Close the Doors, Let Sakuragi Loose!

Hisashi Mitsui blew out a ring of smoke.

His gaze swept contemptuously over everyone in the gym.

"Mitsui, this is the basketball club. Please leave." Kogure stepped forward with a frown.

"Leave?"

As if he had heard some kind of joke, Hisashi Mitsui burst into exaggerated laughter.

"This used to be my turf."

He casually picked up a basketball.

Then he pressed the glowing cigarette butt directly against it.

"Sizzle—"

The smell of scorched rubber spread through the air.

"What are you doing?!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi instantly bristled.

That was a basketball!

A sacred basketball!

He was about to charge forward when a hand firmly stopped him.

Ryota Miyagi.

Miyagi's face was terrifyingly grim.

He lowered his head, his bangs hiding his eyes and making his expression impossible to see.

But the arm holding Sakuragi back was shaking violently.

"Don't move, Hanamichi."

Miyagi's voice was hoarse, as though forced through clenched teeth.

"If we fight, we'll be disqualified."

"That's... Captain Akagi's dream."

At the words "disqualified," Sakuragi froze.

Kaede Rukawa looked coldly at them.

Every basketball player stood rooted to the spot, rage burning in their chests while they could only desperately suppress it.

Seeing this, the mockery in Mitsui's eyes deepened.

He walked up to Miyagi and reached out to pat his face.

"Slap, slap."

The sound was crisp, utterly humiliating.

"What's wrong, Miyagi?"

"Weren't you pretty arrogant a couple of days ago?"

"Why are you hanging your head like a dog now?"

Miyagi gritted his teeth. He neither dodged nor fought back.

"Mitsui."

Miyagi raised his head, a trace of pleading in his eyes.

"Whatever it is, let's settle it outside."

"Don't make trouble in the basketball gym."

"I'm begging you."

This was the first time Ryota Miyagi had lowered his head.

For basketball, for Ayako, and for his teammates.

Yet.

That weakness earned no sympathy. Instead, it stirred an even deeper distortion within Hisashi Mitsui.

"Begging me?"

Hisashi Mitsui sneered.

Then he suddenly lifted his foot and viciously kicked Miyagi in the stomach.

"Bang!"

Miyagi let out a muffled groan, toppled backward, and crashed heavily onto the floor.

"Miyagi!!" Ayako screamed.

"Ryota!"

Sakuragi's eyes instantly turned red, like an enraged bull.

"Don't move!!"

Miyagi clutched his stomach and curled up on the ground, yet he still shouted to stop his teammates.

"No one is allowed to fight!!"

"Do you want Shohoku's basketball club to be shut down?!"

That roar made everyone's feet feel as heavy as lead.

Humiliation.

Unprecedented humiliation.

Tetsuo stepped forward, planted his foot on the scorched basketball, and ground down hard.

"This is the thing you treasure so much?"

"Just a boring toy."

He looked around, and his gaze landed on the corner.

There, Lin Bei leaned against the wall, drenched in sweat and holding a bottle of mineral water.

Even with something this serious happening, his expression remained as calm as still water.

"Hey, dead-fish eyes."

Hisashi Mitsui noticed Lin Bei too, recalling the humiliation from that day in the alley.

He picked up a mop from the floor and pointed it at Lin Bei.

"Weren't you pretty good at fighting that day?"

"Come on."

"If you dare fight back today, I'll make the entire basketball team pay for you."

Hisashi Mitsui smiled savagely.

It was jealousy, resentment, and the madness before self-destruction.

He wanted to destroy this place.

Destroy the place that pained him, that reminded him of his former glory.

Lin Bei looked at Hisashi Mitsui.

At the former MVP, now looking like a clown.

He sighed.

"You really look pathetic, Mitsui."

Lin Bei's voice was not loud, but it was clearly audible in the deathly silent gym.

"What did you say?!" Hisashi Mitsui's expression changed.

Lin Bei set down his water bottle and slowly straightened up.

He did not look at Mitsui. Instead, he looked at Miyagi on the floor.

Then he looked at Sakuragi and Rukawa, their faces flushed red and veins bulging.

He bent down and picked up a basketball near his feet.

His movements were unhurried, as though he were simply getting ready to shoot.

"What do you want to do? Shoot?"

"At a time like this?" Tetsuo mocked.

"Yeah."

Lin Bei held the ball in one hand, and his eyes instantly sharpened, as though he had become another person.

That lazy air around him vanished completely.

In its place was a suffocating sense of pressure.

"I'm practicing passing."

"It's just that my aim... might not be very good."

Before his words had even faded.

Lin Bei's arm snapped forward.

[Kuroko Tetsuya's Accelerated Pass: Modified]

"Boom!"

It was as if an explosive blast rang out in the air.

The basketball became an orange cannonball, tearing through the air with terrifying spin and momentum.

It shot straight for Hisashi Mitsui's face.

Fast! Too fast!

So fast that even Tetsuo, an experienced fighter, failed to react.

Hisashi Mitsui only felt his vision go dark as a fierce gust rushed at his face.

"Bang!!!"

A thunderous impact rang out.

The basketball slammed precisely into the metal locker door behind Hisashi Mitsui.

The thin metal door instantly caved in with a huge dent, letting out a mournful groan.

The ball rebounded, flying past Mitsui's cheek.

Several strands of long hair drifted down.

A thin line of blood appeared on Mitsui's face.

If that ball had hit him squarely in the face...

Hisashi Mitsui stood frozen, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

He could even feel the breath of death.

"Oh dear."

Lin Bei clapped his hands, his apology entirely insincere.

"My hand slipped."

"Sorry. I'm a beginner, after all."

"I'm always missing my passes."

The entire gym fell silent.

Even the delinquents were dumbfounded by the power of that throw.

The hell was that a pass?!

That was attempted murder, wasn't it?!

Lin Bei slowly walked toward Hisashi Mitsui.

With every step, his presence grew stronger.

He stopped before Mitsui and looked down at the former genius.

"You want to destroy this place?"

Lin Bei's voice was soft, yet it struck Mitsui's heart like a heavy hammer.

"Because you can't come back, you don't want anyone else to have it either, right?"

"What a... pitiful coward."

Hisashi Mitsui's pupils contracted violently after Lin Bei struck his sore spot.

Anger, shame, and the fear of being seen through made him completely lose his mind.

"Bastard!!"

"Get him! Cripple him!!"

Hisashi Mitsui roared.

This time, it was no longer a provocation.

It was all-out war.

Tetsuo had also been getting sick of Lin Bei.

He cracked his neck, producing a series of pops, and strode toward Lin Bei.

"Kid, you picked the wrong person to mess with."

At the same time, Ryota Miyagi suddenly scrambled to his feet.

"Master! Watch out!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi could no longer hold himself back. He tore off his jersey in one motion.

"To hell with disqualification!!"

"You dare touch my master?! This genius will fight you to the end!!"

Kaede Rukawa silently picked up the mop from the floor.

A battle was about to erupt.

And at the center of the chaos.

Lin Bei looked at the charging Tetsuo and sighed helplessly.

I knew it...

"Why is it so hard to slack off in peace?"

He shifted slightly to the side and assumed a strange opening stance.

"Since you insist on throwing your lives away."

"Then I'll reluctantly help Captain Akagi clean house."

"Close the door."

Lin Bei said calmly.

"Release Sakuragi."