Chapter 225: Sannoh Industrial
Miyagi's interest was piqued as well, and he leaned over to take a look.
"The media just loves making a big deal out of things."
"We already took down Kainan. Who else could possibly…"
Before he could finish, Miyagi's expression froze.
Even Mitsui's finger, which had been turning the page, stopped as if it had been glued in place.
Printed in the magazine was Shohoku's first-round opponent:
Osaka Representative, Toyotama High School.
That alone wasn't too bad. After all, this was the National Tournament.
What really made their scalps tingle was the name occupying the second-round slot.
Akita Prefecture Representative, Sannoh Industrial High School.
"This… This has to be some kind of joke, right?"
Mitsui's throat went dry, as if he'd swallowed a handful of sand. His voice came out hoarse.
"We have to face Toyotama from Osaka first, and if we win, we immediately go up against… Sannoh?!"
The atmosphere inside the carriage instantly dropped to freezing point.
Even Rukawa Kaede, who normally seemed to live by the motto of 'hear no evil, see no evil,' appeared to sense the sudden pressure in the air.
He removed his eye mask and coldly glanced at the name printed in the magazine.
He said nothing, but his eyes sharpened slightly.
"What's with all of you?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi picked his nose, looking utterly confused.
Seeing everyone's grim expressions as though they were preparing for the apocalypse, he became irritated.
"Is this Toyotama supposed to be that amazing?"
"They're just some team from Osaka. This genius has already knocked down Kanagawa's Emperor, Maki Shinichi!"
"Idiot!"
"Look at who our second opponent is!"
"Open your damn eyes!"
Mitsui suddenly raised his head and shoved the magazine right into Sakuragi's face.
Sakuragi frowned and stared at the bold letters.
"Sa… Sanno?"
"It's Sannoh, you idiot!"
"Sannoh Industrial! Sannoh from Akita Prefecture!"
"The undefeated legend!"
Mitsui practically roared the words out.
"Tch. Whatever. Sanno, Sanno, whatever."
"Sounds like some backwater shop selling mountain produce. What a lame name."
Sakuragi curled his lip in disdain.
"Ding-dong"
The sweet voice of the train announcer rang out at just the right moment, saving Sakuragi's life and preventing Mitsui from strangling him.
"Attention, passengers. We have arrived at Osaka Station."
"The train will remain here for ten minutes…"
Osaka.
The name of the city no longer sounded like a destination.
It sounded more like an execution ground.
Because Toyotama, their first opponent, was the local powerhouse here.
The train pulled into the station, and the enormous steel roof blocked out the sunlight, casting the platform beneath it in shadow.
Akagi stood up, his massive frame blocking the light in the aisle like a silent mountain.
He looked out at the bustling crowd beyond the window, his voice deep and frighteningly serious.
"Sakuragi, you don't understand."
"Sannoh Industrial from Akita were last year's national champions."
The others froze.
Akagi turned around, his eyes sweeping across every one of his teammates.
He spoke each word slowly and deliberately.
"Not just last year."
"They were champions the year before that, too."
"And the year before that."
Silence.
The only sound was the shrill screech of the train's brakes as it pulled into the station, like fingernails scraping across a blackboard, stabbing painfully into their ears.
Three consecutive championships.
Those three words represented absolute dominance.
They meant that for more than a thousand days and nights, every high school basketball player in the country had looked up at Sannoh's throne, yet no one had been able to shake it.
"Seriously…?"
Miyagi swallowed hard.
"So you're saying that as soon as we win the first game, we immediately have to fight the final boss?"
This tournament bracket was practically throwing Shohoku straight into a meat grinder.
They weren't even being given a chance to catch their breath.
"That's not all."
Kogure's face had gone pale as he pushed up his glasses.
"The magazine says this year's Sannoh is the strongest team they've ever had."
"They've retained last year's core players and added a super rookie."
"They're an invincible battleship… with no weak points."
