Chapter 317: Clash on the Field
“Michael, I think it’s time for you to get a little nervous…” In the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Phil Jackson looked at Michael Jordan, who was lying on the therapy bed, staring at the screen of his mobile phone leisurely. After hesitating for a moment, he said, “Tonight’s game may not be easy. John and Karl will not let us get away with it so easily…”

“Don’t worry, Phil. I know exactly what attitude we should take towards the upcoming game after the game has reached this stage.” Michael Jordan stared at the game on the screen and said, “Let Dennis take care of Karl, Scott take care of John, and I will take care of the offense… This is how we won in the past, and this is how we will win now.”

“Okay, as long as you know what’s going on…” Phil Jackson shrugged, and approached Michael Jordan with some curiosity and asked, “But can I ask what you are looking at?”

“I’m watching a group of kids playing,” Michael Jordan said simply. “They’re a very interesting group of kids.”

“A group?” Phil Jackson asked in confusion, “I thought you were only interested in the genius boy you discovered…”

“That’s right… But I found that his partners are also interesting.” Michael Jordan stared at Akashi Seijuro on the screen and chuckled, “Especially this red-haired guard. If he can train with me for a few years, he may not be much worse than Isaiah in the future.”

“Isaiah? Are you talking about Thomas?” Phil Jackson looked at Michael Jordan in disbelief and said, “I know you look down on Thomas, but is it a bit exaggerated to say that an Asian high school student has the talent to become Thomas?”

“You have to trust my judgment of players, Phil.” Michael Jordan slowly turned off his phone screen, got out of bed after the physical therapist finished giving him a pre-game massage, slowly stretched his muscles, looked at Phil Jackson and said with a smile, “As long as it’s about the basketball court, you can trust the judgment of the basketball Jesus.”

“Gentlemen, you may go on the court.” The Bulls’ locker room was suddenly opened from the outside, and a staff member wearing a Jazz uniform was looking at the Bulls players with a cold face and announcing, “I wish you a big defeat tonight, assholes.”

“Fuck you, Asshole!” Dennis Rodman chewed his gum arrogantly, raised his middle fingers to the staff member who was talking nonsense, and said, “Go back and tell Carl not to let Uncle Dennis beat him to tears on the court!”

“Okay, Dennis, there’s no need to bother with such a small character.” Michael Jordan stretched his neck, his eyes full of confidence and determination, “Tonight, we will definitely lift the championship trophy in Salt Lake City… If I don’t win the championship when that brat comes back, I don’t know what he will do to me with his stinky mouth.”

“Shit, Michael, it seems like you are really optimistic about that Asian boy~” Dennis Rodman looked at Michael Jordan in surprise and said, “Why don’t you try to get him some Bulls? Uncle Dennis will teach him how to fight against the niggers under the basket…”

“The NBA would be too boring if that kid and I were on the same team, Dennis…” Michael Jordan chuckled as he recalled Kaneki Ken’s defiant look, “But it’s too early to say that now… That brat is kicking his opponent’s ass on the court, and now it’s my turn to kick my opponent’s ass.”

After saying that, Michael Jordan walked towards the player tunnel without looking back.

……

“Damn it… it’s you again, monkey!” Just as the finals with Michael Jordan was about to begin, Nash Goldo Jr. was staring at the expressionless Akashi Seijuro in front of him with a ferocious face and muttered to himself.

“Idiot, think before you speak. You can’t even get past a monkey’s defense, how dare you call yourself a primate?” Akashi Seijuro said in a cold tone as he looked at Nash Goldo Jr. who spoke rudely.

“Nash, over here!” Just when Nash Goldo Jr. was being entangled by Akashi Seijuro, Handel on the side suddenly pushed Kise Ryota away secretly, came to the three-point line and reached out to Nash Goldo Jr. for the ball.

“Whoosh~”

Before Handel finished his words, a flash of orange-red lightning flew out from Nash Goldo Jr.’s palm and flew straight towards Handel.

