Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 396 Team Building of Four Schools
After a week of intensive training, the Red Dot Legion's academic performance improved significantly.

Of course, part of the credit goes to the elite student legion.

Without their guidance and supervision, the Red Dot Legion's learning efficiency would be greatly reduced.

In addition, Haruko also deserves credit.

It was thanks to Haruko's feeding that Sakuragi was able to concentrate on his studies.

The make-up exam officially began that morning.

Just like in the original story, the Red Dot Legion passed all the tests.

Kogure specifically reviewed the exam papers and discovered that not only were the exam papers for these seven subjects easy, but many of them also overlapped with the final exam papers.

It's obvious that the school is just going through the motions; they're unlikely to field the depleted Shohoku team.

The greater the honors achieved by the Shohoku basketball team, the greater the influence of Shohoku High School. This not only allows them to obtain more funding but also to recruit higher-quality students, thus creating a virtuous cycle.

After overcoming the make-up exam controversy, the Shohoku basketball team was able to compete in the national tournament in top form.

Shohoku Basketball Gymnasium!
As night began to fall, the basketball court remained brightly lit.

Kogure and the others continued their extra training as usual, which was now drawing to a close.

Besides Kogure, there are also Akagi, Mitsui, Naito, Rukawa, Sakuragi, and Yohei.

In one half of the game, Yohei stood in front of a basket full of basketballs and passed them to Kogure one by one.

Beside him, Mitsui was counting for Kogure.

He's currently competing with Kogure in a streak of consecutive three-pointers; he just hit 39 in a row.

Swish~swish~swish~
Beyond the three-point line, Kogure quickly released his shots, accurately slinging the basketballs into the basket.

Yohei strives for precision in every pass, which is an important part of his training.

As a point guard, you must master the fundamentals of passing.

"56, 57, 58, that's amazing!"

Yohei silently counted; at this moment, Kogure had already made 58 three-pointers in a row.

bang~
Kogure took another shot, but the basketball bounced off the rim, ending his streak of three-pointers at 58.

58 is truly a magical number!

Cannonball warning!

Call ~
Kogure was panting heavily; he had just used up a lot of his energy by making a quick move while moving at high speed.

Although Kogure's attribute values ​​are already close to perfect, he never relaxes his demands on himself and strives for perfection in every action.

Even if all attributes are maxed out, there is still a lot of room for improvement in skills.

Despite two and a half years of dedicated training, Kogure has yet to master any of his skills.

He hopes to go to America in better shape, and to make a name for himself there, he must possess exceptional abilities.

In that high school league where only day and night were played, Kogure's greatest reliance was his own strength.

After catching his breath, Kogure said to Mitsui, "Mitsui, it seems I won!"

"I admit defeat this time, but I'll definitely win next time!"

Mitsui glared fiercely at Kogure; he had lost yet again!
Because Kogure had caught him red-handed, Mitsui had no choice but to comply and sign a series of unequal treaties with Kogure.

Mitsui can only get the recording pen back if he defeats Kogure ten times.

The gameplay here is not limited to one-on-one duels; Mitsui can choose the method he is best at.

So, Mitsui didn't hesitate to choose a three-pointer.

Unfortunately, Kogure's three-point shooting is in no way inferior to Mitsui's; in fact, thanks to his title, his shooting consistency is even better than Mitsui's.

Kogure's three-pointer perfectly combined the strengths of Mitsui and Jin.

It will be difficult for Mitsui to defeat Kogure in this aspect.

Moreover, under the provisions of the unequal contract, Mitsui cannot repeat the challenge method.

"Alright, let's go take a look. I wonder how their fight is going?"

After resting, Kogure led the two towards the opposite half of the field.

Not long ago, Sakuragi challenged Rukawa Kaede once again.

As always, Sakuragi is full of confidence for this challenge.

The sky cleared up, the rain stopped, and Sakuragi felt like he was back to his old self!
Although Sakuragi's time playing basketball was not very long, less than two years in total, and for some time he was only playing sporadically (during his time at Wako Junior High School).

However, his amazing physical fitness and learning ability enabled him to make significant progress in a short period of time.

The problem is that Rukawa didn't stop there; he still put in more effort than Sakuragi.

Faced with Sakuragi's challenge, Rukawa Kaede readily agreed.

He knew very well that only through constant competition and challenges could he become stronger.

This is also the main reason why Rukawa Kaede never rejected Sakuragi.

The duel between the two in the half attracted the attention of other players, who stopped their training and gathered around to watch this exciting contest.

During the coin toss, Sakuragi was lucky and gained the first attack.

Sakuragi immediately switched to a back-to-the-basket one-on-one style.

