Chapter 11: No Meaning

The Generation of Miracles.

Naruto had met most of them by this point. Yuki had told him the basics of their abilities back when he had first accepted Kise's offer. Or at least, what they were capable of back in middle school. That information had been a good guide, but far from accurate. Kise, Midorima, and Aomine had shattered those expectations. Their growth was something to behold. Everyone could see that.

As it turned out, Murasakibara was no exception.

Standing against the powerful center was quite an experience. The tall teen had a totally different aura from Kise and Aomine. It was far more potent, in-your-face kind of feel. It really was like Murasakibara's aura was trying to engulf Naruto whole, like Naruto was nothing more than prey that needed to be consumed and then tossed aside like garbage.

And most of all, the difference in height. Naruto had noticed it earlier when they first met, but now as the enraged Murasakibara stood before him with the ball in hand it was like he was meeting the guy for the first time all over again.

Murasakibara truly was a different person right now. Not the sluggish, lazy teen that was always munching on snacks. But the powerful center for the Generation of Miracles, ready to decimate anyone stupid enough to stand in his way.

"I'll crush you," Murasakibara growled out. "You'll see just how cruel basketball can be."

Naruto didn't answer. He was going to stop this guy. Someone who had no respect for basketball…...there was no way he could lose to someone like that.

There was no further warning from Murasakibara. He was a man of few words, after all.

There was only his attack.

He charged forward like a tank, his feet stomping the ground with such ferocity Naruto was sure he would crack it at some point.

Naruto didn't allow himself to be distracted by that as Murasakibara rushed closer. There was no trickery in his moves, no bluffs or fancy maneuvers like Aomine.

Murasakibara didn't need to use any of that. He simply lunged forward toward the basket. Naruto jumped up to intercept him in midair, looking ready to swat the ball from his hands.

'Attacking me head-on like this…...there's a limit to being arrogant, Murasakibara!'

But Murasakibara was willing to challenge that claim as he went in with a double-handed dunk. It was frightening in a way, when Naruto saw that the powerful center had managed to jump even higher than him too.

Murasakibara's face twisted into anger as he slammed the ball through the net and right through Naruto's defense, knocking the blond back. Naruto stumbled back into the ground, just barely able to get his footing as Murasakibara hung over him from the rim.

"Huh? Is that the best you can do?" Murasakibara said mockingly as he let go of the rim and landed back on solid ground. It was a miracle that the basket hadn't collapsed from that dunk, but Murasakibara didn't pay that too much attention.

"Amazing," Yuki said from the sidelines. "I can't believe he managed to overpower Naruto-kun like that….."

He just pushed Naruto back as if Naruto was just another regular player.

Kise said nothing to this, just watching on. He already knew that Murasakibara had yet to use his most powerful move. That was when the fun was going to start.

Naruto couldn't say anything at the moment, too busy thinking on that play. He should have known this sooner, but he had confirmation now. Murasakibara was in another league when it came to physical strength. At the very least, neither Kise nor Aomine could compete with him in that area.

This just got his heart pumping faster.

'That's the way it should be,' he thought with a huge smile.

Murasakibara saw the excitement on Naruto's face and scowled. Why the hell was the blond smiling? This was no time for that.

'This guy…..'

Murasakibara was only annoyed further by this display.

Naruto had the ball next, and the two faced off against one another again. Naruto already knew that trying to get around this guy was going to be harder than last time. Now that he was playing seriously, his defense was more than formidable.

Murasakibara was simply looking to crush Naruto. Smiling in front of him like that…..it only irked him.

But in the back of his mind, a question started to form. Almost like a hazy feeling that was trying to find its way to him from the very recesses of his mind.

Why was he so aggravated? Sure, he detested players who thought that they could win with effort alone. Like they could beat natural talent if they just tried hard enough. It was one of the biggest lies in basketball as far as he was concerned. But then again, he was never quick to anger this easily. It made him motivated to crush those types of players, sure, but anger? That type of response usually took a while from him.

So why? Why was he feeling this way so easily? And why did he want to crush Naruto this badly? Was it really because of the type of player Naruto was? Or was he wrong about that?

That question started to nag Murasakibara, but he let it go for now as Naruto readied himself to attack.

