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

In terms of timing, the first quarter is only just coming to an end, and Shirou certainly has plenty of opportunities to catch up.

However, this is just a round-robin tournament. Shiro Rin just fought a full match against Touou in the last game. As long as Aida Riko doesn't lose her mind, she will most likely choose to give up in this match and is unlikely to fight to the death with Shutoku.

Sure enough, when Xiangyang pointed at the starting lineup of Shirorin in the second quarter, Kise was dumbfounded.

Kuroko, who had the worst stamina, had been placed on the bench by Reiko. Along with Teppei Kiyoshi, who had just returned from recovering from an injury abroad, the two sat side by side on the bench, becoming the spectators closest to the field.

As for Kagami, who always has plenty of stamina, he remained on the field. However, before he went on the field, Aida Riko gave him a lot of mental preparation.

Phrases like "Conserve your energy," "Don't get injured," and "It's all about participation."

This caused Vulcan to play very conservatively on the offensive end, a stark contrast to his previous wild image.

Xiang Yang was not surprised at all; if he were to become Shiro Rin's coach, he would make the same choice as Reiko.

In a meaningless match, to save face, why push your own players to the limit? Isn't that just plain stupid?

Not to mention unpredictable factors like injuries, as long as the game is completed smoothly, that will be a success!

Moreover, in such an insignificant match, Xiude has revealed his trump card for this year. For his competitors, the most urgent task is not to fight to the death with him on the field, but to carefully study the video of this match and look for an opportunity to defeat Xiude!

beep—

Shirorin called it quits in the second quarter, and the result of the game was naturally no surprise.

Xiude won a resounding victory with a score of 117-92.

Coach Shutoku, Nakatani Hitoshi, is a tactful person. He didn't relentlessly attack Seirin just because they showed weakness first. After all, they are from the same region and see each other all the time, so there must be some understanding and leeway between them.

Of course, the biggest concern is that Midorima might overexert himself and expose some problems. Although, in Nakatani Jinsuke's opinion, Shutoku has no weaknesses this year, it's always good to be cautious just in case.

Thus, although the betting among the Haichang players lasted for the entire game, the real result was already known at the beginning of the second quarter.

The third round-robin match, Touou vs. Shutoku, is also the last match of the day.

Whether it was intentional on the part of the tournament organizers or not, the three most exciting matches of the North Division round-robin were all scheduled for today! As for the following two days, Kirisaki Daiichi will face three different "miracle" teams!

Hmm... there's nothing to see here, the result is pretty much the same as what's already been announced.

In the third match, Touou continued to build their offensive system around their first-year student, Igarashi Yuei.

Since Kuroko Tetsuya was not on the court for this match, this player, whose playing style is very similar to that of Mukayo, performed exceptionally well.

Not only did he organize the offense perfectly, but he also handled Takao's attacks with equal ease on the defensive end.

Even Takao, a top point guard second only to Akashi and Hikaru, didn't find many opportunities against Igarashi Yuei in the first half.

If it weren't for Tetsuya Kuroko, today's round-robin tournament would have been a debut performance by Igarashi that was outstanding.

Unfortunately, Midorima Shintaro's fighting spirit was too strong today. Unlike Aomine Daiki, who focuses on nurturing his juniors, he was still going all out in the second game, and the first half had just ended.

Midorima made all 13 of his shots, scoring 39 points!

As for Aomine, he was mostly just coasting along, only stepping up to take control of the ball and help the team break through when Igarashi's offensive organization was thwarted.

At halftime, Aomine had scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while Igarashi had only 8 points, but he had a total of 9 assists, which translated into impressive scoring efficiency for his teammates.

Xiude leads 61-54.

Unlike Shutoku, where Midorima carried the team alone, all of Touou's players, except for Igarashi, scored over ten points.

The team of individual strongmen that was originally built by Zeke was successfully united under the leadership of Igarashi, and their strength finally came together!

"Well done, brat."

On the Touou bench, Aomine patted Igarashi on the back, looked at the scoreboard across the court, and showed a satisfied expression.

Despite him being virtually invisible throughout the first half, Touou managed to stay only 7 points behind Midorima's barrage of three-pointers. This was something Aomine would never have dared to imagine before.

Igarashi took the towel handed to him by the substitute, wiped the sweat from his face, and the confident look in his eyes returned.

"Senior Aomine, if you maintain this pace and go into the fourth quarter, you'll be fine, right?"

Upon hearing Igarashi's words, Aomine grinned, a fierce glint in his eyes.

"Of course, are you underestimating me? If the point difference can be maintained at this level before the fourth quarter, with my current physical strength, turning the game around is not a problem at all."

Aomine's answer was confident, and Igarashi's actions were even more confident!

With a wave of his hand, he led the players onto the field, much like the leader of the Touou Kingdom.

