Chapter 90: You Monsters

"Nijimura-senpai applied to be a bench player?" "Yeah. His family member is sick, so he can't fully focus on the Nationals." "I see... the National Tournament is about to start again, huh." At a familiar café, now-millionaire Tendou Kageyoshi was working a shift with Riko as usual. Worth noting—his "millionaire" status is in USD. Last year, thanks to betting everything on the NBA Finals, Tendou had made an absurd amount of money. Still, they kept working at the café—not just out of habit, but because they wanted to repay the shop owner's kindness. Back when they were basically homeless, she was the one who took them in. Riko stirred the coffee in silence, her thoughts wandering. Two years had passed—just like that. Soon... "Thwack!" "Ow!" she cried, covering her forehead. "Why'd you flick me?!" "Stop overthinking. Everything's going to be fine." "I wasn't overthinking..." She pouted at him, but that little flick had honestly lifted her mood quite a bit. Looking at the man right in front of her, she suddenly leaned over and kissed him. "Let's go shopping this weekend," she smiled. "You've grown so much this year—your clothes from last year don't fit anymore." "Yeah, they're a little tight now." Over the past year, Tendou's height had shot up to 184 cm. According to the system's prediction, he'd hit 191 cm in his first year of high school. He could now dunk with serious power in real games—no longer in danger of doing a Curry and clanking it off the rim. ... "You two lovebirds—stop slacking on the job! I'll dock your pay, I swear." The shop owner walked up with a cheeky smile. "Cut me some slack, I'm a middle-aged married woman. Watching you two always reminds me how old I am." "Aw, come on, you're not old... just not young anymore," Tendou replied with his usual sass. "You brat! You want a beating?! Riko's such a good girl, and she ended up with you? She could've done so much better!" "Who got the better end of the deal is debatable, but she definitely kissed me earlier. Right here, see? Oh, by the way, Boss—when's the last time you got kissed?" "I'm going to kill you, you little punk!" The café echoed with laughter and banter—just as it always did. ... Then, the new National Tournament began. After last year's dominating win, Teikō once again became the top-seeded team in the East—and arguably, the whole country. Teikō was already the perennial powerhouse in the Tokyo region, always taking up one of the qualifying spots. Now? Anyone matched up against them just accepted their bad luck. The Youth Sports Times published its annual team rankings, and Teikō stood alone at S-tier—not just in Tokyo, but nationwide. The next highest-ranked teams barely scraped into A-tier—not even close. Their reasoning? "With the third-years having graduated, Teikō's second-years now fully control the team." "In their last three practice games, Teikō has averaged a 66.4-point winning margin. That says it all." "Compared to last year, Tendou Kageyoshi has leveled up again. He now seems to be controlling his scoring deliberately, often stopping at 30 points per game." "It's clear he's conserving energy for the qualifiers. He has total control over his output—we can expect even more brilliance this year." "And it's not just Tendou. Another player to watch is Aomine Daiki." "In three recent games, Aomine averaged 45.6 points, leading the team in scoring with efficiency second only to Tendou." "With Nijimura stepping down as captain, Teikō's new starting lineup will feature the five generational talents that stunned the nation last year." With their reputation, Teikō's every move drew national attention. ... Seeing those practice-game stats, other participating teams were so nervous they could barely eat. Everyone prayed they wouldn't end up in Teikō's bracket. That's how intimidating the name "Teikō" had become—it didn't just mean a basketball team. It meant victory. They weren't saying "undefeated"—they were undefeated. Not a single loss in over a year, including all practice games. That kind of streak crushed opponents before the game even began. ... Momoi Satsuki, ever the data analyst, began ranking Teikō's group-stage opponents. Five stars was the max she gave to rivals. But when she tried rating her own team... "Wait... did I catch whatever bug Tendou has?" She double-checked her data, only to find that Teikō's odds of losing were practically zero. No—she hadn't caught anything. Teikō was just that strong now. ... Opening day of the National Tournament qualifiers. As defending champions, Teikō played in the first match. Their opponent? Takehara Middle School, a respected Tokyo powerhouse and former national champion. Coach Shirogane didn't hold back—he fielded the full starting lineup: Akashi, Midorima, Tendou, Aomine, Murasakibara. And they did not disappoint. ... One hour later— Teikō 143 : 43 Takehara A 100-point blowout. A new record for the largest margin of victory in the tournament's history. "100 points?!" "I'm not seeing things, right? That was Takehara—a legendary team!" "Tendou scored 46. Aomine 42. That's 88 points between two people!" The scoreboard was enough to make spectators question reality. Takehara's players stood in stunned silence. Their jerseys were soaked in sweat and tears. Heads hanging. Spirits shattered. "Thank you for the match..." They whispered it like ghosts as they shook hands. Their coach looked like he'd aged ten years in an hour. Gone was the pre-game fire—they'd walked in shouting about "dethroning Teikō." Now, that sounded like a bad joke. ... "Tch! Still 4 points behind... Next game, I'll beat you, Tendou!" Aomine, completely unaware of the other team's state, was still sulking over his scoring shortfall. Hearing that, Takehara's captain—eyes red and watery—snapped. "Don't go too far, you monsters!" "What do you take us for? Some kind of disposable training dummies?!" "Jirou, calm down!" His teammates rushed to restrain him. Aomine stood frozen, dumbfounded by the outburst. Tendou? He didn't care for pity. "You're softer than the toilet paper I wipe with. Don't go crying like a stray dog just because you lost. Get lost."