After some time had passed, Nijimura Shuzo seemed to have seen enough. He finally stopped his offensive plays against Kuroko Tetsuya and asked calmly, "Have you ever gathered intel on me before?"
Kuroko, who still looked like he wasn't ready to stop, froze at the question.
"Gathered…?"
"Intel?"
Nijimura frowned slightly.
Kuroko Tetsuya…
Compared to himself, Kuroko possessed only a small fragment of that kind of ability.
He wasn't the type to gather and analyze data on the spot during a game. His perception and reaction were weak. Instead, it seemed more like he subconsciously absorbed things over long periods of observation.
Just then,
Shigure Akihito raised his hand, immediately catching onto what Nijimura meant.
Oh, this he knew well.
"One of Kuroko's hobbies is observing people. He probably picked up what he knows just from watching your practice matches," Shigure explained casually.
Kuroko widened his eyes in surprise.
"Senpai… how did you know that…?"
But,
Shigure, who was now huddled in discussion with Nijimura, didn't answer him.
From the edge of his hearing, Kuroko could vaguely make out terms like:
"Low presence."
"Visual misdirection."
"Vanishing."
…mixed in with both familiar and completely unfamiliar concepts.
Seeing that Nijimura and Shigure were engrossed in discussing him so seriously, Kuroko quietly stepped aside, not wanting to interrupt.
On the other side,
Nijimura gave a small nod, visibly intrigued.
"I see…"
"While Kuroko Tetsuya's basketball ability is mediocre and his athleticism isn't great, he does have decent basketball IQ. There's clear evidence of consistent training…"
"But…"
"Most people wouldn't even 'feel' his presence."
"That phenomenon is just bizarre. In basketball, no matter who it is, if you've trained to a certain degree, you develop an instinctive sense of an opponent's presence and strength."
"But Kuroko is different. His lack of presence isn't just limited to the court, it's something that affects his day-to-day existence as well."
Shigure didn't think this was a flaw at all. In fact, he believed it was an advantage.
Visual misdirection.
Misdirection.
Nijimura gave Shigure a skeptical look. "A magician's trick? You really go wild with your ideas, huh, Shigure… but, well, with someone like Kuroko, maybe it isn't impossible."
Placing himself in Kuroko's shoes for a moment, Nijimura's eyes lit up.
"Right? Right?" Shigure grinned.
"Think about it, if it works, you could have disappearing passes, dribbling, shooting, even steals!"
Nijimura cut him off, rolling his eyes. "That's just your imagination running wild. Even if it were possible, the technique and process to develop it would be ridiculously complex. And considering Kuroko's situation…"
"Dribbling."
"Shooting."
"Those two we can rule out immediately."
"As for passing and stealing…"
Visual misdirection, based on what Shigure described, was essentially a kind of feint targeting the opponent's line of sight.
If it could amplify Kuroko's already low presence to the point of disappearing, that would be great. But since the ball itself doesn't disappear, passing wouldn't benefit from it much.
Stealing, though,
That could work.
Disappear, then suddenly steal the ball up close.
While Nijimura was contemplating how to utilize Kuroko Tetsuya's "low presence" as a practical skill,
Suddenly,
"Huh?"
Shigure turned around to look for Kuroko… only to find that he had vanished.
Eh?
No way!
Where did he go?!
A chill ran down Shigure's spine.
He had just been standing right there, and now, gone?!
Shigure: "..."
Then, a quiet voice sounded directly behind him.
"Shigure-senpai, are you looking for me?"
Shigure's chill turned into full-blown goosebumps.
He turned around again,
And froze!
Still no sign of anyone!
"Senpai…"
"Look down."
Finally, Shigure spotted the light blue swirl of hair at his feet and breathed a sigh of relief, only to let out a small groan.
"Where the heck did you hide? I twisted my neck looking for you!"
"I was right here the whole time," Kuroko said calmly. "You just didn't notice me."
"…"
Fair enough.
Thinking back on what Nijimura had just said about Kuroko's instinctive pre-reading ability, Shigure realized something he hadn't caught in the original storyline.
So he asked,
"When Nijimura attacked earlier, his speed was pretty intense, right? How did you predict his movement?"
"Predict…?" Kuroko tilted his head slightly. "I didn't, really…"
"I just remembered from watching him in the past that he likes to drive off that step. I followed my gut… but even then, I couldn't keep up at all."
So in other words,
It wasn't some kind of advanced analytic skill.
Just subconscious intuition from long-term observation.
Still…
Could that amount to anything?
Forget Nijimura-level data analysis and instantaneous decision-making. The 'Emperor Eye' that could see the future? Out of the question.
"Kuroko…"
"Have you ever thought about what kind of role your ability could play on a team?"
Kuroko looked genuinely confused.
After hesitating for a moment, he replied, "I'm not good at shooting or dribbling… I think I can only help with passing…"
, ,
At those words,
Shigure's face lit up with excitement.
Yes.
Exactly!
Seeing the glimmer of discouragement in Kuroko's eyes, Shigure smiled gently. "But passing is great, isn't it? If that's your strength, you should lean into it."
"Your low presence…"
"If you can find a way to harness that, your passing could become your most powerful weapon."
Kuroko stared, wide-eyed, and softly asked,
"Then…"
"What would that be like?"
What Shigure said next left both Kuroko and Nijimura frozen in place.
"Like this, "
"Whoosh"
"Pop!"
"A pass that curves in midair!"
"Boom! Straight into someone's hands!"
"Catching everyone off guard!"
, ,
Kuroko Tetsuya: "..."
Senpai…
A curving pass?
That's not something a human should be able to do.
And yet, while Kuroko was still trying to make sense of Shigure's wildly imaginative idea, the one he thought was always composed and grounded, Captain Nijimura, actually nodded.
"I see… no wonder you're able to master such a wide array of basketball skills. That's just like you, Shigure."
Low presence.
Enhanced low presence through misdirection.
A love for observing people.
Subconscious familiarity with human motion habits.
Passing.
Curving passes.
Combined together,
All the pieces fell into place, and in Nijimura Shuzo's mind, a vision suddenly formed.
"Kuroko's observational ability requires time, long, repeated exposure. So using it to predict opponents' moves on the fly isn't realistic. But…"
"If it's used on teammates, people he spends time with daily, he should be able to anticipate their movement to a certain degree."
"When a teammate passes the ball, he can move in advance using that predictive instinct. Then, using his low presence, he 'disappears' right in front of the defender…"
"And reappears right along the passing lane."
Pop!
"It would look like the pass just bent in midair."
Since this was a brand-new conceptual realm in basketball, Nijimura couldn't help but sound a little excited. As he explained, he even mimicked Shigure's playful "pop" sound effect.
Meanwhile, Shigure was thinking to himself,
So that's it…
That predictive effect based on observation, this is how it's used.
Trust Nijimura to break it down so clearly.
If it were left to him, even if he knew the pass would look a certain way, he probably wouldn't have been able to explain the mechanism behind it. It'd all just be vague guesswork.
End of chapter...
🚨 Bonus Chapter Just Dropped on Patreon! 🚨
Yup, it's live! A fresh bonus chapter is waiting for you right now. 👀🔥
So what are you waiting for?
Unlock it early, dive deeper into the story, and stay ahead of the game!
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer
The saga is far from its final chapter. There's still time to become part of the team, it's never too late to stand with us. Let's keep the hype rolling, see you on the other side! 🏀💥