Behind him, Touou coach Harasawa looked at his players' spirited backs and felt a surge of passion rise in his heart.

This is the team he leads, the champions of this year's national tournament—Touou!

Go for it, kids! Show everyone your strength and create your own legend!

Although Yuan Zekede is over thirty and has entered middle age, he has never lacked the desire for victory. This youthful spirit has never changed, even after becoming a coach!

however…

beep—

third

The whistle blew to end the quarter.

Yuan Zeke looked at the scoreboard, lost in thought…

Xiude leads 82-65.

In the third section...Touou got completely thrashed.

On the court, Aomine grabbed Igarashi's collar angrily and shouted, "What are you doing, you brat? Who was saying off the court that we should maintain the point difference and wait for me to come out and take over the game? Huh!"

No wonder Qingfeng was so excited. Just a moment ago, the two sides seemed evenly matched, but who knew that the situation would change drastically after the third quarter? Anyone would have to say a few words to settle this.

Seeing that Aomine's already dark face had become even darker, Igarashi awkwardly fiddled with his fingers, speechless.

He really didn't expect that Xiude would unleash such power in the third quarter.

Under Takao's leadership, Shutoku changed his offensive strategy from the first half and actually abandoned Midorima, only placing him outside the three-point line as a nuclear weapon for deterrence.

The offensive focus then shifted to the other four players.

This is not only completely unrelated to Igarashi's pre-war predictions, but it is also completely irrelevant!

So, with Aomine forcing himself to refrain from attacking, Touou unsurprisingly... rotted away!

The final whistle blew

121:117, Xiude wins.

In the fourth quarter, Aomine launched a "zone" attack to catch up, but the gaps left by the third quarter were too large. Even though Aomine managed to suppress Midorima for a time, it was too late to turn the tide.

Helpless, Aomine, furious, went to Igarashi again, grabbed him by the collar, and launched into another verbal attack to vent his anger.

All we can say is that Touou still has a long way to go this year. They still have a long way to go before Igarashi grows into a point guard who can stand on his own!

……

……

After the match ended, the audience left one after another. Although both Touou and Shiro Rin held back during the match, it did not affect the excitement of the game at all.

Whether it was Vulcan's several dunks from the free-throw line or Midorima's series of difficult three-pointers, most of the spectators who came to the arena to watch the game today were satisfied, and there was no unanimous clamor for refunds.

At the front of the stands, the Haichang group, who had arrived early and secured their spots, were chatting. Since there were too many spectators in the venue, it would take a while for them to leave, and since they were quite far from the entrance, they decided to sit for a while longer and wait until most of the people had left.

"What should we eat later?"

"How about a hamburger?"

"Sure, but with so many of us and me treating, ramen seems like the best option."

Just as everyone was discussing the dinner party to be held later, Xiangyang stood up and stretched.

I'm going to the restroom.

Leaving behind a casual remark, Xiangyang turned and left his seat, giving Kise a meaningful look before departing.

The latter paused for a moment, watching Xiangyang's receding figure, and Kise curled his lip.

"I'm going to the restroom too."

After saying that, Kise got up and jogged to catch up with Xiangyang.

"Strange, going to the restroom together... That's something I did back in middle school, hahaha, Ryota and Hikaru are still kids after all!"

Kogoro, who is very good at not being able to see the situation clearly, chuckled as he poured the last bit of popcorn from the bucket into his mouth.

Beside him, the players from Haichang had already huddled together and started a new betting pool!

"I bet five hundred that Kise-senpai will bow his head and apologize!"

"Wait! We don't even know what happened, how do you know Senior Xiangyang is right?"

"Regardless of who is right or wrong, Hikaru-senpai is definitely the stronger party. You don't think Kise-senpai can make Hikaru-senpai apologize to him, do you?"

"...Tsk, that makes sense. I'll bet on Senior Xiangyang too!"

"Wait a minute, if we're all betting on Hikari-senpai, how do we start the betting? Someone has to bet on Kise-senpai!"

"That makes sense! Who's betting on Kise-senpai?"

(Silence)

The betting game is over.

Chapter 157 Don't make Mom sad!

swish

The sound of running water in front of the sink.

As Xiangyang washed his hands, he looked at himself in the mirror.

Wearing a loose-fitting dark green T-shirt, sporting the most common student hairstyle in Japan, and with eyes that appear simple yet confident under the bathroom light.

"Sure enough, the bathroom mirror makes me look the most handsome..."

Xiang Yang muttered something to himself, pinched his chin with his right hand, and looked at himself in the mirror. From his perspective in his previous life, he was satisfied with everything except his hairstyle.

"Well... I'm still a student after all. I'll change my hairstyle after I get to China."

Just then, the bathroom door was pushed open.