The Astonishing Progress of Genius Sakuragi!

"What are you looking at? Got flowers growing on my face?"

Shirakawa looked at Hanamichi Sakuragi's flushed face, red with excitement, and spoke irritably.

After several days of "hellish training," his patience with this red-haired monkey was nearly exhausted.

"No!" Sakuragi shook his head mysteriously, then dragged Shirakawa to a corner of the court.

"Lord Shirakawa, watch carefully! These are the results of this genius's diligent training these past few days!"

With that, he took a deep breath, picked up a basketball, and assumed a stationary dribbling stance.

His expression was more focused and serious than ever, like a student about to take a final exam.

"Heh heh, get ready to be shocked by this genius's progress!"

Sakuragi smugly thought to himself, then closed his eyes.

He began dribbling in place with a "thump, thump, thump."

Left hand, right hand, alternating dribbles.

His movements were still somewhat stiff, and his Rhythm was nothing special, but compared to a few days ago—when he had to look down while dribbling or the ball would fly away—it was a world of difference!

Most importantly, he had really done it: he had not opened his eyes the entire time!

"Thump, thump, thump..."

The sound of the basketball striking the floor was especially clear in the quiet gym.

The teammates who had not yet left were drawn over by the commotion.

"Hey, look at Sakuragi..."

"What's he doing? Dribbling with his eyes closed?"

"Holy crap! He really is! And... he actually looks pretty steady?!"

Ryota Miyagi rubbed his eyes, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.

How many days had it been?

That basketball idiot who could not even bounce a ball properly could already dribble with his eyes closed?

It was only the most basic stationary dribble, but that rate of improvement was fucking terrifying!

Kaede Rukawa also stopped walking and silently watched the scene.

He was just as surprised.

He knew Sakuragi had monster-level physical talent, but he had not expected him to possess such terrifying potential for learning basketball skills as well.

Of course, he knew even better that the man behind him deserved the greatest credit for Sakuragi's huge improvement in such a short time.

He glanced at Shirakawa, standing nearby with an expression that said, "I'll just quietly watch you show off," and his gaze became even more complicated.

"Well? Lord Shirakawa!"

After dribbling for about a minute, Sakuragi felt that he had reached his limit. He abruptly opened his eyes and looked at Shirakawa expectantly, his nostrils practically pointed at the sky.

"Isn't this genius's progress lightning-fast? Aren't you utterly shocked? Hurry up! Praise me!"

Shirakawa looked at him expressionlessly, then slowly clapped.

"Wow. So amazing."

His tone was as flat as if he were saying, "Nice weather today," without the slightest ripple.

"...That's it?" The smugness on Sakuragi's face instantly froze.

What he had expected was a shocked expression from Shirakawa, extravagant praise, and cries of, "Sakuragi, you really are a once-in-a-century genius!"

Instead, all he got was, "So amazing"?

That was way too perfunctory!

"What else?" Shirakawa rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to give you an award?"

He reached out and patted Sakuragi's shoulder, speaking earnestly. "Student Sakuragi, congratulations. After several days of hard work, your dribbling skill has finally... reached the average level of an elementary school student."

"An... elementary school student?!"

Sakuragi felt as though he had been struck by a bolt from the blue and turned completely to stone.

"Pfft—hahahahahaha!"

Miyagi could no longer hold it in. He clutched his stomach and burst into wild laughter.

"An... elementary school student... hahahaha... Shirakawa, your mouth is way too vicious..."

Even the usually cool Rukawa could not stop the corner of his mouth from lifting slightly.

"Y-you damn Shirakawa!" Sakuragi came back to his senses, his face red with rage. Pointing at Shirakawa's nose, he shouted, "You're jealous! You're just jealous of this genius's incredible talent!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm jealous of you." Shirakawa nodded dismissively. "All right, since your 'elementary school dribbling' is about good enough now, your master is in a good mood today, so I'll teach you another ultimate move."

"An ultimate move?!"

The instant he heard those words, Sakuragi's eyes lit up, and his anger and grievance from moments ago were immediately thrown to the back of his mind.

"What move? What move? Is it a dribble that makes the ball disappear like yours? Or a shot that can throw the ball in from really far away?" He rubbed his hands eagerly, nearly drooling.

"You want to learn those? Come back in a hundred years." Shirakawa crushed his hopes without mercy.

After thinking it over, he decided to teach Sakuragi the most practical and fundamental move for getting past defenders.

"Watch carefully. I'll only teach it once."

Shirakawa picked up the basketball and performed a simple crossover in front of the empty air.

His right hand dribbled the ball to his left, while his center of gravity shifted to the left with it.

It was the most ordinary, most common crossover.

Yet when Shirakawa did it, it was full of Rhythm and deception, as though he really were about to drive past someone on the left.

"Th-that's it?" Sakuragi stared blankly. "You're just moving the ball from your right hand to your left? What kind of ultimate move is that?"

"Idiot! The essence of this move lies in deception!" Shirakawa said, frustrated at his inability to teach him. "Use your eyes, your shoulders, your whole body to deceive your opponent. Make him think you're going right, then, the instant his center of gravity shifts, drive past him on the left!"

"This move is about becoming one with the ball, mixing feints with reality!"

Shirakawa began to spout nonsense with a straight face, making a simple crossover sound as profound and unfathomable as a martial arts secret manual.

"Once this move comes out, your opponent's ankles may sprain because they cannot keep up with your Rhythm. Therefore, this move has an extremely domineering name. It is called..."

Shirakawa deliberately paused, thoroughly whetting Sakuragi's appetite.

"The Genius-Only Ankle Breaker!"

"An... Ankle Breaker?!"

The moment Hanamichi Sakuragi heard the name, countless little stars appeared in his eyes!

Too... too cool!

That name was practically tailor-made for a genius like him!

"That's right!" Shirakawa continued fooling him. "This move is enormously powerful and must not be used lightly. Seeing that you are exceptionally gifted, with extraordinary bones, a one-in-ten-thousand basketball prodigy, I am making an exception by teaching it to you today. You must practice diligently, and one day use it to break the ankles of those opponents who look down on you!"

"Ooooooooooh!" Sakuragi had been completely brainwashed. He felt power flooding through his entire body. "I understand, Lord Shirakawa! I definitely won't let you down!"

With that, he grabbed the basketball and impatiently began practicing his "world-shaking ultimate technique."

"Genius-Only Ankle Breaker! Hah!"

"Watch me break you! Ha!"

Watching that red-haired monkey flail wildly at the air, Shirakawa wore a devilish smile.

Meanwhile, Miyagi and Rukawa were completely speechless.

They looked at Shirakawa, their eyes full of sympathy... sympathy for Sakuragi.

That single-celled organism was being sold off and still helping count the money.