The rim let out a pained scream.
The entire basket support trembled violently.
That alley-oop, a perfect display of violent basketball artistry, landed like a resounding slap across the faces of everyone who had thought it was a turnover.
The arena fell silent for a second.
Then—
The crowd exploded with screams loud enough to tear the roof off.
"WAAAHHHHH!!"
"It went in?! That was an alley-oop?!"
"That was insane! Does he have springs in his knees?!"
"It wasn't a mistake—it was a god-tier pass!"
After landing, Fukuda Kicchou didn't celebrate.
He simply turned around and stared toward the backcourt with eyes burning for acknowledgment, locking onto Sendoh Akira.
Sendoh straightened up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and flashed him a thumbs-up along with his trademark sunny smile.
"Nice one, Fukuda."
The tension immediately melted from Fukuda's face.
He didn't say a word, but the light in his eyes was dazzling.
On the sidelines.
Takato's folding fan froze in midair.
His expression became a masterpiece of disbelief.
"An alley-oop...?"
"Under Maki's suffocating defense, he still spotted a teammate cutting along the baseline?"
On the opposite side, Taoka Moichi clenched his fist and roared excitedly:
"Beautiful!!"
He glanced toward the stunned Kainan bench, feeling immensely satisfied.
Well, Takato?
Has your perspective broadened yet?
"You thought I moved Sendoh to point guard for defense?"
"How naive!"
"A 190-centimeter Sendoh possesses a God's-eye view that Maki Shinichi could never have in his lifetime!"
In the Shohoku stands.
Makino Juro watched the scene unfold, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as his fingers tapped rhythmically against the armrest.
"This is what a 190-centimeter magician looks like."
Beside him, Rukawa Kaede's eyes flickered thoughtfully.
Makino Juro lazily added:
"A normal point guard sees nothing but a wall when facing Maki."
"But Sendoh is different."
"His line of sight is basically on the second floor above Maki's head."
"No matter how tightly Maki defends him, he can still see the entire court."
"That pass wasn't random."
"He calculated the exact height and timing so that only Fukuda could catch it."
"That's what you call attacking from a higher dimension."
Makino Juro paused, his gaze settling on the spiky-haired figure retreating on defense.
"To pull off something like that under this kind of pressure..."
"Sendoh Akira really is something special."
On the court.
Score: 2–0.
Ryonan struck first.
Maki Shinichi stared at the basketball rolling away.
For the first time, a ripple appeared on his usually expressionless face.
He looked deeply at Sendoh.
"So that's your game."
"Using your height to ignore interference and command the entire court?"
Maki picked up the ball and inbounded it from the baseline.
When he advanced again, his aura had completely changed.
If he had been a mountain moments ago, now he was a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"If you want to play..."
His dribble suddenly accelerated, his eyes sharp as blades.
"Then I'll play with you to the end."
"Don't think a little trick like this can shake me off, Sendoh."
Facing Maki's advance, Sendoh didn't retreat.
He spread his arms and lowered his center of gravity.
190 cm vs. 184 cm.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The basketball hammered against the floor like thunder.
Maki pushed forward with the ball, his dark face as rigid as forged steel.
There wasn't a trace of panic on him.
Only a dark flame of anger flickering deep within his eyes.
He was the Emperor of Kanagawa.
The man who once stood at the apex of high school basketball's food chain.
Faced with Ryonan's tactical adjustment and Sendoh Akira's sudden transition into a point guard role, Maki's answer was simple.
Crush him.
"Come on, Maki."
Sendoh spread his arms wide, lowering himself into a defensive stance.
Those eyes that usually looked sleepy and carefree now shone with frightening intensity, fixed firmly on Maki's core like a predator locking onto its prey.
Maki moved.
No flashy setup.
No hesitation.
His shoulder dipped.
In an instant, he exploded forward like a fully accelerated heavy tank, bulldozing toward the right side.
The wind howled.
His speed was terrifying.
"So fast!"
Miyagi Ryota's pupils contracted sharply from the stands.
This was what made Maki Shinichi so terrifying.
He possessed the size and power of a center, yet his first step was as explosive as a small guard's.
It was practically cheating.
And yet....
Just as Maki was about to get past him, a tall figure clung to him like a shadow, cutting off his driving lane.
"What?!"
A flash of surprise crossed Maki's mind.
It wasn't anticipation.
It was pure speed.
Sendoh's lateral movement had actually kept up with his full-speed drive?
The two powerful bodies collided fiercely.
BOOM!
The dull impact of muscle against muscle made spectators at courtside feel their scalps go numb.
Maki frowned.
The rebound force was much stronger than he'd expected.
Not only had Sendoh failed to get knocked away—
He used his superior height and wingspan to completely seal off Maki's passing and scoring lanes like a giant spider web.
"He stayed with him! Sendoh-senpai matched Maki's speed!"
On the sidelines, Aida Hikoichi was so excited that he snapped the tip of his pen.
"Incredible! This is Sendoh-senpai's defense!"
Kainan's bench.
Takato, who had been leisurely fanning himself with an expression of complete confidence, suddenly froze.
Behind his glasses, his eyes locked onto the court.
His face changed dramatically.
"No..."
"This isn't simple man-to-man defense..."
His gaze swept across Ryonan's other four players.
Koshino.
Uekusa.
Fukuda.
Uozumi.
None of them were tightly following their individual assignments.
Instead, they had deliberately collapsed around the paint, forming an ironclad zone defense.
Only Sendoh remained attached to Maki like an inescapable shadow.
The veins at Takato's temples bulged.
Grinding his teeth, he forced a single term through clenched jaws.
"Box-and-One!"
The crowd erupted in surprise.
Normally, a Box-and-One consisted of four players playing zone defense while one defender shadowed the opponent's ace shooter.
But Ryonan's version was completely reversed.
Four players guarded the area and cut off interior connections.
Then they deployed their strongest weapon—
Sendoh Akira.
To guard Maki Shinichi one-on-one.
"Taoka-senpai..."
"You actually dared to use a gamble like this?"
Takato's eyes darkened as he looked toward the Ryonan bench.
This strategy wasn't just an extreme drain on Sendoh's stamina.
It was also absolute, unquestioning faith in his individual ability.
If Sendoh couldn't stop Maki—
Ryonan's defense would collapse instantly.
Completely and utterly.
On the Ryonan bench.
Taoka Moichi sat firmly on the bench with his arms crossed, as steady as a mountain.
A calculating smile curved across his lips.
"A gamble?"
"No, Takato. You don't understand Sendoh at all."
His eyes never left the man on the court who still wore a smile despite the intense physical battle.
The trust in Taoka's gaze was overwhelming.
"If I didn't believe in Sendoh, I would never have created a strategy like this."
"From the day he joined Ryonan, I knew his talent wasn't limited to scoring."
"He's a true genius."
"A man capable of surpassing Maki Shinichi and standing at the summit of Kanagawa..."
"No."
"At the summit of the entire nation."
"Of that—"
"I have never doubted for a second."
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
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