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

At this moment, the score difference between the two sides has reached ten points.

Haichang leads 42-32.

Although they still maintain their lead, the gap between the two sides is indeed narrowing.

The reason for all this was that Wuqi suddenly increased the intensity of the confrontation, but the referee did nothing about it.

Xiang Yang wiped the sweat from his chin, his expression calm, as if he had not been treated unfairly.

From his perspective, it's actually quite easy to understand what the referee is thinking.

First, we can rule out the possibility of Hanamichi bribing the referees. As a match sponsored by the Akashi family, such underhanded tactics are almost impossible.

However, this does not mean that the referees are absolutely impartial.

As employees of the organizing committee, the referees during the competition are subject to the committee's orders. They are more like a different kind of working class, except that their job is to supervise the normal conduct of the competition.

As is well known, there are many unwritten rules in the refereeing profession.

A crucial point is that, in addition to fair and impartial officiating, they also need to ensure the excitement of the game in order to capture the hearts of more viewers.

"Is it because they're behind in the score, and to prevent the suspense of the match from disappearing too quickly, that they're showing favoritism towards Wuqi in first place...?"

With fifty or sixty years of competition experience, Xiang Yang could easily come up with this idea.

"Pass the ball to me!"

Xiang Yang reached out to take possession of the ball, and the moment he received it, he immediately felt the gazes fixed on him suddenly increase.

Feeling the malicious gazes from the many players at Wuqi No. 1, Xiangyang touched his nose, shook his head helplessly, and said, "Seriously... they all look at me like they want to eat me alive, it's really scary~"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang Yang launched an attack. Unlike the time when he deliberately elbowed Hua Gong, this time Xiang Yang maximized his breakthrough threat and wiped Hua Gong out in just one exchange.

Realizing he had been overtaken, Hanamichi immediately turned and gave chase.

He also loudly reminded his teammates, "Flanking! Flanking!"

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, it was clear that the players of the Mist City First Team immediately understood what Hanamiya meant.

Two inside players immediately rushed towards Xiang Yang from the left and right sides of the penalty area. Their target was not just the basketball in Xiang Yang's hands, but more to force Xiang Yang back through physical contact!

Under normal circumstances, facing this type of defense, Xiang Yang only needs to reach out and pretend to shoot, then slam his hand to the ground to easily get two free throws.

However, given the current refereeing standards, even if Xiang Yang's "diving" is incredibly realistic, it will be difficult for him to get a whistle from the referee.

Of course, this doesn't mean that there's no way to prevent the sun from shining.

"One of the basic rules of refereeing is to ensure fairness and impartiality in the rulings while favoring the weaker team."

After anticipating the opposing player's malicious intent, Xiang Yang did not choose to avoid him. Instead, he accelerated and rushed forward. However, this time his attack was not clean!

Xiang Yang lowered his body slightly, exposing his shoulder joint. In basketball, there is a specific term for this move: "shoulder drop"!

(Basketball trivia: Dropping your shoulder during a contested move, where you lower your body and use your shoulder as a weapon, is a foul!)

The defender had just approached Xiangyang, and before he could react, he felt a sharp pain emanating from his body.

With his already excellent ability to fight, Xiang Yang's "shoulder drop" foul move brought his fighting power to its peak in an instant!

The next second, the defender flew out, exposing a large open area under the basket to Xiang Yang.

The other defender was dumbfounded and could only stand there, watching Xiang Yang score a layup.

Hanamichi was the first to react. He immediately rushed to the referee, gesturing wildly and shouting, "Referee! Referee! Did you see that? His action was an offensive foul!"

However, the referee remained calm in response to Hanamiya's reminder. He slightly lowered his hands, signaling Hanamiya to return to the field, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Two points for a sunny spot are effective!

As soon as the call was made, the player who had been knocked away by Xiang Yang immediately ran to the referee, his face full of anger, and said, "Do you even know how to call a foul? He bumped into me like that, and you still let him score?"

"What's going on in your heads, you referees... ugh! ugh!"

Before he could finish speaking, Hanamichi immediately covered his mouth and dragged him to the back. Then, she looked at the referee with a fawning expression. The referee put down the whistle he was about to blow and snorted coldly, "Consider yourself lucky."

Seeing that the referee was no longer pursuing the matter, Hanamichi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he immediately turned to look at the player, his expression frighteningly gloomy: "Didn't I tell you guys not to get into a conflict with the referee no matter what?"

"If the referees continue to target us because of you, will you take responsibility after we lose the game?"

The player wasn't stupid; he quickly realized he had almost made a big mistake. He patted his chest with a look of lingering fear and said thankfully, "Thank goodness... Hanamichi, you stopped me just in time."

Receiving from teammates

The praise didn't make Hanamiya happy at all. He looked at Xiangyang standing on Kaijo's half of the field and muttered, "Not bad? No... not good at all!"

That guy is terrifyingly difficult to deal with...

From the moment Xiangyang chose to "lower his shoulder" in the confrontation, Hanamichi knew that the referee's ruling in this round would most likely favor Kaijo.

As mentioned before, although the weaker side, Misty First, received bias in the calls, ultimately failed to bribe the referees.

If the goal is simply to enhance the excitement of the match, the referee might choose to give them a helping hand, but they would never choose to suppress Haichang!

Since you, Wuqi, chose to use high-intensity physical confrontation as your first method to break the deadlock, the referee can turn a blind eye, but the standard of judgment will be absolutely fair and just.

If Haichang also chooses to increase physical contact, then as long as it's not too excessive and doesn't escalate to the level of an unsportsmanlike foul, the referee will not blow the whistle.

(Basketball trivia: An unsportsmanlike foul is a foul that violates the spirit of sportsmanship, and it is mostly manifested in the form of a flagrant foul.)

