After that, Teiko's victories were all blowouts, not just overwhelming, but bulldozing—steamrolling their opponents by over a hundred points each time.
And this year, on the national stage, Akihito Shigure also ran into many familiar faces.
Such as…
Tsugawa Tomoki, the future defensive powerhouse of Seihō.
Hayakawa Mitsuhiro, the hot-blooded warrior of Kaijō.
Wakamatsu Kōsuke and Sakurai Ryō of Tōō.
And many, many others.
But…
None of them left any real impression—they were all crushed beneath Teiko's wheels.
In junior high, Teiko had no true rivals. Especially with the Five Generals absent, even on this national stage, where every prefecture's strongest had gathered, Teiko passed through as easily as walking through an open doorway.
Thus came the third day—the final day of Nationals.
The semifinals.
Nijimura was still in his best form, as if determined to leave every last ounce of his scoring ability here in junior high. He played with even more frenzy than Aomine, relentlessly putting points on the board. Alongside him, silently but steadily, Akihito Shigure followed up. Together, the two set a record—two players scoring over 50 points each in the same game.
And in that invincible atmosphere, Teiko won with ease once more.
Then came…
The finals. Teiko versus Kamata Nishi.
The championship battle.
This was the last match of summer. If they won, it would be another consecutive title for the Generation of Miracles, and for Akihito Shigure and Nijimura Shuzo, a third straight junior high championship.
The final year of the Twin Stars. On Teiko's side of the stands, not a single seat was empty. A massive banner of black characters on a red background hung from the railing, the words Hyakusen Hyakushō—"Ever Victorious"—the same as always, radiating Teiko's aura of dominance.
Beneath it, by the bench, Akashi, Midorima, Aomine, Murasakibara, and Haizaki—the five starters—stood in a circle.
The last game.
Nijimura's frenzy finally stilled.
At the moment when victory would be secured, he handed the responsibility over to his juniors.
"This is it," Akashi's calm, rose-colored eyes swept the circle. His left eye glimmered faintly with an oppressive orange hue. "One win, and we defend the crown. For our senpai, it's the third straight championship. Do you have anything you want to say?"
Midorima: "I'll make sure our senpai leave with the trophy. Nothing more."
Aomine: "…Me? Eh… nothing to say."
Murasakibara: "I just wanna finish quick so I can eat snacks~~~"
Haizaki: "Guess I'll score more than that idiot Aomine?"
Before Aomine could explode, Akashi gave a faint smile and cut in first.
"No matter what, only one thing matters…"
"This…"
"…is what Nijimura and Shigure-senpai have been emphasizing all along, through every match these past two days. And it's something all of us must be able to do."
Akashi's smile slowly faded.
"To win."
"To give everything and win!"
"Yeah!"
Clap clap clap
"Victory!"
Clap clap clap
The words were met with cheers, with applause from Nijimura and the entire bench. Then, Teiko strode onto the court.
"The finals!"
"Teiko versus Kamata Nishi!"
From the bench, Akihito Shigure glanced curiously at the opposing lineup. The twin brothers on that team… In the original story, they were the ones who knocked out Ogiwara Naruhisa's team, postponing the long-awaited showdown between Kuroko and Ogiwara by another year.
Speaking of which…
He'd forgotten to check in on Ogiwara lately.
A pity.
Still…
If memory served, this Kamata Nishi team had once given the second-year Miracles some trouble. Wasn't it… from flopping?
"Tch."
Not that it mattered.
Back then, even a still-blossoming Aomine had been more than enough to handle them. And now? Every one of these kids had become monsters.
On the court
Aomine accelerated, then suddenly stopped short with a through-the-legs dribble!
He leaned back, body twisting sideways, and launched himself at a 45-degree angle, casually hurling the ball. The clang-clang as it kissed the rim and dropped through made the crowd gasp.
Even after seeing it before, the shock never dulled. That wasn't a shot—it was practically the throw of a baseball. Yet in his hands, even that reckless motion went in.
Akihito Shigure: "…"
Sure, some of his own shots resembled Aomine's, but never with such absolute freedom, never with this godforsaken level of flair.
The crowd erupted in applause.
"How can he score by just jumping sideways and tossing it?"
"His form was a total mess…"
"Maybe… it's something Akihito Shigure taught him?"
"Since Nationals began, it hasn't just been Teiko's Twin Stars. Aomine too—no one's been able to stop him!"
To those who followed Teiko through every game, Aomine's shooting was always a feast. To new spectators, though, it was nothing less than a visual and philosophical shock.
And on the other end
Murasakibara.
Kamata Nishi's power forward had just found an opening to attack the rim…
But suddenly, everything went dark.
A looming shadow fell across him—an enormous figure crashing down from the side like a mountain blotting out the sky!
A monster…?
So tall—and so fast?!
Then
BOOM!
A sound far louder than any bounce of a basketball thundered through the court!
The next instant, the ball came whistling down like a cannonball, smashing onto the floor in front of Kamata Nishi's bench. It rebounded high, then shot sideways with a gust of wind, grazing a substitute's cheek as it screamed past.
In that frozen second, every Kamata Nishi player jolted in terror.
From Shigure's perspective, their faces had gone stiff with shock, beads of cold sweat trickling down. Even Kise, sitting beside him on the bench, swallowed hard after witnessing Murasakibara's block.
Little Murasakibara…
Was terrifying again today.
"That block was insane!"
"That's Murasakibara Atsushi!"
"As a second-year, he's already taller than Hagioka Kasayuki was in third year!"
"Unbelievable!"
Teiko's fast break.
The next moment
Akashi fired a pass!
The ball soared cleanly over every head. Too high, too fast—any normal pass like that would fly straight out of bounds.
But then
Lightning streaked across the court.
A flash of gray.
He caught up to the ball midair, and in one smooth motion slammed it through the hoop!
Too fast!
That alley-oop stunned the crowd—and Kamata Nishi's players even more.
They hadn't even reacted. Frozen like statues, they could only watch the dunk, then blink at the ball lying on the floor.
It wasn't that they were slow…
It was that Haizaki Shōgo was too fast. In that single fast break, though Kamata Nishi had retreated early, he'd overtaken them all. They couldn't keep up.
Fukasaya Reiji: "…"
That…
That was his burst?
This brat…
His abilities were getting more and more mixed.
On the court
"Not bad, Haizaki."
As Haizaki jogged back past him, Aomine smirked.
"I won't lose to you, darkie," Haizaki shot him a cold glance.
Aomine froze. What's with this guy?
What's going on…?
Haizaki Shōgo: "…"
Tch.
As Shigure-senpai once said
Including the light and shadow built by Tetsuya's ability…
I am the light!
END OF CHAPTER
Hey everyone!
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