Chapter 186 - 187
Chapter 186: Can I Join You Guys?
“We’re here.”
Miyamoto Tokima murmured softly as the train slowly came to a stop.
The members of Kirisaki Daiichi all turned toward the train.
The moment a tall figure stepped down, they froze.
Kentaro Seto’s pupils contracted.
‘At… Atsushi Murasakibara?!’
Having faced Teikō before, Kentaro Seto clearly remembered the other players.
And the one stepping off the train was none other than the center of the Generation of Miracles—Atsushi Murasakibara.
Kentaro Seto never imagined he would one day be Murasakibara’s backup. Fate truly worked in strange ways.
The moment Murasakibara stepped off, he spotted Miyamoto Tokima at once. His expression immediately lit up.
“Miyamoto Tokima! I’m here!”
He rushed forward and lifted Miyamoto Tokima off the ground in a hug.
Miyamoto Tokima smiled helplessly and lightly patted his shoulder.
“Alright, you’re not a kid anymore. You don’t need to keep hugging me.”
Murasakibara nodded happily and set him down.
Tatsuya Himuro watched him from behind, his expression shifting subtly.
He had never seen Murasakibara like this before.
Then he glanced at the people standing beside Miyamoto Tokima. One look was enough to make his heart jolt.
Every single person beside Miyamoto Tokima radiated an intense sense of pressure.
‘How is this possible… they’re all…’
‘Wait! He’s here too!’
The moment Tatsuya Himuro saw Shuzo Nijimura, he was startled.
He never expected the powerhouse he had once encountered in the United States to appear here.
And before he could recover from that shock, he saw something even more astonishing.
Dicky Anthony.
The instant he recognized him, Tatsuya Himuro was stunned.
‘Anthony?! How is that possible? Why is he here?!’
He knew of Dicky Anthony—though only one-sidedly.
By pure coincidence, he had once watched him play.
From the very first moment he saw Dicky Anthony’s style, it left a deep impression on him.
It was too unique.
Himuro had never imagined someone could play basketball like that—completely driven by raw talent.
He had learned Dicky Anthony’s name back then, though he never had the chance to meet him.
And now, this kind of player had come to Japan—and might even become Murasakibara’s teammate.
Murasakibara also noticed Dicky Anthony. He looked at him curiously.
“Miyamoto Tokima, is he a foreigner?”
Miyamoto Tokima nodded with a smile.
“His name is Dicky Anthony. He’s from the United States. He’s our teammate—shooting guard.”
Dicky Anthony politely extended his hand and said in English,
“Hello.”
Murasakibara shook his hand, staring at him blankly.
“He’s so tall.”
It was the first time Murasakibara had seen someone in Japan so much taller than himself.
He had assumed someone that tall would play center. He didn’t expect him to be a shooting guard.
“Oh, then what do I play, Miyamoto Tokima?”
“Center.”
A smile immediately spread across Murasakibara’s face.
“Thanks, Miyamoto Tokima.”
Miyamoto Tokima nodded, then turned to Himuro.
“Purps, aren’t you going to introduce this one?”
Murasakibara blinked, finally remembering there was someone behind him.
“Oh, Himuro, he’s—”
Before he could finish, Himuro stepped forward on his own.
“My name is Tatsuya Himuro. Nice to meet you.”
He introduced himself while offering a friendly handshake.
Miyamoto Tokima looked at him thoughtfully.
On the phone, Himuro’s tone had clearly carried dissatisfaction. But now, he seemed completely restrained.
Was he intimidated?
Still, there was no need to reject a polite gesture.
Miyamoto Tokima shook his hand.
“Hello. I’m Miyamoto Tokima. I heard on the phone that you wanted to see me. Now you have.”
At that moment, Murasakibara suddenly said,
“Oh right, Miyamoto Tokima, Himuro said on the train that—”
Before he could finish, Himuro clamped a hand over his mouth.
Was he crazy? He’d said that on the train out of sheer ignorance!
Now that he had seen this lineup—and felt this kind of pressure—if he repeated those words, it would be suicidal.
Fighting spirit and recklessness were not the same thing.
You challenged someone when you were evenly matched—or at least had a chance. If the gap was too wide and you still provoked them, that was just asking to be crushed.
