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

Xiangyang adjusted his sleeping position and teased, "As expected of the future heir of the Akashi family conglomerate, he really needs to develop in all aspects, including morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor. Even fishing is a skill he needs to master."

"Moral education, intellectual education, physical education, aesthetic education, and labor education? What does that mean?"

Akashi frowned slightly, clearly not understanding Xiangyang's words about planting flower stalks.

"Many important people enjoy fishing. They think it's a way to cultivate one's character. Although I find it boring, I had already mastered fishing techniques by the time I was in fifth grade."

After saying that, Akashi's fishing rod started to shake again. He stood up with practiced ease, and with a series of reeling motions, a new member was added to his bucket in the blink of an eye.

Xiangyang, who had witnessed the entire scene, clicked his tongue and sighed, "It must have been tough. Even though he's a top-tier rich kid,..."

That kind of life sounds pretty tiring.

"Haha, am I being a bit arrogant? Perhaps I simply don't understand the happiness of the rich?"

Akashi shook his head without saying anything, seemingly agreeing with Hikaru's words, yet also seemingly not.

Not receiving a response from Akashi, Xiangyang didn't mind. He turned to look at the opposite shore of the lake and saw a duck that had flown in from somewhere, pacing along the bank.

"The finals are tomorrow."

Xiangyang closed his eyes leisurely and muttered, "It's been over a year... When we first competed together, I really didn't expect... that we would end up fishing together?"

"The world is truly amazing!"

Akashi laughed: "I never expected to be defeated by you three times in a row."

"Before I met you, I had never lost a single time."

Xiang Yang raised an eyebrow, somewhat smugly saying, "Don't say that. Failure is an important life experience!"

"That being said, I don't want to go through that kind of ordeal."

Xiangyang stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his bottom, turned to Akashi with a smile, and said, "Ready? Tomorrow will be another test for you."

Akashi's lips twitched, and golden light flashed in his eyes. Xiangyang's words had successfully stimulated his golden personality.

Suppressing the thought of "stabbing Xiangyang to death," Akashi looked up and met Xiangyang's gaze, asking, "Tell me, what are Rakuzan's chances of winning tomorrow's finals?"

Xiang Yang was somewhat surprised: "This doesn't sound like a question you would ask."

"However... I can answer your question."

"Hai Chang is 90% confident of winning this battle!"

……

……

"Welcome to Basketball Talk, exclusively sponsored by Akashi Group! Today's episode is a special one. Through our special correspondent, we will be broadcasting the entire Winter Cup Finals live! Please be patient, the game is about to begin!"

On camera, Popovich spoke eloquently, and as the sponsors' commercials played, the players from both sides entered the arena one after another for the finals.

Haichangfang's starting lineup remains the same as the championship-winning squad from the summer season.

Position 1 facing the sun

Position 2 Hashimoto Yuki

Position 3: Ryota Kise

No. 4 Hiroshi Ohara

No. 5 Hiroshi Kobori

On the other hand, the five starters used by Los Angeles were also old friends.

No. 1 Akashi Seijuro

Position 2, Reo Mibuchi

No. 3 Kotaro Hayama

No. 4 Takeshi Hirakawa

Position 5 Nebuya Eikichi

These ten players are the starting lineups for both sides today, exactly the same as in the Summer Split, except that Xiangyang's mentality is completely different this time.

"Don't give them any hope from the very beginning, keep pushing forward..."

"Get off work on three holidays!"

The Haichang crowd roared around Xiangyang, their momentum reaching its peak even before the competition began.

Bobo didn't miss this moment either, and with a smile in his eyes, he commented to the audience: "Wow, Kaijo is still full of momentum this year. No wonder they are the creators of the three-time champion dynasty! I believe they will bring us a very exciting performance in today's game!"

"Let's look at the starting lineup first. For Kaijo, it's Kise..."

He was selected to the All-NBA First Team, and Xiang Yang narrowly missed out on Akashi, unfortunately ending up on the Second Team as a point guard.

"As for Yuki, he won the Rookie of the Year award, and his performance in the Winter Cup was also outstanding! Kobori was successfully selected for the Second Team of the Best Defensive Players, but he lost out in the final vote count. Otherwise, he would have been on the Second Team of the Year list!"

"Looking at Rakuzan, Akashi Seijuro received the most votes and was named to the All-NBA First Team as a point guard. Hayama Kotaro and Nebuya Eikichi were both selected to the All-NBA Second Team. It is worth mentioning that Rakuzan's newcomer, Hirakawa Takeshi, also performed well in the Best Rookie Award race, but unfortunately he was still one step behind Yuki!"

