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

Chapter 177 The Simple and Honest Seitaro (6000 words in two-part chapter)

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"Kozori, be more aggressive when you're positioning yourself inside. After four quarters, even that big guy will start to have trouble keeping up. Don't waste your physical advantage."

As Xiangyang spoke, he touched his chin. As his body's male hormones gradually increased during puberty, sparse stubble had grown on his chin.

Having not touched his own beard in a long time, Xiangyang found this familiar yet novel experience irresistible.

After playing a few more rounds to savor the experience, Xiang Yang turned to look at the two first-year students from Haichang and said, "Dayuan, just play according to the rhythm of the first three quarters. You performed very well, and your picks and screens were all very well done."

"Hi, Senior Xiangyang."

Hiroshi Ohara nodded slightly, his face calm and composed, seemingly unfazed by praise or criticism. However, his eyes seemed to reveal a deeper unease within him.

“Yuki… to be honest, I really wanted to tell you that all you have to do now is stand on the field, run around, and catch the ball, but… no.”

Xiangyang shrugged, skillfully took the tactical board from Takeuchi's hand, and gestured to Yuki to explain his next task.

"Don't worry, Senior Xiangyang! I'll do my best."

Yuki clenched her fist and responded with a very serious expression. For this little guy, having teammates who need him would make him very happy.

Xiangyang was very satisfied with Yuki's attitude and subconsciously patted her head to show encouragement. Xiangyang then turned his attention to Kise.

"As for you... Mr. Ace?"

Xiangyang crossed his arms, a probing look flashing in his eyes. Kise knew exactly what Xiangyang was thinking, but this time… it seemed he was really going to mess things up.

"Smith Marseille, Little Sunshine... I don't think I've quite gotten into the swing of things yet..."

Kise chuckled awkwardly, nervously fidgeting with his fingers in front of his chest. Seeing Xiangyang's face darken as if he was about to explode, Kise quickly waved his hands to salvage the situation, saying, "But! I still have a trick up my sleeve that I haven't used yet!"

"Huh? You had a trick up your sleeve? How come I didn't know?"

Xiangyang was taken aback, but at this point in the competition, Kise would definitely not talk nonsense to avoid being scolded, so he must actually have some knowledge.

"It was an interesting idea from before, and I figured it out recently. Let me tell you..."

Kise leaned close to Xiangyang's ear and whispered something. As he talked more and more, Xiangyang's gaze became increasingly strange.

"Hmm...this sounds like a good idea? Let's do it!"

Xiangyang nodded in agreement to Kise's suggestion, but at the very last moment before the match, Xiangyang calmly and casually squeezed Kise's shoulder and said, "If you dare to falter at the last minute and cause us to lose the match, then..."

"You don't want the ace position to slip away from you, do you, Ryota?"

As he spoke, Xiangyang tightened his grip on Kise's hand, the threat in his voice clear.

"Hi... Captain."

……

……

"Ahem, back from the timeout, both sides are taking to the court one after another, let's take a look..."

Popovich glanced at the scoreboard and player stats panel, organizing his thoughts.

After saying that, he continued explaining.

"The score is now 101-100, with Haichang maintaining a slight lead. There are only four minutes left in the game. Who will win this match? Let's wait and see!"

"Before the timeout, Akashi of the Rakuzan team made two consecutive steals to help his team close the gap. By the way, Akashi has already made 8 steals in the whole game! This shows that he has seen through most of Kaijo's offensive ideas. If Kaijo wants to open up the offensive end in the next period, then they must adjust their playing style. Hopefully, this timeout can bring them a change!"

Bobo's comments were mostly quite fair, but to many viewers, they sounded like he was favoring Los Angeles.

There's a team support feature in the live chat, allowing viewers to freely choose their favorite team. Currently, Rakuzan is slightly ahead of Kaijo with 51% of the votes, thanks to Akashi's explosive performance at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth! This has led many fans to believe that Rakuzan is about to gain momentum!

Of course, Kaijo, especially Mukayo, would never allow Akashi to perform like that.

Kaijo had possession of the ball. Xiangyang glanced around the field and, without lingering, passed the ball directly to Kise, seemingly still hoping to solve the problem through a one-on-one attack.

