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

He reached behind him, but suddenly Xiangyang felt his right hand miss: the ball was gone!

He immediately turned his head and saw that Kuroko had made a long pass to Hyuga, who was running towards the frontcourt. Hyuga adjusted his breathing, took a three-pointer, and it went in cleanly.

"Yoshi!" Hinata cheered, clenching his fist, and even gave Kuroko a high five as he returned to the field.

Suddenly Hinata shivered. He saw that Hinata was standing there motionless, his face looking very pale.

Xiang Yang's face was gloomy. In his previous life, he had a solid foundation in basic skills and hated nothing more than being dispossessed by others. This life was no exception, and being dispossessed at the last moment was a very serious mistake.

With a well-shaped mark on his head, Xiangyang stared intently at Heizi, a habitual smile playing on his lips: "A brilliant steal, Mr. Heizi."

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Hinata snapped out of it and stood in front of Kuroko. Kagami immediately rushed over as well. Although the members of Shiro Rin didn't know what had happened, they also stood behind Hinata. The members of Kaijo reacted quickly and ran over to stand behind Hinata. In an instant, tensions were high.

.

"Why...you never lose a game of rock-paper-scissors?"

In the middle of the road, Takao, riding a tricycle with Midorima on the back, complained breathlessly, "Why did we have to come all this way to watch today's match? Just because you used to be my teammate?"

On the back seat of the tricycle, Midorima adjusted his glasses and said in a deep voice, "Because Cancer's luck is at its best today, I'm also carrying Cancer's lucky charm for today, a green frog."

"Is rock-paper-scissors really related to this kind of thing...?"

Midorima ignored Takao's words and continued to answer his previous question: "Imitation Boy vs. Unremarkable Boy, I'm curious who will win their match."

Midorima then glanced at the sky and urged, "Hurry up, or the race will be over."

"You're making it sound so easy, you bastard."

Chapter 9 Gap

Haichang High School Basketball Gymnasium

"Huh? Huh!!"

Riko Aida sat blankly in the audience, staring at the two opposing groups on the field, feeling helpless: What's going on? Are they going to start a fight?

Kise's mouth dropped open, and he couldn't help but think: Is my current girlfriend going to fight my ex?

The coach had already stood up, cold sweat dripping down his forehead: Please don't fight! I don't want to lose this job!

Xiangyang looked surprised and turned to look at his teammates, seemingly not understanding why they had all come closer.

Hinata couldn't help but ask, "What are you going to do?"

Xiangyang looked completely bewildered: "Huh? I don't want to do anything, what do you want to do?"

"Huh?" Hinata was dumbfounded. He had misunderstood Xiangyang's meaning and thought he was going to make a move.

The members of the Shiro Rin group also frequently glanced at Kagami and Hinata; they only approached after seeing the two of them coming over.

Kagami couldn't help but explain, "I saw Hinata-senpai standing in front of Kuroko, but I don't know what happened."

At this moment, Hei Zi, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "It was Xiang Yang who praised me. He said my steal was brilliant."

Everyone in the stadium was speechless, and Hinata wished he could disappear into the ground—it was so embarrassing!

Reiko and Kise both breathed a sigh of relief: thankfully they didn't fight.

The coach stared at Xiangyang speechlessly and couldn't help but complain, "This kid really knows how to cause trouble."

Seeing that it was a misunderstanding, the referee breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand to signal the game to continue.

After a brief incident, the tense atmosphere inside the venue was eased.

Xiang Yang dribbled the ball forward at a leisurely pace, glanced at the score, 95:92.

With just over a minute left, we still can't relax. Xiangyang continues to use pick-and-rolls, a move that has always worked against the relatively weaker Chenglin team.

However, Cheng Lin had been beaten down by Xiang Yang's pick-and-roll for a whole quarter, and having learned from the experience, he didn't give Xiang Yang a suitable scoring opportunity.

"But aren't you guys being too wary of my passing?" The eyes of the entire Seirin team were fixed on Xiangyang, afraid that he would find another opportunity to pass the ball to them. Xiangyang glanced at Kasamatsu on his left, whose knees were slightly bent, ready to catch the ball and shoot.

Kagami's eyes sharpened. Should he pass it on to Kasamatsu?

No! Vulcan felt a pressure coming from the right. Kogoro had somehow moved up and set a screen for Xiangyang.

Xiangyang broke through in an instant, and Vulcan immediately bypassed Kogoro and caught up with Xiangyang. At this moment, Vulcan felt fortunate: he caught up.

However, at that moment, Xiangyang made a ball-spinning motion with his right hand, and Kagami was startled, shouting, "Kuroko!"

Kuroko, who had disappeared at some point, immediately reappeared beside Kasamatsu. He was already prepared and cut off the pass between Hikaru and Kasamatsu.

However, Xiangyang's flick of the ball was a feint. His gaze drifted to Kohori behind Kagami. Kagami gritted his teeth and roared, "What a joke! How could I let you pass it over there?"

Before he could finish speaking, Vulcan had already stuck to Kohori tightly.

"Damn! This guy is too strong."

Kobo looked anxious but helpless; he really had no way to deal with Vulcan.

