"Huh? Why does it feel like Shūtoku's point guard is just aimlessly wandering around the court?"
Kise frowned in confusion. In the first quarter, Takao had been playing out of his mind, completely locking down Seirin's first-year duo.
Kota rubbed his chin, equally puzzled.
"Since the second quarter started, he's been glued to Kuroko. On offense, he's doing nothing, and on defense... he's literally just standing there like a traffic cone."
Momoi, sitting next to them, looked serious. She glanced at Kuroko and muttered, "Is this… Aomine's trick applied in a different way?"
—
On the court, Takao's brows were tightly furrowed. From the start of the second quarter, something felt wrong—his field of vision had narrowed dramatically.
His Hawk Eye… was gone!
Not only had he lost his ability to oversee the entire court, but Kuroko's presence had become overwhelmingly noticeable in his view—so much that it overshadowed even the ball itself. Several passes had flown right by him, and he completely missed them.
For context, Takao wasn't just any point guard. If you set aside Akashi, Takao was arguably the best PG in Kuroko no Basket. Even Seirin's own playmaker, Izuki with his Eagle Eye, couldn't fully match Takao's Hawk Eye.
And yet here he was, failing to focus on the ball—what kind of nonsense was this?
"You've got to be kidding… my ability…?"
Suddenly, realization hit him like a brick. His eyes snapped toward Kuroko, panic rising.
"What the heck did this guy do to me?!"
Noticing Takao's glare, Kuroko gave a small nod.
"Apologies. But this was the only way I could level the playing field. Honestly... I don't like using this either."
Hearing that, the corner of Takao's mouth twitched.
"Are you serious? So your misdirection... doesn't just make people ignore you… it can also force someone to ONLY see you? What kind of broken DLC skill is that?! Bro, we're playing basketball, not casting illusions here…"
Once he realized his ability was completely offline, Takao didn't even panic. He just casually strolled around the court like someone walking off a big meal.
During the next offensive play, Ōtsubo passed the ball to Takao, hoping he'd organize the attack. Takao, being too distracted, completely missed the catch — the ball bounced right off his hands and flew out of bounds.
Turnover. Seirin ball.
BEEP—
Shūtoku immediately called for a timeout.
"TAKAO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE?! SLEEPWALKING?!"
As soon as they reached the bench, Ōtsubo exploded. From the second quarter onward, Takao had been totally useless. And now, failing to catch a clean pass? Yeah, from an outsider's perspective, it totally looked like the captain's bad pass.
Midorima wiped the sweat from his face and chimed in to defuse the tension,
"Is it… because of Kuroko?"
At that, everyone's expression stiffened.
Takao scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well... guess you caught me, Shin-chan. Sorry, guys. I kind of... accidentally got hit with his trick. My Hawk Eye's down, and right now... all I can see is Kuroko. I can't even focus on the ball anymore."
"WHAT?!"
The entire bench stared, dumbfounded. Their coach rubbed his face in exhaustion.
"First that ridiculous vanishing presence scared me half to death… and now this? What is this kid, a ninja sorcerer disguised as a basketball player?!"
The coach sighed.
"Takao... do you want to sit this one out and rest?"
Takao looked up, thought for a second, then grinned.
"Nah, coach, no need. Look, whether I'm out there or not, it's basically 4-on-4 right now. Honestly, it might be better if I just chill for a bit. Who knows, maybe I'll be useful later."
Scanning his teammates' faces, he added,
"And if I step off… no one else can keep track of Kuroko. Let's be real—you guys can't see him without me out there."
—
On Seirin's bench, Riko leaned forward, frowning.
"Kuroko… what's going on with Takao? He's like a totally different person all of a sudden."
Unable to resist the question, she pressed further—this could be Seirin's chance to turn the game around.
Kuroko pursed his lips and explained,
"It's my misdirection. I redirected all his attention onto me. Now, he can't process the court properly."
Hearing that, everyone on Seirin stared in disbelief.
"Wait... you can actually do that?"
Kagami was the first to recover. Grinning, he ruffled Kuroko's hair.
"Man, you're awesome! You were hiding this the whole time? Alright, let's go crush 'em!"
Kuroko, deadpan as ever, splashed some cold water on Kagami's hype.
"It's not that simple. While I've limited his vision, I also lost my ability to vanish. That's why I don't like using this move. Being constantly stared at... feels extremely uncomfortable."
Hyuga frowned.
"Wait, does that mean... it's basically 4-on-4 from now on?"
Kuroko nodded.
"Exactly."
Before Hyuga could ask more, Kagami suddenly burst into laughter.
"Leave it to me then, Kuroko. I'll take care of the rest."
Right now, Kagami's eyes were burning with fighting spirit. Without Kuroko's vanishing passes, he was already playing frustrated. Midorima had dominated him for an entire quarter, and his competitive fire was reaching dangerous levels.
Seeing this, Riko pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Great… no point explaining tactics to him now. He won't hear a thing."
"Aces… you really gotta treat them like spoiled kids sometimes."
—
Timeout over.
Takao ignored the rest of Seirin, walked straight over to Kuroko with a mischievous grin.
"You really blew my mind, you know that?"
Kuroko, expressionless as usual, politely nodded.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"Aww c'mon, don't be so stiff. We're both first-years here, yeah?"
Standing next to Kuroko, Takao bent slightly, resting his hands on his knees. No point running around anymore—whether he was moving or not, it didn't make a difference now. Might as well save energy for later.
"I admit, I underestimated you. But if you think this alone is enough to flip the game... you're way too naive."
Kuroko simply glanced at him without responding.
Takao smirked and continued,
"Even if I can't sync with Shin-chan right now... you can't sync with Kagami either. One-on-one, Kagami still isn't beating Shin-chan."
As if to prove Takao's words, Midorima drained yet another deep three right over Kagami's head.
Takao, whose narrowed vision couldn't catch the details, just saw the referee signaling the three-pointer was good.
He shrugged dramatically at Kuroko.
"See? Your boy Kagami just ate another three-pointer. Let me check... yep, 41 to 31. Double digits again... rough, huh?"
Kuroko suddenly interrupted him, something uncharacteristic. A rare smile crept onto his face.
"Sorry, Takao... but it seems you haven't realized yet... we've already got our hands around your neck."