“It appeared… Another such hard-to-defend pass…”

“Although this blond bastard has an extremely bad personality, he is still good on the court…”

“Did that black guy just push Kise Ryouta away?”

“There’s nothing we can do. The guys in the Exploding Neck Dragon Team are all adults. In terms of pure strength competition, they definitely have the advantage…”

As Nash Goldo Jr. passed the ball to Handel without any warning, the spectators on the sidelines began to whisper in concern.

“Hey, Xiao Jinshanshan, are you okay? Do you need my help?” Seeing Kise Ryota being escaped by Handel, Sakuragi Hanamichi shouted loudly at Kise Ryota outside the three-point line on the wing with some concern.

“Thank you for your concern, Sakuragi, but if it’s just this kind of character, I think I can still handle it…” After being pushed away, Kise Ryota immediately adjusted his steps and chased back to the three-point line, and stuck to Handel at the moment of the street ball.

“Is this true…are these kids really from Japan? This kind of defensive pressure is even more terrifying than some adult five-star high school students!” Handel muttered to himself as he looked at the intimidating Kise Ryota in front of him with a frightened face.

“Being distracted on the court is not a good habit…” Kise Ryota looked at Handel, whose momentum had weakened a little, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. The lightning in his pupils instantly turned into two golden thunder dragons that lingered around his body. His arms stabbed at the basketball in Handel’s hand like a sword drawn from its sheath.

“Not good…” The moment the basketball slipped out of his hand, Handel’s scalp went numb. Looking at the orange light in his peripheral vision, Handel quickly adjusted his steps, trying to get the ball back before Kise Ryota completely stole the ball.

“Ah, ah, ah~ This ball is no longer yours…” Kise Ryota chuckled and imitated Kaneki Ken’s catchphrase. He exerted force with his calves and pounced on the basketball flying in the air like a bullet.

“It’s not yours either!” Nash Goldo Jr. suddenly appeared from the side and finally grabbed the ball before Kise Ryouta. “Give me the ball back, blondie!” Just as Nash Goldo Jr. grabbed the basketball and prepared to launch another attack, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was originally near the penalty area, suddenly appeared in front of Nash Goldo Jr. as if teleporting, and his flexible footsteps led his body to form a fiery red wall in front of Nash Goldo Jr.

“Well done, Sakuragi-san~” Looking at Nash Goldo Jr. who was struggling under the joint pressure of Kise Ryouta and Sakuragi Hanamichi, Akashi Seijuro chuckled and took a step forward. The pressure of the complete form of the Eye of the Emperor poured out, accurately seizing the moment of Nash Goldo Jr.’s hesitation and completing the steal.

“Damn it… Damn it!” Nash Goldo Jr., who was intercepted again, was like an angry bull. With red eyes, he stared at Akashi Seijuro and roared, “Since you like to join in the fun so much… let’s start with you!”

After saying that, Nash Goldo Jr. immediately stepped forward, his whole body pretending to be fully focused on fighting for the ball, and hit Akashi Seishirou’s forehead heavily with his elbow.

“boom!”

As the sound of an elbow hitting the forehead was heard, bright red blood immediately flowed down from Akashi Seijuro’s forehead.

“Showy dwarf!” Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at the blood-stained Akashi Seijuro and quickly pushed Nash Goldo Jr away. He came to Akashi Seijuro and asked anxiously, “What happened? Where are you hurt?”

“It’s okay, it’s just a minor flesh wound…” Akashi Seijuro covered his forehead, blood flowing down his fingers, but Akashi Seijuro still smiled and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi and said, “Don’t worry too much, this minor wound can be healed with a few stitches.”

“Damn it…” Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at the miserable state of Akashi Seijuro in front of him, clenched his fists in anger, veins bulged on his arms. After a moment of silence, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly rushed forward and was about to kill Nash Goldo Jr.

“Beep beep~ Player injured, official timeout!”

