Kuroko no Basket: Honored One

The third quarter ended.

Kirisaki Daiichi was leading Rakuzan by 12 points—73 to 61.

Mayuzumi Chihiro had scored another 8 points in the quarter, bringing his total to over 20, second only to Akashi on the team.

It was an outstanding performance. You couldn't ask more of him—

Certainly not to compare him to Tendou.

In the third quarter alone, Mayuzumi went 4 for 7, shooting above 50%.

But Tendou went 9 for 11…

And dropped another 20 points in the quarter.

Worse yet, Rakuzan's most reliable scoring option—Mayuzumi—had lost the effectiveness of his visual misdirection.

At this point, he was like a walking spotlight.

Even so, as he subbed out, Rakuzan fans applauded him.

"Good work, senpai."

Akashi personally handed Mayuzumi a water bottle. The gesture alone made all of Mayuzumi's effort feel worthwhile.

"What do you mean, 'good work'? I still missed a bunch of shots," Mayuzumi said, a bit regretfully.

"If only I had met you sooner, Akashi."

As a player, getting to represent a powerhouse like Rakuzan in the national tournament made him both proud and content.

"And besides, weren't you the one who worked the hardest?"

Twice now, Rakuzan had nearly collapsed under Tendou's onslaught.

Both times, it was Akashi who had stepped up and pulled the team back from the brink.

Without him, Kirisaki Daiichi would've blown Rakuzan out of the water.

Just looking at Akashi's stats made that obvious.

He had played all three quarters—30 full minutes—and scored 26 points.

It wasn't much compared to Tendou, who had already racked up a ridiculous 53 points, more than double.

But Akashi had also dished out 15 direct assists, and probably close to 10 more indirect ones.

Almost every point Rakuzan had scored had come through him.

Akashi gave a small smile, then turned his gaze toward each of his teammates in turn.

"No matter what happens, I want all of you to lend me your strength—until the very end."

How could they refuse?

Every one of them nodded without hesitation.

They were ready to fight alongside Akashi down to the last second.

The team was united.

Akashi nodded inwardly, though he knew that alone wouldn't be enough.

A 12-point gap… wasn't hopeless, but the odds weren't in their favor.

He suspected that "Unlimited Void," as overpowered as it seemed, had to come with a cost—

Just like the Zone, it likely drained stamina at an extreme rate.

He bet Tendou wouldn't be able to keep using it freely in the fourth quarter.

It was a gamble—but one he was willing to take.

And then… the first possession of the fourth quarter.

Tendou went straight for the paint.

Akashi bravely stepped up to block him—

And was immediately hit with another crushing wave of data.

In an instant, his reaction time, decision-making, and motor control were all slowed.

He couldn't even finish his defensive motion.

Tendou sliced through him and entered the paint.

Rakuzan's defenders rushed in to help—

Only to be struck down, one after another, by Unlimited Void's indiscriminate information assault.

"This is bulls**t!" Liangfeng shouted in his livestream.

Aside from Akashi, no one else could even get close to Tendou.

How are you supposed to play like this?

But…

"Tendou's Unlimited Void seems to be an area of effect attack."

"Did you all notice? Whenever he activates it, none of the other Kirisaki Daiichi players come anywhere near him—they all keep their distance."

The comment section burst into laughter.

"So what?" someone asked.

"So what?" Liangfeng snatched a bottle of water and shouted at the viewer,

"So what? SO IT MEANS ONLY HE GETS TO PLAY THE DAMN GAME!"

Swish!

Another shot went in.

The lead stretched to 15 points.

"He's not going to stop—not until he wins. Isn't that crazy?"

Akashi could already sense Tendou's insane hunger for victory.

Unlimited Void definitely had drawbacks.

But Tendou's every action made one thing clear:

Until he wins, he won't stop.

"Then I guess I don't have a choice either."

Crackle!

Akashi clenched his fists.

Crimson lightning once again sparked from his pupils.

Win!

There was no deeper reason—

No lofty ideals.

Right now, he simply wanted to defeat Tendou.

"Let's go, Akashi!"

Crackle!

Tendou's eyes erupted with silver lightning.

And then—

The other eight players on the court followed suit.

Rakuzan was going to make one final push.

Every last player burst forward at full speed.

Entering the Zone, Akashi found that the pressure from Unlimited Void wasn't as suffocating anymore.

Maybe it was because his mind had gone completely calm, allowing him to better process the flood of data.

But it still wasn't enough to defeat Tendou.

Slash!

Countless strikes came at him.

Akashi held on for a moment—

But ultimately, the ball was knocked out of his hands once again.

And yet…

"It's not over!"

Seeing Tendou about to rush past him, Akashi made an unthinkable move.

He dove—throwing himself to the ground in desperation.

He managed to recover the loose ball by sliding across the court.

"Seijūrō!"

"Akashi?!"

Reo Mibuchi and the others were losing it.

Their noble, untouchable Akashi… was now throwing himself on the floor just to keep the game alive?

But what shocked them even more was Tendou—

That impossibly handsome, fairy-tale prince of a player.

When he saw Akashi hit the ground to save the ball…

He actually rushed in too, not giving up on the possession.

"Tendou?!"

"Ten?!"

Momoi covered her mouth in shock.

This was the most uncharacteristic thing she had ever seen—

And yet, it was happening right in front of her.

In the end, Tendou's stronger physique won out.

He yanked the ball back from Akashi.

Akashi scrambled to his feet and shouted while running, "Recover!"

He didn't even need to say it.

The moment his teammates saw their captain playing like a madman, How could they back down?

King of Kings?

Bad Boy Army?

At this moment, none of that mattered.

Everyone was just trying to give everything they had left.

Tactics, teamwork, coordination—none of that could improve further.

But physicality—

That surged several notches higher.

The referees were getting busier and busier, constantly blowing their whistles.

They were trying to keep the game within control, but at this point, it was chaos.

No one cared anymore—

Both teams were going all out, eyes bloodshot.

This… was the power of leadership.

When the leaders led by example, everyone else followed.

And so, halfway through the fourth quarter, every single player had to drop out of the Zone.

No one had the stamina to keep going.

Yet the gap…

Kirisaki Daiichi still led by 15.

Fans from both sides screamed themselves hoarse, pouring everything they had into cheering.

Even the viewers online were choking on their own words.

『This is just too intense!』