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

"How are things going?"

In the car, Masako, with her hands on the steering wheel, saw Xiangyang, who had just sat down in the passenger seat and immediately lay down, and asked him a question.

"Well, it's almost resolved, but there's still some work to be done with Ryota."

Xiangyang rolled over, turning the back of his head towards Yazi. He knew his expression wasn't good, so he didn't want Yazi to see it.

"Kise...you must really want to go to China with you, right?"

Masako started the car, glanced at it, and asked tentatively.

Hearing Yako's words, Xiangyang said helplessly, "Yeah, that guy didn't think about the consequences at all, so he could just casually say something like 'Come with me.' Seriously, this isn't a teen idol drama. What's with this cheesy plot?"

As he spoke, the scene that had occurred inside the Haichang Gymnasium resurfaced in Xiangyang's mind.

"I'll go to China with you. The basketball level there isn't very high, right? With me there, Xiao Xiangyang, you can play much more easily!"

"It's just changing nationality, right? I'll do it when I'm an adult. You have the courage to go to another country to play basketball, why can't I? Don't underestimate me!"

"Xiao Xiangyang... I want to play ball with you. What's the point of me joining the Japanese national team if you're not here?"

……

Seriously…

They keep talking about it, completely disregarding the phrase "foreign land."

"I can travel to other countries alone, and he can too? You're just spouting nonsense without thinking. Are we even in the same boat?"

[Saying things like "it doesn't matter whether I make the Japanese national team or not" is really unappealing to someone like me who was cut from the national youth team.]

While recalling his conversation with Kise, Xiangyang dismissed Kise's naive remarks.

But for some reason, even though he was filled with anger and disappointment towards Kise, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

That idiot... he's really good at stirring up other people's emotions...

No wonder he's a scumbag.

Xiang Yang clicked his tongue. Even he was completely bewildered by Kise's actions. If those young girls fell for this, wouldn't they be willing to give their lives to him?

Ok?

Thinking of this, Xiang Yang had an idea. He turned to Masako and asked, "Miss Masako, what do you think about me taking the Kise route?"

Masako:? ? ?

"If you're really that free, close your eyes and go to sleep. Don't talk nonsense and disturb my driving."

"…Hi."

Chapter 152 The Sea Twins

"The national tournament qualifiers are now halfway through, and the established powerhouses are still performing consistently! Rakuzan High School, the dominant force in the East District, has won all four of their matches without their star player Seijuro Akashi playing, securing the first spot in the East District to advance to the round-robin stage!"

"The top team in the West District, Kaijo High School, hasn't finished all the preliminary rounds yet due to scheduling issues. However, before their upcoming fourth match, they've already shown all the teams participating in this year's national tournament with a super score of 175-31, declaring, 'We are still the champions!'"

"At the same time, on the same day, Yosen High School in the South District also set a record. In their last game of the preliminaries, they won 100-0, the first time in Japanese history that they had shut out their opponent and scored in triple digits! Incidentally, the previous record holder was also Yosen High School, with a score of 98-0."

"While the matches in the other three regions are certainly exciting, the Northern Region is the most intense!"

"In the second preliminary round, Zheng Bang High School, one of the three powerhouses of the North District, suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Touou High School, a quarterfinalist in the Winter Cup! 97:45. Zheng Bang's summer this year has come to an end..."

—A tweet from a well-known basketball blogger.

There are also a bunch of comments below.

"Zheng Bang is really unlucky. It's the same every year. They're eliminated before they even get to the official tournament."

"It's no wonder we're unlucky; the landscape of the North District has changed so much!"

"What do you guys think about this year's champion? Will it be Haichang again?"

"I estimate that it is unlikely. After all, they have won the championship twice in a row last year, and Kaijo has also undergone a round of personnel changes. In terms of the completeness of the roster, both the runner-up of the Summer Season, Rakuzan, and the runner-up of the Winter Cup, Shiorin, have a much greater advantage!"

"It seems like there were a lot of comments like this upstairs before Kaijo won the championship last year, right? After Kaijo won, they all disappeared. It's really interesting. Just wait and see, Kaijo will break all doubts again this year and lift that championship trophy!"

"Seconded to add one more, place an eye."

"Same as upstairs, add one, add one, add one."

……

"Hello everyone, welcome to the program exclusively sponsored by XX - Basketball Talk! I'm your host today, Sasha."

"Hello everyone, I'm your host, Nini. Today, we've invited Mr. Popo, currently the most popular basketball blogger!"

"Hello everyone, I'm Bobo."

In the late afternoon, inside the Shark Gym

Lingzi lay on the sofa with her legs crossed, holding the TV remote control in her hand, watching this episode of Basketball Talk with great interest.

Beside her, Xiangyang sat on a yoga mat doing stretching exercises, with a phone tucked between her shoulder and shoulder.

"No way! I've told you so many times! You're not allowed to change your nationality. Are you going through a rebellious phase and you're determined to go against me? If your mom finds out you're going to run away abroad, she'll break your legs!"

Xiangyang gritted his teeth as he spoke into the phone, while simultaneously straining his ligaments.

From Masako's perspective, it's difficult to discern whether Hikaru has a problem with Kise, or...

It's about your own ligaments.

"Be gentle, a sprained ligament is a real problem."

After giving a casual remark, Masako turned her head and refocused her attention on the television program.

"The national tournament has arrived as scheduled this year. Mr. Popo, have you been watching it?"

