Just like Seirin's players when they first saw Kuroko's passing, the Rakuzan team was completely dumbfounded by the miraculous pass they had just witnessed.
Before they could even figure out what happened—while Teiko's Ryōta Kise was still cheering from the sidelines—the Rakuzan players decided to go for another play, just to see what in the world was going on.
Among them, Hagioka Kasayuki—with his incredible court vision—had seen through Kuroko Tetsuya's basic misdirection-type pass clearly this time.
And then
He found himself once again shocked by Teiko's successors—Shigure Akihito and Nijimura Shuzo—and their unique strengths.
"No wonder…"
"With talents like yours around…"
"They could truly be called the Generation of Miracles."
He chuckled softly, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"Are the others just as incredible?"
Amid Shigure Akihito's undisguised pride and Nijimura Shuzo's subtle satisfaction, Hagioka couldn't help but look forward to seeing what the rest of that so-called Generation of Miracles had in store.
Meanwhile, on the court
The Rakuzan players looked utterly lost.
Because…
Kuroko Tetsuya had vanished again from almost everyone's sight.
Only Hayama Kotarō—whom Kuroko had intentionally revealed himself to—could clearly see the phantom's faint silhouette.
At that moment
In Hayama's blue eyes, a glimmer of light shone.
Such weak… presence!
Still, he thought to himself
What's with that stance? Just standing there like that?
And why are Seirin's players completely losing track of him? What the hell?
Watching the Seirin members spinning around like headless flies, desperately searching, Hayama couldn't help but shake his head.
Compared to Hayama's confusion, Izuki Shun on Seirin's side was even more frustrated.
Even though he already understood Kuroko's ability
Even though he possessed the Eagle Eye
He still lost sight of him.
He blinked once.
Then blinked again.
And within those two blinks, Kuroko Tetsuya had disappeared completely.
Still, to be fair, even if the Eagle Eye was inferior to the Hawk Eye, it wasn't useless. While trying to locate Kuroko, Izuki also noticed Hayama's pass
But…
Why was he passing… into empty space?
Wait—no!
Kuroko!
The moment Hayama received Kuroko's subtle signal, he immediately sent the ball his way
only to see Kuroko not catch it at all, but instead slap it in one smooth motion, redirecting it elsewhere!
The ball suddenly curved—taking a sharp right-angle turn—flying toward the perimeter where Reo Mibuchi was cutting, the pass whistling straight toward his face.
Startled, Reo reflexively caught it.
"What the?"
Reo Mibuchi froze, eyes wide.
How did that ball even get here?!
He wasn't the only one stunned—Junpei Hyūga was just as shocked.
From his perspective, Hayama's pass had clearly gone toward some empty, random space. His defensive focus had followed that direction for a split second—and in that instant, the ball suddenly veered away, appearing right in Mibuchi's hands beyond the three-point line!
There was no doubt about it.
This impossible, almost enchanted pass could only have come from Kuroko!
Because of visual inertia, Hyūga's defense couldn't react in time.
All eyes from Rakuzan turned sharply to Mibuchi, staring at the ball that had somehow appeared in his hands out of thin air, jaws dropping in disbelief.
What the hell just happened?!
Why is the ball in Reo's hands?!
And with Reo's ability—where even the smallest gap in defense was enough to score—this kind of defensive lapse was practically an open shot.
Three points—clean!
"Just now…"
"What happened?"
"It's like the ball got sucked into Reo's hands!"
As the plays continued, Rakuzan's players gradually pieced it together—understanding the basic mechanism behind the Phantom Sixth Man's passing.
As for the deeper workings of misdirection itself
They didn't fully grasp it yet.
But that didn't matter.
Now that they'd figured out how to cooperate with it, they were completely immersed in this ghostly, unpredictable style of play.
The Phantom Sixth Man
was incredible!
His speed was slow, yet somehow
he would vanish mid-run.
And in Rakuzan's passing rhythm, they never knew which pass would suddenly veer off its path and land in the hands of someone they'd never expect.
And once a teammate could see Kuroko?
No hesitation—just pass it!
As for the results…
One look at Seirin's horrified faces said it all.
Just because Rakuzan could see him—didn't mean Seirin could.
Unbelievable!
With Kuroko's passing now in play, Rakuzan's earlier frustration from being overwhelmed by Akashi's passes against Seirin completely melted away.
It was as if they'd finally found their rhythm—and the court began to sing again.
The ball zipped between players faster and faster, as everyone began moving instinctively to create space for the Phantom Sixth Man's next touch.
They were having fun.
Seirin's defense—usually tight and structured—kept being torn apart by Rakuzan's flowing, deceptive passing patterns.
Every time they thought they'd stabilized the rhythm, a flash of blue would slice diagonally across their vision, shifting the entire passing route in an instant.
That kind of surprise pass demanded massive defensive focus—and if they slipped even for a second, the result was another score.
Seirin knew this feeling better than anyone—and now, facing Rakuzan's higher-level coordination, they were truly feeling it again.
The stronger his teammates were
the stronger Kuroko became!
He was terrifyingly effective.
Seirin's defense was in total disarray.
Meanwhile, Rakuzan
Even though they hadn't yet experienced Akashi's Perfect Passing, just having Kuroko made their offense feel smoother and more effortless than ever before.
They couldn't help but marvel
How he used his naturally weak presence, combined with other unreadable techniques, to erase himself completely from the court
and then, as a living shadow, deliver surprise artillery fire for his teammates.
It was pure magic.
Especially for Reo Mibuchi
as a shooter who only needed the tiniest gap to score
this style was a dream come true.
When your opponents never knew where or when the ball would appear, every moment was an advantage in rhythm and timing.
Reo stared blankly at the blue-haired phantom moving across the court.
"Who cares if you're the captain of the Generation of Miracles?"
"Right now—I just want the Phantom Sixth Man!"
END OF CHAPTER
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