A year apart.
Meeting again, they unanimously chose basketball to rebuild their bonds.
Generation of Miracles on one side.
Yuuto, Walker, Kuroko, Kagami, and Haizaki Shōgo on the other.
Yes.
Haizaki had also been summoned by Aida Kagetora. For the revenge match in a few days, he'd gathered every available fighter.
As for whether Haizaki's personality would disrupt team unity?
That's what Yuuto was for—to keep that troublemaker in line.
"Never thought I'd get to play with you two again—Haizaki, Kuroko."
"Hmph. Don't misunderstand. I only came because I was bored."
"Let's do our best!"
Kuroko looked at Yuuto and Haizaki, his eyes full of nostalgia.
Back then, it was these three who'd joined forces to break Teikō's undefeated streak.
Walker couldn't understand any of this. Kagami, meanwhile, felt like he should crawl under a rock.
"Feels like we're back in middle school."
"Look forward, Akashi. Don't always dwell on the past."
Yuuto bounced on his heels, standing at the front of his team, exchanging words with Akashi.
"If I don't look back, I'll forget that I once lost to you."
Akashi's gaze sharpened.
He wanted to see for himself how strong Yuuto had become after a year.
Honestly, Yuuto found this a bit unusual.
Over the past year in Indiana, opponents would start talking trash the moment they saw each other—then it was straight to war!
But Akashi and the others?
Way too polite. It actually felt weird.
"Enough chitchat. Twenty-minute scrimmage, I'll referee. Let's go."
Aida Kagetora blew his whistle.
The game began.
For the tip-off, Murasakibara won it.
But Akashi and the others were surprised—Murasakibara hadn't won easily.
Walker, now standing 6'5", had come within inches of beating Murasakibara to the ball.
"That athleticism..."
Remarkable was the only word for it. And this was just a four-star recruit.
Akashi took the ball, pushing quickly, finding Kuroko slightly out of position and firing a pass.
Kise cut through and drove to the rim.
But the instant he rose for the dunk, two shadows launched into the air.
One was Kagami. The other was Walker.
The two of them flanked Kise like guardian deities.
Kagami doing this? No surprise to Kise. But Walker...
"His level is way too high!"
Kise followed Yuuto's news, so he knew Walker wasn't the most elite talent.
Forget all of America—Indiana alone had multiple players at his level or better.
And yet Walker had reached Generation of Miracles caliber.
SLAP!
The ball was swatted away. Kise found himself lost between Kagami and Walker's twin rejection.
Walker grabbed the rebound and instinctively looked for Yuuto.
"Don't even think about it!"
Akashi and Midorima moved in perfect sync, instantly dropping back on defense.
But Yuuto, almost the instant he made contact with both defenders, flicked the ball to a trailing Kuroko.
Kuroko didn't hesitate—he slapped the ball hard, sending it toward the basket.
And Yuuto? He'd already spun away from Akashi and Midorima, rising to meet the ball.
Murasakibara's reaction was quick as ever. He'd anticipated the alley-oop and jumped immediately.
But—
BOOM!
Yuuto threw it down, completing the dunk before Murasakibara's defense could fully form.
Murasakibara's eyes widened, looking almost cute in his confusion.
What just happened?
He wanted to ask. He'd seen it coming.
Kuroko and Kagami had tried similar plays during this year's Inter-High, but Murasakibara had shut them all down.
Kuroko's passing hadn't changed.
So it had to be the person!
"His physical data has improved over the past year, but surely not enough to create this much of a gap?" Riko fell into thought.
The same play that Kuroko and Kagami couldn't execute against Murasakibara's absolute defense—Yuuto had completed it effortlessly.
Something wasn't adding up.
"It's probably the difference in game tempo between the two regions."
Akashi had figured something out. The way Yuuto played now was different from all of them.
He'd always favored efficiency, but now there was a new quality—an even sharper decisiveness.
2-0!
"Nice pass." Yuuto acknowledged Kuroko, then once again left him hanging on a fist bump. Kuroko looked dejected, turning to stare at Kagami.
"Don't come looking at me just because you got rejected, you idiot." Kagami immediately glared.
...
On the next possession.
Aomine called for the ball, targeting Yuuto.
"Stay out of my way, Haizaki." Like lightning, he blew past Haizaki and drove to the rim, preparing to score in some unpredictable fashion.
He knew Yuuto would come.
But before Yuuto could arrive, Walker and Kagami rose together, flanking him on both sides.
"Damn these two."
Aomine was annoyed but had no choice. He twisted mid-air, searching for a shooting window through the gap.
He found one. His shot selection was as unpredictable as ever.
But the instant he found his opportunity, Yuuto's figure flashed from the weak side like a bolt of thunder.
SLAP!
A vicious chase-down block rejected Aomine's layup attempt.
"Yuuto, still—"
"When all you're thinking about is scoring, you become easy to read, Aomine."
That said, Yuuto had spent the past year playing the 2 guard.
As a finisher, once the ball reached his hands, it meant Covanord's possession was about to end—with a score.
Yuuto quickly pushed the transition.
Akashi hustled back, once again teaming with Midorima to cut off Yuuto's path.
He'd long proven that he couldn't be single-covered.
But this time, Yuuto didn't attack alone.
Walker sprinted up for a pick-and-roll—a play they'd run countless times at Covanord.
He screened Midorima, but couldn't screen Akashi.
The Emperor Eye saw everything. Akashi had already slipped around the screen, continuing to block Yuuto's path.
"I can't let you past that easily."
"I wasn't planning to go past."
Yuuto faked a drive. The move was so convincing that Riko, watching from the sideline, thought his body had already burst forward.
But it was an illusion—so realistic her brain had been fooled.
Her eyes snapped wide as she watched Yuuto step back, creating separation from Akashi, and casually drain a three-pointer.
5-0!
"This..."
Impressive—but Riko couldn't articulate exactly why.
These were moves most players could execute, including her own team's Hyūga.
But when Yuuto did them, the result was completely different.
He could tear through Akashi's defense. Hyūga couldn't.
"How did he do that?"
"He perfectly leveraged his advantages, seizing that moment of opportunity."
Aida Kagetora's eye was sharp.
The Emperor Eye's gift was unmatched—even surpassing Yuuto's Demon Eyes.
But Yuuto was faster than Akashi.
Height advantage. Athletic advantage. Both superior to Akashi.
Yuuto had simply maximized these advantages, creating his own shooting space and converting.
It sounded simple, but executing it was incredibly difficult.
Because he was facing the Emperor Eye's absolute prediction.
That Yuuto could exploit these advantages meant he didn't fear the Emperor Eye.
"Even a year ago, he couldn't have done this."
Environment really did shape a person.
Kagetora shook his head. Japanese basketball had a long way to go before it could compete on the world stage.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"