The ball went in!
Tendou dunked over Kagami, his dominating presence leaving people dazzled.
Too strong!
This was the only adjective Kagami could think of at this moment.
The feeling Tendou gave him was absolute strength.
Far surpassing Aomine, Midorima, Kise, and Murasakibara.
So strong that even as his opponent, he couldn't help but want to worship him.
Among all the Generation of Miracles he had faced, only Tendou had given him this feeling.
The Seirin players stared intently at Tendou as he casually walked back on defense, their determined gazes revealing wariness.
However...
"Don't mind it, let's immediately return one!" Hyuga Junpei shouted loudly, trying to encourage his teammates with these words.
"Yeah!"
Kagami and the others responded loudly, all throwing themselves into the offensive end.
With the game reaching this point, there was no retreat.
This was a single-elimination tournament, and Seirin, aiming to dominate the nation, had to win this game no matter what.
...
Seirin's offensive possession.
Still the same lightning-fast passing and cutting coordination.
With just one glance—merely one glance—all five Seirin players knew what they needed to do.
They moved, passed, and screened around Kagami who was in the Zone domain.
"Snap!" "Snap!" "Snap!"
The basketball shuttled back and forth across the court like lightning. Even without Kuroko's misdirection, Hanamiya Makoto couldn't intercept Seirin's passes.
It was truly too fast.
"Hesitation can't keep up with Kagami's speed."
"Don't think too much, trust your instincts, and then believe in him."
"We can do it—believe in the bonds between us."
The ball was instantly passed to the inside, where Kiyoshi Teppei in the paint didn't hesitate.
The moment the basketball came to him, he followed his instincts and simply tossed the ball toward the basket.
There, Kagami's figure had already leaped high. He caught the ball in mid-air and was about to slam it down.
At that moment, an arm seemed to reach across vast distances to swat at the ball.
Kagami knew without guessing that it was Tendou's arm, positioned between himself and the basket.
Because on the current court, only Tendou could keep up with Seirin's offensive rhythm.
Able to see everyone's future on the court, no matter how fierce Seirin's offense became, he could always respond accordingly.
Concentrating tremendous force at one point, he forcibly swatted away Kagami's dunk.
Izuki Shun judged the trajectory, grabbed the basketball first, then passed to Hyuga Junpei for a three-point attempt.
"Swish!"
Seirin's captain didn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Damn it, didn't even give me time to react."
Hanamiya Makoto wiped the sweat from his face.
Ever since opening the Zone's second door, Seirin's offense had been like a tsunami.
By the time he realized the danger, Seirin had already completed their shot, leaving no room for response.
"What incredible team coordination!" Many people marveled at Seirin's fierce offense.
"Seirin was already a high-speed team to begin with. Even in normal conditions, their ball movement speed was among the nation's top tier."
"Now, everyone can keep up with Kagami's Zone rhythm..."
Imayoshi Shoichi didn't finish the rest of his sentence.
He had seen Zone battles many times—that was a domain where mediocrity couldn't interfere.
Yet now all of Seirin's players could keep up with Kagami's rhythm. Seirin's team coordination was more than twice as strong as usual.
"The only one who can keep up with Seirin's entire team offense now is Tendou alone!"
"But it's also very difficult to completely stop Seirin's offense—even Unlimited Void was broken through."
Although Kasamatsu Yukio couldn't sense it, based on his understanding of Tendou, he had definitely tried to extinguish Seirin's hope.
But Seirin's offense hadn't been affected.
"After all, little Tendou's opponent now isn't just little Kagami alone, but all five Seirin players!"
Yes.
Tendou had tried from the beginning.
The result was that Seirin's ball could operate normally, and Kagami Taiga wasn't affected.
In gaming terms, Seirin's current attack power had exceeded Tendou's defense power.
He couldn't single-handedly strangle Seirin's offense.
"No, there might still be a way."
Akashi noticed Tendou's expression—he seemed to be contemplating some possibility.
He understood this old teammate well, as the Generation of Miracles members were among his few friends.
"Could there still be a method?" the Rakuzan players asked.
"I don't know," Akashi shook his head. "Even I have no way to stop Seirin's current offense."
"Although I can see it, you can't. Verbal reminders come too late for you to react—even bringing you into the Zone domain would be the same."
Hayama Kotaro wanted to ask more, "Then..."
"So I don't know, because I have no solution. But Tendou might not be the same."
Akashi just had this feeling.
This old teammate of his could always turn decay into miracle.
...
On the court.
Seto Kentaro passed the ball to Hanamiya Makoto, who had just received it and hadn't even crossed half court when he saw all of Seirin pressing up.
"Full-court press?!"
Seirin had used this tactic once before.
Using Kuroko's difficult-to-notice characteristic to steal and score quickly.
"But Kuroko's weak presence has already disappeared, right? Can this still be effective?"
It might not have been effective before, but now, it definitely could work.
Aida Riko had this confidence.
Her team's chemistry could now be said to exceed 100%.
As long as they could force Hanamiya Makoto to pass, Seirin could steal the ball.
Seirin's current team coordination was simply three or four stories high.
"Damn bastards."
Hanamiya Makoto gritted his teeth, his expression dark and uncertain, clearly wary of Seirin's current full-court press.
His intelligent mind made him understand that threats were everywhere.
Just as he was hesitating about simply giving the ball to Tendou to break Seirin's full-court press, massive amounts of information suddenly flooded his mind.
"Could it be?!"
He was stunned for a moment, then took a step forward. Sure enough, Izuki Shun in front of him moved laterally just as the information that had suddenly appeared in his brain predicted, extending his hand to steal and force a pass.
Hanamiya Makoto instinctively stepped back to avoid the pressure.
Turning his head, Seirin's number 10 had already closed in, applying further pressure.
In the past, he would probably have been stripped of the ball at this point, but now, having gained future sight, he made a choice that surprised everyone.
Facing Kuroko's pressure, he suddenly turned and backed into him, then made a no-look pass, sending the ball to his teammate's hands.
"I see, this is the scenery that Tendou sees!"
---
[Get 20 chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"]
Hello everyone, in case you're interested, I'm publishing two new fanfics:
Warhammer 40K: Forged in Steel
Dragon Ball: Super Saiyan, Super Problems