Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 137 Promised
"Although Kise can achieve the same level of visual effects as Aomine when playing against noobs, this level of strength is far from enough when it comes to high-end games." Kaneki Ken commented with his arms folded.

"Well done, Kise!" Seeing Ryota Kise cleanly dribbling past the defender and scoring a layup, Kasamatsu Yukio excitedly ran over and ruffled Ryota Kise's hair to celebrate.

"Haha, it was just luck." Kise Ryota said this, but the smile on his face did not diminish at all. His eyes kept glancing at Kaneki Ken in the audience, with a hint of challenge in them.

Of course Kaneki Ken noticed what Kise Ryouta did on the field, but he just shook his head and smiled without any response.

In comparison, the people at Poseidon Middle School were not so relaxed.

"How is it? Do you think you can handle it?" Maki Shinichi looked at Kise Ryota's performance with a complicated expression, poked Sendoh Akira with his elbow and asked.

"It's hard to say. If I enter the flow, I might be able to keep up with his current speed, but the premise is that he won't evolve anymore." Sendoh Akira said nonchalantly, holding his chin with his left hand, "But this is impossible. He is a rapidly growing all-rounder!"

"Hmm..." Maki Shinichi nodded without comment, and began to think about how to deal with Hai Changshi.

"Don't look so nervous... Don't think that Kise's shot just now was that scary." Kaneki Ken patted Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulder and said proudly, "At this level, our team's new player who has only played for four and a half months can defend him, don't you think, Sakuragi?"

"I can do it." Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was watching the game intently, seemed like a different person and his expression became sharp.

"Can you have this level of confidence after only playing basketball for four and a half months..." Maki Shinichi looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi with a serious expression. The fiery red hair reminded him of the scene when he first met the Generation of Miracles.

If Kaneki Ken knew what Shinichi Maki was thinking, he would be very disappointed - Sakuragi Hanamichi was just confident and it had nothing to do with his strength.

"nice shot!"

Just when several people were thinking about their own things, the audience on the side suddenly cheered, leaving those who were in deep thought confused.

"Ken-kun! Xiao Huang is so awesome! Didn't you see that? Xiao Huang just made a three-pointer from two steps outside the three-point line, just like Xiao Lu." Momoi Satsuki and Kaneki Ken were describing the goal just scored by Kise Ryota. At this time, the big screen above the stadium replayed Kise Ryota's wonderful goal.

Huang Lai Ryota took advantage of Sugimoto Daichi's pick-and-roll to run out of the open space, received the hand-to-hand pass from Sugimoto Daichi, and came to a position two steps away from the three-point line. Huang Lai Ryota first carefully adjusted his hand shape, and after aiming again and again, he accurately threw the ball into the basket.

"Too slow." This time, Kaneki Ken didn't even need to speak, Sakuragi Hanamichi said in a firm tone, "If it was me, I would definitely defend closely and not give him that much space to shoot. This shot was just given away because others thought that position was not a good three-point shooting position."

"Look, Sakuragi can answer the question quickly." Kaneki Ken shrugged, "Kise Ryo is too focused on imitating Midorima's hand shape and shooting range. The reason why Midorima shoots slowly is because he now shoots from super long distances, but it doesn't mean that Midorima can't shoot fast three-pointers. Midorima's strength does not lie in his super long shooting range, but in his superb touch that can guarantee a hit no matter what the distance. Kise's imitation is nothing but missing the forest for the trees."

"Tsk..." Momoi Satsuki pouted in dissatisfaction. It was obvious that Kaneki Ken's repeated rebuttals made her feel stupid. "Then according to Ken-kun, Xiao Huang's current level is just not good at anything. Why bother watching the game? Why not go back to training..."

"Kise's level of strength is indeed average for me now. I personally want to go back to training..." Kaneki Ken shrugged with a bit of a smile, and pouted at Sakuragi Hanamichi who was watching the game seriously according to his request, "But Kise is a rare example to show Sakuragi the basic combat power of the Generation of Miracles. It would be a pity for Sakuragi to miss such a game."

"Okay~ You are Yan-kun, whatever you say is right~" Taoi Satsuki said a few sarcastic words coquettishly, then turned her head to watch the game.

"Alas... sometimes I really don't understand women's mentality..." Kaneki Ken shook his head helplessly, watching the game on the field and sighed, "If only love could be as simple as basketball..."

