Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Before the school bell had even finished ringing on Monday, Sakuragi Hanamichi was already standing at the entrance of the basketball court with his schoolbag.

The basketball court was empty except for Ayako, who stood in front of the notice board with a printed sheet of paper and a roll of transparent tape in her hand.

"Hey! Ayako, so early." Sakuragi strode in, with Yanai Yuri following behind him.

Ayako glanced back at them and waved the paper in her hand: "Perfect timing, you two arrived first, help me stick this up."

Soon, a schedule the size of an A3 sheet of paper was posted in the center of the bulletin board. In black and white, the names of four teams were displayed: Shohoku, Ryonan, Kainan, and Takezato. Next to each name was their record and subsequent schedule.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone in the basketball court was there.

Ayako clapped her hands, gathering everyone in front of the bulletin board.

"Look here, everyone. The current results of the semi-final round-robin are: we and Ryonan each won one match, while Hainan and Buri each lost one match."

She pointed to the spot circled in red on the schedule, "Next Saturday, we're facing Buri. Buri isn't very strong; they got beaten 116-63 by Ryonan yesterday. We should be able to beat them easily. If we beat Buri, we'll have two wins in the semifinals, which means we've basically secured our spot in the national tournament."

The basketball court fell silent for a moment.

The National Tournament. When Ayako uttered those four words, everyone involuntarily straightened up a little.

Just then, Takenori Akagi walked in and overheard Ayako saying that defeating Takezato would essentially secure a spot in the national tournament.

He was completely stunned!

All the hard work and effort I've put in since junior high school has finally come rushing back and is stuck in my throat.

Starting with yesterday's successful defeat of Hainan... the dream of winning the national competition is truly about to come true.

A single voice shattered everyone's emotions.

"Hahaha! What's there to be emotional about!" Sakuragi Hanamichi said, hands on his hips. "With a genius like me around, isn't making it to the national tournament a given? Winning the prefectural championship is a piece of cake!"

"What do you mean 'casually'?!" Miyagi jumped up. "You took possession of the ball for the last ten minutes or so yesterday and wouldn't let go. Did you even count how many times I, as the point guard, touched the ball in those later minutes?"

"Ryota, you're wrong about that," Mitsui turned around and joined the fray, "This guy managed to stabilize the score at the end yesterday, so what's wrong with letting him gloat a little?"

Sakuragi: "That's right, that's right. Yesterday you guys were all exhausted and collapsed. Wasn't it just me who held up the team and kept them ahead, preventing Hainan from catching up?"

Especially you, you stinky fox and your mistress, you were exhausted and had to leave the field after only a short time?

Hearing Sakuragi's words, the crowd surprisingly refrained from refuting him. In the final moments of the second half yesterday, it was indeed his unstoppable one-on-one play that stabilized the situation.

After a day of training, the team members left one after another.

When Kogure Kiminobu came out of the locker room after changing his clothes, he found Sakuragi still practicing his shooting on the court.

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood outside the three-point line at the top of the arc, with a dozen basketballs scattered around his feet.

He dribbles, gathers the ball, bends his knees, jumps, and shoots...

Swish! Three points in the net.

He bent down to pick up another ball, dribbled it twice, put it together, jumped, and whoosh. One more time.

The original routine of 500 mid-range shots and 500 three-point shots every day has now been changed to 1000 three-point shots.

Kogure stood on the sidelines for a long time before speaking.

"Sakuragi." His voice echoed softly in the empty gymnasium, "Someone as disciplined as you... is truly rare."

Sakuragi didn't stop. He dribbled, gathered the ball, jumped, and shot. Swish.

Then he turned around, a few strands of his red hair, damp with sweat, clung to his forehead, and a smile spread across his face.

"Brother Glasses, you're right. It's precisely because I'm a genius that I can't waste my talent."

He scooped up a basketball from beside him and shot it again. "If I don't practice properly, I won't be a genius anymore, just a fool wasting my talent."

