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

On Teiko's bench, a chorus of gasps erupted.

Especially from the player whom Shigure Akihito had substituted. Just moments ago, his spirit had been lifeless, but now, as Shigure buried one three-pointer after another, it was as if his soul had been pulled back from the grave.

His heart thumped wildly.

And as that beat echoed in his chest, a thought surfaced, a thought that every single person on the Teiko bench was having at that exact moment.

He turned, almost breathless, to look up at the scoreboard.

83:65.

With nearly 9 minutes still left in the game, the gap was down to just 18 points. Based on what Shigure Akihito had just shown...

What had felt like an impossible chasm moments ago, might not be impossible after all.

"What's going on out there?!"

"Do you guys even want to win anymore?!"

"Stick to Number 12 like glue!"

To be honest, the Seiho coach couldn't come up with much else to say at that point besides "defend #12."

Faced with what was supposed to be a nearly-certain victory and now watching Teiko's No.12 hurl up impossible threes without hesitation, he could only vent his frustration and try to light a fire under his players.

On the court.

Shigure Akihito was just as fired up.

But what had him excited wasn't just the threes, it was the steal he'd made earlier on defense.

Compared to his previously acquired "Godai Tomokazu: Pass Seal Interception", which was a passive, reactive skill, his new ability from Uekusa Tomoyuki was clearly better.

It was active, controlled, and far more reliable.

Which meant,

With this kind of pickpocketing ability, his defense had finally become solid.

And if he could use that skill to repeatedly disrupt Seiho's offensive rhythm…

Then the opportunities for steals would multiply on their own.

Seiho's possession.

They went to the inside.

Their No. 5 got a clean post-up look and spun around to take a close-range floater.

It was a decent move, you could tell he had solid footwork and soft hands, but now that Teiko's morale had been reignited by Shigure, and with no real pressure on their offense, their big men were able to collapse in perfect sync for a double-team.

Clang!

The shot clanged off the front of the rim and ricocheted away.

"Nice help D!"

Shigure couldn't help but shout in praise for their seamless defensive coverage.

He immediately grabbed the rebound and launched the ball ahead to the point guard streaking up the court, another fast-break opportunity.

Teiko's second-string point guard pushed the ball quickly into Seiho's half, but instead of forcing a quick shot, he held up the offense and regrouped.

The goal was clear:

Create another clean look for Shigure Akihito.

He subtly signaled in Shigure's direction, and their power forward stepped up to the top of the arc for a high screen.

Thud, !

A dull collision.

The defender chasing Shigure got caught up in the screen, clean hit.

Shigure, reading the movement perfectly, popped his Full-Throttle Acceleration even before the pass came.

His intent was clear, he wanted to seamlessly follow up with "Stationary Soft Three – Lateral Stepback Variant."

He might not even need to use the move.

But just threatening it was enough to keep the defense honest.

[Skill: Stationary Soft Three – Lateral Stepback Variant]

When in an accelerated state, activate this upon receiving a pass: fake a shot to bait defenders into jumping, then perform a behind-the-back dribble and lateral stepback into a jump shot.

In order to set that up, he had to already be in acceleration mode when catching the ball.

Whoosh!

Smack!

Acceleration activated.

Shigure caught the pass.

As expected, the Seiho defender, who had already seen Shigure execute the stepback three before, didn't dare close out aggressively this time.

So,

Shigure stopped mid-motion, cancelled the stepback, and just pulled up with a classic Stationary Soft Three instead!

Swoosh~!

As the ball spun in the air, almost shimmering under the gym lights, every Seiho player held their breath.

Another one?!

But,

Clang!

The ball bounced off the inside rim, twice, and finally, precariously, spun out.

Exhale…

Relief swept across the entire Seiho squad.

Smiles crept back onto their faces like spring returning after a storm.

That's more like it…

A three-pointer… you can't just keep making those forever, right?

It seemed that this wave of attacks from Teiko's mysterious No.12 had finally ended.

All those earlier worries had been, perhaps, overblown.

With a lead this big?

What's the worst that could happen?

But just as Seiho was finally catching their breath,

The next moment,

A sound rang out near the paint. Almost like the tearing of the air itself.

FWIP, !

In the air.

The bright overhead gym lights were suddenly blotted out, by a shadow rocketing upward.

In that flash of light and dark, players on both teams looked up, eyes widening, as a white silhouette soared through the air.

A glimpse of the jersey number.

12!

BOOM, !

Shigure Akihito, using the movement ability "Kiyota Nobunaga: Monkey Hop Step", had slashed in from the perimeter,

And finished with a follow-up dunk!

This time, he didn't even use a special dunk skill.

With no assistive abilities like "Kiyota's Poster Slam" or "Ultimate: Reverse Back Dunk", this one was pure, just a product of his raw bounce and dunking stat.

It didn't have the flash of a signature move…

But even so,

That single moment... was enough to leave the entire arena in stunned silence.

To be continued...