Chapter 188 - 190

Chapter 188: Huh? Why’d He Shoot?

Even after stepping onto the court, Makoto Hanamiya didn’t cause Atsushi Murasakibara much trouble.

At most, he managed to steal the ball a few times. But after the steals, Hanamiya still couldn’t break through Murasakibara’s ironclad defense.

Makoto Hanamiya had planned to win with speed. What he never expected was that Murasakibara could chase him down from behind and block his shots cleanly.

He tried to rely on jumpers instead, only to get sent flying by several emphatic blocks.

After that, Murasakibara caught on. Oh, you like going for steals? Fine. I’ll just keep backing you down.

Unsurprisingly, Makoto Hanamiya was taken down without mercy.

As Atsushi Murasakibara continued his string of one-on-one matches, Dicky Anthony’s gaze toward him gradually changed.

He was genuinely intrigued. He hadn’t expected to run into a talent like this in Japan.

But just as Dicky Anthony was about to step onto the court, Shogo Haizaki moved first.

“I’ll take you on!”

Shogo Haizaki strode out with an imposing presence.

He had no personal grudge against Atsushi Murasakibara, but he’d long wanted to measure himself against the Generation of Miracles.

Ryota Kise was also part of the Generation of Miracles, but compared to the others, his strength currently seemed much weaker—at least for now.

In one-on-one matches, the player who steps onto the court first usually takes possession. Kirisaki Daiichi followed the same rule.

Shogo Haizaki took the ball first.

Holding it with both hands, his expression was serious.

Atsushi Murasakibara lowered into a defensive stance, raising his right arm high to guard against a sudden shot.

Miyamoto had taught him this move back in middle school.

It was this very technique that had greatly improved Murasakibara’s defensive ability.

Naturally, Shogo Haizaki didn’t dare underestimate him. He immediately brought out one hundred percent of his strength.

At the same time… he activated Animal Instinct!

“Roar!”

A fierce lone wolf appeared behind Shogo Haizaki, howling toward the sky.

Atsushi Murasakibara had seen Animal Instinct before, but he hadn’t expected Haizaki to possess it as well.

His expression grew more focused.

A heavy pressure began radiating from him.

Seeing this, Dicky Anthony felt a flicker of realization.

‘This feeling… could it be?!’

On the court.

Shogo Haizaki’s eyes sharpened. With a quick flick of his right hand, he shifted the ball to his left and executed a sharp crossover.

Murasakibara immediately slid into his path.

Haizaki had anticipated that. His left hand instantly pulled the ball behind his back, trying to use the change of direction to get past him.

But he had clearly underestimated Murasakibara’s defense.

Murasakibara reacted in a flash, staying right in front of him without losing position for even a second.

Shogo Haizaki’s expression changed. He hadn’t expected Murasakibara’s defense to have become this oppressive.

Left with no choice, he retreated beyond the three-point line to reset.

And in that moment, he noticed something wrong.

Logically speaking, while he couldn’t break through Murasakibara in his normal state, once Animal Instinct was activated, he should at least be able to penetrate the paint.

But the problem was—

Even with Animal Instinct, he still couldn’t get past him.

‘What… is going on?’

‘Wait… you’ve got to be kidding me?!’

Shogo Haizaki’s pupils trembled as he stared at Atsushi Murasakibara in disbelief.

A faint purple glow was emanating from Murasakibara’s body.

It was subtle—but undeniably there.

Haizaki knew that aura all too well.

That was Animal Instinct.

It just wasn’t fully awakened yet—or perhaps Murasakibara simply hadn’t chosen to activate it completely.

Either way, it proved one thing.

Atsushi Murasakibara… possessed Animal Instinct.

‘You’ve got to be kidding… even you have Animal Instinct?!’

Haizaki was stunned. He’d thought awakening Animal Instinct already put him ahead of the curve.

Now it felt like everyone had it.

Complaints aside, the one-on-one continued.

Shogo Haizaki kept trying to break through, while Murasakibara defended with unwavering focus.

The final score was 5–2, in Murasakibara’s favor.

Haizaki truly struggled to penetrate his defense. The only two baskets he managed came from repeatedly shifting his center of gravity to create just enough space before finishing with fadeaway jumpers.

After the match, Murasakibara was breathing a little heavier.

Clearly, Haizaki had put real pressure on him.

Miyamoto noticed and turned to Satsuki Momoi.

