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

You will be caught in someone else's scheme, although I don't yet understand what that means.

……

In the Shark Gym, Xiang Yang scrolled through the chat history of the Miracle team on his phone and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

"Fukuda Comprehensive also advanced to the third round? This seems... a bit too much of a coincidence, doesn't it?"

Xiangyang stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Under normal circumstances, by the third round of the official tournament, it would be an internal battle between the Miracle teams, with virtually no possibility of other teams getting involved. Although Gray is currently considered a member of the Miracle team, there is no doubt that compared to the other prodigies, his brilliance is somewhat dimmed.

After advancing to the second round, apart from the orthodox miracle teams, there are three other teams remaining: Fukuda United, led by Shogo Haizaki, and two other minor teams.

Among so many teams, Haichang happened to encounter one of the weaker teams, thus avoiding the situation where Haichang would have been eliminated by a strong opponent after Xiangyang's suspension.

But the most coincidental thing was that Gray Qi happened to run into the last weak team, which caused the Miracle Team, which should have advanced, to start an internal battle in the second round.

Although it could be explained by coincidence, Xiangyang couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.

"Could it be... that Fukuda General is the third opponent that the organizers have set up for Kaijo?"

The thought popped into Xiangyang's mind, and he was startled by his own wild idea. He immediately waved his hand and dismissed the idea.

"How could that be? Why would the organizers deliberately arrange this schedule for Haichang to allow my suspension to pass peacefully? Impossible! Besides, who else could influence the..."

"Akashi???"

Xiang Yang's eyes widened suddenly, surprised to find that his earlier idea seemed somewhat irrefutable...

"Forget it, there's no point in thinking about it anymore. Maybe I'm just imagining things..."

Xiang Yang decided to put the matter aside for now. In any case, he had already been suspended for two matches by the organizers, so it didn't matter to him what kind of opponents Hai Chang encountered during this period.

As for whether Akashi helped him or not, we'll know once we see who his opponent is in the third round.

"Miss Masako, let's go see a movie! There's a new movie called 'Crazy Titanic' that I really want to see!"

Masako closed the magazine in her hand, looked at Hikaru who seemed to be in high spirits and not worried about Kaijo at all, and said helplessly, "Come on, it's you who got suspended, not me. The day after tomorrow is the day of Yosen vs. Touou, I'm very busy."

"Hey???"

Xiangyang was somewhat disappointed: "Alright then, I guess I'll just have to go find Lingzi to watch with me."

Masako:? ? ?

"…when?"

"tomorrow?"

"I'll pick you up then."

"OK~"

……

……

Just as Xiangyang and Yazi were on their date, the second round of the Winter Cup official tournament began.

Haichang was the first team to successfully advance to the third round.

With Xiangyang absent from the game, Yuki temporarily filled in at point guard. This player, who won the Best Rookie Award in the Summer Season, also performed exceptionally well in the Winter Cup.

He finished the game with 22 points, 10 assists, and 3 steals.

With 5 rebounds, even though the opponent increased their defense on Yuki, it did not limit his performance. On the contrary, because they ignored Kise, he scored a huge score!

Kise scored 52 points, 3 assists, 7 rebounds, and 1 steal, becoming the highest-scoring player in a single game in the second round of the official tournament!

Haichang has successfully advanced!

The second team to advance was Fukuda Group. Although the star power of Haiki is not top-tier, they can easily crush opponents of average level.

The results of these two matches were quite predictable, but the following matches were much more exciting!

The third match of the second round of the official tournament: Rakuzan vs. Seirin!

This year, Shiorin continued the spirit they displayed in last year's Winter Cup, and the entire team once again entered a wonderful state of "five people as one"!

In this match, Kagami pulled the trigger early on, entering "zone" mode and engaging in a fierce battle with Akashi.

The other players from Seirin were equally impressive, using Kagami as the tactical core and repeatedly executing brilliant plays, earning cheers from the audience.

Unfortunately, it was Luoshan who ultimately emerged victorious.

36 points, 15 assists, 11 rebounds, and 10 steals.

Akashi, with his dual personality, delivered an epic display of individual heroism to all the viewers in the second round of the official tournament against Jōrin!

Large size four pairs!

This is unprecedented in the history of the National Tournament! Akashi has successfully set a new record: achieving a quadruple-double in an official match and leading his team to victory!

With a total score of 118:115, Los Angeles successfully advanced to the third round!

After the match ended, tears of resentment streamed down the faces of everyone in the Shiro Rin team.

This year's defeat in the Winter Cup means that many of their players will graduate and leave Jorin.

