Chapter 176: Kaijō’s Kise Ryota
Buzzer!
Halftime.
Kaijō ultimately failed to hold the line and walked into the locker room trailing by 20 points.
Kise Ryota felt like his head was a swirling mess. He said a few words to the coach, then stepped outside for some air.
Outside the gym.
He unexpectedly ran into Kuroko.
The two old teammates shared a brief conversation.
"You came all the way here just to cheer me on?"
"No. I just happened to be training nearby."
Kise was at a loss for words. Internally, he grumbled that all his former teammates had the most unapproachable personalities.
Even Kuroko, who looked like the most harmless one of the bunch, had a razor-sharp tongue.
He took a deep breath to steady himself and asked,
"So, Kurokocchi, who do you think will win—me or Tendou?"
"Tendou-kun will win."
Once again, Kise was left speechless. He shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Well… yeah. I guess no one really thinks we're going to win."
But still—
Looking back now, the wins always used to feel so natural.
Only now did he realize—games where the outcome wasn't certain, those were the ones that made his blood pump.
Whoosh.
A gust of wind lifted his bangs, revealing a pair of bright golden eyes.
...
Kirisaki Daiichi locker room.
The troublemakers were still reeling from Kise's sudden burst at the end of the third quarter.
"Hey, boss… was that guy serious?" Hanamiya asked, still brooding over that steal.
He really didn't want to face another Tendou Kageyoshi—not even a knockoff version.
"Probably serious," Tendou replied, eyes closed as he focused on recovering.
Next to him sat a container of honey lemon slices, lovingly made by Momoi.
Still not sliced—just cut into chunky wedges, like three massive lemon segments.
Still just as hard to eat!
"So then what do we…"
"Just keep the status quo."
Tendou told them not to worry.
Right now, what caught his attention was the constant tick of his system:
[Popularity +1]
If Tendou had been the protagonist of the Seirin match, then in this second battle against Kaijō—
the spotlight now belonged to Kise Ryota.
The production team had given Kaijō and Kise a lot of screen time. You could say the last few episodes had been a full-on Kise special.
As for himself?
As always, he played the role of the final boss.
Tendou decided to just follow the production team's script: maintain steady pressure on Kise and Kaijō, and highlight the beauty of overwhelming stats.
And it seemed to be working.
After all, outside the main cast, the final boss always got the most spotlight.
"Next, I'll just keep the pressure on Kise. Maybe add some subtle inner monologue for flair?"
...
Halftime passed quickly.
Fans rushed back to their seats the moment they were done with the restrooms.
The point gap was still a massive 20 points, and with twenty minutes left on the clock, a comeback was theoretically possible.
At this moment—
All of Kaijō's hopes rested on one man:
Kise Ryota, the Generation of Miracles' very own.
Kise—
The liveliest player at Teikō, affectionately nicknamed the team's "sunshine boy."
He got along with everyone on the team.
But there was no denying that, among the Generation of Miracles, he was the weakest.
Back then, Teikō had a surplus of small forwards.
There were three in total—Tendou, Haizaki, and himself.
Kise was the lowest-ranked of the trio.
If Haizaki hadn't quit the team out of nowhere, Kise might never have inherited that "Miracle" title at all.
He was thrilled to be acknowledged alongside Tendou and the others.
But the reality was—during those two years at Teikō, his on-court performance didn't measure up to anyone else's.
Most of their opponents gave up before the match even began, crushed by Tendou and the others.
In practice, he'd go one-on-one with Tendou and Aomine, and lose every time—
Three rounds, two clean sweeps.
Aomine used to grumble that he was "annoying as hell."
He lost again and again, but never gave up—
He just kept asking for another match.
In his short life of just over ten years, Kise had tried many sports.
His first was baseball.
He still remembered the excitement he felt the first time he stepped on the field.
But the excitement quickly faded.
After that, he jumped from one sport to another, never sticking with any of them.
He couldn't find something worth dedicating himself to.
Until he arrived at Teikō—
That one afternoon when he was hit in the head by a stray basketball.
That's when he met the sport that would change his life.
But his joy didn't last long—his new teammates beat him down until he saw stars.
He couldn't beat those two.
And then there was Haizaki, who humiliated him constantly in front of everyone.
The worst time?
Haizaki even stole his "girlfriend" right in public and mocked him on the spot.
It didn't matter whether it was true or not.
The point wasn't getting "cheated on"—that wasn't even real.
What truly hurt was Haizaki saying:
"You're the weakest guy on the team."
Kise didn't want to be the weakest.
Then Tendou stepped up—right there in front of everyone—and beat Haizaki down.
He even exposed the girl's pathetic lies while he was at it.
From that day on, Kise made up his mind:
He would become a player like Tendou.
Just as cool. Just as unstoppable.
But even so—
They still lost to Kirisaki Daiichi by 20 points in the first match.
And today… even now…
...
Back to the court.
Kise felt every gaze locked on him from all over the court.
His heart was steady.
He, Kise Ryota of Kaijō, was going to accomplish something almost everyone believed to be impossible.
At the baseline, Kasamatsu Yukio received the inbound pass and immediately began thinking about how to break the press.
Kirisaki Daiichi had come out swinging at the start of the half, and the lead had now grown to over 20.
If the gap kept growing, it was over.
And that's when he noticed—Kise hadn't moved upcourt.
Instead, he was motioning for the ball.
Tendou caught it instantly—he turned around just as Kise's gaze met his.
Kise caught the pass and immediately assumed a shooting stance—
Right at the center circle.
"…What…"
Everyone from Shūtoku turned pale.
That pose—so familiar, and yet so foreign.
"Shintarō?!"
Midorima didn't respond.
He just stared intently, as if his eyes were locked in place.
"Kise's copying… is it really complete?!"
"Is that even possible?!"
The Seirin players widened their eyes, not daring to blink as they watched Kise's every move.
A shot that could span the entire court—it wasn't just about power. The timing had to be impeccable.
They saw Kise bend deeply at the knees, preparing thoroughly before launching himself into the air.
His form—it was exactly like Midorima's.
Even the left-handed release was perfectly replicated.
For a split second, people swore they were seeing Midorima himself.
Then—
The ball flew from his fingertips.
An impossibly high arc, like it might crash through the ceiling.
It soared over everyone's heads—past half court, past the three-point line—
BOOM!
A white splash of net.
The ball tore through the rim and smashed into the hardwood with a thud.
A second later—
The entire gym erupted.
"WOOOOOAAAAHHHH!!"
...
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