“Add another item to Murasakibara’s training plan—stamina.”

Satsuki Momoi nodded and promptly adjusted his regimen to include additional conditioning.

It wasn’t unreasonable.

Murasakibara’s stamina really was lacking.

How could he start panting after just a few one-on-ones?

That wouldn’t do.

Train. He had to train.

Train until he could open the Zone and play two full quarters without dropping off.

On the court.

Although slightly winded, Murasakibara could still continue, so he chose to move on.

The next opponent—

Dicky Anthony.

As for Tatsuya Himuro… he was already stunned.

He hadn’t expected Kirisaki Daiichi’s players to be this strong.

Take Shogo Haizaki alone—if Himuro had gone up against him, he might have scored at most one point.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but marvel at Murasakibara’s strength.

But what he was truly looking forward to was seeing Murasakibara face Dicky Anthony—and Shuzo Nijimura.

He wanted to know whether, against those two, Murasakibara could still come out on top.

On the court.

Dicky Anthony slowly stepped forward.

His towering height, intimidating outfit, and tattoos made Murasakibara’s expression grow increasingly serious.

The two stood face to face, their gazes colliding midair.

Dicky Anthony was even taller than Murasakibara.

That alone surprised him.

“Please take care of me.”

Dicky Anthony spoke slowly—in Japanese.

After spending time in Japan, he had picked up some of the language.

Murasakibara nodded and lowered himself into a defensive stance.

This time, he crouched even lower than before.

In his mind, someone with Dicky Anthony’s build would naturally attack the paint. All he had to do was guard against the drive.

But Dicky Anthony’s next move completely caught him off guard.

“Huh? Why’d he shoot?”

...........

 

Chapter 189: Atsushi Murasakibara VS Dicky Anthony

It was no wonder Atsushi Murasakibara was stunned—Dicky Anthony had already taken off.

Murasakibara stared blankly at the basketball arcing through the air, falling silent for a moment.

Swish!

The ball dropped cleanly through the net, the crisp sound echoing pleasantly.

Murasakibara scratched his head and asked dully,

“You can shoot?”

Dicky Anthony didn’t quite understand him and instinctively turned to Shuzo Nijimura for help.

Shuzo Nijimura chuckled.

“Atsushi Murasakibara, Dicky Anthony isn’t a center. He’s our shooting guard. Hmm… how should I put it? Anyway, just guard his shot.”

“He’s not getting past you on a drive.”

Murasakibara nodded slowly.

“Got it.”

To be fair, Shuzo Nijimura wasn’t wrong. Dicky Anthony’s driving ability had indeed been one of his weaker points.

That was exactly why Miyamoto Tokima had specifically designed a dribbling and driving program for him. After that stretch of training, Dicky Anthony’s penetration had improved noticeably.

But against Atsushi Murasakibara’s elite defense, those improvements still weren’t enough.

On the court.

Dicky Anthony was completely lost—he hadn’t understood a word Shuzo Nijimura had said.

But he did notice something: the purple-haired guy in front of him had changed his stance.

He was guarding the shot now.

Shuzo Nijimura!!! You sold me out!!!

Dicky Anthony shook his head helplessly. He couldn’t really blame him. Most opponents figured out his tendencies within two or three possessions anyway.

Whether they could stop him was another matter.

He looked at Atsushi Murasakibara—the tall, slightly vacant-looking giant.

Hope you can stop me.

No… let me see if you can.

With that thought, Dicky Anthony suddenly rose up for another jumper.

Murasakibara reacted instantly and jumped with him.

Even he hadn’t expected Dicky Anthony to shoot so decisively.

Dicky Anthony’s pupils trembled as he locked onto Murasakibara.

Because Murasakibara’s right hand was getting closer—closer to the ball.

Dicky Anthony forced himself to keep his shooting form intact and released.

But precisely because he insisted on maintaining his form for accuracy, Murasakibara’s fingertips brushed the ball.

Dicky Anthony’s eyelid twitched.

He touched it?!

Shuzo Nijimura, watching from the sideline, was just as shocked.

Murasakibara actually got a piece of it!

Miyamoto Tokima nodded in quiet satisfaction.

Seems purps hasn’t slacked off since I left.

On the court.

The ball struck the rim hard and bounced away.

Murasakibara turned immediately, preparing to attack.

“My turn.”

Dicky Anthony didn’t understand the words, but the meaning was obvious.

Possession changed.

