Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Sakuragi hung on the rim with both hands, his body swaying a couple of times.

The impact of the slam caused Maki Shinichi to lose his balance in mid-air and crash heavily to the ground.

The stadium was silent for a full second, then it exploded.

"Aaaaaaahhhhhh...!"

"Sakuragi! Sakuragi!"

The entire Shohoku bench jumped up.

Coach Anzai sat motionless in his chair, but the fleshy part under his chin twitched, and his eyes behind his glasses lit up for a moment.

Mitsui, Akagi, and the others stared in disbelief at what they saw. Sakuragi dunked over Maki Shinichi right at the start?

Maki Shinichi sat up, supporting himself with his hands on the ground. He looked up and met Sakuragi's eyes, his mind still a little dazed.

I had already successfully caught the hat, but this guy, relying on his airtime, switched to using both hands to slam it in a second time. What incredible strength! I underestimated him.

Aida Yayoi stared in disbelief at the scene.

She is a sports reporter for the Kanagawa Shimbun, and has been covering high school basketball for six years.

She had seen Maki Shinichi hold his opponent's star player to just 4 points in the county tournament finals, and she had seen him play from point guard to power forward in the national tournament, crushing his opponent's formation.

But she had never seen this before.

Shinichi Maki sat on the ground.

A red-haired first-year student, hanging on the basket.

Aida Yayoi's professional instincts made her subconsciously organize a title in her mind, but all her vocabulary seemed insufficient in the face of this scene.

A first-year student, on the very first offensive play, dunked over Maki Shinichi head-on. It was a head-to-head collision after Maki Shinichi jumped with all his might to block the shot.

"Nakamura," her voice was a little dry, and she swallowed before continuing, "...Are all the new recruits these days this fierce?"

The photographer, Nakamura, standing nearby, didn't answer. He was also staring blankly at the scene, clearly taken aback.

Is this supposed to be high school basketball?

On the court, Sakuragi Hanamichi had just let go and landed. The moment his shoe sole touched the ground, the referee's whistle blew.

"Beep...!"

The referee raised his right fist above his head and pointed his left hand directly at Maki Shinichi.

"Hainan No. 4, blocking foul! Goal stands, one penalty!"

Maki Shinichi had just stood up when he heard these words and froze.

He looked down at where he was standing, then at the referee's gesture, and then slowly raised his right hand.

"Well done...!"

Miyagi was the first to rush over, jumping up and slapping Sakuragi on the back.

Sakuragi staggered forward after being slapped, and before he could retaliate, Mitsui had already grabbed him by the neck.

"You brat, you want to be the main character right from the start, huh?!"

"This genius has always been the protagonist!" Sakuragi laughed as he struggled to speak through Mitsui's chokehold.

Sakuragi stepped to the free-throw line, received the ball from the referee, and made the free throw.

"A two-plus-one start," Aida Yayoi quickly jotted down in her notebook, "Sakuragi Hanamichi, first year, first attack, dunks over Maki Shinichi, free throw made."

She put down her pen and glanced again at the red-haired figure's back. "Is this guy... really a first-year student?"

Hainan attacks, and Maki Shinichi dribbles the ball past midfield.

The tall coach on the sidelines opened his folding fan, just about to observe the players' positioning, when he stopped.

The folding fan is suspended in mid-air.

In Shohoku's half, the red-haired guy didn't run towards the inside. Instead, he positioned himself at the top of the key, lowered his center of gravity, spread his arms, and directly confronted Maki Shinichi.

Sakuragi Hanamichi is in the story of Shinichi Homaki.

Gao Tou's gaze swept across the field, landing directly on the opposite bench. Coach Anzai sat motionless in his chair, like a plump Maitreya Buddha. His glasses reflected a white light, obscuring his eyes.

Coach Anzai, are you that confident?

How can a rookie who has been playing basketball for less than a year be expected to suppress Kanagawa High School's strongest point guard?

The top of the arc.

Looking at the face in front of him, Maki lowered his center of gravity, dribbled the ball with his right hand, and took a step forward with his left foot.

He was testing the lateral movement space to the right, the degree to which his shoulders dropped, and Sakuragi's reaction speed.

Then he moved.

Without any warning, the left foot pushed off the ground, the right shoulder dropped, and the entire body's center of gravity shifted from upright to diving in a fraction of a second. The right hand dribbling the ball was almost touching the ground, and the ball bounced no higher than the knee.

This initial burst of energy was a game-changer in the Kanagawa Prefecture tournament.

Every team that has played against Hainan recognizes this move... Maki Shinichi's straight-line power drive, one step past, no fancy changes of direction, he's just faster, stronger, and more ferocious than you.

Sakuragi did not fall.

His lateral movement caught up with Maki Shinichi's movement at the same instant he started. His right leg pushed off the ground, his left leg straddled the ground, and his body became like a moving wall, blocking Maki Shinichi's path of advance.

The two men collided, their chests meeting through their jerseys.

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood at the top of the arc. His two feet were firmly planted on the ground, completely still.

Shinichi Maki's pupils contracted slightly.

A clamor spread like a tide from the stands.

