Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 65: We'll Win! (Patreon)

Before long, the day of the match arrived.

Kawari was treating this game with the highest level of seriousness.

Everyone had reached the meeting point well before the agreed time.

Once the team was assembled, Masato could feel a tense atmosphere hanging over them.

But looking at everyone's posture and expressions, he could also tell that nobody was afraid.

That was enough.

Apparently, his speech from the other day was still doing its job.

Masato nodded in satisfaction and looked around at the team.

“Let's go!”

...

The venue was once again the Tokyo National Gymnasium.

This was not their first visit, but every trip there felt different.

Especially today.

The moment they reached the area surrounding the building, they could already sense that the atmosphere was unlike anything before.

Nobody lingered around to stare, though.

They did not want to cause an unnecessary commotion.

With Masato leading the way, Kawari headed straight toward their locker room along a route they already knew well.

After changing into their jerseys, they prepared to head out for warm-ups.

The instant the team emerged from the tunnel, conversation burst out across the stands in every direction.

“Look, players are coming out!”

“Holy crap, Kawari's here first.”

“Of course. When have you ever seen Teiko come out first?”

“Where's Masato? I don't see Masato-kun.”

“...”

The moment the Kawari players appeared, countless eyes locked onto them.

They had already experienced being discussed and watched before, but this was the first time the noise had been this intense from the very beginning.

Masato was walking at the back of the group.

The moment he stepped out of the tunnel, the volume in the stands rose another level.

“Look, Masato's out!”

“Kawari's ace is here! He's one of the main characters today!”

“He's so handsome. He doesn't even look like he's drawn in the same style as the other players!”

“Hey, I just noticed Masato changed jersey numbers.”

“You definitely missed the last game. He switched to number 4 when the Nationals started.”

“...”

The arena grew even more restless as Masato appeared.

The Kawari players knew most of that attention was aimed at their captain, but they still felt the pressure themselves.

Today's atmosphere was no joke.

Even Masato found himself thinking about how absurdly popular basketball was in this world.

This was only a junior-high game, yet it had drawn this many people.

What would high school, college, or even the professional stage look like?

It would only become more extreme.

Masato looked toward the stands.

The game had not even started yet, but almost every seat was already filled.

At a glance, there had to be tens of thousands of spectators.

He could also make out several distinct groups among them.

Both schools had organized cheering sections wearing coordinated outfits.

Media members in professional clothes were carrying cameras everywhere.

Other tournament teams had come to watch too, along with scouts from major high schools.

Masato clicked his tongue inwardly.

Nebuya had told him before that when Kawari finally faced Teiko, the crowd would be even larger.

He had been right.

The overwhelming noise distracted Masato for only a moment.

Then he pulled his focus back in.

He walked directly onto the court and began warming up.

...

Masato's warm-up routine was simple.

He was not the kind of flashy player who used a string of dunks to entertain the crowd the way someone like Nebuya might.

He simply followed his own rhythm, taking jumpers, finishing layups, and gradually getting his body loose.

The crowd's curiosity slowly settled down.

For a little while, the arena even became noticeably quieter.

That calm did not last.

A few minutes later, the building exploded with a roar even louder than the one that had greeted Masato.

This time, the crowd was not merely murmuring.

People were shouting.

“Look! Teiko's coming out!”

“Teiko's here!”

“Whoa, they're so cool!”

“I see Ryota Kise!”

“Wait, no. The whole Generation of Miracles is here!”

“Even Daiki Aomine showed up! Doesn't he usually skip warm-ups?”

“...”

The roar was so sudden that several Kawari players stopped what they were doing.

Everyone turned toward the opposite tunnel.

And once they looked, it was impossible not to notice the five wildly different heads of hair walking out together.

There was no helping it.

The Generation of Miracles stood out too much.

Their presence alone was difficult to ignore.

That pressure sank straight into Kawari's players, and the tension inside them immediately climbed again.

Masato noticed the change and shook his head helplessly.

He could not really blame them.

There was a genuine qualitative gap between the strength of these two teams.

When you stood directly in front of opponents operating on a much higher level, you started to understand that something as vague as “presence” could be very real.

“All right. Eyes back here. Keep warming up.”

Masato's steady voice cut through the atmosphere.

Somehow, it breathed energy back into a group that had been starting to freeze up.

The tension in their bodies eased.

His teammates looked toward him.

What they saw was the same dependable figure as always.

Without meaning to, they compared their captain with the Generation of Miracles across the court.

And suddenly, Teiko's intimidating presence did not seem nearly as overwhelming.

Admiration appeared on several Kawari faces.

This was their pillar.

After all, [Leader's Aura] directly strengthened Masato's presence.

Of course it would feel more tangible to his teammates than some vague pressure coming from the other side.

...

After Teiko entered, they immediately began warming up as well.

Even some of their bench players kept glancing toward Kawari.

A few members of the Generation of Miracles did the same.

They all knew Masato personally, but today they were opponents.

Nobody intended to stroll over and chat before the game.

Ryota Kise and Daiki Aomine, in particular, kept looking toward Masato's side of the court.

Both had been waiting for this game for a long time.

Anything they wanted to say could be said through basketball.

On Teiko's side, Kise was taking warm-up jumpers.

But his mind kept returning to the day Masato defeated him.

And then there was all the hard training Kise had done since.

He knew he was no longer the same player he had been back then.

This time, he wanted Masato to see exactly how much stronger he had become.

The thought sent heat rushing through his body.

Kise stopped shooting.

Instead, he suddenly accelerated toward the paint, blond hair flying behind him.

He rose and hammered down a violent dunk.

A wave of high-pitched screams immediately came from the female fans near the court.

After landing, Kise even took a moment to play to the crowd before turning toward Akashi.

“Aka, let me have the first few possessions,” Kise said seriously.

Akashi did not answer right away.

His mismatched eyes settled on Kise.

Most people would have grown uncomfortable under that stare almost immediately.

Kise did not back down.

If anything, his gaze became even firmer.

“I have a reason I need to do this, Aka. I have to beat him head-on this time.”

There was no mistaking the determination in his voice.

Akashi eventually looked away, his face still expressionless.

“Kise, I know you lost to Masato before and want to prove that you're stronger than him.”

He released the basketball in his hands.

Then he continued in a voice without the slightest emotional ripple.

“I also want to verify that my judgment back then was correct.”

Akashi's eyes narrowed slightly.

The moment he said that, Kise knew he had agreed.

A flash of delight appeared on his face.

But before Kise could say anything, Akashi continued.

“Remember one thing. This team demands absolute victory.”

That was the philosophy of Teiko's Basketball Club.

The air around them seemed to turn colder the moment those words were spoken.

The smile that had started to appear on Kise's face slowly faded.

He understood the other meaning behind Akashi's demand for absolute victory.

If Kise began losing his matchup with Masato, the ball would be taken out of his hands.

And when that happened, it would mean he had lost to Masato on a personal level all over again.

Kise stared at Akashi without speaking.

After a moment, he laughed softly.

Then his trademark confident smile returned.

“Of course. But I'm going to win.”