Chapter 146: Generation of Miracles Civil War

As golden light illuminated the room, Tendou finally perked up.

"This time, don't give me another flashy-but-useless gold-leaf reward."

Going from unfamiliar to familiar was already hard enough—saying goodbye made it worse.

Fortunately, this time it wasn't some prop card.

It was a brand new skill.

[Dismantle]

Great. He had the face of Satoru Gojō, but all the techniques belonged to his mortal enemy Sukuna.

Aside from the Six Eyes, he got none of the good stuff—no Limitless, no Hollow Purple, nothing.

Tendou could practically feel the system's malice.

Sukuna's slashes are divided into three types: Dismantle, Cleave, and Open.

Tendou already had Cleave. Now he'd obtained Dismantle, the second type.

This was a slash that adjusted based on the disparity in cursed energy and strength between combatants. In the source material, anyone hit by it never survived—unless they had Rika-level plot armor.

By that logic, as long as Tendou was stronger than his opponent, his steals and attacks would become unstoppable.

Tendou checked his updated stats:

Strength: 97 (Cap: 99)

Speed: 99 (Cap: 99)

Stamina: 99 (Cap: 99)

Agility: 99 (Cap: 99)

As long as he didn't challenge college or pro players, it seemed like no one could touch him.

Tendou accepted the system's trolling in silence.

"Just don't give me another broken backstory again, please."

Like Cleave, Dismantle came with no extra effects or lore.

Which could only mean one thing—unless something changed, the next episode would probably serve up another emotionally heavy flashback just to justify this new power.

"At this rate, it really is becoming Tendou's Basketball."

He gave up.

...

Day 3 of the Round-Robin Tournament.

It was the peak of the Tokyo regional qualifiers.

Today's two games would decide which three schools would move on to Nationals.

The first match was Seirin vs. Senshinkan—basically a warm-up before the main event.

This match had no bearing on the second one.

Kirisaki Daiichi and Tōō Academy had already locked up two of the three spots. Seirin and Senshinkan were fighting for the last ticket.

But as the match began, things didn't unfold the way fans had expected.

It was as if Seirin didn't care for anything but first place. From tip-off, they were completely dominated by Senshinkan—none of the black-horse energy they showed before remained.

Kuroko's magic seemed exposed and ineffective. He looked completely out of sorts, unable to contribute to the team.

As for Kagami, he was benched due to injury and could only watch from the sidelines.

Most fans had assumed that even though Seirin lost to Kirisaki Daiichi and Tōō, they'd still secure the third ticket.

After all, they were the ones who had upset Shūtoku to enter the round-robin in the first place.

But by the third quarter, the match was already out of reach. Senshinkan, who had strategically held back against Kirisaki and Tōō, went all-in on this one game.

Their all-or-nothing gamble paid off.

They finished the round with a 1–2 record—just enough to clinch Tokyo's final spot and hand Seirin their third straight loss.

Riko felt the crushing weight of the loss on her shoulders.

"If we hadn't gotten greedy… if we hadn't challenged both Kirisaki and Tōō, the third spot would've been ours."

"If I'd realized Kagami's injury earlier, we wouldn't have gone down like this."

But regret was useless now—just like her father once said:

"Only by recognizing your flaws can you truly grow stronger."

And so, while the whole team was dragging their feet and ready to go home and recover mentally…

Riko stood in the middle of the locker room and declared:

"No one is allowed to leave. We're all going to stay and watch the afternoon match!"

"Coach… we really don't have the energy to watch another game…"

"Too bad. Nationals are over for us this year—but what about the seasonal cups?"

"What if we run into Tendou again? Or Aomine? You want to face them like this again?"

"We're going together. We're going to see, with our own eyes, just how far away we are from the true championship contenders!"

Then she delivered a piece of good news:

"Also, Teppei will be at the game this afternoon. He's fully recovered—and he'll be back in time for the Winter Cup!"

Teppei?!

First-years didn't know who that was, but veterans like Hyūga and Izuki looked overwhelmed.

"Teppei? Who's that?"

"He's the founder of our basketball club. He's also one of the Uncrowned Kings—Iron Heart, Kiyoshi Teppei!"

Uncrowned Kings?

Like that guy Hanamiya from Kirisaki Daiichi?

No way—Seirin had been hiding someone like that?!

A Generation of Miracles-level Kagami, a Miracle-tier support like Kuroko, and now an Uncrowned King?

"Seirin's lineup is cracked."

But the most shocked people weren't Seirin's teammates—it was the viewers.

Once they learned about the Miracle Generation and the Uncrowned Kings, they realized just how terrifying Seirin's full-strength lineup actually was.

And Tendou had still crushed them, made them look like amateurs.

That was brutal.

Now, what everyone was eagerly awaiting was the real main event:

Tendou vs. Aomine.

After the Kirisaki match, the audience realized Kuroko no Basket's power scale still had room to rise.

A direct showdown between Tendou and Aomine?

That was going to be collision of titans.

After all, both were former aces of Teikō.

"They beat their opponents by 70+ points on average?!"

"Yeah. Ever since Aomine Daiki joined, Tōō's overall strength has surpassed even the reigning champs."

"So… they're kinda like us?"

"Basically."

On Kirisaki Daiichi's team bus, the players were already discussing their next opponent—Tōō.

Tōō's rise hadn't happened much earlier than Seirin's.

But once Japan National Team player Katsunori Harasawa joined and the school invested heavily in its basketball program, Tōō had rapidly become a top-tier contender.

In the past two years, they had both reached the final four at Nationals.

"What kind of guy is Aomine Daiki?" the players wondered aloud.

But Hanamiya wasn't thinking about Aomine.

His mind was on his old captain—Imayoshi Shōichi.

"Tch. I really don't want to deal with that sly bastard."

Meanwhile, over at Tōō Academy…

Their team was also gearing up for the big game.

Neither side had any intention of taking it easy, even though both had already qualified.

Their goal was the championship—no reason to back down now.

"Momoi, do we have all the scouting reports?"

"What about Tendou?"

Imayoshi and the rest of the team turned to Momoi.

Her scouting and analysis had earned the team's full trust.

"This is all I've got. Honestly, you might be better off not looking."

"Why?"

"Because even I can't figure out just how far he's evolved."

Her gaze drifted toward her childhood friend.

Unlike usual, he hadn't stayed on the bench waiting for the second half.

Today, he was ready from the very beginning, warming up with the starters.

And his entire presence radiated an aura so intense, no one dared to approach him.