Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 266 Difficult to deal with
"If they're so suppressive at the beginning, then once the competition officially begins, won't Seirin High School have any chance at all?" Imayoshi Xiang adjusted his glasses and sighed with a complicated tone.

"That's not necessarily the case..." Aomine Daiki said softly as he watched the game on the field, "It depends on whether Kagami and Azhe can take that step..."

"The second level of the Zone?" Imayoshi Xiangyi shook his head and said, "Murasara Atsushi has evolved, but he couldn't reach that level. I don't think Kagami and the others can..."

"Let's wait and see..." Aomine Daiki shook his head and didn't say anything else.

"Are you okay, Muji?" Kemei Ichiro came to Muji Tieping who was lying on the ground and asked with concern.

"It doesn't matter..." Kiyoshi Teppei said with a chuckle, "Luckily Murasakibara Atsushi was eliminated, otherwise my old arms and legs would probably be useless after the finals..."

"Let's think about how to get past us first, Muji." Hayama Kotaro looked at Muji Teppei with a smile and said, "Akagi is very motivated today~"

"You bastard!" Kagami Daigo took a step forward with an annoyed look on his face and was about to grab Hayama Kotaro by the collar.

"Calm down and don't be irritated by him, Kagami-san." Kuroko Tetsuya quickly grabbed Kagami Daiga's arm and said.

"Hmph!" Kagami Daiga looked at Kuroko Tetsuya with a serious look on his face, looked at Hayama Kotaro's back with some dissatisfaction, snorted coldly, turned around and walked to the baseline to kick off.

"It was a wrong decision just now. I shouldn't have replaced Kuroko during that dead ball situation..." Reiko Aida looked at the situation on the field, sighed helplessly, and made a pause gesture to the workbench.

"Beep, beep~ Seirin High School, requesting a timeout!"

With a whistle, the referee on the sidelines decisively stopped the game.

"As expected, they called a timeout..." Takao Kazunari sighed as he looked at the players of both teams returning to the bench.

"Kuroko's role on the field is not that great now..." Midorima Shintaro commented with some regret, "He just replaced Ebina Kaori. He's a bad chess player..."

"Speaking of which, Rakusan High School is really amazing!" Takao Kazunari said with admiration, "Although they also have a character similar to the Phantom Sixth Man in their team, they were able to adapt to the presence of Kuroko Tetsuya so quickly in this situation... Is it really the instinct of the strong?"

"What do you mean by strong instinct?" Midorima Shintaro glanced at Takao Kazunari strangely and said, "Do you really think Kuroko is still a shadow now?"

"Huh?" Takao Kazunari was stunned by Midorima Shintaro's question.

"Whether it's the phantom dribble against Qingfeng or the misdirection.zone against Huang Lai later, these cool skills, how are they like Shadow?" Midorima Shintaro pushed the frame and said, "As early as junior high school, Akashi and Kaneki repeatedly warned Kuroko that you can have enthusiasm, but you must hide it... It seems that Kuroko didn't remember it at all..."

"Kuroko, don't play in the next game for now." Aida Reiko stood on the sidelines, looking at Kuroko Tetsuya with a serious face and said, "Rakusan High School is too familiar with your compatibility. Now is not the time for you to play."

"But if Kuroko leaves the court, who will be responsible for the movement of the ball?" Hinata Junpei said anxiously, "I'm afraid that Kagami alone is not enough to face that guy Akashi!"

"I understand." Aida Reiko turned her head and looked at Itsuki Shun and said, "So next, Itsuki, you and Ebina-san will go on stage together, and you will face Akashi Seijuro."

"Eh?" Yi Yuejun pointed at his nose in surprise and said, "Me?"

……

"Yes, we are sure to win this match!" Yeshan Kotaro shouted excitedly on the sidelines, "We must teach Kaneki Ken a lesson this time!"

"Don't speak too soon, Hayama." Akashi Seijuro looked towards the half court of Seirin High School and said, "I always feel that Tetsuya and Kagami have more potential than this..."

"Without the assistance of the phantom sixth man, Kagami is just a blue-collar player who can jump a little." Kotaro Hayama said with some indifference.

"Anyway, let's change our style for the next game. Koichiro, you should go off the court and take a rest." Akashi Seijuro turned his head and looked at Dai Chihiro and said, "Senior Dai, it's your turn to play next."

