Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 156 Drinking poison to quench thirst
"The fact that I can choose Shu Zun Jianggui to fight with you is already the greatest kindness I can show you!" Kaneki Ken looked at Kise Ryota with eyes that were like a king's contempt for a beggar - that was a kind of confidence that came from absolute strength.

"Sure enough, what Aomine said was right..." Imayoshi Shoichi smiled bitterly as he watched the TV broadcast of Kise Ryota's miserable scene, "Kaneki Ken's tyranny has reached the point where the elephant is invisible..."

"Are you okay, Kise?" Of course, Kasamatsu Yukio couldn't just let Kaneki Ken look down at Kise Ryota aggressively, so he stepped forward and pushed Kaneki Ken away, walked to Kise Ryota's side, and asked with concern.

"You fucking..." Seeing Yukio Kasamatsu being disrespectful to Kaneki Ken, Shuji Izawa was the first one who couldn't help it. He walked up to Yukio Kasamatsu and glared at him.

Seeing that Izawa Shuji was about to have a conflict with Kasamatsu Yukio, Naito Tetsuya also walked forward, pushed Izawa Shuji away with his shoulder, and looked at him fiercely.

"Stinky bald guy, what do you want to do?" Sakuragi Hanamichi stepped forward and protected Izawa Shuji behind him, "If you want to fight, come find me!"

"It looks like the situation is not good..." Mito Yohei, who was watching the game from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes and said to the people of the Sakuragi Army around him, "When the fight starts, we must rush in immediately. We can't let Sakuragi beat people on the court."

"Ah, don't worry, Yohei." Takamiya Nozomi said calmly, "This is not the first time that the brothers have done this."

"Everyone, get out of the way!" Kaneki Ken said as he looked at the mess in front of him. Although his voice was soft, everyone made way for him.

"Izawa, thank you for your hard work. Go down and rest for a while." Kaneki Ken patted Izawa Shuji on the shoulder and said.

"Captain Kaneki!" Izawa Shuji panicked, "Did I do something wrong?"

"On the contrary, you did a very good job, Izawa." Kaneki Ken said with a smile, "But I will be leaving soon, so go and prepare some drinks and towels for me first."

"Yes, Captain." Izawa Shuji said in a deep voice with relief.

……

"Kaneki Ken said that he will be off the court soon, what does that mean?" Kagami Daiga asked in confusion, "Even if the score difference is widened, if Kaneki Ken doesn't play, although Sakuragi Hanamichi has a miracle-level talent, his combat power is still not as good as Kise Ryouta, right?"

"I think I understand what he means." Aida Reiko's eyes flashed with solemnity, "Maybe Kaijo High School didn't notice, or maybe Huangse Ryota didn't say it at all... But Huangse Ryota's comprehensive physical data is now rapidly declining..."

……

"Captain Amu, what do you mean when you say that as long as the blond guy can remember the feeling of this game, we will win?" Kiyota Nobunaga asked with some confusion.

"Flow is the same as Zone. It is a way of gaining stronger combat power by overdrawing physical energy." Maki Shinichi said solemnly, "Human potential is like a glacier on the seabed. The deeper you enter the flow, the more the glacier is exposed above the sea level, and the faster it melts... There is no way Kise Ryouta can maintain this state for the entire game. If Kaicho High School is smart, now is the time to look to the future."

"Doesn't that mean that even if Kaneki Ken doesn't defeat Kise Ryota directly like he did just now, he only needs to maintain his deterrent power against Kise Ryota at the critical moment?" Kamiso Ichiro said with some disbelief.

"Ah, yes, this is the most clever way." Maki Shinichi sighed, "If it were me, I would definitely choose this method even if facing Kise Ryouta's provocation... But Kaneki Ken's pride as a king does not allow him to use this method."

"I agree with what Kaneki Ken just said." Sendoh Akira said with his right hand on his chin, "For him now, choosing to fight the Generation of Miracles is really a kindness to his old friend."

……

"Shu~"

Kaneki Ken made the free throw steadily, and the score came to 23:13, returning to double digits.

"Don't take it to heart, Kise." Kasamatsu Yukio comforted him, "Make sure you and the others play against each other in a misaligned singles match, and try not to let Kaneki Ken interfere with you..."

"Captain, do you want me to stay away from Kaneki?" Kise Ryouta lowered his head, his fine bangs covering his eyes, making it difficult to tell what he was thinking.

"Yes." Kasamatsu Yukio unexpectedly admitted this fact, "We don't have the capital to maintain our demeanor in front of Kaneki Ken. As our trump card, you must be prepared to wrestle in the mud with others in order to win."

