Chapter 120: I’m the Weakest One

"Ow, that hurt! What was that for?"

"Sorry to interrupt your reunion, but since I came all this way, it'd be rude not to say hello properly, right?"

Everyone turned toward the voice—it was Kagami Taiga, full of fighting spirit.

For the past few days, all he'd heard was "Generation of Miracles, Generation of Miracles"—now that he was finally face-to-face with one, he couldn't wait to throw down.

"Come on, let's play a little one-on-one."

"…Alright."

Kise didn't refuse. He casually took off his jacket and stepped onto the court.

Off to the side, Kuroko looked worried. He turned to his coach.

"This isn't going to go well, Coach."

"Hm? What do you mean, Kuroko?" asked Riko Aida, puzzled.

But just a second later, her eyes widened in shock.

Kise had mimicked Kagami's exact move from earlier—slam dunking the ball right over him.

Kuroko explained calmly, "Kise-kun can perfectly copy any move he sees… after seeing it just once."

"That's not just imitation," Riko thought. "He's faster and more explosive than Kagami… and he's not even wearing proper gear—just his school uniform and casual shoes!"

And yet he was still overwhelmingly better.

So this is the Generation of Miracles…?

Everyone at Seirin was stunned, especially seeing Kagami sprawled on the ground after being dunked on.

And then they remembered what Kise had said earlier: he's the weakest one among them.

Then how strong are the others?

Kise didn't push the match further. He lost interest.

"Now I kind of understand how Little Tendou and the others felt," Kise said, casually rolling his neck. "When your opponent is so much weaker… it's hard to stay motivated."

He walked over to Kuroko.

"Let's play together again, Kurokocchi. Come join my team!"

…Huh?

So he came to poach someone?

The members of Seirin were shocked. Over the past few days, they had seen how unique Kuroko's playstyle was. They had plans to build their team's foundation around him and Kagami.

"I genuinely respect you, Kurokocchi. It's a waste for you to stay in a place like this, don't you think?"

Waste your head!

They could tell from Kise's tone and expression that he wasn't joking—he truly didn't think much of Seirin, including Kagami.

That deep-rooted contempt stung every member of the team.

As expected, Kuroko turned him down without hesitation.

Soon after, Kise left, and the practice ended.

While cleaning the gym, Hyuga Junpei noticed Coach Riko looking troubled.

"Something on your mind, Coach?"

"I was just thinking about what Kise said earlier… and I can't stop worrying about it."

"Oh, that…"

Hyuga's expression turned serious too.

"If Kise wasn't messing with us—if he really is the weakest among the Generation of Miracles—then we're in big trouble."

"Yeah… if someone that strong is considered the weakest, I really can't imagine what the rest are like."

"Maybe he was just being humble? I mean, come on… can you really get that much stronger than Kise?"

Izuki Shun chimed in, trying to stay optimistic.

After all, Kuroko had said it himself—Kise improves fast. Maybe he'd just caught up with the others during that time gap.

But Riko shook her head.

"No, he wasn't joking."

Everyone turned to her.

"Huh? Coach, how can you be so sure?"

"Because I've seen Teikō play in person."

Riko exhaled deeply. This year's nationals were not going to be easy.

"I went with my dad to see a game when I was in my second year. At the time, Kise wasn't even a starter yet. But the others…"

Even back then, the rest of them were already that strong.

Especially that Teikō captain…

And from what she knew, this year's Tokyo region has three members of the Generation of Miracles.

"Three?! That many?!"

"Yes. From what I've gathered: Midorima Shintarō went to Shūtoku, Aomine Daiki joined the powerhouse Tōō…"

Each one had found a top-tier team.

Seirin's own roster only had a fighting chance with the duo of Kuroko and Kagami. But now they learned each of the major schools had a Miracle on board.

The challenge ahead was enormous.

"What about the last one?" someone asked.

"Kirisaki Daiichi. The captain of the Generation of Miracles—Tendou Kageyoshi—chose to join them."

"…What?"

Kirisaki Daiichi?!

The moment they heard the name, everyone's face turned grim.

The first-years didn't understand, but the upperclassmen clenched their fists.

"You're all first-years, so you probably don't know. But Kirisaki Daiichi has a terrible reputation. They're known as the 'Ace Killers.'"

"Last year, we made it all the way to the round-robin. We were so close to the nationals in our first year… and then…"

"Then we faced Kirisaki Daiichi. Our starting center, Kiyoshi Teppei, got injured. He's still recovering now."

Izuki added quietly.

Just hearing that name was enough to bring back all the trauma.

Seirin was a brand-new team, only founded the previous year when Kiyoshi transferred in. Their coach was just a first-year student, Riko Aida.

With high hopes, they charged through the prelims… only to get dismantled by Kirisaki Daiichi.

Their only memories of that game were dirty plays and brutality.

...

『Wait, wait, wait—Tendou's in Tokyo too?』

Online, viewers blew up with reactions.

『Tokyo's stacked now—Aomine, Midorima, Kuroko, Tendou?!』

『That's not the point! Tendou's team has a notorious reputation!』

『Makes sense—it's Tendou! Dude never takes the normal route.』

『Lowkey wanna see what life's like for him at Kirisaki Daiichi. Tendou with a bunch of dirty players? That's gonna be hilarious.』

『Come on, director, give the people what they want!』

The producers absolutely knew what the audience wanted.

Right after the ED ended, they slipped in a bonus scene—a flashback to Tendou's first day at Kirisaki Daiichi.

It was… unique, to say the least.

Where other basketball clubs were practicing, this one was playing games, messing around, and playing shōgi.

"Nice to meet you. How about we do something a little more… intense?"

Next thing you knew—

Kirisaki Daiichi's bad boys were all on their knees.