazing with anger.

Rukawa Kaede was tightening his shoelaces, while Miyagi Ryota was slapping his cheeks wildly.

Mitsui Hisashi's eyes had become as sharp as knives again.

Sakuragi and Rinho stood at the front, one on the left and one on the right.

Akagi took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar:

"Everyone, time is almost up!"

"Is everything ready?!"