For Coach Anzai, Haruko Akagi's situation was not important.
Playing basketball and fighting are the most important things.
Coach Anzai had noticed Aota Tatsuhiko and Sakuragi Hanamichi sparring when he passed by the judo team, but he only thought that the red-haired guy was very tall and had good physical fitness, so he was quite suitable for playing basketball, nothing more.
But just as he was about to leave, the red-haired classmate suddenly shouted, "I want to play basketball."
The last time I heard this was during a competition at Wushi Middle School.
So Coach Anzai wanted to ask the red-haired student if he really wanted to play basketball.
But when he heard the name "Sakuragi Hanamichi", he was also very surprised.
Because Akagi Takenori from the basketball team had reported to him about Sakuragi Hanamichi the day before yesterday.
At the time, Akagi Takenori said that although Sakuragi Hanamichi was once a delinquent, he had now reformed, so Akagi Takenori intended to give Sakuragi Hanamichi a chance.
I never expected to run into Sakuragi Hanamichi on the judo team today.
Moreover, it seems that Aota Tatsuhiko highly regards Sakuragi Hanamichi, saying that he is a genius that comes along only once in a century.
To be recognized by the captains of both the basketball and judo teams, Sakuragi Hanamichi is truly outstanding!
At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi was still embellishing the story for Coach Anzai, trying to leave a better impression on him.
Coach Anzai waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, Sakuragi Hanamichi, I understand what you mean. Actually, yesterday, those delinquents tried to harass Akagi Haruko across the street, and you chose to teach them a lesson to protect your girlfriend, right?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded hastily, "That's right, that's right. If someone bullies my woman in front of me, and I don't do something in that situation, would I even be a man? But I didn't expect that bastard Washio Gota to deny it to the death. That damn guy!"
As he spoke, Sakuragi Hanamichi slammed his right fist into his left hand.
Coach Anzai analyzed, "In that situation, it's normal for him not to admit it."
Coach Anzai then stared into Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes and said seriously, "But none of that matters. What matters is whether you truly love playing basketball? Will you continue to associate with those delinquent youths in the future?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi solemnly declared, "Of course I love playing basketball!"
At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi paused. He suddenly thought of the most classic scene in Slam Dunk, the scene where Mitsui led his men to cause trouble at the basketball court. Although he didn't know if it would be different from the anime, it would definitely involve fighting.
If we agree to Coach Anzai's request now, but a fight still breaks out later, will Coach Anzai give us a chance like in the anime?
It's really hard to say!
At least in the anime, there was no instance of Akagi Takenori preventing Sakuragi Hanamichi from joining the basketball team because of his involvement with delinquent youths.
After thinking for a moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi replied seriously, "Coach Anzai, if anyone dares to bully my friends, bully my woman, or cause trouble at the basketball team, I will still fight back! But I can assure you that I will not cause trouble on my own initiative."
Sometimes people are like that. When you clearly and explicitly tell the other person what you can and cannot do, they will think you are a very reliable person.
Coach Anzai smiled with satisfaction and said, "Very good! Sakuragi Hanamichi, I think you can go back to the basketball team. Come on, I'll take you to the basketball team."
On the way to the basketball team, Coach Anzai even took the initiative to explain to Sakuragi Hanamichi why the basketball team was so bothered by the term "delinquent youth".
The trigger was Mitsui Hisashi!
Mitsui Hisashi's self-destruction into a delinquent is a huge loss to the Shohoku basketball team.
This directly led to the Shohoku team being utterly crushed by other schools that year, with no chance to fight back. As the captain, Takenori Akagi felt extremely humiliated.
Another reason is that Mitsui Hisashi, who became a delinquent, for some unknown reason, later had a conflict with Miyagi Ryota from the basketball team, to the point that Mitsui Hisashi ended up injuring Miyagi Ryota and hospitalizing him.
Ryota Miyagi, a second-year student, is the ace point guard of the Shohoku team, second only to Takenori Akagi. His absence plunged the Shohoku basketball team, which had just seen hope, back into a difficult struggle.
Therefore, everyone on the basketball team was extremely hostile to delinquent youths.
Especially this year, when everyone heard that a basketball superstar, Rukawa Kaede, was going to join the Shohoku basketball team, they were excited but also worried that Rukawa Kaede might cause trouble because of his involvement with delinquent youths.
The appearance of Sakuragi Hanamichi made Akagi Takenori's already tense nerves extremely sensitive.
At this point, Coach Anzai comforted him, "So please don't hold a grudge against Takenori Akagi. He's not targeting you; he's just too concerned about the Shohoku basketball team. He wants to protect them. This year is his last chance to make it to the national tournament. If he doesn't make it this year, it will be the biggest regret of his life."
Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded heavily.
...
Shohoku Basketball Gymnasium.
"Akagi, I don't think I've seen Sakuragi Hanamichi today. Did he ask you for leave?"
Kogure Kiminobu looked around but still couldn't find Sakuragi Hanamichi, so he reported to Akagi Takenori with some doubt.
Akagi Takenori snorted and said, "We don't need to worry about that person anymore. He has nothing to do with our basketball team."
Kogure Kiminobu asked in surprise, "Akagi, what do you mean by this?"
Akagi Takenori seemed unwilling to answer the question, so he turned around, grabbed a basketball, and continued training.
Kogure Kiminobu stood frozen in place.
What exactly happened? Why did this happen?
Just then, Haruko Akagi walked into the basketball court. She looked around and, not finding Hanamichi Sakuragi, hurriedly asked Takenori Akagi, "Brother, did Hanamichi Sakuragi come looking for you?"
Akagi Takenori frowned, seemingly puzzled, and said in a deep voice, "No."
Haruko Akagi said anxiously, "Oh dear! What happened? He promised to come to the basketball team with me today."
Unexpectedly, Akagi Takenori said somewhat angrily, "Haruko, stop paying attention to that delinquent."
After overhearing the conversation between Takenori Akagi and Haruko Akagi, Kiminobu Kogure hurriedly asked, "Haruko Akagi, what happened?"
Haruko Akagi said hesitantly, "Actually, Hanamichi Sakuragi..."
Before she could finish speaking, Haruko Akagi saw two figures, one tall and one short, appear at the entrance of the basketball court.
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