There was the tense second before the play, as Naruto and Murasakibara both glared at one another. Then, Naruto pounced. His change of speed was amazing as ever, so much so that Murasakibara had to begrudgingly complimented again in his mind.

Naruto's path was towards Murasakibara's left again, but the center made sure to block it off with one easy step. This was followed by the same crossover as before, with Naruto dribbling the ball hard past his shoulder and doing a quick spin.

"Huh, who do you think I am!?" Murasakibara looked enraged that Naruto was using the same move again. That wasn't going to work twice on him!

As Naruto grabbed the ball again, he was met with Murasakibara's shadow looming over him. Unlike last time, Murasakibara had been able to to turn on his feels fast enough to catch up to him. He was slower than Naruto for sure, but those giant legs of his made him able to cut the distance with fewer steps than normal.

It was almost unfair, having limbs like that. For a Japanese player to be built like this, it was beyond rare.

While others might have buckled under this pressure, Naruto did not. He thrived in it in fact. He was already keenly aware that he wasn't going to be able to go at this with a straightforward approach. Not if he wanted to score against this behemoth.

That's why he performed a quick dribble between his legs so that he was once again going on Murasakibara's left flank.

'T'ch, this guy!' Murasakibara looked annoyed at Naruto's quick pace. He had just managed to catch up to him and cut off one route, but the blond was already on the move again. It was just like watching Aomine play.

And that hazy feeling…..

Once again, Murasakibara ignored it as as he stepped in Naruto's direction to try and close the distance between them again. Naruto saw this and knew what Murasakibara was trying to do. Not wanting to be blocked again, Naruto performed a high speed crossover that put him on Murasakibara's right side. With this, he was able to blitz right through. To Murasakibara, it was like Naruto was a cockroach, ready to take advantage of every little opening he could.

It was beyond infuriating to him.

By this point, with all of Naruto's quick-pace maneuvers, Murasakibara had fallen behind just enough for Naruto to jump for the dunk. Unfortunately for him, Murasakibara pushed his body further to the point where he was jumping right over Naruto, ready to swat the ball out of Naruto's hands. He had managed to close the gap Naruto had built just like that.

'Uzumakicchi…..' Kise's eyes narrowed while Yuki looked on in worry. Naruto had already jumped, so there was nowhere to go. To them, it seemed like Naruto was going to lose this battle too.

But then, at the last second, Naruto ducked to the side in midair and away from Murasakibara's massive hands and flung the ball like a baseball. It smacked against the backboard before dropping to the net below.

That was another point for Naruto.

Murasakibara was nothing but frustrated as the two dropped down to the ground.

Kise on the other hand had to grin widely at that. He had to admit that even he had been fooled, thinking that Murasakibara had the upper hand just now. But once again, Naruto had surprised him.

Yuki was just as excited, her eyes wide but her face flushed with happiness. 'He's definitely gotten more agile since going into Zone!'

Even someone like her could see that.

As for Naruto, he turned to the angry looking Murasakibara with an air of acceptance.

"Don't get me wrong, Murasakibara. I hate the way you think, but I can't deny it either. You're strong." He then stepped closer to him, his face changing to grim determination. "That doesn't change anything, though. I'll make sure to defeat you."

"Huh? That so?" Murasakibara had many things he wanted to say, but he didn't bother to. That would be pointless. He would simply show the blond how all those ideals were nothing when they were put up against him.

The next play was quick to come with Murasakibara on the offensive. Unlike Naruto, he had no problem just charging on in. After all, as far as he was concerned he had already proven that he had a lot more raw strength than Naruto with his first play. There was no reason to play it safe.

Yuki was worried about the same thing. 'How are you going to stop him, Naruto-kun?'

This wasn't like with Kise or Aomine. He had to find a way to stop that dunk somehow.

'No, it's not just that.' Unlike Yuki, Kise already saw it coming. What Murasakibara was planning on doing this time. But still, to pull it out like this….

'Are you that angry, Murasakibaracchi?'

Murasakibara didn't question his frustrations toward Naruto this time. Instead, he charged forward again.

Naruto stood back, sticking close to the hoop. Murasakibara's strength had caught him off guard last time, but he wasn't going to make the same mistake again.

