Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 359 Sakuragi Asks for Help!

With the emergence of Love and the Big Three, all the top teams are feeling unprecedented pressure and challenges.

Driven by an unprecedented sense of crisis, the top teams realized that in order to remain competitive in the upcoming season, they must take action to strengthen their rosters as much as possible.

First, they set their sights on high-achieving junior high school graduates.

Among this graduating class of junior high school students, Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi Hanamichi, Kawata Mikio, and Morishige Hiroshi attracted the attention of many strong teams with their talent and potential.

First come, first served; these strong teams immediately took action and began contacting these players.

However, the number of outstanding junior high school graduates is limited, which leads to extremely fierce competition.

Moreover, some players have been "reserved" for the team, such as Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi Hanamichi, and Kawata Mikio.

In this situation, they had to consider other ways to strengthen their power.

So they started turning their attention to players from other colleges, especially the well-known ones.

These players possess mature skills and match experience, and have not only adapted to the pace and intensity of the high school league, but can also quickly integrate into the team system.

In order to attract the attention of these players, the top teams have begun to adopt various strategies.

They not only offer generous scholarships, but also promise players ample playing time and guarantee them priority admission to prestigious universities after graduation.

Many of these schools are affiliated with universities, such as Hainan Affiliated High School, Hakata University of Commerce Affiliated High School, Jinbo University Affiliated High School, and Dogo University Affiliated High School.

For many academically weak athletes, being admitted to university early is undoubtedly a shortcut.

Ultimately, these efforts were not in vain.

For players who crave victory and glory, this is a rare opportunity.

As a result, some well-known players chose to transfer schools.

Among them, regional powerhouses were most affected, and began to experience a serious brain drain.

In a short time, well-known players flocked to various strong teams.

This is the effect of love and the Big Three, almost exactly like the future Heat Big Three.

By continuously strengthening their squads, these strong teams have not only enhanced their own strength but also put greater pressure on their competitors.

It's so curly!
However, these factors did not affect Shohoku.

It's not that there's no impact, because many strong teams want to poach players from Shohoku.

Among them, Kogure received the most job offers.

Unfortunately, they were destined to fail.

Last year, Shohoku won the national championship twice, officially establishing its status as the national champion.

The potential shown by the four giants of Shohoku has attracted many well-known university teams, especially Fukasawa University of Physical Education.

Director Kazuo Karasawa often brought Shota Sugiyama to Shohoku to learn from their experience.

The purpose of this trip was ostensibly to learn from others, but in reality, it was to establish a good relationship with the four giants of Shohoku in advance.

Upon learning of Shenze Sports University's actions, other well-known basketball universities also took similar actions.

Not only the four stars of Shohoku, but also other Shohoku players have received attention.

In short, as long as the regular players from Shohoku graduate, they will all have a bright future.

Given this, is there any need for them to transfer schools?
While the world of college basketball was in turmoil, Shohoku remained steadfast, operating at its own unique pace.

Even during winter break, the Shohoku basketball arena remains bustling with activity.

There's no need to elaborate on the four stars of Shohoku, but Shohoku's regular players are afraid of being overtaken by newcomers.

If a player performs poorly, the starting player may be replaced and become a backup player.

As a result, Shohoku began to engage in spontaneous infighting, and their strength continued to improve slowly.

After a round of expansion, the size of the Shohoku basketball arena has increased significantly, enough to accommodate three pairs of basketball hoops.

In addition, hundreds of additional seats have been added.

On the basketball court, Kogure was intently instructing Rukawa on defensive techniques.

"Lower your center of gravity, separate your feet shoulder-width apart, and bend your knees slightly. This will allow you to move quickly and maintain your balance."

Kogure explained how to adjust your position based on your opponent's location to ensure you are always in the best defensive position.

In addition, he reminded Rukawa to always observe his opponent's movements and predict his next move. For example, he should keep his eyes on his opponent's waist and hands, because the movements of these parts can often reveal the opponent's intentions.

Finally, Kogure taught Rukawa the key to the Death Coil technique.

Death Coil doesn't necessarily mean constantly sticking to your opponent; rather, it means using timely interference and pressure to force them into making mistakes.

At the same time, Kogure demonstrated how to extend his arm to harass someone at the right time, but without committing a foul.

After this period of practice, Rukawa's defense has improved a lot and is no longer as unskilled as before.

Throughout the entire process, Rukawa Kaede demonstrated an extremely high level of focus and a strong desire to learn.

He listened attentively to Kogure's instructions and continuously incorporated various defensive techniques into his practice.

