The scorching afternoon sun baked the asphalt until it sizzled.
The air itself seemed to shimmer with heat.
A chipped yellow hatchback crawled along the road at a pace that could only be described as "grandma crossing the street."
Inside the car, Aida Yayoi checked her watch for the eighteenth time.
Her gaze was so sharp it practically threatened to burn a hole through the driver's seat.
"Nakamura!"
The shout came with the force of a lion's roar, making Nakamura's hands jerk.
The car instantly swerved into a dangerously elegant S-curve across the straight road.
"Y-Yes! Yes, Ms. Aida!"
"Can you step on the gas already?!"
Gripping the handle with one hand, Aida smacked the back of his seat with a rolled-up magazine in the other.
"At this speed, by the time we get back, we'll only make it in time to mop the floor!"
Nakamura shrank into himself, his shirt soaked through with sweat.
"I can't, Ms. Aida!"
"Out of ten thousand roads, safety comes first!"
"If we flip the car, it's game over for both of us!"
He clutched the steering wheel with both hands, looking as pitiful as an overgrown child.
"..."
Aida collapsed back into the passenger seat, defeated.
Watching the trees lazily drift past the window, her mental state crumbled.
As the ace reporter of Basketball Weekly, she suddenly felt like life had no meaning.
"Why…" she gritted her teeth.
"Why are we the ones sent to cover a one-sided slaughter?"
"Ryonan vs. Takezono—anyone could guess the result with their eyes closed!"
Nakamura cautiously glanced at the rearview mirror, seeing his boss's face darker than the bottom of a pot, and added weakly:
"It can't be helped… The schedule was compressed to keep things moving."
"The editor said the Kainan game is packed with media already. If we go, it's just adding flowers to brocade."
"But Ryonan—if no one covers it and Sendoh pulls off something big, we'll miss it…"
"I know! Of course I know!"
Aida ruffled her neat short hair into a bird's nest in frustration.
"But that's Shohoku vs. Kainan!"
That perpetually sleepy Makino Juro. That red-haired amateur. And the cold, handsome Rukawa Kaede…
This was the biggest dark horse of the year versus the sixteen-year reigning king of Kanagawa!
That was where the real headlines were!
Could Makino Juro force out Maki Shinichi's "Emperor Mode"?
And Sakuragi Hanamichi—that ticking time bomb—would he explode against a disciplined team like Kainan?
"The more I think about it, the worse it feels!"
Aida suddenly sat upright, pointing at the empty road ahead, eyes blazing with killing intent.
"Nakamura, press the gas pedal into the fuel tank!"
"If you go a little over the speed limit, the police will forgive you!"
"This is for journalism!"
"W-What?! But—"
"Shut up and drive!!"
…
Ryonan High School Gymnasium
Unlike its usual lively atmosphere, today the air inside Ryonan's home court carried the scent of a one-sided massacre.
Two massive banners faced off across the court.
On the left, Ryonan's slogan—Brave and Fearless—radiated dominance.
On the right, Takezono's Unity of Mind and Skill looked like it might collapse at any moment.
Though both teams had reached the Final Four last year—
The current game felt like a max-level player entering a beginner's zone.
The cheers from the stands were loud enough to lift the roof.
"Ryonan! Ryonan!"
"Sendoh is going insane!!"
Aida Yayoi burst through the entrance at full speed.
Before she could even catch her breath, the scoreboard froze her in place.
The glaring red numbers stabbed into her eyes.
41 : 8
Nine minutes left in the first half.
Ryonan was leading… by 33 points.
"Holy—"
Nakamura's glasses were crooked from running, panting as he leaned on the doorframe.
"T-This is the same Takezono that made the Final Four last year?!"
"This gap is ridiculous!"
Aida ignored him.
Her attention locked instantly onto the figure wearing jersey number 7 on the court.
Sendoh Akira.
At that moment, he stood outside the three-point line, ball in hand.
Facing a tight triple-team from Takezono—
The signature gentle smile on his face was gone.
In its place was something that made your scalp tingle.
Cold.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
Sweat dripped from the tips of his spiky hair.
Those usually sleepy eyes now glowed faintly—
Like a beast awakening.
That look…
Aida's heart skipped a beat.
It was too similar.
She had seen the same thing earlier today—in Rukawa Kaede's eyes.
No…
Even deeper.
Even more dangerous.
"Th-That's…"
Aida subconsciously covered her mouth, her professionalism instantly tossed aside.
Her eyes sparkled.
"Sendoh… is so cool…!"
On the court.
Takezono's defenders shouted hoarsely, trying to drown out their fear.
"Stop him! He's alone!"
"Don't let him through!"
Three-man defense. Airtight.
Sendoh lowered his center of gravity slightly, the basketball seeming to come alive at his fingertips.
Then...
Without any wind-up—
He moved.
Not a brute-force drive.
But a bizarre shift in rhythm—
As if reality itself had dropped frames.
Left shoulder dipped.
Eyes glanced right.
The defenders' centers of gravity were completely baited away.
In the next instant, man and ball became one.
Sendoh slipped through the narrow gap between three defenders like a slick fish, smooth to an absurd degree.
"Nani?!"
The Takezono players only saw a blur.
That blue figure was already gone—
So far ahead they couldn't even see his "taillights."
Sendoh glided through the air.
Facing the help-defense center, he executed an elegant double-clutch.
He seemed to walk in midair, dodging the block before flicking the ball softly with his fingers.
"Swish!"
A crisp, satisfying sound.
The entire motion flowed like water...
Yet carried a wild, overbearing dominance never seen before.
"WOOOO!!!"
The arena exploded.
"Sendoh! Sendoh!"
"This is a dimensional stomp!"
"That's Ryonan's ace! That's a genius!"
Aida felt her adrenaline spike.
She pulled out her notebook instantly, pen scratching furiously across the paper as if it might spark flames.
"It's not just his technique…"
"Sendoh has evolved. His aura has changed!"
"He used to be like a clocking-out office worker—strong, but always casual."
"But today…"
She recalled that fleeting moment—
The look in his eyes.
That overwhelming pressure, like he wanted to tear his opponent apart and devour them whole.
"Was he stimulated somehow?"
Aida muttered to herself.
"Was it because of Shohoku… or… that unfathomable Makino Juro?"
"Sis!!!"
A voice with a heavy Kansai accent blasted into her ears, shattering her thoughts.
She turned—
Her idiot younger brother, Aida Hikoichi,
was sprinting over from the front rows, waving his notebook, drenched in sweat.
"Hey, sis!"
"You finally made it! I've been dying here!"
Hikoichi's face was flushed with excitement, pen waving wildly in his hand.
"You missed the best part of the opening!"
"Today, Sendoh-senpai is unstoppable—killing gods if gods stand in his way, killing Buddhas if Buddhas stand in his way!"
"Unbelievable!"
END OF CHAPTER
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The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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