Chapter 72: Magic Cube
Miyamoto Tokima stared at the newspaper with a strange expression, muttering under his breath,
“Seriously… who gives a decent person the nickname ‘Magic Cube’? Who the hell came up with this?”
Satsuki Momoi covered her mouth and snickered quietly beside him.
“Hehe, Miyamoto, that was your fan club. They said you’re the big demon on the court—the kind that makes every opponent tremble in fear.”
Miyamoto Tokima looked like he was on the verge of tears. He raised the newspaper and complained,
“Can this nickname be changed?”
Satsuki Momoi tilted her head slightly and said gently,
“Then you’ll have to ask the audience. Right now, ‘Magic Cube’ gets the loudest cheers of all.”
Miyamoto Tokima resigned himself to fate, lowering his hand and slumping onto the bench.
‘It’s over… everything’s over. This nickname is probably never going away.’
“Well, if it isn’t our very own ‘Magic Cube,’ Mr. Miyamoto Tokima. Why the long face?”
Shuzo Nijimura walked into the gym. Seeing Miyamoto Tokima collapsed on the bench, he couldn’t help teasing him.
Miyamoto Tokima replied weakly,
“Nijimura, please don’t make fun of me.”
Shuzo Nijimura laughed twice and went off to train.
Daiki Aomine, however, had a different take.
“Miyamoto, ‘Magic Cube’ sounds awesome. Why don’t you like it? I want a nickname like that, but nobody’s ever given me one.”
Miyamoto Tokima was about to explain, but once he realized it was Daiki Aomine talking, he gave up on the idea altogether.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was match day again—Teiko Middle School versus Fujiguchi Middle School.
Kōzō Shirogane arranged the starting lineup.
“Akashi, Kuroko, Miyamoto, Aomine, Murasakibara—you five start.”
Since Shintaro Midorima’s left hand still hadn’t fully recovered, Kōzō Shirogane didn’t put him in the lineup. Instead, Tetsuya Kuroko started, especially since the opposing team wasn’t particularly strong.
After a brief exchange of greetings, the game tipped off.
As expected, Atsushi Murasakibara won the jump ball.
Miyamoto Tokima caught the ball and charged straight toward the opponent’s basket. His speed was terrifying—Fujiguchi’s players only saw a black blur flash past before a thunderous boom echoed through the gym.
Bang!
Miyamoto Tokima slammed the ball into the hoop.
2–0.
The moment he scored, cheers erupted from the stands, with Miyamoto Tokima’s fan club shouting the loudest.
“Magic Cube! Magic Cube! Magic Cube!”
As Miyamoto Tokima ran back on defense, hearing the chant made his steps falter slightly. He muttered under his breath,
“Why does that sound so… weird…”
The Fujiguchi players swallowed hard. Their small forward murmured in disbelief,
“So this is Teiko’s ‘Magic Cube,’ Miyamoto Tokima? That’s… terrifying…”
On defense, Fujiguchi avoided Miyamoto Tokima entirely, choosing instead to look for openings against the others.
But it didn’t take long for them to realize something was wrong—Teiko’s remaining players were just as overwhelming.
Daiki Aomine stole the ball first, sprinting down the court like a cheetah and scoring Teiko’s second basket.
Seijuro Akashi refused to be outdone, intercepting a pass and assisting Atsushi Murasakibara for another powerful dunk.
On offense, Teiko tore through Fujiguchi’s defense with ease, leaving them utterly miserable.
On defense, everyone except Tetsuya Kuroko pushed Fujiguchi’s players to the brink of a mental breakdown.
After just one quarter, Fujiguchi Middle School had completely lost the will to fight, running back and forth on the court without any spirit left.
Seeing this, Kōzō Shirogane waved his hand decisively and made a full substitution.
The bench players took over, with Shogo Haizaki leading the reserves to completely secure the victory.
After the win, everyone relaxed for a bit before heading home to rest. After all, there was another match the next day—against Shōei Middle School, the team with “Iron Heart” Teppei Kiyoshi.
Everyone took that match seriously.
After dinner, Miyamoto Tokima didn’t go home. Instead, he accompanied Satsuki Momoi to watch Shōei’s game.
This match was between “Iron Heart” Teppei Kiyoshi and “Brute Strength” Eikichi Nebuya.
The two teams were evenly matched, and the outcome depended almost entirely on their aces.
At the middle school level, Eikichi Nebuya’s strength hadn’t fully developed yet, while Teppei Kiyoshi’s inside skills were already quite refined.
Using his polished post techniques, Teppei Kiyoshi completely toyed with Eikichi Nebuya and led his team to victory.
After the game, a dejected Eikichi Nebuya walked out of the gym and ran into Miyamoto Tokima and Satsuki Momoi outside.
Eikichi Nebuya asked hesitantly,
“You’re from Teiko…?”
Miyamoto Tokima turned to look at Nebuya, who hadn’t yet grown into a muscular giant. A spark of interest flickered in his eyes, and he decided to give him a bit of guidance.
“Do you know where you lost?”
Eikichi Nebuya froze for a moment, then answered honestly,
“In technique.”
Miyamoto Tokima shook his head.
“No. You didn’t just lose in technique—you also lost in strength.”
Eikichi Nebuya frowned in confusion.
“Didn’t I already lose because of technique?”
Miyamoto Tokima explained calmly,
“You only noticed Teppei Kiyoshi’s technique. But tell me—did you actually overpower him in terms of strength?”
Eikichi Nebuya fell silent, replaying the match in his mind. The more he thought about it, the more something felt off. He gradually realized that even in strength, he had been inferior to Teppei Kiyoshi.
With that realization, he spoke again,
“So what you mean is…”
Miyamoto Tokima nodded.
“Technique is important in a match, but what matters most is physical ability. Have you heard the saying ‘one force breaks all techniques’?”
“As long as your strength is great enough, no one can stop you. Of course, I’m not saying technique doesn’t matter. What I mean is—growing stronger while maintaining your technique. That’s true strength.”
Eikichi Nebuya nodded seriously and began thinking deeply.
Seeing that he had started reflecting, Miyamoto Tokima didn’t say anything more. He took Satsuki Momoi’s hand and left.
Whether Eikichi Nebuya would have a breakthrough now depended entirely on himself.
In truth, Miyamoto Tokima had only spoken on a whim, offering a few casual pointers.
What he didn’t know was that Eikichi Nebuya hadn’t remembered the latter half of his words at all. Only a single sentence echoed repeatedly in his mind:
【One force breaks all techniques. As long as your strength is great enough, no one can stop you.】
Eikichi Nebuya nodded firmly and muttered,
“I get it now. Strength is everything!”
At that moment, there was only one thought in his mind—bulk up, bulk up, and bulk up even more!
If Miyamoto Tokima ever found out about this, all he could do would be to type a lone “6” in resignation.
Watching Miyamoto Tokima’s retreating back, Eikichi Nebuya murmured,
“Thank you. I’ve completely figured it out now. I will definitely defeat Teppei Kiyoshi!”
With that, Eikichi Nebuya turned and left, ready to draft his own training plan.
...
The next day.
The match between Teiko Middle School and Shōei Middle School finally arrived.
Author's Note
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