Kuroko no Basket: Honored One

2–0.

Kirisaki Daiichi drew first blood.

"Hey, don't zone out. How are you holding up?"

Kasamatsu Yukio elbowed Kise Ryōta gently.

"It's nothing like watching from the sidelines… The moment you actually go up against him, you can feel that pressure."

He'd gotten stronger.

Kise could feel it. He had grown.

Over the past few months, he'd pushed himself harder than ever before.

But while he was improving… his old teammates hadn't been standing still either.

They had played a practice match against Seirin and lost—his only real defeat since entering high school.

But—

"I'm confident I can beat the Kuroko and Kagami duo… but against just Tendou? I'm not so sure."

Kise didn't sugarcoat it.

Tendou alone felt stronger than the Light and Shadow combo of Seirin.

"And you call that motivating? You're contradicting what you told me earlier."

"Of course I haven't forgotten."

"That's exactly why I need to go beyond—beyond myself… and beyond Tendou."

He exhaled slowly, calming himself.

Then focused up again.

Kaijō's possession.

Kasamatsu brought the ball across midcourt and spotted Kise signaling for it.

Just like he said—Kise had grown through every loss to Tendou and Aomine.

One defeat? That wasn't going to stop him.

Boom!

He opened again with Raimei Dribble—his fastest move so far.

The five-finger fingertip control was executed at full power—

And was now even faster than Hayama Kotarō's original.

For a moment, spectators thought they saw golden sparks leaping off his fingers—matching his blonde hair perfectly.

"But just that isn't enough!"

Kise exploded forward, combining Hayakawa's jet-like first step into his drive.

His breakthrough—became even faster!

"He can still improve?!"

Hayama sat with his mouth agape, trying to absorb what he was seeing.

And then he realized—

He couldn't copy it.

He simply couldn't.

The lightning dribble, the explosive acceleration, and now—

Senshinkan High's ripple-step footwork.

All of it, compressed into a single move.

Kise's speed hit a terrifying peak.

He even used "reverse step rhythm" to throw his opponent off balance.

Tendou moved to block—cutting off his path.

But Kise was ready.

His entire body radiated golden light as he swerved to the opposite side in a flash.

This was the most explosive, most refined attack Kise had ever launched.

A custom-made composite technique, created from studying the best players across the country.

But—

"It won't work."

From the spectator seats, Aomine spoke up calmly.

"This level… won't slip past Tendou's eyes."

The move was impressive.

But it wasn't enough.

Not against Tendou Kageyoshi.

Whether it was Hayama, Hayakawa, or Senshinkan's best—none of them were Tendou's match.

1 + 1 + 1 might add up to more than 3…

But Tendou was a tier above all of them.

...

His eyes opened.

In that moment, the next 3 seconds of the future lit up in front of him.

Kise's lightning-fast breakthrough was completely visible—laid bare.

Shhhk!

A flash like a blade tore through the air.

Kise only saw a large hand swiping toward him.

Smack!

Before he could even react, Tendou had cleanly severed the dribble.

Kirisaki Daiichi launched an immediate fast break.

"Tendou Kageyoshi!"

"That guy's a complete monster!"

On the sidelines, Coach Takeuchi folded his arms, a grim expression on his face.

Kise's growth had surpassed all expectations.

In just a few short months since joining, he had learned and adapted the best skills from around the nation—

Even creating this dreamlike hybrid of speed, burst, and footwork.

But in front of those eyes, it was all meaningless.

"The Six Eyes…"

There shouldn't be such a balance-breaking ability in the game of basketball!

...

While he muttered, Tendou was already tearing through Kaijō's half.

But this time—Kasamatsu was ready.

He stepped directly into Tendou's path.

Kise was right behind, coming in from the rear.

Together, they boxed Tendou in—front and back.

...

Tendou saw everything clearly.

He watched as the moment he moved, Kasamatsu reacted.

Kise too, tracking his shift and preparing to counter.

They were coordinated.

They had the timing.

They were ready to squeeze him from both sides.

And then—

Tendou smiled.

He didn't go left.

He didn't go right.

Instead, he surged straight ahead—

And just like that, he tore through the double-team.

To the audience watching live, it looked like Kasamatsu and Kise had parted to let him through.

But in reality?

The replays showed how well they'd coordinated.

Their footwork. Their timing. Their anticipation.

And yet…

Tendou just smiled, glided between them like it was a casual stroll, and scored with ease.

"How do you even play against that?!"

That was the collective thought of every viewer.

...

"Not even Kasamatsu and Kise together could stop him?"

These two were Kaijō's anchors.

One was the soul of the team.

The other, its offensive core.

And Tendou had just… walked through them.

"In the end, we don't have Tendou's eyes."

"He sees things we can't even imagine."

...

Six Eyes?

Alex Garcia's confusion only deepened.

"He has a gift," explained Kagami Taiga, sitting nearby.

"Tendou was born with a special talent—he can see the entire court's future, up to 3 seconds ahead."

"He what?"

Alex was floored.

She had heard of something similar once in the U.S.

Nash Goldor Jr., a young prospect hyped by the media, a five-star high schooler snatched up by NCAA elites.

As far as she knew, Nash also had a special kind of vision, an intuition so strong it felt like foresight.

But that was Nash.

That kind of player… existed here too?

Wait.

"What did I just say?"

Didn't she say earlier that her student Himuro Tatsuya was on the same level as Tendou?

Now she wasn't so sure anymore.