Kuroko's Basketball: I'm not the boss?

Kuroko's Basketball: I'm Not the Boss? Author: Jiangdu Jushi

　The Generation of Miracles? Just a bunch of clowns.

Once I've fully developed my abilities, I'll beat you guys to a pulp.

Wait... how come this guy's team is so capable?

Oh no, I'm not the boss anymore, I've become the second-in-command.

(In this world, there is no NBA, only national teams.)

(Normal two chapters a day, minimum guarantee one chapter)

Chapter 1 is broken, I can't lead the team single-handedly.

"Hmm... choose any high school team to join and qualify for the national tournament..." Xiangyang muttered to himself, staring at the wall after just accepting reality.

"Is time travel this easy nowadays?"

Xiangyang: An ordinary college student in 2022, with average grades, average looks, a nice guy, a basketball enthusiast, and... well, let's not talk about that. Aside from being a pretty good poker player, he's practically a standard, average person.

He's always been a chatterbox, and while watching Kuroko's basketball, he rambled on, "These guys are so flashy and frivolous, but they play so terribly. If I were in there, I could just give them any skill and beat them to a pulp." And then... you know what happens.

"Let's check out my abilities first. I can't be without them, right? To fulfill a wish, I need the whole set," Xiangyang muttered as he flipped through the system that's standard for transmigrators. "Oh no, how do I use this thing?" After fumbling around for a while, Xiangyang finally found the method and brought up the skill template.

Name: Xiang Yang

height:

body weight:

Wingspan:

bounce:

Upon seeing this, Xiangyang frowned. "Isn't this the same physical ability I had in my previous life? It's completely insufficient for this superpowered basketball game."

In his past life, Xiang Yang was a pretty good basketball player, the starting point guard on his school's team. He enjoyed studying NBA games and watching highlight reels of one-on-one matches with pro players. He had been playing basketball for five or six years and regularly honed his fundamentals. His only problem was his lack of physical and dynamic talent; he was still considered a skilled basketball enthusiast among ordinary people. But this was Kuroko's Basketball, where everyone could fly and leap at the drop of a hat. How was he supposed to compete with his 40cm vertical jump?

Xiangyang frowned and continued reading.

Talent: Master of the Court (When you have the ball on the court, your teammates become calmer and make fewer mistakes).

—It's not always better to be faster!

Pick and Roll Master (After executing a pick and roll, shooting accuracy increases, and shooting consistency improves depending on the severity of the pick and roll).

—What era are we living in that we still need to fight to the death one-on-one?

Pulling up your pants to defend (after pulling up your pants, your defensive ability remains unchanged, you recover a small amount of stamina, and there is a small chance that offensive players will be wary of you).

—Watch out, I'm about to go all out!

Xiang Yang stroked his chin, lost in thought, gently stroking his stubble. Was this talent given to him by the system, or was it something he was born with?

In his previous life, Xiang Yang was the starting point guard for the college team and had played against many other college teams. Due to his average athleticism, solid fundamentals, and outstanding basketball IQ, Xiang Yang's playing style was generally to control the pace and run pick-and-rolls to maximize scoring efficiency. It can be said that these talents have already summarized his playing style. Xiang Yang believes that the system did not just tell him that he had these talents, but must have some other uses. Otherwise, how could he stand with those monsters? With his 40cm jumping ability, he would still be playing defense with his pants down.

In his previous life, Xiangyang had average stamina and played a very ball-hogging style. He often fell into a stamina crisis right after halftime. However, his team did not have a suitable substitute, so he could only play and rest on the court. As a result, he discovered that raising his pants and lowering his center of gravity when defending could scare the attackers and make them think that he would defend the ball well, thus passing the ball or stopping his advance to slowly organize the attack.

Seeing this talent in the talent bar: Sunrise

Although somewhat surprised, it still seemed reasonable. After all, it was a talent he brought with him, and he knew exactly how to play. Besides, what top guard plays defense? That's the job of the forwards, isn't it? Guards just need to dribble and score stylishly; they don't need to play defense.

Suddenly, a voice interrupted Xiangyang's reverie:

The host has completed World Synchronization. A newbie gift pack will be given as a gift.

"Open it directly." Xiangyang, who was very familiar with this kind of time-travel plot, did not hesitate. He was very curious about what the system would give him so that he could arm wrestle with the "Generation of Miracles".

Gain a new talent: The Right Choice (In the final three minutes of the last quarter, every pass you make will improve the opponent's strength).

—This goal is our greatest bond!

