Kuroko's Basketball template: the king of slacking off, Shohoku's strongest sixth man.

Let's switch our focus back to the stadium.

The trajectory of the basketball that Miyagi slammed away was extremely bizarre.

Instead of flying directly towards its teammates, it soared straight up into the air above the Sannoh restricted area!

Extremely fast speed, extremely high altitude.

"A misplaced pass!"

"That's outrageous! Was that pass to a ghost?!"

"Was Shohoku's point guard scared out of his wits by Fukatsu?"

The Sannoh fans in the stands erupted in deafening laughter.

In their view, Shohoku's bluffing counterattack was simply a joke.

There's simply no way anyone could receive it.

However, inside the court.

Masashi Kawata, who possesses an exceptional ability to read the game, felt a chill run down his spine the moment he saw the trajectory of the basketball!

"Something's not right! This isn't a mistake!"

Okawada's intuition, honed over many years, was frantically alarming.

He turned his head sharply, his gaze passing over the three-second zone, and just caught sight of a ferocious red figure!

It's Sakuragi Hanamichi!

This red-haired kid wasn't even looking at where he was going.

His aggressive eyes were fixed on the basketball in mid-air, his expression almost distorted with excitement!

"It's tactical coordination!"

"He's going to catch that ball!"

A thunderbolt struck Kawada's mind.

However, he was being held back by Takenori Akagi and couldn't jump at all.

In desperation, Kawada could only yell at the top of his lungs towards Nobe Masahiro on the other side of the basket:

"Nobe! Stop him!"

Known as the "Totem Pole," Masahiro Nobe is Sannoh's premier rebounding expert.

Hearing the roar, he immediately realized what was happening.

Its massive body stretched out to the center of the restricted area, attempting to form a wall of sighs.

"Trying to catch the ball on my head?"

"Keep dreaming, you nobody!"

Nobe gritted his teeth and strained his leg muscles.

He jumped high and fast, ahead of Sakuragi!

Almost at the same time.

"Get out of here—!!!"

With a roar, Sakuragi Hanamichi slammed his right foot heavily onto the floor.

"Bang!"

The hard wooden floorboards creaked under the strain.

Sakuragi unleashed terrifying kinetic energy, rising up forcefully to meet Nobe's body!

The two engaged in a primal hand-to-hand combat in the skies above the Sannoh restricted area!

But the basketball flew too high!

Miyagi's accelerated pass generated tremendous initial velocity.

The basketball traced an exaggerated parabola in mid-air, forcefully clearing Nobe's outstretched arm!

"I can't reach it... how can it be so high?!"

"Why pass the ball so high?"

Nobe stared wide-eyed in mid-air, his fingertips still nearly ten centimeters from the basketball, a sense of absurdity washing over him.

Upon seeing this, Kiyota Nobunaga in the stands jumped up and pointed at the field, launching a frenzied attack.

"Don't embarrass yourself, you red-haired monkey!"

"Hahaha! You can't even catch a big guy? Who do you think you are?"

Kiyota laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face.

"Trying to do an alley-oop dunk?"

"You'll reach this ridiculous height when you've cultivated yourself into human form!"

"Go back and eat your bananas, you stupid monkey!"

Maki Shinichi frowned deeply: "Kiyota, shut up! Look carefully before you speak!"

"What are you looking at, Maki? That was clearly a blunder... Huh?!"

Kiyota's laughter stopped abruptly, as if he had been choked.

His eyes bulged out, and his face looked like he'd seen a ghost.

At this moment, in mid-air.

Nobe had reached the highest point of his jump, and his body began to fall uncontrollably.

but……

The red figure behind him completely ignored gravity!

"This is impossible!!"

As Nobe fell, he looked up in terror.

Sakuragi Hanamichi behind him not only didn't fall, but rose higher and higher!

The terrifying ability to hang in the air and the limits of jumping were on full display at this moment.

Under the incredulous gaze of tens of thousands of people in the stadium, Sakuragi jumped much higher than Nobe!

His waist and abdomen folded to the extreme in mid-air, making him look as if he were spreading his wings!

