Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 234: Shocking Change, Believe

"What a ball!"

Just as Aida Katsutora was still marveling at Nakatani Hitoshi's decisiveness, other customers in the gym cheered.

"What's going on?" Katsutoro Aida looked up at the TV in confusion. The highlight replay on the screen had already started playing the goal that Haizaki Shogo had just scored.

When facing Kasamatsu Yukio's defense, Haizaki Shogo first used his signature Aomine Daiki-style street ball to get past Kasamatsu Yukio half a body length, and when Kasamatsu Yukio turned around to defend, he used a light back step to completely knock Kasamatsu down.

"As expected of the former starter of the Generation of Miracles..." the customer in basketball uniform said with emotion, "I heard that when Kise-san first entered Teiko Junior High School, he was scolded by Haizaki-san and it was really embarrassing..."

"What a mess, Kasamatsu-senpai. Even Ryota couldn't stop me. What else do you think you can do?" Haizaki Shogo smiled as he looked at Kasamatsu Yukio who was knocked down by him. He slowly gathered the ball and jumped up, making a three-pointer in the desperate eyes of Kasamatsu Yukio.

"Kise has only been off the court for three minutes, and now the score difference is only four points..." Kagami Taiga looked at Haizaki Shogo on the court and felt his scalp tingling, "This guy's strength is indeed at the miraculous level!"

"..." Kuroko Tetsu shook his head without comment, staring at Kise Ryota on the sidelines in silence.

"Did you see that?" Haizaki Shogo looked at the dejected Kaijo High School players, turned around arrogantly and looked at Ishida Eiki and the others and said, "Just pass all the balls to me later!"

"Yes!" Ishida Eiki looked at Haizaki Shogo's arrogant expression, clenched his fists unwillingly, and said with gritted teeth.

"This guy doesn't even have the most basic respect for other people on the field..." Kasamatsu Yukio looked at Fukuda and the others' angry but unspeakable expressions, recalled the scene when he was knocked down by Haizaki Shogo just now, and said to Fujima Kenji beside him with some annoyance.

"It's okay, Huang Lai will teach him a lesson." Fujima Kenji patted Kasamatsu Yukio on the back and comforted him, "Before that, we must maintain the score difference!"

"Yeah." Kasamatsu Yukio suppressed his anger, took the baseline ball from Naito Tetsuya, and slowly walked towards the front court with the ball.

“You haven’t given up yet?” Haizaki Shogo followed Kasamatsu Yukio and said to Kise Ryota on the bench with a mocking look on his face, “I really envy this guy’s good luck. He always meets reliable seniors. Unlike me, my teammates are all trash!”

"I say..." Kasamatsu Yukio looked at Haizaki Shogo's arrogant expression and said with all his anger, "A role like a senior needs to be respected!"

"Huh? I call you a senior, but you're actually lecturing me?" Haizaki Shogo's expression revealed a hint of amusement, "Just like Kise, you're just a loser who can only cling to others for warmth. Do you think you're the captain of Nijimura?"

"Then let's see!" Kasamatsu Yukio roared, and with two consecutive hip thrusts he shifted the center of gravity of Haizaki Shogo, then he hit the ball with his left hand and turned to the right, avoiding the direction of Haizaki Shogo.

"You can't get through, you useless senior!" Haizaki Shogo laughed and moved sideways, about to stop Kasamatsu Yukio.

"Speaking of trash... abandoned guys like you are the real trash!" Kasamatsu Yukio roared, and gently pushed the ball towards his crotch with his left hand. The basketball immediately turned into a flash of lightning and flew out from between the two men's crotches.

"Pass the ball?" Haizaki Shogo looked at Kasamatsu Yukio's movements, and his eyes involuntarily glanced behind him, but he did not notice that Kasamatsu Yukio in front of him turned left again and shook him off, and the flying basketball just fell into Kasamatsu Yukio's hands.

"Well done! Captain Kasamatsu!" Mitsui Hayakawa excitedly cheered as he watched Yukio Kasamatsu successfully break through Shogo Haizaki.

"As expected, he is still quite capable~" Haizaki Shogo took a slight step, easily caught up with Kasamatsu Yukio's breakthrough figure and said, "He is a useless guy with some skills."

“Fool, let me teach you a lesson today…” Kasamatsu Yukio ignored the tall figure of Haizaki Shogo, pushed past his defense and came inside before jumping up, “Senior… you can’t underestimate me!”

