Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 366 The Legend of Shohoku's White Fang

Pfft~ Cough cough~
Yohei, standing nearby, coughed again, his cough becoming even more violent.

He felt like his ears were broken, and Sakuragi actually thanked Rukawa.

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
This isn't the Sakuragi he knows!
"You're welcome!"

Rukawa Kaede was slightly taken aback, then waved his hand and sat down to recover his strength.

As for tactical arrangements, the first-year players are not familiar with each other, so even if tactics are arranged, there is no coordination whatsoever.

Ten minutes later, the second half finally began.

During the jump ball, Mitsui, acting as the referee, tossed the ball high into the air.

The moment the basketball began to fall, Sakuragi, with his sharp reflexes and excellent jumping ability, slapped the ball to Yohei first.

After receiving the ball, Yohei dribbled across half-court and waited for his teammates to get into position.

Miyagi once again opted for close defense, but Yohei was prepared. He steadily controlled the basketball, not giving his opponent any opportunity to exploit.

Sakuragi quickly positioned himself in a low position, trapping Naito behind him.

As agreed beforehand, Yohei immediately passed the ball over.

He didn't want to get hammered by Sakuragi; that would be too unpleasant.

Despite Naito's tight defense, Sakuragi remained unfazed and initiated a back-to-the-basket attack.

Sakuragi's back-to-the-basket post-up technique was also learned from Kimo and Akagi.

Before the advent of the small-ball era, post-up play was the most important skill for interior players.

In the era of small-ball, centers have to run to the perimeter to shoot three-pointers...

Sakuragi began to tentatively back down Naito, trying to find an opportunity to break through.

Naito remained completely still, which made Sakuragi feel some pressure and discomfort.

Sakuragi's weight disadvantage put him at a disadvantage.

Without hesitation, Sakuragi swayed his shoulders and made a move to turn and break through to the left.

Naito instinctively shifted his feet, trying to block Sakuragi.

Sensing Naito's change in position from behind, Sakuragi reacted quickly, turning and breaking through on the right.

This series of movements was incredibly smooth and fluid; Sakuragi successfully broke through Naito's defense and drove straight to the basket.

Naito wanted to turn around and chase, but Sakuragi was too fast. He could only watch helplessly as Sakuragi jumped just inside the free throw line and unleashed a breathtaking tomahawk dunk.

Bang~
Under Sakuragi's fierce impact, the basketball hoop trembled violently, groaning under the strain.

Looking at Sakuragi's retreating figure, Naito felt no frustration.

In the first half, Sakuragi also scored a few points with his back-to-the-basket moves, but his efficiency was not as good as Sakuragi's.

Offense and defense reversed!

Naito had just crossed the halfway line when he was surprised to find Sakuragi clinging to him.

Sakuragi never did that in the first half.

Naito didn't take Sakuragi's unusual behavior to heart, because he felt that Captain Mokumo was right when he said that in the face of absolute strength, everything else is insignificant.

Unfortunately, Naito is not like Mokumo; he still has his flaws.

Naito had been playing basketball for almost as long as Sakuragi, and he also had some problems with rugby.

Both are exceptionally talented players, but in terms of learning ability, Sakuragi is superior to Naito.

The difference is that Naito has experienced national-level competitions and has far more competition experience than Sakuragi.

At this moment, Miyagi dribbled the ball past midfield.

He subconsciously looked in Naito's direction, only to find that Sakuragi was blocking the passing lane between him and Naito.

Fronting defense is often used to limit players with strong one-on-one abilities, such as power forwards and centers. Defenders need to have agile footwork and explosiveness, and adopt a close-marking approach to the receiver.

In the future, Yao Ming's relatively slow movement speed made him a key target for fronting defense, which was also related to the Rockets' lack of an excellent point guard.

As is well known, the Mosaic team has always been known for its 'simplicity'.

The Houston Rockets have paid the lowest luxury tax in NBA history.

Over its 58-year history, it has paid a total of $530 million in luxury taxes.

What is this concept?
The highest luxury tax in NBA history for a single season was paid by the Phoenix Suns, who paid a staggering $1.89 million in luxury tax during the 23-24 season alone.

Next up is the 21-22 Warriors, with a luxury tax of $1.7 million in a single season.

The luxury tax paid by the Mosaic team over 58 years is less than a fraction of the luxury tax paid by these two teams in a single season.

This reminded Mumu of the famous NBA "Hell Joke".

First line: Big transactions every month.

The second line reads: "Champion every year."

Horizontal scroll: Don't mess with me!
Guess an NBA team. If you guess right, I'll eat my words.
During Yao Ming's peak years, the Rockets had very ambitious goals, with General Manager Morey always aiming for the championship.

