Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 45: The Way of Kingship
"Really? Kaneki's way of scoring by casually throwing the ball in the air is really hard to learn." Aomine Daiki looked at Hayama Kotaro half-relieved and half-provokingly, "It looks like I'm lucky, little yellow-haired Hayama. If you can only do this, you'd better not rush to challenge Kaneki."

"You naughty bastard, my name is Hayama Kotaro," Hayama Kotaro said unhappily, "No, you should call me senior!"

"Who wants to care about you?" Aomine Daiki rolled his eyes in disdain, ignored the flushed Hayama Kotaro, and walked straight to the free throw line.

"Keisuke, what should we do?" Taking advantage of the free throws by Aomine Daiki, Yamanaka Kazuhiko came to Kobayashi Keisuke. The nominal vice-captain had become his backbone at this time, "Do you have any hope of scoring two goals?"

"Let me try." Kobayashi Keisuke said solemnly, "The guy defending me looks difficult to deal with. He's very agile and keeps sticking to me."

"Let me set a screen for you?" Daisuke Narumi suggested.

"No, you and Liu Wei protect the rebounds in the paint." Kobayashi Keisuke shook his head and turned to look at Yamanaka Kazuhiko, "Captain, help me with the screen."

"Yes." Everyone nodded and accepted Keisuke Kobayashi's arrangement.

"Swish~" Ignoring the whispers of the people from Shibuya First Middle School, Aomine Daiki easily made the free throw and Shibuya First Middle School took possession of the ball.

"Don't panic! Play steadily and try to score a goal!" Keisuke Kobayashi calmly brought the ball across half the court, looked at his teammates who were already a little impatient because they were unable to break the deadlock, and comforted them in a deep voice.

"Is he a leader-type player who is very frugal with words?" Looking at Keisuke Kobayashi who spoke for the first time since the start of the game, Midorima Shintaro's eyes moved slightly under his glasses, and he immediately spoke up.

"This guy gives me such a strong sense of oppression!" Feeling the pressure from Midorima Shintaro, Keisuke Kobayashi's expression became more solemn.

"Keisuke!" Looking at Keisuke Kobayashi who was being defended by Midorima Shintaro and unable to move, Kazuhiko Yamanaka quickly went forward to screen as planned. Keisuke Kobayashi took the opportunity to get rid of Midorima Shintaro's defense, but before he could breathe a sigh of relief, Shuzo Nijimura came up to him with a smile.

"Really? The newbies are really too capable." Nijimura Shuzo said with a smile, "Are you afraid of bringing those newbies here? I'll be troubled if they look down on me like this."

As soon as he finished speaking, Nijimura Shuzo thrust out his long arm and knocked the ball out of Keisuke Kobayashi's hand, taking advantage of Keisuke Kobayashi's unstable position to firmly control the ball. After missing the ball repeatedly and being attacked by fast breaks several times, Shibuya First Middle School also learned a lesson and retreated in time, not giving Teiko Middle School a chance to attack fast breaks.

"That boy is really domineering!" Katsuyori Aida on the sidelines commented with deep emotion.

"Ah? What are you talking about, Dad? What's the kingly way and domineering?" Reiko Aida looked at Katsuya Aida in confusion, not understanding why her father said such inexplicable words again.

"After observing for so long, there is no doubt that Teiko is now Kaneki Ken's team." Aida Katsuyori explained, "But the way this kid leads the team is completely different from Nijimura Shuzo."

"What's the difference? They're still so strong and the best in the county." Reiko Aida curled her lips, somewhat disapproving.

"Nijimura Shuzo's style is to lead by example and unite everyone on the team, gathering the strength of everyone on the team to defeat the opponent." Aida Katsuyori commented with some emotion, "But Kaneki first uses his unparalleled strength to subdue everyone, and then subdues everyone's strength for his own use."

Aida Kagetora thought for a moment and added, "Players like Nijimura Shuzo can adapt to the team for the sake of victory, but Kaneki Ken prefers to believe that he is victory itself and waits for others to adapt to him."

"So what?" Aida Reiko asked in confusion, "Aren't the goals to be achieved in the end the same?"

