Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 368 Underworld Scene

Five days later, on a sunny morning, the entrance to Xiangbei High School was unusually lively.

A group of Shohoku players, dressed in sportswear, are orderly boarding a brand-new bus.

This bus is spacious and bright, with a luxurious interior, and it was obviously purchased recently.

Some time ago, the school's leadership listened to Moku's suggestion and purchased this bus for the Shohoku team.

This is also an affirmation and reward for the outstanding achievements of the Shohoku team.

This bus can provide convenience for the Shohoku team and save the players some wear and tear.

The players boarded the bus one after another, and the faces of the first-year players were filled with anticipation and excitement.

Soon, the bus slowly started moving and headed towards its destination.

Their destination this time was Ryonan High School.

Every year at this time, the two teams hold a friendly match, which is also an opportunity for the two basketball teams to exchange skills and hone their abilities.

Normally, it's the Ryonan team that takes the initiative to visit the Shohoku team.

Because Shohoku is stronger and Coach Anzai is more experienced.

This year is different from the previous two years; this time, Coach Anzai took the initiative to contact Coach Taoka.

We can't have Ryonan visiting Shohoku every time, that would be too much of a hassle.

In addition, most of the Shohoku players have never been to Ryonan High School and want to visit it.

bang~
On the bus, Ayako and Yoko placed a bundle of jerseys on their seats.

Mokumo stood up and shouted, "Let's begin distributing the jerseys!"

As soon as Mu Mu finished speaking, the air inside the bus seemed to freeze.

Among them, the freshmen's eyes were filled with tension and anticipation, praying that their names would be called.

During this period, these new recruits underwent countless training sessions and selections, and everyone longed to wear the jersey that symbolized their status as regular players.

"Rukawa Kaede, jersey number 10!"

At the call of the wooden gate, Rukawa Kaede stood up and took the number 10 jersey from the wooden gate.

Not far away, Sakuragi stood with his arms crossed, looking somewhat displeased.

Although his relationship with Rukawa Kaede has improved a lot compared to before, he still doesn't think he's inferior to Rukawa Kaede.

Anyone has a chance to get the number 10 jersey, so why not me?
"Sakuragi Hanamichi, jersey number 11!"

As for why Mokumo gave the number 11 jersey to Sakuragi, it was mainly because of his mischievous nature.

It's unclear whether Sakuragi will try to steal Rukawa's jersey like he did in the original story.

"Why is Rukawa Kaede's number above mine!"
Sakuragi reluctantly accepted the jersey, but a thought struck him when he noticed Rukawa standing to the side.

"Bring it to you!"

Sakuragi snatched the number 10 jersey from Rukawa's hand as fast as he could, and then shoved the number 11 jersey into Rukawa's hands.

"Rukawa Kaede, I think number 11 suits you better, hahaha!"

Sakuragi laughed heartily and hugged the number 10 jersey tightly.

"You big idiot!"

To Sakuragi's surprise, Rukawa was not angry at all; in fact, he even showed a rare smile.

Seeing Rukawa carefully putting away his number 11 jersey, even the simple-minded Sakuragi sensed something was wrong.

"Akagi, I won! As promised, you have to bring me breakfast for a month!"

It was at this moment that Mitsui's voice rang out.

"Damn it, I lost again!"

Akagi stared at Sakuragi with a grim face.

If looks could kill, Sakuragi would have been torn to pieces long ago.

Completely baffled, Sakuragi quickly asked Mitsui, "Mitsui, what's going on?"

"You big idiot, do you even know what the number 11 jersey means to Shohoku?"

Mitsui shook his right index finger and stared at Sakuragi with an expression as if he were an idiot.

"What's the point?"

"Don't you think this number looks familiar?"

Mitsui grinned mischievously.

Sakuragi rested his chin on his hand, thinking hard, but he just couldn't remember.

Because he never remembered the jersey number!
"Mistress, stop with the riddles."

"Idiot, I've worn this jersey before, and so has Mukumi. Now you know what it means!"

Mitsui didn't say something: the number 11 jersey symbolizes a handsome guy.

In addition, the fact that Kimoku is now the team captain and Mitsui is the team vice-captain gives this jersey a special meaning.

In a way, the number 11 jersey represents the future captain of the Shohoku team!

This is what inheritance is all about!
After learning the significance of the number 11 jersey, Sakuragi suddenly felt that the number 10 jersey was no longer appealing.

Sakuragi immediately went to Rukawa.

"Rukawa Kaede, I was just joking. I'll give your number 10 jersey back!"

"do not want!"

Rukawa turned his head away, clutching the jersey tightly in his hands to avoid being snatched by Sakuragi.

He wants to follow in Muk's footsteps, so naturally he can't give up the number 11 jersey.

"Rukawa Kaede, are you going to change or not?"