"You managed to defend against it?"

"Maki was... stopped by that red-haired guy?"

Sitting in the Shoyo section of the opposite stands, Kenji Fujima crossed his arms and stared at the two players facing off at the top of the key.

"Sakuragi's strength is no less than Maki's," Fujima couldn't help but say. "His core strength and lower body strength are monstrous. That's why Coach Anzai assigned him to guard Maki."

Fujima paused for a moment, his mind involuntarily flashing back to the game two weeks ago. At 178cm, he wasn't short for a point guard.

But the feeling of that red-haired guy backing him down from the top of the arc step by step to the basket... the force coming from his back, the feeling of being squeezed that his body couldn't resist at all, the helplessness of his teammates trying to help defend but being held back by Mitsui and Rukawa, and Kogure on the outside and unable to get in.

On the field.

Maki Shinichi's first attempt to break through failed. He gathered the ball and pulled it back to the top of the arc to reorganize the play.

The red-haired kid in front of him had his arms outstretched in an absurdly wide arc, like a bird spreading its wings and blocking the road. Standing at 1.88 meters tall, his defensive range at the point guard position was even more exaggerated than he had anticipated.

Maki Shinichi didn't continue his forceful drive. He dribbled with his right hand to adjust his rhythm, then lobbed the ball into the paint with one hand.

Takasago received the ball in the low post on the left, with his back to Akagi. He feinted with his shoulder, then turned and jumped to shoot.

Akagi Takenori's jump timing was flawless. He had anticipated the release point the moment Takasago turned around, and with his 197cm body soaring into the air, his right hand spread out, swatting the basketball away.

Bang……!

The basketball was slapped away and flew directly beyond the three-point line.

"pretty……!"

Ryota Miyagi burst through the crowd, catching the basketball the instant it hit the ground. His feet barely touched the ground before he turned and charged towards Hainan's half of the court. The 168cm tall player moved like a cannonball skimming the ground, his pace so fast it was dizzying.

"Quick attack!"

The entire Shohoku bench stood up.

But Maki Shinichi defended even faster this time.

As Miyagi dribbled past the center line, Maki Shinichi had already retreated to the top of the three-point arc, lowered his center of gravity, and blocked Miyagi's path. His defensive stance completely shut down Miyagi's drive from the top of the arc.

Gongcheng didn't make a direct assault. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar figure cutting down the corner on his left.

The ball is passed out. Mitsui receives the ball at the left corner three-point line, his knees already bent as he receives it, and he's only halfway through the shooting motion.

A-Shen lunged forward, leaping towards Mitsui's shooting space with his arm raised high.

But Mitsui did not invest.

His fake shot tricked A-Shen into jumping up from the ground. The moment A-Shen jumped, Mitsui gathered the ball, bent over, pushed off with his right foot, and cut into the basket from the baseline.

Mitsui jumps, dribbles the ball with his right hand, and goes for a layup. The ball leaves his fingertips and flies towards the backboard.

Then a white figure suddenly appeared from the side.

Shinichi Maki.

He chased back from the top of the key to the baseline, jumping from the side just as Mitsui went for a layup. With a powerful slap of his right hand, he smashed the basketball against the backboard, sending it flying. The sound of the block and the vibration of the backboard mingled together.

"Well done!"

The Hainan stands exploded.

Ah Shen reacted the fastest, seizing the landing point on the ball's trajectory, scooping it up, and turning to rush towards the frontcourt.

He had already completed half of his turn... his body turned around, and then the ball in his hand disappeared.

A hand reached out from the side and intercepted the ball the instant he turned around.

Red hair.

A-Shen's pupils suddenly dilated... When did Sakuragi Hanamichi get to this position?

As Sakuragi intercepted the ball, his body sprinted toward Hainan's basket, and he jumped.

The red-haired man leaped into the air, grabbed the ball with his right hand, and flew towards the basket.

Shinichi Maki jumped again under the basket, aiming his right hand at the racket in Sakuragi's hand.

The stance was exactly the same as the first attack at the start of the game.

Sakuragi, in mid-air, saw Maki Shinichi's hand slapping towards his own.

Then he pulled his right hand back from holding the ball, twisted his wrist, and the basketball bounced off his fingertips, passing across to his right side.

Takenori Akagi landed right in that spot, caught the ball, clasped it with both hands, took a step, raised it from his chest above his head, and jumped.

The 197cm, 90kg iron tower soared into the air, his arm muscles taut like stones under the light. He gripped the basketball in both hands, raised it to its highest point, and then slammed it down onto the rim.

"Don't even think about it...!"

Kiyota Nobunaga lunged from the side of the baseline, jumped up, his body bounced in the air, and his right hand covered the height of Akagi's dunk.

Aida Yayoi looked up at Kiyota's jumping height and subconsciously opened her mouth... That jumping height is so high.

Bang! Akagi slammed the ball down with both hands.

Kiyota Nobunaga was thrown into the air and slammed heavily onto the floor.

Aida Yayoi was stunned again. Were all the newcomers these days freaks? Even though Kiyota got dunked on, his jumping height, speed…