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

Chogaku Middle School's possession. Their point guard brought the ball past half court, while all of Teiko's players had already retreated into position. Both sides reset into half-court formation for a set play.

Down low in the paint, Chogaku's power forward muscled into position using the strength advantage that came with being a third-year.

The point guard immediately passed the ball inside.

The power forward caught it and went into a post-up move!

Fukaya Reiji couldn't hold him at all, he had no choice but to keep getting pushed back.

Seeing this, Shigure Akihito quickly rotated over for help defense. Chogaku's power forward, now double-teamed and unable to get a good shot off, kicked the ball out to the small forward in the corner, who had cut over to provide a passing option.

As for why he didn't pass it to the shooting guard that Shigure had left open,

Well, it was simple.

That steal from earlier had left too deep an impression. With Shigure shadowing the passing lane, the power forward didn't even dare to look in that direction.

Instead, he played it safe and passed to the small forward with the better passing angle.

But…

Standing there, waiting with open arms,

Was none other than Nijimura Shuzo, whose fundamental defense was even more smothering than Shigure's when it came to textbook pressure.

As expected.

Chogaku's small forward, the moment he got the ball, was immediately locked down by Nijimura's suffocating defense. He was harassed so tightly he could barely dribble.

Eventually, he was forced to pass the ball back out to the point guard.

But by then, there were only a few seconds left on the 24-second shot clock!

With no better options…

The point guard had to take responsibility and launch a desperate long-range shot.

On Teiko's side, even though that unfamiliar second-string first-year guard was clearly a cut below the rest in terms of skill, he still managed to contest the shot.

Clang!

The shot bricked off the rim.

Shigure Akihito grabbed the rebound and pushed the ball upcourt.

Faced with a defender, he launched into a clean, aggressive drive, executing a textbook "Nobunaga Kiyota: step-back burst" move. After a short recoil step, he exploded forward!

Whoosh!

The defender's skin practically prickled with goosebumps from the suddenness of the drive!

An interior defender stepped up to stop him, but Shigure abruptly switched to the classic "Kiyota Monkey Hop," followed by the "Kiyota Poster Jam!"

That lean frame of his,

Took flight!

Right in the face of Chogaku's power forward, Shigure posterized him with a clean slam!

No doubt about it.

With each ridiculous leap,

Chogaku's team was becoming more and more numb to it. Still, they reacted quickly this time and rushed into transition offense.

Baseline inbound.

The Chogaku point guard brought the ball back into Teiko's half.

His expression was tense as he signaled for his teammates to calm down and spread out.

As he dribbled toward the free-throw line, the small forward, who had been matched up against Nijimura, came up to set a screen. The point guard used it to shake off Teiko's on-court point guard.

Yes, that guy again.

The poor sap whose name Shigure still didn't know, his fellow second-string first-year.

With the defender left behind,

The Chogaku point guard suddenly found his vision wide open.

Drawing Teiko's defenders inward toward the paint, he spotted his power forward in a favorable position and immediately passed the ball inside.

"Crap!"

The moment the pass left his hand, the Chogaku point guard caught a flash of white darting toward the target, just as the ball was in the air!

This time,

It was #13!

Nijimura Shuzo!

He had completely read the point guard's passing intent!

Back when the Chogaku small forward was setting the screen, Nijimura had already been paying close attention to his positioning, and had subtly started sliding into help defense.

The power forward could only watch helplessly as the ball flew his way… only for a hand to reach in from the side and pick it off cleanly.

"Damn it!"

The Chogaku point guard cursed under his breath.

Meanwhile, Nijimura didn't hesitate for a second, after winning the possession with that steal, he made the same choice Shigure had: push the fast break himself.

This time, his forward momentum from the steal gave him a perfect head start to go coast-to-coast!

Behind him,

The Chogaku players scrambled in desperation to catch up!

But they soon realized,

Aside from the small forward who had been stuck behind on the three-point line because of the screen, no one could make up the ground. Nijimura had too much of a lead!

In a flash,

Nijimura was already in the paint, facing down the only defender Chogaku had left under the rim.

He leapt, gripping the ball in both hands, poised to throw down a thunderous dunk,

Just like Shigure.

But Shigure knew better…

From that distance?

Nijimura shouldn't be able to dunk.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, something unexpected happened: Nijimura, midair, twisted into a body-control layup move, without even looking back, and dished the ball behind him.

A no-look pass.

Maybe because it was no-look, the pass didn't seem especially accurate to Shigure. But even so, it absolutely fooled every single defender on the court.

The small forward who had been trying to stop Nijimura was caught flat-footed. The rest of Chogaku's defenders, relaxing after Nijimura's jump, were stunned, too.

Even,

Shigure Akihito, who had been casually trailing behind the play, found himself wide open to catch the pass.

And when he did,

Shigure Akihito: "..."

Well, damn…

So this is what it feels like.

No wonder Shinji froze up the last time, too.

Boom!

Shigure followed up with a powerful dunk!

Still hanging from the rim, Shigure looked down at Nijimura and asked casually, "To be honest, I thought someone like you would've gone straight up for it."

He was referring to the pass Nijimura had made earlier to Kurokame Shinji, too.

After all, Nijimura wasn't someone who had been granted any kind of "system reward."

And yet he'd still fought alongside Shigure in those solo missions against the First Team.

Shigure had assumed Nijimura's mindset at this stage would've been similar to Aomine's, focused entirely on domination.

But now…

It was clear the Nijimura Shuzo on the official court was something else entirely.

Nijimura raised an eyebrow at Shigure's comment, giving him a strange look.

The kind of look that, no matter how Shigure interpreted it, felt like a quiet laugh from someone gazing down from a much higher level.

Then Nijimura pointed at the scoreboard.

"We're still behind…"

"Creating space… getting good looks…"

"I'm just choosing the most reliable way to win."