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

"That means if we defeat Haichang, the final will be against Yangquan."

"This year is the best opportunity, Xiaozhen."

"Ah."

……

……

"Please advise!"

The customary greetings.

Xiangyang and Takao shook hands briefly before quickly parting ways. With the battle imminent, neither Xiangyang nor Takao had the time for pre-battle pleasantries.

Xiangyang twitched his nose, and stood with his hands on his knees in his own half.

The players waited on the field for the jump ball to begin.

Midorima, on the other hand, held his right hand up to the light and examined it closely.

Off the field, the cheers of the audience were deafening. Kaijo and Shutoku had faced off before, but this time the situation was different. Without Kise in the lineup, could Kaijo still defeat Shutoku?

Shutoku's starting lineup remains the same old roster. Since Midorima and Takao, the seniors from the previous year, graduated, Shutoku has been in a predicament.

At that time, all the senior players in the team had graduated, leaving only second-year players Takao and Midorima in the starting lineup. The previous year's Shutoku team was eliminated because of a lack of young talent and the fact that many first-year students were on the court at the same time.

However, by now, the original first-year students have grown up. After a full year of honing their skills, they are no longer the rookies they once were.

Shutoku's current second-year starting center, Taisuke Kimura, was already standing on the jump ball spot before the referee even gave the signal.

He looked at Tanaka, the first-year center of Kaijo this year, and his eyes blazed with intense fighting spirit!

A year ago, Kimura, who was still a freshman, faced Kohori from Kaijo. Although he wasn't completely crushed, he was thoroughly suppressed.

This resulted in the team failing to gain an advantage in the paint, while Midorima on the perimeter was repeatedly double-teamed by Hikaru and Kise, ultimately leading to their defeat.

This is the thing that Taisuke Kimura regrets the most when he was in first grade.

However, now...

"The losses I suffered at the hands of Haichang back then, I will repay you in full today!"

At the jump ball spot, Kimura glared at Tanaka, his face contorted with rage, and said with a sneer, "Welcome to the high school arena, rookie."

Tanaka was taken aback, clearly not understanding Kimura's meaning. Before he could ask a question, the referee had already blown the whistle to start the match.

At the same time, the basketball was lifted high into the air. Kimura stared intently at the ball and jumped decisively when it reached his jumping range, stretching his right hand high, determined to win the first possession for Shutoku.

Tanaka reacted and jumped with all his might, but unfortunately, in terms of physical talent, Tanaka was far inferior to Kimura.

Kimura easily dribbled the basketball back to his own half of the court, giving Tanaka a provocative look as he landed.

"Is this all you can jump, newbie?"

Tanaka pursed his lips but didn't reply. He simply retreated to his own half of the court to prepare for defense.

Xiangyang took in the whole scene, but he didn't blame Tanaka at all.

The decision to start Tanaka was made by Xiangyang. Due to the special nature of the artillery bombardment tactic, it was destined to be a tactic that could not be used from the start.

We should wait until at least the third quarter, or preferably the fourth quarter, before Xiangyang substitutes Tanaka and sets up a "five-guard" lineup.

"It's okay, just make sure there are no missed spots!"

With a shout, Xiangyang stepped to the front of the line and went straight to Midorima.

To drag the game into the second half, Midorima's terrifying three-point shooting must be limited.

Kaijo is currently missing Kise, which has significantly reduced their offensive capabilities. Under these circumstances, each defensive turn becomes especially precious.

Facing the sunlit defense, Midorima tentatively moved to a lower position, and after realizing that the chances were slim, he signaled to Takao to organize the attack himself.

Under Yuki's academically rigorous defense, Takao quickly discovered that this kid, like Hikaru, was extremely difficult to deal with.

Ultimately, Takao opted to make a passing loop, eventually giving possession to Kimura in the paint.

Inside the restricted area, Kimura looked at Tanaka, whose expression was unnatural, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"Ready, rookie? Today, I'm going to make you lose face!"

Chapter 234 Haichang's Inside Game

"...Today, I will make you lose all face!"

Tanaka looked at Kimura nervously, constantly adjusting his position to expand his defensive range.

Unfortunately, Kimura wasn't interested in playing any tricks with him, and launched a powerful ball directly at Tanaka.

Feeling the pressure coming from in front of him, Tanaka was horrified and quickly shifted his weight to resist Kimura's attack. However, this action directly exposed his side to Kimura.

With a standard inside turn, Kimura deftly blew past Tanaka, raised his hand, and launched a bank shot. Because Kimura's body blocked his position, Tanaka could only stand still and watch helplessly as Kimura was about to score.

Just then, a large figure suddenly darted out from the side.

boom!

Kimura's layup had just risen above the rim when, before it could even touch the backboard, it was forcefully slammed down onto it by a pair of large hands.

Kimura's smile froze instantly. He looked up and saw Hiroshi Ohara catch the basketball with one hand and land calmly.

Immediately afterwards, Ohara delivered a long pass to Xiangyang, who had already run towards Xiude's half. Although Ohara's passing skills were not good, he had specially trained in fast breaks and full-court passing in order to serve the attacking style.

Xiang Yang received the pass from an uncomfortable angle, easily flicked on the Xiude player chasing behind him, and scored two points.

With this, Haichang successfully scored the first goal of the match. Xiang Yang did not waste the opportunity. He patted his chest with one hand and pointed to the sky, making a simple celebration gesture to give the entire Haichang team a "buff".

