Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 409 Zebei's Fist Hardened

Both sides made personnel adjustments after the pause ended.

The difference is that Sannoh Industrial replaced Kawada with Nobe Masahiro, purely because Kawada's performance was unsatisfactory.

In his matchup against Uozumi, Kawata was completely outmatched on both offense and defense, proving that all he has left is his height.

His movements are slow, making it easy for opponents to launch fast breaks. His offensive methods are too limited, making it difficult for him to score over Uozumi.

The reason Ryonan replaced Ikegami was not because Ikegami performed poorly, but because it was a normal rotation.

Although Ikegami has difficulty limiting Sawakita's performance, it will still take some effort for Sawakita to score against him.

This caused Sawakita to expend a lot of energy, and of course, Ikegami, as the defender, expended even more.

To ensure Ikegami's condition, Coach Taoka temporarily substituted him off the field for a rest.

Ryonan's rotation strategy is to maintain the players' form and ensure that everyone has enough physical strength and energy to cope with high-intensity games.

This strategy reflects the importance that the Ryonan team's coaches place on player fitness management.

The rotation system not only allows the main players to rest, but also provides opportunities for substitute players to showcase their abilities.

Sannoh Industrial has possession of the ball. After receiving the ball, Fukatsu begins to organize the team's attack.

Surprisingly, the player defending Sawakita was not Minoru Matsumoto, but Kiyota, who was 8 centimeters shorter than Sawakita.

Kiyota immediately asked Sawakita, "I heard you're the third-best high school student in the country?"

"What?! How did I become third? When did this happen?"

Zebei's eyes widened, feeling a sense of humiliation.

"Who are you insulting? I'm clearly the second-best high school student in the country. Haven't you heard of me?"

Kiyota tilted his head and asked, "I remember your name is Kitazawa, isn't it?"

Kitazawa?

Upon hearing the name Kitazawa, Zebei instinctively looked at Sendoh.

This guy often forgets his name and always calls him Kitazawa.

"Listen up, the person in front of you is the second-best high school student in the country, the ace of Sannoh Industrial High School—Eiji Sawakita!"

Instead of answering, Kiyota asked, "Have you ever won a national championship?"

"no!"

Zebei felt his fist harden instantly; this guy was clearly rubbing salt into his wounds.

Because of Kogure, Sawakita has never won the national championship.

"You haven't even won a national championship, what right do you have to be the second-best high school student in the country?"

Zebei was speechless, because Mitsui, who was ranked behind him, held the national championship three times.

One national competition and two winter competitions!

The reason Mitsui didn't become the second-best high school student in the country is because his brilliance was overshadowed by Kogure.

To use a metaphor, Kogure is like Jordan, Mitsui is like Pippen, and Sawakita is like the executive vice president who hasn't yet started his nomadic team-up mode.

Of course, this is just a metaphor. After all, Zebei is different from GOat. He doesn't have special skills like the Eight Steps of the Heavenly Dragon, the Cloud-Dispelling Palm, the Heavenly Crippled Kick, or the Blame-Shifting Technique. He also doesn't have the skills of bowing and scraping, spreading his hands, kneeling dramatically, father and son on the same stage, brothers playing basketball, or a wandering dynasty...

As Stockton said, he believed that all of gOat's honors were obtained by cheating; while others were working hard to climb the mountain, gOat simply took a helicopter to the top.

Alas, perhaps Stockton's life isn't going well either.

Sawakita was furious and turned his head away, not wanting to talk to Kiyota.

However, Kiyota showed no intention of letting him go.

"In other words, if I defeat you, I will be the second-best high school student in the country!"

Zebei laughed in anger, thinking, "What right does a newcomer have to challenge me?"

"Kid, I hope you don't regret this!"

Zebei decided to teach Kiyota a lesson to release his pent-up frustration.

So he immediately reached out to his teammate for the ball.

At this moment, the basketball is in Kawada's hands.

Just as Kawada was about to launch an attack, Sawakita asked him for the ball.

However, he still passed the ball over.

He's still in the competition, so he has to maintain a facade of calm and can't bully Zebei like he usually does.

The moment he received the basketball, Zebei started moving quickly.

So fast!

Kiyota was taken aback; Sawakita's speed exceeded his expectations.

Watching from the sidelines is a completely different experience from playing on the field.

Nevertheless, Kiyota quickly adjusted his pace to block Sawakita's breakthrough route.

Sawakita seemed to have anticipated Kiyota's move and prepared to break through in the opposite direction.

His movements were deceptive, causing Kiyota's center of gravity to shift to the other side.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zebei easily broke through Kiyota's defense and passed by Kiyota.

snort~
Before Kiyota could give chase, the sound of shoes scraping against the floor could be heard.

