Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

As Akagi Takenori strode over from the direction of the teaching building, he saw three people standing at the entrance of the basketball court from afar.

Three teachers were banging on the door. One of them had his palms red from pounding, shouting, "Open the door! What's going on in there! Open the door now!"

The door was pounded on loudly, but the sounds coming from inside the basketball court were even louder—a series of screams, groans, and the dull thuds of things hitting the ground, like the wailing of ghosts and wolves.

Akagi frowned slightly and quickened his pace to walk over.

The three teachers turned around and saw Akagi's dark face, as if they had seen a savior.

"Akagi! You've come at the right time! Quickly open the door, it sounds like there's a fight inside!"

Akagi walked to the door. "It's me, open the door."

There was a moment of silence inside the door.

Then the door opened a crack, and Kogure Kiminobu's face peeked out from the crack. His face was as white as paper, his lips were trembling, and his eyes behind his glasses were full of panic.

He saw Akagi as if he were a drowning person grabbing a rope on the shore, his whole body emitting a distress signal.

Akagi peeked through the crack in the door, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Strangers lay scattered on the ground, lying haphazardly.

Akagi slipped inside, pulled the door shut with a snap, and the latch snapped back on.

The teacher outside grew anxious, pounding his fist on the door: "Akagi! Open the door! We need to come in and see!"

Akagi's voice came from inside the door, deep, steady, and without a trace of panic:

"Teachers, please don't worry. The basketball team is undergoing secret intensive training in preparation for the upcoming county tournament. It's quite intense, so the noise level is a bit high. Please understand."

The knocking on the door stopped.

The three teachers exchanged glances, their expressions shifting from anxiety to skepticism.

However, Takenori Akagi is the captain of the Shohoku basketball team, with good grades and upright character.

"Well... we can't keep this from the teacher too! Open the door and let us see!"

"I'm sorry! It really was a secret training session. Please forgive me, teacher."

Akagi turned around, his gaze sweeping across the entire basketball court.

The scene on the ground was even more horrific than what he had seen through the crack in the door.

Of the eight or nine men that Mitsui brought, none of them are standing now.

Akagi's scalp tingled, and his gaze swept through the crowd, landing on a familiar face.

Mitsui Hisashi stood up from the ground. His school uniform was covered in dust, the collar was torn, his lip was cut, his left cheek was swollen, and there was a bruise under his eye.

He swayed slightly when he stood up, and steadied himself by holding onto the bench next to him.

Akagi walked up to him.

The two were significantly different in height. Akagi looked down at him, while Mitsui looked up at Akagi and was taken aback.

Mitsui's mouth moved as if he wanted to say something, but when he saw Akagi's eyes, he closed his mouth again. He could see that there was no anger or sympathy in those eyes, only a heavy disappointment.

Akagi raised his hand, swung it around, and slapped Mitsui across the face.

"Snap!" The sound was so crisp that it could be heard throughout the entire stadium.

Mitsui's face was slapped to one side, his body spun halfway around, and he stumbled a couple of steps, but he gritted his teeth and didn't fall. Another red mark appeared on his left cheek, symmetrical to the bruise on his right cheek.

Akagi didn't lower his hand; instead, he slapped him again with his other hand.

"Thud!" This time the blow was even harder, and Mitsui fell directly to the ground, supporting himself with his hands on the floor, head down, his long hair hanging down to cover half of his face.

"Mitsui,"

Akagi's voice carried a tone of disappointment and frustration, each word like a stone striking down, "How long are you going to keep being so willful?"

Mitsui knelt on the ground, motionless. His shoulders trembled slightly, whether from panting or from enduring something was unclear.

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood to the side, tilting his head to watch this scene. He took a step forward, nudged Kogure in the waist with his elbow, and asked with curiosity:

"Hey bespectacled guy, does the gorilla know this loser?"

Standing behind Sakuragi, Yanai Yuri twitched her ears slightly and unconsciously leaned forward half an inch, assuming a gossipy pose.

Rukawa Kaede walked back from the other end of the court at some point, his head slightly tilted towards Kogure, his ears perked up and half a size bigger than usual.

Kogure's expression hadn't recovered yet, and his lips were still trembling slightly.

He glanced at Sakuragi, then at Mitsui kneeling on the ground, opened his mouth, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"Mitsui... he used to be on the basketball team too. He was the MVP in middle school, and his basketball skills were very strong. Later... later he injured his knee and left the team."

Sakuragi raised an eyebrow and slightly opened his mouth, "Oh..."

Kogure looked at the group of people in front of him. Six or seven were lying on the ground, and the few standing were not in much better condition.

He glanced at Yanai, who was standing quietly next to Sakuragi, her expression nonchalant as she listened intently to the gossip. She was a completely different species from the person who had just kicked Mitsui away.

Kogure's head throbbed even more.

He saw it all clearly. After Mitsui was kicked over by Yanai, he struggled to get up, only to be kicked over again by Yanai from the side. When he got up for the third time, he was kicked over by Yanai once more.

During the melee, a guy in a striped T-shirt tried to ambush Sakuragi from behind with a mop. Yanai suddenly appeared out of nowhere and kicked the mop in half with a powerful kick. He then elbowed Sakuragi in the face, sending the guy named A-Long staggering back three steps, his nose bleeding profusely.

