29 Chapter 28

Ichigo felt embarrassed when he heard Ogiwara comparing him to great basketball players like MJ or LeBron. Deep down, he knew that he wouldn't have achieved the same level of skill without his system.

He laughs embarrassingly. "I won't really put myself at that level," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, you're right," Ogiwara said. "Because in that game against Teiko, you exceeded that level. You're like the god of basketball. That's why the magazines taunt you as the King of Miracles," Ogiwara added in a teasing manner.

Ichigo, hearing that, just rolled his eyes in irritation, as he was tired of hearing people call him the King of Miracles.

Ogiwara, seeing him roll his eyes, teased Ichigo, "Or do you like the other names they gave you? Like the Father of Miracles or Daddy Miracle?"

Ichigo's mouth twitched just hearing that creepy nickname. "I'm not gonna lie, that nickname was pretty sus," he said.

"Sus? What does sus mean?" Ogiwara asked, perplexed by the word Ichigo used.

"Nevermind," Ichigo shrugged and didn't answer, as he didn't know how to explain it to Ogiwara.

Seeing that Ichigo didn't want to answer his question, Ogiwara just stayed silent as they rested their bodies.

After a few moments of silence, Ichigo said, "Since you don't want to team up, at least tell me what teams you are planning to join."

"I'm still not sure this time, as I am waiting for my friend to decide," Ogiwara replied.

"Friend? The one from Teiko?" Ichigo asked. He didn't know if Ogiwara was going to do what he was thinking, but if it was true, that was kind of scary.

"Yeah," Ogiwara confirmed. "After our win, I called him to tell him that we won. At first, he was skeptical and didn't believe me. But the next day, he called me, shocked that we had really beaten his team," Ogiwara said.

He continued, "When he heard the news that we defeated his team, he was really emotional. At first, I thought maybe he was sad that they were defeated. But then he explained to me that he was actually happy that we beat them. I was shocked that he thanked me. I don't really know what's going on with his team, but I'm happy that we at least contributed to the betterment of his team and teammates," Ogiwara told Ichigo with a smile on his face.

"And after that, we talked about the game. That's when he proposed that we team up in high school. He said that since we won against Teiko, we are now the team to beat going into high school," Ogiwara said.

"At that time, I still didn't know where I would go, so hearing his proposal, I immediately accepted it. And that's also one of the reasons why I won't be teaming up with you in high school, as Kuroko already asked me first," Ogiwara said, feeling sorry.

Seeing Ogiwara's face, Ichigo consoled him, saying, "Don't worry about it. He's your childhood friend, so it's only logical for you to accept his invitation."

"But promise me this," Ichigo looked at Ogiwara with a serious face. Ogiwara, seeing his serious expression, straightened up and listened to what Ichigo was about to say.

"Promise me that you will not cry after I destroy your team in high school," Ichigo said.

Hearing what Ichigo said, Ogiwara was dumbfounded. But after a moment, he just laughed. "That's what I need to say to you. Promise me you won't cry after I dethrone you as the 'King'," Ogiwara said teasingly.

"As if you can beat me," Ichigo said smugly. "You're 100 years too early for that," he added with an arrogant smirk on his face.

They looked at each other, then suddenly burst into laughter. After their laughter subsided, they played one-on-one once again before heading home.

While Meiko Junior High celebrated their national championship victory, the atmosphere at Teiko Junior High was quite the opposite. Though the students were not overly concerned about their men's basketball team's loss, they were initially shocked by the news.

However, after a few days, they returned to their usual selves. Teiko Junior High wasn't solely focused on basketball; they had other clubs and activities to occupy their attention. Thus, the students didn't pay much mind to the basketball team's defeat.

The person most impacted by this loss, besides the basketball club itself, was the school principal. Teiko Junior High had a reputation for being a school of winners, and the defeat of their esteemed basketball team, also known as the Generation of Miracles, hit hard.

As the head of the school, it was the principal's responsibility to uphold the motto of the institution, which was "winning is everything." Consequently, he was called in by the school board and faced severe reprimands. In his irritated state, he directed his anger towards the basketball club's coach, Sanada Naoto.

After being reprimanded by the school head, he took out his anger on his players. He trained them so intensely that their previous training sessions seemed like enjoyable recreational games in comparison.

In Teiko's basketball club gym, you can see players sprawled all around, with only a few people standing. Among them are two players, Aomine Daiki, known as the ace of the Generation of Miracles, and Ryota Kise, also a member of the Generation of Miracles. They are engrossed in an intense one-on-one battle.

"How do those two have so much energy?" one player gasped while lying on the floor, catching his breath.

"I'm not really sure," another player replied, taking a sip from his bottled water.

"I wish I had the stamina of those two," the player on the floor said with a sigh.

"Hmph, you wish. Even if you trained hard for ten years, you still wouldn't come close to their level," the other player responded condescendingly, still sipping his water.

Just as the player was about to stand up and refute his friend's comment, they heard one of the seniors addressing them seriously, "Don't compare yourselves to those monsters. They didn't earn the title 'Generation of Miracles' for nothing."

Upon hearing this, the person who had been lying spoke quietly, questioning, "If they are really that great, why do they lose in the national championship?" He didn't realize that his words could be heard by others and muttered this to himself.

Shocked by his friend's remark, his friend exclaimed, "Are you insane?!" He anxiously looked around to see if any of the other players had overheard, but since there was no reaction from them, he assumed they hadn't heard and let out a sigh of relief.

His friend scolded him in a hushed voice, asking, "How could you say something like that? Do you want to get into trouble? What if the Captain hears you? You'll be in big trouble, for sure."

"What? It's not like I'm wrong," he replied, speaking in a hushed tone as he gazed towards Akashi Seijuro, the team captain.

"Perhaps if the coach had allowed me to play, the outcome of that game would have been different," he added, his voice dripping with arrogance as he spoke to his friend.

"Oh please, as if. If you had played in that game, I'm certain that Ichigo guy from Meiko Junior High would have completely cook you. He would have utterly dominated you, leaving you to ponder the depths of life," his friend retorted, his expression filled with disdain.

Afterward, the two friends proceeded to insult each other while they rested and cooled down their bodies. Meanwhile, the members of the Generation of Miracles observed the intense one-on-one battle between Aomine and Kise.

This routine had become a regular occurrence after each practice session - they would engage in a one-on-one match. Kise hadn't managed to win a single game against Aomine, but the other members of the Generation of Miracles could clearly witness the remarkable progress both players were making by simply observing their matches.

Not only did the improvement apply to the two mentioned members, but it also extended to the other members of the Generation of Miracles. Following their defeat at the hands of Meiko Junior High, Coach Sanada wasted no time in subjecting them to a grueling training regimen. This was his way of seeking revenge for their previous negligence in attending practices earlier in the school year.

Through these intense training sessions, coupled with their innate talent, the Generation of Miracles experienced unprecedented improvement. However, the individual who was most profoundly impacted by this training was Murasakibara.

His performance during the third and fourth quarters of the championship game was disastrous, prompting Coach Sanada to focus on enhancing his fundamental skills, especially his free throw shooting. Thus, Sanada personally took charge of training Murasakibara.

Even as the day's practice session has just concluded, one can still witness the resolute and serious Coach Sanada continuing his rigorous training with Murasakibara, while Murasakibara reluctantly obeys his instructions.

Even though Murasakibara was reluctant to train due to his laziness, deep down, he desires to improve himself in order to seek revenge against Ichigo. This sentiment is not confined to Murasakibara alone; all the members of the Generation of Miracles share the same desire. They all seek to exact vengeance on Ichigo for defeating them.