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

It was 5:30 in the morning, and the sky was still not fully light.

The streets were quiet, with only the occasional sputtering of a passing newspaper delivery motorcycle.

The doors to the Shohoku basketball arena were suddenly pushed open.

"Huff... huff..."

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood in the center of the stadium, his Jordan sneakers slightly deformed from being stepped on.

He gripped the basketball tightly in his hand, his red hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and he had two huge dark circles under his eyes.

But his eyes were frighteningly bright, as if he had just taken stimulants.

Can't sleep.

I can't sleep at all!

Every time I close my eyes, all I can think about is that dunk from yesterday.

The tremor from his fingertips traveled up his arm and straight to the top of his head, making his scalp tingle with pleasure.

"Hey, Hanamichi..."

Behind him, Yohei Mito, wrapped in a coat, huddled up in a ball, his face showing an expression that said, "I want to die."

"Brother, it's only 5:30..."

Yohei let out a huge yawn, his eyes filled with physiological tears.

I thought I could sleep in after beating Xiangyang, but before dawn I was dragged out of bed by this guy and we ran all the way to school.

"Yohei!"

"You're too excited to sleep, right!"

Sakuragi completely ignored his friend's resentment and slammed the basketball down his heel.

The sound echoed in the empty stadium, making Yohei's head ache.

"That dunk yesterday... that feeling..."

Sakuragi looked at his right hand, his fingers spreading and then clenching, as if he was still savoring the feeling of that moment.

"It's like...it's like the whole world's spotlight is shining on me!"

"Miss Haruko was definitely watching me at the time! Right in the first row!"

Thinking of this, two suspicious blushes instantly appeared on Sakuragi's face.

His mouth stretched all the way to his ears, emitting a grotesque, perverted laugh.

"Hehehe...Miss Haruko...hehe..."

Yohei rolled his eyes, propped his chin on his hand, and bobbed his head up and down like he was fishing.

"Yes, yes, the whole world is watching you."

"Hurry up and practice, then treat me to a fancy breakfast."

Sakuragi took a deep breath, and his smile vanished instantly.

He stood at the free-throw line with the ball in his arms, and his aura changed.

In my mind, the green wall of Xiangyang rose up again.

Hanagata Toru's long arms, Takano's blocks, those heights that once suffocated him, now all became his background.

Again!

approach.

With his knees slightly bent, he resembled a spring compressed to its limit.

The calf muscles suddenly tensed up.

"Drink it!!"

A loud shout.

Sakuragi shot straight into the air like a spring from dry land!

The jump was clean, decisive, and incredibly high.

Yohei, who was dozing off, was woken up by the shout and subconsciously looked up.

The next second, all his sleepiness vanished, and his eyes widened in shock.

In my field of vision, Sakuragi Hanamichi's body was stretched out like a fully drawn bow, his red hair flying backward in the air.

This feeling of being suspended in mid-air is simply unreasonable!

"Bang!!!"

One-handed dunk!

The basketball was slammed into the hoop, the backboard groaning and trembling violently.

Sakuragi landed on the floor with a dull thud.

Yohei stood frozen in place, mouth agape, chin in hand.

If yesterday's game was an adrenaline rush, what about now?

There were no spectators, no competition, and it was still early in the morning.

Sakuragi Hanamichi can still easily complete dunks of this level.

This guy... has really evolved.

"call……"

Sakuragi exhaled a breath of stale air, turned around abruptly, and his eyes shone like searchlights.

"Yohei!"

"Did I look incredibly handsome yesterday?"

He rushed to his friend, his face beaming with the expression of a primary school student seeking praise.

"I mean... aside from the fouls and ejections..."

Sakuragi scratched his head, a rare moment of embarrassment on his face. "Am I really... good?"

Yohei looked at his best friend in front of him.

That red-haired delinquent who used to only know how to fight and had been rejected by girls fifty times.

Standing under the basket at this moment, he exudes a kind of oppressive aura that makes it hard to look away.

Yohei laughed, stood up, and punched Sakuragi hard in the chest.

Are you deaf?

"The cheers that erupted when the game ended yesterday were deafening."

"That's not for Rukawa Kaede, nor for the gorilla."

"That's for you."

"For Shohoku's savior, Sakuragi Hanamichi."

Sakuragi was stunned.

A few seconds later, his shoulders began to shake violently.

"Kukuku..."

Sakuragi suddenly tilted his head back, put his hands on his hips, and burst into laughter that nearly lifted the roof off.

"Hahahaha!!"

"That's right!!"

"This genius can't be hidden forever!!"

"Have those mortals finally discovered the brilliance of this genius?!"

"Hahaha! Tremble, mortals!"

"Shut up! You big idiot!"

The stadium doors were pushed open again, and a towering figure strode in with a roar.

Akagi Takenori's face was dark, veins throbbing on his forehead, and he was carrying a gym bag.

Behind him followed a petite figure.

"Everyone's up so early..."

Haruko Akagi was wearing a neat school uniform and carrying a lunchbox.

Peeking out from behind Akagi, her little head peeked out with a gentle, healing smile.

"A... gorilla?"

"And Haruko-san?!"

Sakuragi's laughter stopped abruptly, like a duck being choked.

He instantly stood at attention, frantically ruffling his messy hair in an attempt to salvage a non-existent image.

"What are you yelling about so early in the morning?"

Akagi walked to the sidelines, his sharp eyes sweeping over Sakuragi.

"Are you cramming at the last minute because you're afraid of breaking the record by losing five consecutive matches in the final?"

Despite his sharp tongue, Akagi's gaze towards Sakuragi held a subtle hint of approval.

This kid, even though he's an idiot.

But this drive... is truly undeniable.

"Stop...stop nagging!"

Sakuragi's face flushed red. "This genius will not leave the court! Yesterday, the referee was targeting me!"

"Um... Sakuragi-kun."

Haruko blushed and ran over, her eyes sparkling as if they held stars.

"Actually... I have something to show you."

"Wh...what is that?"

Sakuragi's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be... a love letter?!

Or is it a declaration of love?!

Sakuragi was so nervous that his palms were sweating, his breathing was rapid, and his mind was already racing with thoughts of getting married and having children.

Haruko carefully took out a neatly folded newspaper, the Kanagawa Sports News, from her bosom.

"Look!"

"Sakuragi-kun, you're on the front page!"

Haruko unfolded the newspaper and handed it directly to Sakuragi, her voice excited.

Sakuragi was taken aback.

newspaper?

He lowered his head in confusion, and the next second, his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

The front page headline is free of tedious, verbose text.

Above is a huge, bold, blacked-out title.

[Shohoku loses!]

Then came a huge photo that took up half the page!

The shooting angle was excellent, a snapshot taken from under the backboard.

In the scene, a red-haired boy wearing the number 10 jersey from Shohoku High School leaps high and slams a one-handed dunk.

Below him, Hanagata Toru and Takano from Shoyo were falling backward in a disheveled state, their faces filled with terror.

That violent aesthetic, that domineering aura, cannot be concealed even through black and white printed paper!

Sakuragi's hands began to tremble, and he wished he could press his face against the newspaper to smell the ink.

"This...this is..."