Bobo shook his head, spittle flying everywhere, and continued, "Judging by the strength on paper, this seems to be an evenly matched competition, and Rakuzan and Kaijo are old rivals! Almost every year, they meet in the finals, presenting the audience with a visual feast!"

"I believe this year will be no exception."

……

"Hey Xiangyang, why didn't you go to the bathroom this time?"

During the warm-up, Kise saw Hikaru diligently warming up and dribbling on the sidelines, and was immediately amazed.

After all, in his memory, Xiangyang would always have to go to the bathroom once during the finals. Kise had even gotten used to it and could only see him after the game had officially started.

Xiangyang rolled his eyes and ignored Kise. Just then, Kohori suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hugged Xiangyang.

"Towards the sun!"

The sudden hug from the burly man startled Xiang Yang. He turned around and asked, "What's going on? What's going on?"

Kobo rubbed his palms together, his face practically overflowing with excitement.

"It's nothing, it's just that I feel like I have inexhaustible energy!"

Perhaps because it was the last game of his high school career, Hori was showing more passion than ever before!

Xiang Yang slapped Xiao Jue across the face, shoved him aside, and said irritably, "The match hasn't even started and you're already covered in sweat? Stay away from me!"

"Listen up, if you dare to hug me and cause mistakes that cost you points like you did in the first round, wait until the end of the match and see if I don't beat you up!"

Xiang Yang kicked Xiao Jue in the butt, but neither his verbal warning nor his physical intimidation could disturb Xiao Jue's interest at the moment.

He looked like he was about to explode right up until the jump ball.

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

During the jump ball, Kobo vigorously slapped his cheeks, a gesture that startled the referee.

Xiangyang looked at Xiaojue, whose face had been swollen from being slapped so hard, with twitching eyes, and a word came to mind.

"A conspicuous bag!"

Fortunately, the match hadn't officially started yet, so even the referee couldn't say anything to Kogoro. After confirming several times that Kogoro's physical condition wasn't a big problem, but rather that he had some mental issues, the referee still blew the whistle and started the jump ball.

The basketball was slapped high into the air by the referee's hands. Kobo stared intently at the ball, and just as it was about to reach its highest point, Kobo suddenly exerted force with both legs and jumped with all his might!

The speed of the ball startled Genbu, who jumped up immediately, but it was too late; the basketball was already in Kojuro's hands.

"Yoshia!!"

Kogoro, who was in the air, shouted excitedly. He was about to turn around and throw the ball to Xiangyang when the referee, who hadn't yet left the field, interrupted his action with a whistle.

"Hai Chang, jump ball foul!"

Chapter 212 Moving Pick and Roll?

"Hai Chang, jump ball foul."

(Basketball trivia: A jump ball foul usually occurs when a player touches the basketball before it reaches its highest point.)

The referee blew his whistle to deliver the verdict, and the previously noisy and boisterous atmosphere fell silent for a second.

No one expected that Kobori would receive a foul before the game had even officially started.

Xiangyang stood with his hands on his hips, looking at Xiaojue speechlessly. The latter realized he had done something wrong and was scratching his head with a silly grin.

"Smith Marseille!"

Fortunately, this was just a minor incident. The foul during the jump ball will not be counted as a personal foul; it will simply give the opponent the first ball.

Genbu took the basketball from the referee and handed it to Akashi. He couldn't help but glance at Hori a few more times, thinking to himself: Compared to the summer season... has this guy's jumping ability gotten higher again?

Before Nebu could think for long, Akashi had already served and launched the first round of attack.

Los Angeles' offensive round.

"Run! Run!"

Akashi abandoned his previous silent playing style and started loudly instructing his teammates right at the start of the game.

Seeing this, Xiangyang whistled and teased Akashi, "Looks like we're putting a lot of pressure on you? We don't usually see you yelling and shouting on the field."

Akashi didn't reply, but secretly made a gesture, and the Rakuzan members understood and pulled towards the bottom corner.

Xiang Yang glanced at the positioning of the Rakuzan group and immediately understood Akashi's intention.

"You're... going to try and take me down one-on-one right from the start?"

Xiang Yang stretched his neck a few times, squatted slightly to steady himself, and his eyes were full of fighting spirit.

"bring it on."

Akashi felt the oppressive aura emanating from Hikaru, and a flash of golden light appeared in his eyes. "Eye of the Heavenly Emperor" activated instantly!

boom! boom! boom!

The familiar, slow dribbling rhythm began in Akashi's hands. Xiangyang narrowed his eyes, constantly observing Akashi's offensive intentions.

Even with his defensive abilities having improved by several levels, Xiangyang still experiences a shift in his center of gravity when facing Akashi's attacks.

This is bad...

Xiang Yang grinned, a bead of cold sweat appearing on his forehead.