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

There's no other way, the fourth quarter is up to you, Xiao Xiangyang.

Kise took a deep breath, his eyes shining with golden light, a flawless imitation!

He was dribbling the ball at the top of the arc, thinking about how to get past Xiangyang's national youth team number one, when he suddenly felt a gust of wind sweep past him.

Huh? What was that that just darted past in a flash?

Number One was still in a daze when he suddenly heard his teammate shout, "Stop him!"

Turning around abruptly, I realized that the ball in my hand had been stolen by Kise at some point.

The national youth team captain reacted quickly, and having been keeping an eye on Kise, he was the first to react after the ball was intercepted. He rushed back to the backcourt to delay Kise, waiting for his teammates to arrive and form a double-team.

Kise frowned as he looked at the national youth team captain in front of him. With his height and long arms, he covered a large defensive area, making it difficult to break through him for a layup. Noticing someone approaching from behind, Kise did not hesitate and jumped back.

The national youth team captain's eyes sharpened, and he immediately jumped to block the shot. With his outstanding static talent, he was confident that he could block Kise's shot!

"You can jump really well..."

As Kise flew through the air, he looked at the large hand in front of him and murmured to himself.

But... it's no use.

A purple light flashed in Kise's eyes, and his aura changed instantly as he imitated Aomine's unpredictable shooting style.

He held the basketball in front of him but didn't shoot, leaning his whole body backward until it was parallel to the ground! Just like that, to the astonishment of the national youth team captain, Kise flicked the ball out and then fell to the ground. Fortunately, he pushed off with both hands when he landed, dissipating the force and avoiding injury.

Kise was indeed not injured, but the captain of the national youth team was deeply hurt. He watched the ball go into the net with a blank expression and called another timeout.

We need to talk…

Chapter 77 The Confidence of Facing the Sun

"How is this possible? How is this possible..."

"Is that guy Captain America...?"

"Do you think he might have superpowers...?"

The national youth team captain listened to his clueless teammates' discussion with a blank expression, and even what they said was exactly the same as last time.

"Do you think there might be some kind of hidden mechanism on the basketball...?"

"Shut up!"

The national youth team captain shouted sharply, interrupting everyone's conversation, but this time, even he had no way to deal with Kise.

He can score even with a shot right in your face, a fadeaway jumper that's parallel to the ground, what kind of monster is that guy? This isn't a movie, are you acting in an aerial dunk?

The captain of the national youth team felt a pang of regret, but mostly he was happy. With such a monster recruited into the national youth team, the team's future performance was very promising.

Hashimoto Yuki remained seated to the side, listening to the conversation without saying a word, his gaze unconsciously fixed on Kise.

Wow, he's so good! I really want to pass him the ball. It would be so much fun to play with a guy like that!

A hint of longing flickered in Yuuki's eyes. He had only been considering joining Kaijo under pressure from Xiangyang, but now he was tempted. Admiring strength is human nature, and although they had only just met, he could tell that the team atmosphere at Kaijo was excellent.

The national youth team captain pondered for a while but couldn't think of a good way to limit Kise. He could only order the defense to be strengthened to wear down Kise's stamina as much as possible.

No problem, he can't hold out for long with this style of play. As long as we drag it out to the fourth quarter, we can win!

Thinking of this, the captain of the national youth team smiled slightly; he had already seen the opportunity for victory.

Not only him, but even Takeshi, the referee, thought the same way; everyone knows their own situation. Given Kaijo's strength, it's already quite impressive that they've managed to compete with the national youth team to this extent, but to win, Kise alone can't do it.

Takeuchi glanced at Xiangyang, who was sitting on the bench with his legs crossed, and couldn't help but think to himself: You need to work harder, otherwise even if I lose face, you still won't make it into the national youth team.

Admittedly, Xiangyang's performance in the first three quarters was quite good, but compared to Kise, it seemed rather pale. Moreover, his athleticism and physical talent were really terrible. If he didn't step up after Kise slacked off in the fourth quarter, even someone as shameless as Takeuchi would be too embarrassed to ask the basketball association for a spot.

Just as Takeuchi was silently praying for Hikaru, the pause ended quickly.

"I felt tired after only exerting myself for a short while. That pause was too short."

As he tied his shoelaces, Kise muttered to himself that he had to work hard on his physical fitness before the Winter Cup began.

Xiangyang stood to the side with his hands on his hips, looking at the scoreboard. There were still 3 minutes left, 81:73, and the score difference was still as much as eight points.

"Genius, bring the score back, I'll carry you to victory in the fourth quarter."

Hearing Xiangyang's words, Kise looked up and met Xiangyang's gaze. He pursed his lips and replied, "Seriously, who's carrying whom here?"

"It doesn't matter, we'll make up for the deficit anyway. The fourth quarter is all up to you, Xiangyang."

Kise put his hands behind his head and did a stretching motion.

"

Eight points is nothing, but after I utter this scathing remark, I'll probably need a while to recover in the fourth quarter.

Xiangyang smiled and nodded. He understood what Kise meant: all the pressure from Kaijo in the fourth quarter would fall on him.

It didn't matter. Xiangyang opened the system talent panel and looked at the new talents the system had given him after winning the national competition.

Talent: King of the Fourth Quarter

When the game enters the fourth quarter, the overall offensive capability increases by 20%. This can be stacked with other talents.

As the king of the final quarter, your touch is always on fire in the final moments of the game.

(The first three quarters are just for fun; the real battle will be decided in the fourth quarter.)

This is the source of Xiangyang's confidence to let Kise exert himself in the third quarter and use up all his stamina. You should know that this talent is not something that can be given by defeating the Generation of Miracles once, as in the past. It is a system reward that is obtained after defeating almost all of the Generation of Miracles and finally winning the championship.

