"Almost lost you there, Midorima!"
Tendou stamped his foot on the floor, his body leaning as he appeared in front of Midorima.
Surpassing Aomine's national number-one speed, even his sudden stop left his body tilted.
One must understand—this was Tendou Kageyoshi, the dominant force of Kirisaki Daiichi High.
Even with his superhuman physical abilities, he couldn't fully control that burst of speed. That alone spoke volumes about how terrifyingly fast he had just been.
"He cut through four screens in one breath!"
"And that's against powerhouse Shūtoku!"
"Monster!"
This was the universal sentiment among the spectators.
The real-world livestream chat was already flooded with words like "Awesome!", "Unreal!", "Holy crap!"
Everyone was stunned.
"He surpassed Aomine... He's now the fastest in the country!"
The entire Tōō Academy team was dumbfounded.
In today's high school basketball world, the Generation of Miracles each represented the pinnacle in a specific domain:
Aomine was the fastest, Murasakibara the strongest, Midorima the most accurate shooter, Kise the quickest learner, Akashi the one with the best overall court vision. Even Kagami, though not a member of the Generation of Miracles, had reached their level with his unmatched jumping ability.
But Tendou? He was a perfectly balanced all-rounder.
Now, this established order had been broken.
Tendou had demonstrated a speed surpassing even Aomine.
"Breaking through physical limits..."
Midorima's pupils contracted sharply.
He had already witnessed Tendou's focused explosiveness before—using the Six Eyes to enhance his bodily control, Tendou could erupt with speed that rivaled even his own.
Now, Tendou had surpassed even that standard, crashing through the court like a meteor, blowing past four screens in a single breath.
Midorima himself was shaken. He twisted his torso sharply and forced a sudden stop.
This was a chance created through the combined efforts of his entire team—he had to make this shot.
"Don't get in my way, Tendou!"
For once, he roared out loud, using all his strength to release the ball without holding anything back.
Tendou stretched out his arm with full force, but by a margin of mere millimeters, the ball slipped past him.
Midorima's specialty was shooting high.
His release point was high, and the arc even higher, like a mortar shot. The ball would draw a steep inverted "U" before dropping precisely into the hoop.
Other players, to avoid being blocked, might also shoot with a high release point, but theirs would only form a shallow inverted "C" at best—a huge difference.
"I still can't fully control it..."
Tendou landed and clenched his fist.
At the moment, his Thunderclap Flash was only developed to the level of four consecutive moves. Theoretically, he could control up to three consecutive changes.
The difference between three and four consecutive moves was not just a single extra step—it meant executing one more complex move in almost the same amount of time. The difficulty was immense.
"But I'll master it."
Tendou gripped his fist tighter, his confidence verging on arrogance.
For him, actual combat was the best form of training.
Swish!
Tendou had already landed by the time the ball fell into the net—showing just how high Midorima's shots arced.
Normally, when Four-Eyes (Midorima) threw a three-pointer, he would land, turn around, and even by the time he faced the other way, the ball hadn't yet gone through the hoop.
Turning away immediately after a shot without watching the outcome was Midorima's trademark flair.
What was a once-in-a-lifetime celebratory gesture for a general was Midorima's routine in every game.
The three-pointer went in, and Shūtoku's tactic had succeeded, but coach Nakatani Masaaki couldn't smile.
Tendou's Thunderclap Flash wasn't perfected yet—but it was only a matter of time.
Often, others had more confidence in Tendou than he did in himself.
...
Change of possession.
Tendou caught the ball at the top of the arc.
Shūtoku finally couldn't hold back anymore and deployed a double-team defense against him—
Midorima plus first-years Takao and Kazunari.
"Two people?"
"Still not enough."
The players from Kirisaki Daiichi immediately cut inside.
Tendou didn't disappoint.
He saw through the positions of everyone on the court with crystal clarity.
Finally—
"Dismantle!"
He uttered a single word, and the next moment the ball zipped through Midorima and Takao's hands, landing precisely in the hands of his teammate.
Haizaki might not stand up to the Generation of Miracles, but against ordinary players, he dominated without issue.
Thud!
Hayama's trademark thunder dribble followed—a dribbling speed so fast it melted past defenders almost on instinct.
Shūtoku continued their attack.
Still relying on extreme infinite screens.
They threw their entire team effort just to create a tiny window—just enough for Midorima to shoot.
Stephen Curry was historically the fastest three-point shooter, needing only 0.3 seconds to release.
Midorima's release wasn't quite as quick, but his high, textbook-perfect shooting style was world-class.
Even so, his release rarely took longer than one second—after all, he was shooting from the three-point line, not half-court or full court, where more time would be needed.
Yet, to create even that split-second of shooting space for Midorima, Shūtoku sacrificed their other four players.
The Six Eyes.
This pair of eyes forced them onto an extreme path.
During infinite screens, while shielding for Midorima, Shūtoku's four players would simultaneously cut inside to pull away defenders—
Subtly impeding Tendou's pursuit.
Though the obstruction wasn't blatant, it was technically illegal screen movement.
Tendou, however, ignored it.
Lightning sparked from his feet, golden sparks like small flames rising around him.
"Thunderclap Flash: Quadruple Move!"
Tendou shouted inwardly, and after one step, shot forward like a comet.
A left step shook off one defender, immediately following with a right to dodge the moving screen by Kimura Shinsuke.
Repeating the process, he shook off four defenders consecutively—
His speed was so explosive it was impossible for the naked eye to follow.
Without the Six Eyes, no one could have locked onto his movements.
Screech!
Tendou's shoe screeched against the floor as he stomped hard, friction screaming underfoot.
His speed intensified yet again, his entire being burning with fierce momentum.
This time, Tendou stood more firmly, his Six Eyes as bright and penetrating as a starry sky, mesmerizing and overwhelming.
Midorima gritted his teeth and refused to back down, also increasing his shot speed.
Swish!
Another three-pointer went in, with Tendou's block missing by a mere hair's breadth.
Shūtoku kept scoring—and all from beyond the arc.
...
"But Tendou's Thunderclap Flash Quadruple Move...
He will complete it soon.
And when that day comes, what will Shūtoku be able to do?"
The Shūtoku team, currently battling to a draw against Kirisaki Daiichi, had been pushed to this extreme.
If they faced Kirisaki Daiichi later, could they really win?
Tendou wasn't just fighting to maintain his lead.
Maybe he was strengthening himself through battle—perfecting his technique in the middle of the game.
But what if the score was tight?
Would this method still work?
Aida Riko couldn't predict it.
Her Data Eye was impressive, but compared to Tendou's Six Eyes, it fell short.
Both sides' scores continued rising—
At an astonishing pace.
In the first five minutes of the third quarter, both teams maintained a 100% field goal percentage.
Unbelievable.
Midorima, borrowing his teammates' screens, moved even faster with the ball—like a desperate messenger racing against time.
He deliberately increased his running and shooting speed.
Because Tendou's Thunderclap Flash Quadruple Move was nearing completion—rapidly.
"Training yourself mid-game?"
"Don't underestimate us, Tendou!"
Midorima refused to acknowledge Tendou's method.
If it were him, he would have completed everything in training before the game even started.
That, in his mind, was truly doing everything in one's power.