Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 364 A Reprimand of Sakuragi
Sakuragi and Rukawa visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon learning that the third-year players would not be playing.

Even though they were confident in their abilities, they weren't arrogant enough to challenge third-year players.

"Definitely win!"

Sakuragi was full of confidence, believing that with his strength, he was capable of leading the team to victory in this match.

"You big idiot!"

Rukawa spread his hands, and unlike Sakuragi, he did not underestimate his opponent; instead, he was filled with seriousness.

Although Shohoku's second-year roster is clearly inferior to that of the third-year students, they have Tetsuya Naito leading the charge.

With Shohoku winning the national double championship, Naito was selected for the All-Star team.

Therefore, Naito became recognized as the nation's number one power forward.

This is also related to the scarcity of excellent power forwards; only Mikoshiba and Kishimoto are truly outstanding.

Besides Naito, there are also excellent players such as Miyagi and the Tsurumi brothers.

This means that the second-year roster is not only not weak, but actually very strong.

Furthermore, the first-year players showed absolutely no teamwork, and Sakuragi and Rukawa were formidable rivals.

"As for the lineup, I won't interfere; you can decide for yourselves!"

As soon as Mu Mu finished speaking, the players from both sides began to discuss among themselves.

Unlike their first year, the second-year players have a good understanding of each other's abilities.

The starting lineup was finalized in the second year without much time.

Center: Tetsuya Naito
Ohmae:Satoru Tsunoda

Komae: Tsurumi Seiji
Shooting Guard: Keiji Tsurumi
Point Guard: Ryota Miyagi
This is the best lineup they can field.

The reason why Kakuta was able to become a starter was not because of his strength, but because most of the second-year players were short.

Apart from Naito, Emperor Kakuta is already the highest.

In addition, Emperor Kakuta is widely recognized as the lucky charm of Shohoku.

This nickname comes from Kogure!

Any match that Kakuta Dai-ichi participates in is guaranteed to be won!

After the starting lineup was determined, the second-year players began to discuss tactics.

Unsurprisingly, the second-year roster decided to play a one-star, four-shooter strategy.

This was exactly what Kogure expected!

In the second-year roster, Naito possesses strong dominance in the paint, while the other four players also have shooting ability.

One star and four shooters is definitely the most suitable tactic for second-year lineups.

The second-year starting players began to enter the field one after another to warm up.

On the other side of the field, the first-year players were still enthusiastically discussing the starting lineup.

For first-year players, this is not just a competition, but also an opportunity to showcase their talent.

Each of them harbors a dream of becoming a starting player.

If they perform well on the field, they may have a chance to become regular starters.

In this atmosphere, no one was willing to give up easily, and everyone wanted to compete for a starting spot.

However, three players have already secured their starting positions: Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi, and Mito Yohei.

There's no way around it; their strength and record speak for themselves, and the other first-year players simply don't have the qualifications to compete with them.

"This is a headache!"

Kogure shook his head.

Even Kogure finds the problem children of Shohoku a headache.

However, the thought of going to America after this semester made Kogure feel much more relaxed.

In this situation, Kogure had no choice but to walk up to the first-year players.

"To avoid wasting your time, I'll make the decision!"

At that moment, the first-year players held their breath, nervously awaiting Kogure's announcement.

Whether or not a player can become a starter can determine their status in the team and increase their chances of becoming a regular starter.

"Mito Yohei, Ishii Kentaro, Sasaka Satoshi, Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

Kogure made this choice simply because both Kentaro Ishii and Tomo Sasaoka have appeared in Slam Dunk.

Therefore, he would rather give them more opportunities!
"Yes, Captain!"

Kentaro Ishii and Satoshi Sasaoka exchanged a glance, then broke into ecstatic smiles.

As for the other first-year players whose names weren't called, all that can be done is to sigh with regret.

"Players whose names aren't called should also be ready to come on at any time!"

Kogure then offered a timely word of comfort.

All of these players will get playing time in this internal scrimmage.

Whether they can become starters depends on their performance and potential.

Therefore, Kogure would rather organize more matches.

After the starting lineups were finalized, both sides began the match.

The referee was Mitsui, whose professionalism was beyond question.

He is also Shohoku's second-best referee after Kakuta.

Before the match began, Kimo walked slowly toward Naito.

"Naito, give Sakuragi a good talking-to!"

Naito was slightly taken aback, then understood Mokumo's intention.

Given Sakuragi's personality, he needs to be constantly disciplined, otherwise he'll cause who knows how much trouble he'll get into.

