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

The two from Shōin High, Tsuno Satoru and his friend, had been sitting near the hoop to rest while watching the game up close. But right after Shigure Akihito's mammoth dunk...

The entire hoop collapsed.

And it fell toward them!

"Ugh...!"

In the instant his brain went blank, Tsuno reacted purely on instinct, tumbling away in a clumsy roll to dodge just in time. As he looked up, he locked eyes with a Teiko middle schooler, Shigure Akihito, who was holding up the collapsed hoop with one hand, staring at him with a strange expression.

Tsuno awkwardly scratched his foot in embarrassment.

The dead silence of the crowd made him feel like he was being interrogated under a spotlight.

But...

That was just his imagination.

Because everyone present was equally stunned, staring at the sight of Shigure Akihito holding up the backboard with one hand to keep the rim from slamming into the ground.

Tomoya Inoue swallowed nervously, yet again reassessing this Shigure-senpai's monstrous strength, and stepped forward to help.

Meanwhile,

Midorima Shintarō looked grave, while Aomine Daiki's eyes gleamed with excitement.

As for Haizaki Shōgo and the fallen Shōin center, their faces were switching between red and black from sheer frustration, especially Haizaki...

"Huh?"

"Haizaki, come on now..."

"At this level, you really shouldn't be mocking Aomine anymore. He's clearly way stronger than you~"

Haizaki's expression darkened terrifyingly. On the other side, Aomine grinned and chimed in, "Exactly. You're not even close!"

At that moment,

"Shigure..."

Shigure Akihito: "!"

"If you pull down another hoop, you're fixing every last one of them yourself."

Shigure Akihito: "..."

...

Moments later,

A bunch of flashy delinquents rummaged through the pile of broken hoops and cobbled together a 'new' one with surprising skill.

The Shōin trio, finally regaining their composure, quietly nudged Haizaki.

"That guy... who is he...?"

"Are you dumb?"

"I told you, he's from Teiko."

"Yeah, I know..."

"But still..."

"He brought down a hoop. A whole hoop!"

"That's insane! Even if Teiko's good, there's no way a middle schooler should be this strong! Is he even human?!"

From what they saw, this middle schooler's performance was already monstrous by high school standards!

Soon, the makeshift hoop was in place.

Under countless warnings from the delinquents, the game resumed.

Then...

Just as expected by everyone present,

Shigure Akihito stepped into the paint.

"Heh~"

"If it's full-court..."

"Then Shigure Akihito's the one who's complete."

Every middle schooler delinquent present knew this move all too well.

The monster Shigure's specialty, an overwhelming defensive ability casually named "Ultra-Wide Zone Defense." The name may be laid-back, but the effect was terrifying beyond compare.

This time,

To avoid Haizaki getting smashed again, two of Shōin's big men inbounded the ball specifically to Aomine Daiki.

Their reasoning? Since Aomine was from Teiko's First String too, he should be just as strong.

And sure enough,

Facing Tomoya Inoue's defense, Aomine immediately showed off god-tier ball control.

Natsuki lowered his stance seriously, already aware at first glance that this would not be easy to guard!

"You're pretty good~"

"But now it's my turn. Stopping me won't be that easy!"

With that, Aomine's dribbling turned streetball-like, each motion full of unpredictable rhythm and pressure.

Focus,

Even if his moves are tricky...

Just focus...

Tomoya Inoue threw himself fully into defense.

But...

Smack! Smack!

Aomine's speed soared. His body flowed like water, his center of gravity shifting fluidly. Each dribble teased a breakthrough.

His movements defied logic, smooth as silk, yet made up of pieces that shouldn't even fit together.

And yet,

They worked.

That's talent.

Smack!

A final change of direction opened a gap in Natsuki's defense. Aomine saw it, seized it, and blew past him!

In an instant,

Aomine vanished from Natsuki's sight!

A clean breakaway!

Natsuki couldn't even attempt to chase!

He had never faced such a strong peer, not even among the upperclassmen like Nijimura or Shigure!

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The ball echoed like thunder as Aomine charged forward, blowing past Midorima's help defense. Before him now,

An open paint.

In a 4v4 setup, pulling two defenders meant the weakside was wide open!

Whoosh!

However,

That's true in normal circumstances.

Enter Gokudai Tomokazu, Full Acceleration! (伍代友和・全力加速!)

Shigure Akihito, now 184 cm tall with elite athletic attributes, pivoted from near the free-throw line, keeping within max shot-blocking range, ready to strike.

Aomine, having seen Shigure's fearsome blocks firsthand, both as a participant and spectator, was all too aware.

The freshman Aomine, not yet the lone wolf, leapt for a shot to bait Shigure's block, and drew him in.

Then,

With a sly grin, lobbed a high pass toward the paint.

