Chapter 115: The Final Boss in the Making

This is a sponsored chapter, thank you TheSloth!

///

"Is Hanamiya going to be okay?" 

"What could be wrong with him? He just went out to get drinks, didn't he?" 

"But it's been over an hour..."

The practice match had long since ended, yet Hanamiya Makoto, who went out for drinks, was still nowhere to be seen.

With Hanamiya gone, strangely enough—whether from a sudden burst of conscience or just because their "leader" was absent—Seto and the others didn't use their elbows or play dirty at all.

Instead, the first-years, chanting about "iron will" and "toughness," turned the tables and roughed up the second-years.

That said, their dirty-play technique still needed work. Every time they pulled a move, they got caught by the ref and quickly fouled out.

Several second-years couldn't help but glance over at Tendou.

This guy, the leader of the Generation of Miracles—just one move and he benched Hanamiya like it was nothing.

"Are we seriously going to have to follow his lead now?" 

"If Hanamiya can't take him down, looks like we won't have a choice."

They looked at each other—Hanamiya had always been their ringleader, and now that he'd been crushed, they really might have to switch allegiance.

"Following Tendou might not be so bad. His Teikō team never lost a game."

"Huh? Yeah, I guess... Wait, are you serious, Yamazaki?"

Yamazaki Hiroshi—the one conscience among Kirisaki Daiichi's bad boys.

Thanks to his strong skills, Hanamiya had acknowledged him and invited him onto the team. He played as a shooting guard.

Despite his fighting spirit, he was surprisingly pure.

"Of course I'm serious. That's what basketball should be about," Yamazaki said. Not that he disliked his teammates' style.

If he did, he wouldn't have stuck with them this long.

But Tendou's style was... cleaner. It was powerfully upright, above all the cheap tricks.

Even after just one day, Yamazaki had been utterly won over by Tendou's strength.

So he walked straight up to Tendou and started helping him organize the first-years and clean up the gym.

Tendou was surprised. He hadn't expected someone from Kirisaki to join his side so soon.

"Don't look at me like that. Honestly, I've never liked Hanamiya's approach. Basketball is for playing, not for messing around or playing shogi in the gym," Yamazaki said.

"If you really want to change things, I can help."

"Oh? And how would you help me?"

Tendou raised an eyebrow.

"You want them to change, to play real basketball, right?" Yamazaki said. "I can help convince them. The truth is, they don't hate basketball. They just don't mind playing it dirty. If we go all-out, we might actually make it to Nationals even without cheap shots."

Yamazaki assumed Tendou was the kind of guy who looked down on dirty players.

After all, he was the captain of Teikō. The leader of the Generation of Miracles. The brightest star in high school basketball.

It wouldn't be weird for him to look down on them.

But then Tendou replied:

"No need. Keep things the way they are. No need to force everyone into being 'by the book.'"

Tendou never thought using little tricks in basketball was some kind of unforgivable sin.

It's just part of the game.

Even pro players grab jerseys, throw elbows, and step on shoes to stop drives.

The Detroit Pistons "Bad Boys" weren't full of superstars. They were known as the people's team. But with toughness and grit, they still won two championships.

"Of course," Tendou added, "the condition is that it has to be for the sake of winning. If anyone's just doing it for fun or to intentionally injure people—they can leave the team right now."

With that, Tendou turned and walked away.

...

In the real world.

Tendou had no idea how much time had passed.

The two worlds didn't operate on the same timeline. He'd spent three years in this world, but maybe only one year—or even less—had passed in reality.

Either way, Kuroko no Basket: Main Story had resumed.

"Hello everyone, it's your favorite video host, FanGeGe!"

"At long last, Kuroko no Basket: Main Story has started updating again!"

"From the preview trailers, you could already tell the quality was top-notch. Just like the prequel, there's no shortage of budget—it's got that premium anime smell. So there's no need to worry—just dive in!"

"I've been holding myself back all day to wait for this. No more talk—let's watch the Generation of Miracles' high school arc together."

FanGeGe was clearly a genuine fan. As the first episode loaded, he was practically bouncing in his chair with excitement.

The first second of the episode opened with a familiar voiceover:

"Teikō Middle School Basketball Club. Over one hundred members. Three-time consecutive National Champions—the undisputed powerhouse."

"In its glorious history, there were six players known as the 'Generation of Miracles,' hailed as once-in-a-decade talents, undefeated and unmatched."

The narration continued as the silhouettes of the cast flickered on screen.

The shadows hid most of their features, but long-time fans could tell at a glance who was who.

Kise, Midorima, Aomine, Momoi, Murasakibara, Akashi... and finally, Tendou.

『First!』

『Second!』

『Here they come! Season two is finally here—I've been waiting so long!』

『Yo!! Look, our King B is dead center again—he's even got the cool back-facing pose in the OP!』

『Face the camera, Tendou-sama!』

The screen flooded with excited comments. FanGeGe had to turn them off just to watch in peace.

The narration resumed.

"But there was one mysterious rumor... A player no one had seen play. No recorded appearances, no official data. And yet, all six geniuses acknowledged him without question."

"He was known... as the Phantom Sixth Man."

Then came the OP sequence.

FanGeGe perked up. Openings often contained hidden clues—JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was famous for this. A few frames could spoil the entire plot or character fates.

This one wasn't that deep, but it did introduce some new characters.

Kagami Taiga. Aida Riko. Hyūga Junpei. Izuki Shun.

Clearly, Kuroko's new teammates.

But the audience barely noticed them. The moment the original Miracles slid past the screen, the comments exploded in full color.

At the very end of the OP, a silhouette of Tendou appeared—still mostly shrouded in shadow, but that signature pair of glowing Six Eyes made him unmistakable.

Then, right before the final note of the OP, his silhouette faded—replaced by Kuroko's.

"What the hell? Are they making Tendou look like the final boss or something?!"