Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 414 Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada
It's not that Amu doesn't want to seize power like before, but rather that he wants to be better able to win the MVP award.

The problem is, we first need to defeat Shohoku.

If you can't beat Shohoku, even if your stats are outstanding, don't expect to win MVP.

Basketball is ultimately a team sport. If sacrificing some individual statistics can help the team go further, then the sacrifice is worthwhile.

He is willing to find a balance between personal honor and team victory.

Amu did not become noble.

Because if he defeats Shohoku, he can easily pad his stats in the next two games and snatch the MVP award.

Soon, Maki dribbled the ball across the halfway line and immediately passed it to Moroboshi Dai.

Dai Moroboshi not only possesses excellent scoring ability, but also has a certain organizational ability.

However, compared to traditional point guards, he is still slightly inferior in terms of playmaking.

This is mainly due to Daiki Moroboshi's strong offensive desire; he prefers to score himself rather than orchestrate the team's offense.

The moment Moroboshi received the ball, Rukawa was fully prepared, his eyes filled with focus.

This was Rukawa Kaede's first time facing Moroboshi Dai.

Dai Moroboshi decides to try a one-on-one match against Kaede Rukawa, attempting to break through Rukawa's defense.

However, Rukawa's defense was quite solid.

He moved swiftly, timing it perfectly, making it difficult for Moroboshi Dai to find an opening and leaving him no chance.

"Is this guy really a newbie?"

Moroboshi's breakthrough attempt failed, and he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Suddenly, Rukawa stepped forward and took the initiative to engage in a reasonable confrontation with Moroboshi Dai.

Because he often sparred with Kogure, even though Rukawa's fighting ability was not as good as Maki's, it was still better than Moroboshi Dai's.

During the contest, the basketball in Moroboshi's hand suddenly trembled.

He had to hold the ball with both hands and seek help from his teammates.

After noticing that Morishige Hiroshi was in a low position, Moroboshi Dai immediately passed the ball to him.

As the inside pillar of Aiwa Academy, Morishige Hiroshi is broad and strong, and his back-to-the-basket skills are quite solid.

Sakuragi pressed his right hand firmly against Morishige Hiroshi's waist, trying to stop the other from exerting force.

bang~
A dull thud of muscles colliding rang out, and Sakuragi's expression changed drastically. He felt a powerful force strike him, and Morishige Hiroshi easily pushed him away.

Morishige Hiroshi drove into the paint, intending to finish with a powerful two-handed dunk.

Just as Morishige Hiroshi jumped, suddenly, a figure rushed out from his blind spot and snatched the basketball from his hands.

Bang~

Morishige Hiroshi jumped up, only to find himself drinking a lonely drink.

Wait, where's my ball?
On

Before Morishige Hiroshi could react, Kogure, having made the steal, immediately launched a fast break.

The fast break awareness of the Shohoku players goes without saying. Among them, Sakuragi seemed to be possessed by GOat, rushing to the frontcourt at the first opportunity.

Amu's expression changed, and he quickly chased after him at top speed.

Moroboshi Dai immediately rushed towards Kogure, trying to slow him down.

Kogure saw through Moroboshi Dai's intentions and quickly threw the ball forward.

At the edge of the paint area, Sakuragi caught the basketball.

As Sakuragi received the ball, Maki rushed into the basket first.

Without hesitation, Sakuragi fearlessly charged into the basket, leaping up to face the unsteady Maki.

Maki jumped up forcefully, but his jumping height was nowhere near that of Sakuragi.

"drink!"

Sakuragi shouted and slammed the ball into the basket over Maki.

Clang! Bang!

Under Sakuragi's impact, Maki lost his balance and fell heavily to the ground.

Beep~
Suddenly, the referee blew his whistle.

Sakuragi nervously looked at the referee, afraid that he had committed a foul.

The referee stood in front of Amu and quickly made the ruling: "Red team's number 6 committed a defensive foul, white team's number 11 gets a free throw!"

In this match, Shohoku wore white jerseys, while Aiwa wore red jerseys.

In the Aiwa jerseys, number 4 is Dai Moroboshi, number 5 is Mikoshiba, and number 6 is Maki.

You can tell from his jersey that Maki's status is below that of Moroboshi Yamato and Mikoshiba.

Mikoshiba, at least, led his team to the top eight in the country, proving his leadership abilities.

Before transferring to Aihe Academy, Amu had never led a team to a national competition. His only notable achievement was being selected as the best lineup in the county competition.

In addition, Mikoshiba transferred to Aiwa Academy before Maki.

Therefore, Maki's status on the team has always been lower than that of Mikoshiba.

As the referee delivered his verdict, Amu stared at him in shock, yet was powerless to refute it.

He hadn't fully regained his footing when he jumped to intercept.

This scene is almost identical to the original story.

