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

"What's going on? You all think Shirakawa is going to win? Does Shutoku have no pride at all?"

Xiang Yang shook his head and said, "If we all think Cheng Lin can win, what's the point of the competition? We're not Cheng Lin fans. Hmm... I'll choose De. I have a feeling that the constellation fan will give me a surprise today."

As soon as Xiang Yang finished speaking, Da Yuanhao, who had been silent all along, spoke up at the same time: "I also want to choose virtue."

"Oh? Then we have two votes now."

Xiang Yang was somewhat surprised. He turned his head and winked at Ya Zi beside him, but the latter remained expressionless.

"I also chose De."

"Ok!"

Xiang Yang beamed with joy. He rubbed his hands together, counted the number of people present, and said, "Including Miss Yako, it's 3 votes to 8. The loser will treat everyone to dinner. Is that alright?"

"okok!"

"Hahaha, this is getting interesting!"

The betting game started, and everyone was a little excited. Adding a little bit of betting to the game would double the fun! Of course, a little gambling is fun, but excessive gambling is harmful. There are many cases of families being ruined because of addiction to gambling. Fortunately, Xiangyang and his friends were only betting small amounts privately, so it was not a big deal.

beep—

The referee's whistle blew

The second match of the first day of the North Division round-robin tournament is about to begin!

"Please advise!"

During the tribute segment, Vulcan had just finished bowing and stood up when he noticed a burning gaze from the enemy ranks.

Midorima Makoto

Taro…

Kagami took a deep breath, suppressing his weariness. Even though he had expended a lot of energy in the previous match against Aomine, Kagami had no intention of handing over the victory to others!

As for Midorima, the same goes for him. In the Winter Cup qualifiers last year, Shutoku was able to draw with Seirin, but in the official matches...

Facing Akashi's Rakuzan, Midorima was powerless to fight back. After struggling for only three minutes, he was packed up and taken home by Rakuzan.

On the other hand, Seirin managed to turn the tide and defeat Rakuzan in the semifinals! So, rounding that up, doesn't that indirectly mean Seirin defeated Shutoku?

This was unacceptable to the extremely proud Midorima Shintaro! Not to mention, under his leadership, Shutoku hadn't reached the semifinals for two years… This year, Shutoku desperately needed to prove their strength; otherwise, they would fall into a slump in next year's freshman recruitment, and Midorima Shintaro would become the "Generation of Miracles" with the worst team performance in the past two years…

[Unacceptable!]

Midorima adjusted his glasses, a fierce fire burning within his refined exterior. He was determined to win today's match! With his newly learned techniques… he would take the game!

"Well, Shin, your expression is scary."

Nearby, Takao, who was doing stretching exercises, caught a glimpse of his ace's movements, walked over with a grin, and put his arm around Midorima's shoulder.

"Even if we lose this match, it's okay. It's just a round-robin tournament. You can save your new moves for the official matches, and then... hehehe! I guarantee you'll surprise everyone here!"

Takao whispered his plan into Midorima's ear.

With Kirisaki at the bottom, the North District round-robin tournament is just a formality for them. Competing for high and low scores is completely meaningless. Even Touou gave up the opportunity to compete with Shiro Rin for victory in order to hone their own juniors.

Their Shutoku could totally emulate Touou!

By deliberately feigning weakness and losing to Shiro Rin, not only can Midorima's newly developed secret weapon be preserved, but it can also make the enemy underestimate him, thinking that Shutoku has not made any progress this year. With this shift in power, he can then step up and make a name for himself in the official competition!

As Takao explained his plan to Midorima, a glint of light shone in his eyes, as if he could already see Shutoku enduring humiliation all the way to the finals and finally winning the championship!

"I see, Takao. I must say, your plan sounds very good, and the success rate is very high."

Midorima's tone was calm, but what he said really caught Takao's eye.

"Right, right! So, as long as we..."

"I refuse."

Takao:…

Midorima slowly removed his glasses, carefully wiped them off, and put them back on. A flash of fanaticism, completely out of character for his calm demeanor, appeared in his eyes!

He has to win! Not just in the future, but right now, in this match and the next, he has to win!

"I've had enough of this feeling of failure, Takao..."

Midorima tilted her head back slightly and closed her eyes.

The images of being defeated by Shiro Rin in the Summer Tournament and being swept aside by Rakuzan in the Winter Cup flashed through my mind.

Now.

Takao opened his mouth, looked at Midorima's current state, and finally shook his head and sighed: "Seriously, you guys are all so naive. How are you going to outsmart that cunning kid Kaijo?"

"But... this looks interesting, let's go, let's win the match!"

……

……

beep—

Jump ball session

This year, only two second-year starters, Takao and Midorima, remain in the Shutoku team, while the other three seniors have graduated and left.

The three newcomers who took their place included a small forward known for his shooting skills, and two interior players who had both shown outstanding performances in the "freshman training games"!

They are Yuya Miyaji and Taisuke Kimura. Both of them were already well-known players during their junior high school years. Although their bodies were not fully developed and their game experience was somewhat shallow compared to those veterans, it is undeniable that they are very promising newcomers!

