The latest episode ended with a very manga-style line from one of Seihō's players:
"Damn it... We still couldn't do it."
Meanwhile, in the real world, Nightmare and the audience were still immersed in the overwhelming impact of Tendou's backstory.
Especially Nightmare—self-proclaimed #1 Tendou fan among all uploaders—who even went back and rewatched the episode, only to find it even funnier the second time.
He started breaking down Tendou's personality.
"Looking at it now, Tendou's personality clearly formed from a young age."
"He was incredibly lonely."
"But unlike Sasuke and Naruto, Tendou didn't seek attention like Naruto, nor did he shut himself off from everyone like Sasuke."
"He's completely self-centered—Heaven above, Earth below, I alone reign supreme. He doesn't care what others think of him, because in his eyes, everyone else is just background noise."
『Facts. This kid's so arrogant—I knew from the first moment he had main-character energy!』
『But from another angle… isn't Tendou actually colder than Sasuke? He doesn't even view others as people.』
『Hahaha but he gets along well with his Teikō teammates though.』
"Probably because it's that 'only the strong understand each other' vibe. I think Tendou sees Aomine and the others as the rare few who can understand him as fellow prodigies."
That's how Nightmare summed it up.
"This episode was another banger from the production team. Tendou's new ability was visually stunning."
"It was just so damn cool—like the DLC final boss from Elden Ring, Miquella fused with Radahn. My boy Tendou is the Lord of Promised Flame!"
He even pulled up some images of the "monster" standing behind Tendou, edited them into a desktop wallpaper, and admired it.
"Yeah… black and white truly are the eternal classics."
A black monstrous shadow, and a snow-white Tendou Kageyoshi—a perfect match!
...
Meanwhile, inside the Kuroko no Basket universe, Tendou Kageyoshi had also finished watching the latest episode.
Yep. It's finally starting to feel like true Kuroko no Basket.
The introduction of the "Monster" had a similar impact to the first time Aomine revealed his Wild Instincts—a sensation second only to the Zone itself!
And with the addition of more backstory, his popularity rating surged once again.
Ah, the benefits of being the first to eat the crab...
Feeling pleased, Tendou immediately did a ten-pull.
+1 to mid-range
+1 to three-point
+1 to post-up
+1 to ball-handling
+1 to speed
+1 to strength
+1 to mentality...
No jackpot golds, but Tendou was very satisfied.
He'd gotten valuable physical attributes, especially speed, strength, and—most important—mental fortitude.
Mental is a stat that can't be trained. It can only be boosted through gacha pulls.
Tendou was particularly fond of mental stat upgrades now, because his "Monster" ability could break through normal caps—meaning the stronger his mental stat, the greater the potential for this skill.
In high spirits, he yelled toward the bathroom:
"Riko! Midnight snack?"
A second later, Riko popped her head out mid-shower:
"I want some!"
"Cool. Then go grab some eggs at the market later. I'm gonna take a nap. Thanks."
With a smile, Tendou cheerfully retreated to his room.
He had no intention of eating late-night food. Not healthy for an athlete.
Though he couldn't compare to LeBron or Ronaldo in terms of discipline, he still took his nutrition seriously.
I hope you choke on that nap!
Riko was furious. If she wasn't stark naked in the shower, she'd have stormed out and decked him.
"You bully me every single day!" she yelled.
His response was the sound of the door closing and a calm,
"Goodnight, granny!"
"GO TO HELL!"
Riko hurled a bar of soap in his direction, accidentally exposing herself a bit.
Regret instantly followed: Did he see that...?
Unfortunately for her, Tendou peeked his head out again—exact same motion—and called out:
"I saw it! Big and white!"
"TEN-DOU! KA-GE-YO-SHI!!"
...
The Next Day.
The round-robin tournament continued.
With one win under their belt, Teikō was playing more comfortably than ever.
Without the pressure of elimination, the team played even more freely.
After all, anyone can look great when they're in the lead.
There were only four teams in Tokyo's regional bracket, and three could advance—so winning just two games was enough to qualify for Nationals.
With one victory secured, Teikō only needed one more.
And today's opponent took the same approach as Seihō.
Already sitting on one win themselves, they didn't plan to go all-out against Teikō.
When they fell behind by 15 points in the second quarter, they wisely pulled back and saved their energy for the final match.
No one wanted to clash with this year's juggernaut Teikō team unless absolutely necessary.
After all, even a powerhouse like Seihō got casually dismantled.
So Teikō breezed to their second win and officially locked in their spot at Nationals.
In the next game, Seihō narrowly defeated their opponent 83–65.
Tsugawa Tomoki had a standout performance, locking down the opposing team's ace scorer and holding him to just 2 of 12 shooting.
Only then did people truly grasp how absurd Tendou's performance was the day before.
Two rounds in, and the standings were now crystal clear.
Teikō: 2–0, locked in.
Seihō: 1–1, to face the other 1–1 team for a second spot.
Final team: 0–2. Only chance is if they can beat Teikō to force a tiebreaker.
But no one was optimistic. Not even that team's own fans.
If they couldn't beat Seihō, how could they possibly touch Teikō, who made Seihō surrender by halftime?
And as expected...
In the final game that afternoon, Teikō maintained their dominance and sent their opponents home with a crushing 121–70 scoreline.
Their opponents gave it everything—but still couldn't climb over that Teikō mountain.
After the game, several players broke down in tears, devastated.
Meanwhile, the team that lost to Seihō earlier was celebrating wildly.
With no tiebreakers needed, they could enter Nationals as Tokyo's third seed.
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+150 Power Stones = 1 Bônus Chapter