Chapter 15: Midfield Appearance and Silent Competition
Shohoku dressing room.
After Shohoku and his team arrived at the locker room, they began to make their own adjustments.
I don't know if it's because Sannoh is too cautious or if the nervousness deep down is too strong to suppress.
They arrived much earlier today than usual for the game.
At this moment, in the arena where Shohoku and Sannoh are about to face off, another match is taking place.
The two teams in the match were Kainan University Affiliated School vs. Mamiya Nishi.
According to the arrangement, Shohoku and Sannoh need to appear on the court during the half-time break of the game, which can be regarded as a preview of the next game for both teams and also as a basic warm-up before the game.
As for the outcome of the match between Kainan University Affiliated School and Mamiya Nishi, no one cared at all.
Shohoku didn't care, and neither did Sannoh.
As for Jack Carter himself, he didn't even have the slightest thought of paying attention.
Jack Carter didn't even have to guess; he knew Kainan would win the game.
After all, Kainan has Shinichi Maki.
Of course, this doesn't mean that he thinks Shinichi Maki is that powerful, it's just based on the most basic understanding of a defeated opponent.
In Jack Carter's eyes, Shinichi Maki's ability is just so-so.
But he also knew that this was just his opinion.
In fact, the wildness in Shinichi Maki has made him surpass most people.
There are very few people who can truly overwhelm Shinichi Maki.
Even though there may be a player in Mamiya Nishi who has awakened his wildness, judging from the overall strength, their other players may not be able to compete with Kainan.
Time passed quickly, and the first half of the match between Kainan University Affiliated School and Mamiya Nishi was gradually coming to an end.
At the same time, the players of Shohoku and Sannoh also walked out of their respective locker rooms and strode towards the court.
Not long after, Shohoku's players filed out of the player tunnel.
At this moment, Sannoh and his team also appeared in front of the opposite player tunnel.
At first, the scene was relatively calm.
However, when the referee blew the whistle to end the match between Kainan and Mamiya Nishi, the moment when the players of Shohoku and Sannoh were ready to take the stage, the entire venue seemed to be ignited in an instant, erupting in deafening cheers and shouts like a nuclear bomb explosion.
"They appeared..."
"Come on, Sannoh..."
"This year it will be yours too..."
"Sawakita Eiji..."
"Fukatsu..."
"We came to Hiroshima specifically to watch this game."
"Sannoh...Sannoh...Sannoh...Sannoh..."
Sharp screams, warm cheers, and passionate shouts were all welcoming the former overlord. The scene was like an overwhelming tidal wave, endless and like the Yellow River flooding, uncontrollable.
Everyone in Shohoku was dumbfounded at this point.
As they listened to the audience shouting "Sannoh" in unison, they felt as if a huge mountain had been pressed down on their hearts.
Ryota Miyagi was so shocked that he looked up at the audience seats around him, his brows twisted into knots unconsciously. "This..."
Kiminobu Kogure opened his mouth wide, his eyes behind the glasses seemed to pop out, full of astonishment. "What's going on?"
Hisashi Mitsui's Adam's apple rolled, and he swallowed hard, a drop of cold sweat oozing from his forehead. "This doesn't look like a warm-up."
Takenori Akagi pretended to be calm on the surface, but his slightly trembling lips completely exposed his complex emotions at the moment. It was hard to tell whether it was nervousness, fear, or excitement.
Ayako quickly covered her charming mouth, her face full of disbelief. "Oh my God! Although I have thought about such a scene, I was still a little surprised when I actually saw it."
Kanon Shimizu looked calm, with a faint smile on her lips, and said leisurely: "This should be the power of a champion!"
Kainan comes on the bench.
Listening to the cheers of the audience, their hearts seemed to be shrouded in an unknown shadow.
Nobunaga Kiyota looked at the Shohoku crowd with some sympathy. "How pitiful! Not a single person is cheering for Shohoku."
"Shohoku... More oil..."
As soon as he finished speaking, suddenly, an extremely subtle yet extremely harsh voice was heard.
Nobunaga Kiyota's face suddenly changed, and he turned his head sharply, looking around with an unhappy face for the person who had just cheered for Shohoku. "Who is it? He didn't cheer me up earlier or later, but had to cheer me up when I finished speaking. He must have done it on purpose."
But there are too many people in the audience today.
He searched for a long time, his eyes almost sore, but he still couldn't find the "culprit," so he had to give up.
Soon, players from both sides entered the warm-up phase.
Brush...
Brush...
Brush...
Sannoh's team practiced in an orderly manner, and each shooting movement was extremely standard.
They took turns, one person shot a ball and the next person quickly took over, and they shot more than ten times in a row without missing a single shot, showing an extremely high shooting accuracy.
Suddenly, a tall, mighty, and oppressive figure jumped high, hugged the basketball tightly with both hands, turned his back to the basket, then suddenly pushed back and dunked with both hands.
Clang...
With a deafening sound, the basketball slammed into the basket.
The entire basketball hoop was shaking violently up and down, making a series of creaking sounds.
"Sannoh...Sannoh...Sannoh..."
In an instant, the audience seats were ignited again, with thunderous cheers that covered the sky, one after another, continuously.
Cut...
"What's so great about that?" Hanamichi Sakuragi saw this scene, his face full of dissatisfaction, and said with a pout.
As he spoke, he also picked up a basketball and walked to the center line and stood there.
