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Beep…
The bell rang, signaling the end of the match.
108 to 67.
Seirin High School won.
Ryu, in the spectator area, turned to his team and said,
"The match is over. I'm going back to the bus to take a nap. Are you guys going to watch other schools' matches?"
Kuroki Ryuichi asked.
"No, I'm not. I've come all this way to Tokyo, I'm going to wander around a bit."
Kugawa's eyes lit up, and he said.
"Kuroki, are you going to play? Count me in!"
Kuroki Ryuichi corrected him.
"I'm not going to play, just wandering around."
Kugawa chuckled.
"Wandering around isn't bad either, it's more lively with more people."
Kuroki Ryuichi rolled his eyes at him but didn't say anything.
Since he wanted to come along, he didn't mind.
Kamimono thought for a moment, then looked at Hanafuji and asked.
"Hanafuji, what about you? Are you going with Kuroki Ryuichi and the others?"
Hanafuji shook his head.
"I won't go. I plan to check out other venues."
Kamimono nodded.
"In that case, I'll go with you!"
Because the team didn't have a team manager, all the intelligence gathering fell to Hanafuji.
As captain, Kamimono naturally had to set an example.
"Then I'll head back. Call me later!"
Ryu waved to the others and left with Karupin in his arms.
...
Off the court.
Seirin's rest area.
The Seirin team packed their things and headed towards the tunnel entrance.
They chatted and laughed, their faces beaming with joy.
Just as they were walking towards their locker room, a group of people suddenly appeared in front of them.
However, the Seirin team didn't pay any attention.
Because there were many schools participating in the preliminary rounds, it was normal for multiple schools to share the same court.
The two groups drew closer.
The Seirin players clearly saw the words "Fukuda Sogo Academy" written on the opposing team's red jerseys.
If the members of the Toho Kotei Gakuen were present, they would definitely recognize the leader of the opposing team.
Takahashi Kento.
As they walked, their mouths opened and closed, as if they were discussing something.
As the Seirin players brushed past the opposing team, everyone could clearly hear their conversation.
"Our first opponent seems to be a very strong one!"
"They're supposedly in the top 16 of the national tournament!"
Just then,
Takahashi Kento smiled sinisterly.
"So what if they're in the top 16? They're just a bunch of trash. We're the team that's going to defeat the Generation of Miracles and win the championship. These little fish aren't even qualified."
Then, his lips curled into a wide grin.
"Just wait! Our era at Fukuda Sogo Academy is about to begin!"
Hahahaha...
The laughter faded into the distance.
The Seirin members all turned to look at the departing figures of the Fukuda Sogo Academy members.
Their expressions were not pleasant.
Hyuga Junpei frowned and said,
"They really are annoying!"
Koganei Shinji nodded in agreement.
"Exactly, too arrogant. They even said they would defeat the Generation of Miracles and win the championship. It's laughable."
Kagami said, somewhat annoyed.
"Those guys are so arrogant. Don't they know how powerful the Generation of Miracles are?"
Aida Riko said.
"Let's not concern ourselves with other people's business. Let's go back."
The coach spoke.
Everyone obediently followed them towards the locker room.
But Kuroko stood still.
His gaze never left the direction the Fukuda team had gone.
Kagami noticed Kuroko hadn't followed and called out.
"Kuroko…"
Hearing Kuroko's call, Kuroko snapped out of his reverie and jogged to catch up with the team.
Kagami looked at Kuroko with some confusion and asked.
"What's wrong? Kuroko, is something the matter?"
Kuroko paused for a moment, then said.
"Nothing, it's just that I had a feeling of familiarity just now. Maybe I was mistaken!"
...
Time passed.
A month flew by.
The preliminary rounds were in full swing.
Teams defeated their opponents one after another.
Meanwhile, teams were also defeated.
Just as Ryu had initially predicted.
The schools with the Generation of Miracles advanced smoothly, defeating one opponent after another.
Besides the Generation of Miracles, many new schools also secured their spots.