Both of them appeared very focused throughout the training session.

Swish~ Bang~ Swish~ Bang~
On the other half of the court, Mitsui is shooting a long-range three-pointer from the center circle.

This is also a kind of practice for Mitsui.

When shooting long three-pointers from the center circle, Mitsui's shooting percentage isn't very high.

After a period of practice, Mitsui's accuracy has reached 50%.

Of course, this is on the premise that there is no one defending against it.

Under the basket, Akagi and Naito were locked in close combat, practicing their positioning skills.

Apart from them, there was no one else in the basketball court at the moment.

It was at this moment that the tightly closed doors of the basketball court were pushed open, and Sakuragi stormed into the court in a huff.

Besides Sakuragi, there's also the Sakuragi Army.

clap~
Sakuragi clapped his hands twice, forcing Kogure and the others to stop training and look at him curiously.

I don't know what happened, but Sakuragi looked very serious.

"Sakuragi, there's no need to make such a fuss!"

At this moment, Yohei Mito offered a word of advice, but was forced to back down by Sakuragi's death stare and had no choice but to give up.

Sakuragi's expression was serious as he solemnly said, "Seniors, you must stand up for me!"

Everyone's hearts tightened, thinking something serious had happened. Kogure quickly asked, "Sakuragi, what happened?"

"Our Sakuragi Army has been defeated by the Monkey Army! You guys have to help me!"

"What, a monkey army?"

Kogure and the others looked at each other, their heads full of question marks.

What kind of monkey army could possibly defeat Sakuragi's army?

It's simply impossible unless it's a monkey army composed of gorillas, a monkey leader, and East African apes.

The problem is that the gorillas are still training here, while the East African ape-men are far away in Akita Prefecture.

However, judging from the appearance of Sakuragi's gang, they don't seem to have been beaten up.

Yohei Mito had to step in and explain: "Senpai, Sakuragi wasn't talking about fighting, he was talking about basketball. Here's what happened..."

After Yohei Mito's explanation, everyone finally understood the reason.

It turned out that Sakuragi's team was playing 3-on-3 at a lively outdoor basketball court.

At the beginning, the team composed of Sakuragi, Mito Yohei, and Oonusu Yuji won a series of victories and dominated the open-air basketball court.

Sakuragi really enjoyed the atmosphere, cheered on by the girls.

If things continue like this, he believes he might be able to find a partner.

Unfortunately, their winning streak was short-lived and quickly came to an end. The one who defeated Sakuragi's army was none other than 'Monkey Boss' Uozumi.

Besides Uozumi, there are two other players who are also junior high school graduates.

Undeterred by his defeat, Sakuragi challenged Uozumi and the others once again.

However, it was all in vain; Sakuragi's team was simply outmatched, and each time they suffered a crushing defeat.

It's not that Sakuragi is bad at the game; he's just being dragged down by his teammates.

Among the Sakuragi Army, only Mito Yohei is quite strong, but his height is a disadvantage.

Apart from Yohei Mito, the three idiots' basketball skills were mediocre at best. Apart from mastering the basic rules of basketball, their skills could be described as a complete mess.

Unfortunately, the opponent was very strong.
Both Uozumi and his two teammates were very strong, and Sakuragi's army was no match for them.

If things had remained at that stage, Sakuragi could have remained calm and wouldn't have made an impulsive decision.

However, in Uozumi's team, a player who was rather short made sharp remarks, believing that he was not only inferior to Rukawa Kaede, but also no match for him.

This hit Sakuragi's sore spot. It's one thing that he's not as good as Rukawa, after all, he's no match for Rukawa.

Aside from Rukawa, Sakuragi is not convinced by anyone. He considers himself the second-best junior high school student in Kanagawa and believes he could replace Rukawa as number one at any time.

At that moment, a flame of indomitable spirit ignited in Sakuragi's heart. He could not bear the feeling of being looked down upon, nor could he allow his opponent's arrogance to prevail.

Therefore, Sakuragi decided to return to Shohoku to seek reinforcements, make up for the deficiencies in the lineup, and defeat the monkey army.

Akagi stroked his chin and asked, "That short player who yelled at Sakuragi wouldn't happen to be Hiroaki Koshino, would it?"

As we all know, off-roading can be quite impulsive.

"They're not from Kotetsu or Ryonan, all I know is that they're junior high school graduates like us."

The Sakuragi Army unanimously shook their heads in denial, as they had a deep impression of Hiroaki Koshino, after all, he was Mitsui's 'twin brother'.

