KNB: I'm Actually Not the Boss?!

Kise's eyes lit up. If there was one thing he was sure of, it's that Kota always had something up his sleeve! They'd escaped so many desperate situations thanks to Kota's crazy ideas. This time wouldn't be any different.

"Alright, Kota! I'm all ears, just tell me what to do!"

Kise said, full of hope, eagerly waiting for another one of Kota's signature game-breaking plays.

Kota cleared his throat and said with great seriousness,

"From now on… you have full green light to shoot."

"Yeah, yeah! Got it!"

"And we're gonna give you the ball every single time. Your job? Simple. Get that stupid basketball into their hoop."

Kise nodded instinctively… until his brain caught up with what Kota had just said. His eyes went wide.

"Wait... THAT'S IT?!"

Kota nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But… that's not a strategy! That's just… just giving me the ball and telling me to go crazy!"

Before Kise could finish, Kota cut him off with a deadpan look.

"Listen, genius… this is one of the oldest and most unstoppable 'strategies' in basketball history: Give the ball to your strongest player and let him go to work. How is that not a tactic?"

Seeing Kise still looking unconvinced, Kota let out a sigh, crouched down to meet him at eye level, and said,

"Let me teach you something, buddy. If basketball was just about following set plays for every possession… there'd be no need for something called a 'franchise player.'"

"Basketball isn't a sport where five guys just jog around the court following a script. Someone's gotta step up."

Meanwhile, in the stands…

Momoi was practically biting her nails. She grabbed onto Aomine's arm with a death grip and asked anxiously,

"What do we do now? Kota's team just got overtaken! Dai-chan, who's gonna win this?"

Aomine let her squeeze his arm to near tourniquet levels as he answered seriously,

"At this pace, Kaijo's collapse is just a matter of time. They blew a lead built over three quarters, and that kind of choke messes with your head… but…"

Aomine's gaze drifted toward Kota, who was currently giving Kise what looked like a pre-battle pep talk.

"If that guy's still hiding some secret move… Kaijo might still have a shot."

His mind flashed back to Kaijo's game… that insane, game-clinching deep three from Kota.

And Aomine wasn't the only one worried. Even Akashi, despite Rakuzan's current upper hand, was warning his teammates not to let their guard down. The closer to the end, the more dangerous Kota got. The Emperor Eye hadn't been able to predict Kota's moves multiple times this game. Right now… Akashi was actually starting to rank Kota's threat level above Kise's.

If Kota pulled something crazy out now, Rakuzan could still get flipped.

But for once… both Akashi and Aomine were wrong. Right now, Kota wasn't scheming up some new miracle… he was busy playing Emotional Therapist Simulator 3000 with Kise.

"Stop looking at me like that! I'm telling you the truth! I got nothing left! Not a single play left in the book! Even that double point guard setup I just practiced with Kasamatsu yesterday didn't work! I'm officially out of tricks!"

Kota whined.

But Kise wasn't buying it for a second.

"Liar! You totally have a trump card! Spill it already! You've stopped me from going solo every other game till now!"

Kota stared at him, dead inside.Taking a deep breath…

Motivational Bullshit Mode

"My trump card… was always you, Ryota."

Kise froze. Slowly turning to face him… only to see Kota staring back with the most overly dramatic, soap-opera-worthy look imaginable.

Kise immediately got full-body goosebumps.

"Dude… ew… say that like a normal human being, please."

Okay… clearly that delivery didn't work.

Kota switched gears, now putting on his most serious, noble face.

"I never doubted your ability. But… I do need to apologize for being selfish."

Kota bowed deeply.

"It's because I know how strong you are… that I've always held you back. If you fully evolve… guys like us will just slow you down. You'll reach the point where you can win games by yourself… like Aomine."

Kota said it with a dramatic sigh, like some tragic hero in a bad sports drama.

Kise panicked.

"Wait, wait, what?! Kota! Don't say that kinda stuff! Even if I get stronger, it's all thanks to you guys! I'd never abandon you! Besides… didn't we already prove Aomine's 'one-man army' thing doesn't work? We literally beat him!"

Before Kise could spiral any further, Kota slapped the air dramatically and cut him off mid-speech.