Sakuragi's four friends were also incredibly strong, and with Rukawa and Miyagi getting involved, it was clearly a one-sided rout. Mitsui's men were all beaten to a pulp.

Akagi looked at Mitsui kneeling on the ground, his brows furrowing into a knot.

He didn't know how to handle the situation. There were teachers outside, the door was locked, and people were lying all over the floor inside. If the people Mitsui brought ran out and spread rumors, the basketball club would be suspended at best, and disbanded at worst.

The stadium was quiet for about ten seconds, with only the occasional muffled groans from the injured players.

Yuri Yanai stepped out from behind Sakuragi, walked to the group of people lying on the ground, put her hands behind her back, bent down slightly, and scanned each person's face with her eyes.

"You guys," Yanai's voice rang out, "we specially invited you here for training and games. Is that alright? You understand what I mean?"

The people on the ground were taken aback at first, then nodded in agreement.

We have no choice but to back down. The enemy's firepower is too intense, especially that red-haired guy's fists, which are like iron hammers. Even the strongest Iron Man was knocked down by him in three punches. That young lady kicks people as easily as kicking a shuttlecock, hiding behind the red-haired guy to finish them off, her attacks are both ruthless and cunning.

Now there's an even bigger guy, Takenori Akagi. Standing at 197cm, he's like a mountain. Who would want to fight him?

"Open the door quickly!" It was the male teacher's voice from before. "Coach Anzai is here!"

Kogure quickly ran over and opened the door.

Coach Anzai stood at the door, with the three teachers standing beside him, each of their faces clearly saying, "We want to go in and take a look."

Coach Anzai glanced at Kogure, whose face was still pale, but he forced a smile. Coach Anzai didn't speak, but stepped inside, followed by the three teachers.

However, the scene inside the basketball court was completely different from what they had imagined.

On the court, ten people were running around. Some were dribbling, some were passing, and some were positioning themselves under the basket to grab rebounds, but their skills were simply appalling.

A blond-haired guy was dribbling the ball across half-court, stumbling and scrambling. Sakuragi spread his arms and pressed against him to defend. The blond-haired guy was caught off guard and almost lost the ball.

Another boy in a floral shirt caught the ball in the corner and shot, but missed the target entirely. The ball flew under the rim and was picked up by Miyagi. Miyagi launched a fast break and passed the ball to Rukawa, who scored a layup.

The entire stadium was buzzing with energy, like a regular training match.

The only odd thing was that all the "guests" playing ball had injuries. Some had cuts on their lips, some had bruises around their eyes, and some were limping, but everyone was playing very "seriously," almost to an excessive degree.

The three teachers stood on the sidelines and watched for a while, their doubts slowly turning into skepticism.

"Who are these people...?" the female teacher asked, pointing to the blond-haired man.

Yuri Yanai walked over from the side with a sweet smile on her face. She clasped her hands in front of her lower abdomen and bowed slightly, her demeanor as elegant as a young lady from a wealthy family receiving guests.

"Teacher," Yanai's voice was sweet and soft, "these people are friends that our basketball team specially invited to practice physical contact."

They were very enthusiastic and came all the way from another school to train with us. They specifically focused on training our physical strength and contact skills.

"When playing ball, some bumps and scrapes are inevitable. The noise was a bit loud just now because everyone was so engrossed in their practice. Sorry about that."

When she said the word "friends," she glanced at the group of thugs on the field.

Huang Mao immediately waved to the teacher, smiling broadly, the bruises on his face particularly noticeable under the light.

The three teachers exchanged glances. The female teacher's lips twitched, but seeing Coach Anzai standing beside her with a smile and an expression that said "everything is normal," she didn't say anything more.

"Well... that's good. Be careful." The male teacher said this and turned to leave.

The other two teachers followed behind, glancing back twice as they walked, but eventually disappeared at the entrance of the stadium.

The footsteps faded into the distance, and the stadium fell silent for a few seconds.

Coach Anzai stood on the sidelines, his hands clasped in front of his stomach, his smile unchanged, his eyes narrowed into slits, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Kogure quickly ran over and closed the door again.

Those "training scrimmage friends" on the court instantly stopped running.

Yellow Hair plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, his forehead covered in sweat—not from exhaustion, but from fear.

The man in the floral shirt squatted down, his hands covering his head, his shoulders shaking.

The man who had been knocked unconscious and stuffed into the toilet came out with the wad of tissue stuffed in his nose. The tissue had dried, and the bloodstains had turned dark brown.

Horita Tokuo followed behind him. The wound at the corner of his mouth had stopped bleeding, but his lips were swollen like sausages.

Mitsui Hisashi was the last to come out of the restroom.

His school uniform was covered in dust, his hair was a mess, and the injuries on his face were more clearly visible under the light: his left cheek was swollen, his right cheek had a slap mark, his lip was cut, and there was a bruise under his eye.

Then he saw Coach Anzai and was immediately stunned.

Coach Anzai stood in the center of the court, wearing a beige sweater, with a round body and a smiling expression, exactly the same as two years ago, nothing had changed.

Mitsui Hisashi walked up to Coach Anzai and knelt down with a thud.

Tears slid down his hair, falling one by one onto the wooden floor with a soft pattering sound.

"coach……"

Mitsui's voice trembled, hoarse, and choked, as if it were being squeezed out from the deepest part of his throat.

"I really want to play basketball!"