Coach Anzai Mitsuyoshi remained as steady as a mountain.
The lenses of his glasses glinted under the lights. He simply chuckled softly, saying nothing.
"Damn it!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi scratched his head anxiously, pacing like a cat on hot bricks.
Turning around, he looked toward the other end of the bench. The figure lying there with a towel over his head still hadn't moved at all.
"Hey! Master!"
"Why the hell are you still sleeping at a time like this?!"
"We're about to lose!"
Sakuragi rushed over, trying to shake Makino Juro awake.
But before he could even touch Juro's shoulder, Ayako and several substitutes grabbed him and pinned him down.
"Sakuragi! Stop messing around!"
"Makino Juro's a substitute. Let him rest!"
"Let go of me! I need to ask Master if he's got some kind of ultimate move!"
Sakuragi struggled wildly in the pile of bodies like a live fish pressed onto a cutting board.
At that moment, a faint snoring sound drifted out from beneath the towel.
"Pff… pff…"
Perfectly rhythmic.
Everyone froze for a second.
"…His mental fortitude is unbelievable," Ayako muttered, the corner of her mouth twitching.
In the stands.
Mito Yohei watched the scene and shook his head helplessly.
"Sakuragi's about to explode, isn't he?"
"Yeah."
"He might be an idiot most of the time, but the thing he hates most is losing," said Takamiya Nozomi as he stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
"But…"
Yohei's gaze fell on the sleeping figure.
"That guy Makino Juro… is he really planning to sleep through the entire game?"
Just then, the gymnasium doors were pushed open again.
A tall, lean figure walked in against the light.
Spiky hair. A lazy smile. A sports bag hanging casually from one hand.
"Ah, sorry. I'm late."
Sendoh Akira.
Ryonan's ace had finally arrived.
"Sendoh! Where the hell did you run off to this time?!" roared Taoka Moichi, his voice echoing throughout the arena.
"Well… my alarm clock broke."
Sendoh offered the excuse without a shred of sincerity. As he changed his shoes, he glanced at the scoreboard.
"Oh? 14–0."
"Looks like everyone's been doing pretty well."
He took off his jacket, revealing Ryonan's No. 7 jersey, and walked straight to the scorer's table.
"Substitution!"
Sendoh stepped onto the court, replacing Koshino Hiroaki.
The moment he entered the game, the entire atmosphere of the arena seemed to change.
An invisible pressure spread across the court.
Rukawa Kaede's eyes instantly sharpened.
"He's here."
Rukawa locked his gaze firmly onto Sendoh.
The game resumed.
Shohoku inbounded the ball.
It reached Rukawa.
Facing Sendoh, he lowered his center of gravity and executed two quick between-the-legs dribbles, searching for a way to break through.
Sendoh merely spread his arms lazily, a faint smile still hanging on his face.
"No need to be so tense."
Rukawa ignored him and suddenly accelerated to the right.
So fast!
Just as Rukawa thought he had shaken him off—
A hand shot out like a phantom.
Smack!
The ball was stolen.
No fancy moves.
Just pure speed and precision.
"What?!" Rukawa's pupils shrank.
After stealing the ball, Sendoh didn't sprint. Instead, he pushed the ball forward at a relaxed pace.
Rukawa chased desperately and blocked his path.
"You're not getting past!"
Sendoh looked at him.
Suddenly, his wrist flicked.
His eyes looked left—
But the ball went right.
A no-look pass.
The basketball seemed to have eyes of its own as it slipped between Rukawa's legs and flew precisely into the hands of the unguarded center beneath the rim.
Uozumi Jun.
"BOOM!"
Uozumi slammed the ball down with a two-handed dunk.
16–0.
"WAAAH! Sendoh-senpai is amazing!"
"That's Ryonan's ace!"
Aida Hikoichi was jumping excitedly on the sideline, nearly flinging his pen into the air.
Rukawa stood frozen in place, chest heaving.
That play just now…
He'd been completely toyed with.
The gap.
A massive gap.
"Hahaha! Did you see that?!"
"That's the strength of our Ryonan!" Coach Taoka waved his folding fan wildly.
"With Sendoh and Uozumi together, we're unbeatable!"
"We'll beat you by thirty points! No—fifty!"
The more Taoka spoke, the more excited he became. He even stepped onto the sideline, sticking his butt out as he pointed and shouted toward the court.
At that moment—
A red figure silently appeared behind him.
Sakuragi Hanamichi crouched down.
He clasped his hands together, extending his index and middle fingers.
An evil grin spread across his face.
"Old man, you're too noisy."
"Take this!!!"
