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

Kagami had already penetrated into Touou's restricted area, but Aomine stayed close by, following him closely. However, Kagami's presence was too strong, and even with Aomine following him, Touou's interior players couldn't help but subconsciously go over to help defend.

opportunity!

Kuroko, who was charging up his pass, instantly seized the opening exposed in Touou's defense and pushed hard with his right hand, delivering a bullet pass!

In an instant, the basketball seemed to turn into an orange light, sweeping across Touou's half of the court and accurately passing to the wing, where Shiorin's point guard, Itsuki Shun, had created an opportunity.

Because too many defensive resources were allocated to Kagami, Touou inevitably left Itsuki open in this round of defense, and could only watch helplessly as he scored with an easy layup.

Cheng Lin successfully stole the chicken, two points are valid!

"Good shot!"

A cheer erupted from the stands. The current Seirin team was no longer the unknown team it once was, but the runner-up of the Winter Cup and the biggest challenger for this year's championship! As a result, their fan base had grown considerably without them even realizing it.

"You're quite capable."

Aomine glanced at Vulcan's back. He had been on guard against Vulcan's attack, which prevented him from covering Izumi on the other side. Little did he know that Vulcan was just bait.

[As expected... at this level, is it unrealistic to expect a crushing victory against Shiro Rin...?]

Qingfeng stretched his neck, his expression growing increasingly serious, but a slight smile played on his lips.

"You brat, you're gone."

"Hi, Aomine-senpai."

A young man with a youthful face but a hint of nonchalance in his eyes walked out of bounds with a grin and served a bounce serve to Qingfeng.

However, Aomine, who is usually self-centered, did not charge into the enemy's territory alone after receiving the serve. Instead, he gently dribbled the basketball and passed it back.

What?!

This scene really startled Kise and Mukahi, who were sitting in the audience.

What did I just see? That Aomine actually…

[Passed the ball??? In the first attack of the game, with no dead ball, a pass was made???]

scare!

Xiangyang even rubbed his eyes, staring at the scene in disbelief. Kise, forgetting his cold war with Xiangyang, called out from several seats away, "Xiangyang! That person is... the one from the freshman training match!"

Xiang Yang nodded in response, his tongue twitching slightly in his mouth; he remembered this person.

“Oh, he is… Igarashi Yuei.”

A friend's book, a fanfiction about the cycle of reincarnation. If you're looking for something to read and are interested, you can check it out!

Chapter 154 The Final Piece of the Touou Puzzle

"Class 1-A, Igarashi Yuhide, point guard, 180cm tall, 140kg."

"Um…"

Touou's coach, Harasawa Kakutoku, stroked his chin with one hand as he sized up the freshman in front of him, who had only reported to the basketball club a week after the start of the semester.

"Igarashi-san, as far as I know, you transferred from another school, right?"

Yuan Zeke tapped the table, carefully choosing his words, and said, "If it's possible, I'd like to know why you transferred schools. Could you tell me?"

"Of course, Coach."

To Hara Zeke's surprise, Igarashi did not hesitate at all when asked about the question, as if it were just a trivial matter. Igarashi's tone reassured Hara Zeke.

[Looks like I was overthinking it. This child didn't transfer schools because of a fight with teammates. It's probably because of their parents' work, which caused a change in their home address?]

While secretly speculating, Yuan Zekede raised his hand to Igarashi, signaling him to continue.

Following the coach's instructions, Igarashi's lips curled up slightly as he slowly said, "Because... Touou needs me, so I came."

"Oh, is that so...?"

Harazawa nodded subconsciously in response, intending to reply in a formulaic way, but when he heard Igarashi's words clearly, he realized that he couldn't continue the conversation!

However, Igarashi didn't realize how shocking his words were, and continued talking to himself, "Ah, sorry, Coach, I might not have explained myself clearly. What I meant was that Touou is lacking a playmaker, and of course, what they lack is a player like me..."

"Uh…"

Yuan Ze was stunned. He looked at the guy in front of him who was talking eloquently and exuding confidence. If it weren't for the limited development of memes in this world, he would definitely call him a "plain guy"!

Unfortunately, Zeke's background and education prevented him from telling his players to "get out"!

no way…

"Qingfeng! This kid is yours."

Aomine, who was practicing passing against the wall, exclaimed, "Huh?"

……

……

"Nice to meet you, Senior Aomine. Please take care of me."

Although he appeared somewhat arrogant in front of the coach, as a Japanese person, his humility and respect for his seniors were ingrained in his bones and could not be changed.

Igarashi broke the silence between the two with a standard bow.

Aomine, focused solely on basketball, had no interest in playing the senior-junior role-playing game. He merely glanced at Igarashi before turning back to continue his passing drills.

Seeing that Aomine was ignoring him, Igarashi wasn't angry. He just stood there quietly, watching Aomine train.

I don't know how much time passed—

"Hey kid, are you that bored?"

