On the bench.
The players of Shūtoku sat in complete silence.
Their will to fight was intact, but there was nothing left to be done.
A 30-point deficit stared them in the face—
No amount of grit or effort could overcome that.
Midorima sat quietly on the bench.
The old phrase went: "Do your best, then leave the rest to fate."
It meant doing everything within your power,
And even if the final result wasn't what you hoped for, you could still accept it calmly.
That was how Midorima used to think.
But now—
It felt like something heavy pressed against his chest,
Stirring a storm of frustration he couldn't let go of.
This bitterness from defeat…
Was even stronger than when they'd lost to Seirin at Nationals.
...
Tweet—!
The referee's whistle sounded.
The final quarter of the match began.
Just ten minutes remained until Shūtoku was officially eliminated.
Tendou remained on the court—
Giving Shūtoku no breathing room.
Midorima was the most explosive scorer in the country.
Give him an inch, and he could drop 30 or even 40 points in a single quarter.
"What a ruthless guy."
"Even with a 30-point lead, he's still not taking a break? This isn't even the finals."
"You guys don't get it. Tendou staying on the court is the biggest sign of respect he can give Midorima and Shūtoku."
The score was one-sided,
But the game itself had been far more exciting than the scoreboard suggested.
Shūtoku had thrilled fans across the nation.
Their extreme tactics, their unrelenting resolve—
It had deeply moved everyone watching.
Shūtoku's fans were still screaming their hearts out,
Because they knew—
This team had poured everything into this game.
They had prepared so much for this one match.
And even if they couldn't win—
It wasn't their fault.
They truly believed—
Even if Rakuzan had been their opponent today,
They would've had to shed blood to get through Shūtoku.
If it hadn't been Kirisaki Daiichi standing in their way—
Shūtoku's journey wouldn't have ended so soon.
But—
There were no "ifs."
...
With three minutes left, the outcome was already decided.
Tendou finally subbed himself out.
The result was clear.
There was no need to keep playing.
There was no bad blood between the teams.
Shūtoku used the last few minutes to launch one final counterattack.
Suddenly—
A rain of three-pointers poured down on the court.
With Tendou off the floor,
Midorima was like a caged beast finally unleashed.
Shot after shot—
Nearly every ball he threw went in.
And the more he lit up,
The more people were amazed by Tendou's strength.
This Midorima Shintarō—
The strongest shooter in the country—
Had been completely locked down by Tendou earlier,
Unable to even find space to shoot.
There was no denying now—
Tendou's defensive power was real.
...
Tweet—!
The game finally ended.
After Seirin, Tōō, Kaijō, Yōsen, and Rakuzan,
Shūtoku had now fallen to Kirisaki Daiichi as well.
At this moment—
Tendou had officially cleared the entire Generation of Miracles "dungeon."
Final score: 121–100.
Shūtoku managed to claw back some points in the final moments—
Salvaging a little dignity.
"You won. Congratulations."
Afterward, Masaaki Nakatani approached Tendou and offered a handshake.
His tone was calm,
But his eyes burned with intensity—
Like he wanted to swallow Tendou whole.
"Watch yourself, kid.
We'll meet again next year."
He dropped the threat bluntly,
Then turned and left without waiting for a reply.
...
"We won, Shintarō."
With Tendou off the court, Haizaki naturally became the one to speak for the team.
He walked up to Midorima.
Originally, he thought beating Midorima would bring him satisfaction.
But seeing Midorima sitting there, head lowered, completely crushed...
The feeling of triumph never came.
"Tch... am I turning soft?"
"Who would've thought even a bastard like you would care about your old teammate's feelings?"
Hanamiya couldn't help but sneer when he noticed Haizaki hesitating.
"Mind your own damn business."
Haizaki glared at him.
"And let me be clear—don't lump me in with those idiots. I'm not like them."
"Enough with the chatter.
Pack it up—
We're done here."
Tendou clapped his hands and ordered the team to clean up.
With cheers still ringing in the air,
Kirisaki Daiichi left the court victorious.
The Generation of Miracles dungeon had been completely cleared.
All that remained now—
Was Seirin, evolved into their final form.
...
The first elimination round of the Winter Cup officially came to a close.
Because of the number of participating teams,
Some would receive a bye in the second round.
A draw would determine the lucky ones.
In any case,
Once the second round finished, the remaining teams would be reduced to sixteen—
The official Winter Cup Sweet 16.
From there,
Quarterfinals, semifinals, and the championship would follow—
No byes or shortcuts anymore.
And as luck would have it—
Kirisaki Daiichi was one of the teams that received a bye.
So was Rakuzan, from the other side of the bracket.
It was hard not to suspect the organizers of some behind-the-scenes manipulation...
But for many teams,
It was actually good news.
Whether it was the old king or the new king,
Facing either meant inevitable defeat.
So having Kirisaki Daiichi and Rakuzan out of the way for now
Actually gave the rest a better shot at advancing.
...
The Next Day
Kirisaki Daiichi had no game.
But Tendou still gave the team training assignments.
Their Winter Cup run so far had been short on actual games.
They skipped the qualifiers entirely—
Jumped straight to the knockout rounds—
And now had only played a single match.
The upside?
No fatigue.
They were in perfect physical condition for the next game.
The downside?
Not enough court time.
It was hard to maintain top-level rhythm without playing regularly.
Just like in the NBA—
Teams that swept their last playoff round were often the ones most likely to be upset in Game 1 of the next.
Too much rest made it hard to get back into game form immediately.
The players didn't object.
They hadn't had a game in a while, and frankly—
They were bored.
Meanwhile—
As Kirisaki Daiichi trained,
The second round of the Winter Cup continued as scheduled.
This year's focus was entirely on the upper bracket.
Because that side still had four teams from the Generation of Miracles.
Shūtoku had already been eliminated by Kirisaki Daiichi.
But three powerhouses remained in the top half:
Kirisaki Daiichi, Yōsen, and Seirin.
And fate would have it—
Yōsen would face Seirin in Round 2.
That was the highlight of the round.
By now, Seirin was no longer some unknown underdog.
After defeating both Tōō and Shūtoku,
They had become the talk of the tournament.
Some fans had even jokingly dubbed them:
"The Giant Killers."
A team not even two years old—
And yet they had already slain the giants of Tokyo.
Seirin, Shūtoku, and Tōō—
One by one, they fell.
What about Senshinkan?
They had the misfortune of being placed in Tōō's group and were knocked out in the prelims.
The old concept of the "Three Kings of Tokyo" was now obsolete.
Fans had created a new title for the modern era:
The Four Emperors of Tokyo:
Kirisaki Daiichi, Tōō, Shūtoku, and Seirin.
Tokyo…
Just keeps getting crazier.
---
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