Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 280 The foundation of one’s life
"That was Kagami-san's shooting star dunk just now, right?"

“They look very similar…”

"But isn't that a skill that only Kagami-san can do? Could that red-haired guy from Shonan High School also be able to imitate it like Kise?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi's opening shot attracted the attention of the spectators on the sidelines. Such a familiar way of scoring a goal also caused a lot of discussion in the audience seats.

"Baga~" Hanamiya Shin smiled wantonly and looked at the field and said, "Not to mention that Sakuragi's talent is not inferior to Kagami, just Kaneki's guided pass is enough to make a warrior-level player display quasi-miraculous combat power! What's so great about being able to use a shooting star dunk? The despair of Seirin High School is still to come~"

"Don't worry, Kagami-san." Kuroko Tetsuya looked at Kagami Daiga's stunned expression and quickly stepped forward to comfort him, "The game has just begun, there is still time."

"Oh, I know." Kagami Daigo nodded subconsciously, turned around and ran towards the backcourt, ready to kick off.

"Vulcan, catch the ball!"

As Kiyoshi Teppei threw the ball to Kagami Taiga, Seirin High School started its first attack of the game. Kagami Taiga slowly dribbled the ball to the front court, and in the expectant eyes of the audience, Kagami Taiga stepped firmly into Kaneki Ken's defensive range.

"Second time~"

As a flash of lightning sounded, the rhythm of Kagami Taiga's movements suddenly changed. The basketball bounced quickly on the floor, and under the gaze of the audience on the sidelines, Kagami Taiga's figure turned into a fiery red flash of lightning and rushed straight towards Kaneki Ken's defense line.

"The speed of Kagami now... seems to be faster than when he entered the zone before?" Aida Reiko looked at Kagami Taiga with a surprised look on her face and murmured to herself, "He is worthy of being Kagami. When facing such great defensive pressure, his performance is even better!"

"Come on, red-haired monkey!" Sakuragi Hanamichi strode forward, opened his arms and blocked Kagami Taiga's way, roaring, "If you want to challenge Gilgamesh, you have to get past me first!"

"Don't be so conceited, red-haired monkey. I've been annoyed with you for a long time!" There was a flash of lightning in Kagami Daigo's eyes, and he looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi excitedly and roared.

"Second time~"

As a flash of lightning passed by, the sound of the basketball hitting the floor also rang in Sakuragi Hanamichi's ears. Kagami Daigo stomped his legs on the floor and rushed forward, as if he wanted to step a deep hole in the floor.

"Go ahead, Kagami!" Hinata Junpei's eyes revealed a hint of anticipation, "Don't let anyone underestimate our Seirin High School!"

"Tsk... Isn't it just a zone? I can do it too!" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at the high-spirited Kagami Taiga and curled his lips in dissatisfaction. After being hard to get rid of by Kagami Taiga again, the same bright fiery red electric light also burst out from Sakuragi Hanami's eyes.

"Damn it... I really can't get along with this guy..." Kagami Daiga frowned in dissatisfaction, changed direction with the ball again, and after taking advantage of Kiyoshi Teppei's unintentional pick-and-roll, he struggled to get rid of Sakuragi Hanamichi, then stepped heavily on the free throw line with his right foot and jumped up, "And you actually dared to use my moves in front of me... Do you think you are Kise?"

"Pour it in! Kagami!" Muji Teppei roared as he watched Kagami Daiga speeding away.

"You really don't learn your lesson, Kagami..." Just when everyone thought that Kagami was going to score a shooting slam dunk, Kaneki Ken's oppressive voice suddenly rang out on the court.

"boom!"

Almost in an instant, I, the God of Fire, felt that every cell in my body was sending me the most serious warning, as if a mountain was about to collapse on top of my head.

"This feeling...what's going on?" The Fire God Taiga clearly felt the rapid dissipation of his strength, and a long-lost sense of fear surged in his heart.

"Bang~"

Just when Kagami Daigo was at a loss, the sound of a basketball hitting his palm rang in Kagami Daigo's ears. Then, the feeling of emptiness in his palm shocked Kagami Daigo's heart.

"This must be fake!" The corners of Hyuga Junpei's eyes twitched wildly, "Kaneki, this guy, has not even entered the zone yet, but he can already suppress Kagami so strongly?"

"Get back to defense quickly!"

