After warm-ups ended, Shintaro Midorima stepped off the court and said to the coach, "Coach, I won't be playing in this game."
Masaaki Nakatani rested his elbows on his thighs, clasped his hands together, and propped his chin against them.
He looked at Shintaro Midorima, then glanced at Ryota Kise, who had been sitting on the bench the entire time, and said calmly, "Is it because of Kise? I understand."
After that, Masaaki Nakatani arranged for Shintaro Midorima's substitute to take the court in his place.
The rest of Shūtoku were already used to this.
For Shintaro Midorima, once he acknowledged someone as an opponent, he would face them with everything he had.
If an opponent he acknowledged could not play for some other reason, then he would also choose not to play.
Of course, he would only do this when his team's strength was comparable to the other side's, or when they were capable of beating them.
If his team were truly at a disadvantage, Shintaro Midorima would still step onto the court.
Once the players from both sides entered the court, the semifinal match began.
Neither Shintaro Midorima nor Ryota Kise played. Both of them sat on the sidelines, watching the game.
Miyamoto Tokima seemed to be watching the match from the stands, but in truth, his thoughts had already drifted far away.
'There have been more and more Chinese-run shops opening in Japan lately. At this rate, things here might change completely after the National Tournament...'
'Wait.'
Miyamoto Tokima's heart skipped a beat, and his expression shifted.
If Japan really ended up being absorbed into China, then the so-called National Tournament would change too.
Wouldn't it become part of that country's national competition?
Holy shit.
Miyamoto Tokima froze, suddenly feeling like his guess was probably right.
If that happened, then Japanese teams would have to compete against teams from other regions.
'This might really be Japan's last National Tournament.'
If things turned out the way he imagined, it would get interesting.
The biggest question was how many representative spots Japan would get.
If there was only one, the competition would become brutal. A lot of players might even have to transfer schools.
And in the end, the most likely result would be the reformation of the [Generation of Miracles].
No.
Miyamoto Tokima suddenly looked at Atsushi Murasakibara, who was still eating potato chips beside him, and thought, 'That probably won't happen anymore. Murasakibara's already one of mine now.'
Miyamoto Tokima smiled faintly.
'Things are getting interesting. I just wonder how strong their basketball really is.'
He even started wondering whether their basketball was the same as it had been in his previous life.
Basketball back then... well, it was hard to put into words.
Still, at least there was soccer to make it look better.
After all, no matter how bad basketball got, it still couldn't be worse than soccer.
...
At that moment, inside a mountain villa.
Miyamoto Hiroshi sipped his tea while answering a phone call.
"I understand, Dad. It'll be settled soon. Probably after Miyamoto Tokima's run in the National Tournament ends."
"I know. Miyamoto Tokima's basketball ability is no joke. As for the basketball scene over there... heh, let's not even talk about it."
"It really is time they got a wake-up call. After all these years, they still haven't made any real progress."
"It's a complete mess!"
"Soccer? Dad, Miyamoto Tokima doesn't play soccer. I don't know what to do about that either..."
"Alright, alright, I got it. I'll try to get one more team slot when the time comes. There seem to be a few interesting kids here who are pretty good at basketball too."
"Okay, I'm hanging up, Dad. Take care of yourself over in the U.S. You have to..."
Beep, beep, beep...
Before Miyamoto Hiroshi could finish speaking, the call had already been disconnected.
"Seriously? I wasn't even done talking. Fine, next time I'm not bringing him any fancy tea!"
Michiko slowly walked in and asked, "What happened? What did Dad say?"
Miyamoto Hiroshi slowly took a sip of tea and said, "The old man told me to hurry up and get everything finished. But you know how it is. Turning a country into a province means there's a lot that needs to be done."
Michiko comforted him, "Dad's just anxious. You know, people of his generation have basically been waiting for this their whole lives."
"But you should still move at your own pace."
Miyamoto Hiroshi nodded.
"Yeah. Kōsei Shōta and I have already discussed it. Once the National Tournament ends, we'll make the official announcement."
"When that happens, Japan will officially become part of China."
Michiko smiled and said, "Since we're in such a good mood today..."
Miyamoto Hiroshi froze, then hurriedly said, "Uh, I still have something to handle, so I'll be going..."
After saying that, Miyamoto Hiroshi stood up and prepared to leave.
Michiko's expression changed instantly, and she snapped, "Stop right there!"
Miyamoto Hiroshi stiffened and froze in place.
Michiko continued sternly, "Go take a shower. I'll be waiting in the bedroom!"
Miyamoto Hiroshi wanted to cry but had no tears left. All he could do was turn around miserably and head toward the bathroom.
Miyamoto Hiroshi rubbed his waist with a miserable look. "Sorry, partner. Looks like we're on duty again tonight."
...
Back at the game venue.
The match had already ended. Shūtoku High School won with a final score of 103 to 93.
It was worth noting that Shintaro Midorima had not stepped onto the court for the entire game.
After the match, Shintaro Midorima stood up and shook hands with Ryota Kise, who walked toward him.
Ryota Kise forced back his sadness, managed a smile, and congratulated him.
"Congratulations, Midorimacchi."
Shintaro Midorima remained perfectly calm and said lightly, "I simply did everything humanly possible and left the rest to fate."
Ryota Kise shook his head with a bitter smile and said, "Good luck in the next match."
Shintaro Midorima replied calmly, "Yeah. I will."
After that, Ryota Kise turned around in low spirits and followed the rest of Kaijō out of the court.
With that, Kaijō High School's Winter Cup journey had officially come to an end.
Miyamoto Tokima also stood up with the rest of Kirisaki Daiichi and left the court.
The next match would be Rakuzan High School vs. Seirin High School.
As for that match...
Miyamoto Tokima was still somewhat interested.
He wanted to see which one would fully erupt in this game. Taiga Kagami's protagonist aura, or Seijuro Akashi's second-personality chuunibyou side.
He was actually looking forward to it...
...