First Template Activation

"Bastard!!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi steadied himself, fury igniting instantly.

He whipped around, his fists cracking as he clenched them.

He looked ready to charge over and give Murasame a taste of the "Sakuragi Meteor Fist."

"Hanamichi Sakuragi!!"

"Stop! Do you want to get ejected?!" Akagi roared from the sidelines.

That shout was like a tightening spell.

Hanamichi Sakuragi froze mid-motion.

Gritting his teeth, he glared fiercely at Murasame's punchable face, snorting two harsh breaths through his nostrils.

"Hmph, you got lucky."

Hanamichi Sakuragi picked up the ball and stomped angrily toward the free-throw line.

The entire arena fell silent.

This was Hanamichi Sakuragi's first free throw in his life.

Standing at the line, the basketball in his hands suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"A free throw..."

Hanamichi Sakuragi swallowed.

During practice, he had only focused on dunks and rebounds. Free throws...

That lazy bastard Lin Bei had never taught him!

"I just have to throw it in, right?"

Hanamichi Sakuragi's heart pounded.

He raised the ball, his posture stiff as a robot.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Sweat dripped from the tip of his nose.

The air around him seemed to freeze.

Four seconds.

Five seconds...

"Tweet—!!"

The referee blew his whistle without mercy and made a signal. "Five-second violation!"

"Huh?!"

"What violation? I haven't even shot yet!" Hanamichi Sakuragi was dumbfounded.

"That's exactly why it's a violation, you huge idiot!!"

In the stands, Jun Uozumi could no longer stand watching and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Pfft, hahahaha!"

Miuradai's players erupted into laughter.

"Is this guy here to be a joke?"

"He's an amateur who doesn't even know the rules!"

"And he calls himself Shohoku's secret weapon? That's hilarious!"

The mockery crashed over him like a tide.

Hanamichi Sakuragi's face instantly turned liver-red, and he wanted to die from humiliation.

"Damn it... damn it..."

Miyagi walked over and patted him on the back. "Don't worry about it. Just throw it faster next time."

Mitsui passed by and twisted the knife. "That was seriously embarrassing. Don't tell people you know me from now on."

Kaede Rukawa drifted past coldly. "Moron."

Only Lin Bei, standing beyond the three-point line, rubbed his stomach.

"If this drags on, the cafeteria's fried pork cutlets will sell out..."

Lin Bei sighed as he watched Hanamichi Sakuragi look ready to explode.

But then he thought about it—this was Hanamichi Sakuragi.

How could he get stronger without suffering some public humiliation?

The second free throw.

Hanamichi Sakuragi's eyes changed.

The laughter from before still echoed in his ears.

"A genius... cannot be insulted!"

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Hanamichi Sakuragi.

Since he couldn't make it...

Then he would do it the genius way!

Instead of aiming for the basket, he gripped the ball with both hands, used all his strength, and viciously slammed it against the backboard!

Bang!!

A thunderous crash rang out.

The basketball smashed heavily against the backboard and bounced back.

Everyone was stunned.

What kind of move was that?

Had he given up on himself?

But in the next instant, a red figure shot upward like a rocket.

Hanamichi Sakuragi's jumping ability was displayed to its fullest in that moment.

"Did he just shoot it himself and grab his own rebound?!"

Even Coach Anzai widened his eyes in surprise.

"Now! Genius dunk!!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi roared in midair, preparing to catch the ball.

Then he would slam it viciously through the hoop and wash away his earlier humiliation.

However.

Just as he was about to dunk the ball.

A black figure suddenly burst in from the side, jumping higher than him and moving faster than him.

A pale but powerful hand pressed directly onto the basketball.

Clang!!

A huge crash resounded.

The basketball was smashed viciously into the hoop.

The two landed at the same time.

Hanamichi Sakuragi remained in his dunking posture, but his hands were empty.

Meanwhile, Kaede Rukawa stood beside him, coolly shaking out his hand.

The entire arena fell silent for a second.

Then earth-shaking cheers erupted.