A tall referee stood in the center circle, raising his hand to signal the players from both sides to come forward for the jump ball. For the Shiro Rin team, it was still Teppei Kiyoshi, while for the Shutoku team, it was Taisuke Kimura, a freshman this year.

Wow, is this a newbie? They're already so tall! Kids these days are amazing.

Teppei looked at Kimura, who was slightly taller than him, and couldn't help but sigh.

Before anyone knew it, Teppei Kiyoshi had become a senior in high school, and along with Hinata and Itsuki from the Seirin team, all three of them would be leaving the team next year.

By then, with only Kuroko and Kagami remaining in the starting lineup, Shiro Rin's strength will inevitably be greatly reduced!

[But that's precisely why... let us old folks perform one last dance for Shiro Rin this year!]

Tie Ping's expression hardened, his knees slightly bent as he prepared to launch the attack. The moment the referee blew the whistle and threw the ball, his leg strength exploded, and he leaped into the air!

"Ow!!!"

With a roar, Shutoku's center, Taisuke Kimura, jumped at the same time. His static talent was freakish among his peers, and he actually surpassed Teppei in absolute height!

In mid-air, the two men's hands struck the ball almost simultaneously.

Feeling the pressure coming from the other side, Teppei was secretly astonished: What amazing power!

However… I lack experience.

With his large, slightly curved hands, Tie Ping's greatest weapon as one of the "Five Uncrowned Generals" was not only his top-notch football intelligence, but also his incredibly delicate hand skills!

Feeling Teppei slightly reduce his strength, Kimura had some doubts, but with the ball in his hands, he couldn't worry about that. He put all his strength into throwing the ball towards his own half.

The basketball flew out, and Kimura successfully tipped it into his own half! However, thanks to Teppei's palm change of trajectory, the basketball ended up flying to the left, where Kagami Taiga was already lurking in Shutoku's half!

Kagami received the ball and, without hesitation, saw that the defense was not yet in place and the players were very loose, so he immediately passed the ball and sprinted forward!

In an instant, it was as if a fiery red lightning bolt flashed across the stadium!

With a loud thud, the basketball collided with the rim!

Just three seconds into the game, Vulcan scored on a fast break, taking the first point of the match!

Shiro Rin's two points are valid

Even the referee didn't have time to react until the basketball hit the ground a second time.

Only after the sound did he raise his hand to signal the scorer's table that the score was valid.

In the stands, watching Shiro Rin score so decisively in the first round, the Kaijo fans couldn't help but click their tongues in admiration.

The extremely fast-paced offense is a striking feature of Shiro Rin, a point that Kaijo, who once faced him in the finals, was particularly impressed by!

"Vulcan's jumping ability is still as incredible as ever. That last shot, he jumped from the free-throw line again, didn't he!"

Kise raised his hands, as if to measure the distance Kagami would jump from across the audience, his expression showing a hint of anticipation.

After watching the game for so long, he was itching to play.

On the other side, Xiang Yang turned his head and looked around at the reactions of the audience, and found that there were quite a few fans of Cheng Lin among them.

At this moment, Masako spoke up quite appropriately: "Jorin has become a popular team now, this stadium is like their home stadium."

Hearing the cheers coming from all directions, Xiang Yang nodded thoughtfully and replied, "After all, with Vulcan's playing style, it's no wonder they're so popular. They treat the basket like an enemy every game, and I would love to watch that too."

It has to be said that the game is more interesting when watching other teams play. For example, when Kagami jumped from the free-throw line, the fans in the stands, including Haichang, were watching with great interest. On the other hand, Xiude on the court didn't look so relaxed.

"Damn it..."

Taisuke Kimura, who was participating in the national competition for the first time, was the first to lose his composure.

Although outsiders might think that Kagami's success was partly due to luck, Kimura, as the person involved, knew very well that it was Teppei who was behind it!

The Five Uncrowned Generals...

Kimura muttered something under his breath, his gaze towards Teppei filled with resentment.

At this moment, Takao, who had been observing the entire situation with Eagle Eye, noticed that his younger brother seemed to be in a bad mood. Taking advantage of the break in the serve, Takao walked over to Kimura, patted him on the butt, and comforted him, "Don't worry about it, it's just a jump ball."

The latter nodded as he listened to his senior's advice, behaving very obediently. However, Takao could clearly see from his eyes that this hothead was not willing to give up easily.

He pursed his lips and didn't say anything more. He just walked to the edge of the court and served a ball. He wasn't good at comforting his juniors.

In the past, when Oshiro was still around, Takao's only responsibility as a point guard was to orchestrate the team's offense on the court, and he never worried about the mentality of his players.

It seems now that there is no such thing as a peaceful and tranquil life; it's just that someone is bearing the burden and moving forward.

As he dribbled the ball forward, Takao sighed.

Shutoku's starting lineup has changed a lot this year. In the end, apart from him and Midorima, the other three Shutoku starters are all first-year students!

This resulted in the captaincy ultimately falling to Takao. Don't misunderstand, in terms of personality and prestige, Takao himself said he was completely incompatible with the position of captain of Shutoku! However, within Shutoku's ranks, the only ones with the ability to take on the captaincy were him or Midorima…

Letting a haughty, bespectacled guy with an astrological sign be the team captain... unless Takao's gone mad!

Ultimately, Takao had no choice but to take on this position.

任。