That said, Naruto was not prepared to see Murasakibara suddenly stopping in front of the hoop rather than going all out for the dunk like last time.

'What is he planning?'

Naruto asked himself that question, but he didn't need to ponder it for long as Murasakibara was more than happy to show him. He jumped in the air and performed a spin towards the basket, with air seeming to pick up around him. This might have made other players struggle to try and intercept the dunk, but Naruto wasn't one of those players. He was able to jump on par with Murasakibara and meet him midair for the aerial battle.

'Here it is,' Kise thought, watching everything carefully. 'Murasakibaracchi's strongest dunk.'

It was completely different from the previous dunk. This was on another league when it came to power. This was the hammer of destruction, Thor's Hammer.

Naruto and Murasakibara clashed in midair, fighting for control of the ball. They used both hands for this. It was a bonafide aerial battle, and it was anyone's game. For the first time since Akashi, Murasakibara saw someone being able to stand up against his strongest move.

'But how can he….!?'

That hazy feeling returned to him again, only this time Murasakibara was able to finally realize what it was as he faced off directly against Naruto. This truth only motivated him to win further.

The two boys let out a determined shout each as they put everything they had on the line here. They were eager to destroy the other here and now.

'Who has it!? Who has the ball!?' Yuki was unable to keep her eyes away from the battle taking place before her.

There was another tense second before the winner of their little bout was finally decided.

It was Naruto, who managed to finally push the ball out of Murasakibara's hands just before he could be overpowered.

"Uzumaki," Murasakibara growled as they descended to the ground.

Naruto felt more sweat start to drip from his forehead. If he had faced off against Murasakibara several months back, then he would have surely lost just now. Back then, he had been too afraid to use the overwhelming power his body oozed.

But things were different now. He wasn't going to hold back against anyone. His ascendance into Zone proved that.

Kise was more than surprised this time. He knew Naruto was powerful. In physical strength, Kise had to begrudgingly admit that Naruto had him beat. But to be able to stop Murasakibara's Thor Hammer?

'You're still growing, aren't you?'

That thought lit another flame within Kise. He wasn't going to let Naruto get ahead of him so easily. No way.

Yuki simply smiled. She didn't fully approve of all of this, but she didn't want to see Naruto lose either.

'This guy is different.' That was Murasakibara's thought as Naruto walked to the ball. That hazy feeling had finally been cleared up, and Murasakibara now understood why Naruto was putting him one edge like this.

"You, you're Uzumaki Naruto, aren't you?"

"Huh?" Naruto picked up the ball before glancing at him. "Yeah?" He had shared his name with the guy, right? So why was he asking for it now?

Murasakibara had forgotten about that name, but now that he was seeing Naruto play he was able to remember.

'That video Masako-chin showed me….'

It was the video of the practice match between Kise and Naruto. Murasakibara had frankly forgotten about it. It had been months since he watched it, after all. But at that time, a familiar feeling had been building up inside Murasakibara when he watched it. A feeling that made him want to play against the blond, something he had only felt with four other people.

Naruto had the same air as them, as the Generation of Miracles. That's why Murasakibara was so easily frustrated. It was because he had the instinct to win against him, more than anybody else around. Naruto's personality simply confused him with that of Kuroko's and his silly beliefs.

But Murasakibara was sure of himself now. He was sure Naruto was a talented player. He was like the rest of them. Those flashy moves were proof of that.

'Well, this changes nothing.'

Murasakibara still intended to win. However, at the end of the day, he knew Naruto's words were cheap. He was talented. That's all.

That didn't mean he was going to lose. Far from it.

Naruto was completely unaware of Murasakibara's thoughts. To him, this one-on-one hadn't changed from the beginning. He intended to correct Murasakibara's way of thinking. That's all.

If only he knew that was impossible for him to do. His actions here had no meaning anymore. He was simply wasting his time.

As Naruto and Murasakibara faced off once more, Naruto saw another shift in Murasakibara's demeanor. Anger was still in the mix sure, but it was more tamed now. More focused. Now, it looked like Murasakibara was more determined than angry.

Just what was going through his head right now?

Naruto decided to let it be and shot Murasakibara a smirk.

