Originally, he only came to watch Nijimura Shūzō, but before he realized it, his gaze was locked on Tendou Kageyoshi, unable to shift away.
He was even already thinking about how to build a team around Tendou Kageyoshi as the core.
He had clearly never expected Tendou to be this strong.
...
On the bench, Tendou Kageyoshi's breathing had already settled.
The previous training, combined with the advantage of his "Steel Body," had greatly improved his stamina.
Playing in middle school matches was far too easy for him. He could easily play the full game if needed.
Still, he didn't fully relax—because in basketball, a 20-point lead means nothing.
What's that?
We're ahead by 25?
Then it's fine.
...
In the second quarter, Tendou was benched for the first half.
He had to admit—there was a reason Kaisei Middle School had been marked by Momoi as a strong team.
They really were tough. At least, their tenacity left nothing to complain about.
After a short break, they held the scoreline tightly against Teikō's second unit.
And that second unit was led by none other than Akashi.
The manly cheering section of Kaisei roared once again from the stands.
Still, despite the energy on the court, they were never able to close the score gap to under 20.
Even as a first-year, Akashi already carried the aura of a general. Under his precise control, Kaisei Middle School could never string together consecutive defensive stops.
With four minutes left in the second quarter, Tendou and Murasakibara were subbed back in.
Teikō's current lineup on the floor: Akashi, Midorima, Tendou, Aomine, Murasakibara.
Shirogane Kōzō sent out an all–first-year lineup.
The Kaisei coach felt completely disrespected.
And yet, these five first-years destroyed Kaisei the moment they stepped on the court.
Tendou and Murasakibara's iron-clad defense had already given Kaisei nightmares in the first quarter.
Now, with Midorima's three-point artillery, Aomine's razor-sharp aggression, and Akashi's genius orchestration, the result was…
At halftime, the score was 77–32.
Teikō led by 45 points.
The scoreline alone left Kaisei's cheering section completely mute.
This wasn't a game—it was a massacre.
...
By the second half, Kaisei's Ichize Junjin couldn't care less about playing graceful basketball anymore.
He just couldn't accept being steamrolled this easily by Teikō.
Even worse, he couldn't stand being humiliated by some cocky first-year nobody.
Tendou immediately felt the pressure shift. Kaisei's defense on him now was insane.
On the first possession of the half, Tendou caught the ball beyond the arc and was ready to sink his 6th three-pointer of the game…
But Ichize Junjin leapt forward and violently slammed into him midair.
Flagrant foul.
"Your days of doing whatever you want are over, Tendou!"
"I haven't even started raising hell yet, dumbass!" Tendou grinned, brushing the dust off his shoulder as he stood up—his eyes lit up with excitement.
He was fired up.
From that moment on, the game's intensity skyrocketed.
Kaisei couldn't accept getting dismantled so easily. And they absolutely couldn't stand the idea of being shat on by a first-year.
Hormones surged. Testosterone flooded the court.
And Tendou's answer?
Came quicker and harsher than anyone expected.
...
On the inbound, Tendou took the ball, instantly changed directions with a sharp crossover, and drove right past Ichize—dropping a sneaky elbow to the gut on the way.
Clutching his side in pain, Ichize could only watch as Tendou charged into the paint, collided midair with Kaisei's center, contorted his body, and flipped the ball up and in.
Whistle blew.
And-one.
Camera pans to Kaisei's fans in the crowd.
Many of them had their hands on their heads in disbelief.
Even after defending this aggressively, they still can't stop this damn rookie?
Tendou calmly grabbed a teammate's hand to stand up, and seeing Ichize's stunned expression, he made a tiny "bear shrug" gesture—shoulders up, palms out.
The crowd lost it.
『Bear shrug spotted!』
『He really hit 'em with the 🐻』
『That damn rookie!』
『Can Kuroko just die already? I'm jealous!!』
Even though Tendou's shot was insane, the crowd seemed even more hyped by the shrug.
"What the hell?! That was a god-tier play and this is what they care about?" Tendou complained as he casually turned off the live comment feed.
He strolled to the free throw line and casually taunted Kaisei's center:
"Hey, not bad. If this were a girls' national tournament, you'd be the MVP center for sure."
The guy nearly exploded.
Tendou's words stung worse than any actual basket.
He nailed the free throw.
Still unshaken by Kaisei's increasing aggression.
...
Next play, Ichize drove to the basket again but was forced to pass off at the baseline under Tendou's suffocating pressure.
His teammate tried to finish the layup.
Denied.
Murasakibara's wall-like defense sent the shot flying.
Teikō launched into a fast break.
Tendou took the ball past half-court and saw Aomine already sprinting toward the three-point line. He launched a pinpoint one-handed pass that hit the free-throw line.
Aomine jumped, caught the perfect bounce, and dunked the hell out of it.
It all happened in just over 3 seconds.
The crowd exploded.
But when Aomine turned around to soak in the cheers…
He realized no one was looking at him.
He glanced over and saw Tendou standing with his arms spread wide like a messiah—already celebrating before the dunk even landed.
The spotlight was all on him.
Aomine was dumbfounded.
"Why's everyone looking at him?"
"Wasn't I the one who dunked?!"
Tendou didn't just own the scoreboard—he owned the moment.
---
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