"Score this goal first before you start preaching!" With a look of disdain on his face, Haizaki Shogo jumped up right after Kasamatsu Yukio. His tall body hovered over Kasamatsu Yukio's head, and he tried to slap the basketball in Kasamatsu Yukio's hands with his long arms, but found that he only slapped a ball of air.

"Pass the ball?"

Under the surprised eyes of Haizaki Shogo, Kasamatsu Yukio made a ground pass to Naito Tetsuya who cut into the inside.

"Good pass, Captain!"

After catching the ball, Naito Tetsuya roared excitedly. After dribbling for a while, he took the ball, took three steps, stepped into the three-second zone, and jumped up. He swung the ball behind his head with both hands, and his whole body formed an arc like a crescent moon in the air.

"Do you think you are Murasakibara, you stinky bald guy!" After landing, Haizaki Shogo gritted his teeth, jumped again with a ferocious look on his face, and blocked the gap between Naito Tetsuya and the basket.

"This is Murasakibara's talent..." Kagami Taiga muttered solemnly.

"No, to be precise..." Kuroko Tetsuya shook his head and denied, "This is Murasakibara-san during junior high school. In this state, Haizaki-san can't stop Naito-san!"

"boom!"

As if to confirm Kuroko Tetsuya, the basketball hoop in the middle of the court let out a wailing sound that echoed throughout the entire stadium, and Naito Tetsuya pushed Haizaki Shogo away in mid-air and scored a dunk.

"Um, Kuroko..." Kagami Taiga looked at Naito Tetsuya who had scored, and looked at Kuroko Tetsuya thoughtfully and asked, "What do you mean by Murasakibara in junior high school?"

“The reason why Kise-san was unable to imitate the Age of Miracles during junior high school was largely because Kise-san’s physical condition at the time could not support all the talents of the Generation of Miracles…” Kuroko Tetsuya explained, “After all, the talents of the Miracle level are too brilliant. Just one of them is enough to put a great burden on the body…”

"So what?" I felt as if I understood, but not completely.

“So what Kise-san is imitating now is the Age of Miracles in his cognition…” Kuroko Tetsuya sighed softly, “That is, the miracle-level talent of the junior high school level that his current body can support… This is also the reason why Akashi insisted on letting Haizaki-san quit the club…”

"Is it because Haizaki's physical talent limit is not as good as Kise's?" Kagami Taiga said suddenly realizing.

"Yes..." Kuroko Tetsuya nodded slightly, "In order to enter the Zone, in addition to mental concentration and love for basketball, one must also have physical talent... Haizaki-san has strong physical talent, but it's still a little short of it... If you have to say it, he's a scholar who is an extension of a mortal..."

"I understand. No wonder you said that the key to Kise Ryouta's victory was to enter the zone with his own strength..." Kagami Daiga felt that the mess in his mind was suddenly sorted out, "Because..."

"Because entering the zone with junior high school level talent is also something that Haizaki-san can do!" Kuroko Tetsuya said confidently.

"Are you okay, Haizaki?" Ishida Hideki walked timidly to Haizaki Shogo, stretched out his hand, and asked in a low voice while looking at Haizaki Shogo who was knocked over.

"What a bunch of useless guys, why don't you stop him? Why the hell do you want me to do everything?"

Haizaki Shogo ignored the hand extended by Ishida Hideki, stood up with his hands on the ground, looked at Ishihara Shinta, who was responsible for defending Naito Tetsuya, with an annoyed look on his face, and raised his hand to slap him hard.

"I'm sorry, Haizaki-san!" Ishihara Shinta looked at Haizaki Shogo's unfriendly expression and quickly bowed in fear to apologize.

"This guy..." Just as Haizaki Shogo was about to take action, his peripheral vision inadvertently caught a glimpse of Nijimura Shuzo sitting in the audience.

"Forget it, Haizaki..." Ishida Eiki saw Haizaki Shogo's raised hand suddenly stop, and took the opportunity to stand next to Haizaki Shogo and persuade him.

"You're lucky, kid..." Haizaki Shogo glanced at Ishida Eiki, pushed Ishihara Shinta away, and said to his teammates in a bad tone, "If you embarrass me like this again, get the hell out!"

After saying that, Haizaki Shogo stretched out his hand to Nakasato Takashi to pass the ball over the baseline, and ran towards the front court without looking back.

