Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

The air in the stadium seemed to freeze the moment Yanai wiped Sakuragi's sweat.

All eyes were on the two people: the red-haired delinquent and the tall girl who was standing on tiptoe to wipe his sweat.

"Sakuragi actually has a girlfriend?"

"And so cute..."

"He's so tall, he looks so good standing next to Sakuragi..."

Whispers echoed throughout the stadium, like the chirping of cicadas in summer, rising and falling, impossible to suppress.

The first-year students nudged each other with their elbows, while the second-year veterans exchanged "what's going on?" glances. Even Rukawa Kaede, who had been expressionless the whole time, raised his eyelids and looked for a couple of seconds.

Ayako hopped over from the side, leaned close to Yanai, tilted her head, and wore a "I've seen through everything" smile.

"Oh..." Ayako drawled, the last syllable rising in pitch, her excitement radiating from someone with their gossip radar fully activated. "No wonder you wanted to join the basketball team as a support staff member; it's all because of Sakuragi."

Yanai blushed slightly, but she did not deny it.

Aya cleared her throat, turned around to face the basketball team, and her voice regained the formality and clarity befitting a manager.

"Let me introduce our new support staff member, Inoue Yuuri, a first-year student in class 2. She'll also be a member of the basketball team from now on, so please take good care of her."

Before the basketball team members could react, a tall, round figure walked in through the gym's main entrance.

"Wow! Everyone's working really hard!"

He was wearing a white shirt, which was bulging out of his stomach, making the buttons look very tight. His hair was completely white, and he had a neatly trimmed white beard on his chin, like Colonel Sanders.

The moment Akagi Takenori saw the person approaching, he quickly went to greet him, walked up to the round figure, and bowed slightly.

"Coach Anzai."

The person who arrived was Coach Anzai, the coach of the Shohoku basketball team.

Then Akagi turned to the players on the court and shouted, "Everyone assemble!"

After Sakuragi and his teammates gathered, they looked at the somewhat familiar, chubby old man. It was from last year's prefectural tournament semifinals, the match between Hikari Middle School and Tomioka Middle School. The old man was sitting in the VIP section, next to Coach Taoka.

No wonder I haven't seen the coach of the Shohoku basketball team these past few days, it turns out it was him.

Ayako stood next to Coach Anzai and introduced him to the newcomers. "This is Coach Anzai, the coach of our Shohoku basketball team."

Coach Anzai's gaze lingered on Rukawa Kaede, the ace of last year's prefectural tournament at Fuchika Middle School.

His gaze lingered on Sakuragi for a moment. Red pompadour, tall stature, standing at the back of the crowd yet towering above everyone else. The dark horse of last year's prefectural tournament and Hikari Middle School, the red-haired guy who, after only two months of playing basketball, could go toe-to-toe with Rukawa.

Unexpectedly, both players that Taoka had his eye on ended up coming to Shohoku.

"Hehehe." He laughed again at the thought, this time for a little longer. "I've arranged a practice match for you guys."

A moment of silence fell over the stadium. A practice match? Against whom?

"Our opponent is Ryonan."

"Ryonan?" The second-year and third-year team members exchanged surprised glances.

Kogure Kiminobu adjusted his glasses, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "Ryonan? Ryonan, the semi-finalist in last year's prefectural tournament?"

Upon hearing the name Ryonan, Sakuragi's ears twitched.

The Great Ape King, Uozumi, the spiky-haired guy, Fukuda's cuts, Coach Taoka's yelling, and that basketball court scorching hot from the sun.

He trained at Ryonan for an entire summer, running, jumping, sweating, and being scolded by Coach Taoka alongside those people. He never expected that they would become rivals so soon.

Coach Anzai's gaze lingered on Sakuragi and Rukawa for a moment before glancing at the newcomers to the basketball team.

"There are quite a few newcomers this year! Great, let's have a ten-minute intra-team scrimmage. First-year freshmen on one team, and second and third-year veterans on the other. Let me see your skills."

The first-year students exchanged nervous glances. Fighting the older students? Fighting Captain Akagi?

Coach Anzai spoke again, but what he said next stunned everyone.

"Rukawa and Sakuragi will take turns on the court. Each of them will play for five minutes. Sakuragi will go first."

Kogure Kiminobu frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he spoke up. "Coach Anzai, if Rukawa and Sakuragi are played separately, how can the rookie team compete with the seniors?"

Coach Anzai turned to look at Kogure, and that deep laugh escaped his throat again.

"Hehehe."

He offered no explanation, his eyes darting across the field through squinting slits.

He knew in his heart that if the two of them went up together, the senior team would only have Akagi to hold them up. They couldn't handle Sakuragi's rebounds inside, and they couldn't stop Rukawa's breakthroughs outside.

If the game is over in ten minutes, the senior team will have lost all face. If the two players split up, at least they can still put up a fight.

Akagi stood in the upperclassmen's half of the court, hands on his hips, his gaze sweeping over his team's lineup: Kogure Kiminobu, Yasuda Yasuharu, Kakuta Satoru, and Shiozaki Tetsushi.

He glanced at the rookie team opposite him: Sakuragi Hanamichi, Ishii Kentaro, Kuwata Toki, and two first-year students whose names he couldn't even recall.

Akagi took a deep breath. In the opposing team's lineup, there was only one person who could truly fight.

The first five minutes were Sakuragi, the next five minutes were Rukawa. The other four were basically just there to make up the numbers.

