Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 1 I, Mu Mu Gongyan!

Kanagawa Prefecture, Shohoku Basketball Stadium!

At this time, a freshman competition is in full swing.

Just when the game was about to reach its climax, a sudden change broke the calm on the field.

"Mitsui, are you okay?"

"Mitsui!" "Mitsui!"

Teammates surrounded Mitsui who was lying on the ground, their faces filled with worry and anxiety.

"It hurts!"

Mitsui's expression was distorted, and he felt excruciating pain in his left knee.

In the game just now, Akagi blocked a big shot for Mitsui, which greatly stimulated Mitsui's competitive spirit.

So in the next round, Mitsui broke through several people in succession and took the initiative to confront Akagi.

In order to get rid of Akagi's defense, Mitsui changed direction drastically. Just when he was about to succeed, his left knee could no longer bear the pressure, causing his body to lose balance and fall heavily to the ground.

While his teammates were concerned about Mitsui, Murasakibara stood aside in a trance.

He seemed to have passed through the curtain of time and space and glimpsed the secrets deep in his soul. Countless fragments of memories came flooding back like a tide.

After a brief period of swelling and pain, the originally hazy memories quickly became clear, like a long-forgotten painting, slowly unfolding in the long river of time.

It turned out that under the emotional agitation, Murasakibara awakened his innate wisdom.

At this moment, his mood seemed quite complicated.

In the world of SD, basketball is a topic that can never be avoided.

Although he likes the character of Murasakibara very much, he doesn't want to become him.

He was more eager to become one of the five tigers of Xiangbei, even though he was the short Miyagi!

Unlike the talented five players of Shohoku, apart from his three-point shooting, Murasakibara's performance on the court can only be described as mediocre.

Three years in Kitamura, three years in Shohoku, Murasakibara worked hard for six years, but in the end he couldn't even get a place in Shohoku's starting lineup.

Isn't Murasaki working hard enough?
Do not!
He works just as hard as anyone else!

Shigekazu Tanaoka commented on Murasakibara: For the past three years, he has been striving to be the best and has never slacked off for a single day.

From this, it is not difficult to imagine Murasakibara's love and persistence for basketball.

Unfortunately, basketball is an inherently physical sport that can be extremely cruel to those who lack talent.

Whether in static or dynamic talent, Murasakibara has no redeeming qualities. His greatest advantage is his soft shooting touch.

However, compared with Mitsui and A Shen, this aspect seems particularly insufficient.

The lack of talent is also the fundamental reason why Murasakibara was positioned as the team's sixth man.

This is the cruelty of competitive sports!
At this time, the captain Ikeda Yuho immediately shouted to Murasaki, "Muraasaki, why are you still standing there? Go call an ambulance!"

Ikeda Yuho's voice was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.

As a senior player for the Xiangbei team, this year is also his last year.

The team was originally weak, and Yuho Ikeda was not optimistic about the team's future.

However, with the addition of junior high school MVP Mitsui Shou, his desire for victory was rekindled.

Unfortunately, he was happy too early!

"Yes, Captain!"

Mu Mu came to his senses instantly and immediately ran to a telephone booth not far away.

In 1992, mobile phones were not yet popular and the level of technology was far lower than that of later generations.

Soon after, an ambulance arrived and rushed Mitsui to the hospital for treatment.

As the ambulance drove away, the Xiangbei players felt extremely uneasy, and many freshmen even considered quitting the team.

Suddenly, a huge shadow enveloped Mu Mu.

He looked up and found Akagi standing in front of him.

As soon as he saw Akagi, Muguro couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met Akagi.

Because Akagi looked old, Murasakibara thought he was his senior.

It seems that what Amu said about Akagi looking older than him is indeed true.

"I wonder if Mitsui is okay?"

Akagi sighed softly, with deep remorse in his tone.

In his opinion, if it wasn't for breaking through his defense, Mitsui wouldn't have been injured.

"Akagi, this is not your problem!"

Mu Mu comforted him, then continued: "After the training, I want to go to the hospital to visit Mitsui, do you want to come with me?"

"Together!"

Akagi agreed without hesitation.

With Mitsui's injury, the freshman competition naturally ended early.

At this time, the Xiangbei players were training absent-mindedly, but the depressing feeling in the air was still lingering.

Murasakibara, who is familiar with the plot, knows that Mitsui's first injury dealt a heavy blow to the team.

However, this is a blessing in disguise.

Because if nothing unexpected happens, Mitsui will be injured again!
In an effort to make a comeback, Mitsui disobeyed the doctor's advice and returned to the team without authorization, which caused his injury to worsen and he ultimately missed the county competition regretfully.

Frustrated, Mitsui temporarily quits the basketball team and becomes a gangster. It was not until the beginning of the story that the classic scene of "Coach, I want to play basketball" came about.

Mitsui's self-assertion not only harmed himself, but also brought a heavy blow to the Xiangbei team.

