Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 77 Appearances of All Living Beings

"Run, run, run, everyone!"

"Pass the ball! The center is already in position, why don't you pass the ball and wait for it to split into pieces?"

"Pick and roll, pick and roll and let the outside shoot! You guys are truly the worst class I've ever coached!"

Coach Takagi of Poseidon High School is supervising the players' final training before the national competition, while the team's ace point guard Shinichi Maki is sorting out information about the opponents.

"How's it going, Shinichi?" Coach Takagi handed over the supervision work to the assistant coach at the side and came to Shinichi Maki. "What do you think about this year's national competition?"

"We play one game at a time, what else can we say?" Maki Nobuyuki shrugged nonchalantly. "Didn't the inside and outside line combination of Mibuchi + Tsuchiya and I play very well last year?"

"But this year is different from last year..." Takagi Riki looked at the huge "Generation of Miracles" label on the newspaper with worry, "This year's Teiko is led by Kaneki Ken..."

"Poseidon High School never asks who the opponent is, Coach Takagi, they only ask where the opponent is." Maki Shinichi said calmly.

……

"Thank you for your hard work, Kara." In the gym of Toyama Junior High School, Karachi Shigehiro handed a cup of sports drink to Rukawa Kara, "Don't push yourself too hard."

"I know." Rukawa Kakashi stared at the photo of Kaneki Ken leaping over Narumi Daisuke and dunking in the magazine, his eyes revealing a fighting spirit.

"Come on, Karaji." Rukawa Karaji wiped his sweat with a towel and pulled Karaji Shigehiro to start training again.

……

"Don't go fishing anymore. The coach is already very angry." A big man wearing glasses looked at the hedgehog-headed man in front of him helplessly by a sparsely populated river. "This year is different from last year, Zhang Ren. You are still skipping training so casually. I really can't cover for you anymore..."

"Oh, stop making noise, Huaxing, you scared all the fish away..." Hedgehog Head looked helpless, slowly stood up and put away his fishing gear, "Oh, okay, okay, I understand, I will go back right away and never make the coach angry, okay?"

Facing the upcoming national competition, almost every powerful player was actively preparing at his own pace. But at this moment, Shirogane Kozo was looking at the resignation letter handed in by Nijimura Shuzo and fell into silence for a long time.

Let’s go back to when training just ended tonight.

"Coach, I have something to talk to you about." Shuzo Nijimura knocked on the door of Kozo Shirogane's office.

"Oh, it's Shuzo, come and sit down." Shirogane Kozo looked at Nijimura Shuzo who looked troubled and stopped packing his things. "What's wrong? You haven't come home yet so late, is there something wrong?"

Nijimura Shuzo hesitated for a long time as he looked at Shirokane Kozo's kind face. Finally, he gritted his teeth, took out a letter from his schoolbag and handed it to Shirokane Kozo.

"Hey? What do you mean..." Shirokane Kozo was confused by Nijimura Shuzo's sudden action, but the moment he took the letter, he was stunned, "You want to resign?"

"Yes, coach." Nijimura Shuzo said with his head down, looking embarrassed. "I want to resign from my current position as captain."

"Come, drink some water, sit down and talk slowly." Shirogane Kozo poured a glass of water for Nijimura Shuzo and sat back at his desk. "What happened? Why did you suddenly want to resign?" "It's like this, coach." Nijimura Shuzo looked at Shirogane Kozo with red eyes. "Recently, my father's health has been getting worse. I need more time to take care of him. I really don't have the energy to devote too much to the work of the basketball club..."

"Is that so..." Shirogane Kozo pondered for a while, then slowly said, "If that's the case, family is definitely more important. I can't force you to stay. I agree with your resignation."

"Thank you, coach!" Nijimura Shuzo choked up and bowed, "I will still participate in the normal competitions and training! Please don't worry, coach..."

"Don't thank me yet." Bai Jin Kouzo waved his hand. "After you resign, do you have any recommendations for a suitable successor to the captain's position?"

"Who will take over?" Nijimura Shuzo was confused by Shirogane Kozo's question, "Coach, don't you plan to let Kaneki Ken take over as captain?"

"Hmm..." Nijimura Shuzo's words left Shirogane Kozo at a loss for how to respond for a moment.

"Coach..." At the office door, Akashi Seijuro was about to knock on the door, but the sound of conversation coming from the office made him put down his hand.

"Coach, I don't think you need to worry about whether Kaneki Ken can take on the captaincy after I resign." Nijimura Shuzo thought that Shirogane Kozo was worried about Kaneki Ken, and quickly spoke up to guarantee, "No matter from the perspective of strength, popularity, or self-discipline, Kaneki Ken is the best candidate to take over as captain. Not only in the first grade, but even in the senior grades, Kaneki Ken has absolute authority! You don't have to worry at all, and even if I resign, I will be there to assist him and help him take over smoothly!"

"The only choice...?" Akashi Seijuro listened to Nijimura Shuzo's voice in the office, an ambiguous smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and the light in his eyes was dim.

"I understand what you mean, Shuzo." Shirogane Kozo shook his head. "Kaneki Ken is certainly an excellent candidate for captain, but... I don't know if you have heard that he is likely to go to the United States to attend a training camp in the near future..."

Shirogane Kozou never revealed the Flint Project to Nijimura Shuzou.

"I don't think this is a big deal, coach." Nijimura Shuzo obviously knew that Kaneki Ken was going to participate in off-campus competitions. "It won't be long before he starts overseas training. Before that, we can arrange for a vice-captain to take over the corresponding work, and then hand it over to him after Kaneki Ken returns to China..."

"Okay, I get it, Nijimura." Shirogane Kozo interrupted Nijimura Shuzo, "Thank you for your hard work these past two days. I will talk to Kaneki Ken as soon as possible. After all, even if Kaneki Ken doesn't need to go abroad for training, we can't make decisions for him, right?"

"...I understand, coach. I overstepped my authority." Nijimura Shuzo opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't. "Then I'll take my leave now."

"Hmm." Shirogane Kozo looked out the window worriedly, not knowing what he was thinking.

With a "click", just as Nijimura Shuzo closed the office door, he saw Akashi Seijuro standing beside him.

"Hey, you're here." Nijimura Shuzou looked calm, "Did you hear everything that happened in there?"

"What did the captain say?" Akashi Seijuro showed a puzzled expression, "I just arrived here and was about to submit a plan for training during the national competition to the coach."

"Yeah." Nijimura Shuzo nodded without comment. "Thank you for your concern. The coach is in the office, and it's getting late. When you're done, go home early. I'll be leaving first."

"Goodbye, Captain." Akashi Seijuro bowed slightly, looked at the receding back of Nijimura Shuzo, sighed softly, and knocked on the door of Shirogane Kozo's office.

(End of this chapter)