An alley-oop...

To Haizaki Shōgo?!

"I'll admit that was a decent pass, you damn dark-skinned bastard!"

"Now take THIS, "

Haizaki!

With Midorima pulled away to help, Haizaki dashed into the paint and leapt, at 175 cm, still capable of finishing the oop.

But just as his fingers touched the ball,

A devilish whisper crawled into his ear:

"Take what?"

"Still got time to talk...?"

"What is this... a chuunibyou act?"

Amid cheers, Shigure Akihito, just moments after leaping from the free-throw line, soared again from the paint's side, reaching an unthinkable height.

Makunouchi Shin'ichi, Close-Up Block! (牧绅一・款身蓋帽!)

Talent: Seal!

As he closed in, even without overflowing "Wildness," the air slicing pressure made Haizaki's hair stand on end!

Boom!

A solid block echoed, followed by Shigure's playful taunt:

"No-fly zone, buddy~"

"You've crashed."

Thud!

Haizaki crashed to the ground.

But unlike Tsuno earlier, this was just a standard block, he quickly got up to rush back on defense.

On the other end,

Nijimura Shuzō had the ball.

This time,

Aomine stepped up to guard him.

Taking a deep breath, still shaken from Nijimura's surgical 1v2 split-and-kick in the previous play, Aomine personally switched onto him.

Phew...

That high schooler...

Got blown by in an instant...

Teiko's captain...

With a lion's aura.

Too strong!

Come to think of it,

Teiko Middle School, with both Nijimura and Shigure, really was too powerful last year. No wonder they led the team to the national title as first-years.

Anything less would've been bizarre.

Focus...

Need to focus more!

Smack!

Nijimura's technique was razor-sharp!

Boom!

Mid-move, he caught Aomine's feet crossing...

Breakthrough!

Collision!

Direct. Precise. Brutal.

And then,

Aomine looked back, only to find the ball gone from Nijimura's hands!

Midorima Shintarō: "..."

Nice pass...

Incredible...

So the Twin Stars...

Are both elite passers?

Midorima, who had repositioned perfectly, sank the open three!

"The green-haired guy nailed it!"

"Another Teiko first-year...?"

"Seems he's strong too."

"Actually, none of these first-years are weak."

"Something's weird about this year..."

Haizaki, still locked on Shigure, wasn't surprised by Nijimura's skill. He already knew that beast.

But this guy in front of him...

Strong, yes.

Yet strangely passive on offense.

"Don't underestimate me..."

"Why don't you attack?!"

Shigure simply smiled and held up two fingers, shaking them with a grin.

"Right now, I've got two. You've got zero. That means I'm winning~"

"Who says..."

"You can't win with defense~"

"Even just two points, if I keep you at zero, it's still my win~"

"But..."

"That doesn't mean I'll go easy on you~"

Haizaki's eyes widened. "You... You bastard! You actually dare say that?!"

Just then,

Shigure Akihito proved he meant it.

Fujima Kenji, Green Light! Activated!

Target: Haizaki Shōgo!

A dense wave of "Wildness" crashed forward.

Black...

Formed a wall!

A mammoth's stomp and roar charged straight at Haizaki's face,

He'd seen this before, on that lunatic Nijimura!

What was this ability?!

On defense again,

This time, Haizaki used a screen to escape Shigure's range, but Shigure's reaction speed was unreal. One pivot, and he slipped around it!

Just as Haizaki prepared to shoot, he froze.

Too fast!

Too quick!

What the hell is this?!

After cutting Haizaki off again, Shigure returned to the free-throw line area, maintaining his ultra-wide coverage. Haizaki tried again,

But got picked up by Nijimura.

Haizaki: "..."

Damn it!

Smack!

Scissor step!

Through-the-legs crossover!

Nijimura's defense was airtight!

"Again."

If Shigure's casual style and mocking gaze annoyed Haizaki, then Nijimura's aloof tone infuriated him.

"You two..."

"When it comes to being annoying, you really are Teiko's Twin Stars!"

Bastards!

Smack! Smack!

Haizaki exploded forward!

"I'll finish you in one go!"

Nijimura's defense wrapped around him like a spiderweb, dense and unbreakable. Shigure could tell, though, this wasn't Nijimura's normal style.

Sure enough,

While guarding, Nijimura spoke:

"Your dribbling..."

"Isn't your natural form."

"There's an obvious flaw..."

"Right in that moment where you overcompensate to link the next move..."

Smack!

Nijimura suddenly poked the ball loose, but quickly backed off. Haizaki chased it down, only to face Nijimura again.

"You're fast enough..."

"But..."

"You overthink things."

"Is all your technique copied?"

"Do you have anything you actually excel at?"

End of chapter...

To be continued...

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