The park court.
Once again, Kiyoshi Teppei blocked Hyūga's shot. Hyūga roared that he was still far from done, but Kiyoshi suddenly stopped moving.
21–0.
That was the difference between Hyūga Junpei and one of the Five Generals.
"Hyūga…"
"You should give up."
"You bastard, quit pissing me off!!"
"No…"
"I mean give up on quitting basketball. If you truly hated it, I wouldn't say a word. But in reality, you—"
"Shut up!"
"A guy with your talent, how can an ordinary person ever compare!?"
Kiyoshi shook his head and explained why he was so persistent in dragging Hyūga into basketball.
"It's not about talent. At our core, you and I are the same. At least I…"
"…I've seen the distance between us and Teiko's monsters. I've tasted despair."
"There were countless times I thought about throwing basketball away. But every time I tried to let go, I just couldn't. This one-on-one—if you don't like it, we'll stop here. But the way you're fighting, desperate to win even a single point, that alone proves you're the same as me."
"No."
"Maybe… you love basketball even more than I do."
That lingering, unshakable wish finally broke free in that fateful moment, carried in Hyūga Junpei's furious shout.
"Shut the hell up! Don't act like you know everything about me—I know it too!"
"That's why every single day feels so damn boring!"
In that heavy conversation—about talent, about despair—another boy who had lived through the same feelings, Kuroko Tetsuya, watched from the side, momentarily lost in thought.
On the other end of his phone call, his friend Shigehiro Ogiwara was still speaking enthusiastically.
"Our team is strong this year, even stronger than last! Next time, I'll definitely keep our promise!"
Unlike before, after enduring constant battles at Teiko, Kuroko now understood clearly what awaited Ogiwara's Meikō Middle if they were to stand against Teiko.
And yet…
"Yeah. I'll be looking forward to it."
As always, Kuroko responded with a gentle smile.
"Hey, that sounded kind of half-hearted. You okay, Kuroko? Did something happen?"
"Mm…"
"Just a small surprise."
"Nothing important, thank you for worrying."
"...All right then. I'll call again!"
"Okay."
Back on the court, the match had ended.
"See you, I'm heading back."
"Hah?!"
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?! We haven't even settled this yet!"
"No need. Whatever you say, that's enough for today. But hearing your true feelings, Hyūga, that makes me happy."
"I believe we'll meet again—on the basketball team. Our Seirin High basketball team."
Hidden safely in the background, unnoticed as always, Kuroko had listened to every word exchanged between Kiyoshi Teppei and the blond-haired Hyūga Junpei.
And he felt it deeply.
If it weren't for Shigure-senpai…
Perhaps he himself would have ended up just like Hyūga.
But at this moment, Kuroko couldn't deny the other's thoughts. Because ever since last year's Nationals, his fellow Generation of Miracles had kept breaking through limits without rest…
Kuroko knew better than anyone just how brutal this road would be with his meager ability.
Even with Shigure-senpai's guidance, even with his own conviction, seeing his teammates grow so monstrously powerful had left him shaken.
Exhaling softly, he told himself
Luckily, he had Shigure-senpai.
Compared to Hyūga, perhaps that was the one thing he had.
…
At the same time
Shigure Akihito, Nijimura Shuzo, and Momoi Satsuki were walking toward the same park court, following the direction given by Aida Kagetora.
On the way, Shigure asked, "How are those brats doing lately?"
At that, Momoi perked up excitedly.
"Everyone's gotten so strong! Haizaki's been trying to copy Midorima's full-court threes, Murasakibara's agility and strength are on a whole new level, and Aomine—because of a bet with Haizaki about hitting threes like Midorima—has been practicing three-pointers too! Oh, and Midorima—he hit one from the full court!"
"But…"
"The scariest one is still Akashi…"
"He…"
"Hmm…"
"How should I put this?"
"…He started glaring at people and they just collapsed?"
"Eh?"
"Senpai… what the heck are you talking about?"
"Oh, never mind. So what about Akashi?"
Momoi thought for a moment, then explained:
"When it comes to using passing and control to draw out his teammates' full strength, Akashi's terrifying now. He hasn't gone one-on-one with the other Generation members yet, but in scrimmages, when it's him leading the new First Team against them, Akashi has never lost."
Shigure nodded knowingly. So he chose passing and control as his foundation, using the Emperor Eye's ultimate precision to amplify it—turning the team itself into his weapon.
Otherwise…
Just the first personality's perfect passing wouldn't be nearly enough to lead the First Team rookies to victories against the now fully evolved Miracles. Unless, of course, he had the Five Generals by his side—who were strong enough to be pulled into pseudo-Zone themselves.
Yes.
That was the best fusion of perfect passing and the Emperor Eye—the two personalities' powers in one.
At that, Momoi pouted slightly.
"Because everyone's competing so fiercely, there's hardly time to just chat anymore. Even Kuroko said he's busy practicing the new ability you taught him, senpai…"
"I want to be understanding, but boys and their competitiveness, honestly…"
Just then, Nijimura, who had been silently listening while eating up their daily chatter, suddenly stopped walking.
"What's wrong?"
"Over there—that's Tetsuya. And Kiyoshi too."
Shigure followed Nijimura's pointing finger, and sure enough, there was that familiar Teiko uniform, that sky-colored hair—Kuroko Tetsuya.
As Shigure wondered why Kuroko was with Kiyoshi, Nijimura pointed to another corner. His expression visibly darkened, and then turned strange.
"That idiot Haizaki… what the hell is that hairstyle?"
"And wait…"
"…That's not Akashi, is it?"
"He couldn't have suddenly grown that tall."
Shigure looked.
There stood Haizaki Shōgo, his ridiculous black dreadlocks making even Nijimura's face blacken in exasperation.
And opposite him…
Red hair, glowing under the streetlamp with a rose-like hue.
But in truth...
"Kagami Taiga?"
END OF CHAPTER
CROWN BEFORE THE MIRACLES
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