Murasakibara cradled the ball in both hands, slightly hunched forward, his expression turning extremely serious.

He hated losing. The feeling of defeat made him deeply uncomfortable. Whenever he faced a strong opponent, he would naturally become serious.

And Dicky Anthony had triggered that switch.

Strangely, losing to Miyamoto Tokima never gave him that same frustration.

Perhaps, deep down, Atsushi Murasakibara only allowed Miyamoto Tokima to beat him. No one else had that right.

On the court.

Murasakibara’s gaze sharpened, his face growing fierce.

A suffocating pressure rolled out from him once more.

Dicky Anthony’s body tensed instantly.

It was pure instinct.

Or rather, his body reacting before his mind.

One clear message pulsed through him:

Danger.

The next second—

Murasakibara moved.

No wasted motion. His right hand pounded the ball once—

Then came the collision.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!!!

Murasakibara drove his body into Dicky Anthony again and again, backing him down with raw force.

Dicky Anthony gritted his teeth and tried to hold his ground.

But how could his strength compare to Murasakibara’s?

Just two brutal bumps, and he was shoved backward.

After clearing space, Murasakibara turned his back to the basket, his expression twisting with intensity. A violent gust seemed to swirl around his feet.

The next instant—

He exploded upward, spinning 180 degrees in midair before hammering the ball into the hoop with both hands.

BOOM!!!

The rim rattled violently, metal groaning as it shook.

Fortunately, the Kirisaki Daiichi basket was reinforced. An ordinary rim would have been finished by that dunk.

On the sidelines, the rest of Kirisaki Daiichi wore complicated expressions.

Kazuya Hara swallowed hard and muttered,

“So this is… the center of the ‘Generation of Miracles’… Atsushi Murasakibara?”

“That strength is insane.”

It wasn’t that their team lacked strong players. Shuzo Nijimura, Dicky Anthony, Shogo Haizaki—each of them was formidable.

But their styles were completely different.

They relied on drives and jumpers.

Their offense was versatile, flashy, pleasing to watch.

Murasakibara, on the other hand—

He was pure violence.

Forget drives. Forget finesse. He didn’t need any of that.

He just powered through.

Brute force. Relentless force. Overwhelming force.

If you can stop me, try.

If you can’t, I’m going straight through you.

And once he got inside, it ended in a dunk.

His basketball was simple. Crude, even.

But that raw dominance made your blood boil.

Miyamoto Tokima’s expression shifted slightly as he watched.

In the original story, Murasakibara’s strength hadn’t been this overwhelming.

But now, he had reached this level.

Which meant he had truly taken Miyamoto Tokima’s words to heart.

He had kept his promise. He had trained hard.

At the thought, Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly.

The more he watched Atsushi Murasakibara on the court, the more endearing he found him.

On the court.

Dicky Anthony rubbed his chest and muttered,

“Damn… that’s some crazy strength.”

Even back in the US, he had never been bullied like that in the post.

His chest throbbed, but a grin slowly spread across his face.

It had been a long time since he’d met an opponent this satisfying.

Murasakibara’s physical gifts and brutal style gave him a completely new thrill.

You… are a good opponent.

...

Chapter 190: I Want to Get Stronger!

The game continued.

Atsushi Murasakibara kept attacking with sheer physical force.

Since it was likely his first time facing this kind of style, Dicky Anthony didn’t try to use finesse or quick hands to strip the ball. Instead, he chose to meet Atsushi Murasakibara head-on.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!!!

Dicky Anthony drew deep breaths, bracing himself as he collided with Murasakibara again and again.

Yet every time, he failed to withstand the overwhelming force and was repeatedly pushed out of position.

But there wasn’t a trace of frustration on his face.

If anything, he was getting more excited.

His fighting spirit kept rising. His blood surged.

He was actually enjoying this.

In the past, Dicky Anthony had always relied on the simplest way to score—shooting. He rarely used physical confrontation.

But here, he had encountered a completely different way to play basketball.

And that difference made his body heat up, his blood boil, his competitive drive surge higher and higher.

It was as if this was how he was meant to play.

A grin spread across his face, and a pale gray glow slowly began to emanate from his body.

“Again!”

Dicky Anthony tossed the ball back to Atsushi Murasakibara, continuing the match.

On the sidelines.

Shuzo Nijimura was the first to notice something strange. He immediately turned his head.

“Miyamoto, what’s going on with Anthony?”