Unfortunately, they are eliminated in the first round every year, which is very disappointing for fans.

I just don't understand, where does his confidence come from?
Such a terrible roster was patched up piece by piece, with almost all the reinforcements being very cheap players.

In this situation, no matter who is the coach, they can only push the main players to their limits in order to improve the team's performance.

This is why the Mosaic team has only paid a mere 530 million in luxury tax in its 58-year history.

Mo Gou and Alexander are inhuman!
The Alexander mentioned here does not refer to 'Free Throw FMVP' Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but rather to Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.

On the field, Naito discovered Sakuragi's plan and began to move quickly.

However, thanks to Sakuragi's speed and agility, he managed to prevent Naito from finding an opportunity to receive the ball.

After waiting for a while and finding that Naito had no opportunity, Miyagi passed the ball to Tsurumi Seiji.

The moment they received the ball, the two brothers dribbled it back and forth.

The Tsurumi brothers' level of teamwork is astonishing, easily leaving their respective opponents in their positions.

Seeing that things were going badly, Rukawa Kaede quickly made a response, ignoring Kakuta Taisuke and appearing under the basket first.

Facing Rukawa Kaede as their last barrier, the Tsurumi brothers jumped simultaneously, passing the ball in mid-air and shooting.

shuh~
The basketball swished through the net, creating a splash.

Rukawa Kaede landed on the ground, staring at the twin brothers with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.

The Tsurumi brothers are not particularly strong individually; at best, they are at the level of substitutes for key players on strong teams.

However, the two seemed to be of one mind, and their cooperation could be described as seamless.

Even someone as strong as Rukawa Kaede can't find a solution for the time being.

When it was the first-year students' turn to attack, Rukawa Kaede began to increase the intensity of his movement.

Compared to Sakuragi, Rukawa is clearly more efficient.

The reason is simple: Rukawa's opponent is Emperor Kakuta, while Sakuragi is matched up against Naito.

Rukawa Kaede easily shook off Kakuta Daisuke, and Yohei passed the ball at the right time.

"not good!"

Without hesitation, Naito, who was closest to Rukawa, pounced on him at top speed.

However, when Naito rushed up to Rukawa, he was surprised to find that Rukawa did not have a ball in his hand.

Bang~
A loud thud came from behind. Naito turned around and saw Sakuragi hanging from the rim with one hand.

"When did this guy pass the ball?"

Naito scratched the smooth back of his head, completely baffled.

On the other side, Sakuragi landed on the ground and looked at Rukawa in surprise.

To everyone's surprise, Rukawa Kaede would actually pass the ball to him!
Sakuragi's mouth moved, but he didn't know what to say.

"Get back to defend immediately!"

Reminded by Rukawa, Sakuragi didn't think twice and quickly turned around to defend.

Soon, Naito rushed to the front field with his head down.

Sakuragi clung to Naito again, not giving him a chance to receive the ball.

"Bald guy, now you know how powerful I am!"

Sakuragi got a little carried away and showed his signature 'Mouri smile'.

"The same tricks won't work on me!" "Stop talking big, do you think you're a Saint Seiya?"

Sakuragi couldn't help but make a comment.

Saint Seiya is a manga series that began serialization in 1985 and ended in 1990.

Slam Dunk was serialized in 1990.

Therefore, it's understandable that Sakuragi had watched Saint Seiya.

Naito didn't say anything and started moving quickly to his position.

Sakuragi kept close behind, never forgetting to cut off the passing lanes between Miyagi and Naito.

Unfortunately, Naito is not Yao Ming; he has excellent speed and explosiveness.

Even though Sakuragi was focused, Naito still managed to seize the opportunity.

Upon spotting the opportunity, Miyagi immediately passed the ball.

Miyagi is at a top level in both overall game awareness and timing of passes.

Naito caught the ball perfectly, and Sakuragi immediately lunged at him.

After receiving the ball, Naito slightly raised both hands.

Sakuragi immediately jumped up, and Naito revealed a triumphant expression, preparing to gather the ball and break through.

Then, something unexpected happened.

Sakuragi couldn't stop himself and pounced on Naito.

bang~
With the force of the impact, Naito was knocked to the ground by Sakuragi.

Beep~
Mitsui blows the whistle again!

"Damn it, did you do it on purpose or by accident?"

Naito abruptly pushed away Sakuragi, who was pressing down on him, and touched his nose, finding his hand covered in blood.

Upon seeing that Naito was bleeding from the impact, Sakuragi quickly explained, "Um, I definitely didn't mean to."

"never mind!"

Naito waved his hand and then walked off the field.

Soon, thanks to Ayako's skillful handling, Naito stopped the bleeding and returned to the game.

Intra-team scrimmages are different from regular matches; they can be paused at any time.

