Kuroko no Basket : Before the Generation of Miracles Formed

"Um..." 

"Are all the people here planning to join the basketball team?" 

While Shigure Akito was watching the skill demo, the guy with bangs covering his eyes—someone Shigure had been paying attention to earlier—suddenly spoke in a gloomy tone. 

A few nearby rookies were startled. 

"Whoa!" 

"You scared me!" 

"Uh..." 

"Yeah." 

"Don't you know? If you've played basketball before, this is common sense. This school's basketball team is from a famous powerhouse. This level of competition is to be expected." 

"Oh, by the way, I'm Matsukata Hiro. What's your name?" 

"Fukaya Reiji..." 

Shigure Akito glanced back. It was obvious that after hearing this conversation, the bangs guy, Fukaya Reiji, looked even gloomier. Compared to the bright and energetic rookies around him, his already weak presence seemed to shrink even more. 

Kurobe Shinji, with eyes sharp and intense like Nijimura's, gave Fukaya a glance before smirking and saying, 

"What's this guy doing at Teiko if he's so lacking in confidence?" 

"Don't underestimate him, Shinji." 

Shigure Akito turned to look at Kurobe Shinji, pointing at Fukaya Reiji and then gesturing toward Nijimura Shuzo's position. 

"This bangs guy has some real skills." 

"But..." 

"If we're talking about the strongest rookie here, it should be that guy." 

After all, based on the character setup, this guy was personally invited to the team by Coach Shirogane. From the way Coach Shirogane treated him earlier, you could tell how much he valued him. 

After hearing Shigure Akito's words, Kurobe Shinji didn't think too much about how the other guy judged strength. Instead, he unexpectedly looked at Nijimura Shuzo and said, 

"Ah, it's that delinquent..." 

Shigure Akito: "?" 

"You know him?" 

"Tsk, I ran into him by chance. Anyway... what kind of regular middle school student rides around on a stolen bike?" 

Shigure Akito: "..." 

Well, that did sound about right. 

The most delinquent thing Nijimura Shuzo had done was ride a stolen bike around. In the manga, he was a calm and reliable captain with excellent leadership and charisma. But before that, he was this wild. 

Amid the discussions of the new recruits, Coach Sanada Naoto clapped his hands in front of the rookie lineup and said, 

"Alright, everyone, listen up. Before we begin the team tryouts, there's one important point you all need to understand." 

"That is, the Teiko basketball team's principle: Everything is centered around victory." 

"This goes for games..." 

"And it goes for practice too..." 

"Teiko's training intensity is, without a doubt, far above the level of regular schools. You all need to think carefully about this before deciding whether to join the Teiko basketball team." 

"If you're only here to mess around and treat Teiko basketball like just any regular club activity, then I suggest you leave now." 

Sanada's gaze swept over the group of boys, making sure no one was leaving. Once he was certain, he continued, 

"Before we start introductions, I need to give everyone a ranking based on the results of the physical ability test and skills test. Your results will determine whether you make the first, second, or third team." 

"Only those who make the first team will be able to wear the Teiko jersey in official games. But that's still a long way off for you." 

"Based on past rookie performances, only a few will make it to the second team right away, while the majority will stay on the third team." 

"These tests will be held regularly, so don't give up if you end up in the second or third team. Keep working to improve and aim for something higher." 

"Basketball skills aren't built overnight. For now, focus on getting into the second or third team." 

"That's all!" 

Once Coach Sanada finished speaking, whispers immediately spread through the rookie lineup. 

"I've heard the same thing. So far, no one has made it straight to the first team in their first-year tryouts." 

"Guess that means we can only aim for the second team." 

"For me, I might not even make it into the third team..." 

"Who knows what kind of tests they'll have. Anyway, second team is my goal!" 

"Let's all do our best!" 

Nijimura Shuzo, impatient. 

Kurobe Shinji, fierce yet tense. 

Fukaya Reiji, hunched and looking unsure of himself. 

Shigure Akito's gaze moved over the group of boys one by one while quietly listening to the murmurs around him. His expression gradually became more determined and excited. 

Because this moment... 

It was perfect. 

Since he had entered a world centered around sci-fi basketball, he was definitely going to develop his skills in that area. 

The Generation of Miracle monsters wouldn't join the team until next year, and the five key players without titles were still in their first year. This whole year was the perfect chance for him to use the system to boost his "strength." 

When the Miracles finally joined, he'd make sure those little punks understood what "Welcome to Teiko" really meant! 

"This is great~" 

"Everyone's hair doesn't have any color~" 

Shigure Akito couldn't help but sigh, thinking about the lack of a Miracle Generation at the moment. Kurobe Shinji scratched his beige short hair and complained, 

"Akito, I've noticed... your focus today is really weird. And didn't you see that I changed my hair color?"

"No~" 

"You're different~" 

"I mean the kind that's born with it..." 

Having naturally colored hair is what's really cool in this world. 

Of course, that doesn't include someone like me. 

Welll...

Nijimura Shuzo, whose name literally has "rainbow" in it, is probably an exception too. 

After all... 

The Generation of Miracles is the "Rainbow Team" combined, and Nijimura Shuzo alone has "rainbow" right in his name. 

If it weren't for his father getting sick and stepping down as captain, then Nijimura Shuzo would have graduated and gone to America, it's hard to say what kind of level of skill he would have reached. Probably even the author wouldn't know. 

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