Kuroko no Basket: Honored One

Yagyū Jūdai had once hoped that Tendou would inherit his legacy.

If possible, he'd even planned to marry off his daughter to Tendou and hand over his entire kendō hall to him. The boy was that exceptional—born for the sword, it seemed.

And yet…

He went off to play basketball. Not only that, he joined up with some group of so-called "Generation of Miracles."

Irresponsible. Aimless. Squandering his talent.

Yagyū Jūdai was so furious he could hardly breathe, thumping his chest in frustration. If he could've flown straight to Tokyo to drag Tendou back, he would've. But when it came down to it, he had no idea what to say.

He hadn't known Tendou that long—just two matches of kendō between them—but even that was enough to reveal the kid's infuriating personality. Cocky as hell. Thought the world revolved around him.

No way to fight a battle unprepared.

So Jūdai chose to observe for now, waiting for the right moment. Ideally, someone would knock some sense into the kid. Show him how pointless this basketball nonsense was.

A real man should be wielding a sword!

And so, the present-day sword saint began watching basketball games—becoming an unexpected "basketball commentator" for Kirisaki Daiichi.

The early matches weren't anything special. The opponents were weak, no one that could shake Tendou's delusions.

But today, the black-haired brute from Tōō—he was different. Even as someone who barely knew basketball, Jūdai could tell this one was dangerous.

His daughter had told him the guy's name: Aomine Daiki. Another so-called member of the Generation of Miracles. Apparently quite famous.

Jūdai thought this was the perfect opportunity for Tendou to face reality.

He even bought a plane ticket to Tokyo, planning to step in once the kid inevitably lost.

And then the game began—and kept going—and he realized that this black-haired menace wasn't even pushing Tendou to his limits.

Especially when Tendou used that move—"Cleave."

Jūdai stood bolt upright in shock.

"Dad?" his daughter called out.

"Cleave," he murmured.

"Cleave? What's that?"

"That move," Jūdai said, eyes fixed on the screen. "That's the slash he created back then to defeat me."

He was lost in memory.

It had been Tendou's second time storming into his dōjō.

He still remembered the scene clearly: Tendou with a bamboo sword slung over his shoulder, sunglasses perched on his face, kicking open the front doors like he owned the place.

"Old man!" the boy had shouted. "I'm here to take you down!"

Jūdai had stared at the broken door, rage bubbling up. He swore he'd teach that arrogant brat a lesson.

But what happened next changed his mind completely—so much so that he even considered marrying his daughter off to him.

Because he had almost lost.

"That move," Jūdai said now, "he created it to make up for his physical immaturity at the time."

He fell silent again, lost in thought.

"Back then, he was only eleven. Barely reached up to here," he said, gesturing to his chest. "His body wasn't fully developed, and he didn't have the raw strength I had."

"To make up for that, he invented a high-speed slash—one designed to neutralize the physical gap between us. It almost knocked the sword out of my hands."

"No way," his daughter said, eyes wide in disbelief.

Her father was the reigning sword saint—over two hundred undefeated matches. And he nearly lost to a ten-year-old?

"You weren't there," Jūdai replied. "You wouldn't understand how unorthodox his swordplay was."

"It's a slash designed to counter strength disparities—so powerful it can turn the tide."

"If he's stronger than his opponent?" she asked.

"Then his opponent doesn't stand a chance," he said without hesitation. "No one can evade that slash—not even me."

This entire scene was faithfully animated and broadcast to viewers in the real world.

They even got to see clips of Tendou storming the dōjō, all from the perspective of Yagyū Jūdai's daughter.

There he was—bamboo sword in hand, kicking down the doors, cocky as hell. Every single trainee in the hall wanted to beat him to a pulp.

But the girl—what she saw in that moment was different. She only saw his striking eyes and defined eyebrows.

In that instant, she felt like she'd met a prince from her dreams.

And now, seeing him again after all this time, those buried memories surged back to life.

"Is this girl Tendou's new love interest?"

"She's drawn so pretty—kind of looks like Kuroko."

Mizuhashi wasn't binge-watching episodes this time. His eyes were glued to the screen.

Ever since Tendou entered the Zone, he couldn't stop watching. Every second felt like forever.

As soon as the latest episode dropped, he jumped into the livestream to watch with everyone else.

He'd been stunned silent by Tendou's new ability, but the moment the new girl appeared, it was like he'd discovered a whole new world.

The animation team played up the tension. Yagyū Jūdai's daughter had this awestruck expression, like Tendou was the hero she'd been waiting for. From the moment she saw him, her heart had skipped a beat.

"Dad? So… are we still going to Tokyo?"

"…Let's cancel for now," Jūdai muttered. "We'll go some other time."

He didn't understand basketball—but he could tell Tendou wasn't going to lose this match.

And if Tendou didn't lose, there was no point trying to convince him to take over the dōjō.

Besides, he'd heard pro basketball players made an absurd amount of money—more than a sword saint like him ever could.

...

Back on the court…

Coach Harasawa couldn't help but call another timeout.

His eyes turned to Momoi, who gave a small shake of her head—an admission of defeat.

The truth was, no one could predict the abilities of the Generation of Miracles.

Before the Shutoku match, no one knew Tendou possessed the Six Eyes and could see the future.

Before the game with Tōō, no one knew he could access the Zone at will—let alone the existence of "Cleave."

He was evolving every single day, as if he had no limits.

So this timeout… wasn't really a strategy session. It was more like a chance for Aomine to gather his thoughts.

Because these two boys—Tendou and Aomine—they were on another level compared to anyone Harasawa had ever coached.

He, too, had never come this close to the door of the Zone.

Now, all they could do was leave the outcome in the players' hands.

"Even Coach Harasawa is out of ideas, huh?"

"Well, they are the Generation of Miracles."

Aida Riko sighed.

Harasawa was one of the top coaches in the country. He had professional experience and years of tactical knowledge. When it came to high school-level coaching, he was practically unbeatable.

But even he had no answers today.

Zone defense? Double-teams? Shrinking the paint?

None of that worked on Tendou.

The difference in skill was too vast—as if Tendou played in a different dimension entirely.

Rushing to double-team him only backfired, disrupting their own rhythm without affecting his.

For coaches, it was a frustrating sight.

In the end, the match would be decided by the players themselves.