"Enough! I believe in you! This is your moment! You're not fighting alone! For all of us… get out there and tear them apart! This year's national champion…"

"WILL BE KAIJO!"

Kise yelled at the top of his lungs, picking up Kota's words like it was a scripted anime moment.

Something lit up behind Kise's eyes. A fire. The whole vibe shifted. As he turned and walked back onto the court, there was something heroic about his stride. Like some lone action hero heading into the final boss fight.

…But what Kise didn't see… was Kota sneakily wiping sweat off his forehead behind him, muttering under his breath,

"Man… saying cringe stuff like that really takes it outta me…"

Kasamatsu walked up next to him, staring at Kise's back with deadpan eyes

"…What did you feed him?"

Kota just wiggled his eyebrows with a mischievous grin,

"Ancient Kota family secret. Homemade Motivation Juice™. Not for sale, not for trade… passed down to me and me alone!"

Kasamatsu gave him a tired sigh.

"…Whatever. If it works."

Back on the court after the timeout…

Kota took the inbound pass and, without even blinking, immediately swung it to Kise. Then cleared out the space for him.

Akashi saw the play developing and instantly called for a switch — he wanted to guard Kise himself. Time to smother Kaijo's last hope.

Kise caught the ball, took a deep breath, and sized Akashi up.

Man… this guy was all kinds of vulnerable on the outside… but Kise knew better than to fall for that. A reckless drive would just get stripped.

"Hey, Akashi… what's it like having the Emperor Eye? Do things look super clear to you or something?"

Akashi blinked at the sudden question, then smiled thinly.

"If you want to chat, let's do it after the game."

"But fine, I'll humor you. No… it doesn't make things look clearer. It doesn't improve eyesight."

Kise nodded slowly, his voice almost lazy,

"Ah, good. That's a relief. For a second there, I was worried I got it wrong."

"…Wait, what?"

Akashi's eyes narrowed. And right then, Kise hit him with a pump fake… then exploded into a lightning-quick drive.

Akashi's pupils shrank. Even if it didn't boost vision, the Emperor Eye could still read opponents perfectly!

In Akashi's mind, he saw the successful steal play out in vivid detail… but as he moved to intercept—

Suddenly — FLASH!

A golden blur tore straight through his field of vision. Like someone had split the scene in two with a blade.

Akashi's stomach dropped.

Snapping his head around, he saw Kise's right eye… and watched, horrified, as the pupil inside spun with terrifying speed.

Perfect Copy: Emperor Eye Mode.

"Good thing you cleared that up for me, Akashi… I almost messed up the imitation."

Leaving that casual line in the air, Kise burned past him. If the Emperor Eye couldn't stop Kota… there was no way it was stopping Kise now.

"Help defense! NOW!"

Akashi yelled, spinning around, desperate,

"Chihiro! Nebuya! Block him!"

If Kise scored here, Kaijo would retake the lead… and the game's momentum would swing right back to them.

"No way I'm letting you score that easy!"

Nebuya spat on the ground and charged up to shut off Kise's path.

But Kise didn't slow down one bit. Right as he reached Nebuya, he hit a fake spin move, planted hard, and launched into a massive stepback.

Perfect Copy: Stepback Jumper (Kota Style)

From beyond the arc, Kota watched it happen… and couldn't help smiling.

"Man… there's nothing better than seeing the kid bust out my move at crunch time…"

But it wasn't over yet.

Out of nowhere, Mayuzumi — who'd been hiding on defense all quarter — came flying in, reaching out with one hand straight for Kise's face.

Blind Contest!

A hand-in-the-face block attempt!

But Kise didn't flinch. Instead, he gave a quick glance toward Mibuchi far off in the distance…

Perfect Copy: Heaven and Earth Shot

SLAP!

The sound of skin-on-skin echoed.

Kise had deliberately slapped Mayuzumi's hand mid-release — drawing the foul as the ball bounced twice off the rim… before finally rolling in.

Whistle blows

BEEP—

"Kaijo #7! Basket counts! And one!"

Kise walked to the free-throw line, took a deep breath… and nailed the shot.

Kaijo back in the lead.