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

[Ultimate Skill: Freeze Frame] A lightning-fast forward drive that freezes in mid-motion, followed by a large backward step. All opponents within range who are susceptible will be automatically shaken and staggered.

Akihito Shigure's dribble suddenly accelerated. His hands moved with such speed that a flickering orange glow could almost be seen between his fingers. In response, Nijimura Shuzo quickly stepped back, lowering his stance, fully prepared to receive the incoming assault.

Clack!

Clack!

Clack!

Step by step, Shigure pressed closer to Nijimura, trying to lure him into the range of Freeze Frame, to force a direct confrontation with the skill head-on.

Locking eyes with Nijimura's defensive posture, Shigure's gaze sharpened.

And then

Screeeech!

A sharp squeal of sneakers against the hardwood erupted.

At the exact same moment

Nijimura's pupils contracted. Like a predator, he had waited patiently, then pounced the instant his prey made its move.

Facing Shigure's sudden burst of acceleration, Nijimura's reaction, or perhaps it was a preemptive read, was inhumanly fast. Before the ball had even hit the ground on Shigure's drive, Nijimura had already mirrored the move in perfect sync.

But

It was all bark, no bite.

Nijimura's lightning-quick defense was… surprisingly wide open. He turned his body to block only one side, leaving the other completely exposed, like a gamble.

Shigure: "!?"

What the hell… he's just giving up the lane?

Is he trying to bait out my step-back?

More than that,

He must've factored in the existence of Freeze Frame, a high-level shake-off move.

Otherwise, if he was only trying to counter the step-back, there'd be no need to dodge to the side like he was avoiding something. He could've just predicted it and pressed up on the shot.

And sure enough

This sideways movement did give him more room to dodge Freeze Frame's stagger zone.

But still

You really think I'm dumb enough to run headfirst into that open lane without checking myself first?

Since you're offering the lane…

Then I'll take you up on it.

Even if Freeze Frame had to be interrupted, wasting the energy, it had still forced Nijimura into making this defensive compromise.

In that sense

It wasn't a waste at all.

But… could this be a trap?

At this angle, both players were side by side.

The attacker had full initiative.

The right lane was wide open.

It couldn't be clearer, Nijimura's defense was practically screaming at Shigure:

Even if I have to leave a hole in my guard to check your outside shooting… you still better come into the paint and face me head-on.

So this was payback.

Right?

On the sidelines

Coach Ginzo Shirakane's lips curled into a barely-contained smile.

He gave a silent, internal shake of the head at Sanada Naoto, who earlier had insisted that Akihito Shigure was the superior player.

Ginzo disagreed.

Shigure was undoubtedly gifted, possibly even more so than Nijimura in terms of raw potential. But even so, Ginzo remained convinced that at this stage, Nijimura Shuzo was still the better player.

Talent mattered, Ginzo knew that well.

One day in the future, Shigure might surpass Nijimura as he rapidly evolved. But that day was far from now.

Besides…

Ginzo's eyes narrowed into a gentle smile

though his fists clenched silently at his sides.

Talent can be cultivated. Inspiration can be sharpened.

He was absolutely certain: Nijimura Shuzo, who never stopped chasing victory with everything he had, would bloom and bear fruit far earlier, and far stronger, under his guidance.

However

Just as Ginzo felt assured of this future…

The match on court took a sudden, drastic turn.

The scene he envisioned, of Nijimura using his elite decision-making and data processing to read and stop Shigure in a direct showdown, never happened.

Instead…

It was Shigure who threw the unexpected punch that stunned everyone watching.

On the court

Shigure abruptly canceled Freeze Frame's step-back and instead pivoted into an explosive drive toward Nijimura's exposed weak side. As he broke through, a crooked, amused smile curled across his face.

Sure, his skills and streetball experience from his past life might not match up to this sci-fi world's prodigy, Nijimura Shuzo…

But what he lacked in quality, he made up for in quantity.

Don't underestimate hard-earned experience!

A head-on clash?

Hah

You've got to be kidding!

Of course I'm going to play to my strengths and hammer away at your weaknesses.

If I've got the advantage, I'm going to exploit the hell out of it!

And right now, compared to Nijimura, where was his strength?

Dunking?

Absolutely not.

Nijimura's confident, almost blatant defensive bait may have looked wide open, but Shigure had no interest in playing into whatever trap he had laid.

Whoosh!

To the shock of the crowd, Shigure suddenly hurled the ball against the backboard!

[Ultimate Skill: Goda Tomokazu – Full-Power Acceleration]

The drive to win fuels your body to accelerate at even higher speeds (off-ball only).

Screeech!

The moment the ball left his hands, Shigure surged forward, breaking a full body's length ahead of Nijimura.

Kiyota Nobunaga's "Monkey Step"!

He widened the gap even more!

Slap!

Ball caught!

[Ultimate Skill: Kiyota Nobunaga – Flowing Layup]

Immediately upon catching the ball, use the motion's momentum to convert it into a fluid and rapid layup.

Nijimura had already jumped, thinking Shigure was going for a dunk.

But the moment he saw the actual move, his entire body froze.

Because

That layup was way too fast.

Shigure had barely grazed the ball

And the very next instant

It was already spinning off the glass toward the rim.

Swish!

Clean hit!

Ginzo Shirakane: "…!?"