Simply put, Sakuragi is like a wild horse that has broken free of its reins; someone needs to constantly pull him back to ensure he doesn't stray from the right path.

"You need to make him understand that teamwork is more important than individual heroism."

"I know, Captain!"

Naito nodded resolutely, his shiny bald head gleaming under the light.

Mumu nodded in satisfaction, then turned and left.

Soon, the competition officially began.

In an instant, Mitsui threw the ball into the sky.

"drink!"

During the jump ball, Naito and Sakuragi shouted in unison and jumped up almost simultaneously.

bang~
Sakuragi has a better jumping ability, but Naito's jumping ability is not bad either, and he also has a certain height advantage.

The two players slammed their hands onto the basketball, engaging in a struggle in the air.

Sakuragi's strength was considerable, but unfortunately, he encountered Naito.

Naito weighed nearly 20 kilograms more than him, and even more than Morishige Hiroshi.

Thus, Naito outmaneuvered Sakuragi and won the jump ball.

Miyagi immediately dribbled the ball and rushed towards the frontcourt.

As soon as Miyagi crossed the three-point line, Yohei immediately went to meet him.

Despite being a small player, his speed and explosiveness are not much inferior to Miyagi's.

You can ask Mitsui about this.

The scenes in the story where Yohei beats up Mitsui and defends against Tetsuo's attacks demonstrate this.

Whether it's speed, explosiveness, or flexibility, Yohei is at the top level in all of them.

No matter what, he was second only to Sakuragi in status within the Sakuragi Army, so he still had a lot of prestige.

Just like when Tokuo Horita introduced the Sakuragi Army, only Sakuragi and Yohei had names, while the other three were called "etc."

"There's a good show to watch!"

Seeing this, Kogure, who was sitting on the bench, smiled slightly.

After he leaves, the most qualified candidates to compete for the starting point guard position are Miyagi and Yohei.

Mitsui could also compete, but he probably won't, since he's already a third-year student.

On the field, Yohei and Miyagi were separated by a step.

Defend against both assaults and throws!
Compared to last year, Miyagi has made great progress and has learned to shoot spot-up three-pointers.

However, Miyagi's greatest strength lies in his ability to break through defenses and organize attacks.

Faced with Yohei's defense, Miyagi decided to test his strength.

So, Miyagi chose to dribble and break through Yohei's defense, attempting to use his amazing speed. "So fast, but I'm not slow either!"

Yohei had clearly prepared for Miyagi's speed in advance, after all, he often trained at Shohoku and was familiar with Miyagi's characteristics.

However, this was the first time the two had faced off.

Thanks to his excellent reflexes, Yohei quickly responded.

In SD, Yohei Mito is arguably one of the fastest in terms of reaction speed.

Yohei quickly moved to the side, blocking Miyagi's path of breakthrough.

Gongcheng was slightly taken aback, but his hands moved quickly, changing direction to break through.

However, Yohei's speed and explosiveness were not much inferior to Miyagi's, effectively blocking his breakthrough route.

"I didn't expect Yohei's defense to be so good!"

On the sidelines, Mitsui marveled.

Kogure rested his chin on his hand and muttered to himself, "This might be related to fighting too much!"

Like Sakuragi, Yohei Mito was also a veteran of many battles.

In addition, it is also related to the fact that Miyagi's intention to break through was too obvious.

Miyagi's breakthroughs are mostly straightforward, relying mainly on speed.

Once he encounters an opponent whose speed is comparable to his, he will inevitably be limited.

In the matches between Shohoku and Tsukubu, Miyagi suffered several defeats at the hands of Hiroshi Natsume.

Left with no other option, Miyagi stopped probing and immediately passed the ball to Naito, who was positioned in a low position.

While holding Naito down on his lower back, Sakuragi shouted, "Come on, bald guy, I'm going to beat you!"

Baldy!
Naito paused for a moment, then his face fell.

I never imagined that I would follow in the footsteps of Akagi, Mitsui, and Rukawa.

Among the well-known players of Shohoku, only Kogure was an exception.

The reason Sakuragi didn't give Kogure a nickname is because he was very grateful to Kogure.

In addition, it was also related to the fact that Kimoku took off his glasses, otherwise he might have been nicknamed "Four-Eyes" by Sakuragi.

"Kid, I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Naito was furious and decided to go all out.

Naito grips the ball with both hands, activating his back-to-the-basket style.

His back-to-the-basket one-on-one style was taught by Kogure and Akagi, and in just over a year, he has reached a level of proficiency.

In Kogure's view, it's roughly equivalent to a level 3 skill.

