Chapter 024
The game was ten minutes away.
Murasakibara changed into the uniform Haizaki had prepared and looked at his team jersey with 'MiracleCreator' written across it. He asked with obvious confusion: "What's going on here? Why are both team names written in English? How do you even pronounce this, Mine-chin?"
"I should have known! No wonder you wouldn't let us wear our Teiko uniforms—turns out you already designed team jerseys!" Aomine slapped Haizaki's head directly and laughed.
"Damn, that hurt!" Haizaki turned around and immediately protested.
"What does it even mean, Haizaki-chin? Since you came up with it, you should know," Murasakibara looked at Haizaki with genuine puzzlement.
Haizaki rubbed his head and explained: "It's my team name—'MiracleCreator.'"
Hearing this, both Aomine and Murasakibara stared at Haizaki speechlessly. Their expressions made him immediately defensive: "What kind of looks are you two giving me?"
"That name is so cheesy," Aomine said with obvious exasperation.
"And you're using English too. If it were Akashi-chin, that might work, but Haizaki-chin, do you actually know English?" Murasakibara looked at him with genuine disbelief.
Haizaki bristled at their skeptical expressions: "What business is it of yours whether I can speak English or not?"
"I think the name sounds fine," Kuroko said with a slight smile from the sideline.
Aomine felt somewhat helpless and pointed at the opposing team's uniforms: "So what does the English on their jerseys mean? They're called 'Nocrown.'"
"That name..." Haizaki suddenly looked speechless. When he'd first challenged Hanamiya, he'd wanted to use an English team name to show off, but hadn't expected the other side to respond with English as well. He immediately turned to Asho behind him: "Asho, what does that mean?"
"'Nocrown' means without a crown," Asho replied with a chuckle.
Aomine said with mild annoyance: "I really don't understand what that Hanamiya guy is thinking, coming up with a name like that."
"But none of that matters now, Aomine. The other side has brought some seriously skilled players this time," Haizaki said, looking at the opposing roster with a slightly furrowed brow.
Murasakibara studied the opposing players, his expression shifting subtly. Though he was seeing them for the first time, he could sense their strength. They were all looking toward Murasakibara's team with eyes full of competitive fire and barely contained aggression.
"This is getting interesting. Those guys on the other side—I didn't expect that bastard Hanamiya to find monsters like these," Haizaki said with a bitter smile, surprised they'd managed to recruit such formidable opponents.
Murasakibara looked at Haizaki and asked: "Do you know them, Haizaki-chin?"
Aomine smiled with obvious excitement: "How could we not know them? In middle school basketball, very few people don't recognize these players." (Except for you, foodie.)
Hanamiya looked toward Haizaki's side and grinned slightly: "Well, this really is impressive! That bastard Haizaki actually brought Daiki Aomine and Atsushi Murasakibara—both of them are middle school league championship players!"
"Daiki Aomine, the premier small forward among middle school students, and Atsushi Murasakibara, also the premier center among middle schoolers. You've definitely found two troublesome opponents," said a teenager wearing glasses with a somewhat sinister smile. "Hehe, Hanamiya, it seems like coming here was absolutely the right decision!"
'Shoichi Imayoshi, captain of Ryoquan Middle School's basketball program—one of the nation's premier schools.'
A blonde boy with small fangs visible at the corner of his mouth looked at Aomine with obvious excitement: "Hahaha, hey Hanamiya, so my opponent is Aomine! I've always wanted to fight him. Even though he's only a first-year, I've heard he's incredibly powerful."
'Kotaro Hayama of Teruei Middle School, super scorer known as the "Thunder Beast."'
Next to Kotaro Hayama, a tall, dark-skinned player looked at Murasakibara with a defiant expression: "So my opponent is Atsushi Murasakibara. While I'm better suited for power forward than center, I'm playing center now to defeat that Kiyoshi bastard, and I absolutely won't lose to anyone."
'Nebuya Eikichi of Teruei Middle School, power forward known as "Muscle."'
Kotaro Hayama looked at Hanamiya and asked: "Why didn't you bring Kiyoshi along? Even though that guy is pretty annoying, if we need a center, he's absolutely reliable. At least I haven't seen anyone better at grabbing rebounds than him."
"Don't even mention how he could associate with people like us," Hanamiya replied with obvious irritation. Within their basketball circles, he and Kiyoshi Teppei had the worst relationship.
"You're right—I hate that bastard, always putting on that honest act. It's unpleasant just looking at him," Nebuya said with clear dissatisfaction. Ever since being defeated by Kiyoshi previously, he'd harbored resentment.
Haizaki smiled with playful menace: "Besides Hanamiya, those four are considered ace-level players among middle school students nationwide. They absolutely shouldn't be underestimated."
"Oh, is that so? Sounds like a bit of a hassle. I was hoping we could win by an overwhelming margin this time," Murasakibara replied with mild dissatisfaction.
Aomine looked somewhat exasperated: "How could that be possible, Atsushi? If we underestimate them too much, we might be the ones who end up losing! After all, they're all older than us."
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