After landing, Kagami Daiga didn't have time to look at Kaneki Ken's movements, and immediately turned around and ran towards the backcourt. As he was running, Kagami Daiga suddenly felt that something seemed wrong.

"Why isn't Kaneki here?" Kagami Daiga looked at the empty front court and muttered solemnly, "Does he want to shoot a three-pointer from the whole court? But we have four people double-teaming him... Can he still make the shot like this?"

"I don't need a full-court three-pointer to deal with you for now..." Just as Kagami Daigo was stunned, Kaneki Ken's figure quietly caught up with him, "Meteor Dunk is indeed a good skill, but in your hands... it's ruined!"

As Kaneki Ken finished speaking, Kagami Daiga only felt a gust of wind whistling past, and then Kaneki Ken's figure appeared at the free throw line of Seirin High School.

"What?" Teppei Kiyoshi looked at Kaneki Ken who jumped high, and exclaimed in shock, "Could it be that... Kaneki just pretended to be caught up... was he teasing Kagami?"

"Let me show you what a real shooting star dunk is, Kagami!" Kaneki Ken raised a confident smile and roared, "Your previous shooting star dunk...was not even up to par!"

As the words fell, Kaneki Ken leaped up in front of Kagami Taiga's horrified expression, and raised the basketball high with his long arms. When it reached the highest point, he slammed the ball down with force. The basketball made a loud sound of breaking through the air, and people seemed to smell the smell of rubber burning due to the heat generated by friction.

"Shh!"

As the sound of a basketball hitting the net was heard, Kaneki Ken's figure, which was in the air like a roc spreading its wings, slowly fell down.

"Surprised?" Kaneki Ken clapped his hands lightly, as if what he had just accomplished was a trivial matter. "I can do this kind of thing anytime I want. I never thought that you would use this half-finished product as a life-saving straw... I am so disappointed."

"Half-finished product?" Kagami Daiga's pupils shrank, and he muttered to himself in disbelief, "The shooting star dunk that Alex has been studying for a long time and I have been practicing for a long time... is it just a half-finished product in front of Kaneki Ken?"

"Alex, what does Kaneki Ken mean by semi-finished product?" Himuro Tatsuya looked at Alex Garcia with a serious look and asked. "Actually, the real meteor dunk...Kaneki Ken has done it before." Alex Garcia said with a complicated expression, "The essence of the meteor dunk is to use the absolute height difference, take advantage of the gravity acceleration of the sprint jump, and complete the attack with a thunderous force over the opponent's head... But the requirements for the complete version of the meteor dunk are too high, Kagami can't do it with his current ability... or not many people can do it."

"Since you've tried so hard to entertain me, I'll give you a hint." Kaneki Ken, who was returning to defense, said in a deep voice as he passed by Kagami Taiga, "With your dim talent alone, you are not enough to be compared with me... or even Sakuragi... Think carefully, what has allowed you to get to where you are today."

After saying that, Kaneki Ken walked towards the backfield without looking back.

"How... have we come this far?" Kagami Taiga kept repeating Kaneki Ken's words in his mind, and a hazy feeling suddenly emerged before his eyes.

"Don't be affected by him, Kagami." Muji Teppei came to Kagami Daigo, patted him on the shoulder and said, "This game will not be easy. We have already made such preparations before the game started, haven't we? You just need to be confident and do what you should do. We will try our best to keep up with you!"

"I understand, Muji-senpai." Kagami Daiga closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened his eyes, stared at Kaneki Ken's back and said, "Although I still don't know what Kaneki Ken wants to tell me, I think I have a rough idea of ​​the direction."

"Boom!"

With Kaneki Ken's goal, the ball returned to Seirin High School. This time, without any reminder from his teammates, Kagami Taiga took the initiative to open his hands and ask Kiyoshi Teppei for the ball.

"Huh..." After receiving the ball, Kagami Daigo took a deep breath. Then, in the puzzled eyes of the audience on the sidelines, he rushed towards the front court with the ball with a determined look on his face.

"What is Kagami doing?" Wakamatsu Kosuke looked at Kagami Taiga in confusion and muttered, "With his current speed, it's already difficult for his teammates to see his movements clearly, let alone play an effective cooperation... Could it be that Kagami is going to single-handedly defeat Shonan High School?"