Basketball is easy for Kaneki Ken, but it is as difficult as climbing to heaven for Kitagawa Middle School. In order to fulfill his promise to win the game in two quarters, Kise Ryota tried his best. In the end, although Kitagawa Middle School fought hard throughout the game, they still lost to Kaijo High School with a score of 56:128.

"Let's go." Kaneki Ken stood up and stretched, patted Sakuragi Hanamichi on the shoulder and said, "Go back first, Sakuragi, the game is over." Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was always impatient, did not stand up immediately this time. It was not until Kaneki Ken called him again that he reacted, slowly stood up, and followed Kaneki Ken out of the gym.

"How do you feel?" Kaneki Ken looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi's serious expression and knew that his arrangement had worked.

"I can beat him." Sakuragi Hanamichi changed his usual playful and funny style and looked extremely serious. His fiery red pupils were frighteningly bright, as if lightning would burst out in the next second. "I'm betting on my reputation as a basketball genius, Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the system prompt sound in Kaneki Ken's mind rang again.

"The player Sakuragi Hanamichi has mastered the mind-based combat method, and his personal abilities have been upgraded again as follows:
Basketball Basics (B) → Basketball Guide (B+);
Defensive Sniper (B-) → Defensive Gate (B+);
Shot fake (B) → Shot fake expert (B+);
Zone (cannot be opened autonomously) → Zone (evolution level 6%). ”

"Is it true? He can comprehend the mind-to-mind combat method? Evolving four skills in one match? Is my system a cheat or is Sakuragi Hanamichi's genius badge a cheat?" Kaneki Ken was shocked. He certainly knew about the existence of the mind-to-mind combat method. When two equally matched masters fight, they will simulate the battle in their minds in advance to obtain the optimal solution for attack and defense. He was also going to teach Sakuragi Hanamichi this move after this match, but he didn't expect Sakuragi Hanamichi to comprehend it first.

"It's really rare. It makes me a little excited... I'm really looking forward to meeting those guys more and more..." Kaneki Ken's mouth corners slightly raised.

……

"Hello, is this A-Da?" Sitting on the bus on the way back, Taoi Satsuki called Aomine Daiki.

"Ah, it's May, what's wrong?" Aomine Daiki on the other end of the phone casually threw the basketball in his hand into the basket, "Aren't you going to watch Huang Lai's game today?"

"Let me tell you, Ah Da, Xiao Huang is getting stronger and stronger. Today he used your and Xiao Lu's signature skills on the court, which really scared me!" Tao Jing Mayu said seriously.

"Tsk, seriously, are you trying to say that Kise can imitate our abilities?" Aomine Daiki sneered disdainfully, "With his current abilities, he can only imitate others at best."

"Really? Why are you all saying this?" Seeing that Aomine Daiki and Kaneki Ken had the same reaction, Momoi Satsuki muttered unhappily.

"One or two?" Aomine Daiki was stunned at first, then he laughed at Momoi Satsuki with understanding, "Hahahaha, you don't expect Kaneki Ken to be shocked by Kise's Kaneki, do you? That's Kaneki. What Kise is doing now with all his strength is just what Kaneki did easily when he was a freshman in junior high school. Okay, don't bother me with these little things. I'm still training."

"Training? Not bad, Dada. You didn't slack off without me watching you~" Taoi Satsuki exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? Being lazy? What nonsense are you talking about, May?" Aomine Daiki sneered. His fighting spirit could be felt even through the phone. "Since Kaneki came back, I have been full of energy!"

"So, you're getting along well with your teammates? And you're also participating in the team's training as normal?" Taoi Satsuki asked happily.

"Not really. What's the point of training with those guys? The guy named Moroboshi is the only one in the whole team who has some skills." Aomine Daiki's voice returned to laziness again, "But that's all... After all, teamwork and team tacit understanding are just excuses for the weak."

"Oh? So you are very strong?" Momoi Satsuki was on speakerphone, and Kaneki Ken heard every word of Aomine Daiki's words.

"That's natural, Kaneki." Hearing the familiar voice in his ear, Aomine Daiki's fighting spirit was ignited again, "After all, the only one who can defeat me is myself."

"Then let me help you break this unrealistic fantasy." Kaneki Ken said with a contemptuous smile, "Just consider it as fulfilling the duel we agreed to have."

(End of this chapter)