"Is that all? You dare to stop this genius?!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi's calm demeanor was chilling.

His large hands suddenly shot out into the air, one hand at a time!

He caught the basketball, which was still spinning rapidly, with pinpoint accuracy and unwavering determination!

"Gotcha!"

"Smash it in, Flower Path!!!"

Miyagi clenched his fist and roared fiercely from beyond the three-point line.

"You big idiot, well done!"

Rukawa Kaede stared coldly at the basket from the other side, his eyes revealing a rare fervor.

Sakuragi Hanamichi stood in mid-air, his eyes looking down arrogantly.

He gripped the ball with one hand, and using the explosive force of his falling body, he suddenly exerted force from his waist and abdomen, swinging his right arm in a perfect semi-circle!

"This is... a genius's welcome gift!!!"

"boom--!!!"

A deafening roar, like a thunderclap!

With one hand, Sakuragi Hanamichi slammed the basketball over Nobe Masahiro's head and into the basket with overwhelming force!

The immense force caused the entire basketball hoop to shake violently.

The basketball hoop wailed in agony, as if it might be torn apart at any moment!

"Beep! The score is valid!" The referee's voice was trembling.

The entire audience was shocked!

Dead silence.

A deathly silence that could suffocate anyone.

Inside the Hiroshima Stadium, the audience seemed to be collectively frozen in place.

There were no cheers, no boos, not even the sound of breathing.

Everyone stared in disbelief at the red-haired boy hanging on the basketball hoop.

"Clang!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi released his grip and landed steadily.

He raised his head, looked around at the stunned Sannoh players, and laughed arrogantly.

"Hey, hey, hey, why is everyone so mute?"

Sakuragi swaggered up to Kawada and Nobe and wagged his index finger.

"Weren't you shouting quite loudly just now?"

"What 'strongest mountain king'? What 'number one in the nation'..."

Sakuragi snorted coldly.

"Before this genius's alley-oop, you mortals can only look up in awe!"

"Hahahaha!"

Nobe Masahiro's face was ashen, and his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"Beautifully executed, Ikebana!"

"That teamwork was absolutely amazing!"

"Did you see the looks on those guys' faces?"

Ryota Miyagi rushed over laughing and bumped chests heavily with Sakuragi.

"Absolutely, Xiao Liang!"

"With a genius by my side, success is inevitable!" Sakuragi said smugly, stroking his bald head.

On the bench, the Shohoku players had completely gone mad.

"Fantastic! We've taken the lead!"

"We really made it in!" Kogure's eyes welled up with tears of excitement.

Coach Anzai rested his chin on his hands, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with a sharp light:

"Very good...this is the rhythm, keep it up."

Lin Bei leaned back in his chair, yawned lazily, and gestured with his chin toward the Shanwang coaching bench not far away.

"Coach Domoto, are you surprised? Unexpected?"

"This is just an appetizer. I hope your teeth are strong enough not to break."

On the other side, the bench of Sannoh Industrial.

Coach Domoto Goro's expression remained unchanged, except for a slight frown.

"That red-haired number 10... what kind of monster is he?"

"He used to be able to dunk from the free-throw line..."

"Now, at this height, not only can they catch it, but they can also complete a dunk..."

"This physical ability is definitely beyond the range of a high school student!"

on the field.

Kazunari Fukatsu took a deep breath and picked up the basketball from the ground.

A dangerous spark finally ignited in those dead fish eyes.

"Everyone, we've been tricked."

"Shohoku... they're definitely not here for sparring."

Fukatsu passed the ball to Kawada, his tone calm but chilling.

Masashi Kawada took the basketball, his eyes fixed on Akagi and Sakuragi who were returning to defense, a sinister sneer appearing on his rugged face.

"It's alright, Fukatsu."

"Then let's teach them a good lesson."

Kawada twisted his thick neck, his knuckles cracking like popping beans.

The aura of everyone at Sannoh Industrial instantly underwent a qualitative change.

That sleeping behemoth has finally been thoroughly enraged!

The difficulty of the competition is about to increase dramatically!