Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 35: A Long-Established Powerhouse. A Pre-Game Provocation? (Patreon)

The article caused quite a stir at Teiko Middle School.

Most of the players had been curious about where Masato had gone.

Now that they finally had an answer, they could not understand why he had chosen a third-rate team.

With Masato’s ability, he should have been able to go almost anywhere in the country.

Even a long-established powerhouse would have welcomed him with open arms.

Instead, he had chosen a team most of them had never even heard of.

To his former teammates, it looked like Masato had gone there specifically to carry an underdog program.

On top of that, they had all seen the article speculating about why he left Teiko.

Naturally, it became a popular topic of conversation among the players.

Many of them believed Masato had transferred because he was not chosen as a starter.

That explanation had nearly become the general consensus.

After all, Masato had defeated Kise.

Yet Kise had remained in the starting lineup.

That made the situation look rather awkward.

If they had been in Masato’s position, they probably would have been unhappy too.

...

The members of the Generation of Miracles, however, paid little attention to the gossip.

They focused on their own training and refused to waste energy on things that did not matter.

Maybe that was one of the differences between geniuses and ordinary players.

Regardless, they all understood one thing.

Sooner or later, they were destined to settle things with Masato on the court.

...

Time passed quickly, and more than half a month went by in the blink of an eye.

During that stretch, Kawari played several more games.

They won every one of them.

The victories came so easily that they barely felt threatened.

As a result, the entire team entered a level of confidence and momentum they had never experienced before.

Every player believed that with Masato leading them, reaching the National Tournament was only a matter of time.

Their attitude was completely different from what it had been before this run began.

Dominating opponent after opponent also brought more outside attention.

More spectators and reporters were showing up to Kawari’s games with each passing week.

A team that had once gone almost completely unnoticed was gradually being pushed into the public eye.

The players had never dealt with this kind of attention before.

Of course they were nervous.

But whenever they looked at Masato and saw how calm he remained, they relaxed almost instinctively.

They could not really explain why.

Maybe that was simply what a leader’s presence felt like.

...

Practice ended earlier than usual that day.

It was obvious Coach Nakamura had something to say.

Judging from the serious look on his face, it could only be about their next opponent.

Sure enough, he looked around at the team and spoke in a firm voice.

“Our next opponent has been decided. We’ll be facing Fujii Junior High.”

The gym immediately filled with chatter.

“Yes! We finally know who we’re playing next!”

“Another game! We’re one step closer to the Nationals!”

“Don’t celebrate too fast. Did you hear who he said we’re playing?”

“Exactly. It’s Fujii!”

“They’re a real old-school powerhouse in Kanagawa. They’re way stronger than Enoura!”

“I never thought Kawari would actually get to play Fujii one day!”

“So what? With Masato-senpai leading us, we’re still winning!”

“Yeah, that’s true!”

“...”

Coach Nakamura watched their reaction with quiet satisfaction.

The players really had changed.

“Good. It looks like all of you have grown. At least nobody’s losing their nerve just from hearing the opponent’s name.”

“Fujii is strong, but remember this. We’re not the same Kawari we used to be either.”

“Give it everything you’ve got. Win the game the day after tomorrow, and we’ll be another step closer to the National Tournament.”

The coach fired them up, and the players answered enthusiastically.

Within moments, the gym was buzzing again.

Masato smiled as he took in the atmosphere.

Of course he was happy to have another game coming up.

What excited him even more, though, was the system notification that appeared.

[Mission Objective: Win the game and finish first in every statistical category.]

[Mission Reward: One reward draw.]

Over the past half month, Kawari had played five games.

Their opponents had been so weak that not a single system mission had triggered.

By the last few, Masato had barely been able to get interested.

Now that a mission had appeared, his excitement immediately returned.

He also understood what it meant.

If the system considered Fujii worthy of a mission, then they had to possess at least some real strength.

It seemed this old powerhouse really did live up to its reputation.

Masato was already looking forward to seeing what kind of challenge they could give him two days from now.

...

Game day arrived quickly.

As usual, the team traveled to the arena on a school bus.

By now, Kawari had built a reputation as one of the tournament’s dark horses.

Their opponent was also a prestigious Kanagawa school, so the organizers scheduled the game for the evening as the final matchup of the day.

It was a prime time slot, after most people had finished work, which meant a much larger crowd could attend.

Sure enough, when the team stepped out of the parking area, they saw plenty of spectators still gathered outside the arena waiting to enter.

Members of the media were easy to spot among them too.

This was easily the most impressive turnout Kawari had seen at any of its games so far.

Several players who had not thought much of it beforehand suddenly became nervous.

At the end of the day, most of them came from a small program and had never played in front of this kind of crowd.

“Damn, are all these people really here to watch our game?” Kenji asked, tension creeping into his voice.

The pressure hit him all at once.

He was already naturally introverted, and now his mind would not stop imagining himself making mistakes on the court.

Ishida knew him well enough to notice immediately.

“Relax. Masa’s taking the lead,” he said with a grin.

Then he threw an arm around Kenji’s shoulders and teased him.

“You’re as self-conscious as ever. Who do you think is actually coming here to watch you?”

Kenji pulled Ishida’s arm off him and instantly regretted saying anything.

Still, the joke helped.

When he looked ahead and saw Masato walking calmly as always, he settled down even more.

Right.

Whatever happened, the big guy up front would handle it.

And Kenji was not the only one thinking that way.

A lot of the team felt exactly the same.

Masato himself had no idea how deeply his presence had already influenced them.

They had played at this venue several times by now, so everyone knew the routine.

The team entered its assigned locker room, changed into uniform, then headed out to the court to warm up.

Quite a few spectators were already seated, and more kept filing in.

The Kawari players also noticed one section of the stands occupied by a large organized cheering squad, all wearing matching outfits.

Fujii really did have the backing of a traditional powerhouse.

This was only a qualifying match, yet they had already brought out a huge support section.

Compared with that, Kawari’s own program still had almost no tradition or infrastructure behind it.

They had heard, however, that the school was recently preparing to form a cheerleading squad of its own.

Masato continued warming up while thinking about other things.

Then, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Fujii’s coach walking directly toward Coach Nakamura.

The two exchanged a few words.

A moment later, the opposing coach turned away with a smile.

Coach Nakamura was left behind wearing a distinctly unpleasant expression.