Please subscribe to the paid plan on Patreon to read 30 advanced chapters.
+ I publish 3 chapters daily on Patreon, in addition to the other advanced chapters, which are 30+ chapters.
That's about 90 chapters a month.
patreon.com/ayan41x
------------------------
Inside the stadium.
All eyes were fixed on the green figure.
Nothing more.
From the moment it started, Midorima Shintaro was like a demon, unleashing a barrage of attacks that forced Seirin into a desperate retreat.
Kagami tried his best to block, but instead, he was completely overwhelmed by Midorima.
The rest of Seirin's players gritted their teeth, their eyes filled with panic.
If it weren't for Seirin's relentless offensive strategy, which had kept the score close, Seirin would probably be trailing Shutoku by more than 10 points now.
Bang, bang, bang…
Midorima dribbled the ball, his eyes fixed on Seirin's basket.
Kagami tried to steal the ball.
But the basketball seemed to come alive.
No matter what he did, he couldn't touch it.
Midorima suddenly stopped dribbling, bent his knees, squatted down, raised his arm, and jumped to shoot.
Such swift and fluid movements left Kagami completely unable to react.
Whoosh…
Swish…
The basketball swished through the net.
Shutoku scored another 3 points.
The score was now 68-76.
This was already the latter half of the third quarter.
Just 2 points behind, and there would be a 10-point difference.
If the score widened to 10 points, it would be a huge blow to Seirin, and they might never recover.
Beep…
Seirin was forced to call a timeout.
Momoi looked at the scoreboard and said, "The score has widened!"
Ryu glanced towards Seirin's bench.,
"Shutoku's individual skill is slightly stronger than Seirin's, and with Midorima's sudden outburst, Seirin's decline is inevitable."
"Is Seirin really going to lose like this?"
Momoi asked.
"How could that be?"
Ryu looked at Kuroko sitting in Seirin's dugout.
"Kuroko is still here, isn't he? If I'm not mistaken, Seirin should be substituting Kuroko."
Whistle…
Sure enough.
A whistle confirmed Ryu's guess.
"Seirin requests a substitution."
Kuroko Tetsuya, wearing jersey number 11, stood up.
He looked seriously at Midorima on the other side of the court.
The two locked eyes, everything understood without words.
Kuroko entered the game, and Takao instinctively stepped in front of him.
With his Hawk Eye, he had absolute confidence in shutting down Kuroko.
On the court at this moment, Seirin's offensive pace slowed down.
They seemed to be moving in a planned pattern.
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that they were preparing something.
Soon, Seirin's first pass began.
Hyuga Junpei dribbled the ball, and before even reaching Shutoku's three-point line, he passed it out.
Without Takao's defense, receiving the pass from Hyuga Junpei, Izuki Shun quickly found a safe passing lane using his Eagle Eye.
Facing Miyaji Kiyoshi's defense, he moved the ball behind him, then turned his body to the side and forcefully swung his arm, passing the ball to Kiyoshi Teppei, who was already inside Shutoku's defense.
Kiyoshi Teppei, wasn't afraid of Otsubo Taisuke's obstruction.
His eyes scanned back and forth, trying to find an opportunity.
He jumped with the ball in one hand, aiming at the basket, ready to dunk.
"You won't get it..."
Otsubo Taisuke leaped into the air, arm raised high, ready to deliver a resounding block to Kiyoshi Teppei.
However, a glint flashed in Kiyoshi Teppei's eyes. He shifted his body, twisting his wrist.
The ball, originally intended for a dunk, was redirected, passing smoothly to Hyuga Junpei, who had already run to the three-point line.
The basketball was back in his hands.
A glint appeared on Hyuga Junpei's glasses.
It was all planned.
At this moment, most of the Shutoku players had returned to their own paint.
'It's up to you now.'
He swung his arm, throwing the basketball towards the direction Kuroko was running.
Takao saw this and stuck close to Kuroko, preparing to intercept the ball before Kuroko could catch it.
But, just then...
Thump...
A dull thud rang out.
Takao felt a sharp pain in his body and stopped in his tracks.
When he looked closely, he was horrified.
Before him stood Kagami Taiga.
'Pick and roll…'
The word flashed through his mind.
He instinctively looked in Kuroko's direction.
Then he froze.
'That's… no way…'
Not just him.
The others from Shutoku were also dumbfounded.
Kuroko was now running alone towards Midorima's location.
Midorima's eyes flickered, his brain racing.
Knowing Kuroko as he did, a one-on-one fight was the most unwise choice.
But he couldn't understand Kuroko's purpose for a moment.
