Kuroko no Basket : Before the Generation of Miracles Formed

Soon. 

Shigure Akito and Nijimura Shuzo stood on the court. 

To Akito, when Nijimura looked at him, there was a sharpness in his eyes, like a beast hunting its prey. But there was no excitement in his gaze, only the usual confidence that came with winning. 

"Nijimura Shuzo." 

At that moment. 

Nijimura suddenly spoke. 

Shigure Akito paused for a moment, then, realizing the other was introducing himself, he automatically responded, 

"Shigure Akito." 

Off to the side, 

Shirogane smiled slightly. 

He clearly remembered that when Nijimura faced the second team earlier, the kid didn't bother with any "polite" self-introduction. 

On the other side, 

The new players and second-team members quietly gathered towards the court where Akito and Nijimura were, whispering among themselves. 

"Looks like it's finally happening, a showdown between these two monster rookies." 

"Just like we expected..." 

"Ugh..." 

"I'm kind of nervous..." 

"Yeah, even though we're just watching, you saw their monster-level skills earlier." 

To prevent the match between the two from affecting the ongoing team trials, this round was changed from 21 points to 11 points. 

Don't underestimate the influence of their match; just look at the other players and assistants glancing over here to understand how much attention this showdown is drawing. 

At the side of the court, 

Sanada passed the ball to Akito, 

Then, blew the whistle to signal the start of the match. 

On the court, 

Nijimura looked intensely at Akito, 

"I hope you can hold up better than that weakling from before..." 

Shigure Akito: "..." 

This guy... 

He definitely can't be treated like the later 'Captain Nijimura.' 

His personality is more aggressive than Haizaki's, though lacking the pure malice. No wonder he later focused on Teiko's player, Haizaki Shogo. 

It's like he's seeing his old self, huh? 

Akito gripped the ball, feeling the updated attributes and the sense of flexibility that filled his whole body. In that moment, he felt like he was in a whole new world! 

He glanced towards the basket… 

With a flick of his fingers, 

The ball spun in his hand for two full circles. 

"I feel the same. The thrill I'm expecting in this match, I hope your defense isn't as flimsy as that second-team player's..." 

"Nijimura Shuzo." 

When Akito spoke, Nijimura's expression froze for a moment, 

Then, a smile appeared on his icy face, the first sign of warmth today. 

"Flimsy..." 

"That's a perfect description..." 

This guy... 

... 

Akito starts with his triple-threat stance. 

From his earlier observation of Nijimura, he knew that Nijimura's defense would be strong—he had already expected this deep down. 

However, facing Nijimura's defense head-on, he has two new abilities that complement each other, so he is still confident about this. 

The most important thing is, even though the system didn't pop up with a task prompt like before, 

It's most likely because the 'New Player Benefits' have already been fully claimed. 

No matter how he looks at it, defeating a key character like Nijimura should yield something like 'coins' or something similar, right? 

And he had to admit, gaining new attributes and abilities, and then competing on the court—it was starting to get him really excited. 

At this moment, 

Shigure Akito, was about to face Nijimura Shuzo, the future captain of the Rainbow team!

Boom~! 

Boom~! 

Boom~! 

He could even clearly hear his heart pounding with excitement! 

On the court, Nijimura's defense, just like Ijichi's earlier, had a bit of space left—if it were Ijichi, Akito would've taken a shot without hesitation to punish him. 

However, 

Now that the opponent was Nijimura, 

Even with this defensive distance, the pressure on Shigure Akito's shot was on a completely different level compared to Ijichi Hiroshi.

Because Nijimura's defensive footwork was exceptionally fast. 

After all... 

This was the guy who could purposely let someone into the paint, 

Then easily catch up and block them. 

But on the other hand, Nijimura, maintaining this safe distance, could guard both Shigure Akito's shots and drives, which showed that he was taking this matchup more seriously than before. 

After watching Nijimura's game, Akito decided not to use the 'Smooth Standing Three-pointer' or the more advanced 'Moon Gaze Step-back' into 'Smooth Standing Three-pointer' anymore. 

Because it was obvious that with Nijimura Shuzo's speed and blocking height, even if the shot wasn't blocked, it would likely still be contested. 

Then... 

*Dribble.* 

*Dribble.* 

*Dribble.* 

With his triple-threat stance, Shigure Akito made a quick step forward and broke through! 

The first move to break Nijimura's defense was a feint into a 'Moon Gaze Step-back' followed by a 'Step-back Instant Drive'! 

[Godai Tomokazu·Moon Gaze Step-back: Feints a forward drive, then uses a crossover step to pull back with the Moon Gaze.] 

[Nobunaga Kiyota·Step-back Instant Drive: Steps back to gather power, then instantly explodes with strong speed to break forward again.] 

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