Gain a new talent: Super Thinking (With memories of two lifetimes, your mental abilities are extraordinary. You can think calmly in complex game environments. When you have the ball, your passing and ball control abilities are slightly improved. When you are off the ball, your positioning and tackling abilities are slightly improved.)

—Be the best second-in-command, not anyone's boss!

These four talents (excluding the "pulling up pants" defense) are all quite good. If Xiangyang had these talents in his previous life, he would have been ecstatic. But this is Kuroko's Basketball, and these abilities are only so-so. Moreover... Xiangyang discovered a very serious problem.

"How can I score? I don't have any offensive talent, all I have is passing and ball-handling talent. How can I win if I can't score?" Xiang Yang said through gritted teeth: "Besides being a master of pick and roll, I can be considered an offensive talent, but that still requires teammates, and the shooting percentage depends on the quality of the pick and roll. In my previous life, such talent was not a problem at all, but here... it seems a bit useless."

Oh no, I'm now a support player. His dream of becoming the leader shattered, Xiangyang kept trying to console himself: Can you call being a point guard a support role? It's just part of the job.

But if I can't fight against the Generation of Miracles, what should I do...?

"Huh? I can choose any high school team? Does that mean I can team up with the Generation of Miracles and win the championship?"

"Can"

Wow, that's great! As a young person born in 2022, Xiangyang doesn't care about joining a group at all. Why would he choose a bad teammate when he can have a good one? Is that crazy?

"Kuroko and Kagami... no way, they'll become third if they go, the main characters can't go. As for Akashi, he's too domineering, not a team player at all, and his position conflicts with mine."

Using the process of elimination, Xiangyang rubbed his nose: "Murasakibara Atsushi, he has Himuro by his side, so being second is out of the question, I'll never be third. There's also Aomine Daiki and Kise Ryota... oh right, there's Midorima too."

In the early stages, Aomine Daiki was definitely stronger than Kise Ryota and Midorima, and he didn't have any suitable helpers. The strongest one seemed to be the squinty-eyed captain of Touou, but his performance in the anime wasn't outstanding. The only problem was that Aomine Daiki never trusted his teammates after the Generation of Miracles awakened. He believed that if his teammates all spread out and let him fight one-on-one, it would be more effective than fighting normally (Akashi's famous scene).

Midorima also has a... decent point guard by his side (Takao: ?).

If Xiangyang goes to find Midorima, then Shutoku High School will have three guards. A backcourt trio? A death lineup?

Xiangyang shook his head to dispel the strange thought. Although Midorima's three-pointer was insane, and he really wanted to see it with his own eyes, he also gave up on Midorima as an option, considering one of the guards on Shutoku's team.

So the only choices left are... Aomine Daiki and Kise Ryota.

(I reread the beginning and realized it was indeed messy… It feels a bit disjointed since it's my first time writing a book. But it doesn't seem easy to revise… If you can still read it, hang in there! I'm confident it will get better as it goes on!)

Chapter 2 Membership Selection

"Now let's begin the practice match between the first-year students and the second and third-year students."

Xiang Yang adjusted his jersey and wristband, glancing at the handsome young man beside him.

That's right, he is none other than the "Generation of Miracles"—small forward Ryota Kise.

Three days ago—Aomine Daiki is very strong, but he's too difficult to control. Although I can't be the leader, I still want to have some say in the team. Xiangyang stroked his chin: It seems that Kise Ryota is the best choice. Moreover, the team atmosphere is very good, with a willingness to fight and a fighting spirit. In the original work, even if Kise Ryota was not in good form or missed the game, Kasamatsu Yukio's Kaijo was still a team with a very high fighting spirit.

I choose Haichang.

"Host selection detected: Haichang High School, confirmed."

"Admission notices have been issued. Please proceed to Haichang High School and participate in the basketball team selection process."

Please, I've only been here a few minutes and I don't even have a phone, plus I don't know the way.

"Basic living facilities have been provided, and the host's background has been modified."

Xiang Yang glanced at it and thought, "Wow, both parents are dead, and he's inherited a considerable fortune. That's good, then. He won't have to live with complete strangers anymore, and he won't have to worry about giving himself away."

……

Back to the present, the handsome blond guy is chatting with his teammates: "Just pass the ball to me in a bit, I'm really good! I'll lead you guys to victory against the senior."

Xiangyang scanned his teammates. After all, Kaijo was a strong team at the national level, and the freshmen who came here were not weaklings. However, in Xiangyang's eyes, they were still somewhat inexperienced. During the warm-up, he had roughly figured out the level of his teammates, except for Kise. After all, in his previous life, Xiangyang was a starter on the university team. University basketball is completely different from high school basketball. In addition, with the enhancement of his skills, Xiangyang even felt that Kise Ryota might not be much stronger than him now.