"Okay, I understand." Dai Qianxun took off her coat, went to the sidelines and started warming up.

"Buzz!"

Not long after both sides made their tactical deployments, the timer on the sidelines rang.

"Anyway, the next game should be played as we said." Aida Reiko stared at the players in front of her with a burning gaze, "Shoot when there is an open position. Since the IH League, we have been practicing mid-range and long-range shooting. Have confidence in our practice!"

"Yes, coach!" The Seirin High School players present responded loudly.

"Vulcan and his team are very impressive, but you can't win a game just by having momentum..." Aomine Daiki smacked his lips with some regret, and said, "The gap in hard power between the two teams is too big..."

"Run, run!"

As the game resumed, something unexpected happened on the field. Ebina Ka and the other four players ran madly after the kick-off, leaving only Kiyoshi Teppei slowly advancing with the ball.

"Another point-scoring center?" Wakamatsu Kosuke looked helplessly at Aida Reiko on the sidelines and complained, "Seirin High School is really taking advantage of Kiyoshi's right to shoot later to cheat..."

"It's better to say that this arrangement is just right for Seirin High School right now..." Konkichi Xiang said with a playful look at the field, "In Seirin's current lineup, the only two who can use their height and wingspan to avoid Akashi's steals are Kagami and Kiyoshi, and Kagami doesn't have a good vision and awareness for passing the ball... So this job can only be handed over to Kiyoshi..."

"What if Rakusan High School sends a center to defend Muji?" Wakamatsu Kosuke asked with some confusion.

"Isn't that great?" Imayoshi Shoichi looked at Wakamatsu Kosuke in surprise and asked, "Isn't the most difficult thing for Kagami right now to get into the basket and score? Wouldn't it be good for Kagami to have Luo Shan leave the inside empty?"

"Oh, that's right..." Wakamatsu Kosuke nodded belatedly, and finally turned his attention back to the game on the field.

"I never thought that Seirin would actually let you control the ball, Senior Kiyoshi." Akashi Seijuro said with a smile as he walked up to Kiyoshi Teppei.

"There's nothing I can do. Xiaojia and Yiyue were both bullied by you so badly~" A helpless smile appeared on Kiyoshi Teppei's face. He blocked Akashi Seijuro's position with his back and began to look for his teammates who were running.

"Senior Muji, here!" Kagami Taiga, who cut into the inside, asked Muji Teppei for the ball.

"Eiji, be careful!" Seeing the aggressive Kagami Daiga, Kotaro Hayama on the side hurriedly warned him. "Come on, Kagami!" Neya Takeiji opened his arms, a smile of expectation on his face, and shouted excitedly at the figure of Kagami Daiga.

"Good cut, Kagami!" Muji Teppei's eyes flashed, and he grabbed the bouncing basketball with both hands and swung it towards Kagami Daigo.

"Don't even think about it!" Seeing this, Kotaro Yeyama immediately took a step forward and jumped up, trying to intercept the basketball in mid-air.

"Idiot..." Qingfeng Daiki frowned, feeling that things were not that simple.

"Although I don't want to admit it, with your vision, you must be able to see mine..." In a corner where no one noticed, Hinata Junpei slowly came to the position where he usually received the ball, quietly opened his hands, and made a gesture to ask for the ball.

"Ah, of course I saw you." Although Teppei Kiyoshi did not look at Junpei Hinata, the moment their eyes met, the basketball slipped away from Teppei Kiyoshi's hand and flew straight towards Junpei Hinata.

"Is it for Hinata-senpai?" Akashi Seijuro said with a smile to Kiyoshi Teppei who deliberately turned his head away and didn't look at Hinata Junpei, "Kiyoshi-senpai's vision is really good..."

"What..." When Teppei Kiyoshi heard what Seijuro Akashi said, his heart suddenly shuddered and an ominous premonition came over him.

"boom!"

At this moment, a figure with an extremely weak presence suddenly appeared in front of Muji Tieping, stretched out his long arms gently, and easily intercepted Muji Tieping's exquisite pass.

"Damn it! Although I'm familiar with misdirection, I can't be more familiar with it... but when I really meet a player like Kuroko, I still can't defend myself!" Muji Teppei looked at the familiar scene in front of him, and suddenly shouted loudly in horror, "Return to defense!"

"Run!" Dai Qianxun shouted angrily after completing the steal, and then threw the ball hard to the front court.

