Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 44: Targeted Tactics. Trusting Trash! (Patreon)

The arena was roaring.

Plenty of spectators had barely settled into their seats before jumping right back up.

Shock covered their faces. Some grabbed their heads and stared at the people beside them in disbelief.

Almost nobody had expected it.

The very first possession had already produced a clash this spectacular.

...

On the court, Hanamiya, who had just been reduced to a background prop, stood in silence.

He had known from the beginning that this would be a difficult game.

That was why he had not gotten careless. He had called for a screen immediately.

The play had worked. Hanamiya had shaken Masato cleanly.

He had already decided what trash talk he would use to get under Masato’s skin after scoring.

What he never expected was for Masato to recover from behind.

For a moment, Hanamiya remembered what it had felt like to be dominated by Shuzo Nijimura.

He compared the two almost instinctively, and the comparison only made his expression darker.

Hanamiya had to admit that Masato put even more pressure on him.

It was not only a question of ability.

Masato’s presence on the court was different too.

Hanamiya felt an unquestionable authority radiating from him.

When Masato called him “scum,” Hanamiya’s first reaction had not even been anger. He had simply frozen.

Only after realizing that Masato had suppressed him mentally did Hanamiya finally snap out of it.

His eyes slowly sharpened, and the aura around him grew colder.

Hanamiya could admit that Masato was strong.

What he could not accept was that he had actually flinched.

Hanamiya’s face twisted.

While he stood there in silence, the Kurosawa players had caught up.

“Don’t let him get to you, Hanamiya. Inbound the ball and keep playing.”

A calm voice came from behind him.

It was Kurosawa’s other ace, Shoichi Imayoshi.

He wore glasses and the same narrow-eyed smile as always.

Hanamiya was already irritated. Imayoshi’s smile looked so insincere that it felt like mockery.

“Are you telling me what to do, Shoichi Imayoshi?”

Hanamiya’s tone was hostile, but Imayoshi did not react.

He waved a hand and smiled. “You’re overthinking it, Hanamiya. I always look like this. You know that.”

“Just don’t get emotional and try to fight that guy head-on. Let’s stick to the plan.”

Hanamiya stared at Imayoshi for two seconds with those gloomy eyes.

“Inbound it.”

Once Imayoshi saw that Hanamiya had calmed down, light flashed across his lenses and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Imayoshi was highly intelligent himself and exceptionally good at reading people. He was used to handling Hanamiya and could even steer him to a certain extent.

After the inbound, the two moved the ball between them.

This time, Imayoshi became the primary ballhandler.

Once they crossed half court, Hanamiya moved to the wing and began playing off the ball.

This was Kurosawa’s plan.

They wanted Imayoshi to control the game calmly while giving Hanamiya enough time to build his “spider web.”

Once the web was complete, Kurosawa believed victory would be theirs.

...

Masato studied the new matchup.

His brow tightened slightly. He did remember the player in front of him.

As a supporting character in the original story, Shoichi Imayoshi had only really appeared during the high school timeline.

There had been very little information about his junior high years.

Masato vaguely remembered that Imayoshi was extremely good at noticing details.

If he remembered correctly, Imayoshi would even become Aomine’s teammate in high school.

Beyond that, Masato could not remember much.

Masato could tell Kurosawa had prepared something specific for him, but he did not care.

Against absolute strength, schemes only mattered so much.

Imayoshi kept his distance from Masato.

He was even more cautious than Hanamiya had been on the opening possession.

He stood slightly sideways and kept his off arm ready to protect the ball despite being more than two steps away.

Imayoshi smiled through narrowed eyes. “Looks like I’m matched up with you now. I’d rather not make you angry, though.”

“How about we slow things down?”

He did not wait for an answer before waving a teammate over.

A Kurosawa player on the wing stepped up to screen Masato.

Kurosawa was a physically strong team, and its players were experts at subtle contact and little tricks. Their screens were extremely effective.

Imayoshi drove off the screen.

He was not as fast as Hanamiya, but his timing was excellent.

It still was not enough to stop Masato. He broke free and recovered quickly.

Imayoshi’s driving path had been carefully chosen.

More accurately, it was part of Kurosawa’s overall scheme.

Another Kurosawa player was already positioned along the lane Imayoshi had chosen.

When Masato recovered, that player screened him a second time.

There was nothing illegal about it. It was simply a chain of consecutive screens.

But Imayoshi still did not attack.

Instead, he passed the ball away.

Then Imayoshi and the screener subtly positioned themselves to obstruct Masato’s recovery.

It was dangerous. A little too much contact and the referee could easily call it.

Kurosawa’s players were experienced enough to stay just inside the line.

The tactic worked, delaying Masato for an instant.

That was enough for another Kurosawa player to isolate Ishida.

The constant little tricks left Ishida visibly annoyed. He glanced at the referee.

When the referee showed no reaction, Ishida spread his hands helplessly.

He turned back to Masato and shook his head. “My bad.”

“It’s fine. Just protect yourself,” Masato said.

Masato had seen every little trick Kurosawa used, but he was not angry.

Basketball was a contact sport. Some borderline contact was inevitable.

As long as they were not deliberately trying to injure someone, Masato could accept it.

Watching Kurosawa immediately retreat on defense after scoring, Masato smiled. This opponent really was good.

That possession alone showed why Kurosawa was considered a powerhouse.

Their schemes had far more variation, and their rough style made them much more troublesome than Fujii.

...

On the next possession, Masato brought the ball up the court.

Imayoshi gave him space, clearly choosing to concede the jumper rather than the drive.

He knew that letting Masato into the paint was practically the same as giving away points.

It was better to test Masato’s shooting touch.

Masato understood the idea immediately, but chose not to shoot.

He wanted to see more of Kurosawa’s plan while giving his teammates time to adjust to the intensity of the game.

The next second, Masato slipped into his distinctive style.

Clean. Efficient. Not a single wasted movement.

“Thump! Thump!”

Two crisp dribbles sent Masato straight at the weakest point in the defense.

Imayoshi’s expression changed. For the first time, that unreadable smile disappeared.

“Quick, help defense!” he shouted.

Kurosawa’s help defense collapsed immediately.

Masato answered with an even simpler attack.

“Thump!”

One dribble was enough to tear through the help defender as though he were made of paper.

The help defender was beaten before Imayoshi could even recover into the play.

Masato could have gone straight to the rim.

But Kurosawa’s formation had already collapsed, leaving one of his teammates wide open.

Masato snapped the pass out immediately.

Kawari had run through this exact kind of sequence countless times. His teammates knew what to expect.

Wide open, Kenji was already set to receive the ball.

But just before the pass reached him, a sharp sound cut through the court.

“Smack!”

A hand had cut into the passing lane.

Hanamiya had appeared out of nowhere and stolen the pass.

Everything happened so quickly that the crowd barely had time to process it.

Hanamiya secured the ball and immediately launched a fast break.

A trace of vindictive satisfaction finally appeared on his gloomy face.

“You actually trust a bunch of trash!”