Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 195 Presenting the Crown
"What a pity... We were so close to turning the tables..."

Taoi Satsuki looked at the players who were lining up to salute on the field, then looked at the score of 112:116 on the scoreboard on the sidelines, and said with some regret.

"Yeah..." Kaneki Ken sighed, "Murasara who entered the zone is really amazing... maybe she is the strongest member of the Generation of Miracles besides me..."

"It's really amazing... Murasakihara Atsushi," said Konyoshi Shoichi, recalling the last quarter of the game. "A player with a height of 2 meters can actually show agility comparable to that of the normal Aomine. If he hadn't run out of energy at the last moment, maybe he could have really turned the tables in the end..."

"Impossible." Aomine Daiki crossed his arms and said, "Do you think that with Akashi's style, he would not consider the fact that Murasakibara entered the zone?"

"What do you mean?" Imayoshi Xiangyi looked at Qingfeng Daiki in shock, and a possibility that he subconsciously threw aside emerged in his mind.

"Yes!" Aomine Daiki crossed his arms and nodded, saying, "Murasara's stamina problem was deliberately guided by Akashi... In the last quarter, Akashi kept guiding Murasakibara to block him. With Murasakibara's huge physique, she kept jumping and running. In addition, after entering the zone, her stamina was like a bathtub with the plug pulled out, and the speed of consumption was doubled..."

"Could it be that since Murasakibara Atsushi first blocked Akashi Seijuro, he had already planned this series of scripts?" Imayoshi Shoichi asked in disbelief.

"Tsk, you ask me, who should I ask..." Aomine Daiki sneered and said, "No one can guess what Akashi is thinking... No, maybe Kaneki can..."

"Really?" Konji Xiangyi frowned and said, "I admit that Kaneki Ken is very powerful, but it's basically a dimensionality reduction attack based on absolute strength... I haven't seen him make any plans on the court..."

"That's because he doesn't bother to do that..." Aomine Daiki rolled his eyes at Imayoshi Shoichi, "You know, Akashi has never beaten Kaneki Ken in shogi..."

"Hiss..." Imayoshi Xiang felt a chill in his teeth as he looked at Kaneki Ken who was sitting opposite him, "He is already so strong, and he is also good at planning and strategizing... Can we really win against such an opponent?"

"I don't know..." A smile suddenly appeared on Aomine Daiki's face, "But a match like this is interesting, isn't it?"

"It's not interesting at all..." Wakamatsu Kosuke spat, "Who wants to be a background figure for others all day long?"

"If you're not good at it, practice more!" Aomine Daiki looked at Wakamatsu Kosuke and chuckled, "In competitive sports, being bad is the original sin!"

"Aomine Daiki you fucking ..." Wakamatsu Kosuke wanted to say something when he saw Harasawa Kede and the players of Toou High School standing up one after another.

"Let's go." Yuan Zeked said with a complicated expression, "This is the first time I've seen a quarter-final like this... There are still four teams, but everyone knows who will be the finalists..."

……

"You performed very well, Murasakibara." Akashi Seijuro walked up to Murasakibara Atsushi and extended his hand. "Let's have a good fight again if we have the chance."

"..." Murasakibara Atsushi looked at Akashi Seijuro's hand in front of him in silence for a long time, then turned and left without saying a word.

"Adon!" Himuro Tatsuya looked at Murasakibara Atsushi's back, looked at Akashi Seijuro apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, Adon is just a child..."

"It's nothing, I understand." Akashi Seijuro said with a smile.

"Thank you." Himuro Tatsuya smiled and waved his hand, then turned to look at Mikoshiba and the others and said, "Hurry up and pack your things, get ready to leave."

"Here we are." Mikoshiba and Mike Okita heard Himuro Tatsuya's call and hurried to the bench. After taking Himuro Tatsuya and Murasakibara Atsushi's backpacks, they ran straight to the locker room.

When the players of Yangquan High School completely disappeared from his sight, Akashi Seijuro's face suddenly became very ugly.

"Xiao Zheng..." Mibuchi Reio bravely came to Akashi Seijuro and said, "It's time for us to go..."

"That's right, Captain, don't look so grim. We did well in this game, didn't we? At least we won." Nango Kouichiro also said with a smile, "Maybe we can really..."

"Shut up!" Akashi Seijuro's cold eyes swept towards Nango Koichiro like a steel knife scraping bones, "Before defeating Kaneki Ken, none of our matches could be considered good! I want to prove in front of everyone... I am stronger than Kaneki Ken!"

"Yes, captain..." Nango Kouichirō was frightened by Akashi Seijuro's sinister expression and quickly shut his mouth.

... "What's going on?" After dealing with the bustling reporters, Masako Araki returned to the locker room, only to find that all the players of Yangquan High School were gathered at the door of the locker room. The door of the locker room was closed, and no one knew what was happening inside.

