Most teenagers always want to grow up quickly, and they also like to act very mature. Even though they are not yet 20 years old, they keep saying that they are almost 30.
This is probably what it means to crave something more than you lack it.
So when these people reach their thirties or forties, they shamelessly refer to themselves as "little brothers" and "little sisters." I wonder what they think when they inadvertently recall what they once said.
But Maki Shinichi of the Hainan team is the complete opposite.
His overly mature appearance led many girls to mistakenly believe that Maki Shinichi was a teacher at the school. On many occasions, when he walked through the school, passing girls would politely greet him with, "Hello, teacher!"
It was really awkward.
Although Maki Shinichi is currently focused entirely on basketball, he still experiences a primal urge when he sees pretty girls!
But just as he was appreciating the beauty before him, and even had a glimmer of a more beautiful fantasy in his heart...
The girl suddenly said, "Hello, teacher!"
Snap!
All the beauty vanished in an instant!
Therefore, Maki Shinichi was always very concerned about what others said about him looking mature.
As the captain of the Hainan team, the team members certainly wouldn't dare to make fun of Maki Shinichi's appearance.
During the national tournament, Maki Shinichi encountered a lot of trash talk tactics, but no one ever used the fact that he looked old to talk about it.
At this moment, Maki Shinichi was shocked to hear Sakuragi Hanamichi directly call him a "middle-aged man" and even suggest that girls should call him "Dad."
Maki Shinichi felt as if he had suffered a critical hit of 10,000 points!
The little volcano in his heart erupted!
Maki Shinichi, his face dark, roared, "Sakuragi!!!"
To be honest, Sakuragi Hanamichi just wanted to mess with Maki Shinichi's mentality, since the Sakuragi Hanamichi in the anime also used the nickname "middle-aged man".
But at this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi did not expect Maki Shinichi's reaction to be so strong.
But Maki Shinichi lived up to his name; after shouting Sakuragi Hanamichi's name, he immediately regained control of his emotions.
Everyone has moments of losing their composure, but the difference lies in the ability of a strong person to adjust their mindset immediately, preventing themselves from sinking deeper into trouble.
Although Maki Shinichi cares a lot about people saying he looks old, and he gets angry when Sakuragi Hanamichi calls him a "middle-aged man," he won't break down, much less let Sakuragi Hanamichi's trash talk tactics succeed.
Maki Shinichi said with a dark face, "Hey! Sakuragi! I think you should teach Akagi that trick you were just using, after all, he looks older than me!"
Takenori Akagi: "..."
Upon hearing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly froze, a picture instantly flashing through his mind... A petite girl, only 1.6 meters tall, stood beside Akagi Takenori, who was 1.97 meters tall. The two were snuggled together, and the girl shyly punched Akagi Takenori's chest with her little fist, then said to him in a coquettish tone, "You're so naughty! Just this once... um... Daddy..."
Thinking of this, Sakuragi Hanamichi grinned widely.
This scene was witnessed by Takenori Akagi, who shouted, "Sakuragi! What are you thinking, you idiot?"
"Beep!!!" Suddenly, the referee blew his whistle.
The referee pointed at Sakuragi Hanamichi, Maki Shinichi, Akagi Takenori, and Kiyota Nobunaga, and warned, "You guys better watch yourselves, this is a basketball game, not a tea party!"
Because Sakuragi Hanamichi and the others weren't speaking very loudly, the referee couldn't tell what they were talking about.
Those in the audience could hear even less.
However, anyone who has ever interacted with Sakuragi Hanamichi can probably guess what's going on.
Kengo Murasame of the Miura Dai team said with a shocked expression, "This Sakuragi Hanamichi is too bold! He actually dared to use trash talk tactics against Captain Maki of the King Hainan team. I don't think I would dare to do that to Maki."
Kengo Murasame is an arrogant and conceited guy. When the Miura Dai team played against the Shohoku team, he was foul-mouthed and dirty-handed. But if he met Captain Maki, he really wouldn't dare to mess with Captain Maki.
This is probably out of respect for the strongest person in Kanagawa.
Koichiro Nango of the Tsukubu team also guessed that Hanamichi Sakuragi had probably used trash-talking tactics against Shinichi Maki, but his attitude was completely opposite to that of Kengo Murasame.
Nango Koichiro exclaimed excitedly, "As expected of the man who won Haruko's heart, Sakuragi Hanamichi is really brave! He's a real man!"
The game continues.
Rukawa Kaede takes a mid-range shot.
However, Kiyota Nobunaga's defense was very effective this time, and Rukawa's shot was a bit forced, so the ball didn't go in.
With a loud "bang!"
