Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Chapter 103 Traveling to Akita with Sendoh

A week after the county competition ended, the early summer sun slanted down on the weekend.

In a pachinko parlor, the clanging of steel balls mingled with the shrill blaring of electronic music.

The four members of Sakuragi's gang occupied a row of machines against the wall. Takamiya Nozomi's chubby body was squeezed on a stool, his fingers rapidly tapping the triggers, his eyes fixed on the numbers jumping on the panel.

Oonan Yuji sat next to him, his elbows resting on the edge of the machine, and yawned.

"That Hanamichi guy. Ever since he got obsessed with basketball, he hasn't been coming to play pachinko with us much anymore."

Da Nan tossed a steel ball into the machine, his tone a mix of complaint and感慨 (a complex feeling of mixed emotions, often including regret or reflection).

Without turning his head, Takamiya continued frantically tapping the trigger: "Not only that. Especially after she got together with Yanai. Now you can't even see her on weekends."

Yohei Mito sat on the far side, one leg crossed over the other, his finger tapping the trigger slowly and deliberately. A row of small lights were on his machine, but he didn't seem to be paying any attention to them.

Yohei turned his head to look at the street outside the window, sliced ​​into pieces by the sunlight, and suddenly asked, "Is basketball really that fun?"

Chuichiro Noma leaned over the machine next to him, his expression unusually serious: "At least Hanamichi has found something he likes and is working hard for, hasn't he?"

The key is, she has such a lovely girlfriend like Yanai. None of us are even in a relationship yet! It's so enviable!

Gao Gong's fingers stopped. Da Nan's yawn faltered halfway. The four of them looked at each other, then simultaneously let out a meaningful sigh.

Under the same sunlight, beneath the arcade of the shopping street, Sakuragi Hanamichi was being led by the arm by Yanai Yuri.

His red buzz cut stood out in the crowd. Today, Yanai had tied his long hair into a ponytail and was carrying a shopping bag in his other hand.

Sakuragi was wearing a white T-shirt with a crooked English word printed on the chest; it looked like something you'd find at a street stall.

"Hanamichi, that taiyaki shop up ahead—" Yanai pointed to the street corner, and Sakuragi suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Two people walked over from across the street: one with a spiky hairstyle and the other shorter than Miyagi.

It was none other than Sendo and Hikoichi.

"Sakuragi!" Aida Hikoichi saw them first and waved vigorously, while Sendoh also nodded towards Sakuragi.

"Yo! Hikoichi, Sendoh." Sakuragi waved, which was considered a greeting.

Yanai bowed slightly to the two of them politely.

Yan looked at Sakuragi and then at Yanai, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

"Where are you guys going?" Sakuragi glanced at Sendoh's gym bag.

Yan Yi answered first, his eyes shining, his tone full of barely suppressed excitement: "To Akita! Sendou-senpai said there's a match worth watching, and we're going to check it out."

"Akita?"

Sakuragi looked on curiously, "You went all that way to watch the game? What game?"

Sendoh switched his gym bag to the other shoulder, his voice unhurried but lacking its usual laziness: "One of the teams is the national champion, Sannoh Technical High School. How about it, interested?"

Upon hearing the words "national champion," Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes lit up.

He glanced down at Yanai. Yanai was looking up at him, a smile playing on her lips, her eyes saying, "If you want to go, I'll go with you."

Sakuragi raised his head: "I'm going too! I want to see what the national champion looks like."

Half an hour later, the four of them boarded a long-distance bus bound for Akita.

The scenery outside the car window gradually changed from the buildings and streets of Kanagawa to the rice paddies and distant mountains of the Kanto Plain.

"Sakuragi, listen to me!"

99

Yan hugged her bag to her lap, took out a notebook from it, and opened it. It was filled with handwritten data, the handwriting was messy but the arrangement was neat.

"Sannoh Technical High School is the reigning champion of the national tournament. Their record in the national tournament is just like Hainan's in Kanagawa, no, it's even stronger than Hainan's!"

