"Why? Kise is strong too."
Taiga Kagami asked, puzzled.
Tetsuya Kuroko glanced at him.
"Kagami-kun really is an idiot."
"What?! No I'm not!"
Kagami shot back.
Kuroko ignored him and continued calmly.
"Kagami-kun, you've probably only heard Miyamoto's name. You've never actually seen him play."
"But I can tell you this—Kise can't defeat Miyamoto."
Kagami still wasn't satisfied.
"Is he really that strong? Does Kise seriously have no chance at all?"
Kuroko thought for a moment, then answered decisively.
"Zero percent."
The Seirin team collectively swallowed.
They'd heard the nickname "Magic Cube," but none of them had ever seen Magic Cube play. Deep down, they still had doubts.
After all, they'd seen Ryota Kise's strength with their own eyes.
Yet someone like Kise was being labeled as having zero chance of winning.
It felt almost unreal.
Riko Aida spoke in a low, serious voice.
"Watch this match carefully. In the future, Kirisaki Daiichi will be our biggest rival."
"Yes!"
Seirin replied in unison.
The spectators gradually filled the arena.
Kaijo entered the court first.
As the players appeared, the crowd erupted.
"They're here! It's Kaijo!"
Seirin immediately focused their attention.
On the court, every Kaijo player wore a tense expression.
Including Ryota Kise.
Kise had grown up hearing stories about the Magic Cube.
Among the Generation of Miracles, everyone except himself had regarded Miyamoto as an opponent they had to defeat.
That alone said enough about his strength.
Because of that, Kise didn't dare relax for even a second. One moment of carelessness, and the game could spiral completely out of control.
"They're coming! It's Kirisaki Daiichi!"
A spectator suddenly shouted.
The arena exploded.
"Magic Cube! Magic Cube! Magic Cube!"
"Miyamoto, I love you! I want to have your babies!!!"
The crowd's enthusiasm surged like a wildfire.
Seirin—and the other teams watching—were stunned.
Junpei Hyuga couldn't help complaining.
"Hey, hey—didn't he disappear for two years? Why does he still have this many fans?!"
Everyone on Seirin felt the same.
Someone gone for two years, returning with this kind of popularity—his reputation had to be enormous.
Even the Shūtoku players found it absurd.
Kazunari Takao leaned over.
"Hey, Midorima, what kind of guy is this friend of yours? Gone for two years, and his fame's even bigger than yours."
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses, calm as ever.
"I don't know. But considering Miyamoto's ability, it makes sense."
Over on Tōō's side, no one shouted—
but their grim expressions said everything.
Their hearts were anything but calm.
Daiki Aomine stared toward Kirisaki Daiichi, murmuring under his breath.
"…Miyamoto."
The tension in the stands was heavy, but on the court, Kaijo felt it even more.
Yoshitaka Moriyama leaned toward Kise.
"Kise, what's the deal with this Magic Cube? Didn't he disappear for two years?"
"How does he still have that many fans?"
Kise's expression was grave.
"I don't know either. Honestly, I've never even met Magic Cube."
"I never met the first-year captain, Shuzo Nijimura, either."
"They both left in the second half of first year. I only joined in second year."
That was true.
By the time Kise joined the basketball club, Miyamoto and Nijimura had already left Japan.
Everything Kise knew about them came from the other members of the Generation of Miracles.
As for their real strength—even he didn't fully understand it.
But anyone who could hold Aomine to zero points couldn't possibly be weak.
Everyone's eyes shifted toward Kirisaki Daiichi.
The Kirisaki Daiichi players slowly stepped onto the court.
At the front were Miyamoto and Satsuki Momoi.
Behind them came Shuzo Nijimura and Shogo Haizaki.
Makoto Hanamiya and the others followed after.
The moment Kirisaki Daiichi appeared, an overwhelming pressure filled the arena.
Yukio Kasamatsu's face hardened.
"Kise, do you know which one is Miyamoto, and which one's Nijimura?"
Kise shook his head.
"No… wait—why is he here?!"
In the stands, Tetsuya Kuroko's expression suddenly changed.
"Why… is he on Kirisaki Daiichi too?"
Hyuga turned to him immediately.
"Kuroko, who are you talking about?"
On Tōō's side, Aomine spoke quietly, eyes locked on the court.
"So it's Haizaki, huh. Looks like today's your matchup with Kise."
On Shūtoku's side—
"Who's Shogo Haizaki?"
Takao asked at once.
Midorima adjusted his glasses, serious.
"Shogo Haizaki. He was our teammate in middle school, but left the basketball club because of an incident."
"To put it bluntly, Kise was his substitute back then."
Over at Seirin—
"So Kirisaki Daiichi has another Generation of Miracles?"
Hyuga's mouth hung open in shock.
Miyamoto and Nijimura were already terrifying enough.
Now they also had Haizaki—someone who once completely suppressed Kise.
Who could possibly beat this team?
Kuroko shook his head.
"Strictly speaking, Haizaki-kun isn't part of the Generation of Miracles. His talent doesn't reach that level."
"And honestly, that's exactly why Akashi-kun used certain methods to force him out of the club."
Shinji Koganei muttered,
"But even so, that's still a Sub–Generation of Miracles level player."
Kuroko nodded, his voice heavy.
"Yes. The current Kirisaki Daiichi… is extremely strong."
On the court—
"Damn it… this isn't just strong. There's no weak point at all!"
Kasamatsu's expression turned ugly.
Facing Miyamoto and Nijimura was already hell.
Now Haizaki was here too.
What kind of lineup was this?
Magic Cube Miyamoto.
Generation of Miracles captain Shuzo Nijimura.
Sub–Generation of Miracles Shogo Haizaki.
Uncrowned Kings Makoto Hanamiya.
And Kentaro Seto.
What kind of monster team was this supposed to be?
Even without coordination, they could crush Kaijo head-on.
Kasamatsu forced himself to calm down.
Giving up before the game even started was unforgivable.
If he wanted to face this, he'd need two hundred percent focus.
From the stands, Midorima watched Haizaki's figure and thought quietly,
"So this round… it's Haizaki versus Kise."