The basketball hit the basketball hoop!
It's time to grab the rebound again!
Takenori Akagi!
Kazuma Takasago!
Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Shinichi Maki!
All four people jumped at the same time!
Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, a pair of large hands emerged and took control of the basketball in mid-air!
It's Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Sakuragi Hanamichi grabbed the rebound again!
No one expected that Sakuragi Hanamichi would be able to grab a rebound even under Maki Shinichi's tight defense!
"That number 10 from Shohoku is just too amazing!"
"He managed to grab the rebound? That's amazing!"
"My God! That's Captain Maki! Even Captain Maki couldn't stop him from grabbing the rebound!"
To be honest, even Sakuragi Hanamichi himself felt a little cocky at that moment. So what if it's Maki? The rebounds must belong to this genius, Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Sakuragi Hanamichi, having secured the rebound, immediately jumped again.
He's going to dunk this basketball right in front of Shinichi Maki!
First, he grabbed the rebound, then he dunked. His moves completely stunned Maki Shinichi!
It's just that perfect!
Just as Sakuragi Hanamichi's hands were about to dunk on the basketball hoop!
A large hand suddenly blocked his way!
It's Shinichi Maki!
"Ah! What?" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked shocked. He hadn't expected Maki Shinichi's explosive power to be so strong.
With a "smack"!
Maki Shinichi slapped the basketball out of Sakuragi Hanamichi's hand!
Big hot pot!
Shinichi Maki treated Hanamichi Sakuragi to a huge hot pot!
"Captain Maki! I knew it! How could you possibly lose to that number 10 from Shohoku!"
"That's right! This giant hot pot is so cool! This is the Captain Amu we know!"
"That number 10 from Shohoku is too naive. Does he really think he can beat Captain Maki?"
Maki Shinichi not only blocked Sakuragi Hanamichi's dunk, but also immediately grabbed the ball after landing.
It has to be said, Maki Shinichi is truly formidable!
Just now, when Maki Shinichi blocked Mitsui Hisashi's shot, he not only gave Mitsui a big block but also stole the basketball.
After receiving the basketball, Maki Shinichi immediately made a long pass to Jin Soichiro.
Jin Soichiro quickly left Mitsui Hisashi and Miyagi Ryota behind, caught the basketball steadily, and found himself completely unguarded.
Jin Soichiro quickly dribbled towards the basket for a layup, and the basketball was steadily passed from his hands.
With a "whoosh" sound!
The basketball goes into the net.
Hainan team scored 2 points.
At this moment, Hainan team has 24 points, and Xiangbei team has 18 points.
The point difference between the two teams has finally widened to 6 points.
At this moment, Coach Gao Tou from the Hainan rest area nodded in satisfaction and said, "As expected of Maki, he suppressed Sakuragi in one fell swoop."
Coach Gao Tou, who had originally planned to bring out a secret weapon, calmly fanned himself with a paper fan, looking quite relaxed.
The game continues, and Shohoku serves.
While dribbling the basketball, Ryota Miyagi encouraged Hanamichi Sakuragi, "Hanamichi, you got a great rebound just now. Don't worry about anything else."
Sakuragi Hanamichi smiled at Miyagi Ryota and said, "Ryota, don't worry, I won't let a block affect my mentality."
"That's good." After saying that, Miyagi Ryota immediately sprinted with the ball.
Since Maki Shinichi was closely marking Sakuragi Hanamichi, Muto Masayuki switched to guarding Miyagi Ryota.
Facing Muto's defense, Miyagi Ryota clearly felt much more relaxed. He used his speed to break through Muto's defense and made a move to pass the ball to Akagi Takenori, but in the end, he cleverly passed the ball to Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Clearly, his good friend Ryota Miyagi wanted to create scoring opportunities for Hanamichi Sakuragi so that Sakuragi could break through Shinichi Maki's defense.
But just then!
With a "smack"!
Despite being tricked by Ryota Miyagi and placed aside, Shinichi Maki suddenly reached out and intercepted the basketball that was about to reach Hanamichi Sakuragi.
However, because Maki Shinichi's shot was a bit forced, he only touched the basketball with his fingertips, blocking its trajectory and preventing Sakuragi Hanamichi from catching it.
The basketball flew out of bounds.
Actually, this can already be considered a successful defense by Maki Shinichi.
"What?" Maki Shinichi suddenly looked shocked. "This Sakuragi Hanamichi actually..."
Shinichi Maki didn't expect that Hanamichi Sakuragi would rush towards the basketball, which was already flying out of bounds.
There's almost no chance of saving that ball!
