Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 182 Little People

"I am the destiny, Midorima Shintaro." Kaneki Ken, who completed a three-pointer in front of the players of Shutoku High School, said coldly, "How long can you last against me in this way?"

"Until I defeat you." Midorima Shintaro looked at Kaneki Ken with determination in his eyes.

"Um...what does it mean when Kaneki Ken asks how long Midorima Shintaro can last?" Kagami Daiga looked at Kuroko Tetsuya with some confusion and asked.

"When we were in junior high school, Coach Platinum forbade the Generation of Miracles to compete with each other." Kuroko Tetsu did not directly answer Kagami Taiga's question, "The reason is that their talents are too brilliant, and their bodies have not yet developed to the point where they can fully display their talents."

"What do you mean?" Aida Reiko turned her head and looked at the field, "I understand, it's physical strength!"

"Physical strength?" I, the Lord of Fire, who still didn't fully understand, felt very dumbfounded at this moment.

"The power required to make a high-arcing, full-court three-pointer like Midorima Shintaro's is very great," explained Reiko Aida. "Even with the physical talents of the Generation of Miracles, they don't have enough physical strength to finish the offense in this way throughout the game."

"But once they cross half court, Kaneki Ken will take the initiative to defend Midorima Shintaro..." Kagami Taiga said hesitantly, "Do they have any other choice?"

"Yes." Hinata Junpei said solemnly, "Choose to trust your teammates."

"But this is precisely the most difficult thing for the Generation of Miracles..." Kagami Taiga's expression became a little complicated as he listened to the solution given by Hinata Junpei.

"Midorima!" Just as Midorima Shintaro was thinking about a solution in his mind, Nakatani Hitoshi's calm voice sounded from the sidelines, "If fighting alone feels difficult, trying a tactical approach might be a good choice."

"...Well, I understand." Midorima Shintaro pushed the frame of his glasses and said in a deep voice.

"Takao!" The ball returned to Shutoku High School again, and Ootsubo Taisuke passed the baseline ball to Takao Kazunari.

"Thank you~" Takao Kazunari took the ball and walked side by side with Midorima Shintaro, pushing the ball across half court.

"Come on, Midorima." As soon as Midorima Shintaro stepped across half the court, Kaneki Ken came up to him.

"Kaneki, you are indeed very strong." Midorima Shintaro looked at Kaneki Ken with a hint of determination in his eyes, "I am indeed no match for you if we fight alone."

"Huh?" Kaneki Ken raised his eyebrows and asked in confusion, "Why are you talking about this suddenly?"

"You said before that I had bad luck today, but I don't think so." Midorima Shintaro seemed not to notice Kaneki Ken's puzzled expression, "I think my luck is very good... I met you after Kise and Aomine!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Midorima Shintaro started running without the ball. Kaneki Ken was about to chase him, but was blocked by Ootsubo Taisuke.

"Off-ball pick-and-roll?" As a warrior-level shooter, Reo Mibuchi is naturally familiar with the pick-and-roll tactics.

"It's useless. Kaneki Ken won't be stopped by this kind of tactics." Akashi Seijuro said firmly.

As if to confirm what Akashi Seijuro said, Kaneki Ken turned around and got rid of Ootsubo Taisuke's entanglement.

"Of course ordinary pick-and-roll can't stop you! We have expected this!" Just as Kaneki Ken was about to continue chasing Midorima Shintaro, Kishimoto Misaki's figure suddenly appeared beside Kaneki Ken. Midorima Shintaro took the opportunity to run to the 45-degree position on the right, and Takao Kazunari passed the ball to him immediately.

"Is this... an elevator door? It's true that this can trap Kaneki Ken... but..." Hinata Junpei looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi with some concern, "This red-haired number 10 is also a miracle-level player..."

"I won't let you shoot so easily, you green algae-head!" Sakuragi Hanamichi rushed in front of Midorima Shintaro like lightning and jumped up.

"Of course I expected this." Midorima Shintaro said as he looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi in the air, "It's better to say that I was looking forward to this moment!"

As the words fell, Midorima Shintaro took back the ball that was about to be shot, and threw it from under Sakuragi Hanamichi's armpit to Tsuchiya Jun in the right corner. At this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was jumping in the air, looked at Tsuchiya Jun who received the ball with reluctance in his peripheral vision, thinking something was not good.

"Nice pass, Midorima." Tsuchiya Jun said with a smile, "I've played with you for more than half a year, but this is the first time I've received a pass from you!"

"Senior Tsuchiya..." Shintaro Midorima looked at Jun Tsuchiya with a smile on his face and didn't know what to say for a moment.

……

"Tsuchiya, have you heard? Our coach has brought us a miracle era."

