Shuzo Nijimura paused for a moment, then asked,
"Do you know him, Miyamoto Tokima?"
Miyamoto Tokima nodded.
"Yes."
"Then what's so special about him? Earlier, Seijuro Akashi said he'd surprise me,"
Shuzo Nijimura said.
Miyamoto Tokima didn't answer directly. Instead, he smiled and kept a bit of suspense.
"Don't worry, Nijimura-senpai. Tetsuya will definitely shock you."
Hearing that, Shuzo Nijimura grew interested in Tetsuya Kuroko standing outside the door.
"Then I really need to see this for myself. Let's start the evaluation."
Seijuro Akashi cut in,
"Nijimura-senpai, I think it would be better to evaluate him through an actual game."
Shuzo Nijimura stroked his chin thoughtfully. After a moment, he nodded.
"That makes sense. I'll go talk to the coach."
Shuzo Nijimura turned and walked over to the assistant coach, speaking to him in a low voice.
Training sessions were usually overseen by the assistant coach. Coach Shirogane either observed from the elevated platform or went off to handle other matters, and rarely supervised practice directly.
After listening to Shuzo Nijimura's suggestion, the coach glanced toward Tetsuya Kuroko outside the door. When he learned that Kuroko had been recommended by Seijuro Akashi and was acquainted with Miyamoto Tokima, he nodded and agreed to test him through a match.
Soon, the coach organized two teams and placed Tetsuya Kuroko into one of them for evaluation.
At first, Kuroko showed nothing particularly impressive. His presence was faint, and he failed to catch the coach's interest at all.
However, after Kuroko exchanged a few words with his teammates, everything changed.
The atmosphere on the court suddenly became strange. Whenever Kuroko's team went on offense, the basketball would inexplicably curve midair, landing precisely in the hands of the teammate who was in the best position.
The unnatural trajectory of the ball stunned everyone on the court—and not just those playing.
On the sidelines, the coach and Shuzo Nijimura were equally shocked. This was the first time they had ever seen someone play like this.
Kuroko barely held the ball, and in fact almost never touched it directly. Instead, relying on his extremely weak presence, he redirected the ball to the most suitable teammate.
The bizarre passing alone was shocking enough, but even stranger was the fact that Tetsuya Kuroko himself seemed to vanish entirely from the court.
It was precisely this ability that made him such a unique existence in the game.
Shuzo Nijimura stared in disbelief and exclaimed,
"Hey, hey, hey—what on earth is going on here?"
Seijuro Akashi explained calmly,
"Misdirection. It's a technique often used in magic—guiding the viewer's line of sight."
"For example, before passing, he uses eye contact and movement to draw the defender's attention to the ball or another player."
"That way, someone with an already faint presence like him disappears from the court like an illusion."
Shuzo Nijimura asked,
"So you predicted this would happen?"
Seijuro Akashi smiled faintly.
"No. He performed even better than I expected."
Beep!!!
The match ended quickly, with Tetsuya Kuroko's team emerging victorious.
The coach, along with Miyamoto Tokima and the others, walked over to Kuroko, who was catching his breath. The coach spoke up,
"Congratulations. You've passed the evaluation. I hope you'll work hard in the first team."
Hearing that he had made the first team, Tetsuya Kuroko's lips curved into a smile. He then nodded firmly.
At that moment, Daiki Aomine and the others arrived on the court and walked over to Miyamoto Tokima.
"What happened, Tokima?" Aomine asked.
Miyamoto Tokima pointed toward Tetsuya Kuroko.
"Tetsuya's in the first team now."
Daiki Aomine turned his head. When he saw it was Kuroko, he lit up with excitement.
"Seriously, Tetsuya?"
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded.
Daiki Aomine's smile grew even wider. He was genuinely happy for Kuroko—because only he knew how much effort and hardship Kuroko had endured to reach this point.
Atsushi Murasakibara, munching on potato chips, looked down at Kuroko and said flatly,
"Oh, you're the guy from that night."
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses and complained,
"Murasakibara, don't eat snacks in the training area!"
Murasakibara replied indifferently,
"I'm hungry."
Shogo Haizaki was the last to enter the court. Chewing gum, he walked over and stopped beside Miyamoto Tokima.
When he reached him, Haizaki pulled out a piece of gum from his pocket, handed it over, and asked,
"Want some?"
Miyamoto Tokima took it, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth.
"Thanks."
For some reason, ever since that day he had been beaten, Shogo Haizaki seemed to treat Miyamoto Tokima with a lot more respect. Miyamoto Tokima didn't think it was simply because of the fight.
In the original story, Haizaki wasn't the type to change just because he lost once. Even now, Miyamoto Tokima didn't really understand what was going on with him.
Still, this was fine. At least it meant Haizaki wouldn't cause him any trouble.
Chewing his gum, Miyamoto Tokima extended his hand toward Tetsuya Kuroko and smiled.
"Tetsuya, welcome to the first team."
Tetsuya Kuroko smiled, reached out, and shook his hand. He nodded firmly.
"Yeah."
At this moment, because of Miyamoto Tokima's influence, Seijuro Akashi was no longer fixated solely on victory. As a result, he didn't say his usual line about victory being the only mission.
Everyone warmly welcomed Tetsuya Kuroko, and Miyamoto Tokima even suggested going out to eat together after school.
Daiki Aomine and Atsushi Murasakibara immediately raised both hands—and feet—in approval. Seijuro Akashi had no objections to joining everyone either.
Shintaro Midorima, because of that earlier "I believe in you" from Miyamoto Tokima, trusted him deeply and didn't refuse the invitation.
Shogo Haizaki, for reasons unknown, never turned down Miyamoto Tokima's requests.
As for Satsuki Momoi, it was even simpler—how could she possibly refuse an invitation from her own boyfriend?
And so, after training, Miyamoto Tokima and the others headed straight to a nearby yakiniku restaurant.
Once inside, they ordered grilled meat and celebrated Tetsuya Kuroko's joining the first team.
Feeling everyone's care and warmth, Kuroko's eyes reddened for the first time. This was a kind of friendship beyond what he had shared with Ogihara Naruhiro, and he treasured it deeply.
Everyone ate heartily while sharing interesting stories from the past. Tetsuya Kuroko listened with a smile, never interrupting, simply soaking in their warmth.
After the meal, he said his goodbyes to Atsushi Murasakibara, Seijuro Akashi, and Shintaro Midorima, before heading home together with Miyamoto Tokima and the others.
On the way back, Daiki Aomine said to him,
"Tetsu, you might get to play in the next game. You'd better be ready."
Tetsuya Kuroko nodded firmly.
"I will, Aomine-kun."
(PS: Just to add—there are many forms of slacking off. With so much time in a day, does slacking only count during games or practice? Slacking off at other times still counts. Even cutting corners in training is a form of slacking. Don't think it only matters during matches or practice.)
(PS: Training can't really be slacked off because Kōzō Shirogane is watching. At most, the protagonist can only take it easy. But games absolutely can't be thrown. If you slack off in matches, what's the point of getting stronger? Isn't the whole point of "slacking to get stronger" about enjoying games and winning?)