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

"Has the matchup for the third round been announced?"

“Ang is out, you guys are going to fight Xiude.”

Xiangyang picked up his phone, opened the match list, and handed it to Yazi.

"Soo-deok... is that bespectacled guy who's really good at shooting three-pointers?"

Masako frowned slightly, secretly calculating Yangquan's chances of winning. Just then, she caught a glimpse of another spot on the list out of the corner of her eye.

"Kaichang...against Fukuda Group?"

Masako looked somewhat surprised. She looked up at Xiangyang and asked, "Did Akashi do something?"

"Who knows? Maybe so?"

Xiang Yang shrugged and gave a vague answer.

Masako glanced at Hikari, and said thoughtfully, "You and Akari..."

"You two seem to have a good relationship?"

Xiangyang: ? ? ?

"what are you thinking?"

Xiang Yang was speechless. He yawned and said, "I can roughly guess what he's thinking."

[Are they so eager to take revenge on Kaijo at full strength that they won't allow us to leave early?]

[Should I say you're very perceptive... or just too controlling?]

Xiangyang picked up Yazi's bag and simply slung it over his shoulder, a smile playing on his lips. "But this time, you're probably going to lose badly."

"This year's Kaijo team is unbelievably strong!"

……

……

Compared to the summer tournament, the winter cup has a relatively tight schedule, with the third round of matches starting soon.

Because Xiude received a bye in the first round of the playoffs, Yangquan's match against Xiude was scheduled first in the third round.

The entire match was extremely close. Although Yosen's tough inside game was not very effective against Midorima, Murasakibara and Himuro, the inside-outside duo, were still able to easily score against Shutoku's defense.

As a result, Yangquan, which should have been known for its defense, was forced into becoming an offensive team when facing Xiude's unique playing style.

Masako also put the same lineup that Xiangyang had used when he was a guest coach in Yangquan back on the field!

The "One Star, Four Radiators" tactic centered around Murasakibara!

The two sides remained deadlocked until the end of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, Murasakibara was unable to maintain his good form from the previous game and failed to activate his "zone" mode.

Himuro maintained his consistent performance, entering "zone mode" in the fourth quarter and scoring 33 points, becoming the highest scorer in the game besides Midorima!

Unfortunately, Yangquan narrowly lost 127-126.

Midorima's incredibly difficult three-pointers, with their 100% accuracy, were like nuclear weapons in the final moments of the game!

When everyone on the court was exhausted, Midorima became like a scoring machine, repeatedly jumping and shooting. With each of his offensive shots, Shutoku's scoreboard would add three points.

When facing an opponent of this caliber, you absolutely cannot give him a chance to fight desperately in the final quarter, otherwise you will know what despair is!

In the first match of the third round of the Winter Cup official tournament, Yangquan faced Xiude, and Xiude won!

Furthermore, despite Akashi playing cautiously against a veteran powerhouse team, Rakuzan still achieved a resounding victory and successfully advanced!

The final match of the third round was between Haichang and Futian Comprehensive.

This year, Shogo Haizaki no longer sports the same gutter haircut as last year. Perhaps having come to understand the truth that "hairstyle is justice," he has returned to his silver-haired, flamboyant look from his middle school days.

However, compared to Kaisho, Fukuda Corporation's level ultimately couldn't make much of a splash.

With Xiangyang absent, Yuki once again shone at the point guard position, combining with Kise to score 70 points and build a 20-point lead in the third quarter, sweeping away Fukuda.

Kise performed equally well against Haizaki. Perhaps due to the intense rivalry between them, even without Hikaru providing any "buffs," Kise still managed to activate his "zone."

In his current state, he imitated the abilities of every miracle, using all sorts of special techniques to utterly defeat Haizaki on the court.

Thus, in the final of the Winter Cup, three teams emerged victorious: Soo-deok, Raksan, and Hae-chang.

This year, the organizers have changed the format from the previous one. Instead, the three teams in the finals will compete against each other in a round-robin tournament to determine the final champion.

Whether it was intentional on the part of the organizers or someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes, the first two matches of the round-robin tournament were both played by Shutoku, who was going to face Kaijo and Rakuzan.

If Xiude wins any one of these games, they will be able to participate in the final championship battle.

Winning one of the two games would be enough, seemingly giving Soo-deok an extra chance, but facing teams like Hae-jo and Raksan, Soo-deok's situation is not optimistic.

In the first game of the round-robin, Shutoku faced Kaijo. Xiangyang, who had returned from two suspensions, showed impressive fighting spirit in the first quarter.

Facing the unstoppable Midorima, Xiangyang chose to closely mark him from the start, showcasing his current defensive abilities for the first time in the Winter Cup.