Last year in the national tournament semifinals, Sannoh defeated Hainan by 30 points!

Sakuragi leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, chin held high, his expression full of disdain: "I've already taken Hainan. And we beat Hainan by 34 points, which is 4 points more than Sannoh. Sannoh isn't that much stronger."

Yan Yi was sweating profusely. He flipped to the next page of his notebook and pointed to a line of numbers: "It's different! It's different! Sannoh is different! Look here, their average height, rebounding stats, and this ace named Sawakita Ei—we really need to take this seriously and study it!"

Moreover, Hainan's overall strength last year was even greater than this year's —

Sakuragi glanced at the dense numbers on the notebook; well, he couldn't understand them.

Sendoh leaned against the seat opposite in the aisle, his eyes half-open, looking at Sakuragi's profile that screamed "This genius is invincible."

He had known Sakuragi for a year, ever since they trained together at the Ryonan Gymnasium during summer vacation. He knew that this red-haired guy had something that others couldn't learn.

They're the kind of reckless person who thinks, "You tell me I can't do it, but I'll show you." They also have an inexplicable overconfidence.

But with Sakuragi's current strength, along with Akagi, Rukawa, Mitsui, and Miyagi, plus Coach Anzai's tactical arrangements, Shohoku might really have a chance to defeat Sannoh.

Sendoh suppressed the thought and subtly shifted his gaze from Sakuragi to Yanai, who was sitting next to him.

Having known Sakuragi for a year, he knew Sakuragi was penniless, often unable to even afford a bowl of ramen. Just now, Yanai had paid for Sakuragi's train ticket.

Sendoh's smile deepened by half an inch. Sakuragi, that guy, is really lucky. He actually managed to snag a rich woman, and a super cute one at that.

The bus was traveling smoothly on the highway, and inside the carriage, Yan Yi was still reciting Sannoh's past match statistics.

Kanagawa. In Coach Anzai's living room, the aroma of tea wafted from the teacups.

Coach Anzai knelt behind a low table, while Rukawa sat upright on the tatami mat in front of him. Cicadas chirped in the courtyard, one after another.

"Coach." Rukawa's voice was still calm, but it carried a hint of seriousness. "I want to study in the United States to improve my basketball skills."

Coach Anzai didn't speak. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down. His glasses reflected the light, obscuring his expression.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, his voice calm and unhurried: "Rukawa-kun. I've watched the recording of the final. Because I wasn't there, Coach Taoka used many targeted tactics."

He exploited Miyagi's defensive weaknesses and Mitsui's physical limits. He also had a specific tactic to create space against Sakuragi.

Shohoku was pushed to the brink, but they held on and won the championship, which actually surprised me.

Rukawa Kaede didn't speak, but his fingers tightened slightly on his knee.

Coach Anzai continued, his tone still gentle, but every word carried undeniable weight: "I don't approve of you going to America. Your current ability is not as good as Sendoh's."

Even he can't compare to Sakuragi. In the final moments of the final match, it was Sakuragi who carried the entire team to victory.

.

After watching the video, Coach Anzai knew very well that Taoka had used a full-court press in the final moments, and if it weren't for Sakuragi's brute force breakthrough, the game would have been over long ago.

The living room was quiet for a while.

"If you want to go to America, prove yourself in the national competition first. We'll talk about it again after you become stronger."

.

Rukawa lowered his head, his fingers slowly clenching into a fist on his knees. There was no rebuttal, no argument. He stood up, bowed deeply to Coach Anzai, turned, pushed open the door, and walked out.

The chirping of cicadas outside the door rushed in, hot and loud. He walked on the stone path in Coach Anzai's courtyard, the leaves of the trees overhead rustling in the wind.

Proving oneself in the national tournament is not as effective as Sendoh and Sakuragi.

He raised his head, looking at the distant horizon dyed red by the setting sun, something burning in his dark eyes.