"That's very different." Aida Katsuyora laughed, "When facing an enemy who is resisting stubbornly, a king may be willing to spend more time and use a more gentle method to deal with the opponent, but a tyrant is more inclined to directly break the enemy with force. People will respect the king's way, but will be afraid of the tyrant. Look, here it comes."

"Kaneki! Catch the ball!" As if to better reflect what Aida Katsuyori said, Nijimura Shuzo stuffed the ball directly into the hands of Kaneki Ken who was stuck in the paint. "Relax, Lao Liu." Feeling Liu Wei tense up behind him the moment he caught the ball, Kaneki Ken turned his head with a relaxed smile on his face, "After all, I'm not a bad guy."

"You make it sound so easy." Liu Wei's Adam's apple rolled. The lights on the top of the field were blocked by Kaneki Ken, making him feel as if he was in the shadow of a prehistoric monster. "You are much more terrifying than any villain."

After hearing this, Kaneki Ken chuckled and didn't say anything. He simply lowered his body and pushed forward. Liu Wei behind him retreated like a leaf blown by the wind. Seeing this, Narumi Daisuke hurried over to reinforce the defense.

"Two people?" Kaneki Ken jumped with the ball the moment he pushed Liu Wei away. He turned 180 degrees in the air and bent his body into a C shape. His jersey moved without wind under such violent momentum. He ignored Daisuke Narumi and Liu Wei who were trying to block the shot, and slammed the ball into the basket with a bang.

"Crack~" Just as the players on the court were still shocked by the huge force of Kaneki Ken who was able to knock the defensive player away even though he was fighting one against two, the sound coming from the tempered glass backboard caught everyone's attention. The originally imperceptible crack spread rapidly until it finally exploded. For a moment, the whole court was silent.

"Narumi Daisuke, do you want to dance too?" Kaneki Ken looked down at the two of them, like an emperor judging ants. "Haha, interesting attempt."

The referee on the scene reacted immediately and blew the whistle: "Beep, change equipment, game suspended!"

The referee's whistle broke the silence of the audience like a lightning that cuts through the sky, and the whole audience was in an uproar for a moment.

"What?! You're telling me this is a 13-year-old junior high school student?"

"Is this true?! He can even break a backboard with a dunk! Did he grow up eating explosives?"

There were exclamations from the audience, and the players on the court were also amazed. Although the referee's whistle for a timeout had already sounded, the players from both teams still stood under the basket, looking at the destroyed backboard for a long time and unwilling to leave.

"Hey, Kaneki, you've done something incredible this time!" Even with a nerve as thick as Aomine Daiki's, his voice couldn't help trembling at this moment.

"Okay, stop standing there and causing trouble for the staff, let's all come back." After all, Shirogane Kozo was an old coach who had seen the world, and it didn't take him long to calm down his excitement. He calmly let the players leave the field.

"Hey, Ken-chan." Kaneki Ken had just taken two steps when Murasakibara Atsushi, who was standing under the basket, suddenly called him, "I want to learn this, I must learn it."

"Want to learn? Call me Seiken brother and I will teach you." Kaneki Ken said jokingly to Murasakibara Atsushi.

"Brother Yan!" Murasakibara Atsushi shouted without hesitation, "As long as you teach me this, I won't give up all my potato chips, just half!"

"You don't have to learn this, Murasakibara. You'll be able to do it sooner or later." Kaneki Ken looked at Murasakibara Atsushi, who looked more serious than ever before, and gently patted him on the shoulder. "What you need to do now is not to be picky about food, eat more, don't stay up late, get enough sleep, and learn the basics well."

"Although what Ken said makes sense, I always feel like something is not right." After listening to Kaneki Ken's words, Murasakihara Atsushi did not worry too much.

"Hey, hey, hey, if there's something wrong, it's Yan-ge, and if there's nothing wrong, it's Yan-zi, right?!" Kaneki Ken grabbed Murasakihara Atsushi's head with a bit of a smile, "You're such a realistic guy!"

At this time, a reporter sitting on the sidelines looked at Kaneki Ken's receding back and murmured, "This is the Lion Teiko's. The Dominant Lion!"

(End of this chapter)