Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

As the game transitioned from offense to defense, Yasuda dribbled the ball carefully across half-court.

His eyes constantly scanned the attacking third, searching for passing options.

However, Ryonan's defense was clearly adjusted. Jun Uozumi was close behind Akagi, with one hand braced against his waist and the other hand raised high.

Ryoji Ikegami followed Kogure closely, never leaving his side.

Rukawa Kaede kept running on the right side of the court.

He slipped from the baseline to the three-point line, then ran back to the baseline, weaving in and out of the defensive gaps like a slippery eel.

Sendoh, who was marking him, ran a couple of steps, but his pace slowed slightly. In that brief moment, Rukawa had already flashed to a 45-degree angle beyond the three-point line, beckoning for the ball.

Yasuda saw it. With a flick of his wrist, he passed the ball out.

Just as the ball flew out of Yasuda's hands, a white figure cut in from the side.

Immortal Dao.

His anticipation was like having radar installed, activating the instant Yasuda made his move. With a long reach, his fingertips steadily intercepted the ball, the entire movement clean and efficient.

"Back up!"

Akagi let out a low growl, and his massive body began to run back.

Rukawa Kaede was the first to turn around.

His reaction was ridiculously fast. In the same second that Sendoh intercepted the ball, he had already changed direction and sprinted towards his own half of the court with his long legs.

Sendoh dribbled into the three-point line, gathered the ball, and jumped.

His body leaned slightly backward in the air, with his hands raised above his head—a standard jump shot posture.

Rukawa Kaede jumped almost without hesitation, raising his right hand high to block Sendoh's attack point.

Sendoh's arm suddenly sank down in mid-air, and the ball was flicked to the side and accurately delivered to Hiroaki Koshino, who was following up from behind.

The road ahead is wide open. I catch the ball, take a step, jump easily, and the ball bounces off the backboard and into the basket.

"Whoosh." Another assist.

Sendoh landed, clapped his hands, and still had that lazy expression.

In the next few minutes, Shohoku made one mistake after another, like dominoes falling.

Yasuda's ball was poked away by Uekusa once and intercepted by Koshino once. Kogure's pass to Kakuta was intercepted by Ikegami midway through the play.

Even Akagi couldn't catch the ball safely under the basket; the ball was swatted away by Sendoh from the side as soon as it went in.

Akagi and Rukawa were heavily guarded, struggling to even receive the ball. Even when they did manage to get the ball, Ryonan's double-teams came with lightning speed. As soon as Akagi got the ball, Uozumi would be behind him, and Ikegami or Koshino would pounce from the weak side to double-team him, their arms waving in front of him like chopsticks, causing him to miss every shot.

Rukawa was slightly better, but every time he broke through, he would run into Ryonan's collapsing defense, either being forced to pass the ball or missing the shot under pressure.

On the scoreboard, the numbers for Ryonan kept jumping.

Kogure Kiminobu finally found an open shot beyond the three-point line. Yasuda's pass arrived just in time, Kogure took a deep breath, jumped, and released the ball.

The arc was beautiful, but the power was lacking; the ball hit the front edge of the rim and bounced up.

Jun Uozumi stood tall under the basket, his long arms sweeping up the rebound with ease.

His eyes were already on the frontcourt, and Sendoh had already started his run, rushing towards the center line like a gust of wind.

Rukawa followed closely this time, sticking to Sendoh's side, and the two rushed to the center line almost shoulder to shoulder.

Sendoh jumps to receive the ball, and Rukawa follows suit, intercepting Uozumi's long pass.

When Rukawa Kaede intercepted the ball, the Shohoku bench erupted in cheers, and the three members of Rukawa Kaede's cheerleading squad screamed incessantly.

When Rukawa landed, he kept his center of gravity very low, wasting almost no time, and dribbled directly towards Ryonan's basket.

Rukawa Kaede stepped into the free-throw line, gathered the ball, and jumped. His body stretched out fully in the air, his right hand supporting the ball as he sent it towards the basket.

Uozumi lunged at the basket, took a big leap, and swatted Rukawa's ball with his entire palm.

Rukawa Kaede glanced at the basket out of the corner of his eye, flicked his wrist, switched the ball from his right hand to his left, changed direction in the air, and made a low pass that went under Uozumi's arm.

Akagi received the ball directly below the basket.

He grabbed the ball with both hands, his muscles tensed, his knees bent, and he leaped into the air, holding the ball above his head. He stretched his body to its maximum range in the air and slammed it down onto the basket.

"Bang!"

The rim made a dull thud, and the entire backboard shook violently.

Shohoku's bench erupted in chaos.

The entire bench erupted in unison: "Yay! A gorilla dunk...!"

"Gorilla, gorilla, gorilla..."

Sakuragi Hanamichi was the loudest shouter.

The other substitutes joined in, chanting in unison.

Akagi Takenori ran back from under the basket, slowing down as he passed the bench. His dark face was expressionless as he raised his hand and punched one of them.

Bang bang bang bang, four punches landed solidly on the heads of the loudest ones.

The blow to Sakuragi was unusually strong, and Sakuragi clutched his head, yelled "Ouch!", and crouched down.

The bench fell silent instantly.

"Shut up." Akagi said, his face darkening as he turned and ran back to his defensive position.

Ayako and Yanai stood next to the bench, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously covered their mouths.

Ayako's shoulders trembled, and Yanai's eyes welled up with tears of laughter, but neither of them dared to laugh out loud. They could only hold it in, making "puff puff puff" sounds in their throats.

Akagi's dunk was like a shot of adrenaline for Shohoku.

The score difference became 16-2, breaking the scoring drought.

Next, Rukawa Kaede stepped forward.

He received the ball beyond the three-point line, and facing Sendoh's defense, without any feints, he took a direct pull-up jump. Sendoh's hand blocked his face, his fingers almost poking his eyelids, but the ball still swished through the net.

In the next round, Rukawa cut in from the baseline, and Yasuda's pass slipped through the gaps in the defense.

Rukawa received the ball and jumped immediately, putting the ball into the basket before Uozumi could get in to help defend.

Seeing Rukawa Kaede start to exert his strength, Akagi also erupted in the paint.

He took the ball with his back to the basket, then pushed off with his buttocks, causing Uozumi to stumble back a small step. Akagi dribbled the ball once, then swayed his shoulder to the left, shifting Uozumi's center of gravity. Akagi then spun around, cutting into the basket from the right side and slamming the ball into the hoop with one hand.

The basket rack shook violently again, and the screws on the rim creaked and groaned.

"It's not over yet!" Akagi roared, his pace twice as fast as before as he returned to defense.

Shohoku's morale has been completely boosted.

Sendoh Akira stood outside the three-point line, hands on his hips, watching the two white figures opposite him take turns scoring inside and outside. The lazy smile on his lips slowly disappeared.

He's been paddling the whole time.

Passing the ball, assisting, and helping teammates score, he barely broke a sweat. Now Shohoku is gaining momentum. If they continue playing like this, Shohoku's momentum will overwhelm Ryonan.

The languid mist in Sendoh's eyes dissipated, revealing a sharp, cold glint beneath.

He still remembered Sakuragi yelling at the top of his lungs from the bench, "Sendoh, beat that stinky fox!"

You have to keep your word.