Shōhoku's Predicament (A 4,000-Word Combined Chapter of Getting Crushed)

The basketball swished through the net, and Hanagata Toru calmly sank the free throw.

Shōhoku 0–3 Shoyo.

"Great job, Hanagata." Fujima Kenji smiled approvingly and lightly patted Hanagata Toru on the shoulder in encouragement.

Hanagata Toru had successfully drawn a "2+1" from Akagi Takenori. The impact of that play was in no way inferior to that of a spectacular dunk that lifted the team's morale.

What was more, Akagi Takenori was Shōhoku's captain and the spiritual pillar of the entire team.

On the surface, it was merely an ordinary score from drawing a foul, but in reality, it had placed enormous psychological pressure on Shōhoku.

And that was exactly what happened. The expressions of everyone from Shōhoku had become even more solemn and grave.

Akagi Takenori's two fouls had instantly cut down a large portion of the momentum Shōhoku had finally built up before the match began.

The teams switched from offense to defense, and possession went to Shōhoku.

To answer in kind, Shōhoku quickly launched a fast break.

Akagi Takenori rushed into Shoyo's paint.

In front of the three-point line, Miyagi Ryota decisively passed the ball to Mitsui Hisashi on the other side.

Mitsui Hisashi was just about to shoot when Hasegawa Kazushi quickly closed in. His tight defense left Mitsui Hisashi no opportunity to get a shot off.

With no other choice, Mitsui Hisashi could only shield the ball while rapidly scanning his surroundings for a passing route.

Soon, he saw Rukawa Kaede suddenly appear in his field of vision, waving for the ball.

Mitsui Hisashi did not hesitate at all. He took a step forward to briefly create some distance from Hasegawa Kazushi, then unhesitatingly whipped the ball toward Rukawa Kaede.

After Rukawa Kaede successfully received the ball, Nagano Mitsuru quickly moved in to defend him closely.

Rukawa Kaede's gaze sharpened. Through a gap in Nagano Mitsuru's defense, he keenly spotted Akagi Takenori in the paint.

He made his decision at once, swiftly swinging the ball and passing it through the gap in Nagano Mitsuru's defense.

The basketball traced an arc through the air toward Akagi Takenori beneath Shoyo's basket.

However, at the critical moment when Akagi Takenori was about to receive it, a large hand suddenly reached out and intercepted the ball before it could reach him.

What?

Akagi Takenori was startled and hurriedly looked toward the person who had arrived.

The one who had intercepted the pass was none other than Shoyo's power forward, Takano Shoichi.

Rukawa Kaede had not expected the carefully placed pass to be intercepted by his opponent.

"Fast break." Fujima Kenji reacted swiftly and immediately called for one.

The next moment, the entire Shoyo team sprang into action and launched a fast break.

The players from Shōhoku also hurried back on defense, but unfortunately, they still failed to stop Shoyo's attack.

Shoyo's offense was incredibly fast, and its players worked together with perfect understanding. On top of that, Miyagi Ryota's severe height disadvantage gave Shoyo a passing route with the lowest risk and the highest chance of success.

Inside Shōhoku's paint.

Hanagata Toru spotted the opening before Akagi Takenori had time to recover his defensive position. He pushed off with both legs and leaped high, gripping the ball in both hands as he prepared to score with a powerful dunk.

Akagi Takenori was frantic behind him, wishing he could sprout wings and fly over to stop him, but for the moment, he could do nothing.

At that critical instant, Sakuragi Hanamichi shot out from some corner like a bolt of lightning.

He stretched out his arm like an impenetrable wall and blocked Hanagata Toru's path, shouting at the top of his lungs, "With genius Sakuragi Hanamichi here, don't even think about shooting!"

Hanagata Toru looked up at Sakuragi Hanamichi before him, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes.

Without another word, he immediately assumed a shooting posture.

Sakuragi Hanamichi reacted extremely quickly. His eyes widened, and he forcefully pushed off the floor, soaring into the air like a cannonball in an attempt to block the shot.

However, only after he jumped did he realize in shock that Hanagata Toru's feet had never left the ground.

A fake.

Damn it.

Sakuragi Hanamichi realized it belatedly and regretted it bitterly, but his body was already in the air, and there was nothing he could do to turn things around.

A smug, malicious smile curled across Hanagata Toru's lips. He kept his eyes fixed on Sakuragi Hanamichi and suddenly pushed off into the air.

"What is this guy trying to do?" Sakuragi Hanamichi instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

The next moment, Hanagata Toru's body collided directly with Sakuragi Hanamichi's. Using that momentum, he flicked his wrist, and the basketball shot out like an arrow released from a bow.

Toot...

A sharp whistle instantly rang throughout the entire court.

At the same time.

With a swish, the basketball dropped cleanly into Shōhoku's basket.

