As the bell rang, the class advisor finished dismissing the class.
Ueno slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked toward the neighboring Class B.
At that moment, Class B was also dismissed.
Seeing Kurumatani Sora, Ueno raised his hand in greeting.
"Sora-kun."
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Ueno-kun."
Ueno shook his head slightly and smiled. "I just got out of class too."
While talking, the two walked toward the school gate together.
Seirin was also in Tokyo.
So they only needed to take the subway, and they would arrive quickly.
Seirin High School.
A new school that had only been established for about two years.
And this school could be said to be a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.
It had the Iron Heart of the Uncrowned Kings, Kiyoshi Teppei.
The Phantom Sixth Man of the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko Tetsuya.
There was also Kagami Taiga, who had come from America and possessed infinite potential.
Along with several teammates with good potential.
It could be said that although Seirin High School wasn't the strongest high school right now, it certainly had the strongest potential.
On the subway, Kurumatani glanced at Ueno and asked curiously, "Ueno-kun, why are we going to Seirin?"
Several figures flashed through Ueno's mind as he smiled faintly. "To see our future opponents—very powerful future opponents."
"Oh."
Hearing this, Kurumatani nodded thoughtfully.
Seirin High School.
Seirin Basketball Court.
At this moment, the atmosphere on the Seirin basketball court was somewhat tense, as everyone's eyes were fixed on the uninvited guest—Kise.
Ignoring the angry glares from the others, Kise looked at Kuroko and smiled. "Kurokocchi, how about it? Would you consider coming to our school?"
"No."
Kuroko looked at Kise and shook his head without any hesitation, refusing directly.
Hearing this, Kise immediately covered his face with one hand, looking particularly heartbroken.
Just then, a basketball shot toward Kise with explosive force.
His eyes narrowing, Kise instinctively raised his right hand and grabbed the air directly in front of him.
Thud!
Looking at the basketball he had intercepted and feeling the pain in his right hand, Kise's gaze turned cold as he looked toward the person on the court.
"Oops, sorry. My hand slipped."
Meeting Kise's icy gaze, a smile curled on Kagami's lips. Although he said he was sorry, there wasn't a hint of apology on his face.
Looking at Kagami, Kise's eyes darkened.
"You're really irritating."
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Captain Hyuga Junpei and Coach Aida Riko looked at Kagami with bewildered expressions.
What was going on?
But they quickly reacted and glanced with lingering fear at the uninjured Kise, before roaring at Kagami Taiga, "Kagami! What are you doing?!"
"Didn't I say? My hand slipped."
"..."
Such an obvious shot, and you're saying your hand slipped? Several black lines instantly appeared on Riko's forehead.
Looking at Kise, Kagami crooked his finger at him and smiled provocatively. "Hey. You wanna play a round?"
Hearing this, Kise's gaze grew colder.
The rest of the Seirin team was stunned, mostly feeling speechless and helpless toward Kagami.
"Fine."
Kise was already in a bad mood because of Kuroko's refusal. Now, faced with Kagami's repeated provocations, his anger finally surfaced. He nodded with a cold laugh.
Taking off his jacket, Kise smiled at Kuroko and tossed it over. "Kurokocchi, hold onto this."
Walking toward Kagami, Kise rolled his wrists.
"I'll play a few rounds with you. Don't disappoint me."
"I hope you're ready not to disappoint me instead."
Their gazes collided.
In an instant, the atmosphere on the basketball court dropped to freezing point. The others instinctively cleared the space, leaving the court to the two of them.
Seeing this, Riko could only sigh helplessly and watch as Kagami Taiga and Kise began their duel.
Since she couldn't stop it, she decided to properly observe the strength of Kaijo's ace. Without hesitation, Riko pulled out a small notebook and began recording.
In the stands.
Kurumatani, who had just arrived with Ueno, looked at the two players on the court with curiosity.
"Ueno, who are they?"
Looking at the figures in the distance—both familiar and strange—Ueno smiled faintly.
"The red-haired one is Seirin's ace, Kagami Taiga. The other is Kaijo's ace, Kise Ryota—one of the Generation of Miracles."
"Two aces? Generation of Miracles?"
Hearing this, Kurumatani's interest was immediately piqued. His eyes lit up as he focused on the duel.
Although he loved basketball, Kurumatani didn't know much about the Generation of Miracles.
But he knew one thing.
They had built a middle school dynasty.
And he also knew that Ueno had once scored while all five regular members of the Generation of Miracles were on the court.
So—
Ueno should be even stronger.
After silently glancing at Ueno beside him, Kurumatani turned his attention back to the court.
Seeing Kurumatani watching so intently, Ueno also began carefully observing the match between Kagami and Kise.
At this stage, Kagami Taiga was no match for Kise.
However, once both reached their peak in the future, they would be evenly matched.
In terms of raw power, Kagami might have a slight edge.
But in speed and technique, Kise held the advantage.
Without taking his eyes off the court, Kurumatani asked, "Then who's stronger right now?"
Resting his arms on the railing, Ueno answered after a moment of thought. "For now, Kise."
"Kaijo's ace?"
"Yeah. He's dangerous. He can copy other people's moves."
"Copy… special moves?"
Kurumatani stared at him in shock.
"That's right."
Ueno nodded, his gaze turning serious.
He wondered whether Kise would be able to copy Beast Intuition if he entered the Zone.
After all, once Kise entered the Zone, his copying ability would skyrocket—allowing him to reproduce even Aomine's formless shots, or fragments of Akashi Seijuro's Emperor Eye.
Hearing this and looking at Kise, Kurumatani's eyes filled with excitement.
"That's awesome… I really want to play against them."
"You will."
Ueno spoke calmly.
And silently added to himself—
Very soon.
Before Ueno came to Tōdai High School, the Tōdai basketball club had never signed up for official tournaments.
Not just because of their strength, but because of their numbers.
They only had seven members.
Even if they registered, a prolonged match would exhaust them completely.
Any injury or foul trouble would be fatal.
They needed at least four or five substitutes.
And honestly, Tōdai's overall level wasn't impressive.
But now—
Things were different.