Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 288 Evolution vs. Combined Force
"Izawa, this guy, made such a low-level mistake at this time?" Aomine Daiki looked at Izawa Shuji who chose to pass the ball on the court, frowned and muttered with some dissatisfaction, "The current players of Seirin High School are almost an extension of Kagami Daiga's hands and feet!"

"Yeah!"

As soon as Aomine Daiki finished speaking, Kagami Daigo rushed towards the basketball passed by Izawa Shuji like an arrow.

"Shimata!" Izawa Shuji felt something was wrong the moment the basketball left his hand, and he quickly reached out to try to grab the basketball, but it was too late. A stream of fiery red light flashed past Izawa Shuji, and before Izawa Shuji could grab the basketball, he was knocked to the ground by the huge force of Kagami Taiga when he stole the ball.

"A great steal! Kagami-san successfully stole the pass from Izawa-san!" Tashiro Heihachi on the sidelines commented in a high-spirited voice, "After the steal, Kagami-san launched a fast break! The other players from Nagakuri High School immediately followed... Sakuragi-san! It was Sakuragi-san! Sakuragi-san's defense was also very fast!"

"Stinky red-haired monkey, give me back the ball!"

Just as Kagami Daiga, who was on a fast break, stepped on the free throw line and jumped up, Sakuragi Hanamichi also jumped up from the side of Kagami Daiga, and the wall stretched out from the side and back towards the basketball in Kagami Daiga's hands, trying to stop Kagami Daiga from completing the dunk.

"Go! Kagami!!!" Shinji Koganei on the sidelines looked at the two fiery red figures gliding in the air, stood up nervously, and shouted loudly.

"Damn it... I can't even reach it!" Sakuragi Hanamichi jumped with all his strength, looking at the distance between the quality inspection and the basketball with a look of annoyance, and muttered unwillingly.

"You are no match for me, Sakuragi." Kagami Taiga looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi with his eyes flashing with lightning and said softly, "So, let Kaneki Ken come up!"

"boom!"

As Kagami Taiga finished speaking, the battle between the two in the air was decided. Kagami Taiga, gliding in the air, pressed the ball down with his right arm, and slammed the ball into the basket while hanging on Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"boom!"

As the sound of a basket roared, Kagami Taiga scored and knocked Sakuragi Hanamichi out of the court.

"Beep~~" When Kagami Daigo scored the ball, the referee on the side also blew the whistle.

"Foul?" Inoue Ayako looked at the referee's expressionless face nervously, and said to herself with a hint of luck in her tone, "The physical contact in the air just now was very ambiguous. It can be called an offensive foul by Kagami, or a defensive foul by Sakuragi..."

"Red number ten, defensive foul! Black number ten counts as a goal, one penalty kick!" The referee quickly gave his decision, completely shattering Inoue Ayako's only remaining hope.

"Oh oh oh!!!!"

"Vulcan!", "Vulcan!", "Vulcan!"

As soon as the referee finished speaking, the fans of Seirin High School in the audience seats excitedly waved their flags and banners, cheering for the players of Seirin High School.

"Damn it! It's almost there... just a little bit!" Sakuragi Hanamichi hammered the floor beneath him in frustration, the electric light in his pupils gradually dissipating.

"Hey!"

Just as Sakuragi Hanamichi was lying on the ground feeling sorry for himself, a cold voice suddenly sounded in his ears.

"Stinky fox?" Looking in the direction of the voice, Sakuragi Hanamichi was stunned at first, then looked at Rukawa Kaede with an unhappy face and said, "Why did you call me? Do you want to mock me too?"

"With your ability... it's a pity that you didn't defend the ball just now." Rukawa said expressionlessly, "But if you keep lying on the ground and don't get up, I'm going to kick your ass... There's no way to block the way like this, you big idiot!"

"What are you talking about, you guy?" The mocked Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly regained his strength, jumped up from the ground angrily, came in front of Rukawa Kaede, tapped his chest with his right hand, and said word by word, "Next time I will definitely return this ball to that red-haired monkey! Just wait and see!"

After saying that, Sakuragi Hanamichi walked towards the sidelines on both sides of the free throw line without looking back.

"Really? These two guys should be good friends..." Inoue Ayako looked at the two people who disliked each other on the field, smiled helplessly and said, "I really don't understand the weird thoughts of you boys..."

