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---
The Round of 16 has concluded.
All the schools that successfully advanced are, without exception, the schools of the Generation of Miracles.
The Toho Kotei Gakuen Academy, where Ryu plays.
Rakuzan High School, where Akashi Seijuro plays.
Too Academy, where Aomine Daiki plays.
Shutoku High School, where Midorima Shintaro plays.
Yosen High School, where Murasakibara Atsushi plays.
Kaijo High School, where Kise Ryota plays.
Seirin High School, where Kuroko Tetsuya play.
Inside the hotel.
Ryu looks at the schedule in his hand.
'Another battle of miracles! I wonder how far Seirin can go this time.'
He wasn't surprised at all that Seirin had advanced to the quarterfinals.
What he cared about more was the ranking.
The Quarterfinals.
The Toho Kotei Gakuen Academy's match is in Group 3.
The first match was against Shutoku High School.
Meeting Midorima again, Ryu was filled with mixed emotions.
He wondered how much Midorima's strength had improved.
After a summer of growth, he must be even stronger now.
Ryu continued reading the schedule.
The first group matchup was between Rakuzan High School and Ōnita High School.
Ōnita High School was the only school without a Generation of Miracles.
Moreover, Ryu had never heard of this school before.
Hanafuji had also done some research on them.
The results of his research surprised Ryu somewhat.
It was said that Ōnita High School had reached the top four in the International High School Championship last year.
Because their team had a very strong ace:
Kobayashi Keisuke.
It was said that Kobayashi Keisuke was a 188cm tall point guard, a true all-rounder on both offense and defense.
However, his opponent was Akashi Seijuro.
Unless a miracle occurs, the outcome of the match is obvious.
For Kobayashi Keisuke to win, he must defeat Akashi.
Ryu felt his chances were slim.
Height alone wouldn't give him an advantage against Akashi.
However, reaching the national top eight suggests he must have some skill.
The quarterfinals will still be a two-round elimination system.
The winning team will then play against the losing team from the other group.
Winning two consecutive matches will secure a spot in the semifinals.
Losing two matches will eliminate the team from the tournament.
Next up is the second group's match.
Kaijo High School vs. Seirin High School.
This match is sure to be exciting.
Kise has grown significantly since the original anime.
Whether Kagami and Kuroko can contain him remains to be seen.
It's precisely this suspense that makes it even more interesting.
Ryu shifted his gaze to the last group's rankings.
A smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.
Too Academy vs. Yosen High School.
This piqued Ryu's interest.
Aomine Daiki versus Murasakibara Atsushi.
One a scoring machine.
The other an absolute defender.
An offensive and a defensive duo—it's bound to be interesting!
...
Over at Kaijo High School.
The Kaijo players all wore unusually serious expressions.
Their first opponent was Seirin High School.
Ever since their loss to them in the last practice match...
A seed was planted in everyone's heart.
That seed was to get revenge.
Especially Kise Ryota.
His eyes shone with boundless fighting spirit.
Kasamatsu Yukio addressed the group.
"Seirin this winter is incredibly strong. You've all seen their match videos. The one who's improved the most is Kagami. Judging from the first few matches, Kagami has performed exceptionally well, and so has that seemingly insignificant number 11. Their teamwork is flawless."
Moriyama Yoshitaka also chimed in.
"And Kiyoshi Teppei has returned. He's said to be one of the 'Five Uncrowned Generals,' and his strength shouldn't be underestimated."
Kobori Hiroshi said gravely.
"Seirin isn't the weak team they were last year. Their strength can now threaten us."
Kise interjected.
"Leave Kagami to me! I won't be careless this time. Kuroko is troublesome too, but as long as I'm careful, there won't be any problems."
Kise was still very confident in his abilities.
Although he lost to Ryu, he didn't think he was weak.
He believed that when he faced Kagami, he had absolute confidence in overwhelming him.
Hearing Kise's words, Kasamatsu Yukio and the others had no objections.
Ace against ace, that was only fair.
'Kagami... Kuroko... this time I will definitely defeat you.'
Kise thought to himself.
...
In a quiet, deserted basketball court.
Aomine dribbled the ball with one hand, shooting it into the basket again and again.
He looked very excited, his face beaming with an unyielding smile.
Ever since he learned that his next opponent was Yosen High School, he had been itching to burst into laughter.
Murasakibara was one of the few opponents he truly wanted to defeat!
"Hey, it's you here!"
