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

Kasamatsu nodded to indicate that he understood, and then began to look at Xiangyang seriously, listening to him explain the tactics.

...

Late night

Kise lay on the bed, his hands behind his head, muttering, "I never thought we'd get this far. We defeated Touou and Yosen, and tomorrow we have to fight Akane..."

He thought of Akashi's terrifying strength, how he could easily suppress the other members of the Generation of Miracles back in middle school.

I wonder who's stronger, him or Aomine...

Kise felt a little uneasy, but then relaxed. Oh well, he figured he could win if he listened to Hikaru.

On the other side, Xiang Yang was still sitting in his chair, studying strategies for dealing with Luo Shan. He frowned as he looked at the notebook in front of him, which contained sketches of the characteristics of each member of Luo Shan.

Aside from Kise, all the other positions were suppressed...

That night, one of the Haichang twins slept soundly, while the other worried about tomorrow's game.

On the Rakuzan side, Akashi was playing the piano, performing "Canon Variations".

The melodious sound of the piano filled the air and drifted out the window with the airflow.

The moon is exceptionally round tonight.

Chapter 55 The Finals

National Competition Finals

On the day of the match between Haichang and Luoshan

"Hurry up and let's go, Dad!"

Momoi angrily threw off Aomine's blanket and muttered, "Today is the day Kaijo plays against Rakuzan."

Aomine slowly opened his eyes, glanced at Momoi, then tucked himself back into the blankets, muttering, "What does their competition have to do with me? Why do I have to watch it? I'm not even the one standing on the floor for the finals. Just thinking about it makes me angry, and I still have to go."

Seeing that Aomine looked like he was going to sleep in bed all day, Momoi's face darkened, and she turned and walked towards the bathroom.

……

"Huh? It's really rare that Xiao Zhen would come with us to watch the game."

Takao looked at Midorima with a surprised expression and said, "Today is the final, and all the members of Shutoku have come to witness who will win the national championship this year."

Midorima adjusted his glasses and said slowly, "Today's lucky event for Cancer is watching the game with my teammates."

Takao didn't hold back and directly called him out: "I think you just want to watch them compete, you stubborn tsundere."

Midorima: ...

……

"Where are Kuroko and Kagami? Those two first-years are so arrogant, how dare they make the upperclassmen wait for them?"

Hyuga crossed his arms, tapping his arms incessantly, his face displaying the typical sullen expression of a delinquent. The train was about to arrive at the station, but those two guys still hadn't shown up.

"Sorry... haha... I'm late... haha..."

Vulcan, panting heavily, rushed over. He had practiced too late last night, which caused him to wake up late tonight.

"Where's Kuroko? Kagami, haven't you seen him?"

Aida Riko looked puzzled; she had thought Kuroko and Kagami were together.

"I arrived a long time ago."

Just then, Kuroko appeared out of nowhere behind Reiko, startling everyone.

After a brief moment of surprise, Yi Yue snapped out of it and ruthlessly exposed her: "You just arrived too, didn't you?"

Kuroko froze, realizing he'd been caught by Eagle Eye.

...

"Wow, the finals are so different from the semifinals, there are so many spectators."

Xiang Yang, who was warming up, clicked his tongue in amazement. He had never played in front of so many spectators before.

Kise didn't react much. After all, since junior high, the Generation of Miracles had been the object of everyone's admiration, and he was used to being the center of attention.

The same goes for everyone else at Kaijo. As a long-standing basketball powerhouse, everyone here has experienced the spotlight to some extent, except for the freshmen. Of course, this year's starting freshmen are only Kise and Hideaki.

"So it turns out I was making a fuss over nothing," Xiangyang chuckled.

Just then, a basketball rolled to Xiangyang's feet. Xiangyang bent down to pick it up, and was about to throw the ball when he looked up and was stunned.

It was Akashi! He slowly walked up to Xiangyang, took the basketball from Xiangyang's hand, and then stood there watching Xiangyang without leaving.

Xiangyang stiffened, feeling the pressure, but he wouldn't back down, so he pretended to be indifferent and stared into Akashi's eyes.

"You taught Kuroko his new trick, didn't you?"

The voice remained cold and indifferent. Xiang Yang frowned, remaining noncommittal.

Akashi, however, acted as if he already knew, and said...

They didn't seem to be asking any questions when they came out.

"Do you know that this is ruining him?"

Akashi stared at Xiangyang, his calm tone sending chills down Xiangyang's spine.

"What's wrong? Does having a low profile mean you can't score points?"

Xiang Yang grinned, glancing at Dai Qianxun, who was warming up by shooting hoops in the distance, as he spoke.

Akashi's pupils contracted slightly as he gave Xiangyang a deep look. Without saying anything more, he turned and left.