"Good pass, Senior Dai!" Kotaro Hayama, who had run to the frontcourt in advance, chuckled and jumped up. After catching the basketball in the air, he broke through to the basket without looking back.

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

Just as Hayama Kotaro was about to score, a sudden lightning sound suddenly resounded throughout the court. Hayama Kotaro only felt a flash before his eyes, a fiery red light flashed, and the basketball was nailed hard on the backboard.

"This guy..." Yeshan Kotaro looked at Kagami Taiga in front of him in shock, muttering to himself in disbelief, "Has he entered the zone again?"

"Haha, Kotaro, you've made a fool of yourself again!" Takeyoshi Netani jumped up behind Kagami Taiga, grabbed the rebounding basketball, jumped up, and slammed the basketball hard into the basket.

"Yeah!"

Just when Takeyoshi Negaya was determined to score the ball, Kagami Daiga, who had just landed, took off into the air again, and slapped the basketball with his big hand. With a crisp bang, the basketball was slapped to the front court by Kagami Daiga.

"This ball must go in..." Kagami Daigo's eyes were fixed on the basketball bouncing on the ground. After landing, he rushed towards the basketball again at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.

"So fast!" Reo Mibuchi, who was closer to the basketball, felt a hurricane passing by her cheek before she had time to turn around, and then Kagami Daigo rushed straight to the front court with the ball.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!" In the blink of an eye, Kagami Daigo arrived at the free throw line of Rakusan High School and jumped up with both feet on the free throw line.

"Sorry, Kagami, you can't score this goal."

Akashi Seijuro's figure appeared in front of Kagami Taiga at some point, and just as Kagami Taiga jumped, Akashi Seijuro's palm cut towards the basketball in Kagami Taiga's hand like a sharp blade.

"Damn it!" Kagami Daigo turned his head slightly to look at Akashi Seijuro who had a calm expression on his face, and muttered through gritted teeth.

"brush!"

Before the spectators on the sidelines could react, they heard the basketball turn into an orange-red stream of light, cross the half court with a sound of breaking wind, and fall directly into the hands of Reo Mibuchi.

"Strange...this ball feels..." Mibuchi Reio discovered the subtlety of this pass as soon as she started.

"Go ahead, Sister Lingyang!" Hayama Kotaro shouted in encouragement, "Don't forget that our goal is to take revenge on Kaneki Ken!"

"Such a waste of time! How could I possibly forget something like this?" Mibuchi Reio raised the corner of her mouth slightly, and with complicated eyes she looked at Hyuga Junpei in front of her and said, "I'm sorry, little brother Hyuga!"

"Stop looking down on me!" Hinata Junpei looked at Mibuchi Reio in front of him and jumped up with an angry roar.

"I can't let you block this ball..." In the shocked eyes of Hinata Junpei, Mibuchi Reo slowly jumped up and gently pushed the basketball towards the basket with both hands.

"Shh!"

As the sound of the basketball hitting the net rang out, a mysterious smile appeared on Reo Mibuchi's lips.

"Are you okay, Captain?" Kagami Taiga came to Junpei Hinata and comforted him, "It's just a ball, just hit it back when you get back."

"No, Kagami..." Hinata Junpei looked at Mibuchi Reio's back with a serious expression and said, "I couldn't jump up after that ball just now!"

"Ah?" Kagami Daiga looked at Hinata Junpei in confusion, as if he didn't quite understand what it meant.

"Forget it..." Hinata Junpei shook his head and stopped worrying. "Continue to play as the coach arranged, but be careful of Dai Chihiro... You have worked with Kuroko for the longest time, so you should be most familiar with this kind of person."

"Leave it to me, Captain." Kagami said as I turned my head to look in the direction of Dai Qianxun, "I will remind everyone at any time."

"Hey, Masako-chan~" Murasakihara Atsushi looked at Dai Chihiro in the field, as if he remembered something, and asked Araki Masako beside him, "Did No. 5 just now... smile?"

"What are you paying attention to, Murasakihara?" Araki Masako looked at Murasakihara Atsushi with some confusion and asked, "The competition is so intense, who would care whether he is smiling or not?"

"I think it's better for Kagami and the others to pay attention to them." Murasakibara Atsushi curled his lips and said, "A new type of phantom sixth person who has calmed down and become a shadow is not easy to deal with..."

(End of this chapter)