"That was a close call, Ishihara... But you really have to do a good job on defense and don't make Haizaki-san angry again..." Looking at Haizaki Shogo's back, the players of Fukuda General felt as if they had been pardoned. After giving Ishihara Shinta a few words of advice, they followed Haizaki Shogo in dejected manner.

"Not bad..." Domoto Koichiro looked at Haizaki Shogo in the field and said to Nijimura Shuzo beside him, "If he really hit me like that just now, no matter how talented he is, I will not let him enter Fenghuang High School."

"I know." Nijimura Shuzo said with a chuckle, "I still have some confidence in Haizaki-san."

"Kasamatsu! Watch out for Haizaki!"

As Haizaki Shogo advanced to the front court with the ball, Fujima Kenji looked at Kasamatsu Yukio with concern and reminded him. "Don't worry! I will stop him!" Kasamatsu Yukio also stood in front of Haizaki Shogo in the first place.

“You played that ball well just now, Kasamatsu-senpai…” Haizaki Shogo narrowed his eyes and looked at Kasamatsu Yukio and said, “No wonder Kise always says you are a reliable senior…”

“……” Kasamatsu Yukio looked at Haizaki Shogo in front of him, and a sudden feeling of oppression made him speechless.

"I remember you were like this just now, right?" Haizaki Shogo looked at Kasamatsu Yukio's expression as if facing a formidable enemy, and his body gradually moved.

……

"You just scored a goal with this move, you green algae head!!"

In the Tokyo Gymnasium, Sakuragi Hanamichi flashed from outside the three-point line to in front of Midorima Shintaro like lightning, and pressed the ball hard on the backboard with his big hands.

"How is it possible..." Midorima Shintaro looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi in front of him, his pupils shrank slightly.

"Faster than passing the ball?" Mibuchi Reo looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi who had blocked the shot and was a little bit unbelievable, "Except for Kaneki Ken, there is someone else who can do this!"

"After all, Sakuragi is also a player who can enter the Zone, so it's not surprising that he can do this..." Akashi Seijuro sighed, "Shintaro has already done his best... In the final analysis, the other players of Shutoku High School are too weak..."

"White number ten touches the ball, Xiu De has the ball!"

As everyone on the sidelines was whispering, the referee's voice rang out. It was only then that the players of Shutoku High School realized that Midorima Shintaro, who was hit by Sakuragi Hanamichi, could not stand up, holding his ankle.

"Xiao Zhen!" Takao Kazunari looked at Midorima Shintaro lying on the ground, walked forward with a trembling heart, squatted beside Midorima Shintaro and asked carefully, "Are you okay...Xiao Zhen?"

"I... I'm fine..." Midorima Shintaro sat up with a pale face, stretched out his hand to Takao Kazunari and said, "Pull me up, Takao."

"You can't get up now!" Just as Takao Kazunari was about to reach out and pull up Midorima Shintaro, Nakatani Hitoshi came over and said seriously, "I've called a timeout, you'll be off the court in a while. Now just wait patiently for the team doctor to bring the stretcher over."

"It doesn't look good. Midorima seems to be injured..." Konji Xiang said as he squinted his eyes and looked at the players of Shutoku High School on the sidelines. "He got injured at this time. It's a huge blow to the morale of the team..."

"I won't leave, coach." Midorima Shintaro sat on the ground and said to Nakatani Jinliang who was squatting in front of him, "I know my situation, I just twisted it a little..."

"I'm afraid it's not that optimistic..." Just as Midorima Shintaro was trying to continue playing, the team doctor beside him frowned and said, "The ankle is very swollen and red, or at least a serious contusion... I'm afraid he can't play in this game!"

"Did you hear that? Go and get some rest!" Nakatani Hitoshi listened to the team doctor's analysis, looked at Midorima Shintaro with a serious face and said, "I won't gamble the players' future on winning a game!"

"Bandage me." Midorima Shintaro seemed to have ignored Nakatani Hitoshi's order and looked at the team doctor and said, "Wrap it tighter."

"I said, you can't play now, didn't you hear me?" Nakatani Jinliang looked at Midorima Shintaro's serious expression, pushed the team doctor away, looked directly into Midorima Shintaro's eyes and said, "We are already behind by 15 points. You can't win even if you play in your current state!"

"How can I know if I don't play?" Midorima Shintaro asked calmly, "I don't know if it will affect the future, but now, I must play!"

