Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 68: Ace vs. Ace! (Patreon)

From the opening tip, both teams' intentions had been obvious.

Create as much space as possible for the ball-handler.

Then let Kise and Masato settle things between themselves.

The head-to-head battle had been every bit as explosive as expected, and the crowd had been completely absorbed in it.

But as the quarter progressed, Ryota Kise suddenly began falling apart.

That caught a lot of people off guard.

Kise carried the name of the Generation of Miracles.

For countless fans, it was almost impossible to imagine anyone targeting one of those players this thoroughly.

Teiko's bench was surprised too, but nowhere near as much as the crowd.

They had already watched Kise lose to Masato once before.

And while everyone had seen how hard Kise had been training lately, one thought about Masato's workload was enough to make them shake their heads.

“Masato-senpai is still incredible.”

“If anything, he's even stronger than before. He's changed so much.”

“...”

Teiko's reserves whispered among themselves about Masato's growth.

But Kise's struggles were not their only concern.

The scoreboard mattered even more.

“I really didn't expect us to be behind.”

“It can't be helped. In a straight one-on-one, Kise-senpai is having trouble containing Masato.”

“I wonder how Kise is going to respond.”

“...”

As the Teiko players talked, Kawari's lead crept toward double digits.

Teiko's coach did not hesitate.

He stood and called a timeout.

...

The timeout itself shocked the arena.

The game had barely started, yet it had already forced people to rethink what they believed about Teiko.

Spectators stared at the court in disbelief.

“No way. Teiko called timeout?!”

“That almost never happens!”

“I knew Kawari was strong, but forcing Teiko into a timeout is ridiculous!”

“Correction. Masato is ridiculous.”

“Before today, who would've imagined a member of the Generation of Miracles getting beaten one-on-one like this?”

“...”

Masato was surprised too.

As far as he could remember, Teiko had not been forced into this kind of situation since the Generation of Miracles were first-years.

After that, no team had managed it.

Still, Masato did not let the achievement go to his head.

He glanced at the scoreboard.

24-15.

He nodded.

That lead gave Kawari at least a little breathing room.

Then Masato looked toward Kise.

He had a feeling that advantage was about to disappear.

Masato headed to the bench.

His teammates already had a towel and a sports drink waiting for him.

He sat down, twisted open the bottle, and took a drink.

Without saying anything, he wiped the sweat from his face and draped the towel around his neck.

His breathing was slightly heavier than usual.

This was the first time he had felt like this during the opening quarter of a game.

Then again, it made sense.

Ryota Kise was still a member of the Generation of Miracles.

As Masato checked his own condition, he glanced at his teammates.

He had originally planned to say something.

In the end, he stayed quiet.

Normally he could remind them about positioning or defensive rotations.

Against Teiko, though, even Masato felt those words would sound almost meaningless.

Coach Nakamura seemed to feel the same way.

But as the coach, he still had to speak.

He pulled out his tactics board, emphasized a few positioning details, and gave the team a short pep talk.

Only then did he stop.

...

Teiko's bench felt slightly strange, but overall, it remained calm.

They were trailing, yet nobody looked panicked.

They knew exactly how strong their team was.

That was the absolute trust they had in the Generation of Miracles.

Kise was the exception.

His mentality had started shifting the moment Masato began reading him.

By the final possession before the timeout, he had completely lost his rhythm and started doubting himself.

Now he sat there in a daze, his mind replaying the pressure Masato had put on him again and again.

Teiko's coach frowned when he saw how hard Kise was breathing.

He was worried.

The last thing he wanted was for a genius to get mentally broken by one matchup.

“Kise, you've already played very well,” he said gently. “Remember, you haven't even been playing basketball that long.”

The comfort did almost nothing.

Kise barely reacted.

The coach shook his head inwardly.

He still needed more experience.

“Reset yourself. Holding your own against Masato this long is already impressive. For the rest, trust your teammates.”

That finally brought Kise back.

Not because the words comforted him.

Because he understood what they meant.

The team was not going to let him keep guarding Masato.

How could he accept that?

Masato had been destroying him, but Kise still did not want to give up.

His face tightened with urgency.

“But Coach, I can still...”

He never finished.

A cold voice cut in from the side.

Akashi was sitting nearby, his expression unreadable.

“Enough. You remember what I told you before the game, don't you?”

He turned his cold gaze toward Kise.

“You know what this team demands. Absolute victory.”

“From here on, we return to our normal game.”

Akashi had reached the same conclusion.

If Kise stayed on Masato, things would only get worse.

But just as Akashi's decision settled over the bench, another voice suddenly rang out.

“Let me take him.”

Daiki Aomine finally stepped forward.

His voice carried absolute confidence.

Every Teiko player turned toward him.

Nobody had expected Aomine to volunteer.

It had been a long time since they had seen him like this.

Aomine had returned to training lately, but there was still a faint distance between him and the rest of the team.

Even during away games, he usually looked detached, as if he were simply completing an obligation.

So hearing him speak up now caught everyone by surprise.

Aomine's wild, defiant presence felt almost nostalgic.

For a moment, the Teiko players seemed to see the old him again.

Even Akashi's usually cold eyes showed a trace of surprise.

He considered it for a moment, then looked away without saying anything.

The rest of Teiko, including the coach, could not help becoming excited.

Kise still felt unwilling to accept the result.

But once he calmed down, he understood the truth.

This time, Masato had beaten him even more thoroughly than before.

There was no point in insisting on continuing the matchup.

The timeout ended soon after.

...

At the sound of the buzzer, both teams returned to the court.

The crowd immediately came alive.

“Finally!”

“I can't wait to see how Kise adjusts against Masato!”

“Yeah, I still think Kise is going to explode. He's a Miracle, after all!”

“You're worshipping that title way too much. Just watch the game.”

“Exactly. If this keeps going, I think Kise's only going to get crushed harder.”

“...”

As the voices rolled through the stands, something on the court had changed.

Instead of Kise receiving Murasakibara's inbound pass, Aomine stepped toward the ball.

The subtle switch confused quite a few spectators for a second.

Then they understood.

After the timeout, Teiko was sending its ace against Kawari's ace.

The realization sent a wave of noise through the arena.

“Holy shit, Aomine's taking the ball!”

“Now this is a matchup. Ace versus ace!”

“Don't blink. This is going to be fast!”

“...”

And just as Teiko's longtime fans expected, the moment Aomine received the ball, he attacked.

He crossed midcourt like a predator launching itself at prey.

Masato showed no surprise.

He had already guessed during the timeout that this was coming.

If anything, anticipation rose inside him.

Aomine felt the same way.

He did not bother saying anything.

He would answer with basketball.

His loose, flowing style appeared immediately.

Huge changes of direction that would look awkward on anyone else seemed completely natural coming from him.

Masato cut off route after route.

But with every exchange, his expression grew more serious.

Aomine was faster than he remembered.

And he was still accelerating.

Then, after another change of direction, his speed climbed to a completely different level.

This time, Aomine broke through.

He burst into the paint.

Masato was not someone he could shake that easily.

He stayed right behind him.

In the blink of an eye, both of them reached the rim and rose into the air.

Masato used his longer wingspan to cover Aomine's release path.

For a moment, the block looked inevitable.

Aomine did not panic.

The corner of his mouth lifted.

He pulled the ball behind his back and flicked it up with a reverse hook.

The shot came from an absurd angle.

Formless Shot.

“Swish!”

The ball dropped cleanly through the net.

Both players landed.

Only then did Aomine speak.

“Masato, this time I'm the one who's going to win.”