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

Akagi suddenly stood up.

Its massive body swayed, like a tower about to collapse.

Yet he managed to maintain his balance using only one leg.

"Akagi!"

Ayako turned pale with fright and rushed over to support him.

Akagi pushed the doctor's hand away, his tone as hard as iron:

"Apply me the spray."

"The kind with the most power."

The doctor stared at the stubborn "gorilla" and finally, helplessly, threw down his stethoscope.

"Fine, fine, I'll grant your wish."

With a dark expression, the doctor pulled out a bottle of powerful freezing spray and sprayed it all over Akagi's swollen ankle.

Then strangle her with bandages, wrapping them around her neck.

"This thing can temporarily numb the pain nerves and, incidentally, stabilize the joints."

"But let me make this clear from the start: if you twist the rules again, all your remaining matches will be canceled."

Thanks.

Akagi gritted his teeth and tried stepping on the ground.

pain.

It's still excruciating pain.

But the pain was enveloped by a cold, numb sensation, making it barely bearable.

"Ayako, can I lean on your shoulder?"

"Yes, Captain!"

Ayako's eyes were red, and she gritted her teeth as she supported Akagi's arm.

The two of them moved slowly and deliberately out of the infirmary.

……

The corridor leading to the stadium was long and deathly silent.

But the closer one gets to that gate, the clearer the roaring sound becomes.

"Waaaaaahh ...

"Shohoku! Shohoku! Shohoku!"

"Defense! Defense!"

The sound waves seeped in through the crack in the door, making the glass in the corridor vibrate and resonate.

Akagi's heart skipped a beat.

Such a big commotion?

Oh no, Ryonan has definitely pulled ahead.

Or maybe that bastard Uozumi got carried away with a dunk in the paint and is celebrating wildly?

"Damn it..."

Akagi's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He had already started replaying a scroll of hell in his mind.

Sakuragi was knocked away by Uozumi and lay on the ground throwing a tantrum.

Rukawa Kaede was teased by Sendoh and looked very unhappy.

The scoreboard showed Shohoku trailing by more than ten points, and the team's morale collapsed...

"It's all my fault..."

Akagi gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.

Even if every step feels like dancing on a knife's edge.

"Captain, slow down! Your foot!" Ayako shouted with difficulty.

"There's no time!"

With a low growl and an air of certain death, Akagi slammed open the door to the stadium tunnel.

"Clang!"

The door slammed against the wall with a deafening crash.

The blinding light momentarily dazzled Akagi's eyes.

The noise crashed down on us like a giant wave.

Akagi and Ayako hadn't adjusted to the light yet, and instinctively looked up to find the scoreboard.

As long as we don't lose too badly...

however.

When I saw that string of bright red numbers.

Akagi Takenori's face, which had been prepared for tragedy, cracked instantly.

Ayako was stunned; her mouth was agape enough to fit an egg.

The first aid kit in his hand crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

The scoreboard clearly stated:

[Xiangbei 42: 30 Lingnan]

Shohoku...are they in the lead?

They're still leading by 12 points?!

"this……"

Akagi rubbed his eyes hard, wondering if he was hallucinating from taking too many painkillers.

Or perhaps I opened the door incorrectly and ended up in a parallel universe?

When I stepped off the field, the situation was still very close.

How come it's already dawn by the time I get to the infirmary?

"Did Rukawa Kaede erupt?" That was Akagi's first thought.

But then, his gaze was drawn to the center of the court as if by a magnet.

At this time, Ryonan launched its attack.

Jun Uozumi, who should have been dominating the paint and unstoppable, was now standing under the basket with the ball in his hand.

Strangely, this behemoth, which was over two meters tall, was actually... afraid?

But in front of Uozumi.

There was no red-haired Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Blocking the way was a figure that looked unsteady and slouching.

That is……

"Lin Bei?!"

Akagi and Ayako spoke in unison, their voices splitting into two.

The two exchanged a glance.

They both saw the confusion of "who am I and where am I" in each other's eyes.

"You're telling me that's Lin Bei?"

"Lin Bei, who would rather lie down than sit up?"

"He's defending against a two-meter-long fish?!"

Akagi pointed at the field, his fingers trembling.

On the field.

Jun Uozumi has been driven mad.

Looking at Lin Bei, who stood before him like a wall of sighs, his emotions had already exploded into fireworks.

"Bastard! You bastard!"

"Missing layups...missing dunks..."

Uozumi roared and forced his way in.

The basketball bounced high off the front edge of the rim.

"rebound!!"

The entire audience held their breath.

Although Uozumi's mentality collapsed, his muscle memory remained.

Immediately lock into position, and use your legs to exert force like springs.

His massive body leaped up from the ground, his hands reaching for the basketball in the air.

This is the airspace belonging to the giants!

however.

Just as Uozumi's fingertips were about to touch the basketball.

A dark shadow, like a dark cloud that blots out the sun, suddenly covered his head without warning.

There was no roar, no gathering of power.

The figure simply leaped up effortlessly.

But it overtook the enemy after starting later, jumping higher, faster, and more unpredictably than Uozumi!

Under the blank stares of Akagi and Ayako.

Lin Bei lazily stretched out one hand in the air.

The movement didn't look like he was grabbing a rebound; it was more like casually picking an apple from a tree in his own backyard.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

Lin Bei used one hand to forcefully "pick" the basketball off Yu Zhu's head!

It wasn't robbery.

It is a pick.

This is a blatant act of subversion, a public execution of the dignity of the center!

"boom!"

The two landed.

Lin Bei stood firmly, catching the ball with one hand.

His face was blankly indifferent, as if to say, "That's all?"

Uozumi, on the other hand, seemed to have lost his spine, staggered back two steps, and fell to the floor with a thud.

His eyes were vacant, his face ashen, as if he had seen the end of the world.

The entire venue fell silent for a second.

The cheers nearly lifted the roof off the stadium.

"Holy crap!! Another one-handed grip!!"

"That's so brutal! They're beating Uozumi like a primary school student!"

"Is this supposed to be a guard? What kind of guard plays like this?!"

Passageway entrance.

Takenori Akagi remained in the position of pushing the door open, his entire body frozen like a statue.

A gust of wind blew through the room, and he shivered violently.

He glanced at Lin Bei, who looked like a demon god descending to earth.

Take another look at Uozumi, who is sprawled on the ground, questioning the meaning of life.

One last look at Ayako, who also had a dislocated jaw, standing next to her.

"Ayako..."

Akagi's voice was dry, as if he had swallowed a handful of sand.

"Did I... wander onto the wrong set?"

"Or did that fall damage my brain?"

Ayako swallowed hard and mechanically shook her head.

"Captain... I wanted to ask that too..."

"Was that guy who made a fool of Uozumi in the paint... really Lin Bei?"

Akagi felt his worldview was collapsing.

His inside dominance, which he was proud of, and Jun Uozumi, whom he regarded as his lifelong rival.

This usually lazy substitute guard was as fragile as a piece of paper?

"You're telling me this is a defender?"