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

Reo Mibuchi and Kotarō Hayama stepped onto the court, getting a closer look at the ongoing match.

But what Reo saw wasn't the kind of situation he expected, this wasn't a case of Nijimura encountering a worthy opponent that forced him to go all out. No, it looked more like Nijimura Shuzo was giving a live demonstration, a personal masterclass.

And the poor soul on the receiving end… judging by the matching uniform, was also from Teiko.

Never seen him before...

But...

Listening to the murmurs around him, Reo Mibuchi quickly absorbed the situation, his brows furrowing as his gaze locked onto the player on the court.

"A first-year?"

"Nijimura's going all-out… on a first-year?!"

Beside him,

Kotarō Hayama's surprise was audible.

Then,

His expression shifted as the dark-skinned first-year on court made a move. Eyes wide, Hayama exclaimed, "Whoa! That's some crazy dribbling!"

Fast, too!

The style's different, but he's definitely the same type of aggressive slasher as me!

"…?"

"A first-year?!"

Last year, Hayama had been on the receiving end of those exact words from others, now, to his surprise, it was his turn to say them. And about none other than Teiko Middle School… his most anticipated rival.

"This is bad…"

"Nijimura-senpai stopped bothering with that grey-haired guy. He's putting all his focus on that Aomine Daiki now. He's gonna get locked down again!"

"Aomine, look out!"

"Crap…"

Even from the sidelines, Reo Mibuchi and Kotarō Hayama could feel the suffocating pressure of Nijimura Shuzo's full-power defense. It was almost visible, a primal aura, like wild instinct made manifest…

It completely shut down the flashy ball-handling of that first-year…

Forced him to a halt.

Shut him down.

Stole the ball.

Whoosh!

Instant pass!

Reo's sharp eyes tracked everything, right as the steal happened, the green-haired Teiko first-year, Nijimura's teammate, broke into a full sprint toward the frontcourt like he was chasing a buzzer-beater.

With no one left guarding him…

Right as he approached the three-point arc…

The pass came,

Catch!

Shoot!

Splash!

The shooting form, the arc and spin of the three-pointer, the confidence to shoot unguarded, all of it formed, in Reo's mind, the image of a budding superior three-point shooter.

Reo Mibuchi: "…"

Another one...?!

The longer Reo watched, the more something felt off. One aggressive slasher, and now a deadly shooter too…

This felt like,

Me + Kotarō Hayama?!

This year's Teiko...

Reo narrowed his eyes.

137 lineup: Reo Mibuchi + Hayama Kotarō + Nijimura Shuzo + Shigure Akihito?

Just from this brief observation, Reo already ranked Aomine Daiki and Midorima Shintarō at the same level as himself and Hayama.

Not quite there yet, but with time before Nationals, these two first-years clearly had the potential.

Especially when factoring in how last year's Teiko relied on Nijimura and Shigure, and now Nijimura was personally mentoring these first-years like this. That level of investment alone made Reo reevaluate their tier.

As Reo reeled from the strength of Teiko's new rookies,

On court, Nijimura's smothering defense had Aomine locked down for several possessions. The iconic wide-range defense of Shigure Akihito hadn't been seen in a while…

In fact,

Aomine's usual free-flowing playstyle was being completely suppressed. He was being forced to adopt a cleaner, more efficient rhythm.

Though…

It was still flashy as hell.

On the other side,

Haizaki Shōgo saw that same dark-skinned rookie once again getting wrecked by Nijimura, but at this point, he no longer felt like mocking him.

Because he was in the same boat…

Zero points.

As of now,

The scoreboard showed a ridiculous 49 to 6.

But Haizaki still hadn't scored a single point. Not under Shigure Akihito's terrifying defense, which somehow managed to completely cover the paint while barely moving from the free-throw line.

And Shigure?

Two points.

Just two…

And yet, between him and that two-point gap was a chasm that felt impossible to cross.

Haizaki Shōgo: "…!"

That bastard!

He's completely done for!

Nijimura has crushed him to the point he can't even lift his arms to shoot…

Haizaki had faced that defense too. Whether shooting or handling the ball, everything felt read in advance, followed immediately by a suffocating, physical shutdown…

A brutal finish.

Nowhere to move.

"Pass!"

Fully focused, Haizaki didn't even realize how odd his movements looked, but Aomine, equally locked in, didn't hesitate. He passed.

The moment,

From Shigure's perspective,

It felt strangely magical.

At the same time,

"That distance…"

"You really think I'd just let that slide?"

Slap!

Makunouchi Shinichi: Imperial Defense!

His ability,

Emperor Intercept!

Emperor Intercept: Activates a lightning-quick interception while tracking teammate positions, allowing for rapid steal followed immediately by an 'Imperial Pass' to a teammate.

Boosted by "Green Light" super-speed, Shigure Akihito entered the intercept zone with ease and made his move.

Whoosh,

Imperial Pass!

Effortlessly, the ball sailed to Nijimura Shuzo!

"Damn it!"

He really…

Intercepted that from so far away?!

Haizaki spun and gave chase without hesitation. He knew: Shigure Akihito wasn't playing to score. He was playing to dominate defense like a detached king.

Meanwhile,

Faced with both Aomine and Haizaki, Nijimura slowed for a moment and muttered, "Finally putting in some effort, huh…"

"But, "

"You two…"

"Without going through Teiko's first-string training…"

"Even together, you're still no match for me."

As he dribbled, Nijimura suddenly switched speeds, shifting violently between explosive bursts and deliberate slowdowns.

From a technical standpoint, if Aomine just removed the excessive flash, he'd basically have the same fundamentals.

