Tetsuya Kuroko (黒子 テツヤ Kuroko Tetsuya) is the main protagonist of the manga, Kuroko no Basuke. He was the Phantom Sixth Player of the kiseki no sedai. He specialises in misdirection and passes. He now plays as a regular with Seirin with the goal of bringing the team and Taiga Kagami Taiga to the top of Japan.
Kuroko has a fragile outlook and a very small build for a basketball player which is why he is usually seen passing. He has light blue hair that he styles to his left. His eyes are blue, and he has a blank gaze. His skin is fairly pale. He wears the white, black and red Seirin jersey with the number 11. He also sometimes wears black sweatbands. His basketball shoes are white with a blue streak.
When out of training or matches, he wears his school uniform: the standard Japanese gakuran. The top piece of a gakuran is black, long-sleeved and has a standing collar which buttons from the bottom up to his chin. It has blue trimming on the sleeves and vertically in the middle. He also wears regular black pants. It has been noted that his bed-head is especially atrocious.
Kuroko has a deadpan and straight forward personality. He is very hard working and always tries to satisfy the needs of the team above his own. He is quite gloomy and unnoticeable, a trait that goes well with his misdirection. He has also displayed much respect towards fellow passionate basketball players and thinks that while senpais have pride, kōhais have respect. Despite his initial kind personality, Kuroko gets extremely furious at dirty play, when his teammates are threatened and already injured by foul methods in the Kirisaki Daīchi game. His aura changes so drastically, that even Kagami Taiga gets scared when he sees him like that. When Kuroko gets angry, it gets very hard to beat him, as he is filled up with fighting spirit. Also when the situation worsens, he seems to turn talkative.
He has metaphorically referred to himself as a "shadow". With this he means that he is playing for someone else, and that he becomes stronger when the "light" is stronger. With the "light", he means the player he supports during a basketball game. During his Junior High school basketball career, his "light" was aomine Daiki, and now it is Kagami Taiga.
Outside the court, despite his unnoticeable personality, Kuroko is very gentlemanly when dealing with women. Amongst his friends, Kagami Taiga, aomine Daiki and Kise are really shocked to see how easily Kuroko can cheer up Momoi and even knows what to do on a date. Kuroko also lectures Kagami Taiga that he should deal with women more delicately.
Tetsuya anime
Overall, he is a very calm, rational person, but it is shown that he also has his silly moments. In one omake he says that he can also become noticeable and does so by pulling his jacket over his head, making people automatically see him and laugh. There are times where he uses his misdirection ability to run away, and also a time where he was late for a game but pretends to have always been there from the start (until Kagami Taiga pointed out the sweat on his brow, indicating that he was actually late and had run all the way to school). While initially cool towards his teammates, he gradually warms up and starts to openly express himself more. It has been shown that he has a soft spot for cute animals, like kittens and dogs (Tetsuya #2).
In 5th grade, Kuroko saw a basketball match on tv, got interested in it and started playing basketball on a nearby court, since there weren't any teams he could join. There, he befriended a neighborhood boy, who was later revealed to be Shigehiro Ogiwara, taught him basketball. When they split up, they promised that they would meet again in Junior High.
The first day of Junior High, in April, Kuroko is walking in the crowd, with few people noticing him, as usual. He seems determined to join the basketball club. At the gym, Kuroko is surprised to see so many people trying out for the club and he is told that Teikō's basketball team is famous. Sanada, the coach, explains the club's system, with the first to third strings. Kuroko is aiming for first string but is perplexed when he is divided into the third string, because of his weak overall abilities.
Kuroko kept training hard on the club and even stayed late after practices. Because of his weak presence, he wasn't noticed by those who came to watch and the sounds of basketball in the gym were credited to a ghost. This lasted until Daiki aomine Daiki came to watch and Kuroko introduced himself. They quickly became friends, even though aomine Daiki was in the first string and a regular. They practiced together and gained respect for another, with aomine Daiki wanting to play with him on the same court one day.
Even after training hard, he still wasn't able to reach neither the second nor the first strings and was told by the coach to quit the team since he was one of the members who got the lowest scores, but it is still his decision to stay or not. Walking during the night, he remembered the words that aomine Daiki said to him, but he said to himself that he no longer knows what to do from now on.
When Kuroko went to say aomine Daiki that he wanted to quit the basketball team one day, aomine Daiki motivated him to stay, saying that he admires Kuroko's love of basketball. The players of the first string then enter, Akashi, Midorima and Murasakibara (Kise wasn't part of the team yet). While Murasakibara didn't pay much attention to Kuroko, Akashi noticed his lack of presence and said that Kuroko might hide an ability completely different from theirs.Kuroko was eventually given a chance and in one match, he was seen to be completely adaptable with aomine Daiki in terms of passing. It was then that he first discovered and developed his misdirection and invisible pass.
Kuroko and aomine Daiki
He became the trump card player of the team that later would be called the kiseki no sedai. In his second year, he became the personal instructor of Kise, who still was a rookie.At first, Kise was very reluctant on having Kuroko as his instructor, but they became friends when they both had to help with a match of the second string. While playing, he had the number 15. In Teikō, he also first met Momoi. She became amazed by Kuroko's play style and by later giving her free ice-cream, she instantly fell in love with him.
