Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 64: A Traitor in Teiko. A Feast! (Patreon)

Masato rarely received phone calls, so hearing his ringtone caught him a little off guard.

Considering the time and the fact that their next opponent had just been announced, though, there were only a few people it could be.

He checked the screen and, sure enough, it was Satsuki.

Masato answered.

Before he could even say anything, her voice came through the phone.

“Hey, hey, Masa, can you hear me? Have you heard the draw result yet?”

Satsuki was speaking louder than usual, and the surprise in her voice was obvious.

Just from the sound of her, Masato could picture her expression.

Those pink eyes were probably wide open, with her little mouth hanging open just as much.

“Yeah. I already know.”

Masato sounded the same as always.

The fact that they had drawn Teiko had not disturbed his composure at all.

And just as Masato could picture Satsuki, hearing his voice made his image appear in her own mind.

That same steady calm as always, as though nothing in the world could make him panic.

Strangely, Satsuki felt her own restless emotions settle down little by little.

“I really didn't expect us to meet this early.”

“We're both in Group A. It was always possible.”

Satsuki fell quiet for a moment after hearing such an unsurprised answer.

Masato had more or less guessed why she had called at a time like this.

Sure enough, she eventually said it.

“Hey, Masa. I wanted to give you some information about Teiko.”

Then she hurried to add, “Only the players' individual tendencies, okay? I wouldn't tell you our tactics or anything like that.”

Masato could not help laughing.

Exactly as he thought.

Satsuki really had become his little insider at Teiko.

He could only imagine what the rest of the team would think if they found out they had a mole in their midst.

As for her promise not to reveal actual tactics, Masato did not believe it for a second.

If he agreed, she would probably send him every detail Teiko had.

“Trying to become Teiko's little traitor, Satsuki?” Masato shook his head with a smile. “Don't. If anyone found out, it'd only cause trouble for you.”

“Besides, if you're only talking about individual player traits, I probably know almost as much as you do.”

Masato's tone was playful, but Satsuki could hear that he meant it.

She was silent for a moment, then stopped pushing the issue.

Someone like Masato would never accept that kind of offer.

To him, it would almost be an insult.

Once she understood that, Satsuki actually felt happier.

“As expected, Masa really is different,” she muttered under her breath.

Masato did not catch it clearly.

“What are you whispering about?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.” Satsuki quickly snapped back to attention.

Then something else occurred to her.

Masato had just questioned her professional ability.

Her pride as an analyst immediately flared up.

“You're seriously underestimating me, Masa. Gathering data is my specialty. How could you possibly know more details than I do?”

Masato heard the confidence in her voice and did not bother arguing.

Satsuki was not bragging.

She genuinely possessed a rare talent for gathering and analyzing information.

Thanks to his knowledge of the original story, Masato understood the broad characteristics of the Generation of Miracles.

But this was a real world, not a show he could rewatch.

When it came to tiny technical habits and personal tendencies, Satsuki undoubtedly knew more.

Masato let the subject go.

“All right, all right. You're the expert there, Satsuki.”

Then he suddenly remembered their first conversation after he beat Kise.

“Oh, right. I remember you were really curious about my ability back then. So? Have you figured it out yet?”

Masato smiled, genuinely curious about the answer.

There was a short silence on the other end.

“I... Of course I figured it out!” Satsuki insisted, sounding just a little too forceful.

The subject was frustrating for her.

Even after all this time, she still had not managed to determine exactly what Masato's ability was.

Part of that was because of the level of competition he had faced.

Even so, it left her feeling defeated.

It was not as though she had learned nothing.

Satsuki already had several theories.

She simply did not want to admit them yet because the possibilities sounded too ridiculous.

“Don't worry, Masa. I wouldn't tell them what your ability is anyway,” she added quickly.

Masato shook his head to himself.

He could tell immediately that Satsuki still had not figured out [Adaptation].

If even she could not identify it, then everyone outside Teiko had even less of a chance.

No wonder most articles discussing Masato's game tended to interpret his ability through [Bible].

[Adaptation] was simply too subtle.

Unless Masato explained it himself, understanding it completely in such a short amount of time was extremely difficult.

“All right, Satsuki. See you at the game.”

“...”

...

After getting home, Masato prepared dinner as usual.

While he ate, he opened his system panel and looked over how much he had changed recently.

[Name: Masato Kumoi]

[School: Kawari Junior High School]

[Static Attributes: Height 186 cm / Wingspan 199 cm / Weight 84 kg]

[Dynamic Attributes: Strength 84+1, Speed 85+2, Vertical Jump 87, Stamina 91]

[Basketball Skills: 3-Point Shot 82+3, Mid-Range Shot 89+1, Layup 93, Passing 90+1, Defense 92+1]

[Current Abilities: Adaptation Lv. 2, Bible Lv. 1, Training Ground, Core Control, Steel Bones, Leader's Aura]

Looking at the panel filled Masato with satisfaction.

Being able to see his own growth so clearly felt incredible.

That said, his rate of improvement had begun to slow recently.

The reason was simple.

With fewer games being played, [Adaptation] had not had enough opportunities to show its full value.

But when Masato thought about the feast waiting for him in the next game, excitement naturally began to build.

Hopefully this matchup would push him into another period of explosive growth.

Just thinking about it made him eat even more enthusiastically.

...

The rest of the country soon learned the draw result as well.

This was already one of the most anticipated matchups in the entire tournament.

People had been waiting for it since before the National Tournament even began.

What nobody expected was for the two teams to collide this early, in the Round of 16.

That completely disrupted the promotional schedules of more than a few media outlets.

The tournament organizers reacted immediately.

The moment the draw became official, they accelerated their publicity plans and pushed out articles they had prepared in advance overnight.

Soon, discussions were everywhere.

Some outlets promoted it simply as a clash between two powerful schools.

Others framed it as Kanagawa against Tokyo.

Plenty focused directly on the players themselves.

After all, Masato had history with Teiko.

...

When some fans first saw the news, they assumed it had to be fake.

They had not imagined this dream matchup would happen so early.

But once the result was confirmed, countless people found themselves too excited to sleep.

Even coaching staffs from major high schools began making plans to attend.

They wanted to see the level of these junior-high basketball prodigies with their own eyes.

For everyone following the tournament, anticipation shot through the roof.

At this point, there was nothing left to do but play.