It was this ball that allowed everyone to directly experience Sakuragi's exaggerated athletic ability.

Because Sakuragi was dunking on Maki!

Although many Kanagawa residents despise Maki's character, they have to admit that Maki has excellent physical abilities.

However, even someone as strong as Maki was dunked on by Sakuragi, who was still a first-year student.

Just as Sakuragi was about to take the free throw, he suddenly couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Hey, what grade are you in? Are you a high school student?"

At the free throw line, Sakuragi hesitated and looked at Maki.

These words were like opening Pandora's box, revealing Amu's long-sealed memories.

Because Sakuragi was the third player to ask him what grade he was in!

Amu didn't want to talk and turned his head away, ignoring Sakuragi.

If he were to pay attention to Sakuragi, he would likely become the laughingstock of the entire room.

Unfortunately, he was facing Sakuragi, who never seemed to mind making things worse!
"Red-haired brat, that's incredibly rude of you!"

Moroboshi Dai looked at Sakuragi with a cold expression, ready to support Maki.

Sakuragi, not one to shy away from stirring things up, immediately shouted, "Stretcher Star, you guys are too cunning! You actually got your senior to help you, you're so despicable!"

Moroboshi was furious and pointed at Sakuragi, shouting, "Idiot! Maki is a proper senior high school student, he's only 17 years old!"

"Nani, 17 years old?"

Sakuragi turned to look at Maki with suspicion.

However, Amu doesn't look like a 17-year-old high school senior at all.

"That's a lie! How could he only be 17 years old!"

"Hahahaha!"

At that moment, the entire stadium was filled with laughter.

The people of Kanagawa will not tolerate Maki's strategy of joining forces when he can't win.

Among them, the students from Hainan Affiliated High School were the most enthusiastic, cheering loudly for Sakuragi.

In the audience, Takamiya Nozomi pointed at Maki and asked in confusion, "I thought he was the coach of Aiwa Academy!"

Takamiya Nozomi clearly hadn't paid attention to Maki, since Maki hadn't achieved anything remarkable.

Noma Chuichiro explained helplessly, "Idiot, he just looks a bit older, but he's actually still a high school student."

"How can it be repaired?"

Amu clenched his fists, feeling them harden.

Beep beep beep~
Left with no other option, the referee had to blow the whistle immediately.

This is the third time he has encountered this kind of trouble!

Yes, that's right, it's just a coincidence.

As the host country, Kanagawa Prefecture has many national tournaments officiated by referees from Kanagawa.

Suddenly, Amu moved, attracting the attention of everyone present.

Many people are curious to see how he will handle this.

"Akagi looks older than me!"

To divert attention, Amu reluctantly resorted to his old method. Everyone was shocked, then burst into laughter again.

For a moment, the stadium was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

On the Shohoku bench, Akagi was completely dumbfounded.

"That bastard always uses me as a shield!"

He didn't even play, yet he's still getting dragged into this mess!
"Actually, Mikoshiba looks quite old. If you didn't know better, you'd think he was Muto Masashi's father."

For the sake of his best friend's reputation, Kogure had no choice but to step forward and pull Mikoshiba in as well.

Mikoshiba silently turned her head away, not wanting to acknowledge Kogure.

Actually, he had always been curious whether Muto Masashi really looked a lot like him.

As luck would have it, Muto Masashi happened to be watching the match live, and he was even sitting in the front row.

"Could he be my father?"

Looking at Mikoshiba's face, Muto began to question the meaning of life.

Judging from their appearances, Muto felt that Mikoshiba looked more like his father.

Amidst the referee's warning, Sakuragi began his free throws.

Perhaps still brooding over the earlier incident, Sakuragi missed his rare free throw attempt.

bang~
The basketball bounced off the rim, and Morishige Hiroshi immediately jumped up to grab the rebound.

The moment Morishige landed, Kogure appeared in front of him and launched a surprise attack.

pop~
Morishige Hiroshi didn't hold the basketball tightly enough, and Kogure flicked it away.

Rukawa Kaede grabbed the basketball first, leaped up, and was about to unleash a tomahawk dunk.

At the crucial moment, Amu jumped up and slapped the basketball.

Thanks to his powerful core strength, Rukawa Kaede and Maki were locked in a stalemate for a moment before Rukawa Kaede reached out and passed the ball from behind.

Nobuhiko Okamoto received the basketball and raised his hand to shoot.

Moroboshi Dai immediately pounced on him, but Okamoto Nobuhiko ducked to break through and pulled up for a jump shot.

However, Moroboshi Dai was not knocked away.

Thanks to Dai Moroboshi's efforts, Nobuhiko Okamoto was more or less affected.

bang~
The basketball bounced off the rim and went out of bounds.

Just as Morishige Hiroshi was about to grab the defensive rebound, suddenly, a figure darted into the paint from the side, jumped up, caught the rebound, and slammed it down with a reverse dunk.