Akashi looked up at Kise's eyes, and after confirming that he hadn't entered "zone" mode, he nodded with relief and said coldly, "Give up, Ryota. In your current state, you have no way to break through."

Hearing Akashi's stiff way of addressing him, Kise was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head and said helplessly, "Akashi, you're not cute at all right now. You used to call me Ryota so affectionately. And as my rival, you never give me any kind advice."

Akashi remained silent, neither confirming nor denying. Under the influence of his golden personality, his manner of speaking and actions were indeed completely different from his usual self.

Not getting a response from Akashi, Kise stopped talking and lowered his eyes, holding the ball with both hands, while secretly glancing at the person next to him out of the corner of his eye.

This scene naturally did not escape Akashi's Heavenly Emperor Eye. His pupils shifted slightly, and he immediately saw that the person who came was Xiangyang.

What is he going to do? Pass the ball hand-to-hand?

Akashi had some doubts, but soon, Xiangyang's actions answered his question.

Xiangyang stood to the side of Akashi, his hands covering his groin in a standard screen position.

"Pick and roll?"

Seeing Xiangyang's intentions, Akashi was even more confused, but his movements were not slow. Relying on the precognitive nature of the "Emperor's Eye," before Xiangyang could block the screen, Akashi made a light turn and bypassed the screen, continuing to follow Kise.

However, this time Kise's lips curled up slightly, and he flicked the ball with a bounce pass to Xiangyang. He then immediately stood next to Hirakawa and set a screen for Xiangyang.

This series of bizarre maneuvers completely threw Hirakawa off balance. Unlike Akashi, Hirakawa, being a larger and slightly clumsy player, was momentarily disoriented by the double screen from Kise and Hikaru, and was even successfully screened by Kise.

They left the sun to its side!

Fortunately, Akashi reacted quickly, immediately understood the situation, and flew to cover for Hikaru. However, the Kaijo twins' real killer move was not there. Hikaru passed the ball laterally, and the basketball returned to Kise's hands!

In terms of playing style, Hikaru, who is more physical and rhythmic in his attacks, is countered by Hirakawa, who is larger in size. But if it's Kise facing Hirakawa... that would be a completely different story.

While Hirakawa could barely keep up with Xiangyang's pace when defending, he was completely helpless against Kise, who moved like a supercar. He was just waiting to be taken out.

Without even needing to dribble much, with a slight change of direction, Kise easily got past Hirakawa and hit a mid-range jump shot.

Haichang scored, bringing the score difference to three points, 103-100, with Haichang in the lead.

Akashi, slightly out of breath, looked at the Kaijo twins who were high-fiving in celebration, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

[That pick-and-roll... I've never seen Kise use it before, could it be...]

Akashi narrowed his eyes and focused his attention on Kise. Sure enough, he saw a hint of the sun in the current Kise!

Akashi's eyes flickered, and having understood the reason, he naturally had to think of a way to deal with it.

Kise noticed Akashi's change in expression and whispered to Xiangyang, "What should we do, Xiangyang? Akashi seems to have figured it out right away."

"Honestly, when I was trying to imitate you, my aura was clearly very weak. I thought I wouldn't be easily detected."

Kise patted his shoulder, seemingly annoyed by his current lack of imposing presence.

Xiangyang: ...

"So... you're targeting me, kid?"

Xiangyang gave Kise a playful slap on the head, and the latter chuckled, then praised, "But apart from being a little weak in spirit, little Xiangyang, your paddle is pretty useful."

"This is the first time I've realized that there are so many tricks and uses to pick and roll."

Searching through the newly acquired experience in his mind, Kise clicked his tongue. It was precisely because he had "perfectly imitated" Xiangyang that the double pick-and-roll he and Xiangyang executed was so effective. Even Akashi had to frown and think of a countermeasure.

Fortunately, even though Akashi saw through him, Xiangyang didn't think he could come up with any effective way to deal with it in three minutes.

After all, the game is already in its final moments. Instead of trying to figure out how to contain the opponent's attack, we should increase the intensity of our attacks and start a real battle!

