Chapter 028
Nebuya slumped onto the bench and complained: "Seriously, I thought this would be a simple game, but our opponents are incredibly strong! Hanamiya, you really know how to find trouble!"
Hanamiya's mouth curled into a cold smile: "Hmph, they're definitely tricky, and I'm starting to understand their abilities. But I don't think that's all the strength they have over there."
Shoichi Imayoshi spoke with gravity: "The main issue is Aomine—his speed is too overwhelming. If we can't contain him, it'll be extremely difficult for us to win."
Kotaro Hayama said with displeasure: "I'll guard against him."
Imayoshi ignored Hayama and continued: "Moreover, besides Aomine, Murasakibara's defensive ability shouldn't be underestimated. Not just defense—Atsushi Murasakibara's offense is also formidable, especially his rebounding."
Meanwhile, on Team MiracleCreator's side:
"Dai-chan, you should have told me you were coming to play! Coming here all by yourself," Momoi said with obvious dissatisfaction. Looking at Aomine, Murasakibara, and Haizaki, she could see from their heavy sweating that their opponents were genuinely formidable.
Aomine scratched his head with embarrassment: "It's just street basketball—I originally thought it would be simple. Who knew the opponents would be this strong?"
"Tch, I'm definitely going to crush them all in the second quarter," Murasakibara said angrily. Those guys on the other side were genuinely strong, managing to steal several of his plays and making the game surprisingly challenging.
"Um, Aomine-san, please let me play in the second quarter!" Kuroko said with a pleading expression.
Murasakibara looked at Kuroko with confusion: "No way. Kuroko-chin is supposed to play in the second half!"
"Please, let me play," Kuroko continued pleading with his characteristic expressionless face.
Haizaki tried to explain: "It's not that we won't let you play, Kuroko. Your misdirection technique works best when deployed in the first quarter, but after the second quarter, its effectiveness gradually diminishes. If you play now, by the third quarter your misdirection will be minimally effective. The second half is when you should come in!"
Kuroko replied stubbornly: "I can handle playing through the third quarter."
Ranki listened with growing irritation. This stubborn attitude, this demanding look—did he really think he was that powerful? He was always just relying on others' strength anyway.
"Just let him play, Atsushi, Haizaki," Aomine looked at Kuroko's determined expression and chose to believe in him: "Besides, isn't our situation somewhat stalemated right now? If we put Tetsuya in, we'll definitely be able to reverse the current momentum."
Haizaki sighed helplessly: "While that may be true, his misdirection technique does have limits. The ability will disappear after extended use."
Aomine responded with dissatisfaction to both teammates: "Haizaki, you haven't seen how incredible Tetsuya's passing really is. I believe he'll definitely be able to save the team."
"It's only the first quarter, and we're not losing, Aomine," Ranki said with slight exasperation. He felt resentful toward Kuroko for stealing away what might have been his starting position.
"It's a stalemate, but I'm not going to lose," Murasakibara pouted with dissatisfaction: "Just do whatever you want."
"Great!" Aomine said with obvious excitement. Though Kuroko had joined the first-string and become an official member, many first-string players still didn't fully accept him since his individual strength was genuinely weak. "Come on, Tetsuya! Show them how amazing you are."
"Yes, Aomine-san."
"That's right, do your best!" Murasakibara placed his large hand directly on Kuroko's head, his invisible intimidating presence bearing down as he said half-jokingly: "Don't make any mistakes, Kuroko-chin, or I'll crush you!"
"Of course, that's just a joke. Anyway, good luck!"
Aomine protested: "Atsushi, stop bullying Tetsuya all the time, you bastard."
"Yeah, yeah."
Momoi said helplessly from the sideline: "Kuroko-san, don't take it too seriously. Atsushi is like this—he likes joking around with friends. When he first started joking with me like that, I was scared half to death."
"Yes," Kuroko replied expressionlessly.
The second quarter began.
Kuroko entered as the ultimate sixth man, and Kotaro Hayama looked at him with confusion: "Is that guy even a player? A substitute? Why didn't I notice him before?"
"Don't worry about such a weak guy!" Nebuya said coldly. Kuroko had no muscle definition at all and looked so frail—there was no way anyone could see him as a basketball player.
'Such poor physical conditioning! What are they thinking bringing him in?' Hanamiya studied Kuroko, noting that all his physical measurements were completely ordinary, similar to a regular person. His limbs showed no muscle development, and his jumping power and explosiveness appeared terrible. He couldn't understand their strategy.
While Shoichi Imayoshi found it strange, he figured they'd only have to deal with the three somewhat troublesome players—Aomine, Murasakibara, and Haizaki. He passed to Kotaro Hayama: "Forget about him—let's secure this possession first!"
Hayama had just received the ball when he noticed predatory eyes locked onto him from the opposing side. He felt internal shock: 'What terrifying concentration! Fine then—let's test this! Lightning Dribble—Level 5!'
In an instant, Hayama's dribbling speed became truly lightning-fast, blowing past Aomine initially. But Aomine immediately recovered defensively the next moment, shocking Hayama: 'This speed has increased again! Is this... the Zone?'
At the moment of Hayama's surprise, Kuroko appeared behind him without warning and cleanly stole the basketball.
'This guy—when did he show up? I had no idea he was there.' Hayama looked startled at Kuroko behind him.
30 advance chapters- patreon.com/PrinceVegetable