Besides the bulldozer breakthrough, this has become Sakuragi's most proficient offensive method.

After being tempered by the county tournament, Sakuragi's back-to-the-basket technique became even more refined.

This is also related to Sakuragi's opponents in the prefectural tournament. His opponents were not easy to deal with, mainly Nango, Mike Okita, and Kishimoto.

It was with their help that Sakuragi was able to improve so quickly.

bang~ bang~ bang~
In the initial stage, Sakuragi began to test the waters.

Although Sakuragi is stronger in physical confrontations, Rukawa is not much worse.

Seeing Sakuragi charge again, Rukawa lowered his guard and focused on fighting back.

However, the imagined impact did not occur.

In an instant, Sakuragi stopped his downward momentum, twisted his waist, lifted his hips, turned around, and strode past Rukawa.

Bang~
Sakuragi rushed into the basket and delivered a powerful tomahawk dunk.

"Hahaha, Rukawa Kaede, you see that? This time, this genius will definitely defeat you!"

Sakuragi landed on the ground, hands on his hips, laughing loudly.

That's just his personality; he becomes arrogant when he gets ahead.

"continue!"

Rukawa Kaede silently picked up the basketball and casually passed it to Sakuragi.

Sakuragi caught the basketball and launched another attack.

Swish~ Swish~
Soon, Sakuragi, despite Rukawa's defense, scored two more goals.

3:0
"It seems I'll not only win this time, but I might even win by a large margin!"

Perhaps because the start was too smooth, Sakuragi's lips curled up, revealing a smile that resembled that of a god of war with a crooked mouth.

Oh no, his mouth is crooked! Everyone, quickly tear his mouth off!

"interesting!"

Rukawa Kaede remained expressionless and picked up the basketball again.

In Smash Bros., his physical attributes and skills may not be the best, but his mental fortitude is impeccable.

If Rukawa's physical abilities improve further in the next few years, he will have the opportunity to play in the NBA.

Don't forget, Rukawa Kaede is only 15 years old and is still in a period of rapid growth.

Not far away, the three goofballs were discussing amongst themselves.

Takamiya Nozomi spoke first: "Do you think Sakuragi can win?"

"It's possible!"

"It's hard to say!"

Even though Sakuragi had a good start, neither Yuji Oonan nor Tadashi Noma had much confidence in him.

After all, Sakuragi's opponent is Rukawa!
Over the past two years, Sakuragi has challenged Rukawa countless times, but each time he has failed.

The three simpletons clearly acknowledged Rukawa Kaede's strength.

The skill here isn't just in basketball, it also includes the ability to fight.

At this moment, Sakuragi launched another attack.

This time, Rukawa not only avoided being shaken off by Sakuragi, but also kept Sakuragi outside the paint zone.

Under Rukawa's pressure, Sakuragi was almost dispossessed and had to grab the ball with both hands.

This time, he had no choice but to force a shot against Rukawa's defense, which is known as a pull-up jump shot. Unlike a regular jump shot, a pull-up jump shot mainly relies on the power of the waist to force a jump, using one leg to suddenly generate power to drive the other leg and the whole body.

Therefore, the pull-up jump shot requires a high level of physical fitness from the player.

Sakuragi undoubtedly meets the criteria for a pull-up jump shot.

However, he was facing Rukawa Kaede.

Although Sakuragi has better physical abilities, Rukawa is not much worse.

The two had similar jumping heights, but Sakuragi had better jumping speed, while Rukawa had the advantage of a longer hang time.

bang~
With Rukawa Kaede interfering, the shot ended up missing.

Sakuragi frowned slightly, not entirely satisfied with this attack.

Seeing that Sakuragi was still standing there, Rukawa pointed to the basketball not far away and said, "You big idiot, hurry up and get the ball!"

An unwritten rule is that the team that scores doesn't need to retrieve the ball.

Sakuragi reluctantly picked up the basketball and threw it forcefully to Rukawa.

"Fox, I was the one who let you win just now!"

Sakuragi remained stubborn.

Rukawa Kaede didn't say anything, and immediately broke through with the ball the moment he received it.

Sakuragi was caught off guard and was easily beaten by Rukawa.

"You cunning fox, you've ambushed me again!"

Sakuragi quickly turned around and rushed towards Rukawa at top speed.

snort~
Just as Sakuragi caught up, Rukawa suddenly stopped.

Sakuragi stomped his foot on the floor, forcibly stopping himself.

Rukawa's movements were so deceptive that Sakuragi subconsciously stood on tiptoe.

However, Rukawa did not jump shot, but started again.

In that instant, Sakuragi was completely outmaneuvered by Rukawa.

Sakuragi didn't give up, and with his exaggerated physical abilities, he managed to stay close to Rukawa.