The five members of Seirin ultimately failed to live up to their dark horse performance from the previous Winter Cup.

From then on, Shirorin became the first team to be eliminated from this year's Winter Cup.

Of course, where there's a first team, there will be a second, with the arrival of the final match of the second round of the official competition.

Tonghuang and Yangquan also engaged in a fierce battle.

Yangquan, currently ranked first in defensive efficiency in the national tournament, will face off against Tonghuang, ranked first in offensive efficiency!

The level of attention this match received was no less than that of Rakuzan Shiro Rin's match.

At the start of the game, both teams showcased their strengths. Yangquan opted for a defensive lineup of three inside players and two outside players, making their defense in the penalty area impenetrable. They only allowed Tonghuang to score 40 points in the entire first half.

It's worth noting that for Touou, scoring over 120 points throughout the game is commonplace, but this is the first time they've done so. Halfway through the game, they haven't even managed to get 50 points.

Fortunately, while Yangquan's defense was sharp, their offensive capabilities were rather mediocre.

Even with Himuro anchoring the perimeter, Yangquan's offense still relied on sheer grit and brute force – a slow and relentless grind.

At halftime, Yangquan led by one point, with the score at 41-40. It could be said that neither side had gained an advantage.

In the third quarter, Aomine took the lead, unleashing his full-power "zone" mode, leading Touou to overtake the score and gain a 7-point lead.

However, the turning point came in the fourth quarter!

Himuro successfully found his rhythm, and Murasakibara followed suit, with both of them entering "zone" mode!

This inside-outside duo scored consecutive points in just two rounds, forcing Kirito to call a timeout. Not only that, but in the final moments of the fourth quarter, they completed an alley-oop dunk through a pick-and-roll, completely shattering Kirito's hopes of advancing!

Qingfeng scored 48 points in the game, while the Yangquan duo combined for 61 points. In comparison, Qingfeng's efforts alone were insufficient.

Aside from Aomine, the best statistic for Touou is Igarashi Yuei.

His stats of 20 points and 12 assists were decent, but unfortunately, he still couldn't provide Qingfeng with more support.

Tonghuang is eliminated, Yangquan advances!

Chapter 210 The Fourth Encounter

Inside the Tokyo Basketball Arena

Xiangyang leaned over the railing, watching Yako pack her things below.

Just minutes ago, the match between Yangquan and Tonghuang ended. This also means that the second round of the Winter Cup official tournament has been completed.

The organizers have also released the match-up list for the third round.

Haichang vs.... Fukuda Group.

Xiangyang rubbed his chin, hesitated for a moment, then picked up his phone and dialed a number.

Beep beep—

"Moshi moshi, are you Mr. Seijuro, the heir of the Akashi family?"

Xiangyang's tone was teasing, but Akashi on the other end of the phone was clearly not used to talking to Xiangyang like that.

"What's up?"

Akashi's words were concise and to the point.

Xiang Yang raised an eyebrow and, without beating around the bush, went straight to the point: "Have you seen the matchup list for the third round of the official competition?"

"The match between Haichang and Futian Comprehensive, which I was suspended for, was really against opponents that were too weak."

Xiang Yang said meaningfully, but Akashi seemed not to understand him and replied, "Isn't that great? Because if you lose the game because you're suspended, the Kaijo fans will tear you apart, right?"

"Well... you're not wrong about that."

Xiangyang shrugged, turned around, and leaned his back against the railing.

"Did you tamper with it, Akashi?"

"In these two consecutive matches, let alone Rakuzan and Seirin, they didn't even encounter a decent opponent. Putting aside the extremely low probability of coincidence, it seems that only a conspiracy can explain it, right?"

Xiangyang lowered his eyes, listening intently to the voice on the phone, trying to discern from Akashi's tone whether his judgment was correct.

However, Akashi didn't give him that chance and hung up the phone immediately.

beep—

Hearing the phone call end, Xiangyang glared with deadpan eyes and muttered, "That kid..."

"So they really did tamper with it??"

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, Akashi's reaction speaks volumes.

Just then, Masako Araki, who had successfully led Yosen to defeat Touou, also entered her off-duty hours.

She walked up to Xiangyang, deftly tossed her bag into his arms, and asked, "Where are you going?"

Perhaps because of the victory in the competition, Masako seemed to be in a pretty good mood.

Xiang Yang thought for a moment and said, "Let's go back to Shark Gym. We haven't had dinner yet. I want to eat steak, Miss Yako."

Masako glanced at Xiangyang but didn't refute him, seemingly acquiescing.