In the end, he chose to observe.
Thud…
Kuroko successfully received the basketball passed to him by Hyuga Junpei.
Facing Midorima's defense, Kuroko didn't dribble the ball as usual.
Instead, he dribbled directly towards Midorima.
Midorima's pupils contracted, somewhat incredulous that Kuroko would do this.
'Is he giving up his advantages?'
He stopped thinking about it when he couldn't figure it out.
Kuroko was already in front of him.
Midorima stared intently at Kuroko's every move.
Suddenly, Midorima only saw a blur before his eyes, and Kuroko's figure disappeared from his sight.
Then came the sound of a basketball hitting the ground behind him.
What?
Midorima turned around in shock.
Then he saw that Kuroko had somehow broken through his defense.
Midorima had been beaten.
And the one who broke through him was that unassuming Kuroko.
'How is this possible?'
The Shutoku team was stunned by this result.
For a moment, they forgot about defense.
Kuroko seized the opportunity, flicked his arm, and passed the ball to Hyuga Junpei, who was already beyond the three-point line.
Oh no…
It was too late for Miyaji Kiyoshi to react.
Hyuga Junpei had already launched the basketball.
Swish…
The basketball went in.
Seirin successfully closed the gap to 3 points.
71 to 76.
"Kuro, he suddenly disappeared! What was with that dribbling?"
Momoi exclaimed in surprise.
Ryu was also somewhat surprised.
In his previous life, when watching the anime, he only thought that this move used the attraction of Kagami to reduce his own presence, thus creating the illusion of disappearance for his defender.
But now it seemed somewhat different.
The disappearing dribble wasn't just talk.
It seemed as if it would truly vanish in that instant.
If it weren't for Ryu's abilities, Ryu wouldn't have discovered the deeper secret.
A smile gradually crept onto his face.
'Interesting. It seems Kuroko's talent has something different about it!'
The game continued. Shutoku had possession.
Although they were startled by Kuroko's new move, Shutoku's team maintained their usual level.
Facing Seirin's tight defense, Shutoku launched a fierce attack.
The ball was passed to Miyaji Kiyoshi.
Trying to break into Seirin's paint, Miyaji Kiyoshi was double-teamed by Izuki Shun and Hyuga Junpei.
Unable to advance, he simply passed the ball.
The ball reached Takao.
He wasn't worried that Kuroko could steal the ball from him.
Hawk Eye activated.
He quickly located Midorima's position.
However, Midorima was being guarded by Kagami.
Although Kagami was no match for Midorima at the moment, the possibility of the pass being intercepted was still very high.
Ultimately, he abandoned passing the ball to Midorima, and his gaze shifted; he found his target.
With a flick of his arm, the basketball landed in the hands of Kimura Shinsuke on the edge of the paint.
Kiyoshi Teppei brushed aside Otsubo Taisuke, taking two steps to stand in front of Kimura Shinsuke, preventing him from shooting.
Facing Kiyoshi Teppei's defense, Kimura Shinsuke was struggling.
After a long standoff with Kiyoshi Teppei, he finally chose to force a shot.
"Kimura, don't rush,"
Otsubo Taisuke warned.
But Kimura Shinsuke was already in the air, with no other choice.
He released the shot with force.
The basketball flew straight towards Seirin's basket.
However, the final result was not as he wished.
The basketball hit the rim, but didn't go in; instead, it bounced off the rim and flew outwards.
Originally, Otsubo Taisuke was in the best position to grab the rebound.
However, the ball bounced slightly off course.
By sheer coincidence, it gave the shorter Izuki Shun an advantage.
Looking at the basketball in his hands, Izuki Shun was still somewhat bewildered.
He had already given up on grabbing the rebound.
And now the opportunity had fallen into his hands.
He sensed footsteps behind him.
Without thinking, Izuki Shun swung his arm and tossed the ball to Kuroko, who was running towards Shutoku's half of the court.
At this moment, Shutoku's half of the court was empty.
But Kuroko wasn't fast.
Takao quickly caught up and successfully blocked Kuroko's path.
Seeing this,
Ryu pouted and said, "This won't work; he can't stop him."
Sure enough.
Facing Takao's defense, Kuroko neither dodged nor evaded, charging straight at him.
In Takao's eyes: Kuroko vanished from sight, disappearing completely.
What?
Takao's eyes were filled with disbelief.
'He just disappeared right before my eyes? How is that possible?'
He couldn't understand.
Why did Kuroko suddenly disappear?
Recovering from his daze, Takao hurriedly turned to chase after him.
