Kuroko’s Basketball: Before Generation Miracles, I Already Crowned

On Court No. 2, where Midorima Shintarō was playing, Chiba Toshio was struggling miserably on offense. He was completely overwhelmed by Midorima's outstanding defensive technique.

This was textbook academy-style defense, precise, technical, and backed by athleticism. Chiba Toshio had only encountered this level of defense when going up against first-string players before. Even with his speed, he couldn't shake off this first-year opponent, and had no way to break through.

Smack!

This time,

It was a clean steal, Midorima had read the timing perfectly.

A while later...

"No way, did Chiba Toshio really just..."

"He looks awful out there."

"First it was Atsushi Murasakibara, now it's Shintarō Midorima, this is just like last year, isn't it?"

"It's not just those two…"

"Courts 4 and 5 are the same. Two guys with colored hair, one's named Seijūrō Akashi, the other's Daiki Aomine, both nearly pitched shutouts…"

"Huh?"

"So that's four of them already?!"

At that moment, Court No. 2, closest to the second-string's main Court No. 1, had reached its final stretch.

On the court.

10–2.

Chiba Toshio had only scored twice.

Now it was Midorima's turn on offense. Every bit of his ball handling revolved around the three-point shot, but Chiba Toshio couldn't stop it. And even worse,

He never missed!

Across from Chiba Toshio,

Midorima took a cross-step, stopped on a dime, stepped back, this was the 11th three-pointer after ten in a row, and all the second-stringers on the sidelines stared, transfixed, at the ball as it spun through the air with mesmerizing beauty.

They were all thinking the same thing...

It's over. He made it again.

Swish, !

The ball sliced through the net cleanly. The net flipped and snapped with perfect elegance.

At the same time,

The final whistle blew on Court No. 2.

Almost simultaneously, loud shouting erupted from one of the other courts.

"Too weak!"

"Second-string losers!"

"I told you, I want to play for the first-string!"

"Can I challenge the first-string now?!"

Midorima Shintarō had always disliked this kind of noise. He turned to glance at the commotion and immediately spotted the guy in the center of it all, ball resting at his hip, dark-skinned with short blue hair.

He also noticed the scoreboard on that side.

69011:0.

Midorima: "...!"

He remembered that guy's name… Daiki Aomine, wasn't it?

Instinctively, he looked back at his own scoreboard. 11–2. Midorima frowned slightly, because beyond that, he could also see Court No. 4 across from them.

That match had just ended too, with the same score, 11–2. Walking off the court was a red-haired boy who didn't even look 170 cm tall.

Midorima's memory was excellent. During a break in the match, he'd heard the name, Seijūrō Akashi.

The shouting from Court No. 5 still hadn't died down.

But soon, just as everyone, including Midorima and Akashi, was thinking Aomine was getting way too cocky, the noise abruptly stopped. The whole gym went silent.

"I said it already…"

"You've qualified for the first-string. There will be an additional test later."

"I want to fight someone from the first-string!"

"There aren't any first-stringers present today!"

"Liar..."

"Aren't those two guys right there?"

"That one, Shigure Akihito!"

The second-string player managing Court No. 5 immediately looked serious. "Address him as senpai. Shigure is the vice-captain of the team. You may be, "

Before he could finish, Sanada Naoto on the sideline waved to stop him.

Because Sanada had already seen it.

Shigure Akihito… was taking off his jacket.

Sanada: "…"

Sanada: "Let Shigure test this newbie."

Nearby,

The coaching staff looked startled.

"Are you sure about this? He's just a freshman. If Shigure plays him, it might crush the kid's spirit."

Sanada shook his head. "That's exactly why we should. A blow like this might be just what he needs."

He paused.

Then added, "No need to go overboard, just have Shigure play three possessions."

"Understood."

At that moment,

[Current 'Path of Glory' Quest: 'Welcome to Teiko · I'...]

Quest Objective: During entrance trials, defeat one future 'Generation of Miracles' member.

Reward: Designated Talent Unlock Card ×1

Nijimura Shuzo gave Shigure Akihito a strange look. He couldn't figure out why Shigure was suddenly so fired up. Ever since last year's perfect record, he'd only shown interest in playing against Nijimura himself.

But just now,

As soon as that dark-skinned kid called him out, Shigure immediately stripped off his jacket.

"…"

Thinking back to the frenzy of last year's 'Top Ten Schools Tournament,' Nijimura couldn't help but warn him:

"Go easy on him, Shigure."

"I mean…"

"He's just a first-year."

Shigure picked up a ball from beside his foot and turned back with a casual, "OK."

But as Nijimura looked at the gleam in Shigure's eyes, that "OK" didn't feel very... OK.

Moments later,

Aomine's original opponent walked off the court with his head low, wearing a complex expression.

Taking his place was Shigure Akihito.

As soon as Aomine saw the figure standing in front of him, he felt a ferocious pressure sweep toward him.

"Shigure Akihito…"

He remembered the Tokyo District prelims from last year. The moment that image came to mind, Aomine's entire body buzzed with excitement.

"Hah~"

"I've finally met you!"

"I'm 175 cm tall now, but it looks like you've grown even more."

"But…"

"Doesn't matter."

"I'll beat you here and now, and join the first-string!"

Shigure shook his head. "What if I told you, if you beat me, you wouldn't just be first-string, you'd be a starter?"

"Huh?"

"Really?"