Come on, give it your all! You've already bragged a bit in front of Kise, otherwise I'll lose face big time.

Xiang Yang thought to himself, he hadn't used this talent even once since he got it, since he hadn't played any matches. But just by looking at the skill description, he could tell that this talent was very strong! The fact that it kept his touch hot was enough to make it a divine skill! What's more, it could also increase Xiang Yang's offensive ability by 20%, which was why Xiang Yang was so confident.

The game continued, and Kise was still incredibly effective. His flawless imitation of the opponent's style made him seem like he was in an empty field. Even when the Chinese youth team tried to interrupt the attack by fouling, it was to no avail. Faced with Kise's one amazing goal after another, the captain of the Chinese youth team lost all composure and was completely numb to the challenge.

What's it like to have someone who can shoot three-pointers from anywhere on the court and is incredibly fast, perform a three-step dunk in front of you?

There's nothing we can do.

End of the third quarter, 83:

Kaijo, thanks to Kise's strong performance, managed to take the lead in the final moments of the third quarter!

Kise not only broke through the national youth team's defense, but also relied on Akashi's Emperor Eye and Aomine's speed to be active on the defensive end.

If you're not careful, Kise will steal the ball. Even if you react quickly enough to protect the ball and fight for it back, Kise's aura changes, and he seems like a completely different person. A 2.08-meter center! Gets thrown away by a 1.88-meter small forward when trying to steal the ball? That's just ridiculous.

"It's unbelievable that someone can actually... single-handedly save a game."

The captain of the national youth team sighed with relief, saying that fortunately, the person who saved the game would most likely be his teammate in the future. He looked around at his teammates and said in a deep voice, "It's not a big problem. Just now, in the last moments of the third quarter, his movements had slowed down, which means he had no energy left."

"Keep your nerves on high alert in the fourth quarter. If we lose to high schoolers today, you'd better all go home and add extra penalties to your punishments!"

The national youth team losing to a high school team is something that absolutely cannot happen to him!

The bench next door at Haichang

Kise slumped back in his seat, panting heavily, emitting incomprehensible moans.

Xiangyang sat next to him and gently patted his forehead, but his eyes kept glancing at the national youth team's bench. He was secretly planning how to handle the fourth quarter.

On the technical stand, Takeuchi watched his ace player's desperate state, forcing himself to ignore it. He was the referee, and he had to be fair and impartial! Moreover, this training match was of extraordinary significance, and he couldn't let personal feelings interfere with his duties.

Looking down at the time, Kise realized that the rest time between each two quarters was not ample; at least, this amount of time was definitely not enough for him to get a proper rest.

Takeuchi watched helplessly as the break time ticked away, a hint of reluctance on his face. He then delayed for another two minutes before blowing the whistle.

beep—

The fourth quarter is about to begin.

Chapter 78: On the Inferiority Complex of Young Talents

At the start of the fourth quarter, players from both sides entered the game one after another.

The national youth team captain looked at Kise with trepidation, and breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that Kise was indeed physically exhausted and had to walk with his hands on his hips.

He was really afraid that this blond kid would put on another divine performance in the fourth quarter, but fortunately, the human body has its limits.

The national youth team's number one player also noticed something amiss. Ever since Kise started to exert himself in the latter half of the third quarter, he hadn't dared to get too close to Xiangyang, fearing he'd be bombarded with trash talk again. At this moment, he finally stood up in surprise once more.

"Your thighs seem to be unable to move, little dwarf."

The national youth team's number one player walked up to Xiang Yang and sneered.

Xiang Yang glanced at him in surprise, not expecting that this guy would still hold onto him.

Xiang Yang didn't say anything, but the national youth team's number one player had no intention of letting him go. He took the initiative to ask for possession of the ball, and after thinking for a moment, he asked for a screen.

The national youth team's power forward and center positions are all tall and strong, over 2 meters tall and weighing over 200 kilograms. Their screens are of excellent quality, firmly trapping Xiang Yang on the side.

Seeing this, Kasamatsu had no choice but to come over to switch defenses. However, although the national youth team's number one player was a bit fragile, his strength was not weak. With a few fancy dribbling moves, he immediately passed Kasamatsu cleanly and broke into the paint to score two more points.

The Chinese youth team has once again taken the lead, 85-84.

Number One walked past Xiang Yang with a provocative expression, and as he turned around, he shook his finger at Xiang Yang. What was originally a very powerful gesture looked strangely funny on him.

Xiang Yang's lips twitched, speechless with disbelief. "Please, this isn't a one-on-one game where I scored this point. Besides, this seems to be your first point of the whole game, right?"

Thanks to the national youth team's number one player, Xiangyang's strategy of "bullying the weak and avoiding the strong" has been effective, and there is no need to switch defenders.

In Haichang's offensive round, Xiangyang received the serve and slowly advanced towards the frontcourt.

Talent: King of the Final Quarter has been activated.

The system's mechanical voice echoed in his mind. Xiangyang closed his eyes and tried to sense it... Well, there was nothing particularly special about it.

Xiang Yang was somewhat disappointed, but as he stepped across the half-court, he looked up at the basket, and in an instant, a feeling welled up in his heart.

Can we shoot this ball directly?

After a brief moment of surprise, Xiang Yang came to his senses. He was just past the halfway line, and the national youth team's number one player was still standing on the three-point line waiting for him to attack.

I looked up at the basket again and it still seemed to be there.

Xiang Yang licked his lips, and without further hesitation, jumped up and shot. Before this, he had never shot a basketball from such a distance.

Another orange shadow streaked across the top of the stadium. Xiang Yang retreated to defend while keeping his eyes on the ball. Although he had a feeling that the ball would go in, he was still a little worried.

Will the King of the Final Quarter screw him over?