Tendou's agent had been at his wit's end lately.
He was sure—absolutely sure—that he'd found a gold mine.
Only problem? That gold mine refused to make money, going on and on every day about his "basketball dream," saying he was going to dominate the entire nation.
To hell with your basketball dream!
What's national dominance even worth? A championship medal isn't even made of solid gold! You're out here busting your ass for a chunk of scrap metal?
Once you're rich, you can buy gold bars and throw them at people, and nobody would say a word.
But the real headache was that the agency's owner—a total airhead—actually let him go do whatever he wanted.
So, he decided to visit Teikō and try to talk some sense into Tendou. Maybe stop him from throwing his life away chasing hoops.
Only as soon as he stepped through the doors, a golden light practically blinded him.
"Ahaha, thank you, but I'm not really looking to date anyone right now."
"We're still students, after all. We should focus on school. I won't consider dating until college."
A textbook playboy line—keep 'em on the hook, reel 'em in when you want—but that wasn't the point.
The real point was that this blonde kid was so good-looking the agent couldn't tear his eyes away.
Easily an A+ tier face. Just a hair below Tendou's S-tier.
Teikō was seriously blessed.
Without missing a beat, the agent strode over with his most charming not-a-scam-artist smile. "Hey, student, what's your name?"
"Ah? Oh, I'm Kise Ryouta."
Even his name had "gold" in it. Perfect for the camera. Way more manageable than that stubborn Tendou.
"Kise-kun, right? Have you ever considered modeling? You've got a bright future in it!"
"It pays real well!"
...
Meanwhile, in the real world, the ever-electrified video platform was still buzzing.
"Hey guys, I'm Nightmare—your lifelong companion in all things anime."
"Today we're checking out the newest episode of Generation of Miracles. By the way, Bilibili's been pushing this anime like crazy lately. Every creator I know has posted a video about it."
"But honestly? It's totally worth it. Since Slam Dunk, I've never been this into a basketball anime."
The usual intro over, Nightmare clicked into the newest episode, planning to turn it into his next video. No surprise—the show was drawing massive traffic lately and already shaping up to be a top-tier hit.
After the rock-opener rolled, the title appeared:
[Monster]
"'Monster'?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Last episode ended right before the round-robin started. Is it about an opponent?"
He hadn't watched yet. Like most creators, he preferred livestreaming his reaction so he could engage with the audience.
Still puzzled, he hit play.
As always, the episode opened with Kuroko training.
Nightmare wanted to complain. If they kept dragging this arc out, Tendou and crew were going to finish the national tournament while Kuroko was still stuck grinding.
Then again, in the original story, Kuroko only started rising in his second year. If Tendou didn't interfere, that'd take at least ten more episodes...
Not that Nightmare minded. Because, honestly, Kuroko wasn't his favorite.
He didn't dislike Kuroko, but all that idealistic "pure basketball spirit" stuff? Nightmare didn't buy it.
Clearly, the kid had never been beaten down by life.
Every time Kuroko started going on about dreams and values, Nightmare wanted to yell,
"Welcome to adulthood, kid—it's brutal out here!"
Which was why he became an unapologetic Tendou stan.
Skipping over the slice-of-life fluff, Nightmare and the viewers followed Kuroko and Riko into the arena for the Teikō vs. Seihō match.
"Riko's back on screen again. As Tendou's official pairing, she gets so much screen time even though she's not the female lead. Just goes to show how crazy popular Tendou's gotten."
Nightmare couldn't help but puff his chest in pride.
As part of the Tendou fandom, nothing felt better than watching your favorite get more and more love—even from the production team.
"That's what we call 'love the house, love the crow.'"
『Hehe, I really like Tendou and Riko's scenes. I'm just not that into Kuroko's daily life.』
『Why the hate? Kuroko's working hard too!』
『So what? Still can't make first string.』
『They haven't even started the main arc yet! What are you whining about? For all you know, your boy Tendou might need Kuroko to save him later.』
Naturally, the comment section exploded in a fan war.
Nightmare could only sigh. Welcome to fandom culture—even anime couldn't escape it.
The plot kept moving.
To the audience's surprise, Teikō was in for a real fight.
Unlike the group stage, this match was neck-and-neck in the first quarter.
"Yep, figures. In the round-robin, the opponents are a whole different level."
"But this 'Ripple Step' or 'Ancient Martial Arts Dribble' is so abstract. I swear I thought he said 'Light Footwork' at first."
Just like Tendou when he first heard it, Nightmare couldn't help but roast the name.
But roast or not, Seihō's martial-arts-style movement really was giving Teikō trouble.
The camera even zoomed in on their coach—looking all profound and wise. Totally the "hidden ace up the sleeve" type.
Sure enough, the second quarter brought out their secret weapon: Tsugawa Tomoki.
The show gave Tsugawa a proper intro via flashback, letting viewers know just how suffocating his defense was.
And to hammer it home, they even had Haizaki get completely shut down.
Again, that's how Nightmare saw it—as an experienced anime critic, he could read the production like a book.
The tension continued even after Akashi subbed out and Tendou came back in. Tsugawa's weird smile was throwing off everyone, and the viewers were getting irritated too.
Because just like the characters on screen, everyone watching was on Teikō's side.
"Ugh, this bald guy is so annoying. Smiling like that while defending? He's doing it on purpose to get in their heads."
Not just Haizaki—Nightmare and the chat were tilted too.
The guy's grin was like someone saying "heh" in a dead-serious online chat.
Just infuriating.
With no answers from Coach Shirogane either, people were losing hope.
Then Tendou—without warning—exploded.
A monstrous shadow flared up behind him like a demon, and the moment he pierced Seihō's so-called "iron wall," the entire comment section went off:
『WHAT THE HELL?!』
『DID HE JUST UNLOCK SOMETHING AGAIN?!』
Nightmare blurted out loud, shocked—and just as he did, the production team delivered:
Right after Tendou's supernatural-level assist, a flashback started to explain it all.
---
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