In addition, it's worth mentioning that among these schools, one school's performance attracted considerable attention.
That was Fukuda Sogo Academy.
This previously unknown school had made a name for itself from the very first day of the preliminary rounds.
Their overall team strength wasn't particularly high.
Individual skill was also rather average.
However, one player named Takahashi Kento attracted exceptional attention.
It was said he not strong, but he was known for using all sorts of underhanded tactics.
Any school that played against him suffered injuries to some degree.
Many players had already been forced off the court due to his dirty tricks, resulting in losses.
Beep…
Another match involving Fukuda Sogo Academy ended.
You could see their opponents were limping.
Meanwhile, on Fukuda Sogo Academy's side...
Takahashi Kento wore a sinister smile.
"One more win, and we can advance to the national tournament. How exciting! I can't wait to face that damn guy."
The damn guy he was referring to was none other than Ryu Ryu.
Because only the first day of the opening ceremony was held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The rest of the matches were held in their respective regional divisions.
Fukuda sogo Academy was not in the same division as the Generation of Miracles.
Therefore, if they were to meet, it could only be at the National Tournament.
Seirin differs from the original work.
In the original story, they first encountered Shutoku High School in the preliminaries, drew with them, and then faced Kirisaki Daiichi.
However, this time, Kirisaki Daiichi wasn't in Seirin's division.
And unsurprisingly, Seirin's final opponent in the decisive league was none other than Shutoku High School.
The two teams were now confirmed as the first and second place teams in their respective divisions.
Therefore, both schools had secured a spot in the national tournament.
The question remained: who would be first and who would be second?
On this day.
At Tokyo's Second Gymnasium.
A large crowd had already gathered.
They had all come for today's match.
Today was the last day of the preliminaries.
And also the most anticipated match for all the spectators in the Tokyo division.
Seirin vs. Shutoku.
Ryu was already standing outside the doors of the Second Gymnasium.
He had arrived in Tokyo early that morning.
He wanted to see the current strength of Seirin and Shutoku.
Because of the drop in temperature, he put on a down jacket.
Karupin, meanwhile, was quietly nestled in his hat behind him.
This freed up Ryu's hands, saving him a lot of effort.
He entered the spectator area.
It was already packed with people.
Many photographers had set up their cameras around.
'Too early!'
Ryu muttered to himself.
"Ryu..."
A sudden shout made Ryu instantly recognize the voice.
He looked in the direction of the voice.
And sure enough, it Momoi.
"Momoi, are you here to watch Seirin and Shutoku's match too?"
Momoi nodded with a smile.
"Yes! It's a duel between Kuroko and Midorima, of course I have to watch! I just didn't expect Ryu to be here too."
Ryu replied with a smile.
"Because I'm curious about how much they've grown. Right now, only a few people can threaten me."
His words were blunt and arrogant.
But it was true.
Momoi couldn't refute it.
"It's rare to see Ryu say something like that!"
Ryu shook his head with a helpless smile.
"That's confidence. Sometimes being too arrogant will make your opponents resent you. I can't exactly say things like, 'Good luck, you'll catch up to me someday,' can I?"
Momoi covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Ryu, you really are..."
She didn't know what to say.
Thinking about it carefully.
It seemed that what Ryu said wasn't entirely unreasonable.
"Look, they're coming out!"
Just then.
A spectator nearby shouted, pointing down.
Ryu and Momoi both turned to look.
The doors to the tunnels on both sides of the court had been opened.
The Seirin team and the Shutoku team emerged from the tunnels simultaneously.
They exchanged glances.
Ryu could clearly sense it.
The atmosphere in the arena changed instantly the moment their eyes met.
It was as if electric currents were intertwining and swirling in the air between them.
Even the scenery around the court seemed to dim slightly.
However, this quickly subsided.
"Looks like we're going to see a good match,"
Ryu said slowly, observing both sides.
Hmm?
Momoi was a little confused, not understanding what Ryu was talking about.
She shook her head and then asked Ryu.
"Ryu, who do you think will win?"
Huh?
Ryu thought for a moment.
