Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 45: Closing the Net! (Patreon)

Steals and floaters were two of Makoto Hanamiya’s signature weapons.

He had once recorded an absurd eighteen steals in a single game.

Seeing him produce a steal here only made the game feel even more like a clash between elite players.

Everyone on this court was among the best junior high players in the country. Nobody was going to back down.

The Uncrowned Kings were not pushovers.

Kurosawa’s fans sprang to their feet.

They watched Hanamiya race down the court, excitement spreading across every face.

They were ready to erupt the moment he scored.

That anticipation did not last long.

A faster, fiercer figure suddenly tore into their field of vision.

It was Masato.

He was chasing Hanamiya from behind like a predator closing on its prey.

In an instant, Hanamiya went from hunter to prey.

The Kurosawa fans immediately tensed up.

Hanamiya himself had no idea Masato was there.

He had broken out early on the fast break and opened a large gap on everyone else.

The last time he looked back, he had been certain the play was safe.

He was already imagining the expression Masato would make after he finished the play.

Hanamiya reached the paint, gathered in two steps, and rose for the layup.

But just as he released the ball...

The arena lights above him vanished behind a sudden shadow.

The sensation felt horribly familiar.

His 160 IQ reached the answer almost instantly.

Masato had caught up.

But how could this be possible...

Still in the air, Hanamiya had no time to adjust.

“SMACK!”

The ball was hammered against the backboard and rejected.

A moment later, another crushing impact hit him from behind.

Hanamiya lost his balance in midair.

He crashed to the floor like a rag doll and slid backward across the court.

“THUD!”

His body slammed into the padded base of the basket.

The entire stanchion shook slightly from the impact.

Hanamiya felt as though his whole body had been taken apart.

Even his permanently gloomy expression collapsed.

He curled up into a ball.

But the humiliation was worse than the pain.

Twice he had been completely confident. Twice Masato had thrown it back in his face.

How was he supposed to accept that?

And while he was still hurting, the shocked cries from the crowd poured salt into the wound.

This time, the crowd’s voices were particularly loud.

“Damn, Masato actually managed to catch up!”

“Yeah, he’s way too fast.”

“Wait, was that really as crazy as it looked, or did Hanamiya mess up?”

“Mess up? Run it again and the same thing happens!”

“He’s so strong!”

“...”

The girls in Kawari’s cheer squad waved their glow sticks and screamed themselves hoarse.

“Go Kawari! Go Kawari!”

“Ahhh! That was so cool!”

“Masato, you’re the best!”

“Hubby, look over here...”

“...”

The play looked brutal, but there had been no foul.

Naturally, the referee let play continue.

Seeing Hanamiya on the floor, the referee briefly considered stopping play.

Hanamiya staggered back to his feet before he could.

Masato had no intention of waiting for him.

Kawari was already attacking the other way.

Just as before, Shoichi Imayoshi stepped in front of Masato like a speed bump.

Hanamiya still had not recovered into the play.

With Kurosawa temporarily defending four-on-five, there was no chance to set up their usual coverage.

Masato fired a no-look pass.

This time, Kenji caught it cleanly and scored.

After the basket, Kenji pointed toward Masato from across the court to acknowledge the pass.

Masato nodded in response.

Masato was going to keep passing.

Hanamiya wanted to hunt his passes? Fine. Let him try stealing another one.

Kurosawa’s plan might still have more layers, but its general direction was obvious.

They wanted to sever Masato’s connection with his teammates.

In that sense, it resembled Fujii’s strategy.

Kurosawa was simply much more ruthless about it.

Masato could, of course, choose to go it alone, but that wasn’t his style.

And if he stopped involving his teammates, Kurosawa would gradually overwhelm them.

Eventually, that would damage Kawari’s overall rhythm.

Hanamiya finally made it back and lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression.

...

Those opening exchanges inevitably shook Kurosawa’s players.

Even so, their execution remained steady on the next possession.

Imayoshi continued handling the ball and directing the offense.

Kurosawa continued using intricate chains of screens to target Masato.

Combined with all their subtle little tricks, the tactic really was effective.

Masato was still only one player. No matter how strong he was, the repeated screens delayed him for a moment.

That brief delay was enough for Kurosawa to attack his teammates.

Kurosawa’s players had problems of their own, though.

They had thought they were the experts at dirty little tricks. They had not expected Masato to be even better at returning the favor.

After several possessions, [Steel Bones] left Masato looking completely unaffected.

His opponents were the ones aching all over. More than once, one of them nearly had the wind knocked out by an elbow from Masato.

Little by little, fear began creeping into the way they looked at him.

But that wasn’t the most dangerous part.

On another possession, Kurosawa tried to contain Masato the same way as before.

Imayoshi called the action and fed the center inside.

This time, Masato seemed to know what was coming in advance.

He changed his route and cut straight into the paint.

The center panicked when he saw Masato charging at him.

Masato did not even need to make a play. The center lost control of the ball and sent it out of bounds himself.

Masato almost laughed.

“Take it easy.”

He was relaxed enough to comfort the other player.

There was nothing accidental about Masato’s read.

[Adaptation] was beginning to show its effect.

Watching Masato’s back, Imayoshi pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

His expression had turned serious. The usual false smile was long gone.

Imayoshi was extremely perceptive. After only a few possessions, he had already noticed something was wrong.

On almost every possession, Masato became a little harder to contain.

That could not be a coincidence.

Masato noticed the gaze on his back and turned to look.

Masato saw the seriousness on Imayoshi’s face and gave a small nod.

“You’re pretty good. Pushing things this far is something to be proud of.”

It was an arrogant thing to say. From almost anyone else, Imayoshi would have taken offense immediately.

Coming from Masato, however, it gave Imayoshi an unexpected flash of satisfaction at being acknowledged by a stronger player.

Imayoshi shook his head and pushed the unnecessary emotion aside.

As he retreated on defense, he looked toward Hanamiya.

There was a question in his eyes, along with growing urgency.

Hanamiya gave him nothing back.

...

Since tip-off, both sides had found moments of success.

But Masato controlled the overall rhythm, and Kawari remained ahead throughout the quarter.

After a few more possessions, Masato took the ball again.

After Masato tore open the defense, a teammate became free on the left wing at a forty-five-degree angle.

Masato passed without hesitation.

The ball shot through the air like an orange streak.

His teammate caught it cleanly, rose, and buried the three.

The game was extremely physical, but Masato had gradually brought his teammates into rhythm.

“Beep!”

The three-pointer dropped just as the first quarter ended.

The big screen showed the score: 38–28.

Kawari was in the lead.

As the players headed to their benches, the atmosphere on Kurosawa’s side felt strange.

The first quarter had been miserable for them.

No matter what they tried, they could not find a clean answer for Masato.

Silence settled over the bench, and the oppressive mood kept spreading.

Imayoshi knew he needed to say something before the team’s mentality collapsed.

Just as he opened his mouth, Hanamiya spoke first.

“Heh. Next quarter, it’s time to close the net.”

His soft, almost feminine voice reached everyone on the Kurosawa bench.

To them, it sounded like music.