"But Momoi said starters aren't decided by just 1v1s?"

Shigure: "…"

"She's right."

"…Yeah."

Hearing their exasperating exchange, Sanada Naoto walked up and directly announced: "Three possessions. Aomine has first ball."

Afraid Aomine would complain, Sanada blew his whistle quickly. And as expected, Aomine was very unhappy about only getting three plays.

"Seriously…"

"Just three? That's not enough..."

Shigure tossed the ball to him and raised an eyebrow with a grin. "I think it's more than enough. After all, the more we play, the more boring it'll be, just me repeatedly beating you."

"For someone like you, I don't need that many moves~"

Shigure's confidence came from two things:

First, this Aomine, in terms of physical ability and technique, was nowhere near ready to face him.

Second,

After perfecting his record last year, all his training and talent investments had gone into a single player profile:

Training Mode: Shinichi Maki.

Right now, this version of Maki was his most fully developed talent card. And the only reason Shigure dared go all-in was because, Training Maki was absurdly strong.

Hearing his words, Aomine suddenly smiled.

"Since you put it like that, I'll show you what I've been practicing, just for the chance to beat you!"

"Alright. Come at me."

Tap,

Tap,

Tap,

This was a completely different vibe from the earlier matches.

Aomine's dribble was crisp and tight, skills forged on the streetball courts. Compared to the rigid triple-threat playstyle, he clearly preferred the unrestrained flow of freestyle offense.

Shigure focused on his movements.

They were flashy.

Even more than in the manga's depiction of his high school "streetball-style hyperspeed dribble."

Which made sense, streetball often began this way: chasing flash and flair. Only after countless games would players refine their style into something that worked on the court.

And right now, Aomine was still deep in that flashy phase.

But to be fair…

Streetball had lots of holes, but visually, it looked amazing.

Right in front of Shigure, Aomine pulled off a continuous string of flashy crossovers.

Whether it was cross-dribbles or through-the-legs, every move reeked of streetball flair. It wasn't the clean, efficient style of formal basketball. Aomine was fast, sure, but his rhythm was unpredictable, and his moves downright weird.

Butterfly weave!

Left!

Massive spin into a behind-the-back!

Right!

Feint probe!

Aomine's shifting center of gravity threw out one dazzling move after another.

"Streetball…?"

"This is the first freshman I've seen using streetball moves…"

"That ball-handling is insane!"

"But Shigure isn't even budging, actually, he looks like he's just playing along?"

"What else would you expect…"

On the sidelines,

Akashi watched Aomine's footwork seriously. Though he didn't approve, he had to admit, when it came to ball handling, whether speed, rhythm, or skill…

Aomine had him beat.

"Huh?"

"Is dark-skin freshman doing a dance~?"

Akashi turned toward Atsushi Murasakibara, who stood a full head taller and was watching with idle curiosity.

Behind him, Midorima was scolding Murasakibara while hurriedly stuffing his spilled snack wrappers back into his arms.

Back on the court,

Aomine's fancy footwork continued.

But the fact that it was still going was already strange.

He was dribbling… for too long.

Tap, !

The moment the ball rebounded, Aomine exploded into motion, while Shigure tracked his core with razor focus. From the outside, it looked like a fierce duel had erupted.

Aomine's offense tried pulling Shigure left and right, but no matter what he threw at him, the guy stayed right in front of him.

Tap, tap, tap,

In under 20 seconds,

Aomine drove.

Denied.

Tried again.

Blocked again.

The two shadows exchanged blows in a blur of offense and defense, dozens of times in a few seconds!

Off to the side, Nijimura shook his head. He knew it well, Shigure's game reading had improved dramatically over the past half-year. Right now, he was toying with this first-year using nothing but raw speed.

Shigure's speed…

Was on a completely different level.

Even if his defensive reading hadn't improved, this freshman still had zero chance of getting past him.

The other onlookers started to notice it too. Shigure Akihito hadn't made a single hand movement, his entire defense was just footwork. Rapid, precise steps that sealed Aomine off again and again.

He was too fast.

Sometimes he'd even get in position after Aomine moved, yet still block him perfectly.

On the court, Aomine's easygoing expression was long gone. His face was growing serious. With the shot clock running low, he gritted his teeth and dove forward with a sudden twist of the hips!

No more streetball. At the critical moment, it was all-out speed.

The Teiko players on the sideline had barely realized what happened before Aomine broke loose, but,

The moment the clock hit its limit, Shigure, who had already been waiting to end this possession, moved even faster!

Maki Shinichi: Lurking Steal!

Advanced Talent, Lurking Intercept!

[Lurking Intercept: When blocking an opponent's drive, time your motion perfectly to instantly strip the ball with enhanced speed.]

Shigure's expression remained calm.]

In the blink of an eye,

He dropped his center of gravity and lunged forward,

Smack, !

A crisp sound rang out as his hand slapped the ball.

Aomine was momentarily stunned, forced to charge forward.

He made it to the paint,

But the ball… was gone.

He turned around,

To see Shigure Akihito, one leg lunged forward, waist low, arm outstretched, clutching the ball that had just been in Aomine's hands.

Seeing this, all the freshmen watching gasped in unison.

One possession.

One footwork-only lock.

One final move,

Clean kill!

Shigure Akihito turned with the ball in one hand and looked at Aomine.

"Dark-skinned freshman~"

"Welcome to Teiko."

End of chapter...

To be continued...

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