During Rakuzan's offensive possession, Akashi didn't allow the point difference to continue to widen. This time, he simply went one-on-one, shook off Hikaru's defensive focus, and then took a step-back jump shot, scoring two points.

Next, Haichang resorted to the same tactic, using multiple pick-and-rolls by the twin stars. The Los Angeles team was unable to effectively contain them and had to focus their efforts on offense, hoping to win the final victory through attack.

To be fair, under Akashi's aura of individual ability, and with Hikaru not wanting Akashi to score so easily, the other members of Rakuzan did indeed have quite a few scoring opportunities.

In two minutes, Rakuzan had three attacks, making two of them. One of the three shots was a layup by Hayama who sneaked along the baseline.

Points, and Reo's three-point shot.

As for Kaijo, since Xiangyang and Kise started to take over the ball, Akashi did not manage to steal the ball from the team's offense. In the same three attacks, Xiangyang took one shot and Kise took two shots, both of which were mid-range shots that scored!

With one minute left in the game, Kaijo led by two points at 109-107, and Rakuzan had the first serve!

The atmosphere in the arena instantly became much more solemn. Everyone present knew that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next round of offense and defense between the two teams would determine the outcome of the game!

"If you hold on, it's over!"

With a roar, Xiangyang stood at the very front of the team. As Akashi gradually dribbled closer, a hint of a smile appeared on Xiangyang's face, which looked as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

Just as Akashi was dribbling the ball low, preparing to break through, apart from Hikaru who had been standing in front of Akashi to guard him, Yuki and Kise simultaneously leaned against the two flanks, forming an arrow shape with Hikaru.

"Ok?"

Having the "Emperor's Eye" and a panoramic view of the situation, Akashi certainly wouldn't overlook this anomaly. He frowned slightly and didn't launch an attack immediately, but instead looked warily at Kise and Yuuki, who were sneaking closer to him.

Sensing that Akashi had noticed something amiss, Xiangyang acted decisively, shouting, "Attack!"

At the same time, Yuki and Kise lunged forward, coordinating with Hikaru who had acted first, and immediately surrounded Akashi in the middle of the court.

This was prepared for you... Akashi!

Xiang Yang's eyes sharpened, and with a flash of white lightning, his movements were once again swift and decisive, making a risky steal towards Akashi's ball-handler!

However, Akashi's reaction was no joke. He immediately dodged and, after regaining his balance, was about to break through when Kise, who had sensed his presence from behind, blocked his path.

At this moment, Kise's aura had already transformed into Akashi's, and his pupils were emitting bursts of golden light.

A flawless imitation of the Emperor's Eye!

Without entering the "zone" state, it would be a pipe dream to say that the "Emperor's Eye" could suppress Akashi one-on-one. But if it's just to entangle Akashi, Kise doesn't think that someone who can't even do such a small thing deserves to be an ace!

Faced with Kise's relentless pursuit, Akashi dribbled repeatedly to evade the ball, his eyes constantly darting elsewhere, seeking an opportunity to pass to his teammates.

But the "three-man double team" that Xiangyang planned for the entire game and only used at the last moment was not so simple.

Yuki, who was closest to the three, did not step forward to help her two seniors intercept the ball. Instead, she circled around, blocking Akashi's passing lanes.

This was the task Xiangyang assigned to him. In terms of stealing ability, he could imitate Kise's "Emperor's Eye". Combined with Xiangyang's refined gambling-style stealing, they could undoubtedly put a lot of pressure on Akashi.

But that's not enough. Akashi's quick, precise, and deadly pass after being double-teamed is a sharp and deadly dagger!

It's not difficult to catch him off guard, but to turn his situation into a dead end, a third person is needed to limit his passing ability!

Among the Kaijo team members, aside from Xiangyang who possesses an excellent overall strategic vision, there is naturally only Yuuki.

She is the best candidate!

This happened so suddenly that the rest of Rakuzan didn't react until Kise and Mukayo launched a second wave of steals at Akashi.

Hayama and Reo immediately started making runs to create opportunities for Akashi to pass the ball. However, Kise and Mukayo's double-team defense was too oppressive, blocking most of Akashi's passing space. The few remaining lanes were also completely shut down by Yuki.