Seijuro Akashi clenched his fists tightly, glaring at Makoto Hanamiya with eyes that looked ready to kill.
Seeing that, Makoto Hanamiya immediately lit up. He stuck his face out and said in the most punchable tone possible:
"Come on, hit me."
Seijuro Akashi's fist twitched, but in the end, he still did not swing.
Because he knew that if he threw that punch, it would feel good for one instant, but afterward, he would only feel even more frustrated.
First, because swinging would mean he had fallen right into Makoto Hanamiya's trap!
Second, because if he did swing, the primary personality would absolutely take away his control over the body!
So right now, Seijuro Akashi could only endure it!
Seeing that, Makoto Hanamiya immediately laughed with open delight.
"You still don't dare hit me, huh, coward? I love watching cowards like you, people who clearly want to hit me but don't have the guts to do it!"
Seijuro Akashi's body had already started trembling, and his breathing had grown rapid.
His face was as red as a monkey's ass.
It could be said that Seijuro Akashi was truly overheating now. In fact, he had reached his absolute limit.
But there was nothing he could do! He couldn't hit him!
At that moment, he was so frustrated he could barely stand it!
He couldn't out-talk Makoto Hanamiya!
In the past, there had been trash-talkers too, but once he crushed them, they all quieted down.
But Makoto Hanamiya was like some kind of bug. Even if Seijuro Akashi beat him half to death, his mouth would still stay sharp!
In the end, Seijuro Akashi could only turn around and fall back on defense, doing his best not to listen to Makoto Hanamiya's endless yapping.
Naturally, Makoto Hanamiya intended to follow him all the way to the end.
He followed Seijuro Akashi directly, unloading into his ear nonstop.
Makoto Hanamiya had discovered a new kind of fun.
Seijuro Akashi really could endure!
For the next few possessions, Makoto Hanamiya kept staying right beside Seijuro Akashi.
Only when Shogo Haizaki held the ball and faced Seijuro Akashi would Makoto Hanamiya shut up and walk away.
At all other times, he kept following beside Seijuro Akashi and roasting him!
It got to the point where Seijuro Akashi no longer planned to steal the ball from Shogo Haizaki. He simply moved with Shogo Haizaki and defended him.
There had never been a moment when Seijuro Akashi found Shogo Haizaki this pleasant to look at.
He had clearly been numbed by Makoto Hanamiya's nonstop trash talk.
But very soon, Seijuro Akashi completely lost it again.
Because Shogo Haizaki, the one person who could give him even a little quiet, overloaded his brain from keeping the Limit of Selfless Brilliance active for too long and had to leave the court to rest again.
That infuriated Seijuro Akashi.
His only quiet space was gone!!!
With Shogo Haizaki leaving the court and Kentaro Seto coming on, Seijuro Akashi once again had to face Makoto Hanamiya.
And of course, Makoto Hanamiya had no intention of stopping. His mouth kept going the whole time.
Even though Seijuro Akashi had shaken him down more than ten times, Makoto Hanamiya still followed him around like nothing had happened and kept roasting him.
His whole focus was messing with Akashi's mentality.
And just like that, Seijuro Akashi was pestered by Makoto Hanamiya for an entire quarter.
When the first quarter ended, the score was 28 to 24.
Kirisaki Daiichi led Rakuzan High School by four points.
After leaving the court, Seijuro Akashi could no longer hold back his emotions.
He grabbed a bench and kicked it, then started kicking it furiously while cursing:
"Trash! Trash! Trash!"
The other Rakuzan High School players could only keep their distance from Seijuro Akashi.
No joke, Seijuro Akashi was like a powder keg right now. One spark and he would explode!
But this also made them feel a trace of fear toward Makoto Hanamiya.
Because this was the first time they had ever seen Seijuro Akashi like this. Most importantly, the person who had made Seijuro Akashi like this was someone weaker than him!
And that person had done it with nothing but his mouth!
The people who had the most right to speak on this were those who had been roasted by Makoto Hanamiya before.
Among them, Kazunari Takao was definitely the representative figure!
Because right now, even off the court, Kazunari Takao couldn't help cursing Makoto Hanamiya.
"Villain! Scumbag! A piece of trash who only knows dirty tricks! I don't even know why Kirisaki Daiichi took him in!"
"Someone like him should be stuffed into an oil drum and sunk in a river!!!"
Everyone from Shūtoku High School immediately moved away from Kazunari Takao.
Because right now, Kazunari Takao looked like he was one bad comment away from turning into a demon.
On the sidelines.
Makoto Hanamiya was grinning as he tried to take credit in front of Miyamoto Tokima.
"What do you think, Tokima? I did pretty well, right? That Akashi couldn't handle my eloquence at all."
The corner of Miyamoto Tokima's mouth twitched, and he gave Makoto Hanamiya a thumbs-up.
"Yeah, yeah. Pretty impressive. Very impressive."
Of course it was. With one mouth, he nearly got Seijuro Akashi ejected. What else could Miyamoto Tokima say? That was Makoto Hanamiya for you!
At that moment, Shogo Haizaki raised his head, his expression twisted slightly from the pain.
"Sorry, Tokima. I lost my temper again."
Miyamoto Tokima patted Shogo Haizaki on the shoulder, sighed, and comforted him:
"It's fine. What Akashi did back then... really wasn't right."
"But you too. Couldn't you just roast him like Makoto Hanamiya? Did you really have to enter the Zone and activate the Limit of Selfless Brilliance on top of that?"
"Do you seriously think your brain can keep up with all that?"
Shogo Haizaki forced out a bitter smile through the pain.
"I... I just wanted to crush Akashi back then. I didn't think that much. But yeah, I was impulsive."
Makoto Hanamiya immediately shot back without the slightest mercy:
"At least you know. Acting like an idiot. Does that tiny brain of yours even have the capacity to play like that?"
"Who do you think you are?"
"Cough, cough..."
Shogo Haizaki was choked by Makoto Hanamiya's words. After coughing twice, he pointed at Makoto Hanamiya with a red face and said with difficulty:
"You f*cking Hana..."
Before he could finish, Makoto Hanamiya cut him off.
"What are you barking for? I finally know why your brain capacity is so small. It's because it's full of shit!"
Shogo Haizaki completely snapped.
"Ah!! Hanamiya! When we get back, I'm fighting you in the octagon!!!"
Makoto Hanamiya spread his hands indifferently and said:
"Then come on. Anytime."
Miyamoto Tokima and the others watched the two of them bicker as usual, and the corners of their mouths twitched.
...
"Beep! The second quarter begins! Both teams, take the court!"
With the second quarter starting, both sides returned to the court.
Seijuro Akashi's mood seemed to have improved a lot, and his expression had once again returned to its icy calm.
It seemed he had truly calmed down.
Seeing that, Makoto Hanamiya did not hesitate at all. He walked straight toward Seijuro Akashi, ready to start roasting him.
But in the next second, a figure blocked Makoto Hanamiya's path.
It was Kotaro Hayama.
Kotaro Hayama showed his sharp canine teeth and said with a smile:
"Sorry, but your opponent this time is me. I can't let you interfere with Akashi anymore."
...
...
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