Chapter 320 The Last Shot

“How are you, Akashi? Are you feeling better?” In a luxurious ward of a hospital in Tokyo, the players of the Dragon Slayer Team gathered in front of Akashi Seijuro’s bed and asked with concern.

“It’s okay, just some skin injuries, the doctor has already sutured it.” Akashi Seijuro said with a smile as he looked at his teammates in front of him, “By the way, I watched the rest of the game, they played very well.”

“Haha, that’s natural!” Sakuragi Hanamichi said to Akashi Seijuro with a smug look on his face, “After all, Gilgamesh played the rest of the game himself. That black guy and the golden-haired monster were beaten so badly by Gilgamesh that they ran away on the court, and they left the court before the half was over…”

“Yes, Kaneki-san is really strong. It is indeed a bit too difficult for him to play in this kind of game now…” Akashi Seijuro sighed and said, “By the way, where is Kaneki-san? Didn’t he come with you?”

“Golden Gilgamesh left the court after the game entered garbage time…” Sakuragi Hanamichi frowned and recalled for a moment, “It seems that he said that there is a very important NBA game to watch today…”

“NBA…” The players of the Dragon Slashing Sword team also fell silent at this moment. It was not until then that they realized that this game might be their last game with Kaneki Ken.

“Really? You all are so dejected here. What’s the matter? It’s just the NBA, right?” Aomine Daiki seemed to be unable to bear the dull atmosphere in the court. He looked at his teammates around him with some displeasure and said, “Since Kaneki Ken can enter the NBA, there is no reason why we can’t! Let me make it clear, I want to go to the United States to play basketball in the future!”

“Really, Aomine’s inexplicable passion is really endearing!” Huang Lai Ryota looked at Aomine Daiki with a bit of a smile, and after fixing his hair with both hands, he said solemnly, “But Aomine is right, sooner or later we will meet Little Building Block in the NBA. Instead of continuing to sit here and feel sad, we might as well train hard to improve our strength!”

“NBA? Haven’t you received an invitation from the NBA yet?” Murasakibara Atsushi, who was taking a nap on the side, was woken up by his teammates. He looked at Aomine Daiki and others in front of him with surprise and said, “But there is a white-haired uncle here who has invited me to participate in the draft after I graduate from high school~”

“…”

As Murasakibara Atsushi finished his words, everyone in the field fell into deathly silence.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking?” Murasakibara Atsushi asked his teammates in front of him with a confused look on his face.

“Murasara ah…” Aomine Daiki smiled and put his hand on Murasakibara Atsushi’s shoulder. Then he slowly exerted force with his palm and said with gritted teeth at Murasakibara Atsushi’s confused expression, “You kid… you really deserve to die!”

“It hurts so much, let me go, Fengzi!” Murasakibara Atsushi wailed and slapped Aomine Daiki’s hand.

“Alas… they are really a group of children who never grow up…” Aida Katsuhiro shook his head helplessly, a gratified smile appeared on the corner of his mouth and he muttered to himself, “But Asian basketball is so lucky to have such a group of children!”

“What are you talking about, Dad?” Reiko Aida looked at Katsuya Aida with some confusion and asked.

“It’s nothing, just the sentiments of some elderly people.” Katsutora Aida said with a smile and shook his head.

……

“Ken-kun, everyone else has gone to see Akashi-san, isn’t it a bad idea for us to watch the game here?”

In the locker room of Tokyo Gymnasium, Momoi Satsuki looked at Kaneki Ken who was sitting in front of the TV with a hesitant look and asked.

“Shh, don’t talk!” Kaneki Ken quickly made a silent gesture and said, “It’s the last ball!”

“Really, as soon as Yan-kun watches a basketball game, he seems to not care about anything anymore…” Taoi Mayu pouted in dissatisfaction, and angrily looked at the game on TV and muttered, “And Yan-kun said that this No. 23 is some kind of basketball god… but he’s nothing special. He’s still behind now…”

“What nonsense are you talking about, May~” Kaneki Ken crossed his arms in front of his chest, watching the game on TV calmly and said, “The reason why this guy is called the God of Basketball is not only because he always wins… but also because he always stands up when the team needs him!”