Seeing that Rukawa wouldn't change his mind, Sakuragi wanted to take action.

However, Rukawa Kaede desperately protected his jersey.

For a time, Sakuragi was unable to succeed.

During the struggle, Sakuragi almost elbowed Akagi in the foot.

"asshole!"

Akagi stood up angrily and delivered a punch that seemed to come crashing down on Sakuragi's forehead.

thump~
Without a doubt, this is a good start!
"it hurts!"

Sakuragi crouched on the ground, clutching his head in anguish, too angry to utter a word.

In the Shohoku team, his biggest fear was Akagi.

"Alright, the jersey number is decided."

As a specialty of Shohoku, candy, Mokumo once again acted as a peacemaker.

"My jersey..."

Sakuragi was speechless and had no choice but to swallow this bitter pill.

"This is a headache!"

Standing to the side, Yohei Mito couldn't help but shake his head.

Sakuragi brought this upon himself, but this time he finally suffered a great loss.

After the interlude, the wooden curtain continued distributing jerseys.

At this moment, the atmosphere among the other freshmen became noticeably tense, filled with both anxiety and hope.

Because there's only one jersey left!
"Mito Yohei, number 15!"

Soon, the last jersey was handed out.

The freshmen who had not yet been called were struck dumb and filled with disappointment.

This means they can only be reserve players for the time being.

Yohei Mito excitedly accepted the jersey and hugged it tightly to his chest.

From this moment on, he will officially become a member of the Shohoku basketball team.

The following are the Shohoku team jerseys/players.
Number 4, wooden curtain
No. 5, Mitsui
No. 6, Akagi
No. 7, Nobuhiko Okamoto
No. 8, Yamamoto Bear

No. 9, Naito
Number 10, Sakuragi
Number 11, Rukawa Kaede

Number 12, Miyagi
Number 13, Tsurumi Seiji
No. 14, Keiji Tsurumi
No. 15, Mito Yohei
Only two players from the previous graduating class were selected as starters.

The reason three spots were left vacant was mainly because Emperor Kakuta felt he was not strong enough and voluntarily gave up his spot.

Even so, Kakuta's status in the team did not decline much.

Because he remains Shohoku's chief referee, masseur, and mascot.

Seeing the disappointed looks in the eyes of the freshmen who had not yet been selected, Mu Mu sighed softly.

To comfort the disheartened freshmen, Mumu said, "Players who haven't been selected yet, please don't give up hope. Opportunity favors the prepared. As long as you train hard and keep improving, you will still have a chance to become regular players in the future."

Kogure was also helpless, because there were only 12 jerseys in total. Even if Kakuta voluntarily withdrew, it would only free up three starting spots.

At the same time, he was also conveying a message to them.

Even if they are not a regular starter now, they still have a chance to win a starting position if they perform well in the upcoming training and friendly matches.

At the signal from the wooden gate, Mitsui, as the vice-captain, also stood up and began to encourage the team.

"In sports competitions, some people may not stand out at the beginning, but through unremitting efforts and perseverance, they are eventually able to surpass those who start from a higher point."

Mitsui encouraged the new students to maintain a positive attitude and not give up because of temporary setbacks.

"So keep your passion and determination, keep training hard, and I believe that some of you will definitely become starting players in the future."

Encouraged by the two, the freshmen's eyes rekindled with hope.

Before long, the bus finally arrived at its destination—Ryonan High School.

Coach Tian Gang stood at the school gate early and waited. As soon as the bus stopped, he went to greet it.

Besides Coach Taoka, there are also Uozumi and Ikegami.

Just like in the original story, the two are now the team's captain and vice-captain!

"Welcome Coach Anzai to Ryonan!"

As always, Coach Taoka adopted a very humble attitude.

Coach Taoka was very self-aware. Even though he won the runner-up title in the Winter Championship, the gap between him and Coach Anzai was still huge, and he didn't even have the right to look up to him.

This is the true value of having "disciples and former officials all over the world"!
Furthermore, high school honors can hardly compare to university honors and national team honors.

"Wow, Dad is amazing!"

Seeing Coach Taoka's respectful demeanor, Sakuragi couldn't help but sigh.

"Wow, that guy is so tall! He looks even taller than Akagi-senpai!"

At this moment, the freshmen's attention was focused on Uozumi.

"This is the monster Uozumi, and he's also the second-best center in Kanagawa after Akagi-senpai!"

The senior players began by introducing basic information about Uozumi and Ikegami.

"Coach Anzai, this way please!"

With a warm welcome from Coach Taoka, Kiku and the others began to enter Ryonan High School.

As a private school, Ryonan High School's campus facilities always give people the impression of being very wealthy.

In comparison, Shohoku High School is much inferior.

Soon, the Shohoku team entered the Ryonan Basketball Arena.

