I want to reach 20 paid subscriptions on Patreon this week to complete this novel, as it has been over a month since the last subscription.
patreon.com/ayan41x
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Inside the grilled fish restaurant, Ryu waved to everyone.
"Well, I'll be going now, bye…"
Kagami said hastily.
"If we meet in the National Tournament, I'll definitely beat you, Ryu."
His words had barely left his mouth when
Midorima and Kuroko suddenly stopped eating.
Ryu didn't react to Kagami's words.
He smiled slightly at Kagami,
"Alright! See you in the National Tournament then."
With that, he walked out of the grilled fish restaurant.
He planned to go back to his villa in Tokyo for the night.
Since enrolling in Tōhō Academy, he had basically never come back to stay.
The man and the cat walked forward against the not-so-gentle cold wind.
The autumn purple haze lacked the vibrant colors of summer.
Inside the grilled fish restaurant, Kagami continued to devour the grilled fish.
Kuroko sat quietly to the side, sipping juice.
Midorima wiped his mouth and said,
"I'm finished…"
He stood up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and looked at Kuroko and Kagami.
"Well then, I'll be going now."
Kuroko spoke up,
"Midorima… let's settle this another time!"
The noisy scene quieted down considerably.
Midorima adjusted his glasses and replied,
"Of course."
He paused, then added,
"By the way, Kagami, what you said earlier was stupid."
Huh?
Several large tic-tac-toe characters popped onto Kagami's forehead.
"Why did you suddenly say that, you idiot?"
Midorima continued, his expression unchanged,
"Let me give you some advice before I leave. Ryu's strength far exceeds your imagination. If you want to defeat him, you must first defeat the rest of the Generation of Miracles. Provoking your opponent before you have sufficient strength is nothing short of foolish."
With that, he turned and walked towards the door.
Takao immediately followed,
"Midorima! Is it alright to just leave like this? Aren't we going to wait for the seniors?"
Midorima said without turning his head,
"We're not going that way, there's no need to wait."
Huh?
Hearing him say that, Takao didn't know what to say, so he could only follow him out the door.
Watching Midorima leave, Miyaji Kiyoshi scratched his head and said helplessly,
"These juniors these days are really a headache!"
Hyuga Junpei nodded in agreement, then glanced at Kagami, who had a tick mark on his forehead.
Kuroko comforted him from the side,
"Kagami, it's not good to get angry while eating, and besides, Ryu-kun is definitely stronger than you."
"Kuroko…"
Kagami's forehead veins bulged as he glared at Kuroko with displeasure.
Kuroko gave a meaningful smile and then unzipped his backpack.
A small, fluffy head peeked out from the bag.
Kagami's heart skipped a beat when he saw the fluffy head, and he immediately moved away from Kuroko, all his anger gone.
A while later,
Shutoku's group had all left.
Aida Riko then stood up and said,
"Alright, let's go too!"
Soon, the Seirin group left the grilled fish restaurant in a noisy.
On the way…
Kagami, who had been walking with his head down, suddenly looked up at Kuroko and asked,
"Kuroko... what exactly did Midorima mean by what he said earlier?"
Kuroko paused, then replied,
"Was it about Ryu?"
Kagami nodded,
"Yes, although I don't know Midorima very well, someone like him wouldn't speak without reason! So I wanted to ask you..."
Kuroko fell silent.
After a long pause, he finally replied,
"Midorima wasn't wrong to say you're stupid."
"Hey!"
Kagami's eyebrows shot up, his face full of displeasure.
Seeing Kagami's expression, Kuroko continued,
"But Midorima just wanted to tell you that before you're strong enough, it's best not to provoke Ryu."
Kagami said firmly,
"Ah... of course I know that..."
"No, you don't."
Kuroko interrupted Kagami.
"The Ryu you saw wasn't the real him. The strength he displayed was despair-inducing."
Kagami looked bewildered, tilting his head in a completely blank expression,
"Not the real him?"
The other members of Seirin also looked at Kuroko with curiosity, waiting for him to continue.
Kuroko continued to explain,
"Actually, even among the Generation of Miracles, no one has ever seen Ryu at his full strength."
Upon hearing this, Kagami and everyone in Seirin widened their eyes.
"Really? Was the previous Ryu hiding his strength?"
Koganei Shinji exclaimed.
Kuroko nodded,
"That's right. Ever since I've known Ryu, he seems to have been constantly experimenting with some kind of ball technique or ability."
Hearing Kuroko's words, the Seirin members were completely baffled, not understanding what he was talking about.
"Some kind of ball skill or ability?"
Kagami tilted his head, thinking for a long time but couldn't come up with anything.
Kuroko, oblivious to everyone's expressions, continued.
"Ryu-kun only mentioned it briefly, but only in general terms, not in detail. I only know that in middle school, because his body wasn't fully developed, some of his ball skills weren't perfect, but now so much time has passed, so..."
"So he's very likely already mastered that ball skill or ability he's always wanted to develop, right?"
Hearing Kagami's words, Kuroko nodded,
"That's right. From Ryu's current abilities, we can conclude that if he really mastered that desired ball skill or ability, he would become incredibly powerful, possibly even the Generation of Miracles combined wouldn't be a match for him."
A hush fell over the room.
The Seirin members were completely bewildered.
They seemed to have heard something incredible.
Yet they seemed to have heard nothing at all.
In any case, their minds were a complete mess.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha..."
Kagami laughed heartily.
Seeing him like this, everyone stared at him as if he were a fool.
Has this guy gone mad?
Has he been provoked?
Knowing he has no hope, he's gone insane?
Surely not.
After laughing, Kagami said excitedly,
"That's perfect, the stronger the enemy, the more interesting it is, isn't it?"
Seeing his expression…
The Seirin members smiled slightly, agreeing with Kagami's statement.
They weren't the same people they used to be.
As long as they continued to train hard, one day they would achieve their dreams.
However, only Kuroko's expression was the most serious.
He said earnestly,
"Kagami, I'm serious, because I've seen... no, I've felt it once, even if only for a moment, but it definitely possessed the power to overwhelm the Generation of Miracles."
This wasn't just Kuroko talking nonsense.
Back in middle school,
Ryu did want to try and see if he could create an otherworldly tennis technique.
He trained relentlessly according to the methods in "The Prince of Tennis."
One day during training, his stamina was almost at its limit.
Although it ended in failure, that fleeting moment still made the Generation of Miracles present shudder and their pupils shrink.
However, after that, such a thing never happened again.
Everyone initially dismissed it as a fleeting illusion, gradually forgetting it.
However, when they saw Ryu activate the Seamless Limit of the Selfless Realm,
they remembered that forgotten, fleeting moment.
Although the Seamless Limit of the Selfless Realm was different from the instant they felt, it belonged to the same level.
If you had to put it another way, it was like the opposite of the Seamless Limit of the Selfless Realm.
Seeing Kuroko's serious expression,
Kagami also became more serious,
"Ah... I understand. I will definitely become stronger, defeat all the Generation of Miracles, and finally defeat Ryu myself in the finals."
Seeing Kagami's unwavering resolve, Kuroko finally smiled.
"Kagami-kun, I will also help you defeat them and win the national championship."
The members of Seirin exchanged glances, and all smiled broadly.
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I want to reach 20 paid subscriptions on Patreon this week to complete this novel, as it has been over a month since the last subscription.
patreon.com/ayan41x