Moreover, the basketball was swatted away by Maki Shinichi, and the ball possession still belonged to the Shohoku team. Sakuragi Hanamichi had absolutely no need to save the basketball!
The basketball had already flown out of bounds, and Sakuragi Hanamichi leaped into the air as well!
"What? He managed to save this?"
"My God! He's working way too hard!"
"He's so full of fighting spirit!"
To everyone's astonishment, Sakuragi Hanamichi caught the basketball in mid-air, and more importantly, he successfully passed it to Miyagi Ryota.
With a loud "boom!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi slammed heavily onto a row of chairs.
At the same time, Rukawa and Miyagi executed a beautiful team play, with Rukawa ultimately scoring a layup to help Shohoku score 2 points, bringing the score difference between the two teams back to 4 points.
However, after scoring the goal, Rukawa Kaede immediately turned around and rushed towards the spot where Sakuragi Hanamichi had fallen!
But as soon as he turned around, Rukawa Kaede's eyes widened in shock.
Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly jumped up from the ground, as if nothing had happened.
At that moment, everyone wore expressions of disbelief.
With a fall of that magnitude, even disregarding whether you were injured, you would at least get up slowly, right?
Nobody jumps up in a flash!
It's practically a human monster!
Sakuragi Hanamichi felt great jumping up, and he muttered to himself, "I really am a genius, Sakuragi Hanamichi! This fall was much more serious than Mitsui's last fall, but I'm completely fine."
This scene made Coach Takato stop waving his paper fan. "Sakuragi Hanamichi's physical abilities are incredible! More importantly, he can run so fast! He probably exercises even more than Maki, you could say he's the one who exercises the most on the field, but he doesn't seem to get tired at all..."
With concern in his eyes, Rukawa asked, "Sakuragi, are you alright?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi laughed heartily and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing at all."
After saying that, Sakuragi Hanamichi glanced at Maki Shinichi with a smug look and said sarcastically, "Middle-aged man, your stamina is really not good! Only a young man like me can save a shot like that!"
Shinichi Maki: "..."
At this moment, Kiyota Nobunaga stepped forward and said, "Captain, let me defend against this arrogant red-haired monkey. Don't worry, I'll teach him a lesson."
Mu Shenyi nodded.
Let these two problem children fight each other.
Hainan then launched an attack, and Captain Maki Shinichi and Jin Soichiro executed another beautiful combination play, allowing Hainan to score 2 points and widen the score gap to 6 points.
When Shohoku team served the ball again, Miyagi Ryota winked at Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Shohoku immediately launched a fast break.
But this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi actually caught Miyagi Ryota's pass on the outside.
Kiyota Nobunaga rushed up to defend immediately, "Hmph, red-haired monkey, how dare you, a beginner, receive the ball in this position? Hurry up and pass the ball, I know you're going to pass it to Rukawa again."
Sakuragi Hanamichi smiled slightly and said, "You wild monkey, it's time to show you my true strength!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi made a gesture of raising the ball with both hands; he was actually going to make a mid-range shot here!
Seeing this, Kiyota Nobunaga immediately jumped to block the shot. "Sakuragi, you basketball novice, how dare you shoot in front of a super rookie like me? You're asking for it... Ah! What?"
Unexpectedly, Sakuragi Hanamichi's move was actually a feint!
As he hunched over and dribbled the basketball past Kiyota Nobunaga's defense, Sakuragi Hanamichi couldn't resist taunting, "Hmph, you wild monkey, you really are a monkey. As soon as I gave the signal, you obediently jumped."
To be honest, none of the Hainan team members expected that Sakuragi Hanamichi, a basketball novice, would actually dribble and make a layup.
By the time the Hainan team reacted, Sakuragi Hanamichi had already jumped with the ball.
This time, Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't dunk; instead, he executed a standard layup.
His layup motion was very standard, and he delivered the basketball steadily.
With a "whoosh" sound!
The basketball goes into the net.
Rebound king Sakuragi Hanamichi actually helped Shohoku score 2 points with a layup!
At that moment, Haruko Akagi, Nozomi Takamiya, and the others were all desperately calling out Sakuragi Hanamichi's name.
The players on the Shohoku bench also cheered loudly.
But at the same time, Coach Takato suddenly stood up. "Sakuragi Hanamichi is such a surprise to me. I finally understand why Shohoku lost to Shohoku. It was because of this unexpected player, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who threw us off balance!"
"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle. "Hainan team calls a timeout!"
Coach Takato glanced at Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was leaving the court, and then at a skinny player in the Hainan rest area. He said smugly, "Sakuragi, as a basketball rookie, you've done very well. Now, you can go cool off on the sidelines!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com