Chapter 326 It’s time to get serious

“Buzz~”

As the buzzing sound of the court timer resounded throughout the stadium, the first half of the game came to an end. Kaneki Ken was immersed in the one-on-one match with Michael Jordan throughout the first half, but when Kaneki Ken finally came back to his senses from the game, the score between the two sides had reached 56 to 72, and the Lakers were trailing by a full 16 points.

“Hey boy, I told you that you shouldn’t compete with him…” Shaquille O’Neal patted Kaneki Ken’s shoulder helplessly and said, “Basically every player who tried to compete with that guy, in the end, no one could beat him in a competition.”

“I’m different from them, Shaq.” Kaneki Ken drank a sip of Gatorade expressionlessly, staring at Michael Jordan sitting on the Bulls bench, and said, “I admit that the bald guy did give me a lot of defensive pressure… but that’s all. In the second half, I will definitely make up the score in the second half!”

“Well, good luck to you.” Shaquille O’Neal looked at Kaneki Ken with a gloating look on his face, patted Kaneki Ken’s shoulder heavily and said.

“If you feel tired, just tell me. I can take your place anytime and compete with Michael.” Kobe Bryant also interrupted at this time, “You know I can beat Jordan, right?”

“You can beat the crap out of him~” Kaneki Ken rolled his eyes at Kobe Bryant speechlessly, slapped Kobe Bryant’s smooth back of the head with his palm and said, “Just defend Scotty, I can handle Jordan.”

“That Asian kid is really something. He was able to score points under your defense.” Just as Kaneki Ken was laughing and cursing with his teammates, Scottie Pippen looked at Kaneki Ken in the Lakers bench with a playful look on his face and said, “I kind of understand why you have always been optimistic about this kid.”

“I know why you said that, Scottie. You must be worried that this guy will attack your defense head-on, so you want me to play against this guy throughout the game.” Michael Jordan chewed gum nonchalantly, wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, and said, “But damn, I have to say, this plan is exactly what I want.”

“Michael, I think it’s time for you to focus on the team.” Phil Jackson looked at Michael Jordan with some concern and reminded him, “You no longer need to prove your strength by conquering an Asian boy…”

“I’ll return to the team, but not now, Phil.” Michael Jordan looked at Phil Jackson seriously and said, “It’s been a long time since the NBA has had a guy that interests me so much… One game won’t affect our record anyway, so let me have fun. I promise, we will win.”

“Well, if that’s what you want…” Phil Jackson nodded helplessly and said, “But just this once, I hope you will always remember that it was only after you gave up putting yourself above the team that you won six championships.”

“I know how I won the championship better than you, Phil.” Michael Jordan looked at Phil Jackson with a playful look and said, “Don’t worry that I will give up the triangle offense… In fact, my willfulness will only last for this one game.”

Looking at Michael Jordan’s determined expression and the vague threat in his eyes, Phil Jackson sighed lightly and finally nodded.

“I didn’t expect that Kaneki Ken actually didn’t lose in the match against Jordan…” At this time, in the gymnasium of Shutoku High School, Takao Kazunari, who was watching the game with Midorima Shintaro, was a little shocked when he looked at the score record in the lower right corner of the screen and exclaimed, “13 shots, 8 hits, 4 of 4 three-pointers, 22 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in the first half… Michael Jordan only scored 28 points…”

“You can’t say that…” Midorima Shintaro frowned and shook his head, saying, “Although Kaneki Ken was not far behind Michael Jordan in the score, Michael Jordan did much better than Kaneki Ken in the first half in terms of connecting teammates, which is what Kaneki Ken is best at. He had 8 assists and only one turnover, while Kaneki Ken had fewer assists than him, but had one more turnover…”

“What are you talking about, Xiaozhen?” Takao Kazunari looked at Midorima Shintaro with a black question mark on his face and said, “The guy opposite Kaneki Ken is Michael Jordan! It’s amazing that he can play to this level, right?”

“That’s true, but for Kaneki Ken, this level of performance is definitely not good.” Midorima Shintaro calmly stared at the figure of Kaneki Ken sitting quietly on the bench drinking water on the TV broadcast and said, “I have a feeling… In the next game, Kaneki Ken may have an unprecedented outburst!”

“Buzz~”

As Takao Kazunari was talking to Midorima Shintaro, the halftime break was gradually coming to an end. As a loud timer buzzed, the Lakers and Bulls players stood up and strode toward the court.

“Kid, try to trust your teammates…” After a moment of silence, Yinhu Harris called Kaneki Ken with a worried look on his face, and persuaded him sincerely, “It’s amazing that you could fight with Michael Jordan like that in the first half.”

“But it’s not enough.” Kaneki Ken gently stretched his neck and said in a deep voice, “Of course I know that after entering the NBA, I can no longer do whatever I want like before, and be omnipotent like God on the court… But it just happened to be this game, and it just happened to be that guy, I absolutely don’t want to lose!”

After saying that, Kaneki Ken looked at Silver Fox Harris seriously, then walked towards the center of the field without looking back.

“Beep! Bulls have the ball!” As a sharp whistle sounded, Dennis Rodman took the sideline ball and decisively passed it to Michael Jordan. A hand-to-hand fight that was destined to be difficult began again.

“Hey, brat, I feel like… you’re not as strong as you claim to be~” Michael Jordan, who had just crossed the half court with the ball, found Kaneki Ken and said to him with a playful look, “Do you need me to teach you how to play basketball? Don’t worry, I won’t charge you any fees this time. This is a gift from my senior to welcome the rookie to the NBA.”

“Stop talking nonsense, Michael. Be careful or I’ll break another rib of yours.” Kaneki Ken looked at Michael Jordan with an unhappy face and “threatened” him.

