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

Furthermore, due to the "return violation" rule, Akashi can only dribble and maneuver in Kaijo's half of the court, which effectively locks off his escape route.

(Basketball trivia: A backcourt violation occurs when the offensive team with the ball crosses the half-court line and, without being intercepted by a defensive player, voluntarily returns to their own half of the court. This is considered a violation, and possession of the ball is lost.)

This wave was planned by Xiangyang for a long time, and Akashi's physical strength was reduced, so they failed to detect it in advance. It can be said that the timing, location and people were all on Kaijo's side!

Takeuchi even stood up excitedly, while Rakuzan coach Eiji Shirakane slowly closed his eyes, giving off a sense of "my life is over".

Inside the live stream, Bobo went completely crazy, his mouth firing off like a machine gun, constantly explaining the various stealing moves of the Haichang Twins.

The audience was on tenterhooks, waiting for the showdown to end.

Keep in mind that there is less than a minute left, and Haichang still has a two-point lead. If Luoshan's attack fails and Haichang manages to steal the ball, then the outcome of this game will almost certainly be decided!

Will this round of competition be the last?

Absolutely not!

Akashi's face was contorted with rage as he dodged the Kaijo Twins' steals while constantly racking his brains for a way to break the deadlock.

In situations like these, the benefits of having a dual personality become apparent.

The gold personality dominates the body, constantly performing various high-difficulty dribbling maneuvers to avoid being intercepted, while the red personality observes the passing trajectory and formulates new strategies in their mind.

Unfortunately, this time, Xiangyang was too well prepared. Even Akashi, that freak, found it difficult to find a way to break the deadlock in a short time.

Having narrowly dodged another of Xiang Yang's lunging shots, Golden Akashi couldn't hold back any longer. He asked in a deep voice in his mind, "Have you thought of a way?"

After a while (a while in thought), Akashi in red replied, "Not yet, hold on a little longer."

Golden Akashi:…

"You make it sound so easy! Why don't you give it a try?"

Akashi's face flashed with annoyance, and his eyes swept over the surroundings again.

Kise and Xiangyang were like two mad dogs, constantly slicing the ball around him, while Yuki was also watching him intently from the outside. This situation... even Akashi was starting to lose his composure.

"One against three, even Ultraman couldn't do it! If you can't think of a solution, we'll both be game over with Luo Shan!"

Golden Akashi screamed hoarsely, but Red Akashi was in no better shape. The situation on the field was now extremely chaotic. All nine people present had left their original positions and were frantically running around and maneuvering around the center of the three-on-one battle!

In this situation, Akashi could have easily scored by using his "Emperor's Eye" to deliver the optimal pass, but...

Limited by Kise and Mukahi, Akashi's vision is currently only clear from the referee's position on the sidelines; his view of other areas is blurry.

In this situation, if he makes a mistake at the last moment, then the game will be over.

Fortunately, Akashi's dribbling skills were still up to par. Even when facing the Kaijo twins' relentless pressure, he managed to maintain possession of the ball, though he looked... a little disheveled.

But time waits for no one, and Los Angeles' 24-second shot clock is running out.

After several small maneuvers, even Akashi was starting to feel breathless.

He continued to dodge, but a sense of despair rose in Akashi's heart.

Is this... the end? Am I going to... lose to him again?

Just as Akashi was wallowing in self-pity and about to give up, the red-clad Akashi suddenly spoke up: "Yo yo yo, why do you look like you're about to cry? The match isn't over yet."

Akashi's cheeks creased with anger as he said irritably, "You still have the nerve to make sarcastic remarks? Have you thought of a solution?"

Golden Akashi's tone was one of utter despair, after all, his individual abilities were stronger than Red Akashi's. In his eyes, it was already a certain death situation, so how could Red Akashi possibly do anything about it?

"Hmm, I've got it."

"As expected, you're the kind of guy who relies on... what?"

Akashi in golden light was taken aback and asked, "You have a plan?"

