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

"Faster Mibuchi..."

"Captain Nijimura and Shigure-senpai definitely went out to play basketball! They even brought that green-haired guy, but not me?!"

"You telling me I'm worse than that guy who only knows how to shoot threes?!"

Aomine Daiki grumbled as he clutched the strap of his ball bag. Behind him, Momoi Satsuki was forced to half-jog to keep up.

"Aomine, are you sure there's even a court in a place like this...?"

"There is."

"Though I've only heard about it, something about being a hangout for delinquent middle schoolers…"

Momoi hesitated, clearly concerned. "Is it really okay for middle schoolers to be playing there?"

Thinking back to Nijimura's vibe earlier today, Aomine rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't be surprised if that place was Nijimura's actual home court."

"Ah!"

"We're here!"

"This is the place!"

Beneath a highway overpass along a narrow path beside the embankment, the concrete foundations neatly formed a perfect streetball court.

Graffiti sprawled across the surface. Natural "bleachers" formed by the slope of the overpass flanked either side, and people slid down them constantly, hyping up the atmosphere, this court had pure streetball flavor.

However…

VROOM, ! VROOM, !

The roar of motorcycles echoed above. On the slopes, students sat in contorted postures, cigarette smoke curling lazily in the air. It lived up to its name, this was the legendary hangout of juvenile delinquents.

"Mibuchi…"

"Wait here. I'll go in alone."

"Huh?"

"Okay... sure."

But just then,

A commotion stirred on the court.

A towering figure, about the same height as Shigure Akihito, but with far more bulk, suddenly hurled a basketball straight at him the moment Shigure stepped onto the court.

And yet,

With just a subtle shift of his body, Shigure caught the ball one-handed, smoothly dribbled it through his legs, spun in place, and, bang!, the ball launched back at double the speed!

WHOOSH, !

It whizzed right past the guy who'd thrown it, grazing his ear,

CRASH!

, smashing into a pile of bottles and cans.

Even from a distance, Aomine could make out the mess, it was a crate full of beer bottles.

The crowd was stunned for a second by Shigure's fluid, explosive reaction, then erupted into cheers!

"Damn! That's the Shigure monster for you!"

"HAHAHA! Haizaki brought people to cause trouble again~"

"Dumbass! Picking a fight with Shigure Akihito again?! When will you learn?!"

"Nijimura's here too!"

"Boss! That bald guy threw the ball, he's from some high school called 'Shōin'!"

Despite the hostile, outsider atmosphere, Haizaki Shōgo didn't back down. He even flipped off the crowd with a defiant grin, triggering another wave of chaos.

That is, until Nijimura Shuzo raised his hand.

Suddenly, the entire court fell silent.

Midorima Shintarō had been scowling since the moment he arrived. Seeing Nijimura's casual wave bring about absolute silence, like a king commanding his court, his expression darkened further.

It hit him.

With this atmosphere, this "filter"...

It was going to be hard to ever look at Teiko's first string team normally again.

Behind them, Aomine, who had rushed down, ready to back them up, froze in place.

He had joked about it earlier, but this... this was really Nijimura's home turf. No doubt about it.

Scanning the area, with all those flashy hair colors and punk-style leather jackets that looked nothing like anything you'd wear for basketball...

Aomine stood at the edge of the slope, deciding to just watch, for now.

On the court,

Haizaki Shōgo was cocky as hell.

But the three high schoolers from Shōin who came with him started paling fast, overwhelmed by the crowd's aggressive, almost hostile energy. They even forgot to respond to the ball being thrown back at them.

"What's wrong?"

"Scared?"

"Tch."

Haizaki's little snort seemed to hit a nerve in the bald guy from Shōin. He scoffed, "Scared? Of what? Just a bunch of middle school brats!"

"Haizaki went through the trouble of calling us, we have to show some love in return~"

"But Haizaki…"

"You know the deal, right? If you're asking for help, you gotta treat your senpai right~"

Haizaki smirked. "Don't worry. Take care of those two, and I'll cover your pachinko fund for the whole day."

"Take care of them?"

"No, no, "

"We're Shōin's starters now. We can't get violent like we used to."

"Basketball works just fine, right?"

"Didn't you say you lost to these guys last time, in basketball?"

Haizaki sneered. These guys talked tough a second ago, but now that things felt off, they were getting cold feet.

Tch. Trash.

I'll crush them all today.

At that moment, the bald, musclebound guy from Shōin swaggered up to Shigure, full of bravado. The crowd instantly backed away, making space to spectate.

"Kid. I'm Nikaidō Akira from Shōin. Wanna play a few rounds?"

"Yeah, I'm a high schooler, "

"But I heard you're one of those 'Teiko Twin Stars,' right?"

"You're not scared, are ya?"

The whole court erupted in wicked grins. Clearly, this "Nikaidō from Shōin" had no idea what "Teiko's Twin Stars" actually meant.

Well… he was just a high schooler.

