Chapter 53: Tetsuya, Awaken

Tetsuya Kuroko stepped onto the court, and the crowd immediately began to murmur.

“That guy’s back on the court again? What is Teikō thinking? Someone that weak is actually on the first team?”
“Yeah, I really don’t get it. Why is someone like him even in the first team?”
“Not necessarily. What if he’s actually strong? Let’s watch first.”

The game resumed, with Teikō in possession.

Seijuro Akashi dribbled past half court and passed the ball to an apparently unguarded Tetsuya Kuroko.

The defender guarding Akashi froze for a moment, thinking to himself:
‘Did he make a mistake? There was clearly no one there.’

The spectators were just as confused.
“Was that a bad pass? There was no one there!”
“Akashi made a mistake? That’s rare.”
“Wait—why did the ball curve like that?!”

On the court, everyone thought Akashi had mispassed, but the basketball suddenly curved midair, flying straight toward Atsushi Murasakibara.

Nambara’s point guard stared in shock and muttered,
“How did the ball curve like that?”

Murasakibara ran toward the direction of Kuroko’s pass and reached out to catch it, but the ball slipped right under his arm and flew out.

“Beep! Out of bounds. Nambara ball!”
the referee announced.

Murasakibara placed his hand heavily on Kuroko’s head and said irritably,
“Hey, what was that pass just now? Are you messing with me?”

Kuroko replied seriously,
“I wasn’t messing with you.”

“I’ll crush you.”
“Please don’t crush me.”

In truth, “I’ll crush you” was just one of Murasakibara’s catchphrases. He wasn’t actually angry—his tone carried more teasing than hostility.

Over the next few possessions, Kuroko’s passes continued to go wrong. The ball always arrived a beat too late into Teikō’s players’ hands.

Shintaro Midorima glanced up at Kuroko and thought to himself,
“So that’s it. I roughly understand his playstyle now—but there are too many mistakes.”

Miyamoto Tokima quietly watched the situation on the court, then turned to look at the assistant coach.

The assistant coach was staring intently at the game, his expression serious.

Miyamoto Tokima knew that the coach was already considering removing Tetsuya Kuroko from the first team.

“Coach, what do you think?”
Miyamoto Tokima asked.

The assistant coach thought for a moment before answering,
“Too many mistakes.”

Miyamoto Tokima explained calmly,
“Coach, one game doesn’t prove anything. Tetsuya just hasn’t adapted to the pace of the first team yet. Once he does, he’ll contribute to the team.”

The coach didn’t respond right away, sinking into thought. After a moment, he nodded.
“I understand, Tokima.”

Seeing the coach nod, Miyamoto Tokima knew that the situation where Kuroko would be forced to leave the team—and Daiki Aomine would desperately try to stop it—wouldn’t happen.

Miyamoto Tokima looked deeply at Kuroko.
‘Tetsuya, you really owe me one.’

Beep!

The first half ended with Teikō leading Nambara 58–30, a full 28-point advantage.

Everyone returned to the locker room.

Inside, Miyamoto Tokima spoke up,
“Tetsuya.”

Kuroko lifted his head, his expression somewhat dejected. He hadn’t contributed much to the team in the first half.

Seeing this, Miyamoto Tokima patted him on the shoulder and said,
“Tetsuya, the first team’s pace is very fast. You need to adjust your passing speed.”

“If you don’t release the ball faster, you won’t make it in time. Your biggest problem right now is timing.”

“Also, you need to control your presence. That’s the only way your Misdirection can work properly.”

“To do that, you have to manage your emotions. Don’t let them show.”

“You need fighting spirit, but keep it hidden inside. Do your best in the second half. I’m always on your side.”

Miyamoto Tokima’s words struck deeply. Kuroko took a deep breath, his eyes becoming firm as he nodded.

“I understand, Tokima. I’ll do my best in the second half.”

Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly and nodded.
‘Awaken, Tetsuya.’

...

The second half began.

Teikō had possession.

Seijuro Akashi had overheard Miyamoto Tokima’s words to Kuroko. Deep down, he was impressed—Tokima had immediately identified Kuroko’s core issue.

Even Akashi himself hadn’t figured out how to resolve it, yet Tokima saw it at a glance.

‘Tokima really is amazing,’
Akashi thought as he passed the ball.

Nambara’s players watched the pass and saw no one in its path. Thinking the ball would go out of bounds, they relaxed.

Suddenly—

Smack!

In an instant, the basketball sharply curved and landed squarely in Shintaro Midorima’s hands.

Midorima’s eyes widened in shock.
‘The ball… actually curved to me…’

Shock aside, his shooting form didn’t falter.

Midorima jumped and released a three-pointer.

Swish!

The shot went in.

Even after scoring, Midorima hadn’t fully recovered. He looked at his hands, then toward Kuroko’s position.
‘Was that because of him?’

Seijuro Akashi walked over and patted Midorima on the shoulder.
“Focus, Midorima. The game is about to get interesting.”

Midorima adjusted his glasses, his expression turning serious once more.
“I know.”

As the game continued, everyone realized that whenever Teikō attacked, the basketball would mysteriously curve.

It would eerily find its way into the hands of Atsushi Murasakibara, Daiki Aomine, or Shintaro Midorima.

These bizarre curves left Nambara completely lost on defense. They didn’t know who to guard, because no one knew where the ball would go.

As a result, Nambara looked like headless flies on defense, their entire system completely torn apart as the score gap continued to widen.

In the end, Teikō won with an overwhelming score of 104–50.

With that victory, Teikō officially secured their place in the National Tournament.

Daiki Aomine jumped up excitedly and laughed loudly.
“We made it to the Nationals! Hahaha!!”

Seijuro Akashi smiled and said,
“Yes. Thanks to everyone.”

Shuzo Nijimura added,
“You guys are incredible. I barely even had to do anything.”

After the game, Atsushi Murasakibara immediately reverted to his lazy self and asked,
“So… what are we eating later?”

Shintaro Midorima complained helplessly,
“Murasakibara, can you stop thinking about food all day?”

Murasakibara tilted his head.
“If I don’t eat, then what am I supposed to eat?”

Midorima had no answer to that and gave up.

Daiki Aomine wrapped an arm around Tetsuya Kuroko’s neck and said with a grin,
“By the way, Tetsuya—you were absolutely essential in that game just now.”