Chapter 132

The basketball team members stepped off the bus one after another, their spirit and composed aura utterly different from before, immediately drawing plenty of attention.

"Wow~~ what a scary aura."

"Can you even tell that from their aura? Isn't it just because they're tall? Those two have to be at least 190 (cm), right?"

"This team is definitely no pushover."

"Right, right, but speaking of that, do you know who they are?"

"You don't recognize them?"

"It's this year's Tokyo district's second seed, Bai Shui Kan Middle School."

"Their ace, Yukimiya Kazuma, has been picked by pass basketball as a hopeful candidate for this year's number one 'Under the Miracle'."

Bai Shui Kan Middle School's fame in the basketball world clearly couldn't compare to Teikou's, but having ridden the coattails of Teikou and pass basketball's publicity, it had gained quite a name nationwide.

Before long.

They arrived at the venue.

Today, twenty-four basketball teams from all over the country gathered here.

In this gymnasium, faces that frequently appeared in all sorts of basketball weeklies were everywhere.

And the most conspicuous, without a doubt, was Teikou Middle School; the media swarmed in, surrounding Teikou's spot in a tight ring, forming a brilliant sight.

"Teikou is here…"

"Ohhh!"

A photographer on the side, infected by the aura emanating from Teikou Middle School, couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Amazing…

Although they performed well last year too, when facing reporters back then they still carried the immaturity of middle schoolers, but this year, they already appeared as composed as a top professional team.

They don't look like middle schoolers at all.

And in Yukimiya Kazuma's eyes, what he noticed was an entirely different scene.

At a glance he recognized a character with little screen time but great importance—Meikou Middle School's Ogiwara Shigehiro.

At this moment he was heading excitedly toward Teikou's side to find Kuroko Tetsuya, but seeing the other's gloomy face, he balked.

"Shige? Not gonna say hi? Let's go, the match is about to start!"

"Ah…"

"Ah! He's here!"

After watching this scene, Yukimiya Kazuma turned and left.

The instant he turned around.

"Oops!"

Yukimiya Kazuma was bumped into by a reporter. The reporter looked up, sized him up and down as if confirming something, then suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Bai Shui Kan's… Yukimiya Kazuma?"

"Right?"

"Do you have time to take my interview?"

"You can? Wonderful!"

"I heard that this year you're targeting Teikou—is that true?"

"About being called 'one of the candidates for number one under the miracle,' you…"

Beside them, Takefuji Masaki and Kasuga Yuji and the others watched enviously as Yukimiya Kazuma calmly accepted the reporter's interview; Kasuga Yuji even wanted to go over and piggyback on the interview, but was grabbed by the collar by Shimmatsu Osamu and dragged in front of him.

"Don't fool around. Teikou's match is the opening one. Let's go over first, grab seats, and watch their game, then we'll go warm up," Shimmatsu Osamu reprimanded him in a low voice.

Hearing the two words "Teikou," Kasuga Yuji's spirit suddenly jolted, and he dared not cause any more trouble.

After Yukimiya Kazuma finished dealing with the interview, everyone entered the spectator stands together. They waited until the opponents finished warming up, and only then did Teikou step onto the court amid the whole venue's cheers.

And then…

Under the witness of the Bai Shui Kan members, and all the spectators present.

In Teikou's first match of their third-year All-Japan campaign—a game brimming with commemorative meaning—they put up an outrageous 198:2, and everyone present stared dumbfounded at the massacre unfolding on the court!

Except for Yukimiya Kazuma, and the Bai Shui Kan players.

Although the score was tremendously shocking, since Teikou had already pulled off a similar but less extreme massacre during the district prelims, they were no longer surprised by it.

"This Heihou Middle School…"

"Doesn't feel like they have any particularly strong players."

Takefuji Masaki furrowed his brow, feeling the opponents were too weak, and besides, they gave up early; the first quarter had actually already declared the end, but Teikou still played at full strength until the end. Honestly, the latter part was pretty boring.

"By the way, Kazuma, I see you seem to be finding it pretty interesting?"

Yukimiya Kazuma smiled slightly and said, "The feeling of witnessing a famous scene in person is, of course, completely different."

Takefuji Masaki: "???"

"What are you talking about again?"

……

Bai Shui Kan's first match.

The venue was far from as lively as Teikou's, but they did have some fame—at the very least, many people could call out their names by pointing at Yukimiya Kazuma's white hair, Takefuji Masaki's slicked-back hair, and Kasuga Yuji's bald head.

As for the others, poor things, nothing distinctive about them.

The match began.

Amid the spectators' cheers, Takefuji Masaki won the tip-off.

Yukimiya Kazuma brought the ball up, and Bai Shui Kan's positioning speed clearly quickened.

When Yukimiya Kazuma advanced to the top of the arc, he ran a pick-and-roll with Takefuji Masaki; after charging into the paint in big strides, Yukimiya Kazuma drew the attention of the opposing interior.

A clever floor bounce, amplified by the 'Passing Master' buff, sent the ball comfortably into Takefusa's hands.

With no interior defender marking him, Takefusa wanted to set the tone with the opening shot.

Boom!

Holding nothing back, he unleashed a two-handed dunk using his newly trained ability.

"Whoa!"

Waves of gasps rose from the crowd.

The opponent's turn.

The opponent's point guard was confident in his drives, yet Haru Yūji, at some unknown cost, had learned a half-finished 'Namba Step' from his older brother and pinned the opponent tight!