Maki Shinichi charged straight into the paint.
Sakuragi tried to rotate over for help defense, only to be brushed aside by a slick spin move.
Takeoff.
Power dunk!
"BOOM!!"
The rim screamed.
56:40.
"We're not done yet!!"
The moment Maki landed, he didn't even bother running back on defense. He directly intercepted Kogure's inbound pass in the frontcourt.
He rose again and banked it off the glass.
56:42.
Four points in thirty seconds!
"Kainan! Kainan! Kainan!"
The Kainan cheering section, which had been dead silent moments ago, suddenly erupted like they'd been injected with adrenaline. The roar nearly tore the roof off the arena.
"This is bad…"
Cold sweat streamed down Kogure Kiminobu's face.
This level of battle was far beyond him. He felt like an ordinary civilian who had accidentally wandered onto a battlefield meant for monsters.
Without Makino Juro controlling the court, Shohoku looked like a body stripped of its spine.
The limbs were strong, but the team had become scattered sand.
Rukawa Kaede grit his teeth and charged in again and again, forcing brutal head-on clashes.
But the current Maki Shinichi, empowered by the "Pseudo-Zone" and his Emperor Resonance—
Combined with that tireless body—
Was nothing less than a killing machine.
"So this is… the foundation of Kanagawa's king…"
Fujima's expression darkened.
"With Makino Juro no longer suppressing him, Maki Shinichi has been completely unleashed."
"Rukawa may have touched the threshold of that wild instinct…"
"But his body and experience are still being crushed. He's too inexperienced."
On the court.
Rukawa was shoved aside once more, forced to watch helplessly as the ball dropped through the net.
56:48.
The gap had fallen to single digits.
Rukawa breathed heavily, sweat dripping from his sharp chin.
He refused to accept it.
Within those narrow fox-like eyes reflected Maki Shinichi's domineering figure.
Deep within his consciousness, he saw that door again.
Heavy. Ancient. Overflowing with a savage aura that made his heart tremble.
He desperately tried to push it open.
His fingers dug into the crack of the door. Fingernails split. Blood poured out.
But the door didn't move an inch.
"Move…!"
"MOVE DAMN IT!!"
Rukawa roared inwardly, but his body had already begun stiffening from exhaustion.
So this is my limit?
No…
I can't lose…
Just as Rukawa stood isolated and helpless...
With Akagi injured, Mitsui bricking shots, Miyagi too small, and Kogure powerless—
An utterly unexpected figure stood near midcourt.
Hands on hips.
Face filled with philosophical confusion.
Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Ever since earlier, this self-proclaimed "savior genius" had basically been slacking off.
Juro showing off? He watched.
Rukawa fighting desperately? He watched.
Maki going berserk? He watched that too.
But inside his head—
A world-shaking brainstorm was taking place.
"…Weird."
Sakuragi frowned.
For once, that normally goofy face was filled with serious confusion.
"Why?"
"Why does it feel like I'm not even playing the same game as these guys?"
He looked at Maki Shinichi's eyes, glowing with faint purple light.
Then at Rukawa's fox eyes, tinged with crimson.
Then he remembered his master's terrifying scarlet-gold pupils from earlier.
Sakuragi scratched his red hair and sank into deep self-doubt.
"Master's sleeping because his body's weak. Obviously not as strong as this genius."
"That middle-aged guy might be acting tough now, but didn't he kneel earlier?"
"And that stupid fox…"
Sakuragi glanced at Rukawa, who looked ready to collapse but still insisted on acting cool.
"…He's about to die from exhaustion and still trying to pose."
"Then why is everyone cheering for Rukawa?"
"I'm obviously the main character here!"
"The script should be this genius showing off his divine power and saving the team from disaster!"
"Then Haruko-san cries tears of gratitude and throws herself into my broad chest!"
Sakuragi lowered his head and stared at his own hands.
Big.
Strong.
Earlier, when he grabbed rebounds, it felt like he could jump all the way to the ceiling.
"So why can I only stand here and stare?"
"How do I become like them? Eyes shooting lightning and stuff?"
"Superpowers?"
"Or do I need to shout a transformation phrase like Ultraman?"
Sakuragi widened his eyes and glared intensely at Maki Shinichi.
"Bzzzt… bzzzt…"
He even added his own sound effects.
But nothing happened.
Other than making his eyes a little sore, there was zero reaction.
"…That's not right."
Sakuragi scratched his head irritably.
"I'm a genius."
"And geniuses shouldn't have anything they can't learn."
"Master can do it. That middle-aged guy kinda did it too. The fox is almost there."
"So what about me?"
"I'm Sakuragi Hanamichi, the genius blessed with both beauty and talent!"
The moment that thought surfaced...
The cheers, the squeaking sneakers, the collisions—
All of it suddenly vanished.
The world fell silent.
Sakuragi's consciousness felt as though it had been dragged into a vast white space by an invisible hand.
There were no spectators.
No opponents.
No teammates.
Only a door.
A gigantic, ancient bronze door.
Beside it stood two blurry figures struggling desperately.
One was a black beast resembling Maki Shinichi, covered in blood as he clawed at the door, barely squeezing partway inside.
The other was a red fox resembling Rukawa Kaede, gritting his teeth as he rammed the gate over and over, smashing his head bloody without budging it at all.
Both looked miserable.
Painfully desperate.
Pathetic, even.
Sakuragi Hanamichi shoved both hands into his pockets, utterly baffled.
"What are these idiots doing?"
"Is the door broken?"
Whistling casually, he swaggered forward with an arrogant, lawless stride.
The black beast roared at him:
Get lost. Mortals have no right to enter!
The red fox snarled:
Don't get in the way, idiot!
Sakuragi rolled his eyes.
"So noisy."
He reached out one hand.
No charging up.
No roaring.
No bulging veins.
Like he was opening the bathroom door at home.
He casually, lightly pushed forward.
"Creeeak—"
A soft sound echoed.
The "Zone" gate—
The one Maki Shinichi had nearly died trying to force open,
The one Rukawa had smashed himself bloody against—
Opened just like that.
Wide open.
The light beyond the gate poured out like a flood, instantly swallowing Sakuragi whole.
He froze for a second inside the radiance.
Then the corners of his mouth stretched all the way to his ears, revealing an outrageously smug grin.
"Tch."
"What's the big deal?"
"It wasn't even locked."
"Those two idiots didn't think to turn the handle before opening the door?"
"As expected, there's a wall between geniuses and ordinary people."
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
…
Back in reality.
Maki Shinichi was backing Rukawa down, preparing to rise for a jumper.
Purple lightning flickered in his eyes.
Victory seemed within his grasp.
"If this shot goes in, the lead drops to six!"
"Shohoku's finished! We've got this!"
And then—
A chill.
A razor-sharp chill with absolutely no warning shot from his tailbone straight to the top of his skull!
It felt like taking a casual stroll through a forest—
Only to suddenly be targeted by an ancient Tyrannosaurus rex.
And it wasn't just Maki.
On the sidelines, Coach Anzai's hand trembled so hard he spilled tea all over his pants.
Makino Juro, who had been sleeping, suddenly twitched violently and snapped his eyes open.
Within those black pupils reflected a blinding crimson light.
On the court.
That redhead who had been spacing out the entire time—
Moved.
No run-up.
No preparation.
He simply stepped forward.
"BOOM!"
The hardwood groaned.
A streak of scarlet lightning exploded from the corner of Sakuragi's eye like a bolt tearing through the night sky!
Not Maki's pale violet.
Nor Rukawa's faint crimson glow.
But something pure.
Wild.
Overflowing with primal life force—
A savage crimson!
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer