Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 185: Not Strong Enough

The players of Teiko Junior High School have always been the top in their respective positions since their blossoming, but what everyone doesn’t know is that at the very beginning of the Generation of Miracles, there was more or less the shadow of Kaneki Ken.

Aomine Daiki learned from Kaneki Ken his unbreakable swiftness, Murasakibara Atsushi learned from Kaneki Ken his indestructible strength, Kise Ryota learned from Kaneki Ken his invisible compatibility, Midorima Shintaro learned from Kaneki Ken's courage to draw his bow and arrow even from a hundred steps away, and Akashi Seijuro learned from Kaneki Ken's foresight to plan before taking action.

Combining their natural talents, they each reached great heights.

But now, Midorima Shintaro suddenly felt that he had not learned enough, or in other words, their height was still too low. Now the feeling that Midorima Shintaro felt when looking at Kaneki Ken was like when he relied on his talent to climb to the top of the mountain in his cognition, but found that this place was just the halfway point of the mountain that Kaneki Ken had already reached.

So Midorima Shintaro began to reflect, began to learn from his teammates, and began to consider integrating the characteristics of Kaneki Ken in Teiko's teammates. The first person he chose to learn from was Aomine Daiki. He began to choose to score like Aomine Daiki, but the effect was not ideal.

First, they were involved in a tough battle with Seirin High School in the Tokyo district trials, then they lost to Aomine Daiki and his Toou High School by one point, and finally now, they were cornered by Kaneki Ken like a prey in a spider's web, unable to move.

"Damn it, what should I do now..." Takao Kazunari glanced at the situation on the field and felt very disappointed.

Jun Tsuchiya was being watched closely by Hanamichi Sakuragi in the corner, and he was not sure if he could pass the ball to him; Misaki Kishimoto and Yasusuke Ootsubo were blocked by Shigehiro Kabaji in the interior, and they did not even have space to pass the ball.

"Now it seems that I have to shoot by myself... Fortunately, I learned how to shoot from Xiaozhen recently..."

Takao Kazunari swallowed his saliva and was about to shoot the ball outside the three-point line. Suddenly, Kaneki Ken's eyes were as fast as lightning. His domineering eyes made Takao Kazunari feel as if a dragon had opened its bloody mouth towards him. He was so scared that his hands shook and he almost lost the ball.

"There's no other way... It seems we can only call for a timeout..." Nakatani Jinliang stood up with a sad face and was about to go to the workbench to call for a timeout.

"Takao!" At this moment, Midorima Shintaro suddenly jumped out of the double-team and reached out to Takao and Cheng Li for the ball.

"That's great, Xiaozhen!" Takao Kazunari threw the ball to Midorima Shintaro as if he was a drowning person who had been rescued.

"But is this really okay?" Mibuchi Reo looked at Midorima Shintaro with some concern. "Facing a double team, he still played so hard... I remember that he doesn't seem to be a particularly good singles player, right?"

"No matter how bad he is at singles, it's only for the Generation of Miracles..." Hayama Kotaro raised his eyebrows and said, "Why not ask Kaneki Ken, is this choice really okay? The Generation of Miracles can only be dealt with by the Generation of Miracles... The others, the same for everyone else..."

"Humph! Are you so arrogant that even Sakuragi Hanamichi doesn't bother to use it against me?" Midorima Shintaro's pupils shrank slightly, "In that case, I'll take this ball!"

"So fast!"

Midorima Shintaro took a swift step back and turned around, turning into a green light and flashing past the eyes of Izawa Shuji and Mitsui Hisashi. By the time the two men reacted, Midorima Shintaro had disappeared from their sight.

"Wait, Xiaozhen, don't!"

Just as Midorima Shintaro jumped up and was about to shoot the ball, Takao Kazunari's exclamation rang in his ears.

"You don't need to remind me of this kind of thing, Takao..."

Midorima Shintaro felt as if he heard the roar of a giant dragon, and then a faster golden light flashed before his eyes. When Midorima Shintaro came to his senses, he found that his left hand, which had been holding the ball, was now empty.

"Haha... How could I not take you seriously... Rather, I take you too seriously, Midorima Shintaro!"

Kaneki Ken certainly didn't think that Izawa Shuji and Mitsui Hisashi alone could stop Midorima Shintaro.

You know, in the original Winter Cup semi-final against Rakuzan High School, Midorima Shintaro broke through the defense line formed by three general-level players including Hayama Kotaro in the first half of the game as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

"Nice steal! Kaneki Ken immediately filled in his teammate's gap!" Tashiro Heihachi shouted, "Kaneki not only immediately stopped Midorima's attempt to shoot, but also took the opportunity to steal the ball and launch a fast break!"

"Shintaro is still too naive... All of this is a trap set by Kaneki Ken!" Akashi Seijuro's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "You are really worthy of being Kaneki Ken! Give him a taste of his own medicine..."

"Eh?" Mibuchi Reo asked in confusion, "I don't quite understand what you mean, Xiao Zheng." "Kaneki Ken's idea of ​​​​defense this time is exactly the same as that of Shutoku High School. Both of them seize the offensive player's action just after it is completed and cannot be changed, and kill him with one blow." Akashi Seijuro said slowly, "But Kaneki Ken's layout is far more clever than Shutoku High School. The athletic Sakuragi Hanamichi is arranged on the left to force Midorima Shintaro to go to the right and block the passing route to Tsuchiya Jun; standing at the free throw line ensures that even if an inside player comes up to screen and roll, he can get back in front of Midorima Shintaro in the first time."

"Besides, the duo of Taisuke Ootsubo and Minori Kishimoto in the interior is no match for Shigehiro Kabaji, and they don't have the energy to support Shintaro. Combined with the fact that Shintaro is left-handed and is currently standing on the right side, using Izawa and Mitsui Hisashi to force Midorima Shintaro to break through to the top of the arc... It seems that Midorima Shintaro has a lot of room to move around, but in fact, he has been completely trapped by Kaneki Ken in the range from the center line to the 45-degree angle on the right..."

"Take one step and plan three steps ahead, this is Kaneki Ken..." Akashi Seijuro looked at Midorima Shintaro with a hint of mockery in his eyes, "He is so domineering that he relies on his personal strength to crush others only because Kaneki Ken is too lazy to use his brain when dealing with mediocre people... The aboveboard and unavoidable conspiracy is Kaneki Ken's usual method!"

On the court, Kaneki Ken, who had completed a steal, rushed straight to the frontcourt like an arrow. In just a blink of an eye, Kaneki Ken crossed the midfield line and came to the front three-point line.

"Stop right there, Kaneki Ken!!"

After being intercepted, Midorima Shintaro rushed out immediately and stuck to Kaneki Ken's back. Although he knew that everything might be in vain, he knew even more clearly that if he did nothing, the game would be over at this moment.

"boom!"

The sound of the basketball hitting the ground was heard, and Midorima Shintaro didn't have time to think about it, so he forced himself to stop.

“It’s such a sad struggle.”

Kaneki Ken seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. He pulled back from behind and stopped Midorima Shintaro's pursuit.

"Why did you suddenly stop...what's going on..." Midorima Shintaro looked at the smiling expression on Kaneki Ken's face, and suddenly an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

"boom!"

Another basketball landed, and Kaneki Ken passed Midorima Shintaro's right side with a crotch-handed move. Midorima Shintaro, who was struggling to maintain his center of gravity, wanted to adjust his body to stop Kaneki Ken, but he made things worse. Kaneki Ken completely destroyed his center of gravity, and he slipped and fell to the ground.

"I don't have to be a hero who tramples on destiny, Midorima. It's just that there are some things that I have to do, and only I can do them!" Kaneki Ken looked down at Midorima Shintaro who was lying in front of him and shot with the ball, "If I draw a bad fortune before the game today, if any teammate on the court is injured today, I have to tell myself that destiny is not in my hands today, and then I won't come to the game? Leaving everything to illusory external things like you... is the real stupidity!"

"Shu~"

As Kaneki Ken finished his words, the crisp sound of the basketball hitting the net was heard.

"We tried our best but still couldn't win..." Kaneki Ken looked at Midorima Shintaro with eyes as high and mighty as the sun god judging his followers, "It's not that it's fate, it's just that you're not strong enough!"

"It's just not strong enough..."

"It's just not strong enough..."

Kaneki Ken's words echoed in Midorima Shintaro's mind, like a sledgehammer hitting his heart.

"Time out!" Nakatani Jinliang looked at Midorima Shintaro's distraught expression and quickly called for a timeout.

"Shude High School, requesting a timeout!"

Midorima Shintaro turned a deaf ear to the referee's whistle and continued to sit there in a daze.

"Are you okay, Shin-chan..." Takao Kazunari came to Midorima Shintaro and looked at Kaneki Ken who was sitting on the sidelines, his eyes full of unspeakable despair, "You say... can we still win?"

"Hey, hey, hey, how long are you going to sit here?" Just as Midorima Shintaro was standing there in a daze without saying a word, Miyaji Kiyoshi walked onto the court from the bench and gave Midorima Shintaro a hard kick on the butt. "Who are you trying to show off your half-dead look to? If you can't play anymore, get off the court. If you keep looking like this, I'll blow your glasses off!"

(End of this chapter)