Chapter 123 This road is blocked

“Kise, this should be your first time watching Kaneki Ken’s match.” Midorima Shintaro said solemnly while watching the match on the field, “Don’t think about surpassing him first, learn from him first. What you can learn from this match depends on your comprehension.”

“Ah, I understand.” Kise Ryota looked solemnly at Kaneki Ken who was retreating in the field, his golden pupils shining, “I have been looking forward to this day for too long…”

“Don’t even think about getting over there, red-haired monkey!” As soon as Kagami Daiga received the pass from Hinata Junpei, Sakuragi Hanamichi came over to defend him.

“Damn it…” Kagami Daigo quickly turned from facing the basket to protecting the ball with both hands, “This guy has such great brute force…”

“Hehehe, don’t think about it, red-haired monkey.” Sakuragi Hanamichi’s mean laughter sounded particularly harsh in Kagami Daigo’s ears, “Momoko has explained your weaknesses clearly!”

“Huh? Who cares about this kind of thing?” Kagami Daiga was a little excited by Sakuragi Hanamichi’s words, “Even if I have some insignificant weaknesses… as long as I’m strong enough, that’s enough!”

As he said that, Kagami Taiga passed the ball to Kuroko Tetsuya in the corner, who with the help of Mitobe Rinnosuke’s pick-and-roll broke free from Sakuragi Hanamichi’s defense and ran towards the basket.

“Hey~”

“This ball is mine!” Kuroko Tetsuya threw the ball high into the air the moment he caught it. Kagami Daigo jumped up with a proud look on his face and caught the flying basketball. “Watch my shot, Kaneki!”

“You are just showing off.” Kaneki Ken showed a disdainful smile, his legs slightly bent, and he rushed forward as if he was on a spring. “What do you want me to see? To be honest, I saw your cooperation almost a minute ago.”

“Bang! Boom!”

The ball that Kagami Taiga was reaching for the basket was nailed hard on the backboard by Kaneki Ken. The huge force made the basketball bounce quickly to the front court of Shonan.

“This ball is mine!” Sakuragi Hanamichi simply judged the direction of the basketball, and his steps that were originally rushing to the inside to grab the rebound suddenly stopped. He rushed towards the frontcourt like an arrow, and the friction between his sneakers and the floor made a loud creaking sound.

“Tsk…” Rukawa Kaede sneered unwillingly, and as if to compete with Sakuragi Hanamichi, he stretched out his long legs and rushed towards the front court.

“Hahahaha, don’t try to steal my thunder, you stinky fox!” Sakuragi Hanamichi jumped up and grabbed the basketball first. After landing, he laughed triumphantly, took three steps, and jumped up on the free throw line.

“Jumping from the free throw line?!” The people in Seirin stared at Sakuragi Hanamichi’s figure rising into the air in amazement, as if they saw the goddess Amaterasu.

“Hahahahaha, look at my genius slam dunk by Sakuragi Hanamichi!” Sakuragi Hanamichi imitated the dunking action of Kaneki Ken in his mind and slammed the ball into the basket.

“Duang!!” Perhaps because he was too excited, the basketball in Sakuragi Hanamichi’s hand hit the rim hard and bounced out of the basket. Sakuragi Hanamichi was also staggered two steps by the huge force of the basketball rebounding from his hand.

“So an idiot is an idiot!” Just when Sakuragi Hanamichi was not satisfied with his performance just now, the voice he least wanted to hear came from behind him.

“Ryukawa!” The Shohoku audience on the sidelines seemed to have anticipated what would happen next and stood up to cheer.

“Stinky fox!” Sakuragi Hanamichi’s face tightened with an unpleasant look, and he quickly dodged the basket to avoid becoming Rukawa Kaede’s background.

“Boom!” Rukawa jumped up from the edge of the three-second zone, caught the basketball in mid-air and pushed it back into the basket. “Good shot!” Mumu Gongchi excitedly pumped his fist to celebrate.

