"That Sakuragi Hanamichi is amazing!"
"Yeah! He completely disregards Uozumi and Akagi, the two great centers! That's amazing!"
"That dunk was so awesome! I declare myself a fan of Sakuragi Hanamichi from now on! Sakuragi! Sakuragi!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi's powerful dunk drew gasps from the audience.
Jun Uozumi glared at the arrogant Sakuragi Hanamichi, clenched his fist, and said defiantly, "Sakuragi Hanamichi! Don't be so cocky! I'll show you what I'm made of!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi glared and shouted, "Come on! Who's afraid of who?!"
At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi seemed to be a bit carried away. He even pointed at Akagi Takenori and said to Uozumi Jun, "Don't think that just because you're Monkey Boss, you're the only one who can take me down. Even if a gorilla and you Monkey Boss come at me together, I'll still beat you both! I'll take you both down by myself!"
Jun Uozumi looked at Takenori Akagi with shock in his eyes, thinking in disbelief, "How dare your brother-in-law say such a thing about you?"
Akagi Takenori was struck dumb, frozen in place, unable to recover for a moment.
There was nothing the gorilla could do; he felt a little guilty.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, exasperated, continued, "What are you two looking at? In the state that gorilla was in just now, I could take on ten of them!"
The hot-tempered Jun Uozumi fell silent, staring at the two oddball brothers with a strange expression.
Takamiya Nozomi, Oonan Yuji, and Noma Chuichiro, who had been banging on the plastic bottles in their hands, stopped what they were doing, their faces showing disbelief.
Takamiya Nozomi's eyes widened, her mouth trembling slightly, as she exclaimed, "That's a gorilla! Haruko Akagi's brother! How dare Hanamichi talk about him like that?"
After saying that, Takamiya Nozomi secretly shrank back and glanced at Akagi Haruko next to her.
Haruko Akagi looked at her brother and her beloved Hanamichi with a worried expression, clasped her hands to her chest, and murmured, "Hanamichi, brother, you..."
As an observer, Haruko Akagi could see that Hanamichi Sakuragi was deliberately provoking Takenori Akagi in order to help him regain his form.
But one is her brother, and the other is her man, and she is very worried that the two will have a conflict because of this.
Suddenly, Akagi Takenori, who had been briefly shocked, snapped out of it and roared, "Sakuragi Hanamichi! What nonsense are you spouting, you bastard?"
At this moment, Miyagi Ryota and Mitsui Hisashi had already surrounded them.
The short Miyagi Ryota stood directly in front of Akagi Takenori, spreading his arms to stop the potentially enraged Akagi Takenori, and said repeatedly, "Boss Akagi, calm down."
Mitsui Hisashi put his hand on Akagi Takenori's shoulder and advised, "Akagi, calm down."
Rukawa Kaede stood next to Sakuragi Hanamichi without saying a word.
This scene on the field shocked the audience.
Good grief, is there some internal strife within the Shohoku team?
But this is a competition after all!
"drop!!!"
The referee suddenly blew his whistle.
Sure enough, the referee intervened.
The referee shouted, "Shohoku team, what are you doing? Do you want to continue the game?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi quickly gave the referee an apologetic smile, repeatedly saying, "Sorry, sorry, we were just joking..."
After saying that, Sakuragi Hanamichi walked over to Akagi Takenori, his smile fading, and said with a serious expression, "Gorilla, be serious!"
Akagi Takenori's expression was complicated, and he remained silent.
Miyagi Ryota, who was standing nearby, quickly shouted, "Go for it, everyone!"
At this moment, Kogure Kiminobu and the others in the Shohoku rest area were also watching Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Takenori. Seeing Miyagi Ryota trying to smooth things over, Kogure Kiminobu hurriedly led everyone in shouting, "Go Shohoku!"
Mitsui Hisashi and Rukawa Kaede also shouted, "Go for it!"
At the same time, Miyagi Ryota and Mitsui Hisashi patted Akagi Takenori on the shoulder, signaling him to follow the others into the defensive position.
Sendoh Akira gave Sakuragi Hanamichi a meaningful look.
The game continues.
Ryonan team serves.
Not only did Sakuragi Hanamichi notice that Akagi Takenori was out of sorts, but the Ryonan team also felt that Akagi Takenori's reluctance to forcefully attack Uozumi Jun under the basket was an opportunity worth taking advantage of.
So when the basketball came into Tomoyuki Uekusa's hands, he dribbled it towards the paint and, finding the right opportunity, passed it to Jun Uozumi under the basket.
Tomoyuki Uekusa shouted, "Captain Uozumi, it's up to you!"
Clearly, in Tomoyuki Uekusa's mind, this was a perfect opportunity for Ryonan to shoot under the basket.
