The new week's Slam Dunk storyline ended with Toyotama captain Minami Tsuyoshi elbowing Rukawa Kaede in the eye.
With Slam Dunk fans furiously cursing him and Rukawa's fans suffering a complete emotional breakdown, Minami—who had only appeared a short while ago—rose to the top of the list of the most hated characters in all of Slam Dunk!
Before this, the top spot had belonged to Ryonan's Uozumi. He played in an unsportsmanlike way, always skirting the line of a foul, but at least he never actually crossed it! Minami, on the other hand, had done it deliberately and merely kept out of the referee's sight.
"No wonder Shoyo lost to Toyotama last year. They had an ace killer like Minami!"
"Damn, with Toyotama playing like this, there's no way they should've made the top eight last year. Minami elbows one player, then the other team can't even put five players on the court!"
"As expected of the All-Island Tournament. I've already learned so much!"
"Come on, this is nothing. In Dragon Country's LBA, players fight right there on the court. Over in the USA, NBA players commit malicious fouls that leave people in the hospital for months! Basketball's full of two-hundred-pound brutes. If they don't just play basketball and start pulling dirty tricks, who could stand it?"
"Poor Rukawa. He was just getting into his stride, and then this happened!"
"I'm honestly sick of it. I hope Sakuragi Hanamichi gets revenge for his good buddy next week!"
"Good buddy? Pfft. I doubt Sakuragi thinks of him that way. If he got the chance, he'd probably rather elbow Rukawa himself, just like Minami!"
"That's a pretty narrow-minded way to look at it. Sakuragi and Rukawa may not get along, but if a teammate gets taken out with a dirty trick, he'll