The game resumed.
The score was now 26-16. The freshmen had narrowed the gap with two quick counterattacks.
Yamanaka Yuta received the inbound pass from a teammate and slowly advanced past midcourt.
Even now, he could barely believe he'd been stripped twice in a row by some rookie.
What frustrated him most was that he still couldn't clearly see how he'd lost the ball.
Noticing the head coach's attention turning toward this court, he now had even less reason to back down.
With last year's seniors moving on to high school, his ambition this year was clear—he was determined to secure a starting position, not settle for the bench.
At this critical juncture, he refused to become a stepping stone for some first-year kid.
Dribble, dribble, dribble.
He calmly advanced to the top of the three-point arc, signaling his teammates to clear out.
He was preparing for a one-on-one play.
He lowered his center of gravity, settling into his optimal explosive stance.
The next second, without waiting for Tendou Kageyoshi to react, he took off explosively.
Yamanaka was the quintessential one-dimensional player.
After two encounters, Tendou had already figured out why this explosive player wasn't part of the starting lineup.
He overly relied on his explosive first step, always hoping to shake off defenders instantly and drive straight to the basket.
Against slower defenders, that usually worked well.
Unfortunately for him, Tendou was no turtle.
Moreover…
"Cleave!"
Following Tendou's quiet whisper, the basketball in Yamanaka's hand slammed hard into the court and rebounded upward.
Once again, Tendou had cleanly stripped him.
The move was lightning-fast—Yamanaka couldn't even tell when the ball had left his control.
"Again?!"
Yamanaka gritted his teeth. Although he'd gotten past Tendou with his first step, he'd left the most crucial thing behind—the ball.
Even Coach Shirogane's eyes widened slightly.
Standing courtside, even he had trouble clearly seeing Tendou's steal.
It was exactly like a quick-draw sword slash—swift, precise, and decisive. By the time opponents realized what had happened, it was already too late.
Bam!
Tendou's swift hand-chop sent the basketball bouncing hard against the floor.
"You rely too heavily on your right hand, senpai!" Tendou left this advice behind as he picked up the rebounding ball and dashed down the court.
Most people naturally had a dominant hand, with ambidextrous players being extremely rare—even among pros.
However, professional players practiced relentlessly to minimize weaknesses. Otherwise, their attacking intentions would become glaringly obvious.
In the blink of an eye, Tendou had already dashed past half-court.
He was fast—undeniably outstanding among the freshmen.
All Coach Shirogane heard was a swift "whoosh," and Tendou had already invaded enemy territory.
From Tendou's steal to this rapid counterattack, Shirogane was now certain: this handsome first-year was definitely a genius.
His dynamic vision and explosive acceleration were among the best he'd ever seen at the middle-school level.
Had he really pulled an SSR from the blind box?
Without delay, Tendou had already reached the opponent's zone.
But the second-string seniors had quickly retreated. After getting counterattacked twice, they were now fully prepared.
"You won't get past me, rookie!" yelled the defender loudly, hoping to intimidate the freshman.
Tendou had lived far too long to be scared off by some middle-schooler's shout.
"I wasn't planning on going past you!" Tendou abruptly slowed down and pivoted, backing up against the defender.
This quick pivot effectively blocked his defender from advancing further.
But Tendou's show wasn't over. Using the defender's pressure, he leaped upward, smoothly twisting his body mid-air. With his hands raised gracefully overhead and legs gently kicking forward—
It was the classic Kobe Bryant-style turnaround fadeaway jumper!
The defending second-stringer could only watch helplessly, unable to even contest this elegant shot.
"Damn it...I still can't defend that—"
Clang!
"Huh?"
The senior, who'd been depressed just moments ago, suddenly perked up upon hearing that crisp sound of iron.
Turning around, he saw the basketball firmly bouncing off the rim.
『Ah, sweet iron!』
『Look! Kobe disciple spotted!』
『That familiar, melodious sound of iron…』
『Your shooting form is beautiful, but your bricks are embarrassing!』
『Hahaha, heaven truly is fair!』
Bullet comments went wild, as amused as viewers watching Sakuragi's slow-motion dunk attempt, only for him to slam head-first into the backboard.
The comedic timing was impeccable—moments ago, Tendou had been mercilessly dominating his seniors, forcing three consecutive steals and nearly crushing their spirit.
Yet, he turned out to be a Kobe.
Watching Tendou's proud smile freeze in place, the online crowd nearly choked laughing.
Coach Shirogane almost burst into laughter himself at this strong contrast.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset.
So what if he bricked a shot? With talent like his, who needed perfection?
There weren't exactly maxed-out players falling from the sky, anyway.
Just when everyone thought Tendou's performance was over, someone shouted loudly:
"Rebound!"
The senior second-stringer immediately snapped back to reality, rushing toward the landing spot.
But someone had reacted faster.
It was the same white-haired kid who'd just bricked the shot loudly off the rim!
Despite just executing a difficult fadeaway jumper, Tendou landed and immediately bolted past him.
"Hey, stop right there!" the senior shouted desperately, grasping at empty air as Tendou slipped by.
Of course, Tendou didn't stop.
He was fully aware—becoming the most popular player in the Kuroko universe meant his stats had to look impressive!
Increasing his pace even further, Tendou reached the basketball first, grabbing it cleanly off the bounce.
The next second, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, he jumped toward the rim.
An incredibly strange sensation!
Something he couldn't do even in his previous life, wearing KD12 shoes—yet, somehow, he now felt capable of it.
Even without testing beforehand, his instincts assured him.
His body felt incredibly light, as though he could fly.
In fact, to everyone watching, it truly looked as if Tendou had taken flight.
Under countless amazed stares, Tendou switched from holding the ball with both hands to just one, approaching closer and closer to the rim until finally—
He slammed the ball downward with a thunderous, one-handed dunk!
Boom!
A loud crash echoed through the gym, and Teiko instantly fell silent.