“Interesting…” Michael Jordan raised his eyebrows and looked at Kaneki Ken, his tone became cold, “Then you can try it!”

“Bang! Bang!”

As Michael Jordan finished speaking, a loud explosion sounded in Kaneki Ken’s ears. When a black stream of light passed by Kaneki Ken like lightning across the night sky, the Lakers players realized belatedly that Michael Jordan had completed the first step of breaking through Kaneki Ken.

“That’s enough!” Looking at Kaneki Ken standing there motionless, Kobe Bryant immediately left Scottie Pippen beside him and rushed towards the path that Michael Jordan had to pass through. “Smelly boy, do you want to dance too?” Michael Jordan raised his eyebrows and looked at Kobe Bryant who was blocking the way. With a flick of his hand, the basketball obediently came to his left hand, and then he stopped at the free throw line, jumped up, and threw the ball into the basket while leaning back in the air.

“Damn it…” Kobe Bryant looked at Michael Jordan who made an abrupt stop and jumped, clapped his hands in annoyance, cursed inwardly, and was about to rush forward to block the shot, but was stopped by Kaneki Ken on the side.

“Guard your own man Kobe!” At this moment, it seemed as if a thunder dragon flashed in Kaneki Ken’s pupils, and a boundless sense of oppression suddenly swept across the entire court.

“Shit, has this guy’s zone reached this point?” Kobe Bryant looked at Kaneki Ken with a shocked look on his face. After a moment’s silence, he obediently returned to Scottie Pippen.

“Michael…have you ever seen me in my fully victorious state?”

Just as the basketball left Michael Jordan’s hand, Kaneki Ken appeared in front of Michael Jordan like a flash and jumped high.

“What the fuck…” Even with Michael Jordan’s wide knowledge, he couldn’t help but be shocked by Kaneki Ken’s reaction ability.

“boom!”

As the sound of a palm slapping the basketball was heard, the basketball that was originally flying towards the basket instantly changed direction. After falling heavily to the ground, it bounced straight to the front court.

“Not good…” Michael Jordan frowned after being blocked. After landing, he quickly turned around and ran towards the basketball. However, as a golden light flashed past him, Michael Jordan knew that this ball could not be recovered.

“Yeah!”

Kaneki Ken didn’t need to adjust himself when he landed. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he rushed out at full speed as if he had turned on nitrogen acceleration. Under the gaze of the audience, Kaneki Ken ran through the entire court like a golden lightning, and after picking up the basketball, he rushed straight to the Bulls’ restricted area.

“Come on, try to challenge the inside line guarded by Uncle Dennis!” Dennis Rodman, who had taken the lead the moment Michael Jordan was blocked, was now standing under the basket, quietly waiting for Kaneki Ken’s attack.

“This is a duel between me and Michael…” Kaneki Ken seemed not to see Dennis Rodman under the basket. He stomped his feet on the free throw line and jumped up, flying towards the basket as if he was free from gravity.

“This kid is still too impulsive…” Dennis Rodman muttered to himself as he looked at Kaneki Ken gliding in the air with a look of smug delight, “As long as I fall to the ground… I can successfully make him commit an offensive foul!”

“I didn’t expect that you are still so naive at your age…” Kaneki Ken looked down at Dennis Rodman with disdain, slowly spread his legs in the air, and glided over Dennis Rodman’s head as if floating in the air. Then he exerted force with his arms and slammed the ball into the basket.

“Oh my god! What did I just see?” The commentator on the sidelines listened to the whining sound of the basket and looked at the confused Dennis Rodman with some pity and said, “Just now our Asian boy successfully jumped over Dennis and completed a stunning dunk from the free throw line! Dennis looked completely dazed! He seemed to have been murdered on the court!”

who am I?
where am I?
What am I going to do?
Looking at the back of Kaneki Ken running towards the front court from behind him, Dennis Rodman, who has always been fearless, suddenly thought of the three major philosophical questions.

“You did a great job just now, Dennis.” Michael Jordan slowly walked to the side of Dennis Rodman, who looked dazed, and gently patted him on the shoulder and said, “You just don’t have the ability. The duel between me and this kid is not something you or Scottie can participate in…”

As he spoke, Michael Jordan stared at Kaneki Ken’s back with a fighting look in his eyes and muttered to himself, “This is a preview of the battle of gods that will determine the position of the God of Basketball… I have a feeling that this year’s Lakers will be our strongest opponent in the finals!”

“Man! What did you just do?” When Kaneki Ken returned to the backcourt, Shaquille O’Neal, who was already extremely excited, immediately stepped forward and pushed Kaneki Ken’s chest hard, shouting in an excited voice that was almost broken, “You just dunked on Dennis! That idiot was completely stunned by you!”

“Calm down, Shaq. You’ll see this kind of game often in the future. You need to get used to it.” Kaneki Ken shrugged his shoulders calmly, as if he hadn’t done the dunk just now. “As for what’s next… be careful. Michael is already mad. I don’t have time to take care of you guys anymore.”

“Second time~”

As soon as Kaneki Ken finished speaking, a clear electric sound came from the frontcourt into the ears of the Lakers players.

“Very good, kid…” Michael Jordan, with a roaring black dragon in his pupils, slowly dribbled the ball across the midfield line, looked at Kaneki Ken calmly and said, “It seems that I really didn’t wait so long in vain… You really are… the best opponent I have ever met in such a long time!”

“Opponent? I’m afraid that’s not the right word, Michael!” Kaneki Ken looked into Michael Jordan’s eyes calmly and said, “I don’t think you’re my opponent right now… You’re just another poor wretch who’s about to be defeated by me!”

As Kaneki Ken finished his words, a slender arm accompanied by lightning suddenly appeared in front of the basketball in Michael Jordan’s hand.

(End of this chapter)