After Wakamatsu Kosuke finished speaking, he seemed to feel that his idea was too absurd and couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Maybe that's right." Aomine Daiki on the side narrowed his eyes and spoke softly, "If we still follow the routine and wait for teammates to cooperate, then the space left for Kagami to accelerate is only the three-point line. With such a short distance to the baseline, Kagami's performance will be greatly limited if his athletic ability is not advantageous and the acceleration distance is insufficient..."

"But..." Wakamatsu Kosuke asked in confusion, "For Kagami to rush forward alone is no different from committing suicide."

"Going to die..." Aomine Daiki said with a complicated smile, "Kagami, and Azhe have come this far... Which game didn't you participate in with the determination to die?"

"Aomine, what you mean is..." When Imayoshi Sho heard what Aomine Daiki said, he suddenly understood. He looked at the field with an unbelievable look on his face and said, "For Seirin now... Kagami Daigo's singles may be more effective than forced teamwork?"

"I'm not sure if it's more effective..." Aomine Daiki shook his head noncommittally and said, "But this style of play is undoubtedly more suitable for Kagami now!"

"Yeah!"

Just as Aomine Daiki was whispering with his teammates on the sidelines, Kagami Daiki on the field had turned into a stream of fiery red light, swept across half the court in a flash, and charged towards the defense line of Shonan High School alone with a tragic and heroic act of hitting a rock with an egg.

"Stop, you red-haired monkey!" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at the aggressive Kagami Daiga and quickly straightened his chest and rushed forward, trying to use brute force to force Kagami Daiga to stop in place.

"We can't stop... We absolutely can't stop here!" Kagami Daigo gritted his teeth and shouted at Sakuragi Hanamichi and Kaneki Ken behind him, "How can the ace who carries the fate of the team stop here!"

"Crench!"

"boom!"

As Kagami Taiga finished his words, a sound of shoes rubbing violently against the court floor was heard in the court. Then, the basketball collided violently with the ground under the gaze of Sakuragi Hanamichi, and Kagami Taiga's figure suddenly stopped outside the three-point line.

"Yabai..." Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was unable to stop for a moment, gritted his teeth and looked at Kagami Taiga who stopped suddenly outside the three-point line and muttered, "I was shaken by this guy..."

"Opportunity!" The lightning in Kagami Daiwo's eyes became brighter. He slowly received the ball, slightly bent his knees outside the three-point line, raised the basketball high with both hands, and aimed at the basket.

"A banked dunk?" Wakamatsu Kosuke looked at Kagami Daiga with a puzzled look on his face and muttered, "It's not appropriate to do this kind of thing in front of Shonan High School, right?"

"Don't underestimate Kagami..." Sakurai Ryo said solemnly to Kagami Daiga in the field, "Kagami-san's moves now look...very beautiful!"

"Make it in... Kagami-san..." Shinji Koganei on the sidelines closed his eyes nervously, clenched his fists, and prayed silently.

"It seems that you understand part of what I said, which is good."

Just as Kagami Taiga was about to push the basketball in his hand towards the basket, Kaneki Ken, who was originally in the penalty area, suddenly took two steps forward, appeared in front of Kagami Taiga like a flash, and jumped up.

"Pass the ball quickly, Kagami..." Hinata Junpei, who was behind Kagami Daiga, stretched out his hand to ask for the ball with an anxious look on his face.

"Really... It's not that Kagami doesn't want to pass the ball now..." Aomine Daiki looked at Kagami Taiga who was completely blocked by Kaneki Ken, shook his head helplessly and said, "It's just that he can't pass the ball now..."

"boom!"

Just as the basketball left Kagami Taiga's hand, Kaneki Ken's big hand arrived first and slapped the basketball hard amid the despair of everyone at Seirin High School.

"It looks like there's no hope..." Wakamatsu Kosuke sighed helplessly, "Whether it's teamwork or fighting alone... If Kagami can't perform at this point... Seirin has no hope of winning..."

"Who said that?" Qingfeng Daihui suddenly raised a mysterious smile and said, "There is another guy who is least remembered and is ready to fight!"

"Kagami-san!" As soon as Aomine Daiki finished his words, he saw Kuroko Tetsuya rushing to the basketball before anyone else, and slammed his palm heavily on the bottom of the basketball, sending the ball into the hands of Kagami Daiga who had just landed.

(End of this chapter)