Jun Uozumi, now holding the basketball, was brimming with fighting spirit and roared, "Ah!!! I told you, I call the shots under the basket!"
At the same time, Jun Uozumi grabbed the basketball with both hands and jumped violently, completely ignoring Takenori Akagi in front of him; he was determined to force his way past Akagi.
A head-on clash between men!
The art style is extremely exciting!
At that moment, the emotions of everyone in the audience seemed to be stirred, and many people stood up involuntarily.
Faced with Jun Uozumi's forceful attack, Takenori Akagi did not back down.
Takenori Akagi quickly leaped into the air, attempting to block Jun Uozumi's shot.
However, whether it was because Akagi Takenori's timing for jumping was a beat too slow, or because his jumping position wasn't very good, Akagi Takenori seemed unable to successfully stop Uozumi Jun's violent attack at this moment.
Most importantly, in terms of presence, Jun Uozumi's presence seems to be much stronger than Takenori Akagi's.
Jun Uozumi, filled with excitement, grinned ferociously from mid-air and roared, "Akagi! I've defeated you!"
Seeing that he couldn't stop Jun Uozumi's attack, Takenori Akagi cursed, "Damn it!"
But just then!
A red figure caught Jun Uozumi's eye.
"Huh! What?" Jun Uozumi said in disbelief.
At the critical moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly appeared in front of Uozumi Jun. Although he jumped later than Uozumi Jun, he jumped to the same height as Uozumi Jun.
Just as Jun Uozumi was about to dunk the basketball with both hands.
Sakuragi Hanamichi raised his hands high and blocked the basketball.
Sakuragi Hanamichi roared domineeringly, "Uozumi, I said, under the basket, I call the shots!"
Jun Uozumi roared, "Then let's try it!"
boom!!!
Sakuragi Hanamichi and Uozumi Jun placed their hands on either end of the basketball.
With a "boom"!
Sakuragi Hanamichi and Uozumi Jun both fell to the ground.
The moment the two burly men slammed onto the floor, the entire audience heard a loud bang.
Everyone realized that Sakuragi Hanamichi and Uozumi Jun must have both taken a pretty hard fall this time.
However, everyone was even more shocked by Sakuragi Hanamichi's violent attack.
"That Sakuragi Hanamichi! Why was he in that spot just now?"
"Yeah! Jun Uozumi had already defeated Takenori Akagi and was about to dunk when Hanamichi Sakuragi suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It's unbelievable!"
"Sakuragi Hanamichi is a monster! He actually managed to block Uozumi Jun's dunk in that way and even made Uozumi Jun fall to the ground. That's incredible!"
"That was incredible! That was incredible! He actually knocked Uozumi over!"
Jun Uozumi, who had fallen to the ground, covered his head.
Sakuragi Hanamichi then touched his waist.
Both of them wore expressions of pain.
The next moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes widened in disbelief as he exclaimed, "I'm Sakuragi Hanamichi with eight kidneys! Why did I subconsciously rub my lower back???"
With a "whoosh"!
Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly jumped up and hurriedly looked at Akagi Haruko.
It was as if he was telling Haruko Akagi that his back was perfectly fine!
But then, Sakuragi Hanamichi gave Akagi Takenori a domineering look, as if to say, "A real man should act like this! What are you afraid of? Just do it!"
At this moment, Jun Uozumi slowly stood up, looked at the energetic Hanamichi Sakuragi, and couldn't help but say, "This kid is a monster!"
Fukuda Kichijou squinted, staring intently at Sakuragi Hanamichi, and murmured, "His speed to reach the basket in an instant, his jumping ability to contend with Captain Uozumi's 202cm height, his power to block Captain Uozumi's two-handed dunk, and most importantly, his fearless courage and passionate fighting spirit..."
Finally, Fukuda Kichijou seriously analyzed, "If that's the case, he really deserves to be called a genius!"
Although Sakuragi Hanamichi played exceptionally well, his actions still constituted a foul.
Jun Uozumi was awarded two free throw opportunities.
Interestingly, Jun Uozumi, like Takenori Akagi, missed both of his free throws.
The scene was quite awkward at one point.
But when Jun Uozumi missed his second free throw, Hanamichi Sakuragi and Akira Sendoh jumped at the same time to grab the rebound.
Sendoh Akira's intention was clear: he planned to make an alley-oop move and push the basketball in.
However, he failed.
Because rebounding king Sakuragi Hanamichi grabbed the rebound first.
However, after Sakuragi Hanamichi landed, he looked at Akagi Takenori with a serious expression.
For no other reason than that, Sendoh Akira just darted past Akagi Takenori, and Sendoh Akira was able to jump up in time to contest for the ball, so why was Akagi Takenori a step slower?
