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

Thank you for your guidance!

After bowing, Aomine immediately told Momoi that he needed to go to the restroom. Momoi looked at Aomine's back with concern, but after thinking for a moment, she followed him.

Kise was overjoyed; a happy smile appeared on his face as soon as the match ended. His beloved Ao...

Mine was finally defeated by him, and his imitation has gone a step further. He can even imitate Aomine in his normal state. How far is he from entering the Zone?

As Kise pondered this, his facial expressions grew increasingly varied, and he even burst into unrestrained laughter, completely disregarding his image. Kasamatsu, his head creased with disbelief, quickly beat Kise up and dragged him away, not forgetting to bow and apologize to the Touou players before leaving.

Coach Takeuchi touched the fat on his face, maintaining a calm demeanor on the outside, but inwardly he was overjoyed: We've defeated such a formidable guy? It seems that not aiming for the championship this year makes me seem too conservative.

Although the members of Touou were somewhat upset, having lost the match, they didn't take it to heart. It wasn't an official match, just a training game. Wakamatsu, in particular, was secretly delighted. He didn't get along with Aomine, and seeing Aomine suffer a setback made him incredibly happy. Just thinking about Aomine's expression made him happy; his face had turned as black as coal (though Aomine was naturally quite dark-skinned).

Our protagonist, Xiangyang, said goodbye to the coach and left; he's on his way home now.

The system detected that the host had defeated a generation-level opponent of miracles. A reward has been issued and is pending collection.

On the bullet train, Xiangyang excitedly rubbed his hands together. What a joke! Aomine has entered the zone! If we give him some amazing talent, he might just create a team zone and teach Akashi a lesson ahead of time.

As Xiangyang rubbed his hands together, a smile unconsciously crept onto his face. He was fantasizing about smashing Akashi to pieces after opening the team zone. This bizarre behavior startled the auntie sitting next to Xiangyang with a child. She quickly grabbed the child's hand and ran away, thinking, "Cherish life, stay away from mental illness."

Overall, Haichang won the match against a strong opponent, and everyone was very happy.

However, life is unpredictable; there are winners and losers.

.

Touou High School Rooftop

"Ah Da, you really are here."

Momoi pushed open the rooftop door and looked up at Aomine lying on it.

"Peach? Didn't I tell you I was going to the bathroom?"

Qingfeng's voice was hoarse as he asked, "I wonder if you've been secretly crying just now."

"Yeah, I know. I came looking for you, but I couldn't find you. I guessed you were here."

Momoi said matter-of-factly, with a hint of smugness in her voice.

Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then asked, "Isn't that the men's restroom? How did you find it?"

Momoi didn't answer; she just stared at Aomine.

Aomine didn't ask any further questions. After some time, he suddenly spoke up, "What time do we usually train, Momo?"

Momoi looked at Aomine with surprise and excitement, and said, "Ao-dai! Are you coming to training?"

"Hmm, I've found an opponent worth fighting for."

Aomine thought of Kise and Mukayo, as well as Kaijo, a tactical genius with strict discipline.

A slight smile appeared on his lips: Akashi, you're in trouble. This year's Kise is something else.

.

"Receive it!"

Xiangyang returned home and, without even taking a shower, eagerly went back to his room to call the system.

Congratulations, host, you have acquired a new talent: Super Long-Range Three-Pointer. This talent increases your three-point shooting range, and the accuracy of your super long-range three-pointers is the same as your three-point shooting percentage.

—Three points are always one point more than two points, aren't they?

Congratulations, host, for acquiring the new tactical talent, Three-Point Tactics. This will deepen your understanding of the three-point tactic and improve your team's understanding and execution of the tactic when you initiate it.

—Times have changed, sir. Have you heard of the era of small ball?

However, Xiangyang was somewhat dissatisfied with the reward.

After Aomine went to Zone, he became so fierce, it was like a god descending to earth, taking on five opponents at once. If it weren't for the fact that he hadn't trained for a long time and was running out of stamina, the outcome of today's match wouldn't have been decided until the very last moment.

"After finally defeating someone of that caliber, they didn't even reward me with some amazing skill. At least give me a Zone mode."

Xiangyang protested, but received no response.

Well… I think I understand this reward mechanism. Anyway, it's not like I'm going to stand out and be the leader. All of them are team-oriented skills, including the super long-range three-pointer. At first glance, it looks like an individual ability talent, but it's actually given to complement the three-point tactic. Moreover, Xiang Yang doesn't rely on one-on-one play as a regular method. Giving him this skill is just to help open up the interior space so that his teammates can attack more comfortably. In short, it's a talent that serves the team.

