The next day.
Tendou rode his motorcycle and, despite Aomine's complaints, arrived at the gym early to train.
He wasn't the earliest to arrive. When he entered the gym, Hanamiya Makoto was already there with dark circles under his eyes.
"You didn't sleep all night, did you?"
"Slept for a little while. Thanks to that coward uncle, we studied Jabberwock's game footage for ages."
"Watch your mouth, you brat."
Aida Kagetora immediately glared from not far away.
This Kirisaki Daiichi kid really wasn't cute at all.
First "useless" and "worthless," now "coward"—a few more and he'd probably have several more nicknames.
"Got any leads?"
"Yes."
After watching so much footage, Hanamiya Makoto discovered that the Jabberwock team members were extremely arrogant.
"They have almost no tactical coordination, spending most of their time using individual ability to tear apart opponents' defenses."
"However, when playing exhibition games against European teams, they also encountered some trouble."
European teams?
Tendou understood clearly—in this world, the only ones who could pose a threat to American basketball were European teams.
"The guy to watch out for is their captain, #4 Nash Gold Jr." When Hanamiya Makoto mentioned Nash, his expression became more serious. "This guy is a monster."
"Stronger than me?"
"Don't know. I can't see through him—feels like he hasn't gone all out yet."
Not knowing was the best affirmation of Nash's strength.
Hanamiya Makoto clearly knew Tendou's abilities, so any character that even the bad boy couldn't figure out was definitely not simple.
"In some ways, this guy is quite similar to you—someone who can form tactical systems through individual ability. I suspect he has eyes similar to yours."
Worthy of being the bad boy—he could analyze so much just from watching footage.
"Anyway, be careful in that revenge match. I'm going back to sleep now."
Hanamiya Makoto left after speaking, unlike the Aida father-daughter pair.
Once all team members arrived, they immediately held a tactical meeting to determine the team's playing style.
The focus on fast breaks remained unchanged—this was Teiko's specialty.
On defense, they adopted man-to-man tactics. Nash's passing shown in that European exhibition game reminded them of Tendou's "Dismantle."
There was no way to double-team any specific player.
Because everyone on Jabberwock was Generation of Miracles level.
"In that case, let's start practicing. This time I'll be your opponent."
After ending the meeting, Tendou immediately arranged training content.
He was no longer on the same team as the Generation of Miracles, but rather their opponent.
"Consider it early adaptation practice."
...
Several days passed like this.
This day, after finishing training, Kise still wasn't satisfied and wanted a one-on-one with Tendou.
But Aomine noticed that Kuroko wasn't on the court.
Upon asking, they learned he had gone with Aida Kagetora to the Jabberwock side.
Aomine and Kagami, one former and one current partner, immediately sensed trouble and chased after them with their group.
"Isn't little Tendou going?" Momoi asked after everyone had left.
"I won't go. I can guess what Kuroko wants to do anyway."
Meanwhile.
On the other side, Kuroko had followed Aida Kagetora all the way to a nightclub.
The Jabberwock team was inside drinking, completely unconcerned about tomorrow's game, still partying and having fun.
"Hello, I'm Kuroko Tetsuya!"
"Hey, how did you follow me here?"
Aida Kagetora was startled by his sudden appearance.
However, Kuroko's gaze remained fixed on Nash as he asked: "Why did you say monkeys don't deserve to play basketball?"
"Maybe in your eyes, we who play basketball might seem as clumsy as monkeys, but even so, what gives you the right to forbid us from playing basketball?"
As soon as these words came out, the audience couldn't stand it.
'Ugh, how is it that even in the fourth season, Kuroko is still saying this kind of stuff?'
'Because that's Kuroko's character setting.'
'Honestly, brothers, I'm tired of watching this.'
'Don't say that—he's the protagonist after all, definitely can't be as supremely arrogant as Tendou.'
'What did Kuroko do wrong? Why do you all have such big opinions?'
'It's not that he did anything wrong, mainly running over there to say such things is pointless, you know?'
'Exactly. I understand the production team wants to highlight Kuroko's uniqueness, to make him morally upright. But his behavior and lines are really too abstract. It's like I've already shit on your head, and you still come asking why I don't use the toilet?'
'If there wasn't Tendou, I wouldn't react so strongly—after all, all anime protagonists are like this. But with Tendou there, the contrast makes the difference too obvious, making Kuroko seem like a saint, and I hate saints...'
Tendou's presence had caused quite polarized reactions to Kuroko among viewers.
Tendou turned off the bullet comments. The subsequent plot was no different from the original—Aomine and the others arrived in time to rescue the situation while condemning Jabberwock's despicable behavior.
Seeing the plot return to its original course, Tendou packed up and went home.
But before that, he had to take Momoi home first...
"Tomorrow's the game."
"Mm."
"Is little Tendou confident?"
Momoi familiarly took the back seat, wrapping her arms tightly around Tendou from behind.
"Of course. Didn't I tell you already?"
"I am the strongest."
Tendou put the helmet on her head, his confident gaze captivating.
...
The next day.
The revenge match was finally held.
Fans who had waited a week flooded into the arena early, waiting for the game to begin.
It was now June, less than a month since the national tournament ended.
Therefore, the basketball atmosphere was still quite intense.
Nash's outrageous statements from a week ago had angered many people. Today, some came to the venue while others watched on TV.
But they all had the same purpose—to witness Jabberwock's defeat.
This was a very advanced multi-purpose arena. Aida Kagetora had used up a lot of favors just to secure usage rights.
3 PM.
The Jabberwock team emerged from the player tunnel.
Instantly, the arena shook with boos.
"There they are, those Jabberwock bastards!"
"Show them what's what, Generation of Miracles!"
"You absolutely must win!"
The Dragon Slayer Sword team's lineup had been announced long ago, so people had high expectations for this match.
The Generation of Miracles could similarly crush last week's college representative team into submission.
"Did you hear that, Nash? Those monkeys' wails."
Jabberwock's second-in-command and starting center Jason Silver enjoyed these boos.
Because before long, he would make these monkeys shut up completely like they did a week ago.
"We were too merciful in our last game, giving these monkeys hope."
Nash looked coldly toward the other side.
Their opponents were also making their entrance under the on-site DJ's introduction.
It was exactly those high school kids they had encountered last night.
But the one making the final entrance, he had never seen before.
"Hm? Who's that guy? Have you seen him?"
"Seen him. I have some impression."
"He came last night too?"
Nash had an excellent memory and possessed Demon Eyes. If Tendou had appeared, he shouldn't have forgotten.
"From last week's game, the billboards around the court seemed to have that kid's photo on them."
"Huh? Billboards? You mean that kid is a celebrity?"
Nash was stunned. What kind of broken team was this? Getting a celebrity to play basketball against them?
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