"Besides friends, men also have a relationship called rivals." Kaneki Ken said with a smile as he looked at Sakuragi and Hanamichi who were both serious. "And when rivals become teammates fighting side by side, they are often more reliable than friends!"

"Shh!"

As Jin Mengyan finished speaking, Kagami Daiya at the free throw line easily shot the free throw into the basket.

"Hey, you stinky fox..." Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Kagami Daiga's receding back, and after a moment of silence with a tangled expression, he turned his head and looked at Rukawa Kaede and said, "That red-haired monkey looks difficult to deal with. I may not be able to take care of the team's offensive affairs from now on... Are you okay?"

"Just defend your own people first." Rukawa adjusted the arm guard on his arm and said coldly, "If you can't beat them, then you can't beat them. Saying that you can't take care of the offensive end... Haha, you really found a good excuse."

After saying that, Rukawa Kaede ran towards the front court without looking back.

"This guy is such a cocky guy..." Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Rukawa Kaede's back with some displeasure and muttered, "If you can't score a goal later, I'll show you how I'll deal with you!"

After complaining, Sakuragi Hanamichi turned around and went to the baseline, and passed the ball to Izawa Shuji. While Izawa Shuji slowly advanced with the ball, he ran to the frontcourt, starting the next round of attack for Shonan High School.

"This guy's momentum... is totally different from when the game just started..." As Izawa Shuji slowly approached the center line, the sense of oppression coming from Kagami Taiga became more and more perceptible. Izawa Shuji looked at Kagami Taiga standing motionless in the penalty area with a sullen face, and the tension in his heart gradually infected his thoughts.

"Second time~"

At the moment when Izawa Shuji's foot stepped over the center line, Kagami Daigo's head, which had been lowered, suddenly raised up, and the dark red electric light rushed towards Izawa Shuji following Kagami Daigo's sight like a thunder dragon that was inspired by it. The unparalleled momentum immediately frightened Izawa Shuji, and his palm trembled, and he almost lost the ball.

"Ize, this way!"

Just as Kuroko Tetsuya saw the moment when Izawa Shuji lost his concentration and rushed forward to steal the ball, Rukawa's voice suddenly came from the side. Izawa Shuji looked in the direction of the voice and saw Rukawa leaning against Katsuragi Ichiro, stretching out his hand to ask Izawa Shuji. "Pass the ball..." Kagami Taiga watched Izawa Shuji's every move outside the three-point line, and subconsciously took a step towards Izawa Shuji and Rukawa.

"I won't let you disturb them at this time, red-haired monkey!" Sakuragi Hanamichi moved quickly, and the moment Kagami Daiga was about to move, he blocked Kagami Daiga's path on his way out.

"This guy... has he recovered?" Kagami Taiga looked at the lightning flashing in Sakuragi Hanamichi's pupils again, and said to himself with a solemn expression, "What a trouble, he is just like an indestructible cockroach!"

"Come on, Rukawa!" Just as Kagami Taiga and Sakuragi Hanamichi were fighting in the interior, Katsume Ichiro had already opened his arms, with an expression as if facing a formidable enemy, staring at Rukawa's every move and roaring.

"Stinky fox, this ball is for you..." Sakuragi Hanamichi kept adjusting his steps to entangle Kagami Taiga, while looking at Rukawa Kaede outside the three-point line, and muttered softly, "It doesn't matter if it's luck, but you have to score this goal!"

"What are you worried about, idiot..." Rukawa looked at the uncertain expression on Sakuragi Hanamichi's face and seemed to guess what Sakuragi Hanamichi was thinking at the moment.

"boom!"

As the sound of a basketball hitting the ground was heard, Rukawa, who had been maintaining a triple-threat posture, began to slowly pass the ball, looking for a flaw in Katsume Ichiro's defense.

"Boom!"

Before Katsume Ichiro could react, she heard the sound of a ball exploding that echoed throughout the stadium, and then Rukawa Kaede's figure disappeared in front of her.

"Damn it! How fast is this first step?!" Katsume Ichiro gritted his teeth and looked at Rukawa Kaede beside him, and quickly adjusted his pace to meet him.

"You're quick at reacting..." Rukawa looked at Katsuragi Ichiro, "But compared to your senior, you're far behind!"

As the words fell, Katsume Ichiro felt as if a torrential rain accompanied by a muffled thunder hit his head, and the scene behind Rukawa Kaede changed again, becoming a familiar gym scene.

