After defeating Yōsen, Seirin was brimming with excitement.
They held a celebration that, for them, felt like a grand ceremony—and when they returned that night, most of them were too excited to sleep.
The next morning at rebounding practice, quite a few players showed up with dark circles under their eyes.
"Good morning, everyone!"
"You're late, Kagami."
"Sorry, I couldn't sleep last night."
Kagami scratched his head awkwardly.
After the game, with a little push from Kuroko, he had finally mustered the courage to have a proper, man-to-man talk with Himuro Tatsuya.
Of course, Kuroko didn't throw away the necklace Kagami had entrusted him with. Instead, he returned it to Himuro after the game.
The two brothers reconciled.
Everything was moving in the best possible direction.
"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's start the meeting."
Aida Riko clapped her hands to gather the team.
In a small media room, the entire Seirin squad sat together, eyes fixed ahead. The projector displayed footage of Kirisaki Daiichi's match against Shūtoku.
They didn't have much footage to work with—Kirisaki had only played one game so far in the Winter Cup.
Although they had watched that game live, seeing it again still made Kirisaki Daiichi feel overwhelmingly strong.
The addition of Haizaki Shōgo had effectively eased Tendou's offensive burden, allowing him to focus more on orchestrating and directing.
This wasn't good news for Seirin.
Now they had more threats to worry about on both ends of the court.
The difficulty level of managing offense and defense had just jumped a tier.
"Any thoughts after watching it again? Speak freely."
"Kirisaki Daiichi is really strong," said Koganei Shinji with wide-eyed innocence.
…Was that supposed to be helpful?
Aida Riko's forehead twitched.
It was precisely because they were so dangerous that the team needed to find solutions.
"I guess we have to play the efficiency game," said Kiyoshi Teppei, stroking his chin.
Kirisaki Daiichi had the most efficient fast-break offense in the nation—bar none.
Controlling the pace and minimizing their chances for fast breaks could help reduce their scoring output.
"The problem is, we're a fast-paced team too…"
Hyūga shot his friend a sideways glance.
That was also Riko's dilemma.
They weren't like Yōsen—half-court offense wasn't Seirin's strength.
Forcing a slower pace might disrupt their own rhythm more than the opponent's.
But if they played fast against Kirisaki, how were they supposed to stop their counterattacks?
The room erupted in a flurry of back-and-forth debate.
Still, no one could come up with a good way to shut down Kirisaki.
Just Tendou Kageyoshi alone was enough to put them under enormous pressure. Now with Haizaki added into the mix, this game was going to be brutal.
...
At the same time, over at Kirisaki Daiichi…
They were preparing for the game too.
No one on their side was underestimating Seirin anymore.
This team was no longer the same squad they faced at Nationals. They had taken down Tōō and Yōsen—both giants.
They deserved Kirisaki's full attention.
After reviewing Seirin's game footage, Hanamiya Makoto almost instantly saw through their approach.
"Any thoughts?" Tendou asked.
"Take out Kiyoshi Teppei. That's the simplest way," Hanamiya replied.
He had always wanted to target Kiyoshi. No one really knew what kind of magnetism Teppei had to draw the ire of both ruthless players and genuine competitors alike.
"That guy's injury flared up at the end of the last match. Give me one quarter—I'm confident I can put him on the bench."
He spoke with total seriousness and conviction.
Tendou shot him a look.
If Hanamiya actually injured Kiyoshi, his own character would completely collapse.
Don't confuse brutality with tactical intensity.
"We'll follow the regular game plan."
"You're really not even going to consider it? Their backup center is miles worse than Kiyoshi. If we take him out, we'll have full access to the paint."
"Not considering it. They're not worthy of that kind of tactic."
Part of it was character image—but the rest was pure logic.
Tendou didn't see any reason to specifically target Kiyoshi.
...
Two days later.
Third Round of the National Tournament.
The highly anticipated matchup between Seirin and Kirisaki Daiichi had been scheduled as the final game of the day—the grand finale.
Starting from this round, the Winter Cup had entered its most intense stage.
Anyone still standing at this point was no pushover.
At 6 PM, crowds swarmed outside the stadium. Fans from all over the country lined up to enter.
Kirisaki Daiichi arrived early. Their team bus pulled into the underground parking lot and connected directly to the main hall for check-in, before heading to the locker room to prepare.
Some time later, a staff member came to notify them.
"Rakuzan's game is over. You can go in."
Tendou fastened his arm sleeves, laced up his KD18s, and—with full gear on—led Kirisaki Daiichi's team of "bad boys" out of the locker room.
They moved quickly, and as they stepped into the players' tunnel, they ran into none other than Rakuzan.
"I'll be waiting for you in the finals, Tendou."
"Sure. See you there."
No unnecessary words. Tendou and Akashi simply brushed past each other.
...
"Kirisaki Daiichi!"
"Tendou!"
"Victory!"
"Champions!"
The moment Tendou stepped onto the court, the arena erupted in thunderous cheers.
Even Seirin, who had come out early for warmups, turned their eyes toward the Kirisaki squad.
"This time, we'll beat you for sure, Tendou!"
Kagami approached him, locking eyes with determination.
He had clearly forgotten what happened that summer—when Tendou had slammed him to the ground.
Thankfully, Tendou had no intention of repeating himself.
"I'm looking forward to it," he replied calmly, before turning to lead his team in warmups.
"So calm…"
"Well, Kirisaki are the reigning champs. And Tendou's the strongest."
The Seirin team couldn't help but notice his composed attitude.
It felt like he wasn't taking them seriously.
That alone gave Seirin one more reason to want to win.
"Let's give them something to remember, Kagami."
"You got it!"
Kagami glanced one last time at Tendou's back before returning to the team.
Before long, the match began.
Starting lineups for both teams:
Seirin: Izuki Shun, Hyūga Junpei, Kuroko Tetsuya, Kagami Taiga, Kiyoshi Teppei
Kirisaki Daiichi: Hanamiya Makoto, Haizaki Shōgo, Tendou Kageyoshi, Hara Kazuya, Seto Kentarō
Tendou quickly noticed that Kuroko's gaze was fixed directly on him.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I don't owe you money, do I, Kuroko?"
"I'm serious, Tendou."
Kuroko's stare didn't waver.
He wasn't talking about money—he was talking about beating Tendou.
"Not this again…"
Tendou turned away to take his position, utterly unfazed.
He said,
"Don't lump me in with Kise or Midorima. If you want to prove something… then do it on the court."
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