A shout interrupted Aomine's shot.
Satsuki Momoi walked in from outside the basketball court.
Aomine greeted her upon seeing Satsuki.
"It's Satsuki! What brings you here?"
"You still say that... Don't you know what time it is? It's almost dark, we should go back!"
Satsuki said irritably.
Sigh...
Aomine sighed and scratched his head.
"I was so excited that I forgot about the time."
Satsuki asked curiously.
"Is it because of Murasakibara?"
She rarely saw Aomine like this.
Right now, the only thing that could excite Aomine so much was the upcoming match against Yosen High School.
Aomine nodded.
"Yeah! After all, Murasakibara is one of the few opponents I really want to defeat!"
Satsuki thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"That's right, Murasakibara's defense is really impressive!"
Hearing this, Aomine said with a fighting spirit.
"But I'll definitely win in the end, I'll defeat him."
Satsuki blinked and then said.
"Aomine, you'd better be careful, after all, it's Murasakibara!"
"I won't lose, I can't lose, because..."
As he spoke, the image of Ryu appeared in Aomine's mind.
He recalled his defeat at the hands of Ryu, instinctively clenching his fists, his face filled with anticipation and excitement as he spoke.
"I have an even bigger opponent I want to defeat!"
…
Shutoku High School Basketball Gym.
Midorima was practicing his shooting again and again.
He seemed tireless, his body moving like a machine, performing the same movements.
His eyes behind his glasses were cold and sharp, as if the person in front of him wasn't the basket, but someone else's figure.
Whoosh…
A basketball shot from Midorima's hand.
The basketball, trailing an orange flame, soared towards the gym's roof, like a bright star.
The next moment.
The star fell, striking the rim, as if threaded through a needle, dropping from the center of the net.
Swish…
The net only trembled slightly, not even a ripple caused by the rapidly falling basketball.
"So you really are here."
A voice pulled Midorima back to reality from his reverie.
Midorima turned around.
"Takao..."
Takao Kazunari walked towards Midorima with a helpless expression, speaking as he went.
"The next opponent is Toho Kotei Gakuen. I guessed you'd be very concerned. And sure enough, you were practicing here."
Midorima didn't speak, but instead picked up a basketball and aimed at the hoop.
Takao continued.
"To be honest, I'm under a lot of pressure right now. Facing the champion team, I can't calm down."
He paused, then spoke again.
"Will we win this time?"
A moment of silence fell over the gym.
Midorima released the basketball.
A few seconds later.
Swish...
The basketball went in.
Midorima's voice rang out immediately.
"This time... we'll win..."
...
Inside the hotel rented by Yosen.
The team members gathered together, watching the videotape their coach had brought back.
The television in front of them was playing a recording of Too's previous game.
Yosen's captain, Okamura Kenichi, couldn't help but say, watching the screen,
"That guy's a monster! You guys don't expect me to guard him, do you?"
No one answered him.
Seeing this, Okamura Kenichi looked like he was about to cry.
"You're so heartless! I'm quitting the basketball club..."
The Yosen players were used to this.
"Don't worry, none of us expected you to guard their ace."
Hearing this, Okamura Kenichi became even more aggrieved.
"That's so unfair..."
Fukui Kensuke added fuel to the fire.
"We'll mourn for you then."
Okamura Kenichi looked on, almost crying, and pitifully looked at his teammates.
"You all look down on your captain... Waaah..."
Crunch... Crunch...
Murasakibara was only focused on eating his snacks, showing no interest in joining in.
Seeing this, Okamura Kenichi couldn't help but groan inwardly.
'I've had enough of this team.'
At this moment, Yosen's coach, Masako Araki, interjected.
"Alright, alright, enough joking around. Let's leave their ace to ours."
With that, Araki Masako looked at Murasakibara, who was snacking.
"Murasakibara, you should be fine, right?"
Murasakibara licked his fingers and said.
"Leave Mine-chin to me!"
Having received Murasakibara's promise, Araki Masako then looked at Himuro Tatsuya.
"Himuro... the scoring task is yours."
Himuro Tatsuya nodded with a smile.
"Yes... Coach, ever since playing against Ryu, I've been looking forward to playing against Atsushi's other friends!"
...
Inside a suite at a luxury hotel rented by Rakuzan.
All of Rakuzan's main players were gathered here.
Reo Mibuchi looked at the schedule in his hand, muttering to himself.