"This is what they have been talking about before, the zone that belongs to Rukawa Kaede, right?" Katsume Ichiro encouraged himself timidly, "It's okay, this guy can't complete the attack under Kagami's defense!"

"On the basketball court... nothing is impossible!" Rukawa chuckled after hearing Katsume Ichiro's muttering, and his footsteps became more powerful. Katsume Ichiro was passed by Rukawa like a wooden stake. Then Rukawa jumped back to meet Kiyoshi Teppei and Hinata Junpei who came to reinforce his defense.

"Quick stop and fade away jump shot?" Aomine Daiki looked at Rukawa Kaede in the field with some surprise and said, "This guy can actually score with such a simple skill at this time? I thought he would rush in and dunk."

"Not only has Rukawa changed, Sakuragi has also changed a lot." Harasawa rubbed his hair subconsciously and said, "In that shot just now, Sakuragi played like a blue-collar worker... If it had been before, it would have been impossible for Sakuragi to do this."

While everyone at Seirin High School was still whispering, the phantom of the samurai behind Rukawa seemed to have solidified into substance. When facing Kagami Taiga's backup defense after he left Sakuragi Hanamichi behind, the phantom of the samurai swung his sword and hit Kagami Taiga heavily on the head.

"Shh!"

As the sound of a basketball hitting the net was heard, Kagami Taigo's block ultimately failed.

"Well done, Rukawa!" Mitsui Shou came to Rukawa and said with a smile, "Isn't this very capable? Keep playing like this!"

"I know." Rukawa snorted coldly and continued to run towards the backcourt.

"This is going to be an interesting match..." Aomine Daiki said while looking at the field with a playful look, "Seirin, who emphasizes teamwork, has now made up his mind to attack Kagami Daigo, while Shonan High School, which emphasizes individual ability, is still struggling to hold on relying on the tacit understanding of those two idiots..."

"Vulcan, catch the ball!"

While Aomine Daiki was still watching the game with interest, Kiyoshi Teppei had already kicked the ball from the baseline to the front court. Kagami Taiga immediately ran as fast as he could after receiving the ball, trying to score before Sakuragi Hanamichi returned to his room.

"Go on, Kagami!" The Seirin High School bench was in chaos at this moment, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Kagami Daigo's figure who was riding away from the crowd.

"Hahhhhhhhhh!" Kagami Daiga jumped up after rushing into the three-point line of Shonan High School, raised the basketball high with his right hand, and then slammed it heavily into the basket.

"As expected, I still dislike you the most, red-haired monkey..." Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Kagami Daigo's back, and the electric light in his eyes inadvertently deepened by several shades.

"I'm going to take this ball!" Kagami Daigo felt the pressure coming from behind, but the look in his eyes not only did not retreat at all, but became more determined.

"Stop talking nonsense, red-haired monkey! You will never be able to score this goal!" Sakuragi Hanamichi gritted his teeth and stared at the basketball in Kagami Daiga's hand. He stretched out his arm, pressed his right hand tightly on the bottom of the basketball, and he and Kagami Daiga were in a stalemate in the air.

"Hey, it seems you still need my help, you big idiot!" Rukawa looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi who was about to be defeated by Kagami Daiga, sighed helplessly, took a step forward and jumped up, and when Kagami Daiga's right hand was about to dunk the ball into the basket, Rukawa's palm heavily cut the side of the basketball.

"You're still of some use, you stinky fox!" Seeing Rukawa Kaede complete the steal, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had just landed, immediately stopped and turned around. Before Kagami Daiga could react, he grabbed the basketball and rushed to the frontcourt.

"Don't dream on!" After landing, Kagami Taiga was even faster. He rushed forward in two steps at a time. Before Sakuragi Hanamichi even crossed the center line, he was stopped by Kagami Taiga with his arms open.

"It's really frustrating, you red-haired monkey..." Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Kagami Daiga in front of him with some displeasure and muttered, "Let me be in the limelight for a while, will you die?"

As he spoke, Sakuragi Hanajima suddenly slammed the ball heavily to the floor. The basketball instantly turned into an orange-red stream of light and bounced straight towards Rukawa Kaede who cut into the penalty area.

"You idiot, you have some vision..." Rukawa frowned awkwardly after receiving the ball, stepped on the sidelines on both sides of the paint area and jumped up, "Watch this, idiot, none of my shots were scored by luck!"

"boom!!!"

As Rukawa Kaede finished his words, the sound of a basketball hoop wailing resounded throughout the stadium.

(End of this chapter)