"Fox, come and eat my big hot pot!"

The two jumped up at the same time, and Sakuragi swung his right hand at the basketball.

Rukawa Kaede seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, scoring with a reverse layup.

"This guy's talent..."

Rukawa couldn't help but glance at Sakuragi.

Sakuragi's physical abilities are too exaggerated. Even though Rukawa Kaede passed him twice, he was never completely outpaced.

Rukawa Kaede subconsciously looked at Kogure. Among the entire Shohoku basketball team, Sakuragi's physical attributes were undoubtedly the closest to Kogure's.

"Continue, I was careless just now!"

Sakuragi remained stubborn and passed the ball to Rukawa.

shuh~
Soon, Rukawa Kaede, despite Sakuragi's defense, scored his second basket.

On his third shot, he wasn't so lucky and missed due to Sakuragi's interference.

3:2
Rukawa was not only at a disadvantage, but Sakuragi also had control of the ball in crucial moments.

"Fox, you're finished!"

Sakuragi caught the basketball and was overjoyed.

slap~
Rukawa noticed that Sakuragi was not paying attention, so he immediately moved in and made a steal.

Sakuragi was a little annoyed; he had been ambushed by Rukawa again.

"idiot!"

Rukawa Kaede couldn't help but shake his head.

He acknowledged Sakuragi's strength, believing that Sakuragi's ability was no less than his own.

However, Sakuragi is not perfect and has many flaws, such as being easily overconfident, lacking focus, and underestimating his opponents!

This is also the main reason why the three simpletons don't think much of Sakuragi.

Sakuragi needs to experience the harsh realities of life; otherwise, he's destined to suffer.

"Then I'll let you win by one point!"

Sakuragi picked up the basketball and passed it back to Rukawa.

For the remainder of the game, the two sides fought neck and neck.

shuh~
Shortly after, Rukawa Kaede scored another goal, taking the lead with 11 points.

This means that the challenge has finally come to an end.

However, Sakuragi also scored 9 points, so the score difference between the two sides was not large.

Rukawa Kaede's victory can only be described as a narrow one.

"This guy has gotten even stronger!"

Rukawa thought to himself, completely regarding Sakuragi as an opponent of equal caliber.

At the same time, Rukawa Kaede has another target.

In order not to be overtaken by Sakuragi, he decided to work even harder than before.

Bang bang bang~
Just then, Kogure clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"This Sunday, we've decided to have a team-building event at the beach, and Mitsui will be paying for everything!"

Beside him, Mitsui silently counted the money in his wallet.

He's going to have a massive hemorrhage again!
However, he's happy to do so!

"Great!"

As soon as Kogure finished speaking, the Shohoku players, led by Sakuragi, responded in unison.

During this period, they repeated the same rhythm every day.

This keeps them in a constant state of high tension, like a taut string that could snap at any moment.

As someone who's been through it all, Kogure knows very well that continuing down this path could easily backfire.

Therefore, he specially arranged team building activities to allow the players to get proper rest and recovery, both physically and mentally.

He believes that players can only perform at their best when they are in a good mental state.

Off the field, the three goofballs, the three Haruko trio, and the three Horita Tokuo trio all looked on with envy.

"Let's all go together!"

Kogure, of course, had not forgotten them.

Although they are not players or managers of Shohoku, aren't they also members of the Shohoku basketball team?

Horita Tokuo asked incredulously, "Mitsui, can we really do this?"

"Hoita, you've always been my best friends, haven't you?"

Mitsui countered with a question.

Upon hearing Mitsui's words, the Horita trio were moved to tears.

"Kogure-senpai, Mitsui-senpai, you guys are amazing!"

The trio of simpletons started celebrating on the spot.

During this time, they worked by the sea to save up enough money for their trip to cheer on Sakuragi.

Haruko and her two friends also expressed their gratitude at the appropriate time, but their way of expressing it was much more subtle.

“Besides us, Ryonan, Shoyo, and even Takezato may also go there.”

Kogure added another instruction.

This time, it's very likely that the basketball teams from all four schools will be doing a team-building activity together.

As for why the seaside was chosen, it was because it was Sendoh's suggestion.

As a fishing enthusiast, Sendoh's greatest hobby is fishing.

In addition, it can also contribute to the restaurant at the fish farm.

"He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding." Having taken advantage of Yuzhu quite a bit in the past, he felt obligated to repay her this time.

Given the size of the four-school alliance, the business of Uozumi Hotel will surely flourish even more after this team building activity.

That's almost certain!
In Kanagawa Prefecture, the influence of the four-school alliance is enough to affect the preferences of some fans.

(End of this chapter)