Red Akashi shrugged, hooked his arm around Gold Akashi's shoulder, and pointed towards the referee on the sidelines.

"The situation is so chaotic right now, even the two of us can't see clearly, let alone the referee. If we take advantage of this opportunity... you know what I mean~"

Red Akashi winked playfully, only to be slapped on the back of the head by Gold Akashi.

Akashi's face turned ashen with anger. "What are you saying? You want me to collude with that bastard Haizaki? How could I share a body with someone like you? You're a disgrace to the Akashi family!"

"Hey, hey, stop, stop! What are you saying?"

Akashi in red was speechless. He shrugged and said, "I told you to draw a foul, bro. What are you thinking?"

"Drawing...a...foul?"

Golden Akashi was stunned. He tilted his head and thought for a moment: "This..."

"Seriously, bro? What kind of time is this and you still care about that little bit of kingly dignity?"

Akashi in red sighed, looking at him with a disappointed expression: "Counting back when we didn't beat Jōrin, you... no, we've lost three times in a row! Have some shame!"

"What's wrong with drawing fouls? Look at Xiangyang, he draws fouls every game, doesn't he? He plays pretty well, and the audience even praises him for his high basketball IQ."

Akashi's golden eyes flickered; he had to admit, he was tempted!

"...I'm trying to beat him! Not to draw a foul!"

Golden Akashi said indignantly, although his words seemed a bit like protesting too much, but in any case... he had indeed found a way out!

Seeing this, Akashi in red smiled slightly, then his expression became serious. Whether drawing a foul is successful or not depends on the referee's decision, but acting skills are also a hard requirement for this move!

Tick-tock, tick-tock, the timer slowly ticked away, and only 3 seconds remained for Los Angeles' attack.

Once again dodging Kise's steal, Akashi, facing the rapidly advancing Hikaru, instead of retreating, charged forward and charged at Hikaru. His eyes held a resolute glint.

[This move...it would be really interesting if you tried it yourself, wouldn't it?]

Thinking this, Akashi's expression changed. Xiangyang keenly noticed his change, but with the arrow already on the bowstring, he couldn't change the trajectory of his body midway.

Observing Akashi's exertion, Xiangyang's face showed an expression of disbelief.

[Is this guy trying to get me to commit a foul???]

Akashi, you've changed... You're no longer the simple and honest Seitaro you used to be...

Chapter 178 Anyway, I won't let you make the final attack.

Sensing Akashi's intention, Xiangyang's eyes sharpened. As an expert in "drawing fouls," he didn't think he would be defeated by Akashi.

So at this moment, by sheer coincidence, the two, who were of one mind, did not slow down or avoid each other, but instead moved towards each other together!

Akashi leaned forward, and just as he was about to collide with Hikaru, he suddenly stood up and shot, aiming to draw a three-point foul!

At the same time, the moment Xiangyang's body made contact with Akashi's, he immediately pushed off with both feet and fell backward.

Due to the physical collision, and because Akashi did it intentionally, he also lay down as Akashi threw the basketball away.

The two lay down on the ground, one after the other.

Beep! Beep beep beep!

A sharp whistle blew, and the referee immediately blew his whistle, but he was slow to deliver his ruling.

What's going on? Just blowing the whistle but not issuing a penalty?

Akashi was a little confused. He lay on the ground and stretched his head to remind the referee. However, at that moment, he caught a glimpse of Hikari lying on the ground just like him.

At this moment, Xiangyang covered his face with his hands, rolled slightly on the ground, as if he had suffered some kind of great injury.

Akashi was shocked. Having never had any experience in "drawing a foul" before, he naturally didn't know what actions to take to maximize the referee's bias. Fortunately, he was a quick learner.

Realizing that the referee was in a dilemma, Akashi decisively imitated Hikaru, tilting his head back like a corpse, then covering his face with his hands, and occasionally letting out bursts of groans.

quiet--

The stadium fell silent for a second as everyone's eyes were fixed on the two "corpses" on the court, their hands covering their faces.