Weight shift,

Reverse pull,

Back-glide slide step!

Left…

Right!

Breakthrough!

In that moment, as their dual-defense faltered, Nijimura's incredible strength flowed into an elegant motion.

It was like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon.

Natsuki Inoue, following behind, could almost see the rainbow bloom.

Nijimura broke into the paint.

Within the Shōin duo's defense, a fake,

A smooth "Buddha's Worship" move tricked the jump,

Then a silky dish to Natsuki Inoue, who caught it with stunned eyes and nailed the jumper.

"Nijimura-senpai…"

"So strong!"

On the sidelines,

Kotarō Hayama felt the same awe.

Reo Mibuchi: "…"

As expected from Nijimura.

Drive, shoot, pass, control,

All the fundamental elements of basketball. His technique had zero flaws, and he used it masterfully, linking teammates like a rainbow bridge. He didn't have Shigure Akihito's outrageous power…

But on second thought,

Nijimura Shuzo,

As a player, he was terrifyingly balanced. No weaknesses. Complete dominance.

Off-court,

The only one spared this massacre by chance, Hikaru Tsuno, was sweating bullets.

Shōin's team wasn't the strongest in high school basketball, but if their opponent was a normal school, they'd have won.

But now,

These two middle schoolers…

Were utterly destroying them in every way.

On the court,

Shōin's center, Ōta, stared in disbelief. He and his teammate were basically irrelevant from the very start.

Damn it…

This time!

Ōta stepped forward and charged the paint!

That Shigure Akihito guy…

Didn't move!

This is it!

But suddenly, Midorima Shintarō appeared, cutting him off. Despite being only 174 cm tall, Midorima delivered a perfectly timed block.

For a shooter, his defense was no joke.

"Nijimura-senpai was right…"

"You guys…"

"Are you really high schoolers?"

"So naïve!"

Natsuki Inoue grabbed the rebound and tossed a beautiful full-court pass to Nijimura, who was sprinting on the break.

"Nijimura Shuzo!"

Hearing his name, Nijimura frowned. Aomine, meanwhile, gave Haizaki a pitying look. As expected, Nijimura said:

"Haizaki Shōgo…"

"Until you beat me, learn to say senpai!"

"Though…"

"Looks like you won't get the chance."

"!!"

Without holding back, Nijimura delivered a devastating blow: double-A speed and power + wild instinct. In that instant, Haizaki caught a glimpse of a different level of the world,

The impact of that drive,

Haizaki Shōgo,

Bam!

Was knocked flat!

"So brutal~!"

"Nijimura-senpai's scary!"

"Ever since he went pro, Nijimura's been so disciplined. This kind of dramatic streetball flair? Super rare~"

Since their last double-team attempt had failed, Aomine stood behind Haizaki as a backup defender.

Just as he moved up to help,

He noticed something shocking on Haizaki's face: determination.

What surprised him even more was Haizaki's next move,

Haizaki twisted from the ground!

Using both hands, he scrambled up in a wildly disheveled mess, drenched in sweat, hair clinging to his face.

He looked like a grey wolf dragging itself out of a pit.

"…"

This isn't over!

Nijimura!

Senpai, huh?!

You think I'll let you humiliate me like this?!

"Nijimura…!!"

Haizaki roared.

A second later,

He actually caught up to Nijimura. Of course, it wasn't speed, it was Nijimura waiting.

"Able to stand back up? Not worth praising…"

"Because it's meaningless."

"Haizaki."

"You had the better angle than I did just now."

"If you'd stayed calm, even in that bad position, you could've found a better play."

"But unfortunately, that simple brain of yours doesn't understand calm."

"Final lesson before enrollment…"

"Passing isn't about relying on others."

"It's about forming the bloodstream of the game, connecting the heart, creating the rhythm to push your own pulse forward."

Whoosh!

As he spoke, without even turning around, Nijimura passed the ball…

Straight into the hands of the casually trailing Shigure Akihito.

"!?"

Natsuki Inoue's eyes widened!

How'd he see that?!

That wasn't some prediction, Shigure hadn't followed up on any previous plays. He'd just been spectating.

And yet, Nijimura… saw it?

How?!

Not only did he see it, he made that pass quickly and perfectly, all without looking.

It was,

Inoue hadn't even finished marveling when Shigure's next action stole his breath.

Last year, he'd watched from the stands at Nationals.

But never from this close.

Elsewhere,

Aomine.

Midorima.

They'd seen one shot earlier today during tryouts.

The only ones who hadn't…

Were the two high schoolers from Shōin.

They saw Shigure Akihito catch the ball at center court.

And stopped.

What's he doing?!

Don't tell me,

Is he actually going to shoot… from there?!

Yeah, it's a streetball court, but this is pushing it too far!

"Midorima"

"Here's a lesson from me too"

"This one…"

"Super Deep Three, watch closely, and learn."

Whoosh!

Shigure kept speaking, but his form didn't slow, his wrist flicked with masterful ease.

Shinzō Ichirō's Super Deep Three, perfected motion.

The ball soared into the air in a majestic rainbow arc.

Swish!

No net to dampen the sound,

Boom!

It bounced loudly off the bare hoop and flew far.

Slap,

Right into the hands of Momoi Satsuki, who had just entered the court with Reo and Hayama.

Momoi Satsuki: "Whoa…"

Seeing that shot up close,

Completely different feeling.

Meanwhile,

Midorima Shintarō: "…"

Senpai…

That kind of three-pointer…

There's no way just watching…

Will ever be enough to learn it.

End of chapter...

To be continued...

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