Chapter 158 - 159
Chapter 158: Kirisaki Daiichi vs. Kaijo High School
“Why? Kise is strong too.”
Taiga Kagami asked, puzzled.
Tetsuya Kuroko glanced at him.
“Kagami-kun really is an idiot.”
“What?! No I’m not!”
Kagami shot back.
Kuroko ignored him and continued calmly.
“Kagami-kun, you’ve probably only heard Miyamoto’s name. You’ve never actually seen him play.”
“But I can tell you this—Kise can’t defeat Miyamoto.”
Kagami still wasn’t satisfied.
“Is he really that strong? Does Kise seriously have no chance at all?”
Kuroko thought for a moment, then answered decisively.
“Zero percent.”
The Seirin team collectively swallowed.
They’d heard the nickname “Magic Cube,” but none of them had ever seen Magic Cube play. Deep down, they still had doubts.
After all, they’d seen Ryota Kise’s strength with their own eyes.
Yet someone like Kise was being labeled as having zero chance of winning.
It felt almost unreal.
Riko Aida spoke in a low, serious voice.
“Watch this match carefully. In the future, Kirisaki Daiichi will be our biggest rival.”
“Yes!”
Seirin replied in unison.
The spectators gradually filled the arena.
Kaijo entered the court first.
As the players appeared, the crowd erupted.
“They’re here! It’s Kaijo!”
Seirin immediately focused their attention.
On the court, every Kaijo player wore a tense expression.
Including Ryota Kise.
Kise had grown up hearing stories about the Magic Cube.
Among the Generation of Miracles, everyone except himself had regarded Miyamoto as an opponent they had to defeat.
That alone said enough about his strength.
Because of that, Kise didn’t dare relax for even a second. One moment of carelessness, and the game could spiral completely out of control.
“They’re coming! It’s Kirisaki Daiichi!”
A spectator suddenly shouted.
The arena exploded.
“Magic Cube! Magic Cube! Magic Cube!”
“Miyamoto, I love you! I want to have your babies!!!”
The crowd’s enthusiasm surged like a wildfire.
Seirin—and the other teams watching—were stunned.
Junpei Hyuga couldn’t help complaining.
“Hey, hey—didn’t he disappear for two years? Why does he still have this many fans?!”
Everyone on Seirin felt the same.
Someone gone for two years, returning with this kind of popularity—his reputation had to be enormous.
Even the Shūtoku players found it absurd.
Kazunari Takao leaned over.
“Hey, Midorima, what kind of guy is this friend of yours? Gone for two years, and his fame’s even bigger than yours.”
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses, calm as ever.
“I don’t know. But considering Miyamoto’s ability, it makes sense.”
Over on Tōō’s side, no one shouted—
but their grim expressions said everything.
Their hearts were anything but calm.
Daiki Aomine stared toward Kirisaki Daiichi, murmuring under his breath.
“…Miyamoto.”
The tension in the stands was heavy, but on the court, Kaijo felt it even more.
Yoshitaka Moriyama leaned toward Kise.
“Kise, what’s the deal with this Magic Cube? Didn’t he disappear for two years?”
“How does he still have that many fans?”
Kise’s expression was grave.
“I don’t know either. Honestly, I’ve never even met Magic Cube.”
“I never met the first-year captain, Shuzo Nijimura, either.”
“They both left in the second half of first year. I only joined in second year.”
That was true.
By the time Kise joined the basketball club, Miyamoto and Nijimura had already left Japan.
Everything Kise knew about them came from the other members of the Generation of Miracles.
As for their real strength—even he didn’t fully understand it.
But anyone who could hold Aomine to zero points couldn’t possibly be weak.
Everyone’s eyes shifted toward Kirisaki Daiichi.
The Kirisaki Daiichi players slowly stepped onto the court.
At the front were Miyamoto and Satsuki Momoi.
Behind them came Shuzo Nijimura and Shogo Haizaki.
Makoto Hanamiya and the others followed after.
The moment Kirisaki Daiichi appeared, an overwhelming pressure filled the arena.
Yukio Kasamatsu’s face hardened.
“Kise, do you know which one is Miyamoto, and which one’s Nijimura?”
Kise shook his head.
“No… wait—why is he here?!”
In the stands, Tetsuya Kuroko’s expression suddenly changed.