Kuroko ignored Takao's approaching figure.
He flicked his wrist, then tossed the basketball into the air.
While Takao was still wondering why Kuroko was doing this, his vision went black, and then a white figure appeared in his field of vision.
"Kagami..."
Takao exclaimed.
But at this point, he could only watch as things continued to unfold; there was nothing he could do.
Ah...
Kagami caught the basketball Kuroko threw in mid-air, then roared and slammed the ball towards Shutoku's basket.
Clang...
Accompanied by the resounding crash of the rim,
the basketball pierced through the net and slammed heavily to the ground.
73 to 76.
Seirin scored again, closing the gap to 2 points.
"Stay calm, don't panic,"
Miyaji Kiyoshi reassured him.
He raised his hand and passed the ball to Takao.
Takao instinctively began searching for Midorima's position.
However, upon seeing Kagami, he abandoned the idea of passing.
He began dribbling forward.
But just then...
Kuroko, whom he had momentarily ignored, suddenly appeared behind him.
Thud...
Kuroko successfully deflected the basketball from Takao's hands.
The basketball flew directly towards Hyuga Junpei's position.
Miyaji Kiyoshi, who was defending Hyuga Junpei, hadn't arrived in time after the inbound pass.
So he could only watch helplessly as the basketball was shot by Hyuga Junpei.
Swish...
The sound of the net swishing rang out again.
The basketball was once again thrown into the basket.
76-76.
Seirin had successfully tied the score.
This series of events completely stunned Shutoku.
There were less than 30 seconds left in the game.
Shutoku had one more chance to attack.
The Shutoku players all had the same idea.
That was to pass the ball to Midorima and let him shoot a three-pointer.
The Seirin players had also considered this.
So they began to subtly approach Midorima, just in case.
Shutoku inbounds the ball.
Takao passes the ball directly to Otsubo Taisuke.
This surprised the Seirin players, who expected the ball to go to Midorima.
They hadn't expected Takao to pass to Otsubo Taisuke instead of Midorima.
But what happened next made the Seirin players' hearts leap into their throats.
Midorima, who had been subtly surrounded by the Seirin players, began to move.
Midorima, having activated his "Man and Ball as One" technique, was difficult to defend unless completely blocked.
He moved like a snake, darting freely through Seirin's encirclement, quickly breaking free.
The instant he broke free, Otsubo Taisuke tossed the ball over.
Midorima's green eyes flashed, and he caught the pass.
Without hesitation, he turned and prepared to shoot at Seirin's basket.
Oh no…
The Seirin players all had a bad feeling.
Could they not defend?
That thought flashed through everyone's minds.
Just at this critical moment…
A blue figure suddenly appeared.
Then he swung his arm and successfully knocked the basketball out of Midorima's hands.
Thud…
The basketball hit the ground with a series of thuds.
Beep…
Just then…
The whistle blew to end the third quarter.
Everyone's eyes turned to the figure who had knocked the basketball out of Midorima's hands.
"Kuroko…"
Midorima's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the suddenly appearing Kuroko.
Kuroko looked at Midorima, his face expressionless, and said,
"If I let you shoot like that, I'd be in trouble."
Spectator area.
Momoi blinked her beautiful eyes, also finding it hard to believe what she was seeing.
"Kuroko... he's gotten this good already?"
Ryu narrowed his eyes at Kuroko.
Kuroko seemed to have known all along that Midorima would escape.
What was this strangely familiar feeling?
Was it just his imagination?
Ryu shook his head.
"This shouldn't be a coincidence, nor is it because Kuroko has become stronger than Midorima. I think he used some method we don't know."
Momoi agreed with this explanation.
Seirin's bench area.
Everyone was amazed by Kuroko's performance.
And that unreasonable dribbling.
Especially the final interruption of Midorima's shot.
This made everyone present look at Kuroko with newfound respect.
However, only Kagami remained somewhat puzzled.
He had been guarding Midorima from the very beginning of the match.
He knew very well how strong Midorima was when he activated "Man and Ball as One."
It wasn't something that could be easily defended against.
He turned to Kuroko and asked,
"Kuroko... how did you get the basketball in Midorima's hands?"
Hearing Kagami's question,
the Seirin players all fell silent, awaiting Kuroko's answer.
Kuroko smiled slightly at everyone.
Then he revealed the secret.
----
Please subscribe to the paid plan on Patreon to read 30 advanced chapters.
+ I publish 3 chapters daily on Patreon, in addition to the other advanced chapters, which are 30+ chapters.
That's about 90 chapters a month.
patreon.com/ayan41x