Haruko gripped the railing of the stands so tightly that her knuckles turned pale.
"Rukawa…"
"W-Was he just hit?"
Her voice carried an obvious sob as she turned around in panic.
Yohei Mito had already put away his usual carefree attitude. His gaze was cold as a blade.
"No."
Beside him, Nozomi Takamiya clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles cracked.
"That was an elbow!"
"He deliberately swung his elbow into him!" Ohkusu Yuji cursed through gritted teeth.
As veterans who had spent years fighting their way through the streets, they were far too familiar with such despicable tricks.
The movement had been extremely subtle.
An outsider would never notice what had really happened.
Back on the court.
The furious Akagi Takenori approached Minami Tsuyoshi in great strides, towering over him like an iron fortress.
His massive shadow completely enveloped Minami.
"Minami."
Akagi's voice was like muffled thunder, as though every word had been forced out from deep within his chest.
Minami raised his eyes slightly.
His expression remained completely blank, revealing not the slightest ripple of emotion.
"Earlier, you shamelessly claimed that you had no regrets when it came to winning or losing…"
Akagi's eyes blazed with fury as he suddenly pointed at the bloodstains on the floor.
"Is this the kind of despicable trick you were talking about?!"
Minami continued pretending not to hear him.
He merely stared at Akagi with the cold, bloodthirsty gaze of a predator watching its prey.
"If you win through such a filthy method, I will never forgive you!"
Akagi grabbed Minami tightly by the collar of his jersey, looking like an enraged lion.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of hand, the referee hurried over and desperately forced the two apart.
"Back up! Everyone, back up! This is your warning!"
The Toyotama players immediately surrounded them like a pack of wolves that had caught the scent of blood.
Kishimoto Minori was especially arrogant as he shoved Akagi.
"What? You looking for a fight?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi instantly went berserk.
His red hair seemed ready to burst into flames as he lunged at Kishimoto.
"You bastard! This genius is going to cripple you today!"
"Calm down!"
Akagi grabbed the human beast from behind and held him tightly, shaking his shoulders as he shouted.
"Do you want to get suspended?!"
Sakuragi panted heavily, his bloodshot eyes glaring viciously at Minami.
Meanwhile, Makino Juro acted as if nothing had happened.
He leisurely strolled toward the free-throw line, preparing to take the free throws in place of the injured Rukawa Kaede.
The entire arena immediately erupted in boos.
Toyotama's die-hard fans were even banging their inflatable cheering sticks together, creating a deafening racket.
Juro did not even lift his eyelids.
He casually accepted the basketball from the referee.
Bounce.
Bounce.
After dribbling twice without a care in the world, he raised his hand and released the ball.
The basketball traced an elegant arc through the air.
Swish!
A perfect swish.
The deafening boos suddenly stopped for one second.
The referee passed him the ball again.
This time, Makino Juro did not even look at the rim.
He caught the ball and shot immediately.
The second free throw....
Another perfect swish!
The white net rippled like crashing waves.
Makino Juro turned around and looked directly at Minami.
Minami's gaze was as cold and sinister as a venomous snake waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
But deep within Makino Juro's eyes was an abyss without end.
Neither of them said a word.
Yet the murderous tension in the air had already reached its limit.
The game resumed.
Toyotama inbounded from the baseline.
Minami pushed forward with the ball like a violent gust of wind before flicking his wrist and passing to Kishimoto.
Kishimoto stubbornly forced his way into a layup.
The only answer he received was a sharp...
Clang!
Akagi rose from the floor like a mountain and angrily snatched the rebound.
"Counterattack!"
The ball flew toward Miyagi Ryota like a cannon shell.
In the blink of an eye, Miyagi transformed into a bolt of lightning.
He tore straight through Toyotama's retreating defense and charged into the paint!
Under the basket, Akagi had already secured his position.
The two Toyotama big men hurriedly collapsed inward to double-team him, sealing off the area so tightly that not even a fly could get through.