Xiangyang raised an eyebrow as he watched Akashi's retreating figure. Of course, he remembered the plot where Kuroko's presence became more prominent after mastering the scoring ability, but what did that have to do with him? Putting aside the fact that Kuroko had asked him to do it, as an opponent, Kuroko's future had nothing to do with him. Moreover, even without his guidance, it was only a matter of time before Kuroko mastered the scoring ability.

Speaking of which... those monsters from the Generation of Miracles all seem to care a lot about Kuroko. Even Akashi is the same.

……

"Before the match begins, let's introduce the two teams."

A magnetic voice came over the loudspeaker; it was truly befitting of the finals, as they even had a commentator.

"First up is the team in blue uniforms, Kaijo High School!"

The audience immediately erupted in applause and cheers. As a long-established and strong school, Haichang University enjoys a high reputation nationwide.

"Coach, Genta Takeuchi."

Upon hearing his name announced over the loudspeaker, Takeuchi immediately stood up and waved to the audience. Coach Takeuchi was dressed very smartly today; his chin was slicked back, and he seemed to have used more hair wax than last time… I wonder if it was because it was the finals or because Masako and Yosen High School were in the audience? Maybe both.

"Next, we will announce the starting lineup."

"Number four, Captain Yukio Kasamatsu."

The reliable senior Kasamatsu calmly stood up and nodded slightly to the audience.

It has to be said that Kasamatsu is very popular, especially among the boys! A burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the audience.

"Number 2, facing the sun."

Xiangyang imitated Kasamatsu's gesture and waved to the audience. In his previous life, he had never played in front of so many people, and to be honest, he was a little nervous. Number 2 was also his jersey number in his previous life.

As the engine of the Kaisho basketball team, Xiangyang has a high reputation. Basically, anyone who follows Kaisho's games will like this guy. His solid fundamentals, simple and unpretentious playing style, and pleasing tactical organization are all impressive. In particular, he was featured in the newspaper for his "court atmosphere group" some time ago. Xiangyang's popularity is even slightly surpassing that of Kasamatsu!

"No. 10, Hiroshi Kobori."

"Yoshi ya!"

Upon hearing his name called, Hori instantly became excited, raising his hands and running towards the arena. Due to his passionate personality, most of his fans are middle-aged men. After all, just one look at this guy is enough to be infected by his passion, and Hori's popularity is quite high.

Kasamatsu's lips twitched as he watched Kobori raise his hands and jump around the field like a baboon. He wanted to kick him right away, but luckily Xiangyang pulled him back: "Kaka, forget it, today is the finals."

"No. 8, Mitsuhiro Hayakawa."

A sparse ovation rippled through the stadium. Hayakawa fared rather poorly; he wasn't very noticeable, and only Kaijo fans recognized him.

Confused. (Hayakawa sheds tears.)

"Number 7, Ryota Kise."

In stark contrast to Hayakawa's miserable state, the moment Kise's name was mentioned, the audience went wild, especially the female audience. Some even made their own Kise fan signs and held them up. If you knew the situation, you'd think it was a basketball game; if you didn't, you'd think it was a concert.

Kise did not disappoint his fans' enthusiasm, waving and blowing kisses back, eliciting screams wherever his gaze fell.

Damn it, when is that bastard going to stop waving? Veins bulged on Kasamatsu's forehead. He really wanted to rush up and kick Kise, but was pulled back by Xiangyang once again. Xiangyang: Matsu-nii, forget it, forget it. Today is the final.

"On the other side is Rakuzan High School, whose members are wearing white team uniforms."

"Coach, Shirogane Eiji."

On the bench of Luoshan, a middle-aged man slowly stood up and nodded to the audience.

His hair was silver-white, but his sideburns were black. He looked like a very trendy middle-aged man, Xiang Yang thought to himself, while glancing at his own coach.

"Next, we will announce the starting lineup."

"Number 8, Eikichi Nebuya."

A muscular, mature-looking dark-skinned man performed a bodybuilding move in front of the audience, which drew applause. He was very popular.

Are the five uncrowned generals "Gangli" (meaning "strong and powerful")?

"No. 7, Kotaro Hayama."

He had a youthful face, yellowish-brown hair, and a canine tooth showing at the corner of his mouth.

The five uncrowned generals, the "Thunder Beast".

"Number 6, Reo Mibuchi."

The five generals, known as "Yakshas," are tall and slender with a feminine air and no crowns.

Lingyang's popularity is surprisingly high; the cheers from the audience are noticeably louder than those of the previous two. Lingyang tossed her hair and smiled at the audience.

"Number five, Dai Qianxun."

This alternate version of Kuroko not only has the exact same playing style, but also looks very similar.

Kise exclaimed, "This guy looks just like Kuroko! A larger version of Kuroko? They even look almost the same. But Kuroko is definitely cuter when he's smaller."