Kuroko: Mahoraga - Chapter 85: Old Rivals! (Patreon)

It had only been a friendly scrimmage between the veterans and the newcomers, but the ease with which Masato dominated the court still left his teammates in awe. At the same time, they couldn't help feeling sorry for the new recruits.

Getting put through something that brutal on their very first day in the Basketball Club was almost cruel. The older players winced just imagining themselves in that position. If their first day had been anything like this, they might have quit on the spot and given up basketball for good!

Still, everyone could see that the newcomers had performed quite well. Kaima Kakuzo, in particular, was clearly a talented player.

He'd been helpless against Masato, but he'd had the upper hand against the other starters. That was more than enough to earn the team's respect, and quite a few players felt he deserved a spot in the new starting lineup.

...

With so many applicants, the evaluations took three full days. By the end, the club had settled on a roster of around forty players. Most of the hopefuls had been eliminated, but the team was still considerably larger than before. The Basketball Club was back on track.

As competition for places continued, it didn't take long for the new starting lineup to emerge. Just as everyone expected, Kaima had made the cut.

The five starters were Masato, Ishida, Kenji, Kaima Kakuzo, and Yamato, a third-year student.

The first four selections surprised no one. The last, however, raised a few eyebrows. Yes, Yamato was the same player Kaima had thoroughly outplayed during the welcome scrimmage.

As for why he was still a starter, that was simply how the selection process had turned out. Yamato might not have been very good, but the other candidates were even worse!

Whatever their individual shortcomings, the new lineup was much stronger than the old one. Everyone was already looking forward to seeing what Kawari could accomplish at this year's National Tournament.

With the roster settled, the team returned to its usual training schedule. During that period, other schools even began approaching Kawari to request practice matches. Every invitation came from the visiting schools, something that would have been unimaginable in the past.

It was all thanks to Kawari's performance at Nationals. In the eyes of outsiders, the school was no longer a dark horse. It had become a genuine powerhouse.

Coach Nakamura naturally welcomed every request. The more opportunities Kawari had to play competitive basketball, the happier he was. His only worry was that opponents might become too afraid to come. After all, there was only so much a team could improve by training in isolation.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened.

After five or six practice matches, the invitations dried up completely. The visiting teams had come hoping to improve, but whether their players had learned anything was debatable. What was obvious was how badly their confidence had suffered.

More than a few players had left Kawari's gym with red, tear-filled eyes. Crying was one thing. The real concern was that some of them might lose their love of basketball altogether. For a team hoping to develop its players, that would be a disastrous result.

Before long, the other schools reached an unspoken agreement: avoid playing practice matches against Kawari whenever possible.

Only one other school in the country received that kind of treatment.

Teikō Middle School.

Of course, Masato wasn't entirely to blame. He had genuinely tried to hold back. The problem was that ever since acquiring Four-Dimensional Hypervision, his understanding of the court had undergone a transformation.

Previously, he'd needed to scan the floor with his eyes and consciously process what he saw. Now, that information was handled almost effortlessly, as though the best possible decision came to him on instinct. His passing had become far more dangerous as a result.

In nearly every practice match, Masato barely needed to score himself. Simply directing his teammates was enough to drive Kawari's offensive tempo to an almost unbelievable level. The faster the game flowed, the more his teammates enjoyed themselves, until their enthusiasm seemed to spill over onto the court.

Coach Nakamura had mixed feelings about the outcome, but satisfaction won out in the end. If nobody wanted to play them anymore, so be it. The club still had to carry on.

And so the players spent the following weeks training.

...

A little over a month later, Nakamura finally brought the news everyone had been waiting for.

When practice ended that day, he called the whole club together. Looking at the renewed team standing before him, Masaki Nakamura felt a surge of pride. He met the players' expectant gazes and got straight to the point.

"I've got some news for you. The National Tournament for the first half of the year is about to begin!"

The announcement wasn't entirely unexpected. Rumors of an approaching tournament had been circulating around the club for a while, but until now, nothing had been confirmed.

There were two major national junior high basketball competitions each year: the IM in the first half, representing the Summer National Junior High School League, and the WM in the second half, representing the Winter National Junior High School League.

This time, it was the IM National Tournament.

Although both were national competitions, they were run by different organizers, so certain procedures varied. In terms of prestige, however, neither was inferior to the other. The IM was every bit as important as the tournament Kawari had entered before.

All the expected teams had signed up, and if anything, the IM drew even greater attention. Every year, countless fans wondered whether a new prodigy would emerge from the competition.

It was where the Generation of Miracles had first made their name. Perhaps Kaima Kakuzo would draw some attention of his own this year.

Once the news was confirmed, the players broke into excited chatter.

"I knew it! The IM should be starting right about now!"

"Exactly! Coach was acting all mysterious earlier, as if we hadn't figured it out!"

"I can't wait! I wonder how far we'll make it this year!"

"With Captain leading us, we're definitely getting past the Round of 16!"

"Yeah! With Masato-senpai on our team, there's no way the Round of 16 is our limit!"

"This time, we're going to show everyone what Kawari can really do!"

"..."

Nakamura let them enjoy themselves. Only after the chatter had gone on for a while did he press a hand downward to call for silence.

"Alright, I know everyone gets excited around this time of year, but there's one important thing I haven't told you yet."

"Our opponent!"

A peculiar smile spread across Nakamura's face. He paused, deliberately keeping the players in suspense. Then, once he'd thoroughly piqued their curiosity, he finally revealed the name that left the entire team staring in disbelief.

"It's the same old rival you've faced before. Enoura!"

"..."