Poke!
His fingers struck the bullseye with perfect accuracy.
"AAOOOOOO—!!!"
A tragic scream tore through the gymnasium.
Taoka Moichi shot straight upward like a rocket, clutching his backside while twitching in midair.
The entire arena fell silent.
Everyone's jaws dropped.
Even Sendoh, who was running back on defense, froze and nearly slipped.
"…Is that your new tactic?" Sendoh asked Rukawa blankly.
Rukawa turned his head away.
"I don't know him."
"You idiot! What the hell are you doing?!" roared Akagi Takenori as he rushed over and smashed a fist onto Sakuragi's head.
"Ow ow ow! Gorilla, what was that for?!"
"He was shouting too loudly! It was annoying!" Sakuragi clutched his head, looking wronged.
At this moment, the scoreboard changed again.
19–0.
Ryonan had scored yet another basket.
Shohoku still hadn't scored a single point.
Despair slowly spread among the Shohoku players.
Kogure Kiminobu wiped the fog off his glasses, his hands trembling.
Yasuda Yasuharu and Shiozaki Tetsushi no longer even dared to hold the ball.
Even Akagi's eyes dimmed slightly as he stared at the massive score gap.
At that suffocating moment.
In the corner of the bench, the white towel suddenly moved.
A hand reached out and yanked it away.
Makino Juro sat up.
He twisted his neck, producing a series of crisp cracks.
"Crack… crack…"
Then he rubbed his lower back, frowning in irritation.
"Tsk."
"This damn bench is too hard."
"My back's about to break from sleeping on it."
Makino Juro's voice wasn't loud, but on the quiet bench it was crystal clear.
Everyone turned to look at him.
At a moment like this—
With the score 0–19 and the team on the verge of collapse.
The first thing this guy complained about… was the hardness of the bench?
Makino Juro stood up and let out a huge yawn, squeezing two tears from the corners of his eyes.
He glanced at the scoreboard.
"Oh. 0–19."
"Looks like everyone's having fun."
As he spoke, Juro slowly took off his hoodie, revealing the No. 16 jersey underneath.
He walked over to Coach Anzai and scratched his messy hair.
"Coach."
"Let me go in."
Coach Anzai lifted his head, his eyes narrowing behind his glasses.
"Oh? Makino Juro. Awake now?"
"Not really."
Makino Juro pointed at the row of rock-hard benches with a look of disgust.
"I just can't sleep anymore."
"If I keep lying there, I might get a herniated disc."
"Better finish the game early and go home."
"That's the true path of healthy living."
Hearing that reason, Ayako nearly snapped the clipboard in her hands.
What kind of ridiculous excuse is that?!
The team is about to lose, and you just want to go home and sleep?!
But Coach Anzai simply laughed.
"Ho ho ho…"
"If the sleep isn't comfortable, then go stretch your body a bit."
"Substitution."
"Makino Juro replaces… Yasuda."
The whistle blew.
Shohoku substitution.
Makino Juro slowly walked to the sideline and high-fived Yasuda, who looked utterly dejected.
"Good work, Yasuda-senpai."
"I'll take it from here."
Yasuda froze for a moment, staring at Makino Juro's lifeless, sleepy fish-eyes.
For some reason, an inexplicable sense of reassurance rose in his heart.
Makino Juro stepped onto the court.
Standing at center court, his gaze swept across the fierce Ryonan players.
Finally, it stopped on Sendoh.
Sendoh was also looking at him with a hint of curiosity.
"Oh? That's the Makino Juro Hikoichi was talking about?"
Sendoh smiled.
"He really does look… sleepy."
Makino Juro sighed.
Inside his mind, the system notification sounded.
[Mission Triggered: Win the Game]
[Reward: All Attributes +1]
The moment Makino Juro heard the words "All Attributes +1," his previously dull eyes flashed with a brief glint.
Only for an instant.
But the sharpness of that aura was enough to make Sendoh's smile stiffen.
"Everyone."
Makino Juro turned around, looking at the sweating Akagi and Rukawa.
"Stop making those long faces."
"I'm in a hurry."
"Let's finish this quickly."
"I still need to go home and watch JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."
Akagi's mouth twitched as he looked at the lazy figure in front of him, but the gloom in his eyes had already faded considerably.
"Don't talk big, bastard."
"If we lose, you're mopping the entire floor when we get back!"
Makino Juro shrugged.
"That won't work."
"Mopping the floor is too tiring."
He turned toward Ryonan's basket.
Then he raised his right hand and slowly curled his index finger.
"Give me the ball."
"I'm about to… take control of this game."