"You gave me an interesting challenge earlier. Allow me to pay you back."

There would be no tricks this time.

Murasakibara's eyes narrowed, not replying.

Naruto was fine with that as he charged ahead. Murasakibara was expecting another fancy set of moves from the blond, but none came this time. It was truly a straightforward attack.

'I'm going to dunk right through you!'

Murasakibara took this challenge to heart. "Huh!? Who's underestimating who now!?"

The two boys jumped into the air at the same time again. Murasakibara found that Naruto jumped higher than before. He still had another level?

'He's not joking around,' Murasakibara realized. He totally intended to try and dunk right through him.

Yuki could only gape at this. "Is he an idiot!?"

No wait, he was. He was a total idiot. If anything, she shouldn't be surprised by this.

But still...!

Kise just watched on in silence, but inside his head he was smiling. He wouldn't expect anything else from Naruto.

There was another round of determined shouting from both Naruto and Murasakibara as they faced off head-on in midair for the second time. Naruto had both hands on the ball as he zoned in on the basket. But Murasakibara was there to block it. It was the same situation as before, only in reverse now.

Naruto's eyes widened a little when he saw Murasakibara's oppressive aura return. Only it was more potent this time. He was getting stronger by the second.

Naruto felt himself be pushed back, and annoyingly enough a moment later the ball was sent flying out of his hands.

Murasakibara was able to win this round.

"The two of them are evenly matched," Yuki noted, no longer sure of where this face off was going. Not just that, but she was still amazed that Murasakibara was able to match Naruto in physical strength. She had never seen anyone else be able to do that before

Kise wasn't so sure of that, though. Naruto still had a big ace in the hole, something Murasakibara wasn't able to counter.

Zone.

'If Uzumakicchi went that far…..'

But the question remained. Could Naruto enter Zone again? Kise wasn't sure if he himself could. He was still trying to figure out how he had entered it in the first place. Aomine would probably know more about that. He had more experience with the Zone than any of them.

For now, the one-on-one would continue.

Things descended into a more chaotic time after that. Yuki couldn't really describe what she was seeing. It was like the one-on-one had become a show of physical strength and not about the points.

"Murasakibara!" Naruto shouted with ferocity as he managed to push through the boy's massive hands and dunk.

But that victory was short lived as Murasakibara was quick on the comeback with the next play, With a fierce shout and another spin in midair, Murasakibara was shoving the ball right through the net and over Naruto.

It had been around twenty minutes now since they had started this, and both boys were sweating profusely. It was a slow climb, as they found that they were truly evenly matched when it came to their raw strength. Naruto was also finding that Murasakibara was getting better reacting to his moves. His reflexes were improving more and more as the match continued. Trying to score against him was just...

'Yeah, easier said than done.'

Once again, Naruto was forced to admit that Murasakibara was a strong player. Outside of the Generation of Miracles, he was positive that no one else could go toe-to-toe against him like this. It's probably why he looked down on others as much as he did.

"Bastard, why won't you get crushed already?" Murasakibara panted heavily. He hadn't played this hard against anyone before. Not since he had first started out playing basketball.

"Don't you think it's about time we stopped them?" Yuki asked. This had gone on far longer than she would have liked.

Kise smirked. "Yeah, you try telling them that."

The model knew there was no way Naruto or Murasakibara were going to stop now. Both had four points. The moment of truth was coming next.

Sadly, fate had other plans in store as their unofficial match had to come to an sudden and abrupt end.

"What do you two think you're doing!?"

All four teens froze when Takeuchi's voice reached the court. The man wasn't alone either. Next to him was Masako Araki, the head coach for Yōsen. The woman carried her usual shinai sword, tapping it over her shoulder as she glared at Murasakibara.

"Urgh, Masako-chin." Murasakibara grimaced when he saw the woman. From the look on her face, he already knew he was in trouble.

"T'ch, first you say you're not going to play today, and then you disappear? Who do you think you are?"

Naruto, Yuki, and Kise all sweatdropped when they saw the woman start to beat Murasakibara with the sword, smacking him in the back repeatedly.

"It wasn't my fault!" Murasakibara tried to explain himself, but it was no use. The woman was beating him too much for that.

