"Uwaaah~~!"
"Akashi-kun is so sneaky! He's totally ruthless!"
"He did it again, just watching makes me feel the pain all over!"
============
The players who had already faced Akashi Asuka in the one-on-one drill flinched as they watched Kasuga Ryuhei getting battered on the court. Just seeing it made the spots where they had been elbowed start to ache again in phantom pain.
On the court, Kasuga's face had turned an unhealthy shade of green. To him, Akashi Asuka might as well have been a walking, talking porcupine.
If he stepped up to defend, he'd get elbowed.
If he didn't, Akashi would just drive past him.
If he tried to go on offense, he'd get hit from behind.
If he failed to break through, he'd get nailed from the front.
In short,
No matter what he did, there was no escape from the beating.
As the shot clock ticked toward twenty-four seconds, Akashi suddenly accelerated, cutting in toward the basket. The moment Kasuga saw that, all the pain he'd endured earlier seemed to burst into flames inside him. Rage clouded his reason.
BANG!
He threw his body forward in a reckless charge, ramming straight into Akashi with brute force.
The two collided violently, a sharp crack echoing through the gym like a punch to the teeth.
Then, to everyone's shock, the smaller player, Akashi, was the one sent flying. His body spun backward three or four meters before hitting the floor hard. He curled up and began groaning in apparent agony.
The gym fell silent.
At the same time, the basketball Akashi had been holding somehow bounced toward the hoop and dropped neatly through the net.
BEEP!
Coach Matsumoto Yukinori, acting as referee, blew his whistle without hesitation. He gestured firmly.
"Kasuga Ryuhei, defensive foul! Akashi Asuka's shot counts. One free throw."
The players stared in disbelief.
And then, as if nothing had happened, the "injured" Akashi suddenly rolled to his feet, completely fine, and flashed a victory sign at Kasuga.
Everyone, including Kasuga, was speechless.
They had to admit it,
That move was insanely cheap.
In all their years of playing basketball, none of them had ever seen someone play this dirty and still look that smug.
Even Matsumoto couldn't help giving Akashi a strange look.
As a former national player, he had seen all kinds of tricks and theatrics. A bit of flopping didn't surprise him, but what did surprise him was how practiced Akashi was.
How is he this skilled at it?
Kasuga, trembling with anger, finally couldn't hold back. "Coach, does that seriously count as my foul?!"
Matsumoto nodded matter-of-factly. "Of course. Remember what I said before the match? A referee's decision is based on evidence, not truth. Akashi's small fouls earlier were all subtle, barely brushing the edge of illegality. Without clear proof, a referee can't call them."
"But you," he continued, "your charge was obvious. And Akashi's exaggerated fall made it even clearer. In that situation, any referee has to blow the whistle."
Kasuga's mouth twitched uncontrollably. He wanted to argue, but no words came out. He could only fume silently.
"Damn it! How can someone be that scummy?!" he muttered.
Of course, he wasn't referring to Akashi, he knew this was just training. The one he really despised was Hanamiya Makoto, the kind of player who actually did such things to injure others.
"Calm down," Matsumoto said sternly. "That's exactly what your opponent wants, to make you lose your cool. Remember, this kind of play isn't just physical, it's psychological warfare."
"The more you lose your temper, the more you fall into their trap. You have to stay calm. Only then can you figure out how to beat them."
"The coach is right."
Tsutomu Iwamura walked over and patted Kasuga's shoulder. "Keep your cool. Don't forget, Akashi-kun's just imitating someone right now. Our real opponents will be worse than this. If we can't even handle Akashi's level, how can we dream of making it to Nationals?"
"Worse than Akashi…?"
Matsumoto's eyelid twitched slightly.
To be honest, even with his years of experience, he couldn't think of many players who could pull off dirty tricks with Akashi's precision.
His fouls were so quick, so subtle, so perfectly timed that it was hard to believe he was just a high schooler.
At this point, Matsumoto was starting to suspect that Akashi might've spent his middle school years not in basketball, but in boxing.
How else could someone be that good at throwing elbows?
He coughed lightly to hide his thoughts. "Ahem… Anyway, Iwamura's right. Akashi-kun was holding back just now."
He turned to address the team.
"Remember, when it comes to dirty play, the most dangerous attacks aren't to the upper body. It's the lower body, especially the ankles. That's where the real scumbags strike."
"So compared to the real thing, Akashi-kun is still just a rookie. That means for the next part of training, everyone needs to be fully alert. Understood?"
The players straightened immediately and shouted in unison:
"Understood!!"
"Good. Then, continue training!"
With Matsumoto's order, Seiho High's players dove back into their Body Management and Self-Protection drills.
============
Days passed in a steady rhythm.
Seiho's journey through the qualifiers went smoothly.
Akashi's luck with the draw was so good that in the first four rounds, they didn't encounter a single serious opponent.
In fact, Seiho's "secret weapon," Akashi Asuka himself, hadn't even played in the last two games.
And not just him, even most of the third-year regulars had been rotated out to give the bench players time on court.
This year's Tokyo Qualifiers…
Had basically turned into Seiho High's personal training ground.
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