As he came to a sudden stop, Zebei leaped up in rhythm and shot at the highest point of his jump, completing the entire motion in one smooth motion.

shuh~
The basketball traced a perfect parabola through the air and landed perfectly in the hoop.

"Kid, you're still too green!"

After scoring this brilliant goal, Zebei looked down at Kiyota with feigned contempt, his tone full of confidence and provocation.

"I wasn't prepared just now, that doesn't count!"

Although Kiyota was impressed by Sawakita's brilliant performance, he did not forget his mission.

That's right, a mission!
Before the match, Coach Taoka specifically instructed Kiyota to provoke Sawakita and ignite his offensive desire.

This will further deplete Zebei's physical strength.

"Kid, I'll beat you until you're completely convinced."

Zebei was full of confidence in his abilities.

He had no idea that this was a war of attrition tactics specifically designed for him by Ryonan.

When it was Ryonan's turn to attack, Kiyota immediately started making runs as soon as he crossed half the court.

Zebei had no choice but to follow; he didn't want Kiyota to score against him.

Kiyota suddenly accelerated and braked abruptly from time to time, causing Sawakita to secretly groan in pain.

First there was Ikegami, then Kiyota; both of them were using the same methods to wear down Sawakita.

"Kid, if you've got the guts, let's have a real fight!"

Zebei had no choice but to resort to provocation.

"I'm not stupid!"

Kiyota responded briefly and quickly darted under the basket.

Using the size of Uozumi and Okawata, they slightly slowed down Sawakita and gained a lead of one body length.

Sendoh immediately passed the ball, but Kiyota gave up his shot because Sawakita rushed in too quickly.

He tried to break through, but was forced into a sorry state by Zebei and almost lost the ball.

He felt a stronger defensive pressure from Sawakita than from Rukawa.

However, compared to that man, he is still quite inferior.

He could sense that.

At this moment, Minoru Matsumoto stepped forward to provide assistance.

Kiyota immediately passed the ball to Matsumoto Minoru by hand.

Using Kiyota as a shield, Matsumoto Minoru easily outmaneuvered Ichinokura Satoshi.

Seeing that things were going badly, Zebei immediately rushed towards Matsumoto Minoru.

Near the free-throw line, Zebei finally caught up.

Unexpectedly, Matsumoto Minoru did not choose to shoot, but instead tossed the ball to the three-point line at the top of the arc.

Because Ichinokura Satoshi was also chasing Matsumoto Minoru, Kiyota was left undefended.

After receiving the ball, Kiyota took a moment to adjust before calmly and slowly throwing it out.

shuh~
The basketball swished through the net, the white net swirling wildly.

Since joining Ryonan, Kiyota and Jin have gotten along very well for some reason. Through their interactions, Kiyota gradually found his niche: improving his shooting and defense.

So, after his regular training sessions, he often practiced three-pointers with Ah Shen.

Although his three-point shooting accuracy isn't great yet, he's still pretty reliable when he's open for three-pointers.

"Good shot! Keep it up!"

During the defensive play, Matsumoto Minoru patted Kiyota on the shoulder to encourage him.

"Hehe, I'm not as good as you think!"

Kiyota scratched the back of his head dumbly; anyone who didn't know better would think he was possessed by Shin-chan.

The biggest similarity between him and Shin-chan is that they both own a white dog.

Matsumoto Minoru was speechless. Sure enough, he couldn't rely too much on problem children.

"3:2, this genius is in the lead for now!"

To further fuel Sawakita's desire to attack, Kiyota began to arrogantly imitate Sakuragi, calling himself a genius.

Kogure once gave Ryonan a notebook containing information about Sannoh Industries.

This includes Zebei's personality flaws.

"Ball here!"

Just as expected, Zebei, unable to resist being provoked, decisively asked for the ball.

He can't let a newcomer step on his head; at the very least, his score needs to be higher than Kiyota's.

shuh~
Soon, Sawakita easily broke past Kiyota and drove to the basket for a dunk.

"Kid, it's 4-2 now!"

Zebei proudly raised his head.

Kiyota immediately retorted, "You only got one more point than me and used one more round. What's there to be proud of? I can catch up anytime."

"Kid, you won't have a chance, because standing in front of you is..."

"The second-best high school student in the country, what's there to be proud of? Besides, I only remember the first place, never the second!"

In competitive sports, who would remember the runner-up?

Even if the runner-up wins a lot, they are still the runner-up. You can't use a formula to create a champion.

Believe it or not, a certain group actually did that.

Customized Honor: Two runner-up finishes = One championship!
Therefore, six runner-up finishes equal three championships!

If we add the four championships won by the team of wanderers, then we'll have seven championships.

Using such a customized formula, wouldn't gOat's 'number of championships' surpass Jordan's six championships?

Unfortunately, normal people ultimately make up the majority.