"Kaede Rukawa!! A putback dunk!!"

"That was so cool!!"

Only Hanamichi Sakuragi stood petrified on the spot.

Then he cracked.

"Damn fox!!!"

"That was this genius's ball!"

"Why did you steal my spotlight!!"

Hanamichi Sakuragi grabbed Kaede Rukawa by the collar, tears nearly bursting from his eyes.

Kaede Rukawa looked at him expressionlessly. "You were too slow."

"Aaargh! I'll kill you!!"

Watching the two wrestle together, Miuradai's players were completely bewildered.

"W-what kind of team is this?"

Standing in the distance, Lin Bei finally curled his lips into a faint smile at the sight.

"They're noisy..."

"But this is Shohoku."

He glanced at the scoreboard.

18:18.

A tie.

Miyagi stole the ball, and Kaede Rukawa drove in for another layup.

20:18!

Shohoku took the lead.

Lin Bei's brows drew together slightly.

For once, his half-lidded dead-fish eyes revealed a trace of an emotion called urgency.

His stamina probably would not last until the end of the game.

He needed to score more while he was still on the court.

"Alright, the farce is over."

Lin Bei's eyes narrowed slightly, and the lazy air around him vanished in an instant.

In its place was a sharp edge that made people's hearts tremble.

[Daiki Aomine Template · Activated]

[Skills Activated: Formless Shot, Hyper-Speed Dribbling]

[Stamina Consumption Doubled]

[Daiki Aomine Basketball Panel]

[Dribbling 98, Passing 82, Steals 92, Basketball IQ 96]

[Mid-Range 99, Three-Pointers 85, Rebounds 80, Blocks 85]

[Strength 90, Speed 99, Stamina 60, Vertical Leap 97]

Other than stamina remaining unchanged, all of his other attributes had switched to Daiki Aomine's top-tier attributes.

The difference between using a character template and using a single skill was this.

Using an individual skill could not perfectly display the strength of a Generation of Miracles player.

It only altered the attributes corresponding to that specific skill.

For example, with "Hyper-Speed Dribbling," his dribbling and speed attributes would temporarily rise to 98.

Likewise, when using "Accelerated Pass," his passing attribute would temporarily rise to 98.

When using a template, although stamina consumption increased.

He could use the complete panel of a Generation of Miracles player, aside from stamina.

The basic requirement for activating a template was having a stamina value of 60.

This was also the first time he had activated a complete template.

Although Shohoku was currently ahead.

Those Miuradai guys were like indestructible cockroaches.

Their technique was crude, but relying on brute force and dirty little tricks, they had forcibly dragged the game's rhythm into a complete mess.

"Too slow."

"It's time to send them home."

Lin Bei sighed and reached up to tug at his collar.

It seemed as though he were trying to get some air—or perhaps lifting some kind of seal.

The moment Shohoku inbounded from the baseline after Miuradai scored.

Lin Bei did not slowly shuffle toward the frontcourt as usual.

Instead, he walked directly over to Ryota Miyagi.

Miyagi was preparing to bring the ball up when he heard the voice and paused. "What is it, Lin Bei?"

Lin Bei pointed at the basketball in Miyagi's hands, his tone as casual as if he were asking to borrow a lighter.

"Give me the ball."

"Huh?"

Miyagi did not react at first. "Now? But the strategy is..."

"Give me every ball from here on out."

Lin Bei cut him off. His dark eyes stared quietly at Miyagi, without the slightest hint that he was joking.

"I want to end this early."

Ryota Miyagi stumbled, nearly dribbling the ball onto his foot.

Huh?

Miyagi looked at Lin Bei's serious face, the corner of his mouth twitching wildly.

But for some reason, when he met Lin Bei's eyes, an inexplicable chill shot up his spine.

That wasn't a negotiation.

It was a statement.

Like the suffocating calm on the sea before a storm arrived.

"...I understand."

Miyagi took a deep breath and nodded.

Instead, excitement surged in his eyes.

"Then I'll leave it to you, ace."