Miyamoto Tokima watched Dicky Anthony carefully, deep in thought.

He was genuinely curious about what state Anthony had just entered.

“May, what’s happening to Anthony’s data right now?”

Satsuki Momoi glanced at Dicky Anthony, confusion appearing on her face as well.

“Hm? …Tokima, there’s no special change. If anything, his data has actually gone down.”

The moment those words came out, both Miyamoto Tokima and Shuzo Nijimura froze.

Gone down?

But Dicky Anthony clearly looked fired up. How could his numbers be lower?

Miyamoto Tokima fell into silence.

Nothing like this had appeared in the original story.

For a moment, his mind was filled with questions.

While he was still thinking, the match had already ended.

On the court, Atsushi Murasakibara continued bulldozing his way through with pure physical dominance, easily closing out the game.

A big reason it ended so quickly was that Dicky Anthony had insisted on going head-to-head.

After the game, the strange change in Dicky Anthony’s body gradually faded.

The boiling blood, the surging heat—all of it disappeared.

And once it was gone, he was left stunned.

Why did I choose to go at him head-on?

Even he couldn’t understand himself.

Going head-to-head with Atsushi Murasakibara was practically asking to lose.

What was I thinking?

Sensing something was wrong, Dicky Anthony immediately went to Miyamoto Tokima and described what he had felt.

After listening, Miyamoto Tokima was just as baffled.

What Anthony described didn’t resemble any known state from Kuroko’s Basketball.

If anything, it sounded more like…

…something from the series next door.

But that kind of state shouldn’t exist here.

The only possibility was that something else had changed within Dicky Anthony’s body—they just hadn’t discovered it yet.

With no clear answer, Miyamoto Tokima could only set the matter aside for now and observe what happened next.

After the brief interruption, the matches continued.

Shuzo Nijimura versus Atsushi Murasakibara.

Shuzo showed absolutely no mercy. The moment he stepped on the court, he entered the Zone and scored five straight points, completely overwhelming Murasakibara.

Before Murasakibara even realized what had happened, the match was over.

After it ended, Miyamoto Tokima turned to the side.

“You getting on?”

Tatsuya Himuro gave a wry smile and shook his head.

“Not for now. I’ll play after I transfer.”

He had his own plans. While handling the transfer process, he intended to train harder so that he wouldn’t lose too badly in future one-on-ones.

Miyamoto Tokima nodded and didn’t press further.

After losing the match, Atsushi Murasakibara’s mood visibly sank.

Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly.

“Little Murasakibara, let’s go. Big meal.”

Murasakibara’s spirits instantly lifted.

“Let’s go!”

Miyamoto Tokima waved his hand grandly and led the Kirisaki Daiichi group off for a feast.

..........

Yosen High School.

“What did you say?! You’re quitting the club and transferring too?!!!”

Masako Araki held the phone, her face filled with shock as she shouted.

Tatsuya Himuro’s voice quickly came from the other end.

“Yes, Coach. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid…”

Masako Araki felt like her lungs were about to explode.

It was one thing that Atsushi Murasakibara—one of the Generation of Miracles—had left.

Now even the team’s main scorer was leaving?

What was this supposed to be? Poaching players by force?

But what could she do?

This wasn’t a professional league. It was high school. If someone wanted to transfer, she couldn’t force them to stay.

Some students transferred without even saying a word.

At least Tatsuya Himuro had the courtesy to call.

Still, Masako Araki was in no mood to be understanding.

“Get lost!”

She hung up.

On the other end, Tatsuya Himuro stared at the beeping phone, guilt in his eyes.

He looked up at the Kirisaki Daiichi players sitting ahead, waiting for their food.

“…Sorry, Coach.”

He closed his eyes and let out a quiet sigh before walking toward them.

This time, he had truly made up his mind.

He wanted to get stronger.

The moment he saw Shuzo Nijimura enter that state, his resolve had solidified.

He finally understood what his master had meant back in the United States.

“I felt a familiar yet unfamiliar presence from that young man. It resembles yours… but it’s also different.”

Master… he really is like me.

But he’s already broken through that barrier.

Tatsuya Himuro knew that he and Shuzo Nijimura were similar—both players shackled by their own talent.

The difference was that Shuzo Nijimura had shattered those shackles.

He was still trapped.

He wanted to change.

He wanted to change himself.

Suddenly, he thought of his “younger brother.”

Taiga…

...