“Why… is he on Kirisaki Daiichi too?”
Hyuga turned to him immediately.
“Kuroko, who are you talking about?”
On Tōō’s side, Aomine spoke quietly, eyes locked on the court.
“So it’s Haizaki, huh. Looks like today’s your matchup with Kise.”
On Shūtoku’s side—
“Who’s Shogo Haizaki?”
Takao asked at once.
Midorima adjusted his glasses, serious.
“Shogo Haizaki. He was our teammate in middle school, but left the basketball club because of an incident.”
“To put it bluntly, Kise was his substitute back then.”
Over at Seirin—
“So Kirisaki Daiichi has another Generation of Miracles?”
Hyuga’s mouth hung open in shock.
Miyamoto and Nijimura were already terrifying enough.
Now they also had Haizaki—someone who once completely suppressed Kise.
Who could possibly beat this team?
Kuroko shook his head.
“Strictly speaking, Haizaki-kun isn’t part of the Generation of Miracles. His talent doesn’t reach that level.”
“And honestly, that’s exactly why Akashi-kun used certain methods to force him out of the club.”
Shinji Koganei muttered,
“But even so, that’s still a Sub–Generation of Miracles level player.”
Kuroko nodded, his voice heavy.
“Yes. The current Kirisaki Daiichi… is extremely strong.”
On the court—
“Damn it… this isn’t just strong. There’s no weak point at all!”
Kasamatsu’s expression turned ugly.
Facing Miyamoto and Nijimura was already hell.
Now Haizaki was here too.
What kind of lineup was this?
Magic Cube Miyamoto.
Generation of Miracles captain Shuzo Nijimura.
Sub–Generation of Miracles Shogo Haizaki.
Uncrowned Kings Makoto Hanamiya.
And Kentaro Seto.
What kind of monster team was this supposed to be?
Even without coordination, they could crush Kaijo head-on.
Kasamatsu forced himself to calm down.
Giving up before the game even started was unforgivable.
If he wanted to face this, he’d need two hundred percent focus.
From the stands, Midorima watched Haizaki’s figure and thought quietly,
“So this round… it’s Haizaki versus Kise.”
...
Chapter 159: Trash Talk from the Opening Tip
After finishing their warm-ups, both teams stepped onto the court and exchanged brief greetings.
Shuzo Nijimura looked around, his gaze landing on the blond-haired Ryota Kise.
“You’re Kise, right?”
Caught off guard, Kise blinked before answering,
“Yeah, that’s me. And you are…?”
Seeing that he hadn’t mistaken him, Nijimura burst out laughing.
“Haha, looks like I got the right person. Let me introduce myself—I’m Shuzo Nijimura.”
As he spoke, Nijimura extended his hand.
Kise reached out and shook it.
“So you’re the captain from the Teikō days. By the way… who’s Miyamoto?”
Nijimura pointed to the person beside him.
“That’s the guy you’re looking for.”
Kise immediately turned his head toward Miyamoto, his eyes lighting up.
“So you’re Miyamoto? I’ve heard a lot about you!”
Miyamoto gave a faint smile.
“Nice to meet you. Let’s take the game seriously.”
Kise’s expression instantly tightened. He nodded firmly.
“I will.”
At that moment, Shogo Haizaki let out a mocking scoff.
Kise heard it, but didn’t react at all.
The referee slowly walked over and shouted,
“Both teams, line up!”
The starting lineups of Kirisaki Daiichi and Kaijo gathered at center court.
Kirisaki Daiichi’s starters:
Center: Kentaro Seto
Power Forward: Shuzo Nijimura
Small Forward: Shogo Haizaki
Shooting Guard: Miyamoto
Point Guard: Makoto Hanamiya
Kaijo’s starters:
Center: Kōji Kobori
Power Forward: Mitsuhiro Hayakawa
Small Forward: Ryota Kise
Shooting Guard: Yoshitaka Moriyama
Point Guard: Yukio Kasamatsu
Both teams spoke at the same time.
“Please take care of us.”
After the brief exchange, they took their positions, ready for the opening tip.
During the setup, Kise looked seriously at the Kirisaki Daiichi players, his heart shaken.
‘No matter how you look at it, this lineup is terrifying.’
The referee stepped between Kentaro Seto and Kōji Kobori and tossed the ball upward.