Hanamichi Sakuragi's movements instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the audience.
Everyone in Sannoh also cast puzzled looks at him, not sure what this red-haired guy was going to do.
Hanamichi Sakuragi suddenly shouted, held the ball with one hand, and without even dribbling, he ran towards the basket.
At this moment, his eyes flashed with a sharp light like an eagle, and his whole aura changed, as if his whole body was shrouded by an invisible aura.
Um?
Jack Carter, who originally had a lazy look on his face, suddenly focused his eyes on Hanamichi Sakuragi.
He sensed a familiar aura from Hanamichi Sakuragi. "This is..."
Kanon Shimizu couldn't help but tremble her eyes slightly. She looked at Hanamichi Sakuragi and murmured softly, "Am I feeling wrong? The feeling just now seemed to be somewhat similar to Ace's."
Under everyone's stunned gaze, Hanamichi Sakuragi rushed to the free throw line like lightning, stomped the ground and jumped up, and flew into the air like a cannonball.
This scene, like a bolt from the blue, shocked everyone present.
Everyone at Sannoh widened their eyes, disbelief written all over their faces.
Jump from the free throw line?
Even Shohoku himself was shocked by this scene.
That's the free throw line!
What kind of exaggerated bounce and air retention force does it take to dunk the basketball?
The other party is just a high school student.
This is no joke.
It seemed as if at this moment, time in the entire stadium had stopped.
The next moment.
Bang...
There was a loud bang.
The basketball in Hanamichi Sakuragi's hand hit the rim heavily and then slipped out of his hand.
At the same time, Hanamichi Sakuragi's body suddenly tilted, his center of gravity lost balance, and he fell backward uncontrollably.
Thump...
There was another dull thud.
Hanamichi Sakuragi fell directly on his back and fell heavily to the ground.
The stadium instantly fell into deathly silence.
Ha ha ha ha...
After the silence, there were bursts of laughter.
"That's what I told you! How could it possibly be poured in?"
"I was shocked. I thought he could really dunk from the free throw line!"
"It turns out to be a clown. It's no good at all! Go home quickly!"
"A team that only knows how to collect treasures is not worthy of challenging Sannoh. Go back now!"
"With your strength, you are no match for Sannoh."
Everyone at Sannoh breathed a sigh of relief.
For a moment, they actually believed that Hanamichi Sakuragi could make it!
After relaxing, they couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Dunk from the free throw line.
They just thought too much.
Shohoku this side.
Takenori Akagi had a dark face and walked quickly to Hanamichi Sakuragi.
Without any hesitation, he swung his fist and hit Hanamichi Sakuragi's head with a "bang," and roared: "Idiot, what are you doing?"
Ayako looked helpless, holding her forehead, and said with disgust: "Really, Shohoku has lost all his face."
Hisashi Mitsui: "What on earth is that guy thinking?"
Ryota Miyagi: "Does he even know what shame is?"
Kaede Rukawa: "Ah... what an uncivilized monkey."
The substitute players were so embarrassed that they wished they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. They moved their feet awkwardly on the ground and could dig out thirty rooms and twenty halls with their toes.
Beep...
At this moment, the referee blew the whistle, indicating that the warm-up time was over and ready to continue the match between Kainan and Mamiya Nishi.
The players of Shohoku and Sannoh walked off the court one after another, while the players of Kainan and Mamiya Nishi returned to the court.
But the next scene left the players of both teams confused.
The referee couldn't find the basketball for the game.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Jack Carter, who was about to leave the court, said without looking back: "By the way, your basketball."
After saying that, he casually waved his arm and threw the basketball behind him.
Just casually.
The action was extremely natural, as if he was just throwing away an insignificant item.
A very casual one.
Under the gaze of all the players, spectators, and reporters in the stadium.
The basketball drew a strange line in the air, and then fell into the basket accurately and precisely.
Swish...
The crisp and pleasant sound of a basketball hitting the net was heard.
Although the sound was not loud, it was like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart hard.
In an instant, the entire stadium fell into silence.
Everyone's eyes widened, their mouths opened, their faces full of disbelief.
Some people even rubbed their eyes subconsciously, wondering if they were hallucinating.
The players of both teams stood there motionless as if they were under a spell.
Kainan is better.
After all, this is not the first time they have encountered such a thing.
Shinichi Maki looked at Jack Carter who disappeared at the entrance of the passage, and secretly complained in his heart: "That guy... is really messing around."
The referee was still confused at this moment, the bewilderment on his face had not yet faded, and his mind was in a mess.
Did something just happen?
Of course, Jack Carter had no interest in thinking about what these people were thinking.
When he walked into the passage, the originally silent stadium was instantly ignited, and broke out into a deafening cheer and shouting, the momentum of which was no less than the scene when Sannoh appeared before.
"What just happened?"
"Oh my god! Did I see that? He actually shot the ball in with his back turned."
"Could it be luck? Then he is too lucky."
"Who is this person? Why have I never seen him before?"
"Look at his jersey number, it's No. 9. He is Jack Carter, the one who is said to be on par with Sawakita Eiji."
"Amazing! He seems very strong."
"This is going to be a good show."
These cheers and discussions naturally reached the ears of the Sannoh people who walked into the passage.
They stopped and looked back with confusion on their faces.
What happened?
A hint of doubt appeared on their faces.
The sound didn't sound like it was cheering for them, but rather for Shohoku.
They faintly heard the word "Shohoku".
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