"Relying on Kagami-kun alone is impossible, but if it's everyone together, infinite possibilities exist for the future. This is something I learned from Yuuto."
"Yuuto... I keep hearing you mention this name. Is he really that strong?"
"Yes. It's an unreasonable kind of strength. He can even constantly evolve on the court."
Kuroko's words sounded to Kagami like someone telling a story.
Current Kagami couldn't yet understand the meaning within Kuroko's words.
But the flame in his heart had been thoroughly ignited.
On the other side.
Seiho Basketball Club gym.
Club activities had ended, but Yuuto continued extra practice as always.
Ryuhei Kasuga, Tsutomu Iwamura, and the others had just been scolded and were preparing to go home with their heads down, but they saw Tomoki Tsugawa standing at the basketball club entrance.
"Hey, first-year. What are you doing here so late?"
"It's the Seniors. I'm waiting for Yuuto here; promised to treat him to ramen."
Waiting for Yuuto?
Only upon getting closer did they hear the sound of basketballs swishing through nets inside the club.
Ryuhei Kasuga walked in and actually saw Yuuto, who had blown them out not long ago, practicing shooting with the help of a girl.
"When did he start?"
"Started right after club activities ended. Said it was specially approved by the coach."
Hearing this.
The expressions of Ryuhei Kasuga and the others became incredibly colorful.
Stronger than them, and working harder than them...
The frustration in his heart became even stronger; the coach's scolding still echoed in his ears.
"A King without a crown is as laughable as those scrubs eliminated in the first round."
Looking back at the past two years.
From joining Seiho, he struggled with the goal of becoming a regular.
When he became a starter, he took pride in being a Seiho regular, embracing pride and calling himself a King.
But this afternoon, Yuuto destroyed his pride with that unreasonable talent.
Yes.
It was talent. He thought he lost to Yuuto's innate talent, that he just lost the talent lottery.
But now, he lost in everything.
Absolutely cannot allow myself to lose to this guy even in effort.
Ryuhei Kasuga gritted his teeth and threw his bag to a teammate.
"Iwamura, you guys go ahead."
Finishing his sentence, he took off his jacket and walked into the gym, going to the court on the other side of Yuuto to start his own practice.
He couldn't accept being inferior to Yuuto in everything!
Seeing this, the others scratched their heads, finally gritted their teeth, and walked into the gym too.
They went to the court on the other side of Yuuto one after another.
"What's wrong?" Sora didn't understand.
"Just treat it as the last struggle of a group of guys who don't want to admit defeat."
Yuuto took the basketball from Sora and threw it again.
The basketball drew a beautiful arc and drilled into the net.
"Time's up. Let's go, Flat-top (Tsugawa). Ramen time."
Yuuto finished the last shot and left with Sora.
"Eh? Not waiting?" Tomoki Tsugawa had his clothes half off; he felt if everyone was doing extra practice and he didn't, he would seem antisocial. Who knew Yuuto was leaving?
"You'll have plenty of chances in the future."
"Alright..."
Tsugawa could only follow Yuuto, looking back at the group of second-years training to the death.
He felt this basketball club was quite interesting.
...
Yuuto left.
Leaving behind a group of third-years practicing in full swing.
"Yuuto left. Still continuing?"
"My extra practice has nothing to do with that guy Yuuto."
Ryuhei Kasuga denied it flatly; this had nothing to do with Yuuto.
Seeing Iwamura smiling, he got angry. "And you, you lost so miserably, how are you in the mood to smile? Where is your self-esteem!"
"Was I smiling?" Iwamura quickly put away his smile, putting on a meticulous expression. "If I was, it's probably because I'm happy such a formidable guy came to the basketball club."
"Thinking about having such a powerful guy as a teammate in the last year of high school makes me uncontrollably excited."
"But you're right... I must guard Seiho's interior well!"
Iwamura cast aside extra thoughts and let teammates try to attack his defense.
Yuuto was strong, that wasn't wrong.
But this didn't mean they could enjoy the victory brought by Yuuto with peace of mind.
Their pride didn't allow them to do so.
At the very least, they had to do everything within their power well.
One day.
Two days.
Three days.
Seiho Basketball Club saw continuous extra practice sessions.
As long as Yuuto stayed for extra practice, Ryuhei Kasuga and the others would grit their teeth and stay no matter how tired they were.
Although there still wasn't much communication usually, a tacit understanding was gradually forming.
This understanding manifested in Seiho's first practice match.
108:67!
They easily crushed the practice match opponent.
Despite not communicating much usually, once in the game, Ryuhei Kasuga would give the ball to Yuuto whenever there was a chance.
He would also tacitly draw away defenders around Yuuto.
At the same time.
They became more diligent on defense because there was a reliable monster on the offensive end.
"Last year in the National Tournament, we barely won by 5 points against this opponent. Didn't expect it to be so easy this year."
"It's all thanks to Yuuto."
Winning the game, the team members were in a very good mood.
"By the way, did our defense get stronger?"
"This is thanks to the coach's new formation, and of course Yuuto. With him in front, I can anchor the paint with peace of mind."
"Tch..."
Ryuhei Kasuga clicked his tongue, but in his heart, like his teammates, he had tacitly accepted Yuuto's existence.
Without a doubt, the Ace of this current Seiho was Yuuto!
Even Ryuhei Kasuga willingly handed over the ball rights, retreating to the team's number two scoring option.
"What are you laughing at? I'll beat you up." Kasuga slapped the back of Tsugawa's head.
He actually wanted to slap Yuuto the most, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it.
Yuuto was taking control of this team bit by bit.
He wasn't just the team Ace; he was the team leader.
His Iron Heart talent could always subtly influence the people around him.
Beep beep beep~
While chatting, the phone rang.
Yuuto picked it up; it was Momoi's call.
"Hello, Satsuki. What's up?"
"Yu-kun, why haven't you come to find me since arriving in Tokyo? I've been waiting for you for almost a week..."
Very noisy.
As always.
"Get to the point."
"Hehe, just asking how Yu-kun is doing at Seiho." After acting coquettishly, Momoi stated her purpose.
"By the way, telling you one more thing. Kuroko-kun went to Seirin. He is also in Tokyo like you guys, and scheduled a practice match with Ki-chan. Let's go watch together?"
...
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