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Following a grand and unique opening ceremony, the preliminary rounds of the Winter Selection Tournament officially began.
The participating schools began their preparations.
In the corridor leading to Seirin's locker room, the Seirin group walked towards the locker room.
Kagami, still very curious about Haizaki Shogo, couldn't help but ask.
"Hey! Kuroko, who exactly was Haizaki...? Was he strong?"
Hearing Kagami's question, Furuhata Mitsuki also perked up his ears.
The others at Seirin might not understand the implication, but he knew very well.
Haizaki Shogo was a former teammate of the Generation of Miracles.
He must have been a miracle-level figure!
Kuroko hadn't explained in detail before because it wasn't the right time.
Now that everyone was on the same side, it didn't matter.
He gathered his thoughts and then answered.
"Haizaki joined the Teiko basketball team even earlier than me and Kise. The captain back then was Nijimura-senpai, who seemed to have a high opinion of Haizaki. Haizaki's skills were also recognized by everyone, but his personality was quite unique. Because Ryu and Haizaki played the same position, Haizaki challenged Ryu in front of everyone."
Huh?
Kagami and Furuhata Mitsuki were both stunned.
'That guy challenged Ryu?'
Kagami imagined the duel between Haizaki and Ryu in his mind.
"And the result? What happened?"
He pressed for an answer.
Kuroko replied.
"The result, of course, was that Haizaki lost the game, and Ryu won decisively."
"I see!"
Kagami nodded, thinking about Ryu's strength.
Kuroko continued.
"Although Haizaki lost to Ryu, his strength is undeniable. Kise challenged him countless times, but always ended in defeat."
For some reason, Kuroko didn't say this was before Kise's evolution.
Upon hearing this, Kagami and Furuhata Mitsuki were both shocked.
Someone stronger than Kise.
'Kise never won even once?'
Kagami's heart was stirred.
Even if he faced Kise now, he might not be Kise's match.
Although he won the previous practice match, he knew very well that without Kuroko, he would have been the one to lose.
He clenched his fists, a smirk playing on his lips, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.
"Another formidable opponent, this is fantastic."
Seeing Kagami's passionate expression, Furuhata Mitsuki chuckled.
"Kagami, still the same!"
Kuroko smiled, but still offered a reminder.
"I don't want to discourage you, Kagami, but Haizaki's strength is truly formidable."
"Ah, I understand. I won't be careless if we meet."
Kagami replied nonchalantly.
If the opponent is too weak, he'll lose interest.
The addition of Haizaki Shogo will certainly add some fun.
Afterwards, Kuroko explained everything about Haizaki Shogo to Kagami and Furuhata Mitsuki in detail.
From his extremely arrogant entry into the club, to his arrogant provocations, to his ruthless crushing of Ryu, and finally, his resignation as Ryu's substitute.
Then came Kise's joining, the feud between Kise and Haizaki, Haizaki's domination of Kise, and his eventual departure from the basketball club.
He omitted some of Haizaki Shogo's particularly egregious actions.
Although he also found some of Haizaki Shogo's behavior unacceptable.
However, talking behind people's backs is not suitable for someone like him.
...
How much time has passed?
The first match of the preliminary rounds is about to begin.
The Seirin team's opponent, just like in the original story, is Josei High School.
Ryu has some understanding of Josei.
They have a newcomer whose strength is decent.
But compared to those at the top, they are still far behind.
Before they encounter Shutoku, there is almost no point in observing them.
However, there are always exceptions.
Who knows if the current Josei is the same as the Josei in the original story.
Next is Kaijo High School.
Their opponent is a school that doesn't appear in the original story.
But it seems unlikely that Kise would lose to such a school.
Shutoku High School's opponent is somewhat speechless.
Their opponents were Meijō Academy, the same group that Kagami, Kise, and Kuroko had previously thrashed at the open-air baseball field.
The result was predictable.
Meijō Academy would likely be utterly crushed by Shutoku.
As for Too, Yosen, and Rakuzan:
These three schools had achieved excellent results in the Summer League.
Therefore, all three schools qualified directly for the Winter Selection Tournament through special slots, bypassing the preliminary rounds.
Logically, Kaijo and Shutoku could also have received a special slot.
However, Shutoku, like Too, was in Tokyo, and Tokyo only had one special slot, which naturally went to Too, who had the best performance.
Kaijo was somewhat wronged.
