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

"Take it slow, let's secure the first attack!"

Takao raised his right finger, signaling his teammates to make their moves, but from the flank, a burning gaze was cast upon him.

Even with his glasses obscuring his vision, Midorima Shintaro's sharp gaze was practically shouting at Takao, "Pass me the ball!"

Seeing that his ace was so eager to fight, Takao didn't force a tactic and passed the ball over with both hands.

As expected, Midorima was immediately surrounded by Kagami's tight defense as soon as he received the ball. With unlimited shooting space, he was always surrounded by at least two defenders whenever he received the ball on the court! This situation only changed when facing Kaijo and Shiro Rin.

Because one of these two teams is a monster with super jumping ability, and the other has a genius who can imitate "super jumping ability"!

Seeing Kagami constantly putting pressure on him, Midorima held the ball between his legs to protect it, keeping his center of gravity low to prevent Kagami from having a chance to steal it.

In the past, under this level of defensive pressure, Midorima would have passed the ball back to Takao without hesitation. But this time, Midorima didn't move; he just stood quietly, observing Kagami's defense.

"What is Little Green going to do? Isn't he going to pass the ball back?"

Watching the two players on the field seemingly frozen in time, Kise couldn't help but ask a question. Having perfectly imitated Midorima, he could quickly tell that this offensive and defensive situation was not one that Midorima would choose to make a move.

Xiangyang rubbed his chin, a vague feeling creeping into his mind that this man of the zodiac sign... seemed capable of doing something extraordinary.

On the court, Kagami looked at Midorima, who was standing motionless like a statue, and was equally puzzled. However, his good defensive habits prevented him from letting his guard down, and he continued to maintain his defensive posture.

On the other side, Takao, who knew the inside story beforehand, stood with his hands on his hips, a look of melancholy on his face.

Such a powerful trump card, wasted in the qualifiers... What a waste.

Takao inwardly scoffed, but his movements unconsciously relaxed.

Well... that's fine too. If it's the first time they've met, even Shiro Rin would have to rack her brains and get completely confused, right?

The next moment, as if to confirm Takao's inner thoughts, Midorima seized upon a moment of mental lapse in Kagami. His stance shifted abruptly, and he immediately launched a breakthrough!

Hmm? A breakthrough?

Kagami was somewhat surprised, but his defensive lateral movement speed was absolutely top-notch, and he successfully caught up with Midorima in the first instant.

While your drives to the basket aren't bad, they're far less threatening than your shooting.

Knowing that Midorima was about to use a breakthrough that he rarely used, Kagami subconsciously gave Midorima some space to anticipate his attack, firstly to better react to Midorima's offensive, and secondly to avoid getting too close and being fouled.

It has to be said that Kagami's defense was perfect. Unfortunately, Midorima's offensive tactics this time are not something that can be stopped by conventional defense!

Just as Midorima's right foot was about to step into the three-point line, he suddenly pulled back, landing exactly one centimeter from the three-point line. At the same time, his hands immediately came together to catch the ball, and his body, which was just in a forward-moving state, instantly turned into a jump shot.

“Nani???”

Kagami, who had just taken a half step back, changed his expression drastically. After estimating the distance between himself and Midorima, he gritted his teeth, his backward momentum faltered, and he forcefully stretched out his right hand, covering Midorima's eyes.

Vulcan's jumping ability is incredible. Even when he jumps with his back to the starting position, his terrifying speed and explosiveness allow him to jump even higher!

Unfortunately... this time, Midorima is really not human.

His body soared into the air, and Midorima's jump was not only upwards, but also slightly to the left. This was not a sudden stop and pull-up three-pointer, but an even more outrageous drift pull-up!

Feeling weightless, Midorima's legs tilted uncoordinated forward, but his upper body remained stable, and along with his gaze, the basketball flew straight toward the basket.

Swish!

Hollow-core netting.

Chapter 156 Kise-senpai, who is good at playing the victim

Xiude's three-pointer is effective

The referee raised his hands and gestured to the scorer's table. On the scoreboard, Xiude's score increased accordingly, becoming 3:2.

In the stands, apart from a large group of spectators who were just there for the spectacle, the more knowledgeable basketball enthusiasts and all the members of the Haichang team all looked somewhat bewildered.

Is this how you still shoot a three-pointer?

Kise stared wide-eyed at Midorima's retreating figure, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Xiangyang's expression was solemn, his mind replaying Midorima's attack.

[Is it just a coincidence due to good feel, or...?]

Admittedly, Midorima's three-pointer just now had a rather ordinary visual effect, at least compared to Kagami's dunk from the free-throw line, it was much less impressive.

However, the significance behind this goal is extremely important!

"Ryota, Midorima has probably never thrown a pitch like this before, right?"

Xiangyang glanced at Kise on the other side and asked, who nodded decisively without hesitation, "No."

"Little Green always shoots with the same posture, because as long as he maintains his posture, he won't miss the shot."

really…

Xiangyang's face showed a look of understanding. He turned his head to look at Midorima on the field again and muttered, "This kid... he evolved this year too."

……

……

It was another round of Xiude's attack.

