The match was intense.
It was a full-scale clash—tactics, physical strength, and technique all colliding.
Whenever one team pulled ahead, the other quickly adjusted and reeled them back in.
It was a classic Seirin-style game, with the scoreline rising and falling like a roller coaster.
But even this kind of full-court press wasn't invincible.
Yōsen still had Himuro Tatsuya—a guard approaching the level of the Generation of Miracles.
Soon, the ball-handling duties shifted from Fukui Kensuke to Himuro, and just like that, Seirin's fast-break momentum came to a halt.
The point gap widened again. And to make matters worse for Seirin, Kiyoshi Teppei's old injury flared up.
Even without interference from Kirisaki Daiichi this time, his leg injury hadn't fully healed.
In the intense matchup against Murasakibara, the injury unfortunately relapsed.
Seirin had no choice but to sub in Mitobe Rinnosuke.
But compared to Kiyoshi Teppei, Mitobe was on a whole different level.
Seeing this, Kagami knew—he had to step up and take full responsibility for Seirin's interior defense.
But the result was predictable: he couldn't stop Yōsen's seamless inside-out play.
"Damn it!"
He clenched his fists, clearly frustrated.
"This idiot… if he keeps playing like this, Seirin is going to lose for sure."
Aomine could tell what Kagami was thinking just by the look on his face.
"Huh?" Kise turned his head, as if asking, "Why?"
"It's the Zone," Akashi replied calmly.
"Kagami is probably trying to enter the Zone, attempting to replicate Tendou's wide-range defense to make up for Kiyoshi's absence."
It was easy to see. Kagami's positioning on the court now was exactly like Tendou's during his match against Rakuzan.
He stood alone in the center, trying to cover all areas within the three-point arc on his own.
"But the more he tries, the harder it'll be."
"Why?"
"Because entering the Zone a second time is the hardest," Akashi explained.
"The first time, a player might stumble into it without knowing anything—when the heart is clear, it's easier to break through."
"But once they've tasted the immense power of the Zone, experienced how effortlessly everything flows… unnecessary thoughts start clouding the mind."
Kise frowned. He had also been pondering how to enter the Zone.
He wanted to know more, so he pressed on:
"But Tendou-kun, Aomine-kun, and you can enter the Zone anytime, right?"
"That's because the three of us understand how to get to the Zone's door. After that, it's just about using the key."
Kise suddenly understood.
How could Kagami compare to Tendou?
The first time he entered the Zone was purely by accident during the Winter Cup.
In terms of experience, he was miles behind Tendou and the others.
"So… doesn't that mean Seirin's going to lose?"
"No. He'll get in."
"Huh?"
Tendou's confident words stunned everyone discussing the Zone just moments before.
Because he had already seen it in the broadcast—he saw the trigger.
Sure enough, Kagami broke through.
Although he hadn't fully mastered the Zone, entering it wasn't difficult for him.
Not because of some "main character aura," but because of the nature of his trigger: whenever Seirin was in deep trouble, he could almost always enter.
Kagami, Aomine, and Akashi all had low difficulty when it came to entering the Zone.
As long as their team was at a disadvantage, the conditions were met.
And then, as the deep crimson lightning symbolizing the Zone burst forth, Seirin, who had been suppressed, suddenly turned the tables and began dominating Yōsen.
Kagami even made a trailing three-pointer—something not usually in his arsenal—and turned to get back on defense right after releasing the shot.
"Amazing!"
"He started running back before the shot even landed… who does he think he is, Midorima?"
Hyūga Junpei couldn't hold back a big grin.
The tide of the game shifted in an instant.
Seirin not only erased the point deficit—they pulled ahead.
Kagami had expanded his defensive coverage to the entire area inside the three-point arc.
From that point on, the game reached a boiling point.
Under immense pressure, Murasakibara followed Kagami into the Zone.
The clash between Zones erupted again, delivering a visual spectacle that made the viewers feel as though they were right there.
But in the end, it was Seirin who came out on top.
The game remained neck-and-neck all the way to the final second.
Yet in Yōsen's most crucial possession, Kuroko stepped up once again, making a game-winning steal that secured Seirin's victory by just one point—sending them into the next round of the Winter Cup.
"We did it!"
"We won!"
The Seirin bench exploded with excitement. Even the five players on the court were caught in a frenzy.
Aida Riko was ecstatic. After her initial joy subsided, she turned to glare at someone in the stands.
"You're next—Tendou Kageyoshi!"
He was the most handsome man she had ever seen—and the one she feared most.
During the summer's national tournament, Seirin had nearly been destroyed by that monster.
She could still recall the suffocating atmosphere in the clubroom after that loss. It had been like death itself had visited them.
Even now, she wasn't sure if her team could beat him. But this time… they wouldn't go down like they did at nationals.
"That rookie coach…"
Tendou noticed the provocation in her eyes. Hands in his pockets, he chuckled and turned away.
Just like in the original timeline, Seirin was currently the strongest team in the Winter Cup.
If he hadn't existed, there'd be no doubt they'd win it all.
Now?
Not a chance.
The gap between Kuroko's Basketball and Tendou's Basketball was narrowing fast.
After all the development they gave Seirin… just to have him crush them in the end—he wondered how the production team would feel about that.
Tendou was looking forward to it.
"It's finally happening. I've waited so long, I've grown flowers waiting."
After the Winter Cup, maybe he'd disappear from the story too.
After all, Seirin had been winning the whole time, and Kirisaki Daiichi had only played one match since the qualifiers.
Can Tendou really beat them?
Probably not, right? Judging by the way the production team's setting things up, Seirin is clearly being positioned to win it all.
"First the Zone, then the Meteor Slam, and now this massive defensive coverage… he's practically catching up to Tendou in every area."
This power boost is insane!
Kagami went from being below the Generation of Miracles to steamrolling them—barely within a year.
For longtime fans who followed from the prequel, it was hard to accept that the Miracles were getting wiped out by Kagami.
At the beginning, he was just a side character shattered by Tendou's overwhelming strength.
Yet after one summer, he had already defeated everyone in the Generation of Miracles—except Tendou and Akashi.
Wild Instinct. Zone. He had everything.
If the writers gave Kagami a pair of eyes to rival the Six Eyes, no one would even be surprised at this point.
One viewer screamed:
"Nooo! I don't want Tendou to lose to them!"
---
[Get 20 chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"]