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

"Wake up, Xiao Xiangyang, we've arrived."

Xiangyang struggled to open his eyes, yawned, and realized he hadn't had enough sleep yet.

Looks like I can't stay up late anymore; being mentally exhausted will affect my performance on the field.

Xiangyang rubbed his temples and followed the group off the bus.

"Ah! Xiangyang-kun!"

Just then, the Touou team arrived at the stadium. Momoi saw Hikaru from a distance and waved as she walked towards them.

Momoi smiled at Xiangyang, then turned to Kise and nodded, saying, "And Ryota too."

Just as the three finished greeting each other and were about to exchange pleasantries, a deep voice came from behind them.

"Peach, let's go."

It was Aomine Daiki. He had his hands in his pockets, calling out "Momoko" while his eyes were fixed on Xiangyang.

Xiang Yang raised an eyebrow and spoke first: "Hey! Mr. Qingfeng, I wonder if you recognize the word 'team' after the last training match?"

It was the same familiar formula, and the trash talk that came out of his mouth made Qingfeng's eyelids twitch.

"Last time it was just because I hadn't trained in a long time. I admit you guys have some skill, but that's all."

Qingfeng tried his best to make his tone sound contemptuous, as he didn't want to lose to Xiangyang in terms of momentum.

But when it comes to verbal sparring, Xiangyang is definitely a professional.

He feigned sudden realization and said, "So Mr. Aomine hasn't been training all this time so he'd have a good excuse if he lost. I've learned something."

That bastard…

Qingfeng completely failed to manage his expression; his face turned ashen, and he turned and left without saying a word.

"Ah Da!"

Momoi gave Xiangyang and Kise an apologetic look, then turned and chased after Aomine in the direction he had left.

Kise looked at Xiangyang with curiosity and asked, "Xiangyang, have you come up with a way to deal with Touou?"

Seeing how well Xiangyang had made his bold statement, Kise thought he had figured out a way to win.

Upon hearing this, Xiang

Yang glanced at Kise with a strange look and said matter-of-factly, "No, I just wanted to spout some trash talk. I didn't say I had a solution."

Kise broke out in a cold sweat. So you didn't think of a countermeasure? And you still made those threats. Aren't you afraid of being proven wrong?

Xiangyang didn't care. So what if he lost after making threats? What's face worth anyway? It would be even better if those two sentences could break Qingfeng's defenses.

Aomine's strength will be a level above his previous training matches after resuming training! I can't say for sure about anything else, but his stamina will definitely be better, and he'll be able to stay in the zone for longer. I really can't guarantee that I can beat Touou.

Just as Kaijo and Touou went into their respective locker rooms to rest, things were also quite lively on the other side.

In the audience

"Huh? Shirō Rin's?"

Takao looked at the familiar face in the next seat with a surprised expression, while Midorima, who was sitting next to him, turned his head to look at Kagami and Kuroko when he heard this.

Hello.

Hei Zi still politely bowed and greeted him.

As for the others in Shiro Rin, they weren't as calm as Kuroko.

Vulcan couldn't help but ask, "What are you all doing here?"

Takao looked at him like he was an idiot and said irritably, "Of course we're watching the game. We're eliminated after you guys knocked us out."

Vulcan scratched his head somewhat awkwardly; his question had indeed seemed a bit thoughtless.

Midorima glanced at Kagami but didn't say anything. Instead, he crossed his arms and continued to maintain his aloof persona.

Takao glanced back and teased Kagami, "I'm not trying to be mean, but you guys eliminated us, yet you didn't beat a single team in the round-robin. Doesn't that make us, Shutoku, look weak?"

Kagami frowned slightly, but he couldn't deny that Takao was right. Not winning a single match in the round-robin tournament was indeed his problem; Aomine's display of strength that day had truly stunned him. As a result, he performed poorly in the following matches, ultimately falling short at the very doorstep of the national tournament.

Midorima, who had been silent until now, spoke up coldly: "That's how the weak are; they're terrified when they see the strong."

What?! Kagami couldn't stand this. He was about to step forward to demand an explanation when the rest of the Shirin team quickly stopped him. They didn't want to be kicked out before the match even started.

Seeing that the situation was turning sour, Takao quickly tried to smooth things over: "Shin, we were defeated by them. Doesn't what you're saying make it sound like we're the weaker ones?"

Midorima frowned upon hearing this but remained silent. Takao turned to Shiro Rin and asked, "By the way, why are you all here? Is the team having a team-building event?"

Shinichi's captain, Hinata, nodded in response, "Ah, we were doing special training and happened to be nearby, so we came over to watch."

"Special training? That sounds great!"

Takao didn't say anything more. Even he couldn't be so familiar with his opponent who had just defeated them.

The atmosphere became awkward, and the air gradually quieted down.

Fortunately, the referee blew his whistle, and the match was about to begin.

"Xiao Zhen, which side do you think will win?"