Aside from the completely unfazed Makino Juro and Sakuragi, everyone else looked absolutely miserable.
Even Mitsui, whose pride had always burned fiercely, fell silent.
That was Sannoh.
A name that had already become legendary when they were in middle school.
The nightmare of every young basketball player.
Just then...
Coach Anzai, who had remained silent the entire time, slowly stood up.
His round body looked remarkably steady in the narrow aisle.
"Ho ho ho…"
His trademark chuckle rang out, carrying a strange calming power.
"I'm going to the restroom."
With his hands behind his back, Coach Anzai began walking toward the connection between the train cars.
His steps were steady and unhurried, as though this so-called 'Group of Death' didn't concern him in the slightest.
Ayako watched the coach's retreating back and couldn't help asking, "Coach, why didn't you tell everyone earlier?"
If they'd known about the bracket sooner, they could at least have prepared themselves mentally instead of being blindsided like this.
Coach Anzai stopped.
The light reflected off his glasses, giving them a glimmer of wisdom.
"Ayako-san."
"I don't want them carrying unnecessary pressure."
"Nor do I want them to become afraid of a so-called 'strong opponent' before they've even stepped onto the court."
The old man's voice was gentle, yet every word clearly reached everyone's ears.
"Rather than wasting time fearing our opponents or worrying about victories and defeats that haven't happened yet…"
"It would be better to focus that energy on ourselves."
"Becoming just a little stronger through training is worth more than anything else."
The carriage fell silent once again.
The suffocating sense of despair seemed to fade somewhat beneath Coach Anzai's words, but the heavy stone in everyone's hearts remained.
"Heh."
A quiet chuckle broke the silence.
Makino Juro crushed the empty cola can in one hand.
Crack.
"Coach is right."
"Who cares whether they're Sannoh or King of the Sea?"
"The ball is round. We'll know who's stronger after we play."
He stood up and stretched lazily, the joints throughout his body popping loudly.
Mitsui's face flushed as he stubbornly retorted:
"Shut up! Who's worried?!"
"I was just… just analyzing the tactics!"
"This is called taking the opponent seriously from a tactical standpoint!"
By now, Sakuragi Hanamichi had finally finished processing all the information.
He rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully.
"So that Sanno guy really is that strong…"
Suddenly, he raised his head, his eyes shining like light bulbs.
"Then who do we play after we beat Sanno? Who's our third-round opponent?"
Everyone nearly collapsed.
Where exactly did this guy's brain even lead?
Everyone else was worrying about how they were going to survive the second round, while he'd already started thinking about the celebration party for the third!
"It's Sannoh! Sannoh!"
Mitsui shouted in exasperation.
"Not Sanno! You illiterate idiot!"
"Oh, whatever! They're basically the same!"
Sakuragi waved dismissively, looking impatient.
"Just tell me who the next unlucky bunch is!"
Juro leaned back in his seat and stared at the ceiling.
He casually uttered a name.
"Aiwa Academy. Last year's fourth-place national team."
"Aiwa Academy?"
"Oh? You mean the Aichi Star?"
Sakuragi blinked.
Mitsui and Miyagi both froze.
Several pairs of eyes immediately turned toward Sakuragi as though they were staring at an alien.
"You actually know that?"
Mitsui was genuinely shocked.
This guy couldn't even memorize all the rules, yet he actually knew about Dai Moroboshi?
"Heh heh."
Sakuragi proudly lifted his chin and planted his hands on his hips.
"Of course!"
"This genius's intelligence network covers the entire country!"
In reality, he had simply remembered his previous trip to Aichi Prefecture to watch a game.
The image of Dai Moroboshi being carried away on a stretcher…
And then…
Sakuragi's gaze fell upon a corner of the magazine.
The words "Meihou Industrial" immediately caught his eye.
END OF CHAPTER
The King Of Slacking Off - MrBehringer's Secret
👉 /MrBehringer