When Mitsui got injured again, many freshmen chose to quit the basketball team, including the three former Takeishi Junior High School players. The reason they chose the Xiangbei team was mainly to follow in Mitsui's footsteps.

Although their strength is far inferior to Mitsui, they are a member of the championship team after all, and have even participated in the national junior high school competition. How bad can they be?

As Mitsui left the team due to injury, their motivation to stay with the Shohoku team disappeared, and they eventually chose to quit the basketball team.

However, there is still a chance to save it.

Whether for the team or himself, Murasakibara must stop Mitsui's impulsive behavior and prevent him from repeating the same mistakes.

In this way, not only can the Xiangbei team avoid the crisis of being withdrawn from the team, but Mitsui will no longer experience a two-year window.

How strong would Mitsui be without the two-year window?
A player's strength is mainly composed of three elements: physical strength, technology and experience.

On the physical level, two injuries and a lack of systematic training for a long time directly led to a significant decline in Mitsui's athletic ability.

Considering Mitsui's age, as long as he stays healthy, his athletic ability will definitely have room for improvement, and at least he will no longer encounter physical crises so frequently.

On the technical level, not touching basketball for two years has caused Mitsui's skills to significantly decline, especially his ability to break through.

With these two years, Mitsui's technology will become more mature.

On the experience level, a large number of games can effectively improve players' psychological quality and game reading ability, enabling players to quickly capture subtle changes on the field and make appropriate choices.

It is sad to see that even though Mitsui has been silent for two years, he is still far from being comparable to Murasakibara.

This is the difference in talent!

As soon as the training ended, Murasakibara and Akagi immediately went to the hospital and found the ward where Mitsui was.

This is a spacious single room. One can imagine how well-off Mitsui's family is. After all, he will have to recuperate here for another month.

In the ward, Mitsui was leaning on the bed, flipping through a magazine boredly.

"Mitsui!"

Mu Mu knocked on the open door and walked in.

While saying hello, he glanced at Mitsui's left knee and saw that it was not wrapped in plaster and was in good spirits, so it seemed that the injury was not serious.

"Mumu, Akagi, why are you here?"

Mitsui was a little surprised when he saw the two of them.

"We came here specially to visit you on behalf of the team!"

Mu Mu said as he placed a bag of fruit on the bedside table.

"It's just a minor injury. I'll be out of the hospital soon!"

Mitsui waved his hand casually, a relaxed smile on his face.

"Mitsui, the doctor said that your knee ligament is slightly damaged and you need to rest for a month. During this period, no strenuous exercise is allowed!"

"One month, why does it take so long?"

Mitsui was anxious. He wanted to return to the team as soon as possible and participate in training, eager to prove himself in front of Coach Anzai.

"Mitsui, you must take the doctor's advice seriously!" Murasaki pushed his glasses and looked serious.

"Of course I will take it seriously!" Mitsui's eyes dodged: "But, there is less than a month left before the county competition. I am afraid that the team will lose the game, so I must be discharged from the hospital as soon as possible!"

It is obvious that Mitsui still has a lucky mentality and does not care about the injury.

"Mitsui, you don't want Coach Anzai to know that you've returned to the team with an injury, right?"

In order to convince Mitsui, Murasakibara had to bring up Coach Anzai.

"Mumu, you can't do this!"

Mitsui suddenly became nervous. Coach Anzai was the person he respected the most, and he naturally didn't want to lose points in front of him.

Seeing that Mitsui had not given up, Mu Mu had to continue: "Mitsui, let me tell you a story!"

Mitsui didn't say anything and just looked at Murasakibara quietly.

Mu Mu showed a reminiscing look and said slowly: "I have a friend of the same age, and he was also injured in a game.

At that time, he ignored the doctor's advice and was eager to return to the team, which eventually resulted in a comminuted fracture of his knee and he lost the qualification to play forever.

I hope you can learn from this and never ruin yourself because of a momentary impulse!"

"Oh, that's serious!"

Mitsui's expression was solemn, and he felt inexplicably frightened.

Because he had indeed thought about it.

"The situation is far worse than you can imagine. Not only has he completely bid farewell to basketball, he can't even take care of himself. He can only sit in a wheelchair and waste his time every day. Can you imagine a life like that?"

Hearing what Murasakibara said, Mitsui trembled all over and became more and more scared.

If I do the same, will I repeat the mistakes of Murasakibara's 'friend'?

"Um, is your friend okay now?"

"He chose to end his own life!"

The ward suddenly fell into silence, filled with an atmosphere of depression.

"Mitsui, judging from the time, you still have a chance to participate in this county competition, provided that the team is not eliminated."

Mitsui asked hesitantly: "But can the team hold on until then?"

It is obvious that Mitsui is skeptical about the strength of the Shohoku team.

"Mitsui, I promise you that the team will never be eliminated before you come back!"

Murasaki took off his glasses, his tone was sonorous and powerful, revealing his unshakable determination to face the most difficult challenge so far.

ding dong~
Just at this moment, a cold reminder sound suddenly rang in his mind.

(End of this chapter)