"Xiao Zhen, go off the court and have a rest." At this time, Takao Kazunari also came to Midorima Shintaro and said with a forced smile, "Although the situation is indeed very bad right now, compared to winning a game, I still hope that you can accompany me to play for three years..."

"Yes, Midorima." Ootsubo Taisuke also placed his heavy hands on Midorima Shintaro's shoulders. "The future of Shutoku High School still depends on you. It will be the same next year! I will definitely come to watch your game then!"

“You guys…” Midorima Shintaro looked at the sincere eyes of the crowd, his throat tightened a little, and he took off his glasses with a look of regret, covering his face with his hands so that people could not see his expression clearly, and said in a trembling voice, “I’m really… I’m sorry…”

"Okay, don't delay the game. Take Midorima to the hospital for a check-up." Nakatani Hitoshi waved his hand to signal everyone from Shutoku High School to disperse. He and the players watched as the school doctor carried Midorima Shintaro off the field.

"Alas... that's how the game ends..." Aomine Daiki sighed with some regret, stood up, turned around and walked out of the stadium.

"Where are you going, Qingfeng?" Konji Xiang turned around and looked at Qingfeng Daihui and asked puzzledly.

"I'm going to go check on Midorima." Aomine Daiki didn't look back, he stopped and said in a deep voice, "He got injured and lost the game... Midorima should need some comfort from his friends at this time."

After saying that, Qingfeng Daiki walked straight out of the venue.

"When did this guy become so caring about others?" Wakamatsu Kosuke said with a pout, looking at Aomine Daiki's back.

"It's good to care about others, isn't it?" Imayoshi Xiangyi smiled meaningfully, "But he's right, this game is over."

As Aomine Daiki said, with Midorima Shintaro's injury, Shutoku High School also replaced all the starting players and surrendered. Ando Mitsuyoshi also replaced all the substitutes. In the end, the match between Shutoku High School and Shonan High School ended with a score of 138:120.

……

"Yanjun, do you want to go visit Xiaolu later?"

In the locker room of Shonan High School, Momoi Satsuki came to Kaneki Ken and asked.

"..." Kaneki Ken packed his things and said after a moment of silence, "Forget it. If I go to visit him now, it will be the biggest irony for him."

"Okay..." Tao Jing Mayu curled her lips without comment.

"How could this happen?" Just as Tao Jing Satsuki was about to go back to her seat to pack up her things, Miyagi Ryouta, who was standing next to her, looked at the live broadcast of the game on her phone and shouted in shock, "Fukuda Comprehensive actually led Kaijo High School by 14 points?"

"Hmm?" Kaneki Ken was aroused by what Miyagi Ryouta said, and he took out his mobile phone from his pocket and started searching.

……

"How could this be..." Ryouta Kise, who was forced to play when the team was ten points behind, looked at Haizaki Shogo in front of him, wiping the sweat from his face tiredly, and couldn't help but recall the time when he was suppressed by Haizaki Shogo.

"Honestly, Ryouta." Haizaki Shogo looked at Kise Ryouta provocatively, controlling the ball leisurely and said, "You said that I regarded you as a substitute for Kaneki Ken. It was indeed like that at the beginning... But later I gradually realized that comparing you with Kaneki Ken was not only an humiliation to Kaneki Ken, but also an humiliation to myself."

"...So what?" Huang Lai Ryouta asked back through gritted teeth, "What do you want to say?"

"Haha~" Haizaki Shogo chuckled, "What I want to make clear is that I didn't defeat you because of Kaneki Ken a long time ago... The reason why I have been playing boring one-on-one games with you is simply because I think it is fun to tease the weak!"

"Weakling..." When Huang Lailiangta heard what Haizaki Shougo said, he felt like a thunderbolt hit his head. "Am I really a weakling in the eyes of others?"

“That’s the expression…” Haizaki Shogo looked at Kise Ryouta’s distraught face and smiled even more happily, “The expression of the person who had everything taken away from him by me, looks so happy!”

As he said that, Haizaki Shogo suddenly exploded and his figure flashed past Kise Ryouta like lightning.

"Kise Ryouta lost again..." Kagami Daiga stood up and said reluctantly, "Let's go, Kuroko..."

"call……"

Kuroko Tetsuya, who was standing by, seemed not to have heard Kagami Daigo's call. He took a deep breath, stood up and shouted, "I always believed in you, Kise-san!"

(End of this chapter)