Genius Airdrop

"My defensive tactics..."

"Had completely collapsed..."

Taoka Moichi felt his entire worldview shatter.

Was this really high school basketball?

This was practically a dimensionality-reduction strike!

[Mission Progress: 3/3]

[Mission Complete!]

[Reward: Stamina Potion (Medium), Skill Point ×1, Distributed]

"Phew..."

Lin Bei landed and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Finally got it done."

"I'm exhausted."

He glanced at the scoreboard, then checked the time.

There were still eight minutes left.

"Master! Master!"

Just then, a red figure came charging over.

Hanamichi Sakuragi was drenched in sweat, but his eyes shone with the excitement of a husky spotting a bone.

"That move just now was awesome!"

"I want to learn it too! I want to learn it too!"

"I want to scare that old man so badly he pisses himself too!"

Lin Bei looked at Sakuragi, and a scheme suddenly came to mind.

Now that the mission was complete, for the remaining time...

He might as well let this monkey wreak havoc.

He could barely run anymore anyway.

"Sakuragi."

Lin Bei patted Sakuragi's shoulder with grave sincerity.

"It's still too early for you to learn that."

"But I have an even more powerful move now, a finishing move that only you can pull off."

"Really?!" Sakuragi's eyes lit up.

"Of course."

Lin Bei pointed above the hoop.

"In a moment, I'll throw the ball into the air."

"No matter how high I throw it, no matter how far off it goes."

"You just need to jump up and smash it hard into the basket."

"It's called... 'Genius Airdrop.'"

"Genius... Airdrop!"

Sakuragi muttered the words, then threw back his head and laughed.

"Wahahaha! What a great name!"

"It suits this genius perfectly!"

"Leave it to me, Master! I'll fly higher than anyone!"

The game resumed.

Ryonan failed to score on offense.

Akagi grabbed the rebound and passed it to Lin Bei.

Lin Bei slowly dribbled across half court.

By now, Ryonan's defense had begun to panic.

They didn't know whether to guard Lin Bei's drives or his passes.

Lin Bei stood two steps beyond the three-point line.

Then he suddenly picked up his dribble.

He looked at the basket, a mischievous smile curling across his lips.

"Here we go."

He tossed the ball high into the air with both hands.

The ball flew higher and higher.

It was nothing like a shooting trajectory; it even looked like a botched pass.

"What the..."

Uozumi had just been about to mock it as an airball.

Then, a bolt of red lightning took off from near the free-throw line.

Hanamichi Sakuragi.

He took a running start, planted his feet, and leaped.

The floor let out a pained groan.

His entire body shot upward like a rocket.

Over Koshino's head, over Sendoh's fingertips.

Even... over Uozumi's head!

"What?!"

Every spectator in the arena rose to their feet.

Was that red-haired guy... flying?!

In midair, Sakuragi's body stretched into a taut bow.

His battered basketball shoes seemed to be stepping on clouds.

At the peak of his jump, the orange basketball landed perfectly in his hands.

At that moment, his eyes were level with the hoop.

"I am... a genius!!!"

With an angry roar.

Sakuragi drove with his core and viciously slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.

BANG!!!

The thunderous impact shook the entire arena.

The basket support swayed violently, creaking as though it could not bear the strain.

An alley-oop slam dunk!

Sakuragi landed and staggered two steps from momentum, but quickly regained his balance.

He turned around to face the deathly silent crowd and Taoka Moichi, who had already turned to stone.

With both hands on his hips and his nostrils pointed skyward, he struck that signature pose.

"Heh heh heh..."

"Did you see that, mortals?!"

"This is the secret weapon!"

"This is the power of genius Hanamichi Sakuragi!"

"Wahahaha!"

Taoka Moichi clutched his chest and gasped for breath.

He looked at the red-haired monster, then at Lin Bei, who was secretly snickering in the distance.

Only one thought remained in his mind:

Shohoku... these guys...

Where had this army of monsters come from?!

67:68.

The score had been overturned!

Shohoku's momentum exploded completely.

Sakuragi's "Genius Airdrop."

Was like pouring a ladle of cold water into boiling oil, extinguishing more than half of Ryonan's home-court momentum.

Then it was like adding another blaze, igniting the adrenaline of every Shohoku player.

"Get back on defense! Don't get carried away!"

Though Takenori Akagi was thrilled inside, he still maintained the authority of a captain on his face.

He roared and took the lead in running backcourt.

"Yes! Gorilla!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi was still savoring the feeling of that dunk.

His palms burned with pain, but he considered it a badge of honor for a genius.

However, the situation on the court changed in an instant.

Ryonan was, after all, last year's semifinalist team.

After the brief panic, Jun Uozumi's massive body once again became the stabilizing pillar of their interior.

"Give me the ball!"

Uozumi established position and called for the ball from Sendoh.

Sakuragi had stolen the spotlight from him in the previous battle for the ball.

Now, blazing fury burned in the eyes of this "Monkey Boss."

Without hesitation, Sendoh bounced a pass straight into Uozumi's hands.

Takenori Akagi immediately pressed up against him.

Two mountains of flesh collided fiercely beneath the basket, the sound of muscle grinding against muscle making everyone's teeth ache.

"You're not getting past me!"

Akagi gritted his teeth and held firm against Uozumi's post-up.

"Raaah!"

Uozumi suddenly exerted force, spun around, and powered up.

At that moment, the basketball bounced off the rim.

"Rebound!"

Akagi and Uozumi jumped at the same time.

Four huge hands tangled in the air, fighting for that crucial landing spot.

Bang!

Then the accident happened.

As Uozumi came down, his swinging elbow smashed hard into Akagi's brow bone.

Blood immediately poured out, running down Akagi's resolute face and staining half his cheek red.

"Captain!"

"Gorilla!"

Shohoku's players cried out and rushed over.

Akagi covered his forehead as blood seeped through his fingers and dripped onto the polished floor, a horrifying sight.

The referee's whistle rang out sharply.

"Timeout! Shohoku requests a timeout!"

Uozumi stood frozen in place, staring at Akagi's blood-covered face.

The ferocious aura around him instantly vanished, replaced by panic and guilt.

"Akagi... I didn't do it on purpose."

Uozumi clumsily tried to step forward and check on him, but Ayako rushed over and pushed him away.

"Don't touch him! We need to stop the bleeding immediately!"

Ayako was usually fierce, but even her hands were trembling slightly right now.

Akagi sat on the floor and let Ayako tend to his wound.

He pushed away Kogure, who had tried to support him, his one visible eye fixed firmly on the scoreboard.

"I'm fine... Just put a bandage on it."

"No! The wound is too deep. You have to go to the infirmary!"

Ayako cut him off sternly. "Do you want to pass out from blood loss on the court?"

"But..."

Akagi gritted his teeth and looked unwillingly toward the court.

"Go on, Gorilla."

A lazy voice cut in.

Lin Bei stood to one side with his hands in his pockets.

Looking at the bloodstains on the floor, he frowned slightly.

"Leave this to us."

"And besides..."

"Your successor can't wait any longer."

Lin Bei pointed at Sakuragi, who was anxiously pacing beside them like an ant on a hot pan.

"Gorilla! Go without worrying!"

"Leave the paint to this genius! I'll send that monkey boss flying!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi pounded his chest, making it thump loudly.

Akagi looked at Hanamichi Sakuragi's eyes, utterly fearless and even eager for a fight, and fell silent for two seconds.

"Sakuragi." Akagi's voice was low.

"What?"

"Hold the paint."

"Don't disgrace Shohoku."