Also in his second year, he witnessed aomine Daiki's awakening. While the rest of the GoM were still above average, aomine Daiki's growth progressed aggressively. As a consequence, aomine Daiki towered high above anyone else and couldn't find a decent rival. He became too good for his own good and started slacking off. It was then that Kuroko tried to motivate aomine Daiki in still trying his best, as it isn't fun at all when the opponent is holding back. aomine Daiki agreed, but quickly discovered that he destroyed everyone's morale when he started playing serious. He approached Kuroko and told him that he gives up in trying to find a rival, that he is his only rival. He also denied Kuroko's fist bump, the signature move that marked their friendship.
In his third year, Kuroko began to see the unpromising changes of the GoMs and couldn't do anything but bear with it. In the finals, when he was unable to play, he lost the chance to play against Ogiwara, his childhood friend. Not wanting his friend to be looked down by Teikō, he tells Akashi to not go easy which Akashi replies that they will show Teikō's true strength. However, this were proven too much as he realized that his friend is mercilessly toyed by Teikō and he lost his will to play basketball and even started hating it. When he goes to see Ogiwara in his school, Meikō, Mochida, the captain of the Meikō team told him that Ogiwara transferred. Kuroko hears that Ogiwara was frightened by the cold eyes of each of the GoMs, Ogiwara also realized that even though Kuroko also has those eyes, there is still warmth in it. After that, Mochida gave Kuroko Ogiwara's black wristband and motivates him to not give up on basketball. Kuroko is refueled by Ogiwara's faith in him and decides to continue playing basketball. His objective is to make the kiseki no sedai recognize his basketball by defeating them one by one. And that is why he entered Seirin.
Kuroko appears on his first day in Seirin High. He walks through the mass of people who are being pursued by the clubs to join their club, but Kuroko isn't spoken to, because he makes himself invisible. He searches for the school's basketball club and fills in an application form, without Riko noticing him. Koganei sees the paper later and Riko is surprised that she didn't notice a player who was on the same team as the kiseki no sedai.
Later, on the first training, Riko uses her scanning ability on everyone on the team. She didn't see Kuroko and wonders where he is, while the rest of the team haven't seen him either. Riko decides that he's not here and shouts that they'll begin the training without him. However, Kuroko was standing in front of her and he tells her that he's right here. Riko and all the others are shocked to see him standing there, because they haven't noticed him at all. Riko orders him to take of his shirt so that she can see his stats again, but concludes that he's fairly weak compared to the rest of the team.
Later, after training, Kagami Taiga goes to a fast-food restaurant, orders a lot of burgers and has a seat at a random table. Coincidentally, Kuroko is sitting at the same table. He notices Kagami Taiga's amount of food and comments that he is still growing. Kagami Taiga didn't notice Kuroko yet and is surprised to see him. Kagami Taiga asks what he is doing and Kuroko replies that he has simply been watching people. Kagami Taiga tells him to come with him for a bit.
They arrive at a small basketball court and Kagami Taiga asks what Kuroko is hiding. He tells Kuroko that he has been basketballing in America and that Japan is much weaker than America. He goes on by saying that he plays basketball for the thrill and that he has heard about the kiseki no sedai. He explains Kuroko that can smell an opponents smell to some extent. He says that Kuroko should smell weak, but he can't smell anything. It's like Kuroko is odorless. He passes Kuroko the ball and challenges him to a match, to see how Kuroko is like for himself. Kuroko says that he has been planning on playing a one-on-one as well. He takes off his jacket and throws it to the side.
They begin playing one-on-one. The match is quickly decided, as Kuroko is so weak in comparison to Kagami Taiga. Kuroko tries to shoot, but misses or gets blocked, fumbles the ball and is much slower then Kagami Taiga. Kagami Taiga thinks by himself that Kuroko's movements are that of an amateur. He yells at Kuroko, saying that he's overestimating himself when he thinks he can win like that. Kuroko denies, saying that Kagami Taiga is obviously the stronger one. Kuroko says that he just wanted to see Kagami Taiga's strength. Kagami Taiga prepares to leave, while telling Kuroko that he's weak and that he should just stop playing basketball. Kuroko replies that he's different from Kagami Taiga and mysteriously says that he's a shadow.
The next day, the Seirin freshmen play against the second years in a practice match. While Kagami Taiga is hogging all the points, Kuroko is again proven to be weak and gets the ball stolen multiple times. When the second years het serious and build up a 16 point lead, Kagami Taiga gets angry, only for Kuroko to calm him down. Riko thinks by herself that she has totally forgot about Kuroko even being there. The game restarts and Kuroko asks the ball from Fukuda. Fukuda passes the ball and Kuroko immediately redirects the ball to Furihata, who was under the basket and scores a simple lay-up.
Kuroko goes on with his invisible passes, leading to the freshmen scoring a lot and coming back into the game. The other Seirin players amaze themselves over Kuroko's ability and Riko is able to analyze it. Kuroko gains Kagami Taiga's attention and somewhat respect and the mini-game is almost over. The first-years were still one point behind and when Kuroko steals a second-years ball, he drives to the basket, makes