Kuroko Tetsuya suddenly spoke up. "Coach, let me play!"
Aida Riko had no other choice and wanted to send Kuroko in, but she hesitated because of his stamina. "Eh? But… your stamina…"
"It's fine. I've already rested enough."
Aida Riko nodded and signaled to the referee.
"Beep—!"
Seirin requests a substitution.
Kuroko replaces Koganei.
Hayakawa frowned. "That weird first-year kid is back on."
Kasamatsu Yukio grew cautious. "We still have the lead. Just stay steady."
They couldn't let the team's morale waver now.
Meanwhile, on a road in Kanagawa, a rickshaw was moving slowly. Takao Kazunari pedaled hard in front. "Damn it, it was just rock-paper-scissors while waiting for the red light, and you haven't pedaled even once!"
"Of course. This morning's horoscope said today's luckiest sign is Cancer."
Sitting comfortably in the back, Midorima Shintaro, his left hand wrapped in bandages, sipped his drink calmly.
"Does that really matter? By the way, coming all this way just to watch a practice match—they must be pretty good if they were your middle-school teammates."
"The Copycat kid and the Inconspicuous kid…"
"Are they really that good?!"
"Hurry up. The game is almost over!"
"Eh? That's only because you insisted on watching that horoscope program!"
Takao roared.
Back in Kaijo's gym, Izuki Shun advanced with the ball. His eyes met Kuroko's for a moment, and he immediately understood.
Izuki suddenly accelerated past Kasamatsu, stopped abruptly, and threw the ball toward the sideline. The strange move made Kaijo's players freeze.
Just as the ball was about to go out of bounds, Kuroko flashed like a ghost, leaping lightly and flicking the ball with his right hand. The ball arced perfectly behind Kise Ryota.
Kise turned sharply, surprise in his eyes. "Oh no!"
Kagami Taiga was already behind him. He caught Kuroko's pass and sprang up, spinning in mid-air before slamming the ball into the hoop.
Bang!
"Nice!" cheers erupted from Seirin's bench.
After landing, Kagami pumped his fist. "Good job!"
Kuroko remained expressionless and nodded slightly.
Kise stood with hands on hips, smiling helplessly. "I knew it, Kuroko-cchi. You're still such a headache."
Kaijo's coach frowned on the sidelines. "Concentrate! Don't let them control the pace!"
Aida Riko smiled in satisfaction.
Kaijo's ball. Kise Ryota on offense.
Kise stood outside the three-point line, dribbling casually, looking at Kagami. Sweat dripped from Kagami's chin.
Suddenly, Kise accelerated with a between-the-legs dribble and spin. Kagami shifted quickly, but Kise was too fast.
Then a fair hand flicked the ball away from an impossible angle.
"What?!" Kise turned and saw only a flash of blue hair.
Kagami dashed out like red lightning. In an instant he was at the rim, leaping high and slamming the ball in.
"Beautiful!"
"Kagami! Kuroko!"
Aida Riko gripped her board, eyes shining.
Shidou Ryusei suddenly laughed on the bench. Takeuchi Genta and the substitutes looked at him in confusion.
Seeing their gazes, Shidou said, "I finally understand why Kise wanted to recruit that guy named Kuroko."
Takeuchi Genta was even more confused. When had Kise tried to recruit him?
Watching Kuroko, Shidou finally understood Seirin's tactics: using Kagami as bait, combining Kuroko's low presence with Misdirection passes to link the team.
Kise walked toward Kuroko. "Well, Kuroko-cchi, even I'll get angry if you keep this up!"
Throughout the second quarter, Kise switched to solo offense, while Kagami and Kuroko refused to back down. The scores kept rising.
By halftime: Kaijo 51, Seirin 36.
In the third quarter, Kuroko played half the time, then rested again.
Seirin narrowed the gap to ten points.
After Kuroko left the court, Seirin relied on pick-and-rolls and motion offense to hold on. The score reached Kaijo 64 – Seirin 50.
The gym smelled of sweat. Kuroko rested silently on a chair, his presence almost nonexistent. Kagami's jersey clung to his back.
Hyuga gulped sports drinks while breathing heavily. "End of the third quarter, 64–50."
Aida Riko paced, planning for the fourth quarter.
On Kaijo's side, Kasamatsu, Hayakawa, and Moriyama massaged their legs.
Kise slumped on the bench, leaning against Shidou. Shidou looked disgusted. "Take off the weights. Playing with them too long will damage your body."
"Eh? Shidou-cchi, why didn't you say so earlier?"
"You didn't ask."
A heavy thud sounded.
Kise stood and removed the weighted belt from his waist. It fell with a dull sound.
He stretched, relieved. "Ah… this feels great!"
"Hey… you're kidding…" Koganei's pupils shrank.
Kise had been wearing weights the whole game?
Aida Riko's board dropped. In her eyes, Kise's physical data rose again. "Weights… he was wearing weights the entire time…"
Cold sweat formed on Kagami's forehead. "Is he looking down on us?"
Hyuga's face turned serious. Wearing weights through a match showed overwhelming strength.
The Seirin bench fell silent. Kuroko stood up, staring at Kise.
"Kuroko…" Kagami asked uncertainly. "Was Kise wearing weights before?"
Kuroko shook his head. "No. Kise-kun usually hates endurance training… This is the first time I've seen him wear weights. But it also means he's about to get serious."
"Serious?" Izuki exclaimed. "He played three quarters with weights and is only getting serious now?"
Aida Riko picked up her board. "Kuroko is right. With Kise removing the weights, the fourth quarter will be critical, especially since we're still behind."
Kagami clenched his fists, battle spirit blazing. "Interesting… that's more like it. If the opponent doesn't give it their all, winning means nothing."