"Ōnita... was a top four in last year's IH! He should have some skill!"
Kotaro Hayama said with some disappointment.
"What?! Only the top four? I thought we'd be facing a team from the Generation of Miracles!"
Eikichi Nebuya said nonchalantly.
"We'd meet them sooner or later anyway,"
Reo Mibuchi reminded them.
"That leaves only Kaijo and Seirin competing with us for a spot. Who do you think will win?"
"Who knows! If I had to choose, I think it'll be Kaijo! After all, the Generation of Miracles is no joke,"
Kotaro Hayama guessed.
Eikichi Nebuya wholeheartedly agreed.
Reo Mibuchi looked at Akashi, who hadn't spoken until now.
"Akashi, what do you think?"
Akashi was writing something on the table.
Hearing Reo Mibuchi's question, he stopped writing and answered.
"Seirin has improved rapidly recently. Their ace, Kagami, is already as strong as Kise, and they also have a dream sixth man to support them."
"So… you think Kaijo will lose to Seirin?"
Reo Mibuchi asked, somewhat surprised.
Akashi neither confirmed nor denied it, but said:
"The key lies with Seirin's sixth man; his performance will determine the outcome of the match."
He had analyzed the situation carefully.
His conclusion was that Seirin was currently weaker than Kaijo.
This meant that Kagami's individual strength was not yet comparable to Kise's.
After all, Kise had awakened "Perfect Copy" and the Zone.
Although this was a huge burden on his stamina, it was enough to overwhelm Seirin.
Unless Kagami could also enter the Zone, he would have no chance of competing with Kise.
The key lay in whether Kuroko could help Kagami suppress Kise.
Akashi's lips curled into a gentle smile as he thought to himself.
'I'm really looking forward to your duel, Kise, and Kuroko…'
…
Seirin High School Basketball Club.
The atmosphere in the room was extremely heavy.
Everyone wore a serious expression.
The reason was simple.
They were finally going to face the Generation of Miracles.
Hyuga Junpei spoke with a worried expression.
'It's finally here.'
Koganei Shinji added.
"We don't need to worry too much! We beat them last time, right? It'll be about the same this time!"
"Idiot, that's a long shot."
Riko Aida playfully punched him on the head, then said irritably.
"Our wins in the previous practice matches were purely luck. Plus, Kise has awakened now, and Kaijo is a completely different team. We might get utterly crushed."
Her biggest worry right now is Kise.
The pressure of that "perfect Copy" is immense.
And then there's Zone.
Kagami is different.
He's already trembling with excitement.
"It's great to be able to face Kise again!"
Izuki Shun said helplessly to Kagami.
"You're really energetic!"
Tsuchida Satoshi couldn't help but say.
"Haven't you guys noticed the other group?"
His reminder brought everyone's attention to the other group in their large group.
When Rakuzan High School came into view, everyone froze.
Finally, they all hung their heads in dejection.
If they had defeated Kaijo, their next opponent would have been Rakuzan High School.
That was once the strongest high school team, the runner-up in the Summer League.
The more he thought about it, the heavier he felt.
Shinji Koganei said dejectedly.
'Are we really going to end this here?'
His words immediately silenced the room.
'How could that be?'
Kagami suddenly spoke up.
'Our goal is the national championship; meeting them was only a matter of time.'
Teppei Kiyoshi also encouraged everyone.
'Kagami is right. As long as we face them seriously, we'll always find a way to overcome the difficulties. Don't worry too much.'
He paused, then continued.
'Worrying won't help anyway.'
'Hey, hey, hey... Teppei, that's enough.'
Junpei Hyuga's lips twitched, and he covered his face helplessly.
Kuroko spoke up at this moment.
"To be honest, the Generation of Miracles has grown too fast. At first, I was a little worried too. But we're different now than before; we've grown too. I've always believed that as long as we work together, nothing is impossible. I believe in everyone."
Hearing this, the Seirin members seemed to have a sudden realization, and the pressure in their hearts vanished.
Everyone showed a relieved smile, their eyes filled with determination.
Riko Aida said with a smile.
"That's right, our strength has also increased. They have the Generation of Miracles, and we have Kuroko and Kagami. When the time comes, as long as we do our best, regardless of victory or defeat, we won't have any regrets."
The Seirin members all showed a confident smile.
Thus, the battle of miracles is about to begin.
---
I hope to reach 20 paid subscribers this week!
Thank you so much <3
patreon.com/ayan41x