Chapter 321: Second Place Kaneki Ken

“What’s going on? Why hasn’t Kaneki arrived yet?” The next day at Tokyo Airport, Aomine Daiki kicked the stones at his feet and muttered impatiently, “Did this guy oversleep? I finally got up early to see him off. If he dares to oversleep, I will definitely give him a good beating!”

“Be quiet, Aomine-chan~” Kise Ryouta said with a smile, waving his hand, “Maybe Kaneki-chan just got stuck in traffic on the way here?”

“Actually, I’ve wanted to say this for a long time…” Kuroko Tetsuya, who was standing by, hesitated for a moment, but still stretched out his hand and said, “Don’t you think it’s weird that you can’t see Sakuragi-san when you see Kaneki-san off?”

“Emmmm…” The tone of the people from the Era of Miracles present suddenly stagnated, and they all touched their chins and lowered their heads in deep thought.

“Hahaha, you idiots, you were stood up by Gilgamesh as expected~”

Just as Aomine Daiki and the others fell into silence, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly came out of the terminal building laughing.

“Hey, why are you here so early? Where is Kaneki Kento?” Aomine Daiki’s heart skipped a beat and he asked Sakuragi Hanamichi with an unhappy look on his face.

“Gallant!” Sakuragi Hanamichi stretched lazily, and after showing off his style, he took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to everyone, saying, “Gallant knew that you would come to join in the fun, so he changed the flight and let me be the only one to see you off~ But, Gillian also left a letter for you~”

“This really fits this guy’s usual bad character…” Aomine Daiki looked at the envelope in Sakuragi Hanamichi’s hand with an unhappy face. After a moment of silence, he suddenly snatched the envelope and muttered with an unhappy face, “I want to see what good fart this guy can say…”

[“Aomine, I guess you, a fool with quick hands and feet, were the first to get the envelope~”]

The first sentence that caught Qingfeng Daiki’s eyes made Qingfeng Daiki so angry that he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

“Don’t just stand there, Aomine-chan, what exactly did Kaneki-chan say in the letter?” Kise Ryouta asked anxiously.

“Don’t rush me, I haven’t finished reading it yet.” Qingfeng Daihui rolled his eyes in annoyance, then flipped through the letter and said in confusion, “This guy…didn’t he write anything else?”

“How is this possible?” Huang Lai Liangta snatched the envelope in disbelief. After shaking it twice, a bank card and a small note attached to the bank card suddenly fell out of the envelope.

[“I had a lot of fun playing with you all, so there’s no need for Akashi to spend any money. I don’t know who opened this note, but please tell everyone else that your talents on the court are no less than mine, so this separation is not a permanent farewell, but just the beginning of a better meeting next time, so don’t make it like a life-and-death separation. I’ll be waiting for you in the NBA. But next time we meet, don’t be like those weaklings from the Jabberwocky team and get easily beaten by me~” (^ω^)]

“This guy Kaneki… is still as naughty as ever…” Kise Ryota looked at the emoticons at the end of the article, handed the note to Midorima Shintaro beside him, and his eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

“This bastard, not only does he not care about our old friendship, but his tone is even worse than athlete’s foot…” Aomine Daiki cursed with a slight tremor in his voice, “Next time we meet… who knows who will beat who up!”

“That’s right! In Japan, becoming the national champion is meaningless!” Kagami Daigo shouted loudly with a look of deep agreement, “I will return to the United States after I graduate from high school. I will definitely teach this heartless guy a lesson!”

“Uh……”

As Kagami Taiga finished speaking, the atmosphere in the field suddenly and strangely dropped to freezing point. The people of the Generation of Miracles looked at each other, and then all looked at Kagami Taiga with strange expressions.

“What? Why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?” Kagami Daigo, who was a little scared by being stared at, quickly looked at the mirror beside him and muttered, “There’s obviously nothing…”

“Yeah, and he has no face either…” Midorima Shintaro complained sharply, “Who has the face to clamor to teach Kaneki Ken a lesson after losing to us so many times?”

