During the interval between quarters, Tendou Kageyoshi returned to the bench, and someone immediately made space for him to sit down.
His performance in the first quarter had been extremely impressive—strong on both offense and defense, clearly the team's cornerstone.
Yuta Yamanaka, watching Ayumi Yoshizawa get shut down just like he had, suddenly felt a lot better.
That's human nature.
As long as someone else is having a worse day, your own troubles feel lighter.
The happiness of ordinary people is often found through comparison.
"Great job out there, Tendou. Keep it up," Nijimura Shuzo praised him.
"Yes, captain!"
Tendou accepted the towel Nijimura handed him and wiped his face.
Truthfully speaking, basketball in this world was indeed strong.
At least, compared to the opponents he faced in middle school in his previous life, these kids were a lot tougher.
Still, they were only at the middle-school level. For him, dominating these kids felt as easy as breathing.
『Is our opponent too weak, or is Teiko just too strong?』
『Obviously, Teiko is too strong. Didn't you read the introduction? This Kawasaki team is a powerhouse in Kanagawa.』
『11 points and 5 steals in one quarter is ridiculously good.』
『Damn it, he's showing off again!』
『Geniuses don't make sense, and geniuses in anime make even less sense. Poor Kuroko—he can only sit on the bench and watch.』
Tendou Kageyoshi opened the barrage comments when he had the chance.
Unsurprisingly, viewers were once again stunned by his performance.
With his handsome looks and incredible stats, he was undoubtedly what viewers wished they could become.
If a character like this didn't become popular, there was truly no justice.
But even these impressive stats weren't enough.
A while ago, when Tendou played one-on-one against Aomine, he'd realized something important.
Although he was currently stronger than Aomine, the gap wasn't large.
Once Aomine reached his second year, his potential would fully explode, and his stats would multiply dramatically.
The visually shocking display of power and skill was the true beauty of numbers.
Right now, Tendou Kageyoshi was just a genius, not yet a monster.
"Guess I'll have to hope my next unlocked abilities are good," Tendou thought to himself.
...
The second quarter began.
Tendou stayed on the bench to rest.
Coach Shirogane had strict guidelines regarding player minutes. Since they were just teenagers, their stamina wasn't sufficient to sustain an entire game at full intensity.
The ideal playing time Shirogane envisioned was around 25 minutes per player.
Unless the game was particularly close and required maximum effort, he intended to strictly control everyone's minutes.
Besides, he had the depth to do so. This year's Teiko had more than enough talented players on the bench.
In the second quarter, Shirogane substituted in Akashi, Aomine, Midorima, and two previous first-stringers at center and small forward.
A bold move—five players swapped at once.
Kawasaki Affiliated felt they were being disrespected.
Ayumi Yoshizawa vowed to himself that he'd quickly force Tendou Kageyoshi back onto the court.
However, Kawasaki found out that although scoring became slightly easier against this lineup, they still couldn't close the gap.
Without Tendou and Murasakibara, Kawasaki's main scoring duo could finally breathe easier.
But defensively, Kawasaki's coach noticed that Teiko's second unit had even stronger offensive firepower than the first unit with Nijimura.
Aomine relentlessly attacked the basket, while Midorima provided consistent three-point shooting support.
This put Kawasaki in a bind. If they tried to collapse on Aomine, Midorima was left open, and vice versa.
Then there was Akashi Seijuro. He appeared unremarkable—just a kid from a wealthy family—but he always found gaps in their defense and delivered pinpoint passes to the right player at exactly the right moment.
Kawasaki Affiliated's offense recovered slightly, managing 21 points in the second quarter. However, Teiko's scoring was even fiercer—they racked up 30 points.
At halftime, the score stood at 58-31.
Kawasaki Affiliated, dreaming of national domination, had been crushed by Teiko, trailing by 27 points.
During halftime, Kawasaki's players looked utterly defeated. The skill gap was immense, so huge that Teiko was essentially using two different lineups to toy with them.
Aomine was extremely excited after coming off the court—he'd scored 4 points more than Tendou in a single quarter.
"I won this round, Tendou! I scored more points than you!" he boasted.
"As expected of you, Aomine-kun. You're really amazing, scoring 4 more points than me with only 4 extra shots."
Tendou snickered coldly, sarcasm dripping from his words.
"Ah..." Aomine felt like he'd been punched in the gut.
He had been efficient during the second quarter, scoring from both inside and outside, maintaining a 66% field goal percentage.
However, most of Tendou's points had come from fast breaks, giving him an unbelievable 85% efficiency rate in the first quarter.
"I still have more points than you," Aomine said stubbornly. "Weren't you the one who said basketball is about who scores the most?"
Aomine didn't mind that Tendou was more handsome, smarter, or even stronger in a fight. But in basketball, he would never concede defeat.
"Look at you, bragging about beating up weak opponents. Dare to challenge me one-on-one after this game?" Tendou challenged.
"Why would I be afraid? You're on!" Aomine immediately agreed.
"Good. If you lose, you have to wash my stinky socks for a week!"
"...Fine! But if you lose, you're washing mine!" Aomine retorted, though he lacked a bit of confidence.
Coach Shirogane thought these two brats were getting cocky, talking about things after the game while the game itself was still ongoing. If they couldn't stay focused, how could they achieve greatness?
"Tendou, Aomine, immediately run ten laps around the court!" Shirogane ordered.
"Huh? Right now?" both players blurted simultaneously, dumbfounded.
"You do realize the game isn't over yet, right?" Shirogane scolded.
"If you know the game isn't finished, why are you just sitting there? If you don't finish before the end of the game, I'll add another 10 laps. Now, start running immediately!"
Damn it!
"Nothing good ever comes from hanging around you," Aomine complained.
"That's my line!" Tendou shot back.
Both reluctantly got up and started running laps.
Aomine felt exhausted. He had just finished a full quarter at high intensity. Passionate about basketball, he never slacked off during games, especially when competing with Tendou.
Now, he felt fatigue setting in.
Tendou, meanwhile, was completely rested after sitting out the entire second quarter, leaving him far fresher.
"Hurry up, turtle-boy! Keep moving at this pace, and you'll eat my dust," Tendou mocked, speeding up.
Aomine couldn't tolerate Tendou's taunts, gritted his teeth, and quickened his pace.
Momoi Satsuki shook her head helplessly, covering her face with her hands. "These two idiots!"
Amanai Riko wore a similar expression, watching Tendou teasing a middle-school kid like a childish brat himself.
"Shameless," she muttered, rolling her eyes.
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