At this moment, the Ryonan players, all wearing white jerseys, were engaged in various practices.

Coach Taoka asked Uozumi, "Has Sendoh arrived yet?"

"no!"

Uozumi spread his hands, feeling utterly helpless.

As expected, Sendoh was late yet again.

Although Sendoh's name sounds like "first to arrive," he is always late!

It has to be said that this is a rather willful player.

Of course, there is also the possibility that Sendoh, like Rukawa, trained so hard at night that he overslept, but is that possible?

Impossible, absolutely impossible!
In fact, Mu Mu had another possibility in mind.

Sendoh's lateness may have been due to his hairstyle.

As we all know, spiky hair is difficult to maintain and requires a lot of hair gel.

Just styling this hairstyle takes a lot of time.

It was at this moment that Sendoh appeared at the entrance of the stadium.

Sendoh seemed oblivious to Coach Taoka's expression and said with a smile, "Coach, don't worry, I ran here and I'm ready to go on the field anytime."

As expected, Sendoh was once again taught a lesson by Coach Taoka.

However, given the nature of immortals, this guy simply let it go in one ear and out the other.

Coach Taoka was also helpless about this.

"If that doesn't work, then let Sendoh continue to serve as Kikumo's sparring partner!"

Coach Taoka silently made up his mind to 'rent out' Sendoh again.

After Sendoh arrived, the friendly match officially began.

Shohoku fielded a lineup consisting of Naito, Sakuragi, Rukawa, and the Tsurumi brothers.

That's right, Shohoku only sent first- and second-year players onto the court, while all the third-year players stayed on the bench.

This is not because Shohoku underestimates Ryonan, but because Shohoku is too strong.

At the same time, Coach Anzai wanted to see if this practice match could allow Sakuragi and Rukawa to work together further.

Given enough pressure, the two may be able to work together.

As the runner-up in the Winter Championships, Ryonan has a good chance of achieving this.

"Sakuragi, Rukawa, I hope you can work together to create a brilliant future!"

Before they went on the court, Coach Anzai took Sakuragi and Rukawa's hands and put their hands together.

As if struck by lightning, the two immediately withdrew their right hands at top speed.

Rukawa Kaede wiped his hands with his own tissues, muttering to himself, "I wonder if idiocy is contagious!"

Beside him, Sakuragi stared blankly at his right hand: "Won't my hand rot away?!"

This is his most precious fifth sister.

He's made up his mind; he'll use his left hand from now on!
Seeing this, Mumu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

With these two around, even serious occasions become more relaxed.

On the other side, Ryonan sent out a lineup of Uozumi, Nango Koichiro, Ikegami, Matsumoto Minoru, and Sendoh.

On the bench were players such as Fukuda, Jin, Kiyota Nobunaga, Koshino, Uekusa, and Kosuge.

After both players took to the court, Sakuragi casually approached Sendoh and declared that he wanted to challenge him.

"I accept your challenge!"

Sendoh smiled slightly and took the initiative to shake hands with Sakuragi.

He had witnessed Sakuragi's strength and believed that Sakuragi was indeed qualified to challenge him.

"Rukawa Kaede, I love you!"

……

When Mu Mu looked up, she saw that Rukawa Kaede's fangirl, 'Rukawa Ming,' had also arrived and was cheering for Rukawa Kaede as if no one else was around.

It has to be said that these three female students from Shohoku High School are really bold.

Besides 'Rukawa Mikoto', there are also Haruko's trio, Horita Tokuo's trio, and the formidable 'Kimoku Mikoto'!
Among them, there were also many female students from Ryonan University.

That's the charm of wooden curtains!
Upon discovering that Kogure was not participating, the 'Kogure fans' were extremely disappointed.

"I feel like something's missing?"

On the Shohoku bench, Mokumo rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

The scene shifts, and the Sakuragi Army—no, the three idiots—are riding Yohei's electric scooter to Ryonan High School.

"Get off the bus right now!"

Yuji Oonan was riding Yohei's electric scooter and was feeling very uncomfortable being squeezed in.

The key issue is that the electric scooter's speed can't be increased!

Although Yohei was missing, all three of them were heavier than at the same time.

Since Sakuragi started playing basketball, the trio of goofballs have significantly increased their exercise, and their height and weight have inevitably increased.

"Takamiya, as long as you get off the bus, everything will be fine. Look, we're almost overtaken by bicycles."

Noma Tadashiro showed a look of disgust.

Of the three, Gao Gongwang is the most important.

"I'm not getting off the bus!"

Takamiya Momo refused to cooperate.

Jingle bell~
At that moment, a little girl riding a bicycle accelerated and overtook them.

"what!"

This scene caused the three clueless guys to let out cries of despair.

A scene from the underworld!
They were overtaken by the little girl's bicycle yet again!
(End of this chapter)