It was a card. Of course, it was not a bank card, just a specially customized card.
There seemed to be a few words written on it.
Bye.
Everyone looked at the card in Satsuki Momoi's hand in confusion.
Holding the card, Satsuki Momoi explained,
"Because there are nine high schools, the organizers decided to have the nine schools draw lots to determine which school would receive a bye."
"And as the coach, I naturally went to participate in the draw. Luckily, I drew the bye."
The entire Kirisaki Daiichi gym fell silent...
Then, cries of shock erupted.
"What??!! A bye??!!!"
The Kirisaki Daiichi players looked at one another, completely dumbfounded.
A bye in the very first round of the National Tournament!!!
What kind of heavenly luck was that?!
Everyone looked at Satsuki Momoi with envy and astonishment.
There was nothing they could do about it!
The luck goddess was right here in the flesh!
Satsuki Momoi merely smiled it off.
She turned to Miyamoto Tokima and said with a smile,
"What do you think, Tokima? My luck isn't bad, right?"
Miyamoto Tokima patted her head and praised her.
"It's good. Very good. Much better than my terrible luck."
In truth, Miyamoto Tokima had originally wanted to do the draw himself, but when he thought about his own luck, the kind that only ever hit pity...
He gave up.
At first, Miyamoto Tokima had also been confused when he saw that there were nine high schools.
Not only that, when he saw the names Fukuda Sōgō and Seihō High School, he was even more confused.
Fukuda Sōgō was also a school that made it into the Winter Cup in the original story.
But do not forget, in the original story, Fukuda Sōgō had Shogo Haizaki!
To put it plainly, Fukuda Sōgō in the original story had been carried into the Winter Cup entirely by Shogo Haizaki.
But now, Shogo Haizaki was at Kirisaki Daiichi, yet Fukuda Sōgō had still made it into the National Tournament.
That was truly defying the heavens. No, wait, following the heavens!
But Seihō was the one truly defying the heavens.
In the original story, Seihō did not even participate in the Winter Cup preliminaries.
Yet after the rules changed this time, not only did Seihō participate, they even managed to make it into the National Tournament!
They tied with Fukuda Sōgō and entered the National Tournament together.
It was ridiculous!
But it did not matter. To Miyamoto Tokima, whoever came was all the same.
After the Winter Cup preliminaries ended, the National Tournament came next.
Of course, there was still some time before the National Tournament began.
So the high schools that had entered the National Tournament seized this period to practice nonstop.
Their goal was to secure a good ranking at the National Tournament.
Time passed.
Soon, the opening ceremony of the National Tournament began.
Under Miyamoto Tokima's lead, the entire Kirisaki Daiichi team stood at the very front of all the high schools, listening to the opening speech.
The other schools kept glancing toward Kirisaki Daiichi, whether intentionally or not.
After all, the shock Kirisaki Daiichi had brought them during the Summer Cup had been far too great.
After the opening ceremony ended, the first match would be held that afternoon.
Seirin High School vs. Kaijō High School.
Because of that, Seirin High School and Kaijō High School did not leave after the opening ceremony. Instead, they stayed inside the gym to rest.
They were preparing for the afternoon match.
The other high schools did not leave either, because they also wanted to watch that afternoon's match.
After all, knowing yourself and your opponent was the key to winning every battle.
Over on Seirin's side.
Riko Aida asked with a thoroughly annoyed expression,
"Why isn't Kagami here yet!!!"
Junpei Hyuga broke into a cold sweat and quickly said,
"Kagami said he'll be here soon. He said he just got over his jet lag."
Riko Aida clenched her fist.
"That idiot!!!"
While they were talking, Tetsuya Kuroko's phone rang.
Tetsuya Kuroko picked up his phone and glanced at the text message. Then he put it away and said,
"Um... I have something to take care of, so I'm going out for a bit."
Hearing that, dark lines practically appeared over Riko Aida's head as she asked,
"Didn't I tell you not to run around? We have a match this afternoon!"
Tetsuya Kuroko quickly waved his hands and explained,
"Um... I'm not running around. It's... Akashi-kun is looking for me."
The moment he said that, not only Riko Aida, but everyone else froze as well.
Junpei Hyuga's expression stiffened slightly, and he muttered,
"The captain of the [Generation of Miracles]?"
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded.
Seeing that, Riko Aida could not really say anything more.
"Fine. Just remember to come back early."
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded, then turned and left.
Riko Aida was still a little worried, so she said to Kōki Furihata,
"Furihata, follow him and take a look."
Kōki Furihata nodded and followed after him.
Over at Kirisaki Daiichi.
While Miyamoto Tokima was chatting with Satsuki Momoi, his phone suddenly rang.
Then, as if something strange had taken hold, Satsuki Momoi's phone rang as well.
The phones of Shogo Haizaki, Shuzo Nijimura, and Atsushi Murasakibara also slowly began ringing one after another.
Miyamoto Tokima frowned, as if he already knew who had sent the message.
He took out his phone and checked.
Sure enough, it was Seijuro Akashi!
Satsuki Momoi looked at the message and asked,
"Tokima, should we go?"
Atsushi Murasakibara and the others also looked at Miyamoto Tokima, waiting for his decision.
If Miyamoto Tokima did not go, they would not go either.
Miyamoto Tokima exchanged glances with everyone, then smiled and said,
"Of course we're going. Seijuro Akashi invited us, so how could we not?"
And so, everyone followed Miyamoto Tokima and headed outside.
Tetsuya Kuroko slowly walked toward a building.
Kōki Furihata followed behind him.
The two had just arrived when they heard a lazy voice.
"Hey, Tetsuya, you even brought a bodyguard?"
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses and murmured,
"If I hadn't seen him, I probably wouldn't even have noticed Tetsuya Kuroko had arrived."
Ryota Kise arrived at the scene just then.
"Huh? Everyone's here? Kuroko's here too!"
Kōki Furihata was stunned.
Wasn't Akashi supposed to be looking for you? How did this turn into a [Generation of Miracles] gathering?
You guys are having a reunion, so is it really okay for an outsider like me to be here?
Kōki Furihata was now caught in an awkward spot.
Daiki Aomine spun a basketball and said impatiently,
"Speaking of which, isn't that guy Akashi here yet? He called all of us over, but he's the last one to arrive?"
Shintaro Midorima said calmly,
"That is simply the kind of person he is. Have you still not understood that by now?"
Step, step, step...
Footsteps slowly came from the top of the stairs.
A figure gradually appeared.
Everyone turned to look at that figure.
The figure slowly came into view, revealing his true face.
Seijuro Akashi!
Seijuro Akashi stood on the stairs. He did not speak right away, instead sweeping his gaze over everyone present.
Then he frowned.
Those people had not come.
Seijuro Akashi thought Miyamoto Tokima and the others would not be coming. Just as he was about to speak, he saw several figures slowly walking toward them.
Step, step, step...
...
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