Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 281 Pre-match training? A last-ditch struggle!
"Catch the ball, Kagami-san!"

Just as Kaneki Ken blocked the basketball in Kagami Daiga's hand with a volleyball block, and Sakuragi Hanamichi was about to rush forward to take the basketball, a thin figure with a faint blue light suddenly appeared near the basketball. With a crisp bang, the basketball was hit hard at the bottom by the person who came. Sakuragi Hanamichi only felt a whoosh sound, and the basketball was swept by the air from his temples, turning into an orange-red light and flying towards the basket.

"What!" Sakuragi Hanamichi felt the airflow at his temples, his pupils shrinking slightly, "How can this guy... be faster than me?"

"Good pass, Kuroko!" Kagami Daigo rushed to the inside with excitement on his face. The red light in the corner of his eyes seemed to cross the entire court like a red dragon under Kagami Daigo's speed.

"Damn it, I was tricked..." After landing, Sakuragi Hanamichi turned around and wanted to chase inside, but the people who appeared in front of him were Katsume Ichiro and Hinata Junpei.

"Double pick-and-roll?" Inoue Ayako stood up in surprise and muttered to herself, "Except for Kagami Taigo, the reactions of the others were unexpectedly fast!"

"What's the point of you blocking me?" Sakuragi Hanamichi said with an unhappy look on his face as he looked at the two people in front of him, "Even if you block me, Gilgamesh can..."

"Of course we know that Kaneki Ken can defend against the God of Fire!" Hinata Junpei said with a determined smile, "But I believe in Muji! Just like I have always believed in the God of Fire!"

"Kiyoshi?" Sakuragi Hanamichi's eyes flashed, and he quickly looked up towards the inside, only to see Kiyoshi Teppei like a stone blocking the road, with his hands crossed on his lower abdomen and his legs spread as wide as possible, trying to block Kaneki Ken's path to the inside.

"Hah!" With a loud shout from Vulcan Da Wo, the friction between his sneakers and the ground made a loud noise. Vulcan Da Wo jumped up, caught the basketball flying high in the air, and smashed it towards the basket with force.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!" Shigehiro Kabaji looked at the aggressive Kagami Daiga and leaped with all his might, trying to block Kagami Daiga's dunk outside the basket.

"It's really a strong sense of oppression... Kabaji Shigehiro." Kagami Taiga muttered to himself with a calm smile in his eyes, "But this ball... you can't stop me!"

"Go ahead, Kagami!" Aida Reiko, who was standing off the field, stared at Kagami Taiga's soaring figure with her eyes fixed, a look of nostalgia flashed across her face as she murmured to herself, "It's time to show off the results of your pre-match special training!"

……

"Hey, what did you say, coach?" One day before the finals, in the basketball team's gym at Seirin High School, Kagami Daiga, who was training, looked at Aida Reiko with a confused look on his face and said, "You want me to have special training every day, and how should I react after being blocked?"

"Yes, Kagami-san." Aida Reiko looked at Kagami Daiga seriously and said, "Although I am reluctant to admit it, from the perspective of individual combat power, you cannot compare to Kaneki-san..."

"Although I admit that what you said makes sense, but isn't it a bit too disrespectful for me to speak up for Kaneki Ken so openly?" Kagami Daiga said speechlessly to Aida Reiko who had a serious expression on her face.

"Sorry, sorry~" Aida Reiko waved her hand gently, then looked at Kagami Taiga seriously and explained, "Whether it's Kaneki or Sakuragi, they are both basketball geniuses whose athletic ability is not inferior to you, or even stronger than you, so you must seize every possible opportunity to improve yourself."

"I don't think training this quick reaction after being blocked will help me improve myself..." Kagami Daiga curled his lips in disapproval and said, "Since I was blocked, it means that this attack has completely failed..."

"Who told you that being blocked means your offense failed?" At the entrance of the gym, Aida Katsuyori suddenly opened the door and walked in. He looked at Kagami Daiga with an unhappy face and said, "Just do whatever my little Reiko tells you to do, you bastard!"

"Stop it, Dad." Looking at the looks from the players around her, Reiko Aida came to Aida Katsuhiro with some embarrassment and said, "I asked you to come here to give special training to Kagami-san!"