The player acting as a referee stood next to the center circle with the whistle in his mouth, holding an orange ball in his hand.

Sakuragi walked to the center circle and stood still to jump for the ball with Akagi.

The referee blew his whistle, and the ball was tossed high into the air.

The ball spun and rose into the sky under the lights. At its highest point, it paused for a moment before beginning to fall.

The two figures were launched into the air simultaneously.

Sakuragi jumped even faster. His toes left the ground the instant the ball began to fall, his thigh muscles compressed to their limit like springs and then released instantly, and his whole body soared into the air like a rocket that had been ignited.

His arm was raised high, fingers spread, the tips touching the ball at its highest point. At that moment, Akagi's fingertips were still a few centimeters away from the ball.

With a flick of his wrist, Sakuragi changed the ball's direction, sending it flying towards Toki Kuwata, a first-year student, in the half-court.

"Captain Akagi lost the jump ball?"

"Sakuragi can jump higher than Captain Akagi?"

"His speed is incredible... Captain Akagi had only jumped halfway when he already touched the ball..."

The second-year veterans all gaped in astonishment.

Akagi landed and turned around, watching the red-haired person who had already landed and started running forward.

Coach Anzai stood on the sidelines, his eyes flashing briefly through his squinting eyes.

Kuwata almost lost his grip when he received the ball; he hadn't expected Sakuragi to successfully jump over Captain Akagi's head.

His gaze swept across the frontcourt, where Sakuragi had already run to the free-throw line and was waving at him. Kuwata dribbled a couple of steps and immediately passed the ball to him.

Sakuragi received the pass and dribbled once.

Kogure Kiminobu came over to cover from the left. His defense was clean, his footwork was quick, his arms were outstretched, and he didn't lose his position.

But Sakuragi didn't slow down. He switched the ball from his right hand to his left, leaned his body to the left, and Kogure's center of gravity shifted accordingly. Then Sakuragi suddenly pulled the ball to the right, stepping over Kogure's defense in one stride, crossing from the three-point line to the free-throw line in one step, and stepping into the paint on his second step.

Akagi stood under the basket, arms raised high, body slightly leaning back, ready to receive the attack.

Sakuragi came to an abrupt stop in front of the free-throw line. His body came to a sudden halt from high-speed motion, and a sharp "squeak" came from the sole of his shoe against the floor.

Then he soared into the air, his body arching slightly backward. The strength of his waist and abdomen kept his upper body balanced in mid-air. His arms were raised above his head, his wrists tilted back, and his fingertips pressed against the patterns on the ball.

Akagi lunged forward. He stretched his arm straight out, palm open, and swatted the ball towards it.

The ball flew past Akagi's fingertips.

"Swish." The needle went into the net.

Coach Anzai stood on the sidelines, watching Sakuragi's retreating figure through his squinting eyes.

The senior team attacks.

Yasuda Yasuharu dribbled the ball past half-court, glanced at the inside, and saw that Akagi had already positioned himself under the basket. Yasuda lobbed the ball in.

Akagi received the ball and began his habitual back-to-the-basket move. He thrust his hips back, the power coming from his waist and hips, slamming into Sakuragi's chest. After two impacts, Akagi barely moved half a step.

Akagi was immediately surprised. Although he had expected that his back-to-the-basket move would not be so easy, he had only moved half a step and Sakuragi's center of gravity had not shifted.

Akagi frowned, changed his rhythm, and instead of continuing to fight head-on, he used a quick baseline spin, turning his body from right to left, his shoulder slipping under Sakuragi's arm, then jumped, lifted the ball, and with a light flick of his fingertips, the ball hit the backboard and bounced into the basket.

The next five minutes of the game became a personal showcase for Sakuragi and Akagi.

The senior team's offense almost entirely originated from Akagi. The ball was lobbed into the paint, and Akagi backed down Sakuragi, using his strength, footwork, and experience to repeatedly put the ball into the basket under the rim.

His scoring method is not flashy, but very steady, like a well-functioning machine, where every action has been repeated hundreds of times, with no excess and no waste.

The first-year team's defense was like paper against him, but he had to put in twice the effort to score every time, because Sakuragi's inside defense also gave him a lot of trouble. Although he could score, it was not easy. Several times, Sakuragi's defense made him unsure of what to do, and he could only pass the ball to Kogure on the outside for a score.

The first-year team's offense all started with Sakuragi. He dribbled across half-court, broke through Kogure's defense, drove into the paint, and faced Akagi's block, either pulled up for a jump shot or passed the ball to an open teammate.

His mid-range shot was on fire today, making three out of four attempts, and he also made both of his free throws.

He practically monopolized the rebounds—defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds. The moment the ball bounced off the rim, his jump was always half a beat faster than everyone else's. His fingers touched the ball first, flicking it towards himself, and then he jumped again to grab the ball firmly.

Five minutes ticked by, each second echoing with the thud of the ball against the floor. The score gap was slowly widening, with the first-year team in the lead.

Coach Anzai's eyes lit up when he saw Sakuragi almost completely dominating Akagi on the court. In last year's junior high school semifinals, Sakuragi's technique was still very rough, and he basically relied on physical confrontation to play.

Unexpectedly, in just six months, he has grown so fast, his technique is better and smoother, and he has also developed a reliable mid-range shot.

Coach Anzai raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. The hands on the dial pointed to exactly five minutes. He raised his hand and called out.

"Time's up. Pause. Sakuragi exits, Rukawa enters."