Aomine glanced at Igarashi, who had been standing to the side, stopped passing the ball against the wall, and asked with slight displeasure.

Igarashi paused slightly, seemingly surprised by Aomine's reaction. However, even after being given the cold shoulder, he didn't show any anger. Instead, he nodded to Aomine and said, "Aomine-senpai, when passing the ball, you should pay more attention to the flicking of your fingertips and your body..."

"Your body is too stiff; only your arms are moving. Passing is actually a full-body exercise."

Just as Aomine was about to turn away and ignore this strange junior, he paused slightly after hearing his words, turned around, and met his confident gaze.

Qingfeng stopped wasting words and threw the ball over directly: "Let me demonstrate."

"what?"

Igarashi's expression froze for a moment, but Aomine had already lowered his body slightly, assuming a receiving posture, a move that was quite easy to understand.

"Uh, Senior Aomine, passing is a very delicate skill. Only in a closely contested match can a passing master truly demonstrate their ability."

Igarashi smiled and pointed to himself: "Like me."

Qingfeng: ...

"Aren't you being a little too arrogant, kid...?"

Having failed to receive a pass from Igarashi, Aomine scratched the back of his head with a bored expression, turned around, and was about to leave, not wanting to deal with this strange kid anymore.

At this time-

“Senior Aomine, I watched all of Touou’s matches last year.”

Igarashi's voice rang out, but his words only made Aomine pause in his steps, not stop.

"We lost to Kaijo in the Summer Tournament and to Shiorin in the Winter Cup, but in terms of individual ability alone, Aomine-senpai, I don't think you're worse than anyone else."

This time, Qingfeng stopped.

Without turning around, and speaking in a very casual tone: "So, what do you want to say to me? If it's this kind of boring flattery, you should say it to someone else."

Igarashi smiled, looking at Aomine's retreating figure, and said.

“Senior Aomine, I came to Touou because they need me here. To be precise, you need me.”

"In your words of miracles, I will become your shadow."

……

……

Back on the field

For the first time in his life, Aomine relinquished the first offensive opportunity to another player. He crouched down on the wing, his eyes fixed on Igarashi Yuei, who had just crossed halfway with the ball at the top of the arc.

At this moment, Kuroko, who had gone into stealth mode, unusually appeared and loudly warned his teammates: "Be careful! That guy is definitely not simple!"

As one of Kuroko's exes who was once his favorite, Kuroko knows Aomine all too well!

For Qingfeng, basketball is like a piece of delicious meat! There's only one reason why a beast can suppress its appetite and hand over this "meat" to someone else: the "meat" it gives away can bring it even greater deliciousness!

At the top of the arc, Igarashi, who was gradually approaching Izuki, heard Kuroko's shout. He shook his head and said, "Not simple? I'm too simple. So simple that you can see what my role is with just one glance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Igarashi raised his hand and passed the ball directly to Aomine, a scene that stunned everyone in the Seirin.

What's going on? You've been building up your image for so long, and all you're really is is a tool for passing the ball to Aomine?

Itsuki, who was closest to Igarashi, felt it most deeply. He had just activated his Eagle Eye to check his surroundings, making sure no opposing players were coming up to screen him, and his center of gravity was perfectly adjusted. He was just waiting for Igarashi's attack, but in the end, he only got a pass.

"I really don't even know where to begin complaining..."

Izuki muttered something, but the next second

When he turned to look at Igarashi again, he found that there was no one in front of him!

After a brief moment of surprise, Itsuki immediately reacted. With the help of Eagle Eye, he spotted Igarashi's figure. However, because he was a step too slow, Igarashi had already run to Aomine's side. Itsuki couldn't cover for him in time, so he could only shout to his teammates, "Cover up! Cover up!"

The overall defensive coordination of the Seirin team is outstanding. Their teamwork is arguably the best in Japan. They are not only invincible on offense, but also handle defensive coordination and switching very well.

On the other side, Hyuga saw Igarashi run out of space and immediately stepped forward to delay him, helping Izuki, who was rushing over, to hold off Igarashi!

However, Touou did not give up this opportunity that came knocking on his door.

Without hesitation, Aomine passed the ball hand-to-hand to Igarashi, who was running over, and immediately sped up, running to the other side of the court, giving Igarashi the front of the stage without reservation.

"Thank you, boss!"

Igarashi grinned, and taking advantage of the momentum from receiving the ball, he continued his attack without stopping, just before Izuki was about to arrive!

Switching on defense can often successfully stop an offensive player and prevent points from being scored, but the moment a team switches on defense, their weaknesses are also exposed!

In coordination with his teammates, Igarashi used a quick pass and cut to get past Hyuga, who was left to defend alone, in a small space.

Suddenly, the inside situation in Seirin's half of the court became three against one! As Seirin's last line of defense, Kiyoshi Teppei stood under the basket with his arms outstretched and his expression solemn. Even if he was the only one there, he would never let Touou score easily!