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

"Just wait..."

Sakuragi gritted his teeth and exhaled two heavy breaths from his nostrils.

"One day, this genius will make you kneel on the ground and worship me!"

"Please praise me!"

Just as Sakuragi's inner monologue was about to overflow, a cold gaze sent a chill down his spine.

He turned his head abruptly.

Fukuda Kichijou stood not far away, his slender eyes fixed on him.

Although he had just been fouled by Mitsui, this did not dampen Fukuda's fighting spirit.

Instead, it made him look more like a wounded lone wolf, significantly increasing his danger level.

Their eyes met, but there was no spark in the air, only a suffocating awkwardness.

"Feed".

Sakuragi Hanamichi was the first to break the silence.

He put his hands on his hips and held his chin high.

He tried to look down on his opponent with disdain, in order to cover up the moment he was "dead" after being overtaken in one step.

"What are you looking at?"

"Never seen a genius before?"

Sakuragi, looking arrogant, pointed at Fukuda with a nonchalant air.

"Don't look at this genius like that!"

"I was just careless, understand?"

Fukuda did not reply immediately.

He just watched Sakuragi quietly.

On that slightly gloomy face, the features twitched slightly.

Several seconds passed before Fukuda slowly spoke.

His voice was hoarse, and he spoke very slowly, revealing a stubbornness typical of a science and engineering man:

"You should say... 'Please' don't look at me like that."

"ha?"

Sakuragi froze, as if he had heard some alien language.

"Because I'm a year older than you, I'm in second grade and you're in first grade."

"Juniors must use honorifics when speaking to seniors." Fukuda's expression was blank, and his tone was frighteningly serious.

Upon hearing this, the people eavesdropping nearby nearly burst out laughing.

Even Miyagi Ryota, who was preparing to retreat to defend, slipped and almost fell flat on his face.

"This guy..."

Miyagi's lips twitched violently. "Is there a short circuit in your brain?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes widened in disbelief, as if he had heard the most absurd joke of his life.

"Honorific language?"

Sakuragi suddenly leaned closer, their faces almost touching.

"You want me, a genius, to use honorifics with you? Are you out of your mind?"

"This genius is the future savior of basketball! He's beyond comprehension!"

"In the world of geniuses, there are no grades, only strength and weakness!"

Sakuragi became more and more excited as he spoke, his red hair almost touching Fukuda's forehead.

"You want me to call you senior? Dream on!"

"You should kneel down and call me 'Sakuragi-sama'!"

Fukuda: "..."

Faced with Sakuragi's completely unpredictable logic, Fukuda's CPU was clearly overloaded.

He was silent.

This scene, however, presented a completely different picture to the Ryonan substitutes' bench.

"Hey? Look!"

"Senior Afu is actually chatting with that red-haired guy!" Ryonan's substitute pointed at the field, looking shocked.

"Really?"

"Senior Afu is usually so aloof that he's practically withdrawn."

"What kind of magic does Sakuragi possess? How did he manage to pry open Afu-senpai's mouth?"

The Ryonan team members were buzzing with excitement, feeling that this scene was even more bizarre than a collision between Mars and Earth.

"Hmph, don't let that guy provoke you, Fukuda."

"That red-haired kid is physically fit, but he's essentially just a smooth-talking hoodlum."

"He's not good at playing basketball, but he's good at manipulating people's mentality."

On the coach's bench.

Taoka suddenly roared at the field, his voice as loud as a bell.

"Fukuda! Ignore him!"

"That guy's a master of glib talk!"

"Shut him up with your strength!"

That shout was full of energy and had a built-in amplification effect.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was in a "red-hot state," twitched his ears.

"Just talking?"

These four words are like a spark falling into a powder keg.

Sakuragi suddenly turned his head, his large, round eyes instantly locking onto the Ryonan coaching bench.

At that moment, Shigeichi Taoka felt as if he were being stared at by a prehistoric Tyrannosaurus Rex, and a chill ran down his spine.

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood with one hand on his hip and the other pointing at Taoka Shigeichi.

He gathered his energy in his dantian and unleashed a deafening roar:

"What did you say?! You old geezer!!!"

"boom--!"

It was as if a bolt of lightning struck the center of the stadium.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's movements froze.

The referee dropped the whistle he was holding in his mouth.

Akagi, who was drinking water, sprayed a mouthful of water all over Ayako's face.

The audience in the stands were utterly astonished.

"Stinky...stinky old man?"

"What did he just call the Ryonan coach?"

"My God, is this kid crazy?"

"That's Coach Taoka! A renowned coach from Kanagawa!"

The players on the Ryonan bench were terrified, their faces ashen, and they shrank back, not daring to look at their coach's expression.

Taoka Shigeichi, who was at the center of the storm, stood frozen in place.

His face has undergone a remarkable "geological transformation".

From astonishment to shock, and then to extreme anger.

The veins on his forehead throbbed wildly like earthworms, and his face twitched violently.

"Stinky...stinky old man?!"

Taoka was internally screaming.

"I'm only in my forties!"

"She is truly the most beautiful and energetic woman in Kanagawa!"

"Where are you old? Where do you smell bad?!"

"That ill-mannered monkey!"

But he was, after all, a renowned coach and the face of Ryonan.

To argue with a first-year high school student in public would be beneath one's dignity and a social disaster.

"Patience... I must be patient..."

Taoka Shigeichi took a deep breath.

He forcibly suppressed the surging blood in his throat, his face turning a purplish-red.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was completely unaware of the enormity of the trouble he had caused.

Seeing that Taoka remained silent, he assumed that the other party was afraid and became even more smug.

"Hmph! What? Out of words?"

"Have you forgotten how terrifying I am as a genius? How dare you speak ill of this genius behind my back!"

"Let me tell you, this genius is not only quick-witted, but also the best player in the world!"

"You'd better wash your neck... no, wash your eyes clean and watch!"

Sakuragi puffed out his chest, looking smug.

Everyone: "..."

On the Shohoku bench, Lin Bei was already laughing so hard he was practically sprawled on Akagi's sports bag.

"Hahaha! You old geezer..."

"Sakuragi's talent for taunting is absolutely maxed out! He's got a built-in aura of group taunting!"

"Coach Taoka's blood pressure is probably about to skyrocket right now, he desperately needs some nitroglycerin."

Lin Bei wiped away tears of laughter as he looked towards the stands.

The students from Hainan University Affiliated High School were sitting there.

"Speaking of which, what's that 'middle-aged man' feeling right now?"

really.

On the stands.

Shinichi Maki, known as the "Emperor," was stroking his chin with a very subtle expression.

He looked at the red-haired boy jumping up and down on the field, and then at Taoka Shigeichi, who was almost fainting from anger.

Suddenly, I fell into deep thought.

"The last time we met, this kid called me 'middle-aged man'..."

Maki Shinichi looked down at his slightly mature complexion.

Now compare this to the term "stinky old man".

"Um……"

Maki Shinichi nodded slightly, a strange sense of relief rising in his heart.

"They only call me middle-aged, so I guess I'm pretty well-preserved."

"At least it's much better than 'stinky old man'."

If Kiyota Nobunaga, who was standing nearby, knew what his boss was thinking at that moment, he would probably go crazy on the spot.

"Boss! What kind of 'who's worse' mentality is this?!"

"Where has Hainan's prestige gone?!"