The rest of the crew were alright, since this wasn't the first time Xiang Yang had done something like this. They knew that it was just their captain trying to get a better sentence.

The Rakuzan family was different. They had never seen Akashi like this before. They all ran to Akashi's side, fussing over him.

"Akashi? Akashi! Wake up! Are you alright?"

"Little Red!!!"

"Hang in there, the team doctor is coming soon!"

Hearing his teammates' concerned calls, Akashi, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, couldn't hold back any longer. It was already difficult enough for his proud golden personality to make him lie on the ground pretending to be injured, and now he had to accept his teammates' concern? It would be easier to just kill him.

Unfortunately, Akashi had no choice but to hand over control of his body to his red personality. Unlike his gold personality, he could at least communicate normally with his teammates.

The red persona returned, and Akashi tugged at his teammate to signal that he was alright. Then, he quietly turned his head and, through the gap between his fingers, observed the referee's direction.

We'll talk about the explanations later; right now, the most important thing is... the referee's decision!

Just as the two players fell to the ground, the experienced coach Takeuchi decisively jumped up from the bench and rushed to the technical table. With practiced ease, he spread his hands and angrily began a discussion with the referee of the day.

Even the usually composed Los Angeles coach, Eiji Shirogane, couldn't sit still any longer. Seeing his rival coach's actions, Shirogane's thirty-year coaching career was in turmoil.

He once again stepped onto the technical table to fight for the judgment of his disciple!

"That was an offensive foul! A clear offensive foul! Look at the state of our player! God, I want to drive over right now and rush that poor little guy to the hospital for an emergency appointment with a specialist! And what are you guys saying? A defensive foul? No!! Impossible!!!"

Takeuchi spoke with great passion and emotion, and his long speech moved several staff members at the technical table. Unfortunately, in the final moments of the match, only the head referee had the authority to make a ruling.

Whether it was a coincidence or the organizers were particularly keen on this final, the referee for this match was the same one who had been driven to despair by Xiang Yang's "up and down step" move during the Winter Cup!

Having had previous experience with the referee, he was naturally not swayed by Takeuchi's words. This old man, who considered upholding the fairness of the game as his life goal, was currently watching the video of the live match repeatedly, especially the frame where Akashi and Hikaru collided, searching for the basis for his judgment.

Shirogane Eiji straightened his collar and said, "I know my disciple very well. He would never intentionally draw a foul. Referee, you can check the data. Akashi has an excellent reputation and there is no precedent for this! I hope you will investigate!"

The impact of this round of rulings on the game was so significant that even this usually taciturn coach personally came to the technical table to fight for the best possible ruling for Los Angeles!

Takeuchi was very unhappy with his words: "What do you mean? Your players are as clean as can be, but my players are dirty? What, which of our players has ever had a precedent for this?"

Bai Jin Yongzhi snorted coldly and said, "Xiang Yang will do anything to get the call, whether it's flopping or drawing fouls, he's good at it all. Do I need to say anything more?"

"Oh my, I have such a bad temper."

Takeuchi laughed in anger. He rolled up his sleeves, pointed at Akashi lying on the field, and said with a sneer, "Just now, your player looked up at the referee and acted like nothing was wrong. It wasn't until he saw my player injured and covering his face that he realized what was happening and immediately followed suit, pretending to be injured!"

"Is this all? You still say your players have no precedent? This has already been demonstrated live, what more examples do you need?"

Shirogane Eiji remained silent. He had also seen Akashi's actions and couldn't refute them. Unlike Takeuchi, he didn't have the ability to lie through his teeth and turn black into white, so he had no choice but to shut up.

Fortunately, the referee didn't care who deliberately committed the foul, otherwise he would have kicked Xiangyang off the field back in the Winter Cup.

As the referee, his responsibility is to make appropriate rulings on illegal acts that occur on the field. Referees should judge actions, not intentions.