The game continued, and this time, Sawakita was much more focused and increased his defensive efforts against Kiyota.

This meant Kiyota didn't even have a chance to connect with the ball.

However, Matsumoto Minoru still managed to draw a foul and score two points.

Ichinokura Satoshi was feeling incredibly bitter; why was he being targeted and beaten so often?

Minoru Matsumoto: Weakness is the original sin!

He's not like Fukatsu, who has a 14-centimeter height advantage; he wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by.

Minoru Matsumoto: 185 cm
Satoshi Ichinokura: 171 cm
In fact, if Sawakita and Ichinokura Satoshi had switched positions, the results would have been much better.

Unfortunately, Sawakita was determined to prove himself to Kiyota.

In fact, Sannoh Industries also has many problems.

Deep doesn't attack, Wild doesn't attack, Sawa fights one-on-one, Ichinokura Satoshi is too short, Kawada's cowardly personality, and Coach Domoto's coaching ability.

If we consider the original work, we should also take into account Matsumoto Minoru's mental health issues.

If we calculate it that way, the most reliable company for Sannoh Industries is actually Kawada.

"Sawakita, go and guard against Matsumoto Minoru!"

Coach Domoto finally couldn't stand it anymore and came to the sidelines to order Sawakita and Ichinokura Satoshi to switch on defense.

Despite his reluctance, Zebei agreed.

Not far away, Kiyota overheard their conversation.

His eyes darted around, and he had an idea.

When Sawakita crossed the halfway line, Kiyota immediately followed.

"Your coach made you switch on defense, so it seems he knows you're no match for this genius!"

To provoke Sawakita, Kiyota continued to provoke him.

"Boy, you are courting death!"

Enraged by Kiyota's provocation, Sawakita decided to teach Kiyota a lesson.

Soon after, Sawakita broke through Kiyota's defense again and scored.

Kiyota was not affected by this.

He had prepared himself mentally before going on stage.

This can be seen from the Xianghai match. Kiyota was badly beaten by Rukawa in that game, but he did not give up. His defense at the crucial moment made him the hero of Hainan High School's victory.

Before retreating to defend, Sawakita stood in front of Kiyota and said, "It's 6-3 now!"

"Don't worry, I'll catch up soon."

Regardless of whether he could do it or not, Kiyota still responded.

Offense and defense reversed!

Following Coach Domoto's instructions, Sawakita had no choice but to go and defend Matsumoto Minoru.

Because of Kiyota's repeated provocations, Sawakita suddenly felt that Matsumoto Minoru was no longer appealing!

"Hey senior, ball!"

Suddenly, Kiyota's voice rang out.

He leaned against Ichinokura Satoshi and reached out for the ball.

Without hesitation, Sendoh chose to pass the ball.

Kiyota didn't catch the ball; instead, he slapped it forward, which surprised Ichinokura Satoshi.

Before Ichinokura Satoshi could react, Kiyota quickly bypassed Ichinokura Satoshi and dribbled past him with a cross.

Kogure's notebook also records Ichinokura Satoshi's weakness—his athletic ability!
Ichinokura Satoshi turned to give chase, only to find that the distance between them did not decrease rapidly.

At this point, Uozumi took away Kawada, leaving only Nobe Masahiro to guard the basket.

Kiyota showed no fear, strode into the basket, and delivered a powerful dunk over Nobe Masahiro.

"Innocent!"

Nobe Masahiro raised his hands, intending to cover Kiyota.

However, Kiyota's jumping ability clearly exceeded his expectations, as he jumped a head higher than him.

Bang~
Under the incredulous gazes of everyone, Kiyota knocked out Nobe Masahiro.

Nobunaga Aota is 178cm tall, while Masahiro Nobe is 198cm tall, a difference of 20cm between them.

Despite such a significant height difference, Kiyota was still able to dunk over the defender, which demonstrates his exceptional physical abilities.

In the original work, Kiyota even dunked over Uozumi, who is 202 cm tall.

Compared to Uozumi, Nobe Masahiro is somewhat inferior.

Beep~
At this moment, the referee blew his whistle and signaled that Nobe Masahiro had committed a foul, giving Kiyota the right to a penalty kick.

This shot boosted the morale of the entire Ryonan team.

Hua Hua Hua~
More and more viewers began to cheer for Ryonan, making Ryonan's momentum even more astonishing.

They saw an opportunity to defeat Sannoh Industrial!

"Well done, Kiyota!"

Uozumi vigorously rubbed Kiyota's hair, turning Kiyota's hairstyle into a bird's nest.

At the free-throw line, Kiyota calmly sank the free throw.

"It's 6-6 now, and the key is that I launched one less attack than you!"

Kiyota stood in front of Sawakita once again.

(End of this chapter)