If allocated based on strength, Kaijo definitely deserved a special slot.
Although Kanagawa was designated as a separate region, Kanagawa is still part of Tokyo, so it didn't receive a special slot.
...
Inside the rest room of the Toho Kotei Gakuen.
Everyone was doing their own thing.
Kazama Kouki was someone who disliked meddling.
So this time, he didn't even bother leading the team to the opening ceremony.
Ryu said while petting Karupin.
"Looks like the preliminaries have already started! Should we go join the fun?"
Kugawa asked, puzzled.
"Joining the fun? You mean watching the matches?"
Ryu nodded.
Kuroki Ryuichi pouted.
"What's so interesting about the preliminaries? Even if you want to observe the opponents, you won't learn anything from those weaklings in the preliminaries!"
His words weren't without merit.
However, Ryu still said.
"This time is different. There might be quite a few strong schools appearing! You know, the number of spots in this winter selection tournament has more than doubled, and many schools that haven't participated in major tournaments before have also registered."
There was something else he didn't mention.
His Hyotei Eye, like Akashi's, could see a person's potential and basic strength.
Hearing Ryu's words, Kamimono thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Now that you mention it, it's true. Anyway, we have nothing else to do right now, so let's go take a look!"
The captain had spoken.
The matter was settled.
Not long after.
After everyone had packed their things, they left the locker room and headed towards one of the exits.
Because the stadium was quite large,
the preliminary rounds were held in multiple venues simultaneously.
The venue chosen by Ryu and his group was the one hosting Seirin's match.
This was Ryu's suggestion.
He knew very well that Seirin would shine brightly in this winter selection tournament.
The second gate to the Zone!
Even with Karupin (his cheat ability) by his side,
he couldn't be careless. Who knew if he might cause Seirin to develop a third or fourth gate to the Zone!
They hadn't walked far when Ryu and the others emerged from the exit.
There weren't many people watching the match in the stands.
Most were students from various schools.
When the Toho Kotei Gakuen group appeared in the spectator area,
the atmosphere immediately became noisy.
"Those people are..."
"It's Toho Kotei Gakuen, the Summer League champions."
"That's the school that beat Rakuzan!"
"That's Ryu from the Generation of Miracles."
"Huh...? Why is he holding a cat?"
"Idiot, don't you know? Ryu always brings his pet to every match."
"What a strange person."
"Right! Right! And that Midorima Shintaro from the Generation of Miracles, I heard he always carries some weird things too."
"Truly a champion team, their aura is so strong."
"Why are they here? It's just the qualifiers!"
"Could they be here to watch Seirin?"
"No way, this is just the qualifiers, there's no need to watch!"
...
Listening to the whispers around them.
The Toho Kotei Gakuen team remained unusually calm.
Ever since winning the Summer League championship.
They were used to being the subject of discussion.
This was inevitable.
They had to learn to get used to it.
Meanwhile, the two teams on the sidelines were locked in a heated battle.
The Seirin players passed the ball around, eventually finding its way to Teppei Kiyoshi.
Kiyoshi then decided whether to shoot or continue passing.
Kamimono, also a center, immediately focused his gaze on Teppei Kiyoshi.
"That number 7 is quite something."
A white light flashed behind Hanafuji Souji's gold-rimmed glasses.
"Teppei Kiyoshi, a second-year student at Seirin High School, is a full member of the Seirin basketball team, playing center. Due to a knee injury sustained in a game last year, he didn't play in the Summer League. He, along with Kotaro Hayama, Reo Mibuchi, and Eikichi Nebuya from Rakuzan, are known as the 'Uncrowned Five,' a formidable opponent."
His words piqued everyone's interest.
Kuroki Ryuichi and Kugawa also looked at Teppei Kiyoshi.
The Uncrowned Five.
Those were players on their level.
Back when they played against Rakuzan.
They suffered quite a bit.
Kuroki Ryuichi said, looking at Ryu.
"Is this why you came to watch the game?"
Ryu shook his head and smiled slightly.
"A little, I suppose! But not entirely. If it were just Kiyoshi Teppei, we wouldn't have come all this way to watch their game."
He paused, then continued.
"Besides Kiyoshi Teppei, didn't you notice anything else?"
Hearing Ryu's pointed question, the Toho Kotei Gakuen members began to observe.
Soon, they saw it.