'S-Shouldn't that be considered abuse?' Yuki wondered to herself. But more than that, she was impressed that the woman was able to keep Murasakibara in line like that.

"You shouldn't be worrying about him right now."

Naruto and Kise paled when they saw Takeuchi marching towards them.

"H-Hey there, coach!" Naruto tried to be upbeat about the situation, but that ended up failing miserably as the man grabbed both him and Kise by their heads and started dragging them off the court.

"W-What's this for!? Shit, this hurts!" Naruto thought only Kasamatsu's kicks could hurt this badly!

"M-My head! I need that for modeling, coach!"

"Shut it, both of you! You're lucky no officials saw you, otherwise you would have been disqualified from the tournament!"

"But it was just a friendly match-!"

"Shut it, Uzumaki! I don't need to hear a word from you! And you, Sugawara. Keep them in line next time!"

"Y-Yes, I'm sorry!" Yuki didn't know why she was suddenly bowing to the man, but she did it anyway.

"D-Dammit, how could this end so poorly like this!?" Naruto was more than just disappointed with an ending like this. He was sort of angry with it in fact. Heck, he wasn't even going to be able to give Murasakibara any parting words!

So uncool.

"You shouldn't have played in the first place! Now come on and shut up. And Sugawara, grab their stuff. We don't need either of these morons stepping back in the court anytime soon."

"Y-Yes!"

"But I didn't do anything!"

Kise's cries of protests were ignored, as were Naruto's.

In the end, neither side got to say their goodbyes as the two coaches cleared the area.

It was truly an ending without meaning.

"Pfft-ahahahaha! So you got chewed out! Oh, this is priceless!"

"Shut it, Moriyama. Before I decide to let out my frustrations on you."

"It was sort of your fault, though. What were you thinking?"

"The guy pissed me off. What was I supposed to do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Walk away like a normal person?"

"Now you're starting to sound like Yuki, Kobori. That's not good for you."

"Don't start, Naruto-kun. You're in timeout right now."

"W-Wait, what? How's that fair!? What about Kise!?"

"He didn't play in an unofficial match, now did he?"

"You're just playing favorites, Yuki!"

"I'm not, and sit down already!"

Naruto was all grumbles and curses as he was made to take his seat up in the viewing area with the other spectators. The rest of the team was there too, as Takeuchi had dragged them there and told them to stay put.

As it turned out, the game hadn't actually started yet. There had been a small delay. Why? Naruto didn't know, and he was too annoyed to care. His precious match against Murasakibara had been stopped, after all. It felt like he had accomplished nothing despite all the effort he had put in.

Talk about a waste of time.

And what was up with the coach's reaction anyway? He looked extra frustrated for some reason. It didn't make any sense in Naruto's mind.

"That is an interesting story, though." For once, Kasamatsu was nonchalant about the whole situation. Probably because Naruto had already been punished so he didn't need to do it himself. "If Murasakibara isn't playing today, then the odds are in Rakuzan's favor."

"But why would Yōsen even agree to something like that?" Nakamura asked, not understanding the logic behind it.

Naruto just shrugged. "Beats me."

It was a stupid deal regardless. Murasakibara just throwing the game out like that, it really irked him.

Kasamatsu frowned. "There has to be more going on here."

Probably, but what? No one had an answer.

'As usual, Akashicchi doesn't do anything halfheartedly,' Kise thought with a bitter smile.

No more words were said as the two teams started to appear on the court below. Surprisingly enough, Naruto saw that Murasakibara was with his team.

Was that why the game was delayed? Because Murasakibara had been absent?

The Rakuzan players started to trickle in soon after, and it was here where Naruto finally saw the final member of the Generation of Miracles with his own eyes.

Akashi Seijūrō. He didn't look imposing as the others. In fact, his physical built was probably the most average out of the Generation of Miracles. Even so, there was no denying the fact that he carried a huge presence on the court.

"So that's the former captain of the Generation of Miracles," Yuki said, her eyes studying the redhead. For some reason, he made her feel uneasy. And she wasn't even near him.

"And those three." Kasamatsu looked at the three other starters in Rakuzan's team. "They're the Uncrowned Kings, right?"

They didn't carry the same presence as Akashi, but Naruto could still feel a dangerous air around them.