'Seirin and Shutoku, it seems they ended in a draw in the original story…'
After a long pause, he replied.
"It's hard to say. Seirin and Shutoku have improved a lot. After several months of growth, I think Midorima has also improved somewhat. They might end up evenly matched!"
Huh?
"Is that what you think?"
Momoi hadn't expected Ryu to say that.
Just as the two were talking, a whistle drew their attention.
The match had already begun.
Ah…
Two roars rang out on the court.
Seirin's Teppei Kiyoshi and Shutoku's Taisuke Otsubo simultaneously jumped to contest the ball.
Thud...
A dull thud.
The basketball flew out, squeezed between two hands.
This startled both teams.
But the game continued.
The basketball landed close to Izuki Shun.
He ran a few steps and caught the ball just before it hit the ground.
He scanned the court, trying to pinpoint the positions of everyone.
But just then...
Thud.
His hand lightened, and the basketball was slapped away by a hand.
Izuki Shun turned around in surprise.
He saw Takao had appeared behind him at some point.
The basketball, slapped away by Takao, was caught by Kimura Shinsuke, who had arrived just in time.
To give Seirin a hard time, he raised his hand to pass the ball to a teammate who had reached Seirin's paint.
Then, he just lifted the ball, about to throw it...
Suddenly, appeared beside him, ruthlessly swatting the ball away from his hands.
Kimura Shinsuke's heart sank, and he glanced sideways.
In the original story, the basketball would have ended up in Midorima's hands.
However, at this moment, the basketball was controlled by Kagami, who had appeared out of nowhere.
Seeing this, Ryu's eyes flickered slightly in the spectator area.
'This is going to be unpredictable!'
He thought to himself, his gaze already fixed on Kagami.
'What will you do?'
On the court.
Kagami received the ball and without hesitation, went all out, charging towards Shutoku's basket.
Midorima had already begun his pursuit the instant Kagami received the ball.
Two figures, one red and one green, moved like streaks of light, leaving two trails of fire behind them.
Kagami dribbled the ball across Shutoku's three-point line.
He leaped up at the free-throw line.
Seeing this, Midorima, chasing behind, also narrowed his eyes.
"A jump from the free-throw line..."
Momoi exclaimed.
Ryu narrowed his eyes.
However, just as everyone's attention was focused on Kagami's dunk,
Thud...
A crisp sound interrupted everything.
Midorima's hand reached out from behind Kagami.
He used his fingers to flick the basketball out of Kagami's hands.
The basketball lost its balance, flying directly to Shutoku's backboard before bouncing out of bounds.
"The ball... went out of bounds..."
Momoi was stunned.
The previous offensive and defensive battle had been incredibly intense.
She was only now beginning to recover.
Ryu's gaze shifted to where Kagami was standing.
"That guy's jumping ability is terrifying! But even if Midorima hadn't stopped him, that shot wouldn't have gone in!"
Huh?
Momoi was a little stunned.
"You mean Kagami?"
Thinking about Ryu's words, she also looked at where Kagami was standing on the sidelines.
"Indeed, his position was a bit off. Was it because Midorima stopped him?"
Both the timing and the height of his jump...
It looked like that shot would have gone in.
'Was it just my imagination?'
She was a little confused.
Ryu noticed her confusion and explained.
"He's probably just not used to it yet! Kagami's jumping ability is indeed very strong, but he only recently awakened this ability, so he's not used to it yet. Even if he can reach a sufficient height, he can't truly master it."
Hearing Ryu's explanation, Momoi immediately understood the reason.
"Awakened? You mean… Kagami, he…"
Momoi's eyes widened, somewhat incredulous.
She naturally knew what Ryu meant by awakening.
The Generation of Miracles had gone through the same process.
"How do you know Kagami has awakened?"
Ryu said meaningfully.
"It's simple, I just heard it."
Huh?
Heard it?
Heard what?
Momoi was a little confused, not understanding what Ryu meant.
Ryu didn't explain further.
Because only those who heard the door open would understand.
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