"Shōin…"

"...is it?" Shigure replied, stepping up face to face.

Nikaidō didn't catch the irony in his voice. He even put on a mock-sympathetic tone and said, "Gotta admit, for a second-year middle schooler, your build's pretty good. But guess what? I'm a second-year high schooler!"

"As your upperclassman, let me show you how it's done~"

Shigure raised an eyebrow.

The whole court paused.

Then broke into explosive laughter.

"Best joke I've heard all year."

"Unreal!"

"Like, how can you not know..."

"Guess high schoolers don't keep up with middle school basketball, huh?"

"Don't blink, y'all, it's gonna end real fast!"

"HAHAHA!"

The other two from Shōin started realizing something was off... but still, what could a middle schooler really do?

"No worries."

"Akira'll school him good."

"Akira's one of Shōin's top players. He'll flatten this kid in no time. No need for a full-on match!"

Nikaidō grinned and tossed the ball to Shigure, crouching down into a defensive stance, offering the first move.

Shigure glanced at him and hesitated a moment.

"Mind giving me a minute?"

"Huh?"

"What, getting cold feet now? You can back out, y'know…"

Nikaidō rubbed his fingers together, implying money, but Shigure's reply was a strange smile:

"I just need to warm up a little~ Won't take long~"

"Warm up? Now?"

"Tch. Five minutes enough?"

Shigure shook his head. "Won't need that long~"

Under the confused gazes of the Shōin trio, Shigure casually shot around for about a minute. His form was clean, and his shots accurate, but nothing flashy.

"Alright~"

"You said I could go first, right?"

He spun the ball between his hands, then assumed a textbook triple-threat stance. After a short feint, he began to move.

Tap, tap, tap,

His smooth, snappy, fluid in-and-out dribble had a rhythm that was mesmerizing.

Nikaidō, for his size, reacted well. He kept up, didn't get shaken off, and didn't lose position.

"Pfft. Is this all you've got?"

But,

Before he could finish talking,

Shigure attacked.

Simple. Brutal. Wild.

Like a mammoth charging!

BOOM, !

From the slope, Midorima and Aomine both felt it.

That aura of raw, feral power, like a prehistoric beast descending upon the court!

Aomine instantly realized, this Shigure was stronger than he'd ever seen before.

Not just technically…

But physically.

With a smooth step-through, Shigure exploded!

BOOM, !

The mammoth's fury roared through the air.

He blasted past Nikaidō's defense in a blink, barreled into the paint, and behind him, a monstrous dark aura took shape, tusks and all!

Nikaidō was flattened.

And no,

This wasn't a foul. Not on the streets.

Anyone watching could tell.

He was beat clean. Tried to recover. Failed.

BOOM, !

Sen, dō Akira's Flying Tomahawk!

The dunk left a skid trail on the court as the crowd went wild, a feral roar, a streetball celebration as raw as a victory in a brawl.

The two other Shōin players were stunned.

Even Haizaki looked shaken.

He'd only played against Nijimura before, and that guy was already a monster. But this? This might be even worse!

Meanwhile, Nikaidō stared up at Shigure, who was still hanging from the rim, doing a pull-up and soaking in the cheers.

"No way…"

"A middle… schooler?!"

CLANG, !

Shigure dropped.

Nikaidō's muttering was nothing new, Nijimura had heard those same words last year too many times to count.

But seeing his opponent flattened again, with the crowd screaming for him, it still sent adrenaline surging through Shigure's veins.

SLAP,

"I took the first shot…"

"Your turn."

That warm-up was for this exact moment.

Time to unleash the trump card.

A moment later,

A deafening crack echoed across the court. Nikaidō's drive was cut short by Shigure's palm, slamming the ball down,

Grabbed.

Nikaidō, sent flying out of bounds!

This was Makunouchi Shinichi's special, 'Imperial Defense'!

With his close-up block evolved into an "Imperial Close Block," Shigure snatched the ball midair,

And without wasting the momentum,

Passed it, midair!

Midorima caught it in shock, but instinctively rose up for a long three-pointer, one step behind the arc.

Swish, !

"...!?"

Incredible… what a pass!

Perfect trajectory. Perfect angle. He didn't even need to adjust.

He just... rose up and shot.

Shigure-senpai…

To pass like that, in midair, right after a block?!

Even his passing was monstrous?!

SLAP,

Shigure landed.

Makunouchi Shinichi's ultimate move had three branches: Imperial Pass, Imperial Offense, Imperial Defense.

What Shigure just did was:

[Imperial Defense · Close Block]: When activated, your vertical leap increases. If you successfully block your opponent, the ball is retained and can be passed instantly in midair.

And Midorima's reception?

That came from the talent,

[Imperial Pass · Better Teammates]: A perfectly-timed imperial pass empowers your teammate to execute receiving-based offensive skills more fluidly, reducing block windows.

That combo,

Was a double strike.

End of chapter...

To be continued...

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