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

Rukawa Kaede did not speak.

He simply draped the towel around his neck and grabbed a sports drink from the side, taking a big gulp.

When he looked up again.

The shock and astonishment that had been in those dark eyes had completely vanished.

His eyes were filled with a chilling, focused killing intent.

"Beep—!"

The whistle signaling the end of the pause sounded.

"Go on stage!"

Akagi roared, and the five Shohoku warriors' expressions changed as they stepped back into this battlefield of carnage.

The game continues.

Ryota Miyagi controlled the ball past half-court.

Faced with Akashi's unfathomable defensive pressure, he did not attempt to break through again.

Instead, they stabilized their rhythm at the top of the three-point line.

"Don't rush, spin the ball!" Miyagi gestured.

Rukawa Kaede suddenly started moving from the bottom right corner.

Using Akagi's solid screen, he immediately shook off the defense and cut into the 45-degree angle.

Miyagi's pass was delivered with surgical precision.

The moment Rukawa got the ball, his defender had changed to Aomine Daiki.

"Oh? Your eyes have changed."

Qingfeng, half-squatting down, burst out laughing, his laughter filled with arrogance.

"However, no matter how much you glare at me, the gap in strength cannot be bridged."

Rukawa Kaede remained silent, and his center of gravity began to descend in a strange manner.

His breathing became extremely long and deep, gripping Qingfeng's shoulders and feet tightly.

At that moment, the noise of the surrounding audience and the referee's whistle were completely stripped from his world.

Behind him, the faint silhouette of a red fox with blood-red fur and extremely cunning eyes appeared.

"Wild Red Fox"! Fully Unlocked!

"Bang!"

The basketball slammed heavily onto the floor.

Rukawa Kaede's start came without warning, as fast as a red streak tearing through the air.

"Want to go to the right?"

Qingfeng sneered, instinctively shifting his body to block the attack.

But at the same time that Qingfeng moved.

Rukawa Kaede's shoulder, which had been tilting to the right, was suddenly twisted back.

The movement was so large that it almost dislocated his shoulder.

The basketball made a screeching sound as it rubbed against his crotch, and was immediately passed to his left hand.

Extremely low center of gravity for extreme turning maneuvers!

Qingfeng's pupils suddenly contracted.

He discovered that Rukawa Kaede's movements had completely abandoned standard basketball footwork.

It's all about the primal reflexes of the muscles that cause the twisting motion.

"This kid..."

Rukawa Kaede once again executed a sharp reverse crossover at top speed.

The sneakers rubbed against the wooden floor, producing an extremely harsh, burning sound.

These two unexpected changes of direction actually tore a hole in Qingfeng's impenetrable defense.

A tiny gap, barely half a person's width!

"Whoosh—!"

Rukawa Kaede, accompanied by a gust of wind, barely managed to squeeze through Aomine's defenses.

It pierced straight into the Imperial Light Forbidden Zone like a sharp dagger!

"We've broken through!"

On the Shohoku bench, Kogure jumped up excitedly.

However, the air inside the restricted area suddenly became thick.

A massive shadow loomed over Rukawa Kaede's head like a dark cloud.

Murasakibara Atsushi had somehow given up keeping an eye on Akagi.

His terrifying 2.08-meter frame stood like an insurmountable purple iron tower, blocking the way under the basket.

"There's no need to push yourself so hard."

"It's in the way, crush it."

Murasakibara muttered lazily.

With an arm span of over two meters, it was like a giant net that blotted out the sky, slapping down on Rukawa Kaede.

Rukawa Kaede forcibly twisted his waist and abdomen in mid-air.

The move, which was originally intended to be a one-handed dunk, was forcibly pulled back due to extreme imbalance.

The basketball traced an extreme semi-circle around the waist, attempting to evade the block with a layup.

But Murasakibara's defensive coverage area was too exaggerated.

Even with the lever pulled to its limit, it was still within his grasp!

"It's no use, the blind spot has been sealed off!"

Coach Gao Tou in the stands couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Just when Rukawa was about to be blocked by a volleyball block, at the critical moment...

A fiery red figure slashed wildly from the weak side baseline like a shooting star!

"Pass the ball! You sly fox!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi let out a furious roar that shook the entire stadium.

Rukawa Kaede, who was in mid-air, caught a glimpse of that red color out of the corner of his eye.

In the past, the proud man would never pass the ball unless he was in dire straits.

But after experiencing the baptism of the national competition...

After experiencing the breathtaking power gap between the Generation of Miracles.

Rukawa Kaede gritted his teeth and made a decision in his heart.

To win, everything can be compromised.

In the final moments before his body was about to fall, his wrist inexplicably flipped outward.

The basketball transformed into a streak of orange-red light.

It passed right through the gap under Murasakibara Atsushi's armpit in an extremely dangerous way!

"what?"

Murasakibara's half-drooping eyes widened slightly, looking somewhat surprised.

Sakuragi Hanamichi caught the basketball steadily while moving.

"Get out of my way, you genius!"

Facing Murasakibara Atsushi, who quickly turned around to try and cover for him, Sakuragi did not back down at all.

He exerted force with both legs, his thigh muscles bulging high.

His center of gravity immediately sank to its lowest point.

In my mind, Rodman's rough roar in the Chicago arena flashed by.

"Don't ram your chest into the monster!"

"Use your ass, use your lower body to shift their center of gravity!"

Sakuragi's body miraculously completed a half-turn in mid-air.

He slammed his back and buttocks hard into the groin of Murasakibara Atsushi's thighs with extreme brutality.

"Bang!"

The collision of muscles produced a dull, teeth-grinding sound.

Rodman's exceptional positioning skills, combined with Sakuragi's equally monstrous core strength, produced a miraculous effect at this moment!

Even a strong fighter like Murasakibara Atsushi was unable to exert his full power after his lower body was blocked.

Even its massive body staggered backward half a step uncontrollably!

Half a body length is enough!

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Using the space of half a body length, Sakuragi Hanamichi swung his arm in a wide arc.

His body was stretched taut in the air like a recurved bow.

"Clang—!!!"

With a loud bang, the basketball hoop trembled violently as it was smashed, and the glass backboard groaned in agony.

A tomahawk dunk!

The basketball flew through the net and slammed heavily onto the floor.

The numbers on the scoreboard finally started to jump.

The score is 2 to 11!

Shohoku breaks their scoring drought!

"Well done, Sakuragi!"

"Great pass, Rukawa!"

After a moment of silence, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.

Ayako, sitting on the Shohoku bench, jumped up excitedly.

Sakuragi loosened his grip on the basket and landed on the ground.

Instead of showing off, he punched his chest hard.

He bared his beast-like fangs at Murasakibara Atsushi.

"Want to crush geniuses?"

"You're still a long way off, you purple-haired monster!"

However, this tiny flame that had been so hard to ignite did not shake the imperial light in the slightest.

"Back up!"

Akagi didn't even have time to celebrate before he immediately shouted.

Teiko's baseline serve is outrageously fast.

The moment Akashi Seijuro received the ball, his entire aura suddenly changed.

It was the cold, oppressive aura of an absolute superior.

He dribbled the ball across half the court with a leisurely stroll.

Just past the middle circle.

Miyagi Ryota and Mitsui Hisashi stood on either side of him, like two iron plates pressed directly against him.

Double-person high-pressure clamp!

"I won't let you get away so easily again!"