What, was he supposed to have a casual basketball fan challenge Michael Jordan? Wasn’t that just begging to have your confidence destroyed?
Miyamoto Tokima blinked.
“What is it?”
Himuro quickly forced an awkward smile.
“It’s nothing. I was just worried Atsushi might blurt out something random.”
Then he leaned close to Murasakibara’s ear and whispered,
“Don’t mention what happened on the train. I’ll treat you to a huge meal afterward.”
Murasakibara’s eyes instantly lit up at the mention of food.
As long as Miyamoto Tokima didn’t ask, he wouldn’t say anything.
But if Miyamoto Tokima asked… well, sorry, Himuro. They weren’t that close.
Seeing this, Himuro let out a quiet sigh of relief and removed his hand.
“Sorry. That was rude.”
Miyamoto Tokima waved it off.
“It’s fine. But if Purps had something to say, then that really would’ve been rude.”
Himuro stiffened immediately.
Thankfully, Murasakibara spoke up.
“It’s fine, Miyamoto Tokima. Himuro didn’t mean anything bad.”
Only then did Himuro finally relax.
There was no helping it—Miyamoto Tokima’s presence was overwhelming. For a moment, Himuro had even felt like he was standing in front of a true professional All-Star.
Since Murasakibara had spoken, Miyamoto Tokima didn’t pursue it further.
“Alright. If you don’t have anything else, we’re heading back to school.”
With that, he turned and began walking away with the Kirisaki Daiichi members and Murasakibara.
Murasakibara glanced at Himuro, then at Miyamoto Tokima, and without hesitation moved to follow Miyamoto Tokima.
Himuro? Sorry. Miyamoto Tokima came first.
Himuro stood there, stunned, struggling internally.
Seeing them about to disappear into the distance, he clenched his teeth and ran after them.
“Wait!”
Miyamoto Tokima stopped and turned around.
“Is there something else?”
The members of Kirisaki Daiichi turned as well. Their expressions grew serious, and the atmosphere shifted instantly.
Himuro swallowed hard and forced the words out.
“Can I… join you?”
...
Chapter 187: Our Tradition
Miyamoto frowned slightly when he heard that, but he was still willing to give Tatsuya Himuro a chance.
After all, in the original story, Tatsuya Himuro had been a regretful figure. He worked hard enough, yet his strength had stagnated because of that damned issue of talent.
“Give me a reason to let you join.”
Tatsuya Himuro’s expression shifted. His gaze turned firm, and he spoke with unwavering resolve:
“I want to become stronger!”
Miyamoto’s dark eyes met Tatsuya Himuro’s.
In those eyes, Miyamoto saw a single emotion—longing.
Seeing Tatsuya Himuro like this, Miyamoto finally decided to give him a chance.
A chance to grow stronger.
(Don’t call the protagonist a babysitter or anything. Raising a genius and building your own core lineup—what’s wrong with that?)
(In the future, these guys will all be working for the protagonist… ahem, serving the protagonist!)
“Alright. Take care of the transfer procedures yourself. Once you’re here, everything follows my rules.”
Tatsuya Himuro’s face lit up, and he nodded quickly.
“Yes!”
With that, Miyamoto turned and walked ahead.
Tatsuya Himuro remained where he was, watching the backs of Miyamoto and the others.
“Tatsuya, what are you standing around for? Hurry up.”
Atsushi Murasakibara’s slow, absent-minded voice drifted over from the front.
Tatsuya Himuro looked at Atsushi Murasakibara in disbelief, then pointed at himself hesitantly.
“I… can I follow?”
Atsushi Murasakibara blinked, confused.
“Didn’t Tokima-chin say you’re one of us now? Shouldn’t you be coming along?”
“But I haven’t…”
Tatsuya Himuro started to say more, then suddenly came to his senses.
That’s right. He was already planning to transfer over—why was he still talking like an outsider?
And when Atsushi Murasakibara invited him just now, Miyamoto hadn’t said anything to stop it. That meant he agreed.
Realizing this, Tatsuya Himuro stopped overthinking. With a faint smile, he followed after them.
.........
Tatsuya Himuro returned to Kirisaki Daiichi with Miyamoto and the others.