"Oh, I see, I see~" Aida Katsuyori looked at Aida Reiko's embarrassed expression, sniffed unhappily, turned his head and looked at Kagami Daiga with a look of looking at trash, and said in a deep voice, "Boy, I won't say any more unnecessary words. I think you also know that the opponent you are about to face is a player who is much better than you in terms of athletic ability, height, and basketball basics... Facing such an opponent, it is appropriate for me to give you special training. Come on, you block me, four-eyed boy over there, you be ready to catch the ball at any time."

After saying that, Aida Katsutora picked up a basketball scattered on the sidelines and walked towards the center of the court without looking back.

"Oh..." Kagami Taiga curled his lips helplessly, walked up to Aida Kagetora, opened his arms and said, "Uncle, I'm ready."

"Then I'll shoot, and you be ready to block me at any time." Aida Katsuyori looked at Kagami Daiga's indifferent expression, a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. His original three-threat posture suddenly changed, and he slowly threw the ball in front of Kagami Daiga.

"boom!"

As expected, Kagami Taiga blocked Aida Kagetora's shot as soon as he made it. At this moment, Aida Kagetora, who had just landed, suddenly rushed out with an agility that was very inconsistent with his age. He opened his arms and shouted to Hinata Junpei who caught the basketball, "Hey, four-eyed boy, don't just stand there, pass the ball!"

"Oh!" Hinata Junpei was slightly stunned, and then threw the basketball in his hand. After receiving the pass, Aida Katsuhiro didn't even adjust his posture, and threw the ball into the basket neatly.

"Swish!" As the sound of a basketball hitting the net was heard, Kagami Daigo stood there in a daze, seeming a little unbelievable.

"I told you, when you face an opponent like Kaneki Ken, I am your best teacher." Aida Katsuyori said proudly, "When I was a national player, the opponents I faced were all taller, stronger, faster, and more skilled than us. In order to deal with such opponents, we racked our brains!"

"But what does this have to do with what the coach told me to train about how to react to being blocked?" Although Kagami Taiga was already convinced at this point, he still looked at Aida Kagetora with some confusion and asked.

"Generally speaking, no matter whether you are shooting a jump shot, a layup, or a slam dunk, you will freeze for a moment after being blocked." Aida Katsuhiro put his hands on his hips and said with an experienced look on his face, "This moment of freezing is when the opponent is least alert. And if you think about it the other way around, when you are frozen after being blocked, jumping up to block your opponent is also an action, and it is the easiest to predict. As long as you overcome the freezing after being blocked and take the lead in playing cooperation, you can complete the offense before the opponent's defense arrives."

"Ah, I understand..." Kagami Daiga looked at Aida Kagetora with admiration, bowed deeply and said, "Please train me hard, Aida-senpai!"

"Yes, you look a bit like a student now." Katsutora Aida nodded proudly.

"Become a little stronger..." Kagami Taiga looked at Aida Katsuyora in front of him, his eyes full of fighting spirit as he muttered to himself, "Even if it's just a little bit, any chance to become stronger, I must firmly grasp it!"

……

"When it comes to the determination to become stronger even if it means risking my life... I won't lose to any of you!" With a roar from Kagami Daigo, the basketball was slammed into the basket.

"boom!"

The sound of a basket roaring violently resounded throughout the stadium, and the basketball suddenly turned into a ball of fire and swept towards the basket. "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

As Kagami Taiga scored this goal, the spectators on the sidelines fell silent. The only sound in the arena was the basketball bouncing on the floor.

"Great shot! Seirin High School played a brilliant combination!" Tashiro Heihachi's excited voice broke the silence in the court, "Great two-man pick-and-roll! Violent dunk!"

"Oh oh oh!!!"

Tashiro Heihachi's roar was like a stone thrown into a tiger's face, causing a huge ripple in the field. The audience, who didn't know what to say, shouted Kagami Taiga's name loudly, and the originally one-sided audience seats were quietly torn apart.

"It's true that Kagami-san's dunk just now was really amazing..." Imayoshi Sho narrowed his eyes and looked at Kuroko Tetsuya on the court and said, "But Kuroko was able to react before Sakuragi... Isn't that a bit too exaggerated?"

"What's so exaggerated?" Qingfeng Daihui's eyes revealed a trace of nostalgia, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised as he said, "Azhe...his ability to observe others is first-class!"

"Finally we scored a goal..." Koganei Shinji wiped the non-existent beads of sweat from his head and said with a hint of relief in his tone, "It was all thanks to Kuroko-san just now..."

"Not only Kuroko, but Hinata and the others also reacted quickly on the court." Aida Reiko said with a gratified smile, "Kaneki is indeed very strong, but even the strongest basketball players have to follow the laws of physics! As long as we can accurately catch Kaneki Ken in the air and complete the attack, we will have the key to the comeback!"

