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

Everyone in the gym, everyone except Teiko, stared in wide-eyed disbelief at Shigure Akihito, still hanging from the rim, face twisted in exhilaration.

That vertical,

For a middle schooler, it was absolutely absurd.

83:67.

The Teiko bench erupted, players leaping to their feet!

16 points!

Only 16 points left!

Coach Shirogane Kozo waved a hand to calm them down, then called out to the players closest to the sideline, "From here on out, just get the ball to Shigure. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Got it!"

Both the second-string point guard and small forward nodded in sync, fully locked in.

And from Shirogane's perspective, whatever hesitation he'd seen in their eyes before… it was gone now.

Replaced with fire.

It was obvious,

Shigure Akihito hadn't said a word since stepping on court.

He hadn't even passed the ball once on offense.

But the moment he took over, the entire atmosphere flipped. The whole team had come back to life.

Shirogane Kozo thought, silently:

Just as I expected.

The polar opposite of someone like Nijimura.

For Shigure, nothing was more exhilarating than unleashing his full power.

He was purely addicted to his own skill, to using that ability to crush his opponents, and savoring the thrill of watching fear bloom in their eyes.

Just like right now...

Even these ordinary players, in your eyes,

They've completely mesmerized you, haven't they, Shigure Akihito?

On the sidelines,

Shirogane raised his pinkies to his lips and blew a sharp whistle, catching Shigure's attention as he still clung to the rim.

Shigure blinked, then offered a sheepish grin.

Clang,

He let go and dropped back to the floor.

That almost arrogant display made Seiho's coach scowl deeply.

"Hirai Riku!" he barked, "Forget about running set plays! You're our ace, so go all out and attack him!"

"You'll be guarding him too!"

"Everyone else, help defense!"

At the Seiho bench, the coach shouted and gestured furiously at his ace on the court.

Hirai Riku: "..."

I was defending him…

Even if it was just help defense,

Still, I couldn't stop him.

Seiho's possession.

This time, Hirai Riku made a beeline for Shigure Akihito.

Since Shigure had subbed in at shooting guard, Hirai, who played small forward, had only been on help-defense assignments in earlier possessions.

But just two minutes had passed,

And Seiho was already completely rattled.

As the ace of his team, Hirai had no choice but to step up and directly match up against Teiko's No.12.

As he walked up to Shigure, Hirai had the urge to throw out a line like,

"Now that I'm guarding you, don't expect to get off so easily."

But the image of Shigure's vicious expression while hanging from the rim after that putback dunk,

Was still burned vividly in his mind.

Hirai Riku: "..."

Forget it.

Let's…

Just see what his defense is like first.

He pressed his body against Shigure, then raised his hand, calling for the ball. Seiho's point guard understood and lobbed it to him.

The Seiho students in the stands roared with excitement.

Even if their defense had been crumbling, surely their ace's offense would be enough to make Teiko's No.12 eat his words. That's what they believed, what they hoped for.

Thump, !

Hirai didn't try to face up or finesse,

Instead, he kept his back to the basket and gave Shigure a solid bump.

He wanted to throw off No.12's defensive rhythm, stop him from intercepting like he had earlier.

But the next second,

Hirai's eyes widened.

No matter how hard he leaned in, using all his strength, he couldn't gain even an inch.

The progress he was making felt like an ant dragging a boulder.

Hirai Riku: "...!?"

How?!

He clearly had the bigger frame, taller, heavier, stronger,

So how did it feel like they were equal in power?!

He frowned.

Meanwhile, Shigure looked at his opponent's confused expression and thought to himself:

Now this, this is what normal middle school-level strength looks like. Compared to Nijimura...

That guy's not even human.

Hirai tried a few more backdowns, no dice.

Finally, he had to rely on technique: a front spin into a body feint…

Almost lost the ball.

Damn it!

He'd already been anticipating a steal, and it still nearly happened?!

On the back foot now, Hirai decided to reset and pass out of the post.

But the next moment,

[Ultimate Move: Diving Intercept]

At the exact moment your opponent passes, instantly accelerate toward the passing lane and cut it off mid-air with rapid reaction speed.

Shigure had already been waiting for this.

He pounced, locking in on the exact second Hirai released the pass, diving, charging, cutting off the ball.

Even though he'd been behind and to the side, Shigure's timing was so perfect that when he launched himself forward, it was like he'd been jet-propelled.

Compared to his earlier skills that intercepted passes, this new Ultimate Move offered massive improvements in range, speed, timing, and judgment of passing lanes.

Smack, !

Shigure Akihito intercepted the pass cleanly the moment it left Hirai Riku's fingers.