"I don't know, coach..." Himuro Tatsuya looked at Araki Masako with some concern and said, "After the game, A-Dun ran into the locker room alone and locked the door, and didn't talk to anyone..."

"Really? The game is over, why are you still so willful?" Araki Masako muttered in dissatisfaction, "You can't even accept losing, how can you be the leader of the team!"

"You can't say that!" Just as Araki Masako was complaining about Murasakihara Atsushi, Kaneki Ken's lazy voice came from the side, "How come Murasakihara Atsushi, who is so hardworking and uncomplaining in my company, has become a willful big boy in your company? If you can't use the center well, don't be the coach!"

"What did you say?" Masako Araki was very sensitive about her young age as a coach, and Kaneki Ken's words directly triggered the most unpleasant part of her heart.

"What? You don't allow me to talk about food?" Kaneki Ken pushed Araki Masako aside, came to the door of the locker room and knocked on it, shouting, "Murasara, open the door, it's me!"

"Do you think the door will open if you knock..." Just as Masako Araki was about to taunt her, the door of the locker room clicked open.

"I'm sorry, Ken-chan..." Murasakihara Atsushi said to Kaneki Ken with red eyes, "I was almost able to play the final with you..."

"It's a bit of a pity, but there's no need to cry like this, right?" Kaneki Ken patted Murasakihara Atsushi's shoulder and said, "Think about it from another angle. It might be a good thing that you didn't make it to the finals. After all, the second place is the number one loser. Akashi Seijuro has become the loser for you. What else do you want~"

"Perhaps it would be more appropriate for you to be the loser, so that you can share your feelings of losing throughout the summer." Akashi Seijuro came to the two of them at some point and said in a cold voice.

"Wow, how come I didn't know when you learned the skill of misdirection from Kuroko? You suddenly appeared beside me out of nowhere." Kaneki Ken glanced at Akashi Seijuro and said, "If it were any other time, I would be happy to appreciate your performance... But now I am comforting an old friend who is frustrated, so you are not welcome to come over, Akashi Seijuro."

"...I'll be waiting for you in the finals, Kaneki Ken!" Akashi Seijuro stared at Kaneki Ken for a long time with a grim face, then left in a hurry after leaving some harsh words.

"I can only leave it to you, Ken-chan..." Murasakihara Atsushi and Kaneki Ken stood side by side, looking at Akashi Seijuro's back and said, "This Akashi... is too strong..."

"Is he strong?" Kaneki Ken said with a chuckle, "He's just a coward who uses victory as a protective color... In fact, his fragility is beyond your imagination!"

"Xiao Murasaki~" Just then, Tao Jing Satsuki ran over breathlessly, holding a bran roll in her hand and handed it to Murasakihara Atsushi, saying, "Here, this is for you, your favorite~Ken-kun specifically asked me to buy it for you!"

"Eat this and go back to training." Seeing that his task of comforting Murasakibara Atsushi was completed, Kaneki Ken put his hands behind his head, turned around and walked out of the gym.

"Thank you, Ken-chan." Murasakihara Atsushi held the bran roll and shouted at Kaneki Ken's departing back, "We must win the finals!"

"Stop talking nonsense." Kaneki Ken stopped at the corner of the corridor, turned to look at Murasakibara Atsushi and said, "Leave it to me, I guarantee you'll win!"

……

"In the semi-finals of the Neon Country IH High School Basketball League, Aiwa Academy faced Shonan High School. The final score was 162:77, and Shonan High School won!"

Two days later, in front of tens of thousands of fans at the Tokyo Gymnasium, Ken Kaneki defeated his semi-final opponent with absolute strength and entered the finals.

As the referee's final announcement sounded, the Shonan High School fans present cheered, as if they had already seen the scene of Shonan High School and Kaneki Ken standing on the highest podium.

"Dear fans, Shonan High School, led by Kaneki Ken, has taken the lead in entering the finals!" Tashiro Heihachi said excitedly on the sidelines, "As long as Rakuzan High School defeats Sekigahara Junior High School in two days, the Miracle Generation's peak civil war that everyone has been looking forward to will be staged!"

"Kaneki-san!" After the game, Aida Yako held the microphone to Kaneki Ken's mouth and said, "As the biggest dark horse in this IH league, Shonan High School has crushed all the way to the finals under your leadership. Do you have anything to say now?"

"There's nothing to say. I just want to play the next game quickly and bring the championship trophy back to Shonan." Kaneki Ken, who had been sitting on the bench for the entire second half, felt that the sweat on his body was almost drying up, and answered with a bored pout.

"Haha, it seems that Kaneki-san is very confident." Aida Miko smiled and continued to ask, "For the West Division semi-finals in two days, that is, the match between Rakusan High School and Sekigahara Junior High School, do you have anything to say to your old teammates?"

"Hmm..." Kaneki Ken listened to Aida Miko's question, touched his chin, and said after thinking for a moment, "I hope Akashi can do his best. I am looking forward to him presenting the crown to me."

(End of this chapter)