At the baseline, Makino Juro slipped behind the defense like a ghost.
Minami reacted extremely quickly.
He immediately shifted sideways to block Juro's route, both arms swinging wildly like windmills.
Miyagi glanced over from the corner of his eye.
He realized that he had been left completely open.
What an opportunity!
He drove through his legs and leaped into the air without hesitation, preparing for a layup.
At that critical moment, Itakura Daijiro charged over like a runaway bull.
That idiot was not even looking at the ball.
He was aiming straight for the man!
Bang!
A dull impact rang out, making everyone's teeth ache.
Itakura slammed into Miyagi in midair, his hard shoulder striking Miyagi squarely in the chest.
Miyagi immediately lost his balance.
His body flew sideways like a kite with its string cut.
He sailed over the baseline and crashed heavily into the tightly packed group of reporters beside the court!
Crash!
Camera stands toppled everywhere.
Expensive camera lenses shattered into countless pieces.
Miyagi curled up on the floor, clutching his chest in pain.
"Ryota!"
Ayako was so frantic that she threw away even her tactics board and screamed as she rushed over.
Meanwhile, after landing steadily, the culprit, Itakura Daijiro, immediately turned toward the referee.
He raised both hands.
Then, in an instant, he performed a complete -opera-style face change.
He put on an utterly innocent expression.
"Oh, gosh! I'm really sorry, really sorry!"
"I was running too fast and couldn't stop in time!"
He even spread his hands helplessly.
"Hey, buddy, are you okay?"
Crash!
Miyagi suddenly threw off the debris covering him and stood up like an enraged leopard.
His eyes were bloodshot.
He gritted his teeth and approached Itakura step by step, his chest heaving violently with rage.
"You filthy bastard!"
Miyagi finally lost control.
He swung his right arm.
A vicious hook, carrying the force of a sharp gust of wind, shot straight toward Itakura's shameless face!
The corner of Itakura's mouth curled upward.
Hooked.
"Ryota! Don't do it!"
Ayako's desperate scream pierced through the noisy arena and struck Miyagi's ears.
Whoosh!
Miyagi's iron fist abruptly stopped in midair.
His knuckles were only one centimeter from Itakura's nose!
Miyagi bit down hard on his lip.
Only after tasting a hint of blood did he force himself to swallow his anger.
He knew very well that throwing that punch would feel amazing.
But the consequences would be serious.
WHEEET!
The referee blew his whistle sharply and summoned the captains of both teams.
With a dark expression, he pointed toward the wreckage scattered along the sideline and issued a stern warning.
"Passion is a good thing in basketball, but all of you need to put that energy into the game!"
"If this happens again, I'll eject you immediately!"
This was already the final warning.
Miyagi walked back with a dark expression, so furious that he nearly ground his back teeth to dust.
At that moment, Juro leisurely wandered over and hooked an arm around Miyagi's shoulders.
The first thing out of his mouth was pure, old-master-level sarcasm.
"Look at you. Your perspective is just too narrow, isn't it?"
"Why make such a big fuss over it?"
His tone was filled with the disappointment of someone watching a student who refused to live up to his potential.
Miyagi froze on the spot.
He looked at Makino Juro as if he were staring at an alien.
"You know the referee saw everything clearly when you did that, right?"
Makino Juro pointed toward the referee in the distance, then toward Toyotama's half of the court.
His voice was neither loud nor soft.
It was just loud enough for the referee to hear every word.
"You should learn from them. Understand how to block the referee's line of sight?"
"Your movements need to be subtle, and your attacks need to be vicious."
"The key is to kill without leaving a trace."
After saying that, he gave Miyagi a friendly pat on the back.
The referee, who was standing not far away, heard every word.
His face turned dark.
What the hell?
Was this guy seriously opening a training course on dirty tricks right in front of the referee?
This kid was simply out of control!
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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