The next day.
The joint training camp between Kaijō High School and Seirin High School officially began.
Both teams arrived early at the meeting point as agreed.
As soon as the Kaijō players showed up, Ryota Kise waved enthusiastically and called out:
"Kuroko, Kagami, good morning!"
Tetsuya Kuroko waved back.
"Good morning."
Taiga Kagami had dark circles under his eyes and looked completely drained. In response to Kise's greeting, he muttered:
"Not good at all."
The next second, Ryota Kise slung an arm over Taiga Kagami's shoulder and grinned.
"So, Little Kagami, did you even manage to fall asleep last night?"
Taiga Kagami's face twitched. He shoved Ryota Kise away and replied stubbornly:
"Of course I did. I almost beat Miyamoto Tokima in my dream!"
Ryota Kise froze for a second, then burst out laughing.
"In your dream... almost beat him... hahaha, Little Kagami, you're hilarious."
Taiga Kagami clenched his fists.
Yeah, that's right. His fists were itching.
In reality, Taiga Kagami hadn't slept at all. After getting schooled by Ryota Kise again, he ended up lying awake the whole night.
No wonder he looked like this.
At that moment, Riko Aida stepped forward.
"Alright, quiet down. Everyone from Kaijō, since your coach had something come up, I'll be leading this training camp."
As she said that, a bright, beautiful smile appeared on her face.
"Which means, during this camp, you'll all be following my training program."
The Seirin players shuddered at that familiar smile, goosebumps rising instantly.
The Kaijō players, however, still hadn't realized how serious things were.
A first-year girl training us to death?
You guys think we're scared?
Please, we're fearless.
That night.
The Kaijō players lay sprawled on their beds like corpses, despair written all over their faces.
Ryota Kise was the worst of them. The lively sparkle he had that morning was completely gone, replaced by a hollow, lifeless look.
Taiga Kagami walked in after his shower. The moment he saw Kise like that, he burst out laughing.
"What's wrong, Kise? It's only the first day."
Ryota Kise weakly waved a hand, on the verge of tears.
"Yeah, yeah... I know. Just let me sleep."
Seeing him like this, Taiga Kagami felt like he had finally gotten his revenge.
They had chosen a beach for this training camp. In both the morning and afternoon, Riko Aida put them through what could only be described as brutal, hell-level training.
Of course, her father's influence was clearly behind this program.
Seirin was already used to this kind of targeted, high-intensity training and could manage it.
But Kaijō was different. This was their first time experiencing something like this, and they were completely overwhelmed.
And so, the joint training camp between Kaijō High School and Seirin High School continued.
.......
Time flew by, and before long, it was the Summer Cup semifinals.
Four teams had made it this far:
Shūtoku High School, Rakuzan High School, Tōō Academy, and Kirisaki Daiichi.
All four teams had members of the [Generation of Miracles]. Among them, Kirisaki Daiichi even possessed the [Magic Cube], which surpassed the [Generation of Miracles]!
Each school had strong fan support, but Kirisaki Daiichi had the largest following.
After all, their strength was simply terrifying.
The semifinal matchups were quickly announced:
Shūtoku High School vs. Rakuzan High School
Kirisaki Daiichi vs. Tōō Academy
"So it's Aomine again?"
Miyamoto Tokima muttered as he looked at the bracket.
"Akashi versus Midorima... honestly, I'm kind of looking forward to that."
Shuzo Nijimura nodded.
"Yeah. I heard from Haizaki that Akashi's gotten ridiculously strong too. I'm curious to see how he stacks up against Midorima."
Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly.
"Then let's go watch."
The first match, Shūtoku vs. Rakuzan, was scheduled for the morning.
Kirisaki Daiichi vs. Tōō Academy would take place in the afternoon.
So Miyamoto Tokima and the others headed to the stands on the day of the match.
Notably, while Tōō Academy and many other schools were present, Seirin High School and Kaijō High School were nowhere to be seen.
Of course, hardly anyone noticed.
The stands were huge. It wasn't like anyone was checking attendance.
As the match time approached, Shūtoku entered the court first.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
"Go, Shūtoku!"
"Come on, green-haired guy! Shoot Rakuzan to death!"
"I don't know why, but I just want to see Rakuzan lose!"
On Shūtoku's side.
Led by Masaaki Nakatani, the team walked steadily onto the court.
Taisuke Otsubo led at the front, his expression serious.
Shintaro Midorima held a frog plush in his left hand, his face as calm as ever.
Kazunari Takao looked around excitedly, unable to sit still.
Smack!
"Focus. Don't embarrass us."
Kiyoshi Miyaji smacked the back of his head and muttered.
Kazunari Takao held his head and nodded.
"Got it, Miyaji-senpai."
After entering, the Shūtoku players began warming up.
Midway through, the crowd suddenly stirred.
Rakuzan had arrived.
"Imperial Rakuzan! Keep ruling!"
"Shūtoku doesn't stand a chance, Rakuzan's got this easy!"
"I heard they've got a first-year who became captain right away—and he was the captain of the Generation of Miracles!"
"Then he must be insanely strong! A captain has to be stronger than the rest!"
On Rakuzan's side.
Led by Eiji Shirogane, they walked onto the court.
Behind him were three figures.
They were three of the [Uncrowned Kings]:
[Herculean Strength] Eikichi Nebuya
[Thunder Beast] Kotaro Hayama
[Yaksha] Reo Mibuchi
They played center, small forward, and shooting guard respectively.
Seeing them, Shintaro Midorima adjusted his glasses. His gaze seemed to pass right through them, focusing on what lay behind.
"Akashi... let's have a proper match."
But just as anticipation rose in his eyes—
He realized something.
Seijuro Akashi wasn't there.
Midorima's expression froze for a moment. Then, as if understanding everything, he said nothing more and turned back to continue his shooting warm-up.
In the stands, the Kirisaki Daiichi players were also momentarily stunned.
Miyamoto Tokima was the first to speak.
"He's not playing? That really is like Seijuro Akashi."
That was exactly how his second personality operated.
He had already warned them not to play.
If they insisted on going against him, then fine—he would let them do as they pleased for now.
He'd crush them completely in the Winter Cup instead.
That kind of arrogance, pride, and absolute self-assurance...
It fit Seijuro Akashi's second personality perfectly.
Shuzo Nijimura let out a helpless sigh.
"I really don't understand how Akashi ended up like this."
...
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