The ball returned to Miyagi's hands.
This time, facing Maki Shinichi again, Miyagi didn't rush.
He dribbled steadily, controlling the tempo, while raising a finger.
"Alright! Everyone, stay calm!"
"Play it steady—let's get another one!"
His gaze swept across every teammate.
Finally, it landed on the figure at the sideline—wrapped in a coat, yawning lazily.
"Show what we learned in training!"
"Don't let that guy Juro laugh at us!!"
"OOOHH!!"
The moment Sakuragi Hanamichi heard that, his smug expression twisted into something ferocious, steam practically shooting out of his nostrils.
"That damn master… no way this genius is letting him laugh at me!"
"Watch closely—the performance of the super genius, Sakuragi Hanamichi!!"
Seeing the team fired up, the Shohoku bench erupted in excitement.
"That's great… really great…"
"Everyone… everyone's gotten stronger."
Kogure's eyes welled up with tears, his hand trembling as he adjusted his glasses.
Coach Anzai sat calmly in his chair, a warm smile spreading across his face.
"Hehehe… it seems Juro's special training has truly paid off."
"Especially Sakuragi's rebounding—it's improved to another level."
Hearing that, Makino Juro raised an eyebrow slightly.
He lazily shifted his posture, looking completely detached—as if the fierce battle on the court had nothing to do with him.
"About that…"
Watching Sakuragi fight wildly for position, Makino Juro silently complained:
Rebounding was just a side effect of the training…
Images of the past few days of hellish practice flashed through his mind.
To improve Sakuragi's ball control and touch,
he had forced him to catch basketballs coated in soapy water—miss one, and no food.
That kind of insane training…
was meant to mold Sakuragi into someone like Kagami Taiga—a complete, all-around powerhouse who could attack, defend, fly, and dunk.
After all, in Juro's eyes, Sakuragi's physical talent was even slightly superior to Kagami's.
That beast-like instinct, that seemingly endless stamina—
it was like the gods themselves were feeding him greatness.
Unfortunately…
Makino Juro recalled Sakuragi's idiotic traveling violations.
He sighed helplessly, muttering under his breath:
"But there's no helping it…"
"The hardware is top-tier, but the software system… is absolute trash."
"He's a blank slate… no, a crumpled blank slate."
Turning Sakuragi into someone on Kagami's level wasn't something a few days of crash training could accomplish.
"Maybe I rushed it too much."
Makino Juro rubbed his neck and yawned.
"Whatever. If Sakuragi can maximize rebounding for now, that's enough to give Kainan a headache."
"As for offense…"
"That depends on the fox."
…
Kainan's offense was abruptly cut off by Sakuragi's unreasonable one-handed rebound.
Shohoku's counterattack sounded instantly.
Miyagi Ryota pushed the ball forward, eyes sharp as lightning, searching for a crack in the defense.
"Don't get cocky, Shohoku!"
A low shout exploded.
Just as Miyagi was about to pass to Rukawa Kaede—
a purple blur cut in like a ghost.
Maki Shinichi!
The King of Kanagawa remained terrifyingly composed. That brief setback hadn't shaken him at all.
"Pa!"
His fingertip jabbed hard at the ball.
It wasn't a clean steal—the ball deflected toward the sideline.
"The ball is mine!!"
A red-haired figure exploded out of the paint.
Sakuragi Hanamichi had only one thought in his mind—possession.
He didn't care that the ball was heading out of bounds.
Like a runaway bomber, he hurled himself sideways into the air.
"Sakuragi! That's dangerous!" Yohei shouted from the stands, jumping to his feet.
Midair, Sakuragi stretched to his limit.
With one long reach, he hooked the ball back in just milliseconds before it went out.
"Ryota! Catch it!!"
The ball whistled through the air into Miyagi's hands.
But Sakuragi himself couldn't stop.
The massive inertia, combined with his weight—
turned him into a human cannonball, hurtling straight toward the Shohoku bench.
And right at the center of the impact zone—
Coach Anzai was calmly holding a teacup.
"Old man!!" Mitsui and Akagi's pupils shrank in shock.
In that split second.
Makino Juro, who had been slumped in his chair like a corpse, suddenly twitched.
A beast-like instinct exploded within him.
His brain hadn't even reacted yet—
his body had already moved.
He shot up from his seat, grabbed the collar of Coach Anzai's oversized suit—
and with a burst of strength completely at odds with his lazy demeanor, yanked the two-hundred-pound coach aside.
"Huh?"
The tea in Coach Anzai's hand sloshed as he stumbled.
The next moment—
"BOOM!!!"
A dull, terrifying impact echoed through the arena.
Sakuragi Hanamichi's steel-forged body, tempered through hellish training, slammed directly into Makino Juro.
The bench flipped over.
"BEEEEEP!!"
The whistle shrieked. Timeout.
The entire arena fell into silence.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the wreckage of the Shohoku bench.
"Ju… Juro-kun?"
Coach Anzai adjusted his glasses, still shaken, tea spilled all over the floor.
"Are you okay?!"
Ayako threw down the tactics board and rushed over.
Haruko covered her mouth, eyes brimming with tears. "Sakuragi-kun! Juro-kun!"
"Ugh… that hurt…"
A lively voice came from the wreckage.
Sakuragi suddenly sprang up like nothing had happened.
He rubbed his iron-hard red head and grinned foolishly.
"Phew… that was close! Almost crashed into Old Man!"
Then, completely ignoring everyone's stunned expressions, he dashed back onto the court—
eyes glowing green.
"Hey! Ryota! Fast break!!"
The entire audience's jaws dropped.
"That guy… is he a Gundam or something?"
"He flipped chairs and sent someone flying—and he doesn't even have a scratch?!"
"What kind of monster physique is that?!"
But not everyone had protagonist-level durability.
"Cough… can… someone… give me a hand…"
A weak groan came from beneath the broken bench.
Only then did everyone remember—
there was still a "hero" pinned underneath.
Kogure and Ayako hurriedly lifted the wreckage and pulled Makino Juro out.
His face was pale, one hand clutching his chest, feeling like his organs were throwing a rave inside his body.
That impact...
hadn't felt like a collision.
It felt like being run over head-on by a fully loaded truck.
"You damn red-haired monkey…"
Makino Juro gritted his teeth in pain, cursing furiously in his mind.
[System Notification]
[Achievement Unlocked: Sacrificing the Body to Save the Star]
[Reward: Coach Anzai Favorability +10, Team Morale +5]
"To hell with your favorability…"
"I want worker's compensation…"
"And a pay raise…"
Makino Juro rolled his eyes, slumping back into a surviving chair with Ayako's help.
"Juro, are you okay?!" Akagi shouted from half the court away.
Makino Juro weakly waved his hand and pointed toward Sakuragi on the court.
His lips formed two silent words:
"Beat him."
END OF CHAPTER
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