In the high school league, LV3 is not low, and coupled with Naito's exaggerated physical abilities, he is almost unstoppable.

This includes Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Sakuragi Hanamichi tried his best, even lowering his center of gravity, but he still couldn't stop himself from falling backward.

In terms of strength, Tetsuya Naito is definitely the pinnacle of Slam Dunk.

bang~
After knocking Sakuragi back once again, Naito quickly turned around and brushed past him.

"hateful!"

Sakuragi quickly turned around and chased after Naito, wanting to deliver a chase-down block.

The next moment, Naito leaped up and dunked with both hands.

Almost at the same time, Sakuragi also jumped up from the side, slapping the basketball with his right hand.

The moment he touched the basketball, Sakuragi's lips curled up slightly.

However, his expression froze instantly.

Sakuragi realized that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake the basketball in Naito's hands.

The basketball seemed to be held in place, barely moving.

The next moment, the two collided.

"Wow!"

Sakuragi leaned back and was knocked straight out of bounds by Naito.

beep~
At the same time, Mitsui immediately sounded the whistle!
Bang~
With a loud thud, Naito completed a two-handed dunk, even slamming the rim down to a considerable degree, a truly astonishing sight.

Naito released the basket, landed on the ground, and looked down at Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"Kid, you're still too green to beat me!"

Naito was still furious about the nickname Sakuragi had given him.

"hateful!"

Sakuragi jumped up from the ground as if nothing had happened, his eyes wide with rage, his gaze murderous.

As for where he learned his killer gaze technique, you'd have to ask Miyagi.

Just like in the original story, Sakuragi and Miyagi became close friends in just three days.

During their conversation, Miyagi inadvertently mentioned the "killing with eyes" technique.

This was something Miyagi heard from Akagi, but he hadn't tried it yet to see if it would work.

Naito couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by Sakuragi's murderous gaze.

At the crucial moment, Yohei stepped between the two.

"Sakuragi, calm down. You don't want to be ejected from the game, do you?"

After being persuaded by Yohei Mito, Sakuragi instantly returned to normal.

He didn't want to be ejected from the game again; that would be too embarrassing.

In the prefectural junior high school tournament, Sakuragi still couldn't escape the fate of being ejected due to five fouls in the first few games.

He didn't want to experience that feeling again.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi committed a blocking foul, Naito gets an extra free throw!"

At this point, Mitsui immediately announced the ruling.

Sakuragi had no choice but to raise his right hand to accept the punishment, since he hadn't been able to stand properly earlier.

This time, Sakuragi really lost everything, not only was he in pain from the impact, but he also committed a foul.

shuh~
At the free-throw line, Naito calmly sank the free throw.

Naito is very talented in free throws, and his free throw percentage has consistently ranked among the top five in the team.

Soon, the first-year students launched their attack.

"Yohei, over here!"

As soon as Yohei Mito dribbled the ball past half-court, he saw Sakuragi leaning against Naito, actively asking for the ball.

"This guy!"

Yohei Mito didn't know what to say, but out of trust in Sakuragi, he decided to pass the ball to him.

Miyagi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately prepared to intercept.

Unfortunately, Yohei's performance was quite composed.

After using a passing fake to get past Miyagi, Yohei immediately drove to the basket.

Miyagi quickly turned around and gave chase, catching up with the pursuer.

At the same time, Emperor Kakuta stepped forward, preparing to join forces with Miyagi to encircle Yohei.

Quietly, at that moment, Yohei casually tossed the ball toward the basket.

Bang~

Rukawa leaped high into the air, executing an alley-oop, catching the basketball and slamming it into the basket.

Sakuragi was dumbfounded after Rukawa completed the alleyway.

His brother actually passed the ball to the fox! How outrageous!
"Damn it, Yohei, how could you pass the ball to the fox!"

Sakuragi walked toward Yohei with his feet turned outwards, clearly not in a good mood.

Sakuragi's actions reminded Mokumo of a 'crab'.

"Sakuragi, you're not in a good position. I'm not comfortable passing the ball to you."

Yohei didn't say one thing: Sakuragi is prone to acting impulsively.

If you pass the ball to him, it will most likely be disrupted.

At this time, Sakuragi had not yet experienced many setbacks, and his mentality had not changed much.

"I understand. Next time I'll ask for the ball in my best position, so please remember to pass it to me."

Sakuragi couldn't refute it; even he himself thought Yohei was right.

The spot where he asked for the ball was too far from the basket; it was definitely not his comfort zone.

(End of this chapter)