Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 24: Single Duel (Part )

"Go pick up the ball, trash." Kaneki Ken looked at Haizaki Shogo with a domineering look, and his deep voice was like the will of a tyrant, "I still have to teach you how to play the remaining four balls."

Haizaki Shogo looked at Kaneki Ken in front of him, and a flash of despair flashed in his eyes. The reason why he hadn't rushed out yet was because Nijimura Shuzo was staring at him covetously at the sidelines - Haizaki Shogo, who came from a bad family, knew Nijimura Shuzo's skills too well.

With the idea that a hero would not suffer a loss in front of him, Haizaki Shogo gritted his teeth, picked up the basketball and threw it to Kaneki Ken.

"Huh? You're still a guy with some backbone." Kaneki Ken chuckled disdainfully and repeated Haizaki Shogo's previous words exactly as they were.

"You just scored a goal, don't act like you've already defeated me." If looks could kill, Kaneki Ken would have been chopped into pieces by Haizaki Shogo.

"This is inevitable, and you will soon see your defeat." Kaneki Ken retreated two steps outside the three-point line and stood at the position where Haizaki Shogo missed the shot before. "But since this is the coach's teaching task, I will first teach you how to shoot a three-pointer from this distance."

Kaneki Ken stood outside the three-point line, his feet slightly apart, his body weight slightly lowered, his hands gently holding the basketball, his feet pushing off the ground, his body soaring into the air like an arrow. In the moment in the air, his arms quickly stretched forward, his wrists flicked slightly, and the basketball cut through the air in a perfect arc and went straight to the basket.

"This distance... it's impossible to score!" Haizaki Shogo was so shocked when he saw Kaneki Ken almost reaching the center line that he forgot to step forward to defend. It was not until Kaneki Ken finished the shot that he woke up from a dream and looked at the basket.

But things did not go as Haizaki Shogo imagined. With a crisp "swish" sound, Kaneki Ken landed steadily, with a determined smile on his face, which was an absolute confidence in his own abilities.

Unlike the previous three-pointer, this three-pointer was shot with a typical one-motion.

"This... this distance..." Midorima Shintaro was shocked when he saw Kaneki Ken's three-pointer. "If I could also shoot a three-pointer from this position... No, no, I don't have enough strength... But if I practice more, even if it takes a little longer to charge up, it will be worth it!"

If Kaneki Ken could hear what Midorima Shintaro was thinking at this moment, he would definitely complain that Midorima Shintaro's idea was completely evil. In a duel between masters, it often takes less than a second. A long time of charging will only increase the risk of being blocked. For something like shooting, of course, the shorter the pre-swing, the better, provided that it does not affect the hit rate...

Kaneki Ken certainly didn't know that his Logo shot had led Midorima Shintaro astray. At this moment, he just wanted to beat up Haizaki Shogo in front of him.

At this moment, Haizaki Shogo's nerves were already highly tense, and he looked at Kaneki Ken in front of him as if he was looking at a demon.

It is undeniable that Haizaki Shogo's ability is outstanding. Most of the moves he can see can be turned into his own. He can even change the rhythm at the subtle movement nodes and take away the opponent's moves silently. This alone fully demonstrates that his basic skills are very solid and his ball sense is very soft. If not, he would not have been recommended to coach Shirogane Kozo by Nijimura Shuzo. Nijimura Shuzo, who also came from a bad street background, very much hopes that basketball can change Haizaki Shogo. However, in the face of a huge gap in talent, outstanding ability alone is not enough. Facing Kaneki Ken, who may be the most physically gifted among the Miracle Generation, even if Kaneki Ken's talent has not yet fully blossomed, it is not something that Haizaki Shogo can contend with today.

"Oh, rubbish." Kaneki Ken controlled the ball and wandered outside the three-point line as if he was strolling in the garden. Looking at Haizaki Shogo who was sweating like a frightened bird in front of him, he said coldly, "I remember that you deliberately walked around me for the third ball just now. You are too arrogant. Even Aomine Daiki doesn't dare to use me as a human to practice breakthroughs. In return, I will let you see what a real breakthrough is!"

As Kaneki Ken finished speaking, his breath seemed to blend into the surrounding air, and his dribbling movements suddenly became unpredictable. The seemingly normal dribbling became unpredictable in his hands, dribbling behind his back, dribbling between his legs, and his movements were coherent and fast, dazzling people and making it difficult to catch the trajectory of the basketball. However, the sound of the basketball hitting the ground was like dense drumbeats, regularly beating on Haizaki Shogo's heart, bringing him invisible pressure.

Just when the crowd thought Kaneki Ken was going to launch a fierce attack, he seemed to have made a mistake and rushed to the right. However, the basketball seemed to have eyes and bounced in the opposite direction, as if it wanted to send the ball directly into the arms of Haizaki Shogo.

"What's going on?" Huizaki Shogo's intuition told him that this was not a simple mistake. However, as a player, he couldn't resist the temptation of basketball, and his hand reached out for the ball involuntarily.

Aomine Daiki on the sidelines saw this scene, helplessly covered his face with his hands, and sighed: "It's over, this guy is going to be defeated by Kaneki."

Sure enough, just when Haizaki Shogo's hand was about to touch the basketball, a slender arm suddenly appeared in his sight and grabbed the ball. However, because Haizaki Shogo adjusted his body center of gravity to get the ball, Kaneki Ken easily passed him.

"Asshole! Stop right there!" The anger from the repeated humiliation completely broke down Haizaki Shogo's psychological defenses. He quickly adjusted his body shape and rushed in front of Kaneki Ken and jumped high. He didn't even want to block the shot, but just wanted to vent his anger and knock over Kaneki Ken who was about to make a layup. But when he made physical contact with Kaneki Ken in the air, he felt as if he had hit a city wall and was bounced out.

"Not bad, you can still catch up." Kaneki Ken, who was fouled, just used a little force on his waist and abdomen to stabilize his body, and commented with interest, "But, it's still garbage."

Kaneki Ken slowly floated out of bounds with the force of the collision. At the moment when he was almost about to land, Haizaki Shogo threw the ball back casually with a look of seeing a ghost. With a swish, the basketball was easily sent into the basket by Kaneki Ken.

"This is... mine... No, I can't do it now..." The usually heartless Aomine Daiki was shocked by Kaneki Ken's goal. He clearly saw his own shadow in Kaneki Ken, but the degree of completion was much higher than his current self.

"Really, nothing this guy does is surprising!" Aomine Daiki laughed excitedly, "Come to think of it, I haven't played one-on-one with Kaneki yet, I'm really looking forward to that day!"

But Haizaki Shogo on the field would never think so. At this moment, his spirit was on the verge of collapse.

(End of this chapter)