Xiangyang touched his nose, guessing that future skills would all be team-based, and there wouldn't be any rewards that could significantly improve his individual abilities.

Chapter 22 This meal is on you, right?

However, to be fair, the three-point strategy is definitely a major boost for Haichang right now.

Almost every starter at Kaisho can shoot three-pointers, except for Kobori, of course...

Kise's arsenal includes many moves related to three-pointers. Kasamatsu already possessed a decent three-point shooting ability, and after transitioning to shooting guard, he honed his three-point shooting skills even more, making him the player with the highest three-point shooting percentage at Kaijo! Although Xiangyang is good at playing tactics and doesn't usually attempt three-pointers, as a qualified point guard, the most basic requirement is to have an open three-point shot. Xiangyang is just not good at shooting threes with defenders on him; if given space, he can shoot very accurately. The newly acquired super long-range three-pointer perfectly compensates for Xiangyang's weakness in three-pointers, giving him more shooting space. At the same time, the increased shooting range forces the opponent to expand their defensive range, which naturally loosens the interior defense, allowing Xiangyang's playmaking ability to be better utilized, and making it easier for Kise to charge into the paint.

Overall, Xiangyang was quite satisfied with the reward this time. He was just greedy. What if he complained and the system gave him a better one? Wouldn't it be a waste not to complain? For example, Akashi's awakened team zone later on, which allowed five people to enter the zone at once. How cool would that be? It was so oppressive, it was scary to look at.

Thinking of this, Xiangyang suddenly realized: Could it be that Akashi and Murasakibara also exceeded the limit during this period?

If Akashi could use Team Zone at this point...

As Xiangyang thought about it, he couldn't help but shudder. He couldn't be so relaxed. Qingfeng had given him a wake-up call today. He couldn't trust the original timeline too much. After all, you never know when those monsters might suddenly unleash their full power. He still needed to train seriously.

.

For the next period of time, all members of Haichang trained hard in preparation for the national competition. During training, Xiangyang also showed off his super long-range three-pointer, which caused a stir among the crowd. Xiangyang had never shown his outstanding ability in three-pointers before, and they all thought that Xiangyang was not good at three-pointers.

Kise exclaimed in anguish, "Just how much have you been hiding? If you had used this move during your match against Touou, would I have been this exhausted?"

Xiangyang only gave a perfunctory reply. He couldn't very well tell Kise that he didn't know this before, but suddenly had an epiphany after defeating Touou.

Not only did Xiang Yang demonstrate his long-range three-point shooting, but he also shared the core concepts of the three-point tactic with Coach Wu after training.

After hearing the three-point strategy, Takeuchi slammed his fist on the table several times and shouted, "Great! Great! Xiangyang, you really are a genius!"

Feeling the coach's approving gaze, Xiang Yang chuckled and, taking advantage of the coach's good mood, revealed his true purpose.

"What?! You still want to play practice matches? And you insist on playing against the Generation of Miracles? No way, I won't allow it. The National Tournament is just around the corner, and we've already played two high-intensity practice matches. Right now, the most important thing is to ensure the players' health and energy. If you want to practice against weaker teams to get into form, that's fine, but playing against the Generation of Miracles? I won't allow it!"

Just moments ago, Takeuchi had been all smiles, but upon hearing Xiangyang's request, his expression immediately changed. What?!

Are you kidding me? When the horn attack was exposed, Takeuchi already regretted agreeing to play this training match. Now that he finally has another tactic that can be used as a trump card, why would he want to expose it if no one else is trying to find it? Do you really think you can use your trump card for free?

No matter how much Xiangyang tried to persuade him, Wuwei refused to budge. His reasoning was quite sound: with the national tournament just around the corner, any injury to any player would be a significant blow to Kaijo. This year, Kaijo was aiming for the championship, so how could they spend all their energy on training matches?

Xiangyang was also helpless. He guessed that the coach wouldn't agree, so he specially brought up the three-point strategy. He originally hoped that he could get away with it by taking advantage of the coach's good mood, but who would have thought that the coach would use the three-point strategy as his trump card. He couldn't tell the coach, "I'll give you another strategy after we beat the Generation of Miracles," that would be too ridiculous.