Just as Kagami was about to celebrate having successfully defended against Kogoro, he looked up and suddenly realized that there was nothing in front of Xiangyang.

one person.

Xiangyang feigned surprise, as if to say: Are you giving me so much space because you're afraid I won't be able to throw it in?

Kneel down, jump, shoot, score.

These seemingly casual two points felt like a mountain pressing down on Cheng Lin, making it hard for him to breathe.

Li Zi's expression changed on the sidelines, and she immediately signaled the referee to stop the game. Xiang Yang's crucial shot had shattered Cheng Lin's momentum.

"Shirakawa, this is your last timeout," the referee reminded Reiko.

Reiko nodded in response, then frowned as she looked at Shiro Rin and the others.

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"You're really something, Xiangyang. Cheng Lin is going to have a headache now."

Kise said to Xiangyang with an excited expression.

Xiang Yang smiled and replied, "You've fully recovered, genius."

"Of course, I hope Shiro Rin can pull through and drag the game into overtime. Then you can all watch me put on a show!"

Xiangyang sighed dramatically, saying helplessly, "Then there's probably not much hope. My near-decisive shot should have shattered their mentality."

Upon hearing their conversation, Kasamatsu put down his water bottle, walked behind them, and kicked each of them to the ground. He said irritably, "The match isn't over yet. Until the very last moment, anything is possible."

Xiangyang and Kise were about to complain, clutching their butts, when the coach interrupted them: "Kasamatsu is right. Before the whistle blows, you'd better stay on your toes. If the other side turns the tables, you'll each get fifty laps."

"Hi!"

.

Reiko bit her right thumb, looking anxious. Trailing by five points with only one minute left in the game, it wasn't a hopeless situation. If they scored the next basket and defended against Kaijo's attack, the game was far from over. However, the pressure that Xiangyang was putting on Shirorin was too great. Almost every play he put on resulted in a point. Even if they scored the next basket, how could they possibly defend against Kaijo's attack?

Seeing Kagami sitting on the bench, panting heavily and not saying a word, Reiko felt a headache coming on. She was annoyed again: If Teppei were here, that would be great.

No, this is the final, crucial moment. How can I let my mind wander?

Reiko shook her head, banishing everything unrelated to the competition from her mind.

Regardless, the most urgent task is to score the next goal.

Reiko thought to herself, then looked at Vulcan: "Vulcan, how are you feeling?"

"...To be honest, it's not good, but if I can hold on for just one more minute, I'll be fine."

Kagami wiped his face. He had been dealing with Kise in the first half and facing Hikaru in the second half, carrying the most important part of the team on his shoulders.

A flicker of heartache crossed Reiko's eyes, but she nodded, her gaze fixed on Kagami's unwavering resolve: "Alright, let's continue with Kagami and Kuroko in the next round. We can't contain them, but they can't stop us either. We won't lose in an offensive battle. The most important thing is defense after we score..."

Reiko took a deep breath: "We're out of timeouts. In the next round of defense, we'll defend you no matter what."

The timeout is over. Players from both sides, please return to the field.

"Go, Xiao Xiangyang, don't lose! I don't want to run fifty laps! The coach was serious."

Kise sat below, grinning and cheering. He had already realized that his teammates were all trustworthy.

Even though he wasn't there in the final moments, he still had complete faith in the team.

Looking at Kise sitting on the sidelines, Reiko felt a sense of powerlessness: the gap was too big; they hadn't even brought out their ace.

But looking at Kagami and Kuroko, a glimmer of hope ignited in her heart: If it were us, if it were this team, maybe we really could…

.

"There's no time to play slowly anymore, we need to seize the tempo and launch a fast break!"

Kuroko shouted loudly, a rare occurrence for him.

"Mr. Kuroko, where are you going in such a hurry?"

Xiangyang stood in front of Heizi, his face full of smiles.

A few minutes ago—

"Well, they'll definitely end up relying on those two monster first-year students to decide the winner anyway, so just keep them in check."

Xiangyang said while wiping the sweat from his face.

Kasamatsu, standing nearby, wasn't going to tolerate him. He punched him in the back and said irritably, "You make it sound so easy. If we could control those two, we wouldn't be stuck like this now."

Xiangyang took a punch and grimaced, saying, "If it were at the beginning, there would indeed be no way to deal with it, but things are different now."

"Hmm? Stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me."

Seeing that Kasamatsu was about to hit him again, Xiangyang quickly waved his hand in surrender and laughed, "Kagami is already at his last gasp. As long as Kuroko doesn't connect with him, Kobori-senpai and Kasamatsu-senpai together can still defend against Kaagami. As for the others in Shiro Rin, they have done a commendable job, but they should be completely exhausted."

Kasamatsu looked at Xiangyang's confidence and said thoughtfully, "Then Kuroko? Who will defend against her?"

Xiangyang pointed to himself, put on a smug smile, and then received a chop to the neck from Kasamatsu.

.

"If I'm not mistaken, your seniors must be having a hard time even standing up now."

Xiangyang still wore that smile, creating a stark contrast with Heizi's expressionless face.

"Xiangyang, I admit your ball skills are great, but your contemptuous personality is really awful."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hei Zi turned around, trying to walk around Xiang Yang.