One day at the end of the summer vacation in the second year of high school, Taisuke Ootsubo, who was training with him, said to Jun Tsuchiya who was practicing shooting.

"Oh? Which Era of Miracles?" Tsuchiya Jun raised his eyebrows slightly. As a stepping stone for the Generation of Miracles to win the championship in their first year, he was deeply impressed by the Era of Miracles.

"Midorima Shintaro! That tall shooter!" Ootsubo Taisuke said with anticipation, "With the Generation of Miracles, maybe we can really surpass Fenghuang and Luoshan and win the national championship this time!"

… “My name is Midorima Shintaro, I’m 195cm tall, I play shooting guard, and I’m from Teiko Junior High School.”

At the welcome party of Shutoku High School, Jun Tsuchiya met Midorima Shintaro for the first time as a teammate. Although Midorima Shintaro's words were still cold, everyone still had great expectations for Midorima's arrival.

……

"Midorima, you should give me that ball just now. It was clearly an open spot!"

During a training match, Jun Tsuchiya looked at Midorima Shintaro with some dissatisfaction and said, "You don't have to shoot every ball yourself."

"Is your hit rate as high as mine?" Midorima Shintaro looked at Tsuchiya Jun coldly, "Giving the ball to me is the best choice, isn't it?"

……

“The responsibility for this game is on me.”

In the post-match interview after losing to Toou High School by one point, Tsuchiya Jun looked at the reporter who was about to make things difficult for Midorima Shintaro and said solemnly, "Midorima's performance is still very stable. All of our players have great faith in him. It was me who failed to defend against Aomine Daiki's last shot."

"Aiya~ It's really reassuring to have a senior like this~" Takao Kazunari said to Tsuchiya Jun who took the blame, "But Xiaozhen, you took the initiative to hold the ball and play against Aomine-san today, which was indeed a bit irrational. It caused a lot of mistakes..."

"..." Midorima Shintaro looked at Tsuchiya Jun with a complicated look in his eyes and said nothing.

……

"Our second battle plan is that if and when Midorima is locked up by Kaneki Ken, Tsuchiya, you will have to eat a lot of shots."

During the pre-match preparation meeting, Hitoshi Nakatani's eyes kept wandering between Shintaro Midorima and Jun Tsuchiya.

"You have to believe in our ace, coach. I don't think Midorima is worse than that Kaneki Ken~" Tsuchiya Jun said nonchalantly, "But when it's my turn to take action, I won't hesitate."

Then Tsuchiya Jun turned to look at Midorima Shintaro and said, "Of course, I believe our ace won't let me take the blame, right?"

"I will try my best... but maybe I will still have to ask you for help at that time, Tsuchiya...senior." Midorima Shintaro said after hesitating for a moment.

"Haha, since you said so, as a senior, of course I have to protect the juniors~" Tsuchiya Jun laughed, "I have to say, you are even cuter now than before~"

……

"Don't even think about scoring a goal!"

Just when Jun Tsuchiya was about to shoot, Shigehiro Kabachi, who was originally in the inside, quickly rushed to the right corner and jumped up, with his huge body blocking Jun Tsuchiya and the basket.

"Throw it in!" Daijiro Itakura clenched his fists, stood up and shouted loudly.

"Leave it to me, Itakura." Tsuchiya Jun slowly jumped up and aimed at the basket with a very standard shooting posture. "If I miss this shot, I don't know how long Midorima will scold me! I am determined to be a reliable senior!"

Jun Tsuchiya felt that his touch was very good now, and the basketball slowly rose into the air, brushing against the fingertips of Shigehiro Kabaji who was blocking the shot.

"It's hard to believe..." Kagami Taiga's eyes revealed a trace of admiration, "Midorima Shintaro actually lowered himself and was willing to be an off-ball shooter to attract defense..."

"Tsuchiya Jun's hand shape is very beautiful..." Hinata Junpei looked at Tsuchiya Jun with a hint of amazement, "Facing the defensive pressure of Kabaji Shigehiro, he can still maintain such a standard hand shape... He is worthy of being Midorima Shintaro near the three-point line..."

"Shu~"

In front of the audience, the basketball drew a perfect arc and fell into the basket.

"Nice cooperation, Midorima." Kaneki Ken looked at Midorima Shintaro with a hint of appreciation in his eyes, "You really exceeded my expectations by a lot."

"You are very strong, Kaneki. Maybe you are stronger than all of us." Midorima Shintaro stared into Kaneki Ken's eyes and said, "So you must always be the hero who tramples on destiny, and you will not focus on the little people."

"So what?" Kaneki Ken smiled even more happily.

"So as long as I can break your prediction and bring victory to the team..." Midorima Shintaro said solemnly, "then I, Midorima Shintaro, am willing to be this little guy!"

(End of this chapter)