Juri Ueno from Kuroko's Basketball

Seeing Midorima arrive late, and then glancing at Takao, who was panting heavily behind him, Kise couldn't help but smile and wave at him.

"Midori, you seem to be late."

He raised his hand to push up his glasses, looked down at the basketball court that had already begun to be cleaned, glanced at the scoreboard, frowned slightly, and then calmly said.

"Completely defenseless?"

Upon hearing this, Kise also looked towards the scoreboard, somewhat puzzled about the upcoming basketball games at Tokyo University.

"Not entirely. Alright, Midori, I'm off now. Let's get together sometime."

After saying that, Kise waved to the somewhat confused Midorima and then turned and left.

"Not entirely?"

Midorima glanced at the ragdoll cat in his hand, then pushed up his glasses. What did Kise mean by that?

Meanwhile, Takao slumped down on a bench to rest.

He really disliked Touou High School.

It's not just that it's huge, but they also built the basketball court at the very back, making it take him ages to find it on his tricycle.

"Let's go!"

Midorima gently called out to Takao, who was slumped over there, and then turned and left.

"Nani?"

Seeing Midorima turn and leave, Takao, who had just sat down and hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath, was stunned.

…………

On the subway.

Looking at the silent Kuroko beside him, Kagami couldn't help but feel a little concerned.

"Heizi, what's wrong?"

Hei Zi shook his head slightly to indicate that he was fine, and remained silent.

Turning his head to look out the window, Kuroko was very curious about Tokyo University's number one player.

The other person seemed to be shorter than him.

...............

On the bus at Dongda University.

Sitting quietly in the back, Ueno glanced at the exhausted crowd, then at Kurumaya Sora, who was standing silently with his head down. He didn't know what to say.

Today was just a friendly match.

But it was also the first basketball game since their basketball club was officially established.

It can be said that it is still very meaningful.

But, to my utter surprise, the defeat was so humiliating.

This is definitely a significant blow to them.

Looking at his team members through the rearview mirror, Coach Xinhe, sitting in the passenger seat, sighed inwardly.

Their university, Dongda, has been established for over a decade.

However, the basketball team has only been established for less than a month.

He had actually guessed the outcome of today's match.

However, Ueno's strength surprised and pleased him.

However, no matter how strong a person is, it is impossible for them to lift the championship trophy alone.

And the overall level of the University of Tokyo is indeed very weak.

And given their current strength and condition, it's questionable whether they can even make it into the preliminary rounds.

Most likely, the Summer Split will be just a formality.

Just as Ueno was reflecting on Coach Shinkawa's words, Kurumaya Sora, who had been silent beside him, suddenly spoke up.

"Ueno, I'm sorry."

Upon hearing this, Ueno was taken aback, and then looked at Kurumani Sora, who was standing to the side with his head down, and asked in confusion.

"Kong, what are you saying? Why are you suddenly apologizing to me?"

Without looking up, Kurumi Sora kept his head down and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

"Ueno, it's all because I dragged everyone down."

After replacing Ueno, Kurumani Sora immediately faced off against Aomine.

Even when Aomine was exhausted, he was no match for him.

As the ace player, Qingfeng is naturally the main scorer.

Therefore, in the later stages of the game, almost all the points were lost with empty hands.

Looking at the self-reproaching Sora, Ueno gently shook his head and smiled.

“Ah Kong, this is not your problem, it is my problem.”

Kurumaya Sora trembled slightly, but did not respond to Ueno's words.

For Dongda University, today's friendly match was absolutely unforgettable.

Without him.

They only managed to score three goals simply because Ueno wasn't on the field.

Furthermore, all three of these shots were thrown by Toou High School.

As Kurumi Sora fell silent, the bus fell silent once more.

Even the usually very active Kamijou Ichi was sitting quietly to the side, wrapped tightly in his coat.

The bus slowly drove to the entrance of Southeast University.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Coach Xinhe did not get up and get out of the car, but remained silent for a moment before speaking.

"The true charm of basketball lies not in winning!"

"If you only think about winning, you will miss out on a lot."

After saying that, Coach Xinhe got up and got out of the car.

Finally, he left one last sentence.

"If we lose this time, we'll win it back next time."

Upon hearing this, everyone at Dongda University inexplicably felt their eyes redden slightly.

…………

Tokyo University High School.

Stretching, Ueno glanced cautiously at the teacher who was lecturing, only to find that the teacher hadn't noticed him secretly sleeping.

Ueno secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, without even realizing it, I let out a big yawn.

Five days have passed since the last friendly match with Touou.

The Summer Split is next week, less than a week away.

And during these five days.

The members of the Dongda basketball team seemed like completely different people.

I used to arrive at the basketball court around 7 o'clock, but ever since I lost to Touou...

Now, before six o'clock in the morning, the lights on the basketball courts at the University of Tokyo are already on.

Ueno has also been training his physical fitness like crazy these past few days.

He trains with the basketball team during the day and does extra practice on his own at night.

So he would doze off during class, but luckily his grades were pretty good.

Otherwise, I'd probably fail a lot of courses.

As for the rest of the basketball team, apart from Miyako and Shin, the other players' performances were somewhere between acceptable and unacceptable.

Chapter 28 Weekend

The basketball court at Dongda University.

When Ueno arrived at the basketball court with Kurumaya Sora and Osaka, Miyagi and the others were already there.

When he saw Ueno and the others arrive, Miyagi wiped the sweat from his forehead and greeted them with a smile.

"Ueno, you've arrived."

"senior."