"No jump ball, first-years start, two quarters, ten minutes each," the coach, sporting a beer belly, announced loudly from the bench. He also wanted to see the level of this year's freshmen, with Kise being his primary focus.

"Okay, okay, let's go, guys."

Kise seemed very excited, no longer having to see those four monsters stronger than him all day long.

The first-year student served the first ball, and Xiangyang received the serve and steadily advanced forward. The coach's eyes lit up: This freshman has good basic skills.

Including Yukio Kasamatsu, who is also a point guard, he is very sensitive to ball handling. Just from these few moves, he can tell that Higashi's basic skills are definitely not bad.

"That's interesting," Kasamatsu licked his lips. "Be careful, they're coming. Don't embarrass your seniors."

Since it was a training match and had just started, the opposing team wasn't pressing full-court. Xiangyang easily dribbled the ball to the frontcourt: It felt easier than before. Had his talent come into play? So... how should he play the first ball?

Xiangyang glanced at his teammates' positions, and Kise ran to the three-point line to call for the ball: Pass it to me, pass it to me, I'll score.

"You have a strong desire to attack, huh? Well then, let's see what you've got to offer." Xiang Yang waved his right hand and delivered a precise, surgical pass, with both the movement and the passing position being perfectly standard.

Kise received the ball, his eyes lighting up: This kid's pretty good at passing. He then lowered his weight...

With a swift step, he bypassed his opponent and rushed into the penalty area, leaping with both feet. Kobori Hiroshi's eyes widened as he jumped with all his might.

What a beautiful dunk! Xiang Yang couldn't help but exclaim in his heart, "Is this the Generation of Miracles? That terrifying jumping ability is probably twice as good as mine."

Hey, is this some kind of overreaction?

Kasamatsu Yukio broke out in a cold sweat. Was this kid even human? The other players on the field were also stunned by Kise's move and cheered.

A group of female fans had somehow gathered in the audience, and upon seeing Kise's cool dunk, they shouted loudly, "Ryota! Ryota!"

Kise tossed his golden hair, a smile playing on his lips, and waved to the female fans in the audience.

Kasamatsu Yukio rushed over and kicked him in the butt: "You bastard, you're still in the game, and how long are you going to keep waving?"

Kise, wincing in pain, half-squatted on the ground, rubbing his buttocks and muttering, "It hurts, Captain. Be gentle."

Xiangyang rubbed his nose, pondering: a strong offensive drive, excellent physical attributes, but lacking experience and vision, or perhaps… he doesn't want to pass the ball? He glanced at the right corner, where there was an open space after Kise's earlier drive.

Why am I thinking so much? I'm just the second oldest. If the oldest doesn't want to pass the ball, can I say anything to them? It's reasonable to give the ball to the player with the highest offensive efficiency.

The coach, sitting on the sidelines, was practically snotting with delight. "These are the players I should be coaching! With a star like this, we have a real chance in this year's national competition! It'll definitely boost my coaching resume. And… that freshman isn't simple either," the coach thought, squinting at Xiang Yang.

Solid fundamentals, excellent passing skills, and seemingly little tendency to hold onto the ball—a very high-caliber point guard. His name is… Xiangyang. Hmm, I'll discuss it with Kasamatsu right away; the two of us can take turns playing point guard.

This year's Haichang is extraordinary, hahaha.

"It's okay, it's just one ball. We'll fight back slowly. Don't let the newbies look down on you guys," Kasamatsu encouraged his teammates as he advanced with the ball.

Kaijo's level is quite strong. The second and third-year students are much stronger than the first-year rookies. Apart from Hikaru and Kise, the others are having a hard time keeping up.

Furthermore, the hastily assembled team was completely outmatched by the opposing team in terms of tactical coordination, and the lack of synergy among teammates discouraged Xiangyang from even considering a tactical approach. Fortunately, Kise was fierce enough.

If you can't defend against them, then go for the offense. In a one-on-one situation, no one can stop Kise. Kasamatsu can only organize the team to pass the ball more and play together, but the more passes they make, the bigger the openings become. With his rich experience, Hikaru intercepted several passes and launched fast breaks with his teammates.

The first quarter ended at 26:20.

Although Kise put a lot of pressure on the opposing team, his teammates were not strong enough, and Xiangyang was keen to observe Kise's level. On the offensive end, he only passed the ball to Kise and played the role of a tool player, so the score difference was not large, with a lead of only 6 points.