"I understand. Just leave it to me, Captain Kasamatsu." Kise Ryota suddenly smiled freely and easily, "We will definitely win... Even if I die, I will bring this victory back to Kaijo!" After he finished speaking, Kise Ryota quickly ran to the front court.

"Kise..." Kasamatsu Yukio looked at Kise Ryouta's back. For some reason, he suddenly remembered the story of the Dragon Kingdom that he had learned in his interest class - The Assassination of Qin Shi Huang by Jing Ke.

The game was extremely intense afterwards. Kaneki Ken kept the ball firmly in his hands and calmly played with the defense of Kaijo High School.

Ryouta Kise was not far behind. With the Kaijo High School players running and picking and rolling as much as they could, he kept creating mismatched singles. With Aomine Daiki's super-fast breakthroughs and irregular shooting, he scored points against other players of Shonan High School.

The score difference between the two sides remained around ten to 15 points, and this situation continued until the second half of the third quarter.

"Kise!" Kasamatsu Yukio still passed the ball to Kise Ryota. The other players of Kaijo High School also habitually blocked Kaneki Ken's steps, but what surprised them was that this time, Kaneki Ken just smiled at Kise Ryota and said, "Have you ever heard of drinking poison to quench thirst?"

……

"Kaijo High School is just drinking poison to quench thirst now." Aida Reiko sighed as she watched Kise Ryouta catch the ball.

"Drinking poison to quench thirst?" Hinata Junpei was very familiar with the story of the Dragon Country, but he didn't know why Aida Reiko suddenly brought up this story.

"The more Kaneki Ken attacks, the more Kaijo High School will rely on Kise Ryota to score points. The more Kise Ryota scores, the faster his physical data will decline..." Aida Reiko said bluntly, "When Kise Ryota's physical health drops to the bottom, it would be an understatement to say that Kaijo High School will definitely lose this game..."

"What about the heavy ones?" Kagami Daigo asked tentatively.

"It is very likely that Ryouta Kise will suffer a serious sports injury. It is not an exaggeration to say that he will never recover from it." Aida Reiko said solemnly.

……

"Drinking poison to quench thirst..." Huang Lailiangta suddenly laughed, "It seems that you are really fond of Dragon Country culture, Kaneki, maybe I am drinking poison to quench thirst now, but I absolutely cannot lose this game! This is my promise as the ace!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Kise Ryouta's dribbling rhythm suddenly increased, and he tried to break through Rukawa Kaede in front of him with a straight step, but the soft and weak feeling from his calf caused his center of gravity to be too forward, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

Of course, Rukawa would not miss this opportunity. He picked up the basketball that Kise Ryota dropped, ignored Kise Ryota who was trying to get up and take the ball back, and launched a fast break. The score difference was widened to 17 points, breaking the threshold of the tug-of-war for the first time.

"Oh no! I'm so stupid!" Takeuchi Genta was shocked when he saw Kise Ryota falling down, and quickly asked the referee for a substitution.

"Beep! Kaijo High School requests a substitution!" The referee's whistle actually echoed in the crowded gym. Everyone stared at Kise Ryouta lying on the ground in silence.

"Are you okay, Huang Lai?" Kasamatsu Yukio walked over to Huang Lai Ryota and squatted down, asking with concern, "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine... my feet just slipped a little... ah?" Kise Ryota supported himself on the ground with both hands, trying to stand up on his own, but he fell to the ground again with a thud.

“Damn it… Why does it have to be at this time…” Kise Ryota pounded the ground weakly, his tears falling one by one, mixed with sweat and soaking the floor beneath him.

"Go down and have a rest, Kise." Kasamatsu Yukio looked at Kise Ryouta, who was exhausted and trying to struggle to stand up, and said with red eyes, "Leave the rest of the game to us. You've done very well."

"Yes, Kise, leave the next game to me." Fujima Kenji, who was substituted in, also squatted beside Kise Ryota and said softly.

"No, the game isn't over yet, I can still play!" Huang Lai Ryota's eyes revealed unwillingness, "I'm the ace, how can I go down at this time? My legs are not broken, even if I have to bet everything, I have to win!"

"When people are young, they always have the courage to bet everything, but always remember not to treat your future as a bargaining chip." Kaneki Ken sighed softly, came to Huang Lai Ryouta and extended his hand, "Go down and rest first, Huang Lai. We will fight again during the Winter Cup. I have recognized your efforts today, and the result of your quiz is... excellent."

(End of this chapter)