The referee's voice immediately followed. "Shōhoku Number 10, defensive foul. The basket counts, and one free throw."

"Ah..." Sakuragi Hanamichi felt his heart contract violently. Aggrieved and indignant, he shouted, "He was the one who ran into me! I wasn't even trying to foul him!"

His heart was filled with unwillingness and resentment, along with a touch of grievance.

He wanted to argue with the referee because everything he had said was true.

But the referee did not pay the slightest attention to Sakuragi Hanamichi's explanation.

The referee had seen it clearly. Hanagata Toru had indeed deliberately drawn the foul. It was a common technique in basketball and was beyond dispute.

If anyone was to blame, it could only be Sakuragi Hanamichi for lacking experience and being outplayed.

At that moment, Akagi Takenori quickly walked up to Sakuragi Hanamichi and reminded him in a low voice, "Sakuragi... raise your hand."

Seeing the unquestionable look in Akagi Takenori's eyes, Sakuragi Hanamichi was filled with reluctance, but he eventually raised his hand, slowly and unwillingly.

On the sidelines, everyone on Shōhoku's bench could no longer sit still.

First, Akagi Takenori had committed two fouls in succession. Now Sakuragi Hanamichi had also been baited into a foul.

At this rate, someone from Shōhoku would probably be ejected before the first half was over.

The game had been underway for less than two minutes, yet Shōhoku had already committed three fouls. It was truly difficult for everyone to accept.

Even so, Anzai Mitsuyoshi continued sitting there quietly, showing no intention of calling a timeout.

Qing Junce also maintained a calm expression, watching the game on the court with an air of composure. Not the slightest ripple had passed through his emotions.

Only Shimizu Kanon wore a somewhat complicated expression.

She was not worried about Shōhoku's current disadvantage. Rather, the players on the court had not followed the information she had provided about their opponents' weaknesses. They were playing in complete disorder.

In her eyes, the Shōhoku players on the court could be summed up in one word: "Messy."

Everyone was playing on instinct, and the coordination between the players was a complete disaster, utterly lacking in structure.

Time passed second by second.

The game on the court continued.

Shōhoku's situation grew increasingly dire.

It was now Shoyo's turn to attack again.

Takano Shoichi worked cleverly with Hanagata Toru to shake off Akagi Takenori's airtight defense. Hanagata Toru found his opening and immediately scored a beautiful layup.

The ball went in.

Shoyo scored another two points.

"Shoyo... Shoyo... Shoyo..."

The Shoyo cheer squad's earth-shaking chants instantly drowned out the entire gymnasium.

By contrast, the spectators who had previously been cheering for Shōhoku had now fallen silent.

They had expected to watch an exciting, evenly matched battle, but it had unexpectedly become a one-sided drubbing of Shōhoku by Shoyo.

Possession returned to Shōhoku once more.

Rukawa Kaede reacted with lightning speed. Before Shoyo's players could get back on defense, he transformed into a red bolt of lightning and raced toward Shoyo's basket.

Akagi Takenori did not hesitate either. Standing on the baseline, he swung his arm in a full arc and launched an extremely long pass. The basketball flew straight toward Rukawa Kaede like a cannonball.

However, before the ball had even traveled halfway, a large hand suddenly appeared and forcibly blocked its path.

Not good.

Akagi Takenori and Rukawa Kaede both felt their hearts sink and looked toward the owner of that hand.

Only after focusing did they see that the one who had intercepted the ball was Nagano Mitsuru, wearing Shoyo's Number 7 jersey.

Nagano Mitsuru's task was to guard Rukawa Kaede.

The moment Rukawa Kaede moved, Nagano Mitsuru had already noticed him.

But he had not blindly chased after him. He knew very well that he was slower than Rukawa Kaede. Rather than waste his energy chasing from behind, he had chosen to cut off the connection between Rukawa Kaede and the rest of Shōhoku.

As it turned out, his choice had been correct.

After receiving the ball, Nagano Mitsuru immediately passed it to Fujima Kenji.

Fujima Kenji dribbled quickly to the front of the three-point line, bent his knees slightly, and leaped high, taking the posture of someone about to shoot a three-pointer.

Miyagi Ryota naturally refused to let him have his way. He immediately jumped high and stretched out his arm in an attempt to interfere.

But his height was an insurmountable weakness. He could barely block half of Fujima Kenji's vision.

Damn it.

Miyagi Ryota gritted his teeth in frustration, but there was nothing he could do.

Just as Fujima Kenji was about to shoot, a figure rocketed into the air from behind Miyagi Ryota. His arm extended straight up, completely blocking Fujima Kenji's view.

Fujima Kenji's pupils abruptly contracted.

The person who had suddenly appeared behind Miyagi Ryota was none other than Mitsui Hisashi.