Just as Sakuragi Hanamichi was about to do something further, the referee's voice rang out: "Shohoku team, call a timeout."
Sakuragi Hanamichi then realized that his father was right there!
In the stands, Maki Shinichi of the Hainan team exclaimed, "Coach Anzai's timeout was just in time!"
Jin Soichiro nodded and said, "Yes! If Captain Akagi continues in this state, Shohoku will be in for a tough fight."
Kiyota Nobunaga analyzed, "Captain Akagi's condition has been off ever since he was knocked down by Captain Uozumi. Could it be because of his previous foot injury?"
Maki Shinichi's expression was complicated, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic, but he still said, "Yes, he seemed a bit distracted, and his movements were noticeably slower, which could indeed be the reason. However, judging from his performance in the match against Buri, his foot injury should have recovered."
Finally, Maki Shinichi said, "He's probably under too much psychological pressure right now and is overthinking things. External forces probably can't help him with this; he can only rely on himself."
At this moment, Coach Takato looked at Coach Anzai and said, "Indeed. However, having Coach Anzai, a former national team player, in charge of the Shohoku team will have a positive impact on the players' mental state to some extent."
The members of the Shohoku team arrived at the rest area, some drinking water and others wiping away sweat.
Coach Anzai looked at Takenori Akagi and said, "Akagi-kun, is it because your foot injury has flared up again?"
Upon hearing this, everyone on the Shohoku team looked at Takenori Akagi with serious expressions.
Coach Anzai is truly remarkable; he spotted the problem immediately.
Akagi Takenori hesitated for a moment, then said hesitantly, "No, no, my foot injury has healed. Coach, I'm sorry. I'm fine now, and that won't happen again."
Although Akagi Takenori said that, everyone could tell that he wasn't fully in the zone, because there was a hint of panic in his tone.
Sakuragi Hanamichi bluntly said, "Gorilla, stop lying! You're just worried about your foot injury. Look at your face in the mirror right now, you look so bitter and resentful! Where's the fierce and domineering aura you had under the basket before?"
"You!" Akagi Takenori hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
Sakuragi Hanamichi ruthlessly interrupted Akagi Takenori, continuing, "Let me tell you! You're overthinking it! What are you afraid of? The brothers are all here! Let's do it!"
At this moment, Mitsui Hisashi also said, "Akagi! Sakuragi is right, don't think too much, just fight freely and enjoy the battle."
Miyagi Ryota said, "Boss Akagi, we believe in you, you'll be fine!"
The usually taciturn Rukawa Kaede hadn't planned to speak, but after being prompted by Sakuragi Hanamichi's gaze, he said, "Captain Akagi, do your best."
It wasn't that Rukawa Kaede wasn't paying attention; rather, he was conserving his energy.
He knew that Sendoh Akira had not yet shown his true strength, and the second half would be the decisive moment. He needed to play a crucial role then.
Coach Anzai patted Akagi Takenori's arm and said, "Akagi-kun, do you remember what I said before?"
Akagi Takenori was slightly taken aback.
Sakuragi Hanamichi shouted first, "We are the strongest!"
"We are the strongest!" the entire Shohoku team shouted in unison.
The passionate shouts around him deeply inspired Takenori Akagi, reigniting his fighting spirit.
At that moment, Takenori Akagi suddenly stood up from his chair, his gaze resolute, and said in a deep voice, "Coach, don't worry, I'll be fine! We are the strongest!"
Although Coach Anzai rarely devises tactics, the players of Shohoku feel like they have a pillar of support with him on the court, and they are not afraid even if the sky falls.
Seeing Akagi Takenori's renewed fighting spirit, Sakuragi Hanamichi was very pleased and couldn't help but joke, "Gorilla, we're relieved to see you like this, otherwise I would have used my invincible iron head technique to wake you up! Hehehe..."
Sakuragi Hanamichi revealed a cunning smile, grinning wickedly and quite smugly.
Akagi Takenori slowly walked to Sakuragi Hanamichi's side without saying a word.
Sakuragi Hanamichi smiled and waved his hand modestly, saying, "Oh, no need to thank me, it's nothing..."
unexpectedly!
The next moment!
With a "boom"!
Akagi Takenori actually rammed his head into Sakuragi Hanamichi.
"Ah! Gorilla, you!" Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was suddenly ambushed, covered his head and looked incredulous.
This kind of pain is nothing to Sakuragi Hanamichi.
But the problem is, it's so embarrassing!
Akagi Takenori said angrily, "You bastard, you called me a gorilla in front of so many people and mocked me. Don't I have any shame?"
"Ah! I don't care! Gorilla! I'm going to bump your head again!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi let out a strange cry and pounced on Akagi Takenori.
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