The coach disagreed, and Xiangyang had no choice but to go home and try to find a solution.

Just as Xiangyang took off his coat and was thinking about what to eat, a message interrupted his thoughts. It was from Kise:

Little Xiangyang~ See you at that burger joint from last time at 7 pm, don't be late, I'll treat you to dinner!

Xiangyang was completely baffled. What important thing couldn't be said during training? Why wait until he got home to tell him, and even used inviting him to dinner as a pretext? There must be something fishy going on. Xiangyang sent a message to inquire, but it was read but not replied to…

"That kid..." Xiang Yang's face lit up with a frown. He then grabbed his coat, put on his shoes, and walked out the door.

.

"Hey? Genius, I'm at the door, where are you?"

"Oh, sorry, Xiao Xiangyang, my girlfriend and I had a fight, I have to go and coax her."

? ?

Xiangyang wondered if he had misheard, so he picked up his phone again and asked.

"Are you kidding me? Are you playing me? I'm very busy, okay? And when did you get a girlfriend?"

"When did I not have a girlfriend? And Xiao Xiangyang, what are you busy with? You clearly don't have a girlfriend... Hey, stop messing around."

Kise's second half of his sentence was clearly not directed at Xiangyang, and Xiangyang vaguely heard the coquettish laughter of an unknown woman coming from the phone.

"Hey, Ryota, didn't you think about the serious consequences before you played me? I haven't eaten dinner yet, and I'm waiting for you to treat me. You better not really be joking with me."

Hearing Xiangyang's tone, Kise shuddered and quickly said, "I'm not joking! I really have something to do and can't go, but don't worry, someone else will treat you to dinner. That's all, okay? My signal is bad here, hello? Hello?"

Beep beep beep beep…

Xiangyang put down his phone with a dark expression. Just as he was pondering how to deal with Kise tomorrow, a gentle voice came from behind him: "Xiangyang-kun?"

Xiangyang turned around and saw Momoi. She smiled and walked up to Xiangyang, pointed to the hamburger shop next door, and asked, "Why don't we go inside and talk?"

Xiangyang glanced at the hamburger shop, then at Taojing, and nodded in response.

The two walked into the hamburger shop together. When they entered, Xiangyang specifically scanned the area to make sure that there were no Kuroko or Kagami, and also to confirm that Kise had indeed stood him up.

Xiangyang walked silently behind Taojing, wondering to himself: What is this woman up to?

Momoi, who was walking ahead, pointed to an empty seat and turned to Xiangyang, saying, "Xiangyang-kun, can we sit there?"

Xiangyang had no objections and sat down with Taojing. This was the first time he had eaten alone with a woman since he came to this world.

"Okay, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Momoi Satsuki, you can call me Momoko. I asked Ryota to help me invite you out."

Momoi said frankly that she wasn't the kind of girl who was easily shy.

Xiangyang glanced at Taojing and slowly said, "My name is Xiangyang. You can call me whatever you want."

"By the way, when he asked me out, he said he'd treat me to dinner. He's not here now, so you're paying for this meal, right?"

Chapter 23 Momoi Satsuki

"what?"

Momoi looked at Xiangyang in surprise, wondering if she had misheard, before she immediately realized what she had heard and nodded.

"Of course! I just wanted to treat you to dinner. Order whatever you like!"

Upon hearing this, Xiangyang didn't stand on ceremony. He called over a waiter, took the menu, and started ordering. After all, it was Taojing who was treating him to dinner, so there was no need to pretend to be polite and let the other person order first. Xiangyang wasn't that pretentious.

Momoi wasn't angry at Xiangyang's behavior; instead, she found it intriguing.

From middle school onwards, every boy Momoi encountered treated her with exceptional care. With her outstanding looks, enviable figure, and outgoing personality, she had at least a hundred or so boys pursuing her. However, Momoi didn't fancy any of them. Having grown up with Aomine, she had no interest in ordinary boys. But the numerous suitors also exposed Momoi to all sorts of men, many of whom seemed almost unrecognizable in her presence.

As an intelligence expert, Momoi is very good at information gathering, and those women who practically have their ID cards written on their faces do not arouse Momoi's interest in the slightest.

That's interesting. Like Ah Zhe, he's a bit hard to figure out.

Momoi sized up Xiangyang, trying to gather information to form a preliminary assessment: simple-minded, straightforward, and without guile? No, no, his performance on the court was so shrewd…