In the scene, Sasha, a somewhat well-known basketball host, holds a message card that the director had placed in advance and asks Bobo a question.

For some reason, Masako felt that Sasa looked familiar, as did the other host, Nini, even though they had never met before. This was also the first time Masako had watched the show.

"Cough cough..."

Bobo cleared his throat and answered clearly, "This year's national tournament is quite exciting, with many dark horses emerging and established powerhouses continuing to perform well. Even the qualifiers have a lot of matches worth watching! This is unprecedented! For example, the Northern Division this year is incredibly intense. To be honest, I can't wait to see which teams will advance after the final round-robin tournament in the Northern Division!"

As she spoke, Bobo's face showed a look of great anticipation and eagerness to try. It's no wonder she's a well-known blogger; she showed no stage fright in front of the camera.

As expected, Sasha was very satisfied with Bobo's reaction. She secretly winked at Nini, who immediately understood and took over the conversation.

"Mr. Popovich, which teams do you think have a chance to stand out this year? Which team do you think will win the championship?"

As a fellow host, Nini's skills were naturally excellent. Unlike Sasha, who had exquisite makeup and a mature, sophisticated aura, Nini's style was more approachable, giving off a girl-next-door vibe. Coupled with her sweet and gentle voice, Bobo was momentarily distracted.

"Cough cough!"

With a tactical cough, Popovich immediately regained his composure; he hadn't forgotten that he was in front of the camera!

"I have high hopes for many teams! For example, Kaijo, who won the championship last year, is also a strong favorite to win this year. There's also Rakuzan, who fell in the semifinals of the Winter Cup, and Seirin, who fell short in the finals. They all have a chance to compete for the championship this year..."

Not only the three well-known championship contenders mentioned above, Popovich also listed many other teams, including Tonghuang and Yangquan, as well as Xiude, which has never achieved great results. It can only be said that Popovich has mastered the art of playing both sides.

After this long speech, Popovich not only mentioned every team that had a chance to win the championship, but also praised them all highly, basically saying "you're good, I'm good, everyone's good."

"Haichang High School, indeed. Their back-to-back championship performance last year was truly impressive. However... I've recently seen quite a few fans feel that Haichang's chances of winning the championship this year are not very high. Mr. Popovich, could you please enlighten me?"

Sasha brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, giving the camera a perfect profile shot, and then asked Bobo with a troubled expression.

This carefully designed and executed move stirred up another wave of emotions within Bobo.

"Because Haichang's previous graduating class of high school students graduated and left the team, last year Haichang's starting shooting guard and..."

The top laners are all third-year students. Unlike Shiro Rin and Rakuzan, they've had the most personnel changes among the strongest contenders for the championship!

At this point, Bobo paused for a moment, and subconsciously began to employ the art of impartiality.

If you want to treat everyone fairly, then praising someone after criticizing them is absolutely necessary!

"However, in my opinion, the real core of Kaisho has always been Xiangyang on the back line and Kise on the front line. As long as they are still there, Kaisho's offensive foundation will never collapse!"

"Kise Ryota... is indeed an extremely excellent player..."

Bobo didn't notice that when he mentioned Kise, Sasa and Nini's cheeks both turned slightly red.

"That's right, but Kaijo's strengths aren't just limited to Kise Ryota. His talent is arguably one in a century! But actually, Hikaru is the player I admire most at Kaijo!"

Bobo clicked his tongue. For Hai Chang, who has a large fan base, as long as he appropriately shows respect for Hai Chang, he can gain a large number of new fans after this episode airs! This is exactly what he excels at.

"With relatively average talent, Xiang Yang, as the brains of Haichang, has led the team to where it is today. His contribution is indispensable! Fun fact: Xiang Yang's physical talent is only slightly above the average for Japanese basketball enthusiasts! I think any player who loves basketball and is ambitious should follow Haichang's games and watch their twin stars! They're not only good brothers off the court, but their on-court teamwork is also perfect..."

As she listened to the blogger named Bobo speaking eloquently on TV, Yako couldn't help but glance at Xiangyang beside her.

At this moment, he was like an elderly father in his fifties, trying to persuade his son who was going through a rebellious phase, using both threats and inducements.

"I told you! The Japanese Basketball Association won't let you go easily! And it's definitely better for you to stay here than to run off to China with me... Are you even listening, hello? Hello? Damn it!"

Xiang Yang threw his phone onto the sofa, leaned back, his tongue twitching in his mouth, and a resentful expression on his face.

"Did they hang up on you?"

Masako's lips twitched, and she forced a smile as she asked.

"…Um."

Xiangyang covered his face with his hands and took a deep breath.

"***"

……

……

The outside world is naturally unaware that the two stars of Kaijo are now in a phase of "sulking with each other".

Off the field, the two would not even have any verbal communication during training. They would only argue on the phone when they parted ways after training.

A very new kind of "long phone call".

"Haichang's final attack! Only twenty seconds left! Oh! Our commander gave up the final attack, simply tucked the ball between his waist and shook hands with each of today's opponents. This is the demeanor of a champion! Let's congratulate Haichang on another resounding victory, successfully advancing to the round-robin stage and securing their ticket to the official tournament!"

In the final match of the Haichang preliminary round, an outdoor blogger was holding up his phone and live-streaming the match from the stands.

Looking at the gift barrage on the phone screen

Tianfei, that blogger was so happy he was practically grinning from ear to ear.