“Of course Rukawa’s dunk just now was beautiful, but…” Kise Ryota sighed and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi, “That red-haired girl Shonan…”

“Ah, that’s right.” Midorima Shintaro commented solemnly, “First, he made a 180-degree turn and a fast break while moving at full speed, and then he jumped up to catch the ball and took three steps to the basket without slowing down after landing… In front of these two points, jumping from the free throw line is just the most basic dynamic talent…”

“You damn stinky fox, how dare you steal the limelight from this genius!!” Sakuragi Hanamichi said to Rukawa Kaede with gritted teeth.

“Don’t talk to me, I’m afraid my idiocy will be contagious.” Rukawa Kaede rolled his eyes at Sakuragi Hanamichi and went back to defense.

“Oh ha ha ha ha ~” Anton Mitsuyi looked at the active young people on the field with a smile, his eyes showing a long-lost passion.

“Yabai (Oops…)” Izuki Shun slowly walked across the half court while controlling the ball. He glanced at the starting lineup of Shonan Junior High School and felt his scalp tingling. “Mitsui Hisashi, a combo guard who was in the top ten in the country during junior high school, Rukawa Kaede, the former ace of Toyama Junior High School, the red-haired brat whose running and jumping abilities are as good as Kagami’s, and… the ace of the Generation of Miracles, Kaneki Ken, the undefeated lion of the Undefeated Empire!”

“Izuki!” Just when Izuki Shun was a little at a loss, Hinata Junpei followed Mitobe Rinnosuke’s pick-and-roll and came to the 45-degree position on the left.

“Really? If only Muji was still here…” Yi Yuejun thought with some annoyance, “Well, since we don’t have an advantage inside, let’s open up space outside first!”

He did it right away. Izuki Shun made a seemingly casual ground pass that seemed to be intended for Mitobe Rinnosuke in the interior, but just when the basketball was about to be intercepted by Rukawa, Kuroko Tetsuya suddenly appeared in Rukawa’s field of vision and passed the ball to Hinata Junpei on the outside.

“This guy… when did he appear here?” Rukawa looked at Kuroko Tetsuya in astonishment, “Although I’ve heard about this from Kaneki a long time ago… but it still feels a little weird when we really fight…”

“Yoshi, look at me…eh?” Just when Hinata Junpei received the ball and was about to show his skills with confidence, Izawa Shuji appeared in front of him like a leech.

“What!” Aida Reiko felt her heart twitching at this moment, “Why is this guy… not affected by Misdirection?”

“Yeah, yeah, relax.” Kaneki Ken seemed to remember something and smiled at Kagami Taiga, who looked shocked. “Why are you shocked? Guess why Kuroko Tetsuya is called the Phantom Sixth Man?”

“Illusion… the sixth person?!” Kagami Daigo frowned, and after thinking for a moment, a look of horror appeared on his face, “Could it be…”

“Yes, it seems you thought of it.” Kaneki Ken said with a smile, “Because apart from Aomine Daiki, as Teiko’s main rotation substitute, he is the player who receives the most passes from Kuroko!”

“Seirin miscalculated.” Midorima Shintaro said succinctly, “Not to mention that Kaneki Ken is Kuroko’s guide, Izawa is Teiko’s third shooter after Kaneki and me, and is the most tacit partner with Kuroko Tetsuya in the second lineup. Expecting to use Misdirection to deal with Shonan is simply a pipe dream…”

“Yeah, Coach Sanada said that if he wasn’t in Teiko, Izawa would be a ace in any junior high school team with his three-point shooting and defense…” Kise Ryota recalled leisurely, “Come to think of it, I learned shooting from Izawa in the beginning~”

“You’ve been underestimated…” Izawa Shuji said slowly while looking at Hyuga Junpei in front of him, “Are you hoping to open a gap from the outside? Sorry, that’s not an option.”

(End of this chapter)