After Naito entered the game, the match resumed.

Swish~ Swish~
At the free-throw line, Naito displayed a soft touch and good mental fortitude, making both free throws.

When it was the first-year team's turn to attack, Rukawa Kaede once again shook off Kakuta Dai-ichi with his off-ball movement and appeared outside the three-point line in the right corner.

Yohei passed the ball to Rukawa, who caught it and shot, scoring again.

shuh~
The basketball goes hollow into the net.

However, seeing Mitsui's two outstretched fingers, Rukawa stopped in his tracks.

"I shot a three-pointer, how come it only scored two points?"

You just crossed the line!

Mitsui spoke with certainty.

"I don't!"

Rukawa Kaede argued his case logically.

“I saw it clearly just now, you did step on the line, there are still your footprints on it.”

Mitsui pointed to the spot where Rukawa had jumped to shoot, and sure enough, there was a blurry footprint there.

Although the footprints were very blurry, they were still discernible.

Rukawa Kaede observed carefully and found that he had stepped on the three-point line by a tiny bit, no more than one centimeter.

Seeing this, Rukawa Kaede had nothing to say.

Mitsui wore a smug smile, because he had finally won a game!

He always remembered the time when he faced Rukawa Kaede one-on-one, when he shot a three-pointer, but Rukawa insisted that he had stepped out of bounds, which left a deep impression on him.

Now it's Rukawa's turn, and the key is that he's even found evidence.

Thinking of this, Mitsui became even happier, revealing his two front teeth.

Under the light, the two large front teeth gleamed.

Because of the wooden curtain, Mitsui's front teeth did not fall out; they remained in their original state.

Seeing Mitsui's gleaming front teeth, Tsurumi Seiji couldn't help but exclaim, "Mitsui-senpai truly lives up to his nickname 'Shohoku's White Teeth,' his teeth are really white!"

Keiji Tsurumi nodded in agreement: "Rumor has it that he also has a Thousand Years of Death technique, and he'll even smell his fingers after using it!"

The first- and second-year players nearby all looked shocked.

Is it true or false?

Sakuragi, in particular, looked surprised, as if asking, "Are you sure it's not me?"
You should know that he used the Thousand Year Kill on Coach Gao Tou, and actually smelled it.

It actually smelled pretty bad, probably because it was too deep inside.

"You two, where did you hear these rumors to ruin my reputation?"

Mitsui panicked; he valued his reputation highly.

"No spreading rumors, no believing rumors, no spreading rumors. Do you all understand?"

Mitsui then issued another warning to the players who were watching.

"understand!"

Mitsui is the vice-captain, and they are really afraid of being targeted by the other side, especially since Mitsui is also serving as a referee.

"If I find out who came up with this nickname, I'll teach them a lesson."

Mitsui stomped his foot hard, clearly not in a good mood.

The next moment, Mitsui's gaze fixed on Sakuragi.

He clapped his hands and muttered to himself, "It must be Sakuragi, that's right, it's definitely the nickname he came up with!"

If you don't know who gave him the nickname, it must be Sakuragi!

This is just like Danzo in Naruto!
There's no way around it, Sakuragi likes to give people nicknames everywhere, such as Gorilla, Boss Monkey, Middle-aged Man, Substitute, Fox, and so on.

In short, anything related to a nickname can be used to pin a mark on Sakuragi.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi, just wait until after the game, I'll make sure he doesn't get away with this!"

Mitsui muttered to himself.

However, this time Sakuragi was truly wronged.

Because the instigator was sitting on the bench, commenting on the players on the field with Akagi.

Soon, the second-year team launched another attack.

Naito bypassed Sakuragi in the same way and received Miyagi's pass again.

This time, Sakuragi didn't have time to defend and it looked like Naito was about to score.

slap~
Just as Naito was about to jump, suddenly, a large hand emerged from the side and swatted the ball away with a sweeping motion.

Bang~
Naito leaped up and instinctively grabbed the rim, only to dunk in vain.

Rukawa Kaede!
That's right, it was Rukawa Kaede who made the steal.

While Naito was still hanging on the rim, Rukawa immediately grabbed the basketball and launched a fast break.

The first-year players rushed forward, and even though Naito immediately let go of the rim and landed on the ground, he still fell behind.

Sakuragi took the lead and rushed across the halfway line first.

Emperor Kakuta tried to stop Rukawa Kaede, but Rukawa Kaede easily broke through his defenses.

Seeing that things were going badly, Miyagi rushed forward, trying to slow Rukawa down.

Before Miyagi could come up, Rukawa swung the basketball with all his might.

The basketball hurtled towards the front court like an arrow released from a bow.

Bang~
Sakuragi leaped up, caught the ball, and slammed it down with both hands.

(End of this chapter)