“What are you talking about?!” Kagami Daiga pointed at Midorima Shintaro with a red face and shouted, “Midorima Shintaro, I want to duel with you!”

“Not interested.” Midorima Shintaro rolled his eyes speechlessly, then turned his head to look at the others beside him and said in a deep voice, “Since Kaneki has left, I won’t stay here any longer…Training and getting stronger can’t be delayed any longer!”

“That’s right!” Aomine Daiki stepped forward with an indignant look on his face, raised his arms and shouted, “Down with Kaneki Ken!”

“Aomine, could you please be stupid and not take us with you…” When he met Shintaro, he looked at the surprised looks from the people around him, covered his cheeks with embarrassment and complained.

“It’s really… quite embarrassing…” Huang Lailiangta shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, turned his head to look at the plane taking off outside the window and muttered to himself, “Kaneki… being one step ahead doesn’t mean you will always be ahead… Sooner or later, one day, I will catch up with you, or even surpass you!”

“A-choo…A-qiu!” As soon as Kise Ryouta finished his words, Kaneki Ken, who seemed to sense something on the plane, sneezed twice.

“Are you okay, Ken-kun?” Momoi Satsuki, who was sitting next to Kaneki Ken, asked with concern.

“It’s okay, maybe I just caught a cold…” Kaneki Ken rubbed his sore nose, smiled and waved his hand.

……

“Wow, look who’s back!” As Kaneki Ken and Momoi Satsuki slowly walked out of the terminal hall, Michael Jordan, wearing a Bulls sports jacket, came to Kaneki Ken with the championship gold trophy in his hands, opened his arms and smiled.

“Has anyone ever told you that your smile is particularly annoying, Michael?” Kaneki Ken looked at Michael Jordan, who was smug, and rolled his eyes helplessly, saying, “But congratulations on your second three consecutive championships.”

“Haha, thank you~” Michael Jordan smiled and waved his hand, then looked at Kaneki Ken with expectation and said, “I’ve almost finished playing with your group of friends during this period. How are you? When do you plan to join the NBA?” “Not long.” Hearing Michael Jordan asking about his future plans, Kaneki Ken’s expression became serious, and he said slowly with a serious face, “High school and college games… For me now, it’s no longer difficult at all.”

“Welcome to the NBA, rookie.” Behind Michael Jordan, two white old men with white hair and beards walked up with a smile, looking at Kaneki Ken’s tall figure with admiration, and said, “The Los Angeles media has been waiting for another superstar like Magic to come for a long time… You will be the one we have been waiting for, right?”

“I’m not the next Magic, I’m the first Kaneki Ken, Jerry.” Kaneki Ken looked at Jerry West seriously and said, “And I don’t think you have a high enough draw position to pick me…”

“This is our business.” Jerry Buss and Jerry West smiled at each other and said mysteriously, “Anyway, get ready to become a Laker, boy.”

……

“So, I decided to skip college and bring my talent to the NBA.” The next day, under the arrangement of the two Jerrys, Kaneki Ken officially held a press conference to announce the news that he would soon participate in the 2016 draft.

“Mr. Kaneki, do you think your Asian identity will be a major obstacle for you in the draft?” As soon as the show started, a reporter wearing thick-bottomed glasses asked a explosive question.

“A basketball won’t miss the basket just because it was shot by an Asian.” Kaneki Ken shrugged nonchalantly and said, “The only thing that can hinder my draft prospects is the vision of the scouts in the uniform group.”

“It is rumored that Kobe Bryant, who played as well as you in the finals, will be selected in the lottery. Where do you expect yourself to be selected in the draft?” A hot female reporter raised her hand and asked.

“First of all, I’m not on par with Kobe Bryant. I beat that guy, not once, not twice, not three times, but many fucking times.” Kaneki Ken pouted speechlessly and said, “As for the draft pick… I don’t care what my draft pick is. I won’t become great because of a No. 1 pick. On the contrary, the No. 1 pick will become great because of me.”