Only after Xiangyang finished his celebratory gesture did Ohara turn his gaze back to Kimura. A sneer escaped his usually expressionless face, his face full of mockery.

Although Ohara usually appears taciturn, that doesn't mean he's mute. Seeing his junior being mocked by the other side, Ohara, who has now advanced to the second year of Kaijo, naturally wants to help Tanaka get revenge.

Looking at Ohara's robust physique, Kimura didn't say anything, turned around and went straight back to his own half of the field.

Seeing this, Ohara shook his head: "What a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong."

"Are you alright, Tanaka?"

Ohara patted Tanaka on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry too much. Just do your best to do what you're supposed to do. Don't be afraid of him. I'll help you."

Tanaka was flattered by Ohara's sudden concern, as he was usually quiet. He nodded repeatedly in agreement and focused more on the game.

Kaijo took the lead early on, and Shutoku attacked again. Although Ohara successfully helped defend Tanaka and saved the game with a beautiful block, both Hikaru and Takao knew that Kimura's dominance over Tanaka was obvious to the naked eye.

Next, Midorima started moving again, leisurely strolling around the court. With this performance, Higashi was at a loss for what to do and could only stay by his side, leaving the defensive responsibility to his teammates.

Takao was matched up against Yuki, dribbling while searching for weaknesses in Kaijo's defense, even though...

Even though the attack time was running out, he showed no sign of being in a hurry.

At this moment, Kimura, who had been standing firm in the paint, suddenly jumped out to the outside, leaving Tanaka behind, and reached out to Takao to claim possession of the ball.

Seeing that a shooting space had appeared in front of Kimura, Tanaka rushed forward to meet him. However, just as he pressed forward, Kimura suddenly broke through and caught Tanaka off guard.

This time, even Ohara couldn't get there in time to help defend. Kimura faced the open Kaijo restricted area, took three steps, jumped and slammed the ball in with one hand!

Xiude's two points are valid!

Hearing the referee's ruling, Xiang Yang frowned slightly and looked at his teammates.

Tanaka's abilities were all overshadowed by Kimura's, and Kaijo was not a strong team in the paint. However, they used to have Hori, who was obsessed with rebounding, and Kise, who had all his attributes maxed out. So, most of the time, Hikaru played very easily.

Oh no, Ryota's absence is having a huge impact on the team...

Xiangyang pursed his lips, not blaming Tanaka, but instead signaling his teammates to move and carefully observing Xiude's defensive line.

Compared to defense, Kaijo prefers to gain an advantage on the offensive end. Even without Kise, this Kaijo team is still one of the top teams in the national tournament.

Haichang is on offense, and Xiangyang has the ball.

Because Tanaka was still present, Xiangyang did not launch the "bombardment" tactic. Instead, he made a "6" with one hand and took the lead in using Kaijo's usual tactic, the "horn attack".

Apart from Xiangyang's high post play, the other four players from Haichang started running in unison. After a few cuts and screens, Xiangyang found a three-point opportunity in the corner and made a one-handed cross pass to Moriyama.

Moriyama, who won the "Top Shooter" award for three consecutive years in junior high school and whose average shooting percentage was nearly 60%, did not miss this opportunity. After preparing to jump and taking a look at the basket, he successfully put the ball into the basket.

One minute into the game, Haichang led 5-2.

However, this good fortune didn't last long. After discovering that Kimura's one-on-one attack was surprisingly effective against Tanaka, Takao from Shutoku-kata started passing the ball to the inside multiple times, temporarily abandoning Midorima, their most lethal weapon.

This might seem like Xiude's offensive ability has been weakened, but that's not actually the case. By letting Midorima rest in the first quarter, they not only preserved the strength of their ace, but also made Xiangyang hesitant to help his teammates on defense.

Xiangyang was certain that if his defense loosened even slightly, Midorima would punish Kaijo from a distance of a hundred thousand miles from the basket with his abnormally supermodel three-pointer.

With Xiangyang unable to break free for a short period, and in order to prevent Kimura from getting better and better at one-on-one against Tanaka, Ohara had no choice but to focus more on help defense. This gave Shutoku's second-year center, Miyaji Yuya, more opportunities to perform.

He not only took advantage of Ohara's distraction to score multiple layups, but also frequently ran to the outside to create space for Takao to perform using screens.

Thus, in the first quarter, Haichang was firmly suppressed by Xiude.

With a score of 32-27, Xiude took a 5-point lead into the second quarter.

Haichang's substitutes

Xiangyang pouted, hooked the black pen around his mouth, and pondered his next strategy while holding the tactical board.

In

Beside him, Ohara would pat Tanaka on the shoulder from time to time to comfort him.

To be honest, Tanaka bears at least half the responsibility for Kaijo's poor performance in the first quarter.

"Tsk..."

Xiang Yang picked up the black pen, made a few marks on the tactics board, and then said, "The lineup for the second quarter needs to be changed... Let me think..."

Upon hearing this, Tanaka immediately lowered his head, and the others from Kaijo understood without saying a word.

Judging from Tanaka's performance in the first quarter, if the lineup needs to be adjusted, then he will undoubtedly have to be substituted.

However, Xiang Yang's next words surprised everyone.

"In the second quarter, Moriyama, you should rest for now. Fukuhara, how are you feeling? You're ready to play the small forward position, right?"

Upon hearing his name called, Fukuhara was taken aback. He opened his mouth slightly, pointed at himself, and asked in surprise, "Me?"

Xiang Yang raised an eyebrow: "What's the problem? You can start warming up now."