Uozumi easily tipped the jump ball to Sendoh, and Ryonan's first offense was fluid and seamless—Sendoh faked a breakthrough, then suddenly passed the ball to Gu Jin on the wing, who, with a swift motion, sank a three-pointer through the net.
3:0.
The Seirin students in the stands let out a chorus of boos, but Kotozuki Misaki merely glanced lazily before whistling at Sato Retsu.
Sato Retsu seemed to have had a fuse lit; as he dribbled up the court, he deliberately slammed his shoulder into Sendoh, who was defending him. The referee's whistle blew, signaling an offensive foul, but he stiffened his neck and glared at Sendoh: "You fall over with just a touch? How soft."
Sendoh ignored him, bent down, picked up the ball, and tossed it to the referee, his face still maintaining that nonchalant expression, but the warmth in his eyes had diminished a few degrees.
Only three minutes into the game, Seirin's "dirtiness" was fully exposed.
During a breakthrough, Aoki Ryushi deliberately nudged Fukuda's thigh with his knee; Abe Tomomori's fingernails almost scraped Sakuragi's arm while guarding him; and the most egregious was center Sasaki Rui, whose elbow constantly jabbed at Uozumi's kidney area when rebounding.
Ikegami clenched his fists on the sideline, wanting to protest to the referee several times, but Taoka Moichi held him back.
"Coach, they're going too far."
"Ikegami, stay calm!" Although Taoka Moichi said this, anyone could hear the chill in his tone.
Before he finished speaking, a dull thud suddenly echoed on the court.
Seirin's number 8, Aoki Ryushi, missed a three-point shot, and Sakuragi Hanamichi sprang up like a coiled spring, his red hair particularly striking in the crowd.
The moment his fingertips touched the ball, a malicious gust of wind suddenly came from behind—Sato Retsu had somehow gotten behind him and was bringing his raised elbow straight down onto Sakuragi's back of the neck!
"Watch out!"
Fukuda Kiccho almost instinctively lunged forward, forcefully blocking himself between Sakuragi and Sato Retsu.
That powerful elbow strike landed squarely on Fukuda's left eye. He grunted, stumbled back two steps, and collided directly with Sakuragi.
"Fuku!" Sakuragi instinctively supported him, and just as he was about to turn and curse Sato, he saw Fukuda suddenly clutch his left eye, with a large amount of tears seeping through his fingers.
Sakuragi Hanamichi hadn't expected that Fukuda, who he usually had the most disagreements with, would take that blow for him without hesitation.
"You..." Sakuragi's voice suddenly caught.
The area around Fukuda Kiccho's left eye swelled red at a visible rate, and his eyeball was covered with a layer of bloodshot. He gritted his teeth, trying to stand straight, but stumbled due to blurred vision.
When he was elbowed just now, he instinctively turned his head, and the elbow grazed his brow bone, leaving a bloodstain. Beads of blood trickled down from the corner of his eye, dripping onto his blue jersey, like a dazzling blood flower blooming.
"Beep!!!"
Time out! The referee signaled for a temporary stop to the game!
"I'll kill you!" Sakuragi Hanamichi's roar made the gymnasium hum.
He spun around abruptly, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Sato Retsu, the anger in his gaze almost burning through, "You bastard! Are you f***ing looking for death?!"
Sato Retsu took half a step back, but a provocative smile was on his face: "Referee, he wants to hit someone."
"Blue number 10, calm down, or I'll call a technical foul."
The referee signaled him to calm down.
Sakuragi paid no attention, clenching his fists and about to charge, but Uozumi held him tightly from behind: "Sakuragi! Don't fall into their trap!"
Gu Jin was also furious: "Referee! This is intentional injury, are you not going to call a technical foul for this?!"
However, the young referee remained oblivious!
Sendoh had already crouched down to check Fukuda's injury, gently touching his brow bone, his voice chillingly deep: "Can you still see?"
Fukuda shook his head, then nodded, his voice hoarse: "It's nothing... let's keep playing."
But as he tried to stand up, a sharp pain in his left eye made him black out for a moment, almost causing him to fall.
At this moment, Taoka Moichi rushed onto the court, pointing at Sato Retsu and shouting at the referee: "This is malicious injury! Didn't you see it?!"
The continuous accusations momentarily flustered the young referee, who actually considered calling a technical foul on Ryonan.
The stands instantly erupted.
Although Seirin's hooligan fan club was yelling more fiercely, Ryonan's supporters at this moment were not having any of it, and boos filled the arena.