Bang~

Kogure released the basket with his right hand and landed steadily on the ground.

In this offensive play, he managed to rack up two points, a steal, and a rebound, not even counting Sakuragi's assist for dunking over Maki.

"No wonder he's the number one high school student in the country!"

Looking at Kogure's retreating figure, Morishige Hiroshi couldn't help but sigh.

Moroboshi Daiki, fearing that Morishige Hiroshi might be discouraged, said, "Hiroshi, don't boost the morale of others and diminish our own. We are just as strong!"

Morishige couldn't help but look up at the electronic scoreboard; their Aiwa Academy's score had not yet broken zero.

Shohoku's defense is just too strong!

However, Morishige Hiroshi is clearly no ordinary person and cannot be easily defeated.

"I know, I believe we can definitely beat Shohoku!"

After speaking, Morishige Hiroshi rushed forward into the arena.

Maki dribbled the ball past half-court, then passed it to Moroboshi Dai, while he himself ran laps with Kogure.

Mid-range shots have now become Maki's main scoring weapon, and Kogure has no choice but to follow suit.

There is a difference between Amu and gOat. At least his skills have improved, unlike gOat who has been stagnant since entering the league.

This is probably related to the league's strong support for gOat, which made him lazy and unwilling to hone his skills.

At this moment, Moroboshi shouted for a pick and roll.

Morishige Hiroshi stepped forward to block Rukawa Kaede, allowing Moroboshi Dai to break through.

Sakuragi immediately went to meet him, and Moroboshi was shocked to find that he was actually being stopped by Sakuragi.

"Nani!"

Moroboshi tried several times without success and failed to gain any advantage over Sakuragi.

Sakuragi said seriously, "Compared to the fox, you're still lacking!"

Sakuragi wasn't lying; he genuinely believed that Rukawa's offense was stronger, otherwise he wouldn't have been outmaneuvered by Rukawa.

Under Kogure's guidance, Rukawa's offense was no less impressive than Sawakita's.

It is well known that there is a significant gap between Moroboshi Dai and Sawakita.

Moroboshi Dai himself acknowledged this.

After failing to break through, Moroboshi Dai had no choice but to pass the ball to Maki, who had come to receive it.

As soon as he received the basketball, Kogure stood in front of Maki again.

Seeing that his teammates had no chance, Amu had no choice but to bite the bullet and try to break through.

One step, two steps!

Kogure quickly slid in, completely blocking Maki's path to break through.

Seeing that his breakthrough attempt failed, Amu raised the ball to shoot.

Unfortunately, he failed to fool Kogure and instead became entangled with him.

Under Kogure's persistent pestering, Maki seemed to be getting impatient.

When people are pushed to the limit, they often do things that defy common sense.

For some unknown reason, or perhaps it was an instinct, Amu grabbed the ball and forced his way through.

Three steps, four steps, five steps!

However, he still couldn't shake off Kogure.

The most frustrating thing is that the referee hadn't even reacted yet.

On the sixth step, Maki finally shook off Kogure and then took two more steps.

To the astonishment of the entire audience, Amu leaped up and delivered a powerful dunk.

Bang~

This scene reminded Kogure of an old friend who was modeled after Maki.

Even with Kogure's lightning-fast reflexes, his body's subconscious reaction still compels him to perform the Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada technique.

It's quite remarkable that he was able to persist until the sixth step.

Beep~ Beep~ Beep~
Just then, the long-awaited whistle finally sounded.

Perhaps due to being too shocked, the referee blew the whistle three times in a row.

This goal was enough to shock the referee for a whole year.

He had been a referee for nearly twenty years, but this was the first time he had ever seen such a bizarre scene.

Taking four or five steps is understandable, but eight steps? What the heck?

He had never seen such an arrogant person in his life, but now he had.

However, he's not an unprofessional NBA referee; the opponent took a full eight steps, so he naturally called the foul.

Amu landed heavily on the floor, instinctively covering his head with his hands, too ashamed to face anyone.

Only when he was dunking did he belatedly realize how absurd what had just happened was.

He actually made such an exaggerated and unconventional move, making a complete fool of himself in front of everyone.

At that moment, he felt as if he were under a curse, as if his body was being controlled by someone, completely against his own will.

Recalling his comical posture, his uncoordinated movements, especially the fact that he took eight steps, every detail made him feel incredibly embarrassed and ashamed.

"Hahahaha!"

At this moment, the audience's laughter finally surged forth like a tidal wave, breaking the brief silence.

For a moment, the entire venue was filled with wild laughter.

Those laughs, however, were like sharp needles, constantly pricking Amu's pride.

He instinctively closed his eyes, trying to free himself from the shame.

He felt like a clown, the object of everyone's amusement.

Amu lowered his head, overwhelmed with shame, and silently turned back to defend.

(End of this chapter)