Seirin's Hyuga Junpei seemingly made a mistake, throwing the ball into an empty corner.
However, just when everyone thought the ball would go out of bounds, a blue figure suddenly appeared, swinging his arm and slapping the ball.
The Toho Kotei Gakuen members were all startled by this.
"When did that guy appear?"
Kugawa exclaimed.
Kuroki Ryuichi also narrowed his eyes.
"We clearly didn't see him just now. Can someone like that play basketball?"
At the same time...
Under Josei's basket, a fiery red figure leaped into the air, catching the incoming basketball and then slamming it into the hoop.
The clanging sound echoed throughout the arena.
The slamming of the rim ignited a few gasps of surprise from the crowd.
"What a fierce attack!"
Kamimono exclaimed.
Ryu then explained to them.
"Seirin is a fast-paced offensive team, specializing in quick bursts of offense. Their individual strength isn't particularly high, but they place great emphasis on teamwork. Number 11 was my teammate in middle school. As you just saw, his ability is to use his low profile to confuse opponents, thus assisting his teammates in the attack. And then there's number 10, Kagami Taiga. Although his current strength isn't anything special, his potential is enormous. His talent is no less than that of the Generation of Miracles. Perhaps one day he will fully awaken."
Hearing Ryu's analysis, Kamimono and the others were stunned.
They wondered if they had misheard.
Talent comparable to the Generation of Miracles.
So, does that mean the opponent has talent equal to Ryu's?
The most incredulous were Kuroki Ryuichi and Kugawa.
They had only come to watch a qualifier.
How could they have identified a player comparable to the Generation of Miracles?
Now, Kamimono and the others finally understood why Ryu had come to watch the game.
Such a promising team.
They definitely needed to observe them.
The game continued.
After Teppei Kiyoshi's return, Seirin's offense flowed like water.
He completely controlled the paint.
His ability to shoot late made it impossible for Josei to predict his next move.
Kuroko's presence also put considerable pressure on them.
His unpredictable movements and sudden passes made life miserable for the opponents.
Finally, there was Kagami in full force.
None of Josei's players could stop his offense.
It must be said that after several months, Kagami's strength had grown significantly.
He was considerably stronger than in the original story.
The Josei rookie had become nothing more than a backdrop for his performance.
Ah…
Suddenly, a roar from the court drew everyone's attention.
Ryu looked up at the sound, then his pupils contracted.
On the court.
Kagami received the ball from Kuroko.
He then quickly sprinted towards Josei's basket.
When he reached the free-throw line, he leaped into the air.
Seeing Kagami at that moment, Kuroki Ryuichi exclaimed.
"This is…"
Kamimono murmured.
"Aerial Walk…"
Ryu's gaze locked onto Kagami.
A buzzing sound suddenly rang in his mind.
Like some kind of call.
Also like some kind of warning.
Ryu grinned, thinking to himself.
'Finally, that door has opened.'
…
Too Academy.
On the rooftop of the basketball club building.
Aomine lay there, leisurely basking in the sun.
The sudden buzzing sound entered his mind, instantly opening his eyes.
He sat up, his blue eyes gradually sharpening.
...
In one of the stadium's courts.
Kise Ryota, who was playing, suddenly stopped.
The buzzing in his head lingered.
He tried to find the source of the sound, but found nothing but sound.
...
On the other side, at Shutoku's court.
Midorima Shintaro, sitting in the rest area, narrowed his eyes.
Along with the buzzing in his head, his green eyes behind his glasses began to gleam with an eerie green light.
...
On a bus heading to Akita.
Crunch...crunch...
The sound of Murasakibara eating snacks suddenly stopped.
He seemed to have forgotten to chew the snacks in his mouth.
The buzzing sound was like an electric current flashing through his mind.
How long it was, he didn't know.
His mouth finally resumed chewing.
...
Inside a black luxury car.
Akashi was on the phone with Reo Mibuchi.
Suddenly, his crimson eyes narrowed sharply.
Then he fell silent.
"Akashi...Akashi...Are you listening?"
It was as if the voice on the other end of the line didn't exist.
After an unknown amount of time,
Akashi finally spoke slowly.
"Ah...Sorry, please continue!"
...
Everything.
Without any warning.
Ryu, Akashi, Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara, Kise.
They simultaneously heard the sound of an iron gate opening.
The sound was deep, solemn, and sacred.
That "sealed door".
Today, it has finally open again.
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