Chapter 99: A group of colorful heads gathered in a pile!

Before they knew it, the fourth quarter was almost over.

The good news was that Seirin hadn't given up until the very end.

The bad news was that it was useless.

Hada Hikaru, Kuriki Noboru, Domoto Akira, and Hiromi Tatsuya—except for Tsukiyama Masahiko at center—had been led by Yukimiya Kazuma throughout the fourth quarter.

One reason was that being teammates with Yukimiya was genuinely fun...

The other...

If it weren't for Yukimiya, they might not have been able to hold off the current Seirin.

Thanks to Senzinkan recruiting Yukimiya this year, along with a batch of talented newcomers, otherwise, Senzinkan would have faced a major crisis this year.

They might have even broken their ten-year streak of reaching the national tournament.

This was the collective inner voice of all the veterans after experiencing Seirin's strength.

The final possession before the end.

Senzinkan's ball.

Kuriki Noboru looked at Kagami, whose fighting spirit remained undiminished, hesitated for a moment, but still passed the ball to Yukimiya Kazuma, who had been diligently defending and passing throughout the fourth quarter.

"It's over, Seirin."

"The basketball you're playing right now won't be able to beat me..."

"You're still far off."

Accompanied by Yukimiya Kazuma's words, he suddenly jumped up to shoot—just an ordinary 'Flying Bird'.

"Yukimiya!!"

Kagami used every ounce of his strength, lunging forward with difficulty, jumping with all his might to block!

However...

He couldn't jump at all.

As the final buzzer sounded, the basketball flew into the hoop at the buzzer!

"Game over!"

"Senzinkan vs. Seirin."

"134:21."

"Senzinkan wins!"

In the silence, both teams lined up to shake hands.

"Thank you for the game!"

Kise Ryota: "..."

134:21...

With the strength of that Kagami, plus Yukimiya's former teammates and Kuroko, how could the gap be this large?

On the other side.

Long Tian Zhang, who was usually very arrogant, was unusually quiet at this moment.

He turned his head toward Seirin and could clearly feel the rage radiating from Kagami.

Long Tian Zhang: "..."

Is he going to kill someone?

That red-haired guy...

However...

He's really tenacious.

Ever since their Tozuku team lost to Hakuishikan in the middle school tournament, he had been quietly following Hakuishikan's games, as well as the guys who had faced that Yukimiya fellow so far.

Except for Teiko...

Perhaps it was because they clearly saw the gap in talent, or perhaps they felt the hope of winning was slim.

Regardless of the reason, they would eventually lose all fighting spirit.

To be honest, even he himself had given up and left the court early after playing for a few minutes in the fourth quarter against Hakuishikan back at Tozuku.

But...

This guy Kagami.

This is 134:21!

Even when playing against the weakest teams in middle school, he had never seen such a score gap; or rather, throughout the entire middle school era, only the third-year Generation of Miracles possessed this kind of dominance.

But after being defeated by such a terrifying score gap, Kagami Taiga could even be said to have erupted with even more intense rage than before.

"Tsk..."

"Full of energy when he should have given up."

"First time I've seen a guy like this."

Although Long Tian Zhang complained like that, there wasn't a hint of contempt in his eyes.

Off the court.

Aida Riko was completely stunned by Yukimiya Kazuma, cold sweat dripping down.

Although the Senzinkan team was strong, if the opponent's Generation of Miracles-level combat power was only like Kise's, it would still be possible to devise a strategy to win.

But this Yukimiya Kazuma...

Runner-up of the national middle school tournament.

It was just one person, yet he exerted comprehensive pressure on Seirin!

Seirin's strength was very high; if Kiyoshi Teppei hadn't been injured in the game against Kirisaki Daichi last year, she had always believed that Seirin already had the strength to break through the final league and enter the nationals last year.

However...

With so many powerful newcomers added this year.

Especially the appearance of Takefuji Masaki and Kagami Taiga in the interior, she believed they had compensated for Kiyoshi Teppei's absence to a certain extent, yet...

Reality dealt her a heavy blow; Seirin was actually beaten to such an embarrassing degree, which was something she had never imagined.

Aida Riko turned her head to look at Takefuji Masaki and Hanakage Ryo, who were panting and replenishing fluids, thinking, no wonder these two were so determined to play a practice game against Senzinkan...

The title of 'Kings of the West' was indeed loud, but after Yukimiya Kazuma joined, if one continued to look at them with the old perspective of the 'Kings of the West'.

They would definitely suffer a huge loss at the Inter-High.

However...

Yukimiya Kazuma...

Was almost flawless!

Even if they recognized their strength, if they met at the Inter-High, the result wouldn't change at all.

What should they do?

*Slap~*

Just then.

Takefuji Masaki suddenly walked over and patted Aida Riko on the shoulder. "The Inter-High is a longer journey than the middle school tournament; don't be too anxious. It's enough to recognize the top strength of high school basketball this year in advance."

"Besides, Yukimiya was right..."

"He is the strongest."

"The purpose of today's practice game was also for this."

"To outline the strongest in our minds, and use it as a goal to complete our evolution during this journey. As for what we can achieve in the end, as long as we give it our all and have no regrets, that's enough."

"After all..."

"Strength is either there or it isn't; it's definitely not something that can be achieved overnight."

"Even for Hakuishikan."

"From the beginning of the middle school tournament to the end, all the members, including Kazuma, underwent earth-shaking changes."

"Even though we eventually lost to Teiko, we had no regrets."

"Because we had already tried our best during that journey."

The Seirin team had all quieted down at some point to listen to Takefuji Masaki's steady voice, and even Kagami, who had been furious, calmed down unconsciously.

Aida Riko couldn't help but turn her head to look at Hyuga Junpei, her mind recalling Kiyoshi Teppei's figure again.

Compared to these two...

Too...

Too reliable...!!

Worthy of being the captain of Hakuishikan!

However, just as Aida Riko was thinking this, she saw Takefuji Masaki's determined expression suddenly relax, and he casually smoothed back his hair, which had no idea how much hair gel it had used. "Um..."

"Coach, can I take leave~"

"Ryo and I are going to catch up with some old teammates!"

"Damn Yukimiya Kazuma, he really hit hard; my chest is still aching. I'm going to make him pay later. Let's go, Ryo!"

Aida Riko: "Wait..."

Wait...

I haven't agreed yet!!

Hanakage Ryo glanced at Aida Riko and eventually followed Takefuji Masaki, but as he passed by Aida Riko, he comforted her, "Masaki is only reliable on the court for a while; don't have too many expectations for him once he leaves the court..."

Especially when he no longer has the responsibility of being captain.

"We're taking leave, and we'll voluntarily add training after we get back."

"Okay..."

"Fine..."

Catching up with old teammates was indeed reasonable.

"Then the rest of us..."

"1, 2, 3, 4..."

"Wait..."

"Why is there one missing?"

Koganei Shinji raised his hand and pointed toward the gym entrance. "Um... Kuroko is over there. He said his former Teiko teammates are calling him."

Everyone looked toward the gym entrance.

White.

Yellow.

Green.

Cyan.

Pink.

Plus Kuroko Tetsuya's blue.

A group of colorful heads gathered in a pile.