Without shaving his head, Mitsui bears an 80-90% resemblance to Hiroaki Koshino.

"Junior high school graduates!"

Kogure's heart skipped a beat. Since the other party was able to defeat Sakuragi's army, it meant that they were very strong, and there were definitely not many suitable candidates.

"We're all a bit tired from training, let's go together and relax a bit!"

Mitsui shook his slightly sore wrist and showed an interested expression.

At his suggestion, everyone agreed.

Training is too monotonous, so they occasionally take breaks, such as fishing, playing video games, or playing pachinko.

Led by Sakuragi's gang, the group soon arrived at an open-air basketball court in the bustling city.

At this time, there were many spectators surrounding the basketball court, and they would occasionally cheer.

Among them were many vibrant young girls, all wearing the school uniform of Wako Junior High School.

No wonder Sakuragi cares so much!

Among the group of girls, Kogure also spotted Shimamura Yoko.

At this moment, Yoko Shimamura was sitting quietly in a chair, seemingly out of place with her surroundings.

"They're here again!"

As Sakuragi's army appeared, many onlookers began to point and whisper.

It was at this moment that Kogure and the others finally appeared.

"Hey, that's Kiminobu Kogure!"

"Wow, Mumu Gongyan is alive!"

"He's so handsome, I want to have his babies!"

……

The appearance of Kogure and his group naturally drew enthusiastic responses from the onlookers.

After all, Kogure is the top high school student in the country and the pride of Kanagawa.

It was under Kogure's leadership that Kanagawa was able to lift the Winter Championship trophy on its home turf.

As for Coach Anzai?

He was hospitalized at the time!

At this moment, everyone's eyes fell on Kogure.

This includes Yoko Shimamura.

After arriving at the edge of the outdoor basketball court, Kogure began to observe.

At this moment, a new match is taking place on the outdoor basketball court.

Besides Uozumi, he also has two teammates, one tall and one short.

The short player isn't actually short, he's close to 1.8 meters tall, but he appears a bit short next to his two tall teammates.

As for Uozumi's other teammate, he is about 1.9 meters tall, and what is most impressive about him is his black and yellow bangs.

"No wonder Sakuragi calls them the Monkey Army!"

Kogure couldn't help but make a comment.

The reason is simple: Uozumi's two teammates are Kiyota Nobunaga and Nango Koichiro.

This really is a monkey army!

To everyone's surprise, these two monkeys ended up following the leader of the monkeys.

No wonder he's the monkey leader; he was born with the talent to lead the monkey troop!

Thinking of this, Kogure couldn't help but glance at Akagi.

Both of you were born in the Year of the Monkey, but aside from the mutual respect between us, you're not as powerful as the Monkey King!
You should know that Sakuragi, the "red-haired monkey," was personally recruited by him!
Judging from the current trend, Kiyota Nobunaga and Nango Koichiro are likely to choose to join Ryonan.

In this way, Ryonan's strength will be further increased.

Among them, Koichiro Nango effectively filled the gap in the power forward position.

Kiyota Nobunaga further strengthened his substitute lineup.

From this perspective, Ryonan will no longer have any weaknesses.

I have to say, Coach Taoka is really awesome!

Of course, this is also closely related to Ryonan becoming the runner-up in the Winter Tournament.

It was precisely because Ryonan had enough influence that Kiyota Nobunaga and Nango Koichiro chose to join the Ryonan team.

Soon, the monkey army easily defeated their opponents.

Just then, Uozumi finally spotted Kogure and the others and immediately went to greet them.

Before Uozumi could speak, Kiyota Nobunaga, hands on his hips, pointed at Sakuragi and arrogantly said, "Red-haired monkey, here you are again. Looks like you've gone to get reinforcements. Let me tell you, no one can help you..."

Upon seeing Kogure and the others, Kiyota Nobunaga seemed to have his throat stuck, completely dumbfounded and unable to utter a single word.

Even the usually thick-skinned Koichiro Nango showed a look of utter horror at this moment.

This isn't just reinforcements, this is a dream team!
Kogure waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I won't be playing!"

"me too!"

Mitsui glanced at Kiyota Nobunaga and Nango Koichiro, then immediately lost interest.

He might be interested in the path of the immortals, but a junior high school graduate is out of the question.

"Akagi, you and Uozumi have a good talk! Rukawa, you're also a middle school graduate, join us and let me see what you've accomplished lately!"

At Kogure's suggestion, the combination of Akagi, Sakuragi, and Rukawa was quickly formed.

(End of this chapter)