In the stands, the Seirin players all thought the same thing.
‘It’s started.’
On the court.
Seto and Kobori jumped at the same time.
After his recent training, Seto’s vertical leap was clearly stronger.
He won the tip.
The ball dropped straight into Makoto Hanamiya’s hands.
The moment he secured it, Hanamiya burst forward.
Kaijo immediately shifted into their defensive stances.
Hanamiya swept his gaze across the court, then flicked his right hand, snapping the ball into the paint to Shuzo Nijimura.
Kise’s heart sank.
‘Crap!’
Nijimura caught the ball and laughed.
“Haha.”
He gathered it and took two steps toward the basket.
“Ah!!!”
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa shot up at incredible speed to contest the shot.
Midair, Nijimura hesitated for a split second, then smoothly turned it into a double-clutch layup.
He dodged Hayakawa’s block and gently placed the ball through the hoop.
After scoring, Nijimura glanced at Hayakawa and thought,
‘That takeoff speed… pretty fast.’
In the stands, Seirin noticed it too.
“That guy… how did we miss him before? Why is his explosiveness so fast?”
Taiga Kagami stared at Nijimura, his thoughts racing.
‘He’s gotten stronger again…’
On the court.
Kaijo’s possession.
Yukio Kasamatsu dribbled the ball steadily past half court.
Hanamiya watched the cautious Kasamatsu, a grin slowly forming on his lips.
“What’s wrong? Already so nervous you’re protecting your dribble?”
“Or are you looking for your teammates right from the start because you don’t even have the guts to face me?”
“If that’s the case, why play basketball at all? Go back to playing claw machines.”
Kasamatsu ground his teeth as the trash talk poured into his ears.
In the end, he made up his mind.
This play was his.
He stopped looking for his teammates and locked his eyes on Hanamiya alone.
Hanamiya’s smile widened.
“That’s right. You’re the captain. The first shot should be yours.”
“Come on—let me see how far a monkey like you can go.”
Kasamatsu clenched his jaw and attacked.
Miyamoto watched quietly from the side, showing no reaction.
It was just standard trash talk—nothing worth stopping.
Still, he hadn’t expected Kasamatsu to get stirred up this easily by Hanamiya.
Kasamatsu dribbled hard, constantly shifting to throw Hanamiya off balance.
Finally, he saw an opening and drove to the right.
Hanamiya immediately slid over, cutting off the lane.
Left with no choice, Kasamatsu pulled the ball back and reset.
This time, he made a sharp crossover to break through—
but Hanamiya stopped him again.
A slight change crossed Kasamatsu’s face.
At this point, his drives weren’t enough to beat Hanamiya. Forcing it blindly would only cost him possession.
He prepared to pass.
At that exact moment, Hanamiya read his intention.
Not wanting to see that happen, Hanamiya shouted,
“What, the captain can’t even handle the first attack and wants to pass to a freshman?”
“Are you just a spare part? Can’t play without relying on first-years?”
“Oh, I get it. You’re too weak—so weak you don’t even have the courage to attack.”
“If I were you, I’d have quit and dropped out already. What’s the point of playing basketball like this? Just go be a lackey.”
The nonstop barrage finally hardened Kasamatsu’s expression.
Shoot.
He had to shoot.
Kasamatsu decided—this possession was his.
Seeing his goal achieved, Hanamiya’s grin crept even wider.
Kasamatsu drove again, and Hanamiya stayed with him step for step, never losing position.
He forced Kasamatsu to remain outside the three-point line.
Kise finally shook free from Haizaki and sprinted out.
He raised his hand and shouted,
“Kasamatsu-senpai, the ball!”
Kise held his arm out, waiting for the pass.
But it never came.
After waiting for several seconds, confusion crept in.
‘Why… Kasamatsu-senpai actually…?’
Of course, Kasamatsu didn’t pass.
Right now, all he wanted was to beat Hanamiya himself.
Hanamiya’s mouth was just too irritating. He couldn’t control his emotions anymore.
On another drive, Hanamiya seized the moment and slapped the ball cleanly out of Kasamatsu’s hands.
Kasamatsu’s heart jolted.
‘Damn it!’
Hanamiya secured the steal and burst out laughing.
“What’s wrong? Are you an old man or something? You can’t even hold onto the ball?”
.......
Author's Note
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