“Look at that kid. He has a natural instinct to attract the spotlight.” Michael Jordan stood in a hidden corner of the press conference venue with a gratified look on his face, looking at Kaneki Ken who was calm and composed on the stage and said, “The NBA is indeed a bit boring now…”

“You will find it interesting soon, Michael, I promise you.” Jerry West looked meaningfully at Kaneki Ken standing on the podium and spoke slowly.

“Hey, what are you two talking about?” After finishing the press conference, Kaneki Ken leisurely came to Jerry West, looked at the two people who were whispering with curiosity and asked.

“Nothing, I just said that you behaved very maturely at the press conference just now.” Jerry West responded with a smile.

……

“Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 2016 NBA Draft. Countless young talents are looking forward to changing their destiny through this draft and letting the world see their talents. Without further ado, let us begin today’s draft.”

As time passed, after a few tryouts, Ken Kaneki came to the green room at the invitation of the NBA officials.

“Do you feel that our president looks a bit like an art student?” Ken Kaneki, who was sitting bored on the sidelines, shook his legs and put his mouth close to Momoi Satsuki’s ear, pointing at David Stern on the stage and said.

“Don’t talk nonsense, Yan-jun…” Taojin May said nervously as she looked at the flashing cameras beside her, “Also, behave more solemnly, Yan-jun…it seems like the cameras are filming us…”

“With the first pick, the Philadelphia 76ers selected… Allen Iverson! Let’s congratulate this kid!”

As David Stern took out a name card from the 76ers’ envelope, the No. 1 pick in this draft was decided.

“What? You chose this short guy over the golden one?” Sakuragi Hanamichi muttered in dissatisfaction in front of the TV, “If all NBA scouts have this kind of vision, I can at least get the top pick!”

“Don’t worry, Ken-kun. Didn’t Falke tell us? We will definitely not fall out of the top three…” Momoi Satsuki looked at Kaneki Ken’s expressionless face and patted the back of his hand timidly to comfort him.

“You can only listen to half of what your agent says. I’m already satisfied if I can get a lottery pick…” Kaneki Ken waved his hand pretending to be frank, but his true nature was exposed in the end. He stared at Allen Iverson, who was looking so proud on the stage, and muttered softly, “But I’ll remember this guy. Sooner or later, I’ll beat him on the court.”

“What’s going on? Why did it suddenly become so cold?” Allen Iverson, as if sensing something, raised his head and looked around the court with a puzzled look on his face, then walked down the podium under the guidance of David Stern with a confused look on his face.

“Enough, Jerry, I really don’t have time to listen to your bullshit.” At this time in the Raptors’ draft office, the Raptors’ general manager said to Jerry West on the other end of the phone with an unhappy face, “Either pack me Eddie Jones and Van Exel, and add your 24th pick this year, or send me Divac and Ceballos, otherwise I will choose Marcus Camby!”

“…OK! Deal!” After a long silence, Jerry West finally decided to finalize the deal.

“Ladies and gentlemen! A deal has taken place here.” David Stern took the note handed over by his assistant and read aloud, “The Los Angeles Lakers traded Cedric Ceballos, Eddie Jones, and Van Exel from the Toronto Raptors for this year’s second overall pick in the first round… The player the Lakers got with this pick is… Ken Kaneki! From Japan!”

“WOW!” Michael Jordan, who was sitting in front of the TV, patted the handle of the chair excitedly, his eyes emitting an extremely excited light, and shouted loudly, “Rookie, welcome to the NBA!”

“Congratulations on coming to the NBA, kid.” David Stern smiled as he looked at Kaneki Ken who walked up to the podium. He extended his hand and said, “I believe you will bring different results to Asian basketball.”

“Of course, Mr. President.” Kaneki Ken put on a purple-gold baseball cap with the Lakers logo, raised his hand and shook David Stern’s hand and said, “Not only in Asia, maybe I can bring a greater shock to world basketball.”

(End of this chapter)