That said, the three-point strategy is undeniably a huge upgrade for Kaijo right now.
Kaijo's starting lineup can basically all shoot threes — well, except for Kobori...
A good chunk of Kise's skillset involves three-point plays, and Kasamatsu already had a decent three-point shot. Since shifting to shooting guard, he's been grinding hard on that skill. He's currently the team's most accurate three-point shooter! Kota may usually focus on running plays and rarely takes threes, but as a solid point guard, he at least has to nail open looks. He's just not great at shooting with someone in his face. But give him space, and he's surprisingly accurate.
Now with his newly unlocked deep three-point range, it covers that weakness nicely. It gives him more room to shoot, and when defenses have to spread out, it opens up the inside. That benefits everyone — Kota's playmaking becomes more effective, and it makes Kise's full-speed attacks way easier.
All in all, Kota was pretty satisfied with his reward. Not that he wasn't greedy—he still grumbled a little, thinking,
"What if the system gave me something even better just for complaining? Like that later-stage Team Zone Akashi pulled out of nowhere—instantly dragging five players into the Zone! Now that's stylish. You can feel the pressure just imagining it."
Then a chill ran down Kota's spine.
"Wait a second… what if this version of Akashi already has Team Zone?"And what about Murasakibara—what if he's way above normal too?"
If Akashi's already using Team Zone at this point in time...
Kota shuddered. Nope. No relaxing allowed. Aomine today was already a wake-up call: don't trust the original timeline too much. You never know when those freaks are gonna go Super Saiyan. Gotta keep training seriously.
…
The next stretch of time saw all of Kaijo grinding hard in preparation for Nationals. During one training session, Kota casually revealed his long-range three-pointer — and jaws hit the floor. No one had expected that from him. Until now, everyone figured he couldn't shoot threes at all.
Kise was the loudest, of course.
"DUDE, how much stuff are you hiding? If you'd pulled that against Too, I wouldn't have had to nearly die out there!"
Kota shrugged it off with a few vague words. He wasn't about to tell Kise,
"I didn't know how to do it before—it just clicked during the game against Too."
Later, after practice, Kota also shared the core philosophy behind the three-point strategy with Coach Takeuchi.
The coach slapped the table repeatedly, yelling,
"YES! YES! Kota, you're an absolute genius!"
Kota grinned. Seeing the coach in such a good mood, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and casually brought up his real goal.
"Wait—what? You wanna play another scrimmage? Against the Generation of Miracles, again?! No way! Absolutely not!"
Takeuchi's happy face vanished instantly.
"Nationals are right around the corner! We've already had two high-intensity scrimmages. Our top priority now is keeping the team healthy and focused! If you want to practice against weaker teams to warm up, fine. But against them? Not happening!"
Takeuchi had regretted the last scrimmage the moment the "Horn Attack" play got exposed. Now they had a new trump card—the three-point system. No way was he letting Kota throw that away just to play around.
"You think secret weapons grow on trees or something?!"
Kota tried every persuasion trick he knew, but Takeuchi wouldn't budge. And honestly, his reasoning was sound — one injury before Nationals could wreck everything. This year, Kaijo was gunning for the title. No room for pointless risks.
Kota sighed. He had seen that coming, but he thought maybe—maybe—if he caught the coach in a good mood, he could sneak the idea in. But now the coach saw the three-point plan as their ultimate secret weapon. Kota couldn't exactly say, "Hey, let me play the Miracles now, and I'll cook up another secret weapon for you afterward." That'd sound like he was selling magic beans.
With the coach rejecting him outright, all Kota could do was go home and brainstorm.
Just as he was taking off his jacket and wondering what to eat, a message popped up from Kise:
"Kota~ 7PM at that burger place we went to last time! Don't be late — I'm buying!"
Kota stared at the message. Why not mention this during training? Why wait until after he got home and use food as bait? Highly suspicious. He messaged back for clarification, but… Read. No reply.
"...This guy…" A giant hashtag of rage formed on Kota's forehead. He tossed on his coat, slipped on his shoes, and stomped out the door.
…
"Yo, genius. I'm at the entrance. Where are you?"
"Ah, sorry Kota — I've got girl problems. Gotta go smooth things over with my girlfriend."
…?
Kota stared at his phone. Was he hearing that right? He called again.
"Are you serious right now? You ditched me? And since when do you have a girlfriend?"
"Since always! And come on, Kota, it's not like you're busy. I mean, you don't even have a girlfriend… Whoa, hey—don't tickle there!"
That last part clearly wasn't directed at Kota — and in the background, he could hear a giggle from some mysterious girl.
Kota's tone dropped a few octaves. "Kise. Before you decided to screw me over, did it ever occur to you how dangerous that might be? I haven't eaten dinner. I came out here expecting free food. If this is a joke, I swear—"
Kise, hearing the murder in Kota's voice, panicked. "No no no! I swear I'm not messing with you! I really can't make it. But don't worry! Someone else will treat you! Gotta run, bad signal—hello? Hello??"
Beep beep beep…
Kota stared daggers into his phone. He was already plotting his revenge when a soft voice behind him said:
"Kota-kun?"
He turned around. It was Momoi. Smiling, she gestured to the burger place and asked:
"Shall we go inside and talk?"
Kota looked at the restaurant, then at Momoi… and nodded.
They walked in together. As they entered, Kota casually scanned the place — no Kuroko, no Kagami. Kise really had ditched him.
Kota followed behind Momoi, deadpan, thinking: Okay… what's her angle?
Momoi pointed to an open booth.
"Kota-kun, how about we sit there?"
"Sure" he said, and followed her to the table. This was the first time since arriving in this world that Kota had ever dined alone with a girl.
"Let me properly introduce myself," Momoi said confidently. "I'm Momoi Satsuki — but you can call me Momoi. I'm the one who asked Kise to invite you out."
She was clearly not the shy type.
Kota glanced at her and replied casually, "I'm Kota. Call me whatever you want."
"Oh, and by the way," he added with a smirk, "since he said he was buying and ditched… you're paying, right?"