The head referee quickly stepped forward, shaking his head to indicate that he could not make the call—Taoka Moichi had officially joined the Kanagawa Sports Association. If this young referee dared to give him a T, his career would essentially be over.
It wasn't that Taoka would retaliate, but rather that Seirin's number 4's action was already excessive, and the referee not calling a technical foul on him immediately had already provoked public outrage.
Giving Taoka or Ryonan a technical foul at this point, with the current popularity of the Ryonan Team, this incident would inevitably make the newspapers after the game.
But the public opinion was not something the referee team could bear.
At this moment, Sato Retsu, still oblivious to the danger, continued to provoke.
Sato Retsu shrugged, a look of innocence on his face, and smiled at Taoka Moichi: "Old man, I just bumped him while rebounding, who told him to get in the way."
The Seirin students in the stands laughed along, and Kotozuki Misaki even whistled, as if cheering for Sato Retsu.
"You f***er!" Sakuragi was furious.
The head referee promptly intervened: "White number 4, if you say one more word, I'll give you a technical foul."
At this moment, the head referee was also in a dilemma!
Nakajima did not call a technical foul on Seirin immediately, and while Sato Retsu's current behavior was obnoxious, it was far less intense than Ryonan's reaction.
Calling a technical foul now would clearly be inappropriate, so only a warning could be given!
"Sakuragi." Sendoh suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it quieted the enraged Sakuragi for a moment. "Help me take Fukuda off the court first."
Taoka Moichi also suppressed his anger and went to the sideline; indeed, Fukuda's condition was the most important thing right now.
Sakuragi looked at Fukuda's blood-stained face, then at Sato Retsu's obnoxious smirk, and the rage in his chest almost exploded.
But he ultimately gritted his teeth, carefully helped Fukuda up, and walked towards the bench.
As he passed Sato Retsu, he stopped, his voice low and venomous: "Bastard, you mark my words. For Fukuda's revenge, I'm not done with you."
Sato Retsu scoffed, and just as he was about to say something, he met Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes—there was none of his usual boisterousness, only a cold intensity, as if he wanted to devour someone alive.
Sato Retsu inexplicably swallowed, taking back the rest of his words.
Fukuda was helped to the sideline, and the team doctor quickly applied an ice pack to his eye. Although the bleeding had stopped, the swelling was getting worse.
He pushed away the team doctor's hand, staring at the court, his voice muffled: "Coach, let me go back..."
"Sit down!" Taoka Moichi roared, his eyes red, "Do you want to go blind?" He turned to the bench, "Ikegami, you're in! Tell Uozumi and the others, they can be a bit rougher, it doesn't matter if everyone gets fouled out, Ryonan has plenty of people to play with them."
"Yes!" Ikegami Ryoji immediately stood up, his face expressionless, but his clenched fists betrayed his emotions.
The game restarted, but the atmosphere on the court had completely changed.
Sakuragi Hanamichi stood on the court, his red hair seemingly burning to its extreme.
He no longer made funny faces, no longer acted boisterously, but simply stared intently at every single person on Seirin, especially Sato Retsu.
In the ensuing rebound, Sakuragi was like an enraged lion. Sasaki Rui tried to use his old trick of elbowing him, but Sakuragi countered with an elbow to his arm, the force so great that Sasaki winced in pain;
Kurokawa Yamato tried to push him from behind, but Sakuragi seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, suddenly turning around, startling Kurokawa whose hands froze.
Sakuragi's gaze was extremely fierce, managing to intimidate a group of thugs for a moment.
During one offensive play, Sendoh broke through and passed the ball, and Sakuragi, amidst a triple-team, leaped into the air, forcefully slamming the ball into the hoop.
As he landed, he stood directly in front of Sato Retsu, sweat dripping from his chin, the ferocity in his eyes making Sato Retsu instinctively take a step back.
"This is just the beginning." Sakuragi's voice was squeezed through his teeth, "Bastard."
The Ryonan Team looked at Sakuragi; he was usually noisy, but at a crucial moment, he was... quite reliable.
Taoka Moichi looked at the red-haired figure on the court and suddenly felt that perhaps this disgusting, dirty game could bring out Sakuragi Hanamichi's true self.
And the players of Seirin High School, looking at the increasingly terrifying red-haired young man, felt a strange panic for the first time.
They thought they were the hunters, but it seemed that, without realizing it, they had provoked a true beast.