His steal threat took Midorima by surprise, and throughout the first quarter, Midorima was completely enveloped by Hikaru's defensive range.

With only 4 three-point attempts, and a 100% success rate, Midorima's first-quarter score was undoubtedly the lowest of his career!

At the end of the first quarter, the score difference between the two sides had widened to 29-20, with Haichang leading.

With Midorima scoring only 12 points, Shutoku's offense was completely shut down, but Kaijo didn't give up the opportunity and launched a fierce attack in the second quarter, extending their lead to 17 points.

In the second half, Midorima and Takao used a pick-and-roll tactic to expand their shooting space, and their scoring increased dramatically. Unfortunately, after two quarters of consolidation, Kise had regained his form and successfully entered "zone" mode. Together with Hikaru, they tore Shutoku's defense to shreds.

The match ended with a score of 108-91, and Kaisho won the first game of the round-robin tournament!

In the second round of the series, Shude faced off against Rakuzan.

Akashi borrowed the same strategy that Kaijo used against Shutoku, and also faced Midorima in the first quarter.

With the blessing of the Emperor's Eye, Akashi's defensive ability against Midorima, who is weak in preventing steals, is in no way inferior to Hikaru's!

Just like a microcosm of the first game, at the end of the first half, Rakuzan also had a lead of about ten points against Shude.

Rakuzan also chose to exert his strength in the third quarter, with Akashi activating the "team zone" mode, leading his teammates to a triumphant surge and making the game unpredictable.

The match ended with a score of 109-100, and Rakuzan won!

Both games ended in three quarters, and Xiude, who played against the two teams first, had no choice but to withdraw from the competition for the championship.

Luoshan and Haichang will play their third match in the round-robin tournament to determine the winner.

Including this time, this is the third time that Rakuzan and Kaijo have met in the finals.

However, this time, the two teams are no longer the same.

Rakuzan High School, which was originally the top favorite to win the national championship, has become the challenger this year, while Kaijo, which was originally in the challenger position, has become a three-time champion!

Can Kaisho defend their title and win their fourth championship this year?

"I think this year's champion will definitely be Los Angeles!"

"Add 1".

"Add me my ass! It's been almost two years already, don't you understand? As long as the Kaijo Twins don't graduate, their national championship title won't change!"

"Kaichang Champion!"

……

The online debate continued unabated, while Akashi and Mukayo, the two people at the center of the controversy, lay side by side by the river, fishing together…

Chapter 211 The Finals

Beep beep!

An iron hook sliced ​​through the water and sank to the bottom of the lake.

On the banks of a small river in Tokyo Prefecture, Hikaru and Akashi are having a fishing contest.

Splash!

Akashi leaned back and swung his fishing rod sharply, causing ripples to appear on the once calm lake surface.

A grass carp of considerable size appeared in Akashi's hand.

Akashi calmly removed the fish from the hook and casually tossed it into the bucket beside him. The bottom of his bucket was now filled with all sorts of small fish.

Next to his bucket, another bucket of a different color looked brand new; it was facing the sun.

At this moment, Xiangyang rested his hands on the ground, and the fishing rod in front of him had not moved at all since an hour ago, except for getting tangled in the water plants at the bottom of the lake.

Xiangyang glanced enviously at Akashi's bucket, and seeing that it was almost overflowing with small fish, Xiangyang came up with a plan.

While Akashi was focused on fishing, he secretly scooped a small fish out of Akashi's bucket and put it into his own.

Fishman will never be an empty-handed fish!

Watching the fish frolicking in his bucket, Xiang Yang beamed with joy and turned to look at the fishing rod again.

"I saw."

Akashi remained calm, staring intently at the lake, but his words made Xiangyang's heart tighten.

"You're not going to take it back, are you?"

While keeping a wary eye on Akashi, Xiangyang picked up his bucket and moved it a few meters away, increasing the distance between Akashi and it.

Akashi: ...

"Are you a child? Why are you playing these kinds of tricks?"

Akashi glanced at Xiangyang, his tone somewhat helpless. To his surprise, the latter not only felt ashamed but also readily nodded in admission, "Of course I'm a kid. I've just turned 18. What else could I be but a kid?"

As he spoke, Xiangyang picked up a stone from beside him and threw it into the lake, as if trying to save his neglected fishing rod.

Akashi watched Xiangyang's actions and said meaningfully, "Kids don't have the guts... to go abroad alone to play basketball."

"That just means I'm a kid with some ideas."

Looking at Akashi's fish bucket, Xiangyang couldn't help but say, "You, even fishing is this good! Is there anything you can't do?"

Akashi thought for a moment and said, "Have a baby."

Xiangyang: ...

"Ha...haha, you're quite humorous."