The moment he stepped into Kirisaki Daiichi’s basketball club, he was stunned.
The gym was packed with advanced basketball and training equipment.
Compared to Yosen High School’s facilities, the difference was obvious.
It was like comparing a palace to a simple house.
Tatsuya Himuro stared blankly at the players training on the court with state-of-the-art equipment, momentarily dazed.
Even in the United States, he had never seen a training environment like this—let alone in Japan.
Moreover, every single player at Kirisaki Daiichi was training intensely. Not one of them was slacking off.
He turned to glance at Miyamoto, emotion stirring in his chest.
‘So that’s how it is. Maybe only someone like you could make Atsushi willingly follow you.’
Tatsuya Himuro felt a sense of relief.
In his mind, with facilities this advanced at Kirisaki Daiichi, Miyamoto had to be the most hardworking of them all. Only someone with both talent and relentless effort could stand above the Generation of Miracles.
Sure enough, all successful people combine talent with hard work.
Miyamoto led everyone to an empty court.
This was the practice court for Kirisaki Daiichi’s official players. What Tatsuya Himuro had seen earlier was only the training ground for the reserves.
Once they arrived, Miyamoto spoke:
“First, let’s welcome our new members—Atsushi Murasakibara and Tatsuya Himuro!”
The official players of Kirisaki Daiichi applauded.
Tatsuya Himuro nodded somewhat awkwardly and greeted everyone.
Atsushi Murasakibara also gave a sluggish self-introduction.
After the brief introductions, Miyamoto continued.
“Since we have new members joining, they’ll have to go through our tradition.”
“Himuro, you can skip it for now. You haven’t officially transferred yet. Once you’ve completed the transfer and formally become one of us, you can go through the tradition then.”
A bad feeling immediately crept over Tatsuya Himuro. He quickly asked,
“Excuse me, may I ask what this tradition is?”
He was a little uneasy, worried it might be something… questionable.
Miyamoto smiled faintly.
“Our tradition is simple. Every newcomer has to play a one-on-one match with the veterans.”
“Oh, and to add—one match with each of them. You can rest in between, but you won’t get playing time until you’ve finished them all.”
Tatsuya Himuro swallowed.
What? Play everyone one-on-one? If I were strong enough to beat all of them, why would I even come here?
Noticing his reaction, Miyamoto explained further:
“Maybe I wasn’t clear. First, I’m not included. Second, the result doesn’t matter—win or lose.”
“But you must give it everything you’ve got. Even if you know you’ll lose, you still fight with your full strength.”
“If you’re just planning to go through the motions, then Kirisaki Daiichi isn’t for you.”
Tatsuya Himuro let out a quiet breath of relief.
As long as it wasn’t about beating everyone, that was manageable. If he had to defeat them all, he might never see the court.
After finishing his explanation, Miyamoto stopped talking and started arranging the matches.
“Alright, let’s begin. Murasakibara, pick someone.”
Atsushi Murasakibara scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed.
“Tokima-chin, can I just play one?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
.............
In the end, Atsushi Murasakibara decided to start with the weaker opponents to conserve his stamina.
First up was Kazuya Hara, one of Kirisaki Daiichi’s original starters—the bubblegum-blowing, perpetually squinting boy.
Unsurprisingly, Atsushi Murasakibara barely used any strength. With a couple of casual plays, he quickly scored five points and won.
Makoto Hanamiya and Kentaro Seto’s expressions shifted slightly, tinged with something like emotion.
They probably hadn’t expected that the kid they used to toy with back in middle school had now grown into someone so overwhelmingly strong.
After defeating Kazuya Hara, Atsushi Murasakibara went on to beat the other substitutes as well—Kojiro Furuhashi and Hiroshi Yamazaki.
Next, he chose to face Kentaro Seto in a one-on-one.
He had thought it would be an easy match, but he hadn’t expected Kentaro Seto’s steals to be so precise—completely different from how he was in middle school.
Several times, just as Atsushi Murasakibara turned for a dunk, the ball was slapped away cleanly by Kentaro Seto.
Murasakibara dropped his earlier carelessness and quickly put Kentaro Seto away.
Next…
Makoto Hanamiya.
.........
Author's Note
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