As early as when Akashi Seijuro was hit by Nash Goldo Jr., the referee on the side immediately realized that there might be a conflict on the court, and Sakuragi Hanamichi’s action further confirmed the referee’s idea. In order to avoid uncontrollable violence on the court, the three referees nearby all rushed to the court in fear, and after desperately separating the two teams of players, they blew the whistle and shouted loudly.

“Are you blind, uncle?” Sakuragi Hanamichi pointed at Nash Goldo Jr. and shouted angrily, “This guy attacked our players on the court! Are you Japanese or not? You are actually protecting those Americans!”

“But there is no clear evidence to prove that he committed a malicious foul…” The referee held Sakuragi Hanamichi’s waist tightly and explained with an embarrassed look, “But don’t worry, if it happens again next time, I will definitely blow the whistle on this guy!”

“Do you want there to be a next time? I’m going to fucking destroy this bastard right now!” Listening to the referee’s explanation, Sakuragi Hanamichi’s rage grew instead of diminishing. He forcefully pried open the referee’s arms that were wrapped around his waist, staring at the direction of Nash Gordo Jr. and rushed over.

“boom!”

Just when Sakuragi Hanamichi’s fist was about to hit Nash Goldo Jr.’s face, a whiter fist landed on Nash Goldo Jr.’s face before Sakuragi Hanamichi.

“Fuck…” Sakuragi Hanamichi seemed to be stunned by the sudden punch. He stopped involuntarily and looked in the direction where the fist came from. It was Mitsui Hisashi’s cold face.

“Idiot, if a conflict breaks out on the field at this time, then the game will inevitably be stopped…all the efforts of others before will be in vain!” Mitsui said to Sakuragi Hanamichi with some anger.

“But they!” Sakuragi Hanamichi pointed at the players of the Explosive Dragons with some dissatisfaction. He wanted to say something, but Mitsui Hisashi suddenly came to him and whispered something in Sakuragi Hanamichi’s ear.

“I’m just asking you not to fight, not saying I can’t fight.” Mitsui leaned close to Sakuragi Hanamichi’s ear and whispered, “Let me and the others handle this kind of fighting… You and Kaneki Ken can’t be sent off the court… Only if we defeat them head-on on the court, they will lose, and then there will be no other excuses for them to complain.”

“Xiao San, what are you going to do?” Sakuragi Hanamichi pouted unhappily, and asked with a hint of barely perceptible worry in his tone, “If you hit someone, you will definitely be sent off by the referee…”

“It doesn’t matter.” Mitsui Shou shrugged nonchalantly and said slowly, “I came here to watch the game. I’m not from the Dragon Slayer Team…”

“Stop arguing!” Looking at the chaotic situation on the field, Kaneki Ken stood up with a sullen face, staring at Nash Goldo Jr. and said in a deep voice, “You are fine, Nash… You are getting worse and worse, and you even attacked the child on the field!”

“What are you talking about?” Hendel said with his neck stiff, “Nash just bumped into your teammate by accident, and the referee called a foul on Nash, what else do you want?”

“What else do I want?” Kaneki Ken snorted, slowly took off his coat, and stood on the court again. He stared at Handel with his golden pupils and said, “I just suddenly remembered that I’m very busy recently and don’t have time to play this kind of house game with you guys on the court… So I also want to come on the court and make a few more fouls and leave early. What do you think?”

“boom!”

As Kaneki Ken finished his words, an invisible pressure poured down on the players of the Jabberwocky Team like a mountain collapsing. Some players with weak willpower even began to feel weak in their legs and feet.

“This bunch of idiots…” Alex Garcia curled his lips in dissatisfaction and muttered in a disdainful tone, “They are simply a disgrace to American basketball!”

“The game is over.” In the corner of the audience, Hanamiya Shin looked at Kaneki Ken, whose face was ashen, with an amused expression and said, “I have never seen anyone who could have a good ending after angering Kaneki Ken… The players from the United States should be no exception.”

(End of this chapter)