They were definitely not to be underestimated either.

The novelty of finally seeing Akashi for the first time wore off real fast, though, and Naruto only got more frustrated when he saw that neither Akashi nor Murasakibara stepped up to the starting lineup on the court.

Neither one of them was playing today it seemed.

"So that's how it is." Kasamatsu finally understood why Yōsen had agreed to not have Murasakibara play today.

Because Akashi wasn't going to play either. Both members of the Generation of Miracles were going to be absent for this game.

"H(o)w is t(h)at (e)ven le(g)al!?" Hayakawa exclaimed, feeling just as frustrated as Naruto.

"That's the type of person Akashicchi is," Kise explained, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter how ridiculous his demands may be. He'll find a way to get them done, one way or another."

Yuki almost gulped at that explanation. "He sounds kind of scary…."

She had no idea.

Naruto scowled. "Whatever, this game is totally pointless now."

There was no reason to watch it as far as he was concerned.

"Just shut up and watch," Kasamatsu said. "Even if Murasakibara and Akashi are staying out of this, whoever wins this match will be our opponents in the finals. So watch closely."

He said that, but Naruto had no interest. Not even the so-called Uncrowned Kings invited his attention.

This game no longer interested him.

Despite Naruto's feelings towards the match, that didn't stop the rest in the audience from getting excited. Even as he excused himself to go to the bathroom, he could still hear their shouts of excitement here and there.

At least they were enjoying themselves today.

Naruto decided to let his frustrations of the day go. Regardless of how he felt, he couldn't change how his match with Murasakibara went, nor could he change Murasakibara and Akashi backing out of their match. He would just have to be content that he was facing one of them in the finals later.

He could vent then.

Regrettably, life wasn't going to let him off the hook that easily. Naruto figured this out when he saw another person appearing on the opposite end of the hallway. It was Akashi, who was also heading to the bathroom.

The two teens stopped on opposite sides of the entrance when they spotted the other, the two locking eyes with one another.

Naruto simply stared at the former captain of the Generation of Miracles. The guy probably didn't know who he was, but this was still a bizarre coincidence.

Akashi began to smile. Except his smile made Naruto feel agitated for whatever reason. Almost like he was already being looked down on.

"So you're Uzumaki Naruto."

Okay, scratch that. So he did know who he was. That made things a lot easier then.

"It's a bit earlier than expected, but it's a pleasure to meet you."

For some reason, Naruto doubted the greeting was sincere. He still took it.

"Yeah, same here."

Akashi continued to smile as he made to step into the bathroom. "I look forward to facing you against the finals. Thanks to you, things won't be as boring as I predicted."

Say what?

"Are you that confident your team will win?"

Akashi stopped but didn't face him. "I am. Even if Atsushi were to play, the outcome would be the same."

"Then why did you tell him not to play?" Naruto scowled. "And why aren't you playing? What's the deal with all of this?"

"Hm? Oh, that." Akashi turned to him, his smile gone now. "There is no meaning. It just wouldn't be interesting."

The hell? That was his reason? What the hell kind of thought process did this guy have?

"The outcome is already a given, and Atsushi isn't one to waste his energy on pointless affairs. That's why he accepted my offer. The championship game would have been the same I reckon."

"Heh, all you Generation of Miracles." Naruto nearly spat out the same, his hands clenching at his side. "You all have a way of easily pissing me off, you know that? But fine. If you're so confident you'll be in the finals, then I don't mind taking you on. I'll make sure to win, though."

"Don't get carried away, Uzumaki Naruto." Akashi's eyes gained a dangerous gleam to them. "I did say it would be interesting, but that's not the same as me admitting defeat. I am the absolute. Even if I'm facing my former teammates, victory will always be on my side. You can be sure of that, for I'm never wrong."

Oh yeah. Murasakibara had nothing on this guy where arrogance was concerned.

But that just made it all the better for the blond.

"Then I'll be the first to prove you wrong. I can promise you that."

Another smile reached Akashi's face.

"You're welcomed to try."

The stage was set. Naruto had made his challenge, and Akashi was willing to accept it. Neither boy was going to hold anything back against the other.

The finals were almost upon them.