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

All of them wore green jerseys.

Each person is like a moving tower.

Except for Kenji Fujima at the very front.

The four starting players behind him are all over 190 centimeters tall!

Toru Hanagata, Kazushi Hasegawa, Shoichi Takano, Mitsuru Nagano.

This is what Xiangyang is so proud of – the "Green Great Wall".

When they stood in a row, the visual oppression was almost suffocating.

"So...so high..."

Ryota Miyagi looked up at the group of giants, his throat dry.

As the shortest player on the field, this sense of pressure was particularly intense for him.

……

The corridor at the very top of the stands.

Two groups of people wearing different team uniforms met unexpectedly.

On one side is the king of Hainan, wearing a purple coat.

Shinichi Maki wore a coat, crossed his arms, and had a deep gaze.

He was accompanied by Jin Soichiro and a disgruntled Kiyota Nobunaga.

On the other side were Ryonan High School students wearing blue jackets.

Jun Uozumi stood like an iron tower, while Akira Sendoh remained as lazy as ever, holding a bottle of lemonade in his hand.

"Yo, Maki-senpai." Sendoh greeted him with a smile.

Mu Shen nodded, his gaze falling on the two teams warming up on the field.

"It seems you guys are also paying close attention to this match."

"Of course."

"After all, the winner will be our opponent in the final week!" Hikoichi Aida said excitedly, holding his notebook.

"Maki, who do you think will win?" Sendoh asked casually as he unscrewed the bottle cap.

Maki Shinichi remained silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Shohoku's bench.

He paused for a second on the figure yawning next to Coach Anzai, then looked away.

"Xiangyang".

Shinichi Maki gave his answer, his tone calm and resolute.

"Although Shohoku's offensive firepower is very strong this year, that number 16 is also very strange."

"However, Xiangyang's height advantage is too obvious."

"Moreover, this is a contest of experience in major competitions."

"A team like Shohoku, which is a makeshift team, is prone to mental breakdowns once it gets into a tough battle."

"I predict Shohoku will win by more than 10 points."

Upon hearing Maki Shinichi's analysis, Kiyota Nobunaga immediately chimed in with smug satisfaction:

"That's exactly what I meant!"

"How could a team like Shohoku, relying on unorthodox methods, possibly beat Shoyo!"

"That Rukawa Kaede, and that Lin Bei who only knows how to sleep, they'll definitely be exposed for what they really are today!"

"Is that so?" A deep, resonant voice suddenly interrupted.

Jun Uozumi crossed his arms and looked down at the arena.

"I have a different opinion."

"Oh?"

Maki Shinichi turned to look at Uozumi.

"I think Shohoku can win," Uozumi said.

"Oh? What's the reason?"

"How many points do you think Shohoku can win by, Uozumi-senpai?" Ajin asked curiously.

Uozumi held up three fingers, his tone chilling:

"Three thousand points."

The air suddenly became quiet.

"snort."

Uozumi offered no explanation.

The image of that ghostly figure from the practice match flashed through his mind.

That monster who wiped out the deficit in an instant, drove the Immortal Path to the brink of defeat, and possessed power like a bottomless pit.

If that guy goes all out...

"Just you wait and see."

Uozumi stared at the lazy figure on the Shohoku bench.

"That sleeping Grim Reaper, if it were to awaken..."

……

Sidelines.

"beep--!"

The referee blew his whistle, signaling that the game was about to begin.

The starting lineup has been announced.

On the Shohoku side, Kenji Fujima did not start, but instead sat on the coach's bench wearing a jacket.

The starting five: Hanagata, Hasegawa, Takano, Nagano, and Ito.

Average height: 191cm.

Meanwhile, on the Xiangbei side...

Center: Takenori Akagi.

Power Forward: Sakuragi Hanamichi

Small Forward: Rukawa Kaede.

Shooting Guard: Hisashi Mitsui.

Point Guard: Ryota Miyagi

Lin Bei was not in the starting lineup.

He was wearing a coat and sat next to Coach Anzai.

He was still holding a bottle of sports drink that he hadn't finished.

"Coach, is it really okay if I don't play?"

"Those bamboo poles over there look pretty arrogant," Lin Bei said casually, tightening the bottle cap.

Coach Anzai's glasses reflected the light, obscuring his eyes.

He didn't answer directly, but turned his head and glanced at Lin Bei.

"Lin Bei, classmate."

"Can your stamina sustain you through the entire high-intensity competition?"

Lin Bei paused for a moment, then shrugged and said nothing.

On the system panel, his pitiful stamina value remains his Achilles' heel.

Even with recent special training, it has risen to 65 points.

But physical strength is something that becomes increasingly difficult to improve as you progress.

If he wants to activate high-consumption templates like "Aomine Daiki" or "Midori Shintaro".

His battery drained faster than a three-year-old iPhone.

"Hehehe..."

Coach Anzai let out his signature laugh, and the flesh on his chin jiggled.

"So, you are our secret weapon."

"To deliver a fatal blow to the opponent at the most crucial moment."

After speaking, Coach Anzai turned his head and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was preparing to go on the court.

"Sakuragi-kun."

"exist!"

Sakuragi immediately straightened his back, as nervous as a new recruit waiting for inspection.

"You have a very important task in this game."

Coach Anzai pointed to the basketball hoop on the court.

"The opponent is very tall, which means the battle for rebounds will be very intense."

"Akagi will have a hard time playing alone in the paint."

"so……"

Coach Anzai paused, his tone becoming serious.

"Can you defend the penalty area?"

"Can you help Akagi relieve some of the pressure and control the rebounds?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi was stunned.

He looked into Coach Anzai's trusting eyes.

He turned his head and glanced at Haruko in the stands.

Haruko was looking at him with her hands clasped together, her face full of prayer.

In his mind, the sweat that flowed during special training, Akagi's roar, and Rukawa's cold gaze were all there.

And that sarcastic remark, "If you want to win, don't hold the team back," flashed through my mind.

A surge of hot blood rushed from the soles of my feet to the top of my head.

"Dad!!"

Sakuragi slapped his chest hard, making a loud "bang".

"Leave it to me!!"

"I am the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi!!"

"I, the genius, took all the rebounds from that Shohoku team!!"

After saying that, Sakuragi turned around and strode towards the court.

For the first time, that red-clad figure appeared so broad and reliable.

Lin Bei watched Sakuragi's retreating figure, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"That idiot..."

"Looks like the special training wasn't a waste of time."

"beep--!!"

With the referee's whistle.

The basketball was tossed high into the air by the referee.

The orange-red sphere spun and rose under the spotlight, drawing the attention of thousands of people in the stadium.

Takenori Akagi and Toru Hanagata jumped at the same time.

Two giant hands crossed in the air.

The battle for the top four in Kanagawa Prefecture.

The battle has officially begun!