While dribbling, Takao directed his teammates' movements. The overall strength of the new Shutoku team has not improved much compared to last year. The original core center, Daihei, has now graduated. Looking at the Shutoku team, there is no longer a center with the strength to carry the team alone.

but…

Through Midorima's evolution, Shutoku's overall offensive strategy has become clearer!

Constantly use pick-and-rolls and off-ball movement to create opportunities for Green to hit three-pointers!

At the bottom corner, Midorima observed Takao's gestures. After Takao made a downward movement, Midorima decisively started running, lowering his body and slipping past Shiro Rin's baseline.

Kagami, who had been closely following Midorima, also ran towards the other baseline when he saw this situation. He wanted to keep up with Midorima, stop his three-point shot, and continue to bombard his own basket!

However, inside the restricted area of ​​Shiro Rin, Yuya Miyaji, who had already received Takao's signal, was outwardly still blocking Teppei's position, but his eyes were always fixed on Kagami.

Just as Midorima ran past Miyaji, before Kagami could catch up with him, Miyaji swung his legs and used his body to block Kagami's path.

Ok?

Vulcan's reflexes were excellent; he immediately judged Miyaji's intentions and changed his footwork to avoid Miyaji's block. However, he stopped in his tracks at that very moment.

Midorima had already run to the three-point line and received a pass from Takao, getting a three-point opportunity with decent space.

His expression remained unchanged, and the gaze hidden behind his glasses perfectly illustrated what it means to be calm and composed. He slightly bent his legs and raised the ball as if to shoot.

"It's not over yet!!"

With a slight red glint in his eyes, Kagami watched Midorima's movements and jumped from a distance of two or three steps away. With his "super jump," even if he was a step too slow, he could still interfere with Midorima!

However, Midorima only

He raised his hand slightly and then immediately put the ball down, bypassing Vulcan's defense.

This is a Buddhist worship ceremony!

The Vulcan in the air had a slight change in expression, but in his heart, he was secretly delighted.

[Yosh! We stopped him from shooting a three-pointer!]

As long as Midorima isn't allowed to fire from beyond the three-point line, once he gets inside, Teppei, who excels at help defense, and Kuroko, who's always lurking and waiting for a steal, make Soryu's interior defense not very solid, but it's incredibly aggressive!

Unfortunately, Vulcan miscalculated.

Teppei, who was in the paint, had already noticed the offensive and defensive play taking place in the corner. He raised his arms to block the players behind him while waiting for Midorima to come forward.

On the other side, Kuroko sneaked up to Midorima's front side, his right hand itching to move, just waiting for Midorima to take another step forward.

However, the moment Midorima stepped his right foot into the three-point line, he suddenly pushed off and pulled back at lightning speed, retreating to the three-point line!

The evolved Midorima is no longer obsessed with static three-pointers that he shoots as soon as he catches the ball. His real weapon is the "three-pointer at will" that he can jump anywhere outside the three-point line!

Looking to the side, Kagami saw Midorima already stretching out his body in the air, poised to shoot. Despite his shock, Kagami did not give up. The moment he landed, he jumped again, forcefully extending his left arm, trying to stop Midorima from scoring.

"Without Vulcan, you'll never block my three-pointers again."

In mid-air, Midorima showed no fear at Kagami's ability to jump and block again. He let his body lose its balance in the air, and his upper body gradually leaned to the left until he was out of Kagami's defensive range. Only then did he finally release the basketball that he had been holding for so long.

Another high-difficulty drift three-pointer!

Swish!

The sound of the net being swiped through the hollow part seemed so commonplace to this man.

There was an uproar.

At this moment, the score is 21-11. With only half of the first quarter gone, Midorima has made all seven of his three-point attempts, scoring 21 points in just five minutes!

Off the field, Xiang Yang's right leg trembled slightly. Although his face was expressionless, his heart was far from calm.

Is this a direct evolution from Klay Thompson to Stephen Curry?

Xiangyang gave a wry smile. Although he had guessed it when Midorima threw the first ball, he was still surprised when it actually happened.

Midorima Shintaro has mastered the ability to take difficult shots from beyond the three-point line, and what's most terrifying is that... his shooting percentage is still 100%!

If it's just about scoring with high-difficulty shots like drifting threes, step-back threes, and pull-up jumpers, then not only Midorima, but everyone in the "Generation of Miracles" except Murasakibara could do it. Even Hikaru would often make these seemingly unreasonable shots during games.

But Midorima is different; he can hit his target every time he fires!

It's important to understand that high-difficulty moves are hard to make, but equally hard to defend. When Midorima can make these kinds of shots 100% of the time, as long as he makes a high-difficulty shot, it's like the team has a three-pointer. Defenders basically have no way to deal with him!

Midorima, the Three-Point Machine, Shintaro!

"This is troublesome..."

Xiang Yang let out a sigh, attracting the attention of the rest of Hai Chang.

Kise turned his head and asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Xiangyang? What do you think of the current situation?"

"Even if Xiude is here, can't we handle it?"

"of course not."

Xiang Yang shook his head, then teased everyone with a mocking look, "I'm speaking on your behalf. After all, don't you guys think it's a difficult thing for eight people to split the dinner for three?"

Everyone was taken aback. Kise was the first to react, and said unconvinced, "Jorin might not necessarily lose, okay? The point difference isn't that big!"

As he said this, Kise pointed to the score.

At this moment, Xiude leads 27-14.