"Hurry up and get back on defense! Be careful of their attack from behind!" Kagami Daiwo grabbed the basket and swung it twice before slowly landing on the ground. While loudly reminding his teammates to get back on defense, he ran towards the backcourt without looking back.

"Kagami's performance on the court is becoming more and more mature..." Himuro Tatsuya said with a gratified look on his face as he looked at Kagami Taiga's back, "He's becoming more and more like a qualified core player of the team!"

"Interesting..." Kaneki Ken raised his eyebrows slightly and muttered with a hint of amusement in his tone, "Have you set your sights on the second attack?"

"I'm sorry, Gilgamesh, I just couldn't keep up with that red-haired monkey..." Sakuragi Hanamichi came to Kaneki Ken with an unwilling look on his face and said through gritted teeth, "Next ball, I must defend him to death in the next ball!"

"This is not your problem, Sakuragi." Kaneki Ken smiled and shook his head and said, "Not everyone can notice this momentary opportunity. Leave the rest of the game to me, I will deal with Kagami."

"Yes, Kaneki Ken!" Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded heavily, then went to the corner and passed the baseline ball to Kaneki Ken.

“Bang!”, “Bang!”, “Bang!”

As Kaneki Ken's figure with the ball got closer and closer, the sound of the basketball hitting the ground became heavier in Kagami Daigo's ears.

"To be honest, you really surprise me more and more, Kagami." Kaneki Ken looked at Kagami Taiga and said with a smile, "Very good, I like this kind of momentum of seizing every opportunity and fighting to the death to become stronger."

"Don't act like you've already won, Kaneki." Kagami Daiga stared at Kaneki Ken with an unhappy look on his face and growled, "Although I can't beat you, it doesn't mean that Seirin can't beat Shonan!"

"After all, you and Kuroko... are just weaklings huddled together for warmth." Kaneki Ken shook his head with some pity, "Don't treat me like those weaklings you defeated before, it will bother me a lot!"

"boom!"

As Kaneki Ken finished speaking, a heavy explosion rang in Kagami Taiga's ears. As a golden stream of light flashed by, only an afterimage remained in Kagami Taiga's eyes.

"Left or right?" Kagami Daigo looked at the afterimages that broke through to his left and right sides almost simultaneously, and muttered to himself with a struggling look on his face.

"Vulcan, left!"

Kuroko Tetsuya, who was waiting for an opportunity to steal the ball but failed, blasted Kaneki Ken's afterimage to the right like popping a bubble, then turned to look at Kagami Taiga and reminded him loudly.

"Thank you, Kuroko!" Upon hearing this, Kagami Taiga no longer considered anything else. He moved sideways and threw himself towards the afterimage of Kaneki Ken on the left with all his might.

"Why do you think Kuroko can help you when dealing with me?" Kaneki Ken raised a mocking arc at the corner of his mouth, "Have you forgotten who discovered Kuroko? And... two afterimage Kuroko can remind you, then what about four?"

"What?" Kagami Daigo was slightly stunned after hearing what Kaneki Ken said, and then he looked at Kaneki Ken who was split into four figures in front of him with a look of horror and muttered to himself, "Afterimages... there are actually four?"

"No matter how talented you are, there has to be a limit, bastard!" Himuro Tatsuya, who was also proficient in fake moves, looked at Kaneki Ken in horror, his tone full of powerlessness, "Four afterimages that are so realistic... do fake moves like this really exist?"

"Crench!"

As the sound of the soles of sneakers rubbing violently against the ground was heard, Kaneki Ken, who had completely shaken off Kagami Taiga, jumped up in the paint area with both feet.

"Don't even think about scoring a goal!" Teppei Kiyoshi looked at Kaneki Ken who rushed into the inside, exerted force with his legs, gritted his teeth and jumped towards the direction where Kaneki Ken was gliding.

"What a weak power..." Kaneki Ken looked at Kiyoshi Teppei in front of him and suddenly felt bored, "My future is not here."

"Boom!" As the sound of the basket roared loudly, the basketball was slammed into the basket by Kaneki Ken through Kiyoshi Teppei.

"Honestly, compared to the little trick you just played, I am more looking forward to your coordinated synchro." Kaneki Ken slowly loosened his palm and said meaningfully, "That state at least shows that you can perform at a higher level... As for the others, they are just your last struggle before failure."

(End of this chapter)