Midorima pushed up his glasses, thinking of the terrifying strength Aomine had displayed after entering the Zone that day.

"Touou, I can't think of any way Kise could deal with Aomine."

Kagami didn't speak, but he thought the same thing. Aomine's Zone had truly left a deep impression on him.

Kuroko glanced at Xiangyang, who was warming up, and said in a clear voice, "I think Kaijo will win."

……

Please have both teams line up to greet each other.

"Please advise!"

As Xiangyang stood up after bowing, he noticed that Qingfeng was still staring at him. He sighed inwardly, thinking: What grudge do they hold against me? They're keeping an eye on me. This is so troublesome.

Although Xiangyang thought this way, he showed no sign of backing down on the surface.

He raised his hand and made a throat-slitting gesture towards Qingfeng, his eyes full of provocation.

As expected, Qingfeng's already dark face darkened even more. He secretly vowed to give it his all this time.

Standing to the side, Kise looked up at the top of the stadium and sighed, "When will it be my turn to talk tough and make Hikaru get beaten up...?"

beep—

Both players, please prepare for the jump ball.

Kobori and Wakamatsu walked to the center circle of the court at the same time, preparing for the jump ball.

Xiang Yang took a deep breath, composed himself, and waited for the referee's whistle to sound.

Kise also put away his smile and became solemn.

Aomine, on the other hand, propped himself up on his knees, his eyes fixed on the basketball.

beep—

Chapter 44 The Ace Still Needs to Behave!

Kobori often jumped to gain possession of the ball for the first attack.

Xiang Yang took possession of the ball, scanned the situation on the court, and found no opportunity for a fast break.

Xiangyang wasn't in a hurry. He leisurely dribbled the ball across half-court and passed it to Kise. He had to give his ace player some face on the first ball.

Kise licked his lips, looking at Aomine in front of him with a hint of excitement: Finally, he had another chance to compete against Aomine. The opponents in the preliminaries were all too boring.

Kise's expression changed, and he entered a state of imitating Aomine.

Qingfeng frowned slightly, thinking to himself: Has his body memorized my moves? Can it imitate me anytime, anywhere now?

Kise dribbled the ball twice, then changed his rhythm, his dribbling power instantly increasing, and he even made a breakthrough move that didn't seem to be bound by the situation. This wasn't Kise Ryota at all; he was clearly another Aomine Daiki on the court.

Aomine's eyes narrowed. He already knew about the training match with Kaijo last time. If he continued to fight Kise to the death, he would only end up falling into Hida's rhythm.

Since that's the case, let's crush you all from the start!

A flash of purple lightning streaked past, and Kise, who had just broken through to the inside and was about to jump, felt his hand go lightly. Where was the ball?

Looking back, Aomine had already made a steal and started attacking Kaijo's defense.

Xiang Yang's face darkened. "Going straight to the zone? Do you have to be so ruthless?"

Thinking this to himself, Xiangyang didn't slow down at all. He stood menacingly in front of Qingfeng, lowered his center of gravity, and while spreading his arms, he didn't forget to pull up his pants. He said in a deep voice, "Help me defend!"

Before he finished speaking, Qingfeng had already swept Xiangyang cleanly, passed through Haichang's defense, and scored the first point of the game with a one-handed slam dunk.

Xiangyang's eyes are focused on his nose and his heart: Wow, he's really got some skills.

Kasamatsu didn't let him off the hook, rushing over and delivering a chop to the neck, angrily shouting, "What kind of help are you trying to get past! You got beaten in a second! If your defense is bad, don't try to play defensive delaying tricks!"

Xiangyang touched his kidneys, feeling wronged. He figured he was unlikely to have kidney stones, since even the hardest stone would crumble under Kasamatsu's karate chop.

“Smith Marseille, my question.”

Kise took the blame, because he was intercepted at the start of the game, which caught Kaijo's defense off guard and allowed Aomine to easily score two points.

"Don't worry about it, just hit the ball back."

"Of course it's yours, why would it be mine?"

Kasamatsu and Xiangyang spoke at the same time, but of course, it was Xiangyang who said the second half of the sentence.

Kasamatsu then went up and delivered another chop to the other kidney...

Regaining his momentum, Xiang Yang dribbled forward again. This time, he didn't pass the ball immediately. He calmly observed the positions of everyone on the court and then held up his right hand to make a "6".

Bull Horn Attack!

The five members of Haichang sprang into action instantly, and everyone began positioning themselves.

On the Touou bench, Momoi frowned as she watched this scene, thinking to herself: This tactic is really troublesome.

However... there are ways to deal with it.

After several pick-and-roll plays, Kaijo finally created an opportunity. Kasamatsu, standing on the left side of the three-point line, ran out of space and raised his hand to call for the ball. Xiangyang glanced at him and was about to pass the ball when suddenly his expression changed, and he quickly pulled back the basketball that had already slipped from his hands.