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

"Ahh! That's Shigure's signature block! My god, look at that height!"

"Beautiful!"

"Show Shirotani what real power looks like!"

The third-string Teiko players in the crowd were on their feet, cheering wildly for Akihito Shigure. The entire gym practically exploded with excitement!

And that was just his first defensive play after subbing in.

In an instant, Akihito Shigure had shown off not just top-tier, no, terrifying, natural athletic ability. His physical prowess was overwhelming to the naked eye.

On the court,

Right after that monster block, Shigure didn't rest for a second. With passing vision and control rivaling that of Tomokazu Goda, who had a sky-high 95 rating in playmaking, he instantly located a fast-moving figure streaking up the court.

Fwoosh, !

Even without any special "passing" type skillset, relying on his raw playmaking stat alone, Akihito delivered a perfect, high-speed outlet pass from the backcourt, seizing the fleeting moment before it vanished.

The target?

None other than Shuzo Nijimura, whose timing on offensive transitions was downright scary.

Akihito Shigure: "…"

Wait… don't tell me this guy started sprinting even before I jumped for that block?!

His pass spanned nearly the entire court.

On the other end,

Shuzo Nijimura, face calm and focused, sliced through the remaining Shirotani defenders with explosive speed. The crowd could only stare, dumbfounded, as he rocketed forward, gathered momentum, and leapt.

And at that exact moment, the ball, flying high from the backcourt, arrived right on cue.

In the air.

He caught it with both hands!

When Shigure released that pass, he'd deliberately added extra arc, not for flash, but to avoid it being intercepted. He knew Nijimura's vertical leap was more than enough to reach it.

But he swore to the heavens, he and Nijimura had never practiced anything this elaborate.

No way was his pass that accurate.

This had to be,

All Nijimura. Adjusting midair, reading the flight path, calibrating the timing, he made it all work on his own.

And yet,

To everyone watching, it looked like a picture-perfect play, straight out of a meticulously rehearsed game plan.

Block, land, glance forward, Shigure fired off a long-range pass in one fluid motion, and Nijimura caught it effortlessly in full stride.

Everyone, from the third-string squad to the rest of Teiko's first- and second-year players, stood there, eyes wide in disbelief.

Reiji Fukaya: "…"

So this is… what the first-string looks like?

Smack, !

Nijimura caught the ball midair.

BOOM, !

A thunderous slam rocked the gymnasium.

That was Nijimura's brutal, two-handed alley-oop dunk!

Now, in terms of sheer elevation, it didn't quite match Shigure's posterizing slams or his signature reverse windmills.

But in terms of difficulty, catching a long-distance pass with barely a wrist-level reach, adjusting mid-flight, and still finishing with a dunk?

Even Akihito Shigure couldn't help but whisper to himself: Damn… that was sick.

Even he was impressed.

The alley-oop was so stunning that for a moment, the whole gym felt like it froze. Everyone was silent, except for the Shirotani center who'd just arrived at the basket, looking completely stunned as he turned to Nijimura.

"You guys are… first-years?"

"Are you serious?"

On the sidelines,

Everyone in the gym, every third-string player, every spectator, wore the same shell-shocked expression after witnessing Nijimura and Shigure's ridiculous alley-oop combo.

Back on the Shirotani bench…

A fellow first-year substitute rubbed his eyes, staring in disbelief at the figure descending from the rim, already jogging back to join the other monster on the far side of the court. Swallowing hard, he muttered:

"…Are they…"

"…really the same first-year as me?"

They're monsters.

On the court,

Nijimura jogged back without even breaking a sweat.

As he passed by Shigure, he muttered under his breath, deadpan:

"That pass was a damn mess. Do you only know how to play one-on-one?"

Akihito Shigure: "…Huh?"

Wait, what?

Sure, maybe the pass wasn't perfect, but calling it a mess felt a bit harsh…

He'd even considered the defenders' reach when choosing the arc, and didn't it land in your hands exactly where it needed to?

…

Shirotani's next possession.

Still reeling from that last play, the team stumbled through their baseline inbound. Teiko's defense had already regrouped, there was no chance for a fast break. They were forced into a half-court set.

At the 45-degree angle from the three-point arc, Shirotani's small forward set a screen for their shooting guard.

Shigure instantly activated Goda Tomokazu: Full-Speed Acceleration, bursting through the screen and switching cleanly with Nijimura in a textbook defensive exchange.

Simultaneously,

He edged toward the Shirotani point guard, who had just started driving into the three-point line.

Sure enough,

That off-ball screen had a purpose: it was part of a planned offensive setup. The guard was preparing to pass after the off-ball movement, triggering the next phase of their play.

But then,

A figure in white suddenly appeared, reaching out behind the play, cutting straight through the passing lane without even having a clear line of sight.

It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

Number 12 again,

Akihito Shigure!

Another steal, this time using Goda Tomokazu: Interception Block!

[Interception Block]

With razor-sharp reflexes, the defender positions himself near the passer, and the moment a pass is made, triggers a steal attempt.

(Passive skill: activates when near the passing lane during defense.)

To be continued.....

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