Chapter 12 Taoka Shigeichi is numb
Sakuragi Hanamichi's block didn't just reject Uozumi's shot — it echoed through the entire gym.
The ball rocketed away toward midcourt.
"Ball!" Kogure Kiminobu reacted instantly. While Ryonan's players were still stunned, he darted forward, gathered the loose ball cleanly, and turned.
"Fast break!" he called.
Shohoku surged forward as one.
Sakuragi landed from the block and immediately spun, sprinting upcourt — shockingly fast for someone playing center. His long strides devoured the floor.
A few crisp passes later, the ball found its way back inside. Sakuragi caught it near the low post.
Uozumi Atsushi was there at once.
Gone was his earlier carelessness. He dropped his center of gravity, arms spread wide, using his height and reach to seal off any easy shot.
Sakuragi felt the pressure at his back. He tried to lean in, but Uozumi held his ground, not biting on brute force this time. The lane was closed.
"…Tch."
A straight power move wouldn't work.
Sakuragi suddenly lifted the ball, twisting toward the baseline — a convincing shooting motion.
Uozumi didn't jump, but his arms shot higher, shifting his weight to cut off the angle.
At the peak of the fake, Sakuragi snapped his wrist.
The ball didn't go toward the hoop — it fired outward.
"?!"
It flew straight to Kogure, wide open beyond the arc.
Kogure blinked in surprise — even he hadn't expected the pass — but instinct took over. Catch, set, release.
The arc was clean.
Swish.
Three points.
Shohoku's bench erupted. Haruko cheered. The Sakuragi Army nearly toppled over themselves.
Kogure landed and gave Sakuragi a quick thumbs-up.
Sakuragi grinned.
"Piece of cake."
Ryonan's possession changed the atmosphere.
Sendoh Akira received the inbound. His usual lazy smile thinned — his eyes sharpened.
"So this redhead's for real…"
Rukawa Kaede slid in front of him.
No showy dribbling — just a sudden change of pace. Sendoh crossed once, dipped his shoulder, and slipped past Rukawa by half a step, gliding into the lane.
He rose for his smooth mid-range jumper—
—but a red figure cut across from the side.
Sakuragi had rotated.
Sendoh's eyes widened slightly.
"Fast…"
In midair, Sendoh adjusted, turning his shooting motion into a pass.
The ball zipped to Uozumi under the rim.
Uozumi caught, roared, and powered up—
Two points for Ryonan.
The gap widened again.
With Akagi off the court, Shohoku's interior now rested on Sakuragi alone.
He battled Uozumi possession after possession — sometimes stopping him, sometimes giving ground — but never letting Ryonan run away with the game.
Meanwhile, Sendoh began to take control, slicing through Shohoku's defense, scoring or feeding teammates with calm precision.
Shohoku answered through Rukawa's individual scoring and Sakuragi's rebounds, putbacks, and unexpected passes.
The score hovered — four, six points — never breaking open.
Then came a key possession.
Sendoh drove again at Rukawa. As he slipped past, Sakuragi stepped over — perfect timing, a brief double-team.
For a moment, Sendoh was trapped.
But his vision held. He fired the ball out to the perimeter.
A Ryonan player launched a three.
Clang — off the rim, high rebound.
"Rebound!!"
Bodies crashed together.
Sakuragi had already sealed Uozumi out. Sendoh leapt in too — three figures rising at once.
But Sakuragi's raw explosiveness won out. He climbed higher, snatched the ball with one hand, and pulled it down hard.
"Nice!!"
Without landing fully, he whipped a long outlet pass.
Rukawa was already running.
Catch. Sprint. Layup—
—but Sendoh was there, chasing like a shadow.
Rukawa went up.
Sendoh met him in the air — block.
Rukawa's eyes narrowed. Forcing it would fail.
In that instant, he sensed movement behind him.
Red.
Sakuragi had followed the play.
With a twisted midair motion, Rukawa flicked the ball backward.
Sakuragi's eyes widened — but his body reacted first. He caught, adjusted, and—
BOOM!
A two-handed dunk rattled the rim.
Only three points down.
Shohoku's side exploded in cheers.
Taoka Moichi stood frozen on the sideline.
He had expected Akagi's injury to tilt everything toward Ryonan.
He had not expected Sakuragi Hanamichi.
A first-year with monstrous rebounding, insane athleticism, and instincts developing faster than anyone had predicted.
Hikoichi bounced beside him.
"Coach! I told you! That guy's not normal! He's Shohoku's hidden weapon!"
Taoka's face darkened as he watched the red-haired boy pounding his chest under the hoop.
"…Anzai. Where did you find that monster?"
For the first time in the match,
the balance was no longer secure.