Kogure smiled upon hearing this.

"Sakuragi, I really envy you." His voice was calm. "You, Rukawa, and Mitsui, you are all true geniuses. Physical abilities, learning abilities, game instincts. You were born with so much more than ordinary people."

He paused.

"I don't have any special talents. I'm not fast, I can't jump high, and I'm at a disadvantage in physical confrontations. The only thing I can do is train hard. I practice each movement a few more times than others."

I used to dream of reaching the national competition stage. For me, it was once a truly unattainable dream.

Sakuragi stopped shooting. He stood at the top of the arc, holding a ball in his hand, looking at Kogure.

"I'm a junior this year, and this is my last year of high school basketball. I'll probably have to say goodbye to basketball when I go to college."

Kogure's voice trembled slightly. "I originally thought... that my dream of making it to the national tournament would probably remain a regret until I graduated from high school."

But this year, with you and Rukawa joining, and Mitsui returning, our team has become the strongest it has ever been.

We defeated last year's runner-up, Shohoku, and then we defeated the champions, Hainan. Now we really have a chance to go to the national tournament. Sakuragi, I want to thank you.

Sakuragi Hanamichi walked up to Kogure and slapped him on the shoulder.

"What are you talking about, Glasses Bro!" Sakuragi's expression was serious. "With this genius around, going to the national tournament is just the first step. We also need to work hard to win the national championship! That way, you and Gorilla can graduate high school without any regrets, right?"

Kogure pushed up his crooked glasses, his eyes a little red, but he laughed out loud.

"You brat... don't say that in front of Akagi. As the captain, he's very concerned about his reputation."

Sakuragi burst into laughter.

Outside the stadium, the sky had turned from orange-red to deep blue. Streetlights lit up one by one along the edge of the playground, and the night breeze carried the scent of earth and grass through the barbed wire fence.

The doors to the basketball court opened. Sakuragi, now in his school uniform, and Yanai emerged from inside. Their hair was still wet from the shower, and Yanai naturally reached out and took his arm.

A 172cm tall girl leaned against Sakuragi, who was 189cm tall, her height just reaching his shoulder. The two walked along the edge of the playground toward the school gate, their shadows stretched long by the streetlights.

"Flower arrangement." Yanai's voice was soft.

"Um?"

"I've discovered that you're actually a very gentle person."

Sakuragi's ears turned red again. He raised his chin, his tone full of smugness: "Of course! A genius like me is naturally gentle with his girlfriend..."

"It's not just about me," Yanai interrupted him, her voice tinged with amusement, "it's about Kogure-senpai and Akagi-senpai. Their dreams... you've been working hard to help them achieve them too."

Sakuragi paused for a moment.

He turned to look at Liu Jing, who was looking up at him. The light from the streetlamp fell on her eyelashes, and a few tiny sparkles appeared at the corners of her eyes.

"Because the gorilla and the glasses guy... are both important teammates of this genius."

Yanai rested her head on his shoulder, revealing a sweet smile.

After walking for a while, Yanai suddenly spoke up: "By the way, Hanamichi, don't rush home. I'll take you somewhere."

Sakuragi turned his head to look at her, his brows furrowing slightly, his face full of questions: "Where to?"

"Let's go to the hair salon."

"Huh? A haircut?" Sakuragi reached up and touched his signature red pompadour. "Isn't my hairstyle pretty good? Pretty cool!"

Yanai rolled his eyes with practiced ease.

She raised her hand and poked Sakuragi's drooping, damp hair with her fingertip: "Every time you finish training, your hair is soaked with sweat. Do you know how hard it is for me to wipe it for you?"

Sakuragi opened his mouth to argue, but then realized he didn't seem to have any problem with it.

"It takes forever to dry, and it leaves my hands covered in hairspray. I should get a new hairstyle, something clean and easy to manage."

"Oh well!"