With Mitsui Hisashi's height and wingspan, blocking Fujima Kenji's shooting lane was effortless.

However, Fujima Kenji showed no sign of panic. He looked up at Mitsui Hisashi blocking him, instantly changed his shooting motion, flicked his wrist, and tossed the ball to the side.

A pass?

Mitsui Hisashi and Miyagi Ryota's hearts sank at the sight.

Neither had expected Fujima Kenji to change from a shot to a pass at such a critical moment. He had not hesitated in the slightest, as though he had been planning to pass from the very beginning.

Everything had happened too suddenly. By the time Miyagi Ryota reacted and tried to stop it, it was already too late.

Mitsui Hisashi, positioned behind Miyagi Ryota, had even less ability to help with someone between them. He could not stop the pass and could only watch helplessly as Fujima Kenji sent the ball away.

The basketball landed precisely in the hands of Nagano Mitsuru, who had just found himself open.

Nagano Mitsuru stood in front of the three-point line and smoothly rose into his shot.

The basketball traced a graceful parabola through the air, heading straight for Shōhoku's basket.

The expressions of everyone from Shōhoku changed drastically as they stared fixedly at the flying ball.

Swish...

A crisp sound of the ball brushing the net rang out.

The basketball dropped cleanly through the hoop.

But to everyone from Shōhoku, that sound was like the devil whispering in their ears.

Shōhoku 0–11 Shoyo.

In the minutes that followed, Shōhoku seemed to be haunted by misfortune, as if trapped in a swamp from which it could never escape.

Every time they launched an attack, whether it was Rukawa Kaede's fierce drives, Akagi Takenori's power moves in the paint, or Miyagi Ryota's clever playmaking and passing, Shoyo's players blocked them all without exception like an impenetrable wall.

Shoyo, by contrast, attacked like a razor-sharp scalpel, precise and deadly with every cut.

Hanagata Toru's fakes beneath the basket left Shōhoku's interior defense dizzy and confused.

Fujima Kenji's passes always found open teammates at exactly the right moment.

Nagano Mitsuru's three-point shooting from the perimeter was even more reliable.

Under their relentless assault, Shōhoku could only retreat step by step, utterly powerless to resist.

Time flew by second after second. To Shōhoku, those few short minutes felt as long as a century.

On the electronic scoreboard, Shoyo's score kept climbing, shooting upward without pause.

But on Shōhoku's side, the number representing their score seemed to have been nailed in place. It remained an eye-catching zero, completely motionless.

0–13.

0–15.

0–17.

0–19.

Everyone from Shōhoku stared at the electronic scoreboard overhead, their hearts sinking to the bottom.

Akagi Takenori and the others gasped heavily, their chests heaving violently as beads of sweat rolled down their cheeks with soft plops.

Every step they took made their legs feel as though they were filled with lead, heavy as if they were trudging through a thick swamp.

Below the court.

The Shōhoku substitutes were frantic, their eyes wide with worry and anxiety.

Kogure Kiminobu anxiously scratched his head, his voice trembling slightly. "What do we do? What do we do? We're already behind by so many points. If this continues, we're definitely going to lose."

Shiosaki Satoshi pressed his hands tightly together and squeezed his eyes shut, muttering, "Heaven above, please show us some mercy and help Shōhoku!"

Yasuda Yasuharu wailed along, "Think of something quickly!"

Ayako could not bear to watch any longer. Her voice was full of anxiety. "Honestly, their movements are so stiff. They're completely different from usual and aren't even showing half their strength. Even against Shoyo, it shouldn't be like this!"

Shimizu Kanon remained composed. Keeping her eyes fixed on the game, she analyzed calmly, "I think everyone is too nervous, which is why they're performing so poorly."

At that, Ayako immediately said, "Then call a timeout and let them come off the court to calm down. If they keep losing points like this, things will become troublesome."

Shimizu Kanon shook her head and explained, "It won't help. Even if we call a timeout now, it won't make a difference. Their pressure comes from facing Shoyo, so they'll have to overcome this hurdle themselves."

After saying that, Shimizu Kanon thought to herself, I hope there's still time.

Anzai Mitsuyoshi was like a steady statue, his gaze firmly locked on the court. He held a cup of steaming tea in his hands, his expression so calm that he did not look like the coach of a team trailing by a huge margin. His composure was impossible to read.

Qing Junce was much the same. He paid no attention to the score, focusing all his attention on Shoyo's players.

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and his expression carried a hint of amusement. "Not bad! They're pretty strong. They're much stronger than the teams we faced before."

The few idiots on the court were in poor condition, but the fact that Shoyo had managed to suppress them to this extent showed that Shoyo possessed considerable strength.

Thinking of this, Qing Junce could not help feeling an itch to play himself.