……

“Go a little deeper, Carl! Show this son of a bitch some color!”

At this moment in the Delta Center, as Michael Jordan made a quick layup and narrowed the gap to just one point, a huge sense of oppression weighed on the Jazz players’ hearts like a huge rock.

“Damn, this guy’s defense is so tight…” Karl Malone muttered in dissatisfaction as he felt the power coming from Dennis Rodman from behind.

“Give up, Karl. There are seven days in a week, twenty-four hours in a day, and sixty minutes in an hour. I can handle it on and off the court in every minute.” Dennis Rodman seemed to see Karl Malone’s hesitation. His colorful head shook rhythmically and he kept talking trash in Karl Malone’s ear.

“That’s enough, Dennis!” Karl Malone seemed to be annoyed by Dennis Rodman’s provocation. He suddenly stopped at the edge of the three-second zone, and used his strong arms to hold Dennis Rodman tightly behind him. He raised his arm and shouted to John Stockton outside the three-point line, “Pass the ball to me, John, over here!”

“Whoosh~”

With the sound of a basketball breaking through the air, John Stockton suddenly threw the ball into the air after advancing to the three-point line on the wing with his back, and the ball fell into Karl Malone’s hands at the moment he was stuck in position.

“Come on, Karl! Give him an elbow!” Jerry Sloan on the sidelines put his hands to his mouth like a madman and shouted at Karl Malone on the court at the top of his lungs.

“Come on, Karl, elbow me.” Dennis Rodman waved at Karl Malone with a wicked smile on his face. “If you don’t dare to elbow me, just pass the ball. I know you only dare to bully small guys like Isiah. When you meet a guy of similar size to you, you lose your temper.”

“Will you shut up, Dennis!” Karl Malone glanced at Dennis Rodman impatiently, holding the basketball tightly in both hands, his eyes constantly scanning the court, as if looking for teammates who had run to the right position.

“Okay, okay, since you told me to shut up, then I’ll shut up…” Dennis Rodman raised his eyebrows and looked at Karl Malone and said. “What’s going on… this bastard doesn’t look like an easy guy to talk to…” Karl Malone frowned and looked at Dennis Rodman with a vigilant look and muttered to himself.

“Because my mission has been accomplished…” Dennis Rodman said with a wicked smile as he looked at Karl Malone, “The next person you have to deal with is a real asshole!”

“Be careful, Karl! Be careful of that guy Michael!” Just when Karl Malone was upset by Dennis Rodman, John Stockton’s nervous warning voice, which was almost broken, suddenly came from outside the three-point line.

“Be careful of what…” Just before Karl Malone could react, a dark arm appeared in Karl Malone’s peripheral vision like lightning.

“Not good…” The intuition of a top player made Karl Malone subconsciously have a bad premonition, but just as he was about to take the ball back into his arms and reorganize the attack, the dark electric light had already penetrated into his arms.

“I’m sorry, Karl, but you can’t get this championship gold cup.” As Michael Jordan’s cold voice rang in Karl Malone’s ears, the noise of the entire venue seemed to disappear in Karl Malone’s ears at this moment. All that was left was the sound of his palms hitting the basketball and… the sound of the basketball hitting the ground.

“Oh no…” Karl Malone was suddenly intercepted and then pushed by Dennis Rodman. He suddenly lost his balance and fell forward to the ground.

“Shhh!!!”

Seeing Michael Jordan complete the steal, the Jazz fans at the Delta Center stood up and gave Michael Jordan on the court a deafening boo.

“Damn it… Damn it… Damn it!” Karl Malone gnashed his teeth and chased back desperately. He looked at Michael Jordan who was advancing slowly with the ball and consoled himself, “As long as we can defend this ball… As long as we can defend this ball, we still have hope!”

“There are 18.9 seconds left…” Michael Jordan looked up at the timer above the basket, then his lips curled up slightly, and a determination to win appeared in his eyes.

“Guard him, Russell!” Seeing Michael Jordan’s expression as if he was ready to attack someone, Karl Malone frowned and shouted loudly at Brian Russell standing on the wing.

“Damn it, I’m a minimum-salary player, and you want me to defend Jordan? Is that true?” Brian Russell said self-deprecatingly, then patted his thigh and opened his arms to block Michael Jordan again.

“Seriously? Are you going to defend me, Russell?” Michael Jordan slowed down after crossing the three-point line. He looked at Brian Russell with a playful expression and said, “You should know that you can’t defend me. I will eat you alive.”

“If I just let you go, Karl and John will eat me alive after the game. It’s no different.” Brian Russell looked at Michael Jordan with a serious expression and said, “In this case, I might as well try to defend you. Maybe I can get an 800 million contract next year?”

“Then you come and try it…” There was a cold flash in Michael Jordan’s eyes, and his dribbling movements with both hands began to become unpredictable.

“As a seven-game series, in the first five games, the Chicago Bulls took a big lead with a score of 3 to 2. If Michael Jordan made this shot, the season would end here…” The commentator next to him said, suppressing his excitement, “Michael Jordan is dribbling the ball, trying to break through Russell’s defense… Michael Jordan broke through! No, no! Michael Jordan pulled back… Michael Jordan shook off Brian Russell! Michael Jordan was left open!”

“It’s over!” The moment he lost his balance and fell to the ground, Brian Russell felt dizzy and his vision went dark. However, the commentator on the sidelines still maintained his superb professionalism and continued to commentate loudly.

“Michael Jordan is in an absolutely open position! Michael Jordan took the shot! Michael Jordan made this shot! The Bulls are leading! The Bulls are leading by one point! There are only five seconds left in the game!”

“Fuck!” Jerry Sloan angrily punched the tactical board the moment he saw the basketball go through the net. Then, he walked to the sidelines with a helpless look on his face and called a timeout.

“Beep beep~”

As a sharp whistle sounded on the sidelines, the game on the field was paused.

“Fuck…Fuck, fuck!” Karl Malone angrily punched his left hand, and the unwillingness and regret in his eyes erupted from his eye sockets like a volcano.

“Okay, Karl, the game is over, so don’t dwell on what has happened.” John Stockton looked up and took a sip of his drink, then looked at Karl Malone calmly and said, “Next we’ll play a pick-and-roll as usual. You come up and screen for me. You can cut inside or shoot outside. If there’s an open spot, I’ll shoot it myself… It’s only one point. No matter what, we can’t let that bastard Michael lift the championship gold trophy in our home court!”

“I know, John…” Karl Malone nodded slightly, looking at Michael Jordan, who was wearing the red No. 23 jersey, with a complicated expression, wondering what he was thinking.

……

“Okay, you don’t have to watch it anymore.” Looking at the pale-faced Utah Jazz players, Kaneki Ken sighed lightly and raised his hand to turn off the TV.

“Hey? Ken-kun?” Taoi Satsuki looked up at Kaneki Ken in confusion, “Isn’t this game not over yet?”

“No, the game is over.” Kaneki Ken stood up and stretched slowly, saying, “These guys have been completely conquered by the godhood of that bastard Michael… Although there are still five seconds left, they no longer have the strength to make that buzzer-beater.”

After saying that, Kaneki Ken walked out of the locker room without looking back.

“Ken-kun, where are you going?” Momoi Satsuki looked at Kaneki Ken’s departing back and quickly stood up and asked.

“I’m going to take a shower.” Kaneki Ken waved at Momoi Satsuki behind him and said, “Then I’ll leave for the United States tomorrow… The two old Jerrys in Los Angeles are still waiting for me to go back for a tryout~”

(End of this chapter)