Kuroko no Basket: Honored One

『Holy crap, Kise!』

『That was way too cool!』

『Crying right now—go take down that Demon King Tendou!』

『Let's go, Big Yellow!』

The arena erupted.

In both the real world and the fictional one, audiences were overwhelmed by emotion.

With Kise's internal monologue still echoing, a surge of adrenaline rippled through countless viewers.

The background music swelled, pushing the game to its climactic peak.

A full-court three-pointer!

It was Midorima's signature move—the unique ace of the Generation of Miracles.

The farthest range.

The highest shooting accuracy.

Now, recreated through Kise Ryota.

BOOM—

The arc was so high that when the ball hit the floor after scoring, it struck with a heavy thud that shook people's hearts.

"He actually did it…"

Even Hanamiya Makoto and the rest of Kirisaki Daiichi looked shaken.

Toward the end of the second quarter, many had already sensed something coming.

But now that Kise had actually completed the replication, it was still hard to believe.

A single Generation of Miracles player was already overwhelming.

What kind of monster would someone be if they gathered all five's abilities into one body?

The ball went in.

Kise held his shooting form, eyes locked onto Tendou.

Then he declared,

"I'm the strongest."

A 19-point deficit!

Kaijō was still trailing by a wide margin, but at this moment, the team's morale reached its peak.

In his current state, Kise could very well lead a miraculous comeback.

"He did it!"

"Beat him, Kise!"

Takeuchi Genta clenched his fists tightly.

What he had always seen in Kise was his limitless potential.

Yes—he had once been the weakest of the Generation of Miracles.

But he was also the one with the greatest potential to surpass them all.

"Imitation. Learning. That's growth!"

"There's no shame in asking questions. What's shameful is knowing your shortcomings and refusing to change."

To Takeuchi, Kise was the most important player on the team.

...

On the court, for the first time—Tendou found himself facing a perfect imitation.

It was an unfamiliar sensation.

It felt like he was simultaneously playing against several of his old teammates.

He motioned for the ball, and Hara tossed it to him right away.

Now was not the time for flair.

This was a monster's moment—and he didn't intend to humiliate himself by showing off.

Tendou slowly dribbled past half court.

He wasn't rushing at all.

It was as though he intended to burn out the shot clock entirely, slowing the game's rhythm to a crawl.

His calmness was almost eerie.

"That kind of composure is terrifying."

"There's about 20 minutes left in the game, and a 19-point lead. Even with the imitations complete, Kaijō still has to race against time."

"If Tendou keeps dragging out each possession like this, Kaijō's pressure will only keep increasing."

Seirin's players could sense it—and so could Kise.

The more critical the moment, the less you can afford to panic.

Kise stepped up and began applying heavy pressure on defense.

Tendou showed no reaction. He simply pulled the ball back behind him, angled his body, and shielded the ball with his frame.

Kise locked onto Tendou's hands, focused on anticipating a sudden pass.

But Tendou, as if reading his mind, said coolly:

"Don't worry. I'm not tactless enough to pass in a moment like this."

Even so, Kise couldn't lower his guard.

If they wanted to make a major comeback, it wasn't about offense first—it was about defense.

Tick—

The shot clock entered its final ten seconds.

The entire arena went dead silent.

From Tendou's body language, it didn't look like he planned to pass.

That meant he would likely make his move with five or six seconds left.

But how?

No one knew.

But they were sure—it would be thunderous.

9 seconds… 8…

Tendou kept his rhythm.

Each dribble echoed in sync with every heart in the gym.

And when the clock hit 6, he moved.

Fast. Explosive.

"Hyper-speed drive to the right!"

SMACK—

Tendou slapped the ball and accelerated, executing "Cleave" for ultra-high-speed dribbling, feinting hard to the right.

"Followed by behind-the-back crossover!"

SMACK—

He switched hands behind his back, the ball flowing from right to left as he changed direction.

"Then a shoulder bump to create separation and a spin."

Thunk—

He slammed his shoulder into Kise's chest and spun quickly, returning to the right.

Everything he did—Kise saw it coming.

3 seconds.

Kise remembered clearly.

According to Tendou's system, he could only predict 3 seconds into the future.

That time had passed.

And Kise had kept up.

"I win, Little Tendou!"

Blood surged through his body—he reached out with full force.

In that instant, his form bore an uncanny resemblance to Tendou himself.

But then—

A black shadow suddenly entered his vision.

It grew from small to large, from far to near, completely blotting out his line of sight.

"A monster?!"

Kise's breath caught.

It was Tendou's monster—the manifestation of his supreme basketball IQ.

Normally, only players with extremely high awareness could even perceive its presence.

But Kise could see it clearly now.

It appeared out of nowhere, black flames licking its body, grinning at him—mocking.

Kise's arm pierced through the monster's form—

But Tendou was already gone.

He had somehow appeared behind Kise, and Kise hadn't even processed how.

The image never existed in his mind.

More than 3 seconds had passed.

"When did I ever say…"

Tendou's voice was calm as always—but it struck like thunder.

"…that my Six Eyes could only see three seconds into the future?"

"Boom!"

Tendou burst past Kise, exploded into Kaijō's paint, rose up—

and pulled back the bow in midair.

With Yamazaki Hiroshi in front of him, he still slammed the ball straight through the rim.

"The strongest?"

"Don't get cocky, Kise."

The words hit Kise like a weight on his shoulders.

His body trembled.

In a daze, he felt as if time had rewound—

To two years ago at Teikō, in that gym where Tendou had crushed his spirit again and again.

"Damn it… even when he's mocking someone, he still looks that cool."

Kise yanked up his jersey and wiped his sweat.

But the fire in his eyes hadn't dimmed at all.

Still—

The rest of Kaijō couldn't bring themselves to celebrate.

"Tendou Kageyoshi!"

Takeuchi Genta clenched his fists again, forehead drenched in sweat.

For them, this was terrible news.

But the most shaken one wasn't on the court.

It was Akashi Seijūrō, sitting in the stands.

"Not just three seconds… Tendou sees the future just like I do."

But Tendou could see the entire court—every player.

While Akashi could only see one person's future at a time.

For the first time—

Akashi felt threatened.

Ever since "he" was born, Akashi had sworn to dominate the Generation of Miracles once again.

It was a promise made to him.

A reason for his very existence.

Their shared dream.

...

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