Hanamichi stroked his bangs with one hand, and suddenly a new plan popped into his mind.

In the first offensive possession of the game, Hanamichi took the initiative to pass the ball to his teammate, while he himself moved towards Xiangyang.

"Xiangyang, classmate."

Hanamichi's face was beaming with smiles as she said, "Actually, I've always admired you..."

Xiang Yang's expression remained unchanged, and his attention was mostly focused on the basketball. He chuckled and replied, "Is that so? Then I am truly honored, Mr. Hanamichi."

What trick are you up to now?

On the surface, Xiang Yang appeared amiable, but in his heart, he didn't take Hua Gong's words seriously at all.

"I'm telling the truth, Xiangyang! You led Kaichang to three consecutive championships! That's something not just anyone can do."

Hanamiya shook her head, looking very longing.

"Speaking of which, I'm quite curious about Xiangyang's secret to success. Despite being outshone by Akashi in individual performance, he still managed to win the championship three times in a row."

"Is...you better at sucking up to powerful people?"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yang stopped paying attention to the situation and turned to look directly at Hua Gong. The latter's smile remained unchanged, as if she had no idea what she had just said.

Is this... an attempt to provoke me and then find an opening?

Xiang Yang narrowed his eyes; he saw through Hua Gong's little tricks immediately.

After all, it's just a high school level competition. Which player at this age isn't arrogant and overconfident? Under such circumstances, just a little verbal mockery is enough to make a player lose his temper and composure.

Xiangyang only needed to turn his head away and ignore Huagong, and his scheme would fall apart on its own.

Unfortunately... given Xiangyang's personality, even if he saw through Huagong's thoughts, he absolutely did not want to see himself suffer a verbal disadvantage.

"Huamong is really..."

"You are the star player of Shimizu High School, and even in Shimizu where basketball resources are scarce, you also serve as the team's coach."

Xiang Yang spoke calmly, recounting the information he had gathered about the Flower Palace. The latter frowned slightly, clearly unable to understand why Xiang Yang had suddenly started talking about these things.

"Xiangyang, you haven't asked me my question yet..."

Just as Hana was about to speak and take back control of the conversation, Xiangyang interrupted her directly.

"Leading the team to the top four in the national junior high school league in their first year is an incredible achievement for Shimizu, whose overall level is relatively weak."

"Prodigy Hanamiya Makoto, am I right, Mr. Hanamiya? This... must be your nickname from middle school?"

Chapter 208 Xiangyang's Suspension!

"To be able to lead four mediocre teammates to the national top four all by yourself, I have to say, the title of prodigy is really well-deserved."

The game continued on the field, but Xiangyang and Huagong seemed to have detached themselves from the game. Not only did they not participate in the offensive and defensive battles of the other eight players, but they also stood on the flank chatting.

What exactly are you trying to say?

With a sharp shout, Hua Gong had unknowingly forgotten his original purpose for coming and instead focused on Xiang Yang's goal.

The title of "prodigy" was indeed held by Hua Gong in his first year of junior high school, but because he was not very famous at the time, not many people knew about it, and to this day, few people remember it except for him.

Xiangyang lifted his jersey, wiped the sweat from his face, and continued unhurriedly, "Unfortunately, in the second year of junior high, a team suddenly appeared... shattering Shimizu's dark horse dream..."

"141:11, even you, a child prodigy, are utterly powerless against Teiko Middle School..."

Upon hearing this, Hua Gong's eyes widened suddenly. He looked at Xiang Yang in disbelief and said in a trembling voice, "You! How did you know?"

"Even though so much time has passed, you probably never imagined that one day this wound would be reopened..."

With a calm expression, Xiangyang looked at Hanamichi, whose emotions were fluctuating wildly, and continued, "From that day on, the prodigy who strategized and overcame his opponents on the court disappeared. In its place was the villain who would do anything to win—Hanamichi Makoto."

"Your talent is poor. Among those five radiant Emperors, even among the five generals, your physical condition is the worst. But precisely because of this, your desire for victory and your ruthlessness are all the more intense..."

"This is not your fault, Hanamiya. If I were in your position back then, I would probably only be able to look at Teiko Middle School in despair as a loser."

Xiangyang slowly approached, leaned down and whispered in Huagong's ear, "Although it's cool to try to change yourself for victory, you... are going in the wrong direction."

To be honest, when Xiangyang gathered information about Hanamiya Makoto from his junior high school days through the Araki family's intelligence network, he was shocked by this guy who was less than 180cm tall.

During the early years of high school, the Tei Kwang High School basketball team symbolized two words—victory!

When five exceptionally talented individuals, so gifted that even the heavens seem to be vying to feed them, gather on the same team, it is undoubtedly a cruel blow to other teams!

Faced with this invincible team, all the other teams had given up and secretly accepted the idea of ​​"fighting for second place". Only Hanamichi Makoto of Shimizu Middle School refused to accept his fate!

In their first year, they made it to the national top four, but in their second year, they were utterly crushed by Teiko Middle School in the preliminary rounds. Despite the almost unimaginable gap in skill, Hanamichi Makoto's choice was...

Desperately tear apart your former self, seeking a chance to win!

Hanamichi Makoto, with his mediocre talent, could still win against ordinary opponents by virtue of his superior skill. However, against the "Generation of Miracles," even with his utmost effort to improve himself, he saw not a single chance of victory. He was at his wit's end.

The once-powerful Flower Palace ultimately chose a path that would be despised by all…

This is the real reason why "bad kids" are born!

"What do you know!"

Hanamichi Makoto, who had just been silent with his head down, suddenly erupted! He grabbed Xiangyang's collar with both hands, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, "Only victory is eternal! All efforts that fail to achieve victory are in vain!"