The second episode ended with the scene of Tendou Kageyoshi guiding Kuroko.
"What counts as sothing aningful...?"
"Of course, you don't know. Because what you're doing now is exactly that—aningful!"
"Life is never smooth sailing. Victory and success are surprises. Failure and setbacks are the main the."
"It's precisely because of this that we strive to achieve those surprises and triumphs. Only after the storm can we see the rainbow. The sa goes for setbacks and failure. It's by experiencing them that success becos even more thrilling and morable…"
With that philosophical, soul-stirring monologue, Tendou's character level shot straight up.
FanGeGe and the audience all felt the sa thing—
Reliable.
That was their surprising new impression of Tendou Kageyoshi.
A guy who usually looked like a slacker, never rembered what the captain or coach said, constantly wore sunglasses to look cool, and got chewed out on the daily. Soone a bit too confident—bordering on arrogant.
But when it really mattered, you could always count on him.
Most importantly, unlike the basketball coach who advised Kuroko to give up, Tendou consistently encouraged him to move forward.
Behind that devil-may-care attitude was a genuinely warm heart.
"At this point, Tendou's the best character in the series," FanGeGe said with admiration. "Even more compelling than Kuroko."
I an, who wouldn't want a friend like that?
Soone who could crack jokes and lighten the mood when things were chill, but who'd also stand by your side when things got tough.
Basically perfect.
Well—except for that mouth of his.
"Shut up, Riko!"
"As strong individuals, we have a duty to uplift the weak!"
Pfft!
FanGeGe burst into laughter again at the sudden reversal.
"You never disappoint, Tendou."
With laughter and applause ringing out, the ED kicked in and the second episode wrapped.
FanGeGe didn't close the video right away. He waited through the ED and the next-episode preview before sharing his thoughts with his viewers.
"I'm really enjoying this show so far."
"We haven't seen any real gas yet—most of it's been daily life stuff—but Tendou's carried the first two episodes with ease."
"Most likely, next episode we'll see Kuroko start developing his skill."
"And if Tendou's line—'Beco the shadow'—is any indication, Kuroko probably won't be the offensive-defensive all-rounder like Tendou. His shooting hasn't improved yet, and the writers clearly set it up that way. My bet is he'll be more of a support player—assists, steals, things like that."
"We're at the point where Kuroko has discovered the path he's ant to follow. Next up, it should be ti for the first official match. Looking forward to next week's update."
…
As episode two ended, Tendou checked his popularity score—it had already jumped to 130,000.
This episode's biggest highlight was Kuroko finding a direction for himself. And as the key person who helped him reach that milestone, Tendou raked in a huge boost in popularity.
"With this, the second ability should be unlocked, right?"
"Why isn't there a 'ding' sound?"
The short-tailed cat rolled its eyes with all the humanity of a real person. It pulled out a remote and pressed a button.
"Ding!"
Now that was satisfying.
"This is how a system is supposed to work."
Grinning, Tendou checked out his newly unlocked second ability.
Steel Body
Reduces all injury probability during training or gas by 99%.
Good stuff!
Unlike the first ability, which was just a backstory buff, this one ca with an actual skill description.
This was every professional athlete's dream ability.
Too many prodigies in history had their careers wrecked by injury.
Countless players who should've shone like stars were instead cut short by a single major injury.
If he was going to keep walking this path of basketball, this was easily the ability he wanted most—no contest.
"This ans I don't have to worry about intense training anymore."
Tendou was thrilled.
"Strike while the iron's hot—give
a round of prize draws!"
A flurry of spins later…
Tendou gained
1 to Mid-range Shot, Post Play, Three-point Shot, and Stamina.
No ga jackpots, just solid stat boosts.
The most valuable was clearly Stamina
1, as it affected his physical condition, not just technique.
You could grind your way to better skills with enough ti, and with a 99% injury shield, even the most intense training didn't scare him. He could handle Kobe-level 666 training.
But physical stats—those couldn't be improved through hard work alone.
Of course, what he really wanted were Speed and Strength.
Strength wasn't just about power—it affected his ability to hold his ground, core strength, and physical clashes.
Speed encompassed sprinting, explosiveness, and vertical lift.
"Still, not bad at all today!"
Whistling, Tendou walked out the door.
Just as he stepped out, he ran into Riko, who was about to knock.
"What's up?"
"Co watch the drama with !"
"Again?"
"What do you an 'again'? You've only watched one episode with . I want to finish the whole thing today!"
Damn it. Tendou's cheerful whistling ca to an abrupt halt.
The only silver lining? Japanese dramas were rcifully short—they didn't drag on for 50
episodes like so other countries.
…
The Next Day – Teikō Middle School Basketball Club
Tendou could imdiately feel that sothing was off as soon as he stepped inside.
"What's going on?"
"The Inter-High Qualifier bracket just ca out," Akashi inford him.
Tendou understood instantly—probably a bad draw.
If it were a good one, they'd already be popping champagne.
"So, not great luck?"
"Let's just say... it'll be a challenge."
Akashi had that usual serene smile on his face, as if nothing could ever ruffle him.
He really was a textbook example of a well-bred elite.
If the principal from Spy x Family saw him, he'd definitely say: "Elegant! So very elegant!"
"Everyone's here—gather up."
Seeing that the first-string players had arrived, Shirogane Kōzō imdiately called them into the eting room.
Looked like he was ready to jump straight into strategy planning.
In Japan, there were three major comprehensive national sports tournants every year.
The Autumn National Sports Festival, the Winter Cup, and the most prestigious of all—the Sumr Inter-High.
For Teikō Basketball Club, only the Inter-High mattered.
Shirogane Kōzō's sole focus was on winning the Inter-High.
The brutality of this tournant needed no explanation.
Japan had 43 prefectures, but most of them only got one ticket to the national tournant.
Tokyo and Kanagawa were exceptions—larger regions with stronger competition, so they were given additional slots.
Tokyo got three; Kanagawa got two.
Altogether, only 60 teams made it to the final national stage.
But the number of teams entering the qualifiers? Easily several hundred.
---
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