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

The boy called Kageyama slowly stood up.

He was about 185 centimeters tall, with a slender build and a cold, lifeless look in his eyes.

There was no sign of warming up or sweating; the person exuded a cold, mechanical quality.

"coach."

Kageyama unzipped his jacket, revealing his number 8 jersey underneath.

"Leave number 14 to me. I'll make him experience what it means to be in the mire of despair."

The old coach chuckled coldly twice: "Go on, you only have one task."

"Relentlessly pursue him, draining his last bit of strength like a leech!"

"Yes."

Kageyama strode onto the court.

He replaced the power forward who had just been knocked senseless by Akagi.

As soon as he stepped onto the stage, his gaze was fixed on Mitsui Hisashi, who was bent over and panting.

The game has restarted.

Mingpeng Industrial's ball possession.

Meihou's point guard dribbled the ball across half-court, and the tactics still revolved around Morishige Hiroshi.

But this time, Kageyama did not participate in the offensive positioning.

He walked straight toward Mitsui Hisashi.

He stopped two steps away from Mitsui.

His lifeless eyes scanned Mitsui up and down, a mocking smile curving his lips.

"Huff... huff..."

Mitsui Hisashi, with his hands supporting his knees, was making the most of every second to recover his strength.

Sensing a malicious gaze, he looked up and met Kageyama's gloomy eyes.

"You're Mitsui Hisashi?"

Kageyama's voice was soft, yet it was like a soft, barbed knife that scraped against one's eardrums.

"I heard you're a good-for-nothing who's wasted two years of your life?"

Mitsui's pupils suddenly contracted.

The physical exhaustion was ignited by anger at this moment.

He straightened up, his eyes immediately turning sharp:

"What did you say? You first-grader brat."

Kageyama not only did not back down, but instead took another half step forward, almost bumping into Mitsui's nose.

Did I say something wrong?

"What kind of hero is this street urchin who only knows how to fight and brawl, coming back to play the hero?"

Kageyama lowered his voice.

He continued maliciously, speaking in a volume only the two of them could hear.

"You weakling, you're even having trouble standing up now, aren't you?"

"The two years you were in are a black hole that you can never fill."

"Your stamina is almost gone!"

"Shut up!" Mitsui Hisashi roared through gritted teeth.

He suddenly shoved Kageyama away.

"Beep—!"

The referee immediately blew his whistle and pointed at Mitsui Hisashi.

"Red number 14, pushing a player without the ball!"

"Warning! Any further action will result in an immediate foul!"

"What?!"

"Referee, that guy provoked us first!"

Miyagi Ryota got anxious and ran over to argue with the referee.

"Don't argue! My perspective is the only one that matters!" The referee was impartial and incorruptible.

Mitsui grabbed Miyagi, his face ashen.

He stared intently at Kageyama, who had raised his hands and was feigning innocence.

"What a cunning brat."

In the stands, Sendoh Akira rested his chin on his hand, having noticed something amiss.

"That number 8 deliberately provoked Mitsui with words, trying to draw a foul right under the referee's nose. He was targeting Mitsui's psychological defenses."

Mu Shenyi crossed his arms and frowned deeply.

"It's not just psychological."

"What's even more critical is that Mitsui's physical condition is indeed a huge hidden danger."

"Meihou is trying to shut down Shohoku's most terrifying outside firepower."

Mingpeng Industrial serves the ball out of bounds.

Although this attack was ultimately thwarted by Sakuragi and Akagi's tight defense.

But during the gaps in the transition between offense and defense, Kageyama stuck to Mitsui like a piece of chewing gum that he couldn't shake off.

Off-the-ball defense!

Extremely disgusting and extremely sticky ball-free pulling!

Shohoku then switched to offense.

Miyagi dribbles at the top of the key, looking for a passing lane.

Mitsui Hisashi began running around the half of the court like crazy.

Cut along the baseline, run backwards, stop abruptly, and use cover to escape.

But no matter how fast he ran, Kageyama always followed him like a shadow.

Not only were they pressed extremely close together, but Kageyama also had countless hidden little movements on his hands.

In blind spots where the referee couldn't see, he grabbed the jersey, subtly bumped the thigh, and secretly used his elbow to trap Mitsui's waist.

Each time he accelerates, Mitsui has to exert twice the effort he usually does to break free.

"Get out of here!"

Mitsui swung his arms forcefully, trying to shake off Kageyama's entanglement.

"Don't waste your energy."

Kageyama pressed against Mitsui's back, his cold laughter echoing in his ears like a ghost.

"You can't escape."

"Your breathing is erratic, and your steps are getting heavier and heavier."

"With your pitiful stamina, how many more of these shuttle runs can you manage?"

Sweat.

Large beads of sweat streamed down Mitsui's chin and splattered wildly onto the floor.

The muscles in my legs started to ache slightly and become uncontrollable.

After undergoing intensive physical training in Chicago, Mitsui's physical strength has improved significantly.

But even that couldn't withstand such high-intensity back-and-forth running.

"hateful……"

Mitsui gritted his teeth, forced himself to take a deep breath, and suddenly made a reverse run from the left corner, cutting towards the inside.

But Kageyama's prediction was extremely accurate, and he blocked the position half a step in advance.

The two collided violently. Mitsui was thrown back and nearly lost his balance.

"Mitsui is completely tied up!" On the sidelines, Ayako anxiously gripped the paper fan in her hand.

"Mingpeng's number 8 player's defensive footwork was too clean. Although there were some minor fouls, he didn't give the referee any excuse to blow the whistle."

"If they keep running like this, Mitsui-senpai's stamina will collapse!"

In this suffocating entanglement.

A blinding red flash shot up like lightning inside!

"Hey, mistress! This way!" Sakuragi Hanamichi growled.

His massive body, like a red brick wall reinforced with steel and concrete, stood directly between Mitsui and Kageyama.

Pick and roll!

High-quality off-ball screens!

"Bang!"

Kageyama never expected that an inside player would run to the three-point line to set a screen.

He couldn't stop in time and crashed headfirst into Sakuragi's extremely solid chest.

The enormous reaction force caused Kageyama to grunt.

He stumbled back two or three steps, feeling a surge of blood rushing to his chest.

"You damn redhead..." Kageyama clutched his chest, his eyes filled with venom.

"Just defend properly, and stop trying to pull those dirty tricks on this genius!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi glanced down at him, his gaze steady yet imposing.

After Rodman's brutal beating, this level of physical confrontation was nothing more than a warm-up for Sakuragi.

Taking advantage of Sakuragi's impenetrable cover.

Mitsui Hisashi finally got a chance to catch his breath.

He smoothly circled out from the right at a 45-degree angle, and finally a very brief opening appeared!

"A great opportunity!"

At the top of the arc, Ryota Miyagi's eyes lit up, and the basketball in his hand seemed to have eyes, bouncing off the ground.

"Thud!" The basketball landed steadily in Mitsui's hands.

Without the slightest hesitation.

That's muscle memory, a skill reserved for top shooters.

Mitsui receives the ball and jumps.

The movements remained standard, and the posture remained graceful.

However, the moment he took off, an indescribable feeling of heaviness swept over his entire body.

My legs felt as heavy as lead, and I jumped a full ten centimeters lower than usual.

The muscles in my arm trembled slightly from the intense, ball-free pulling.

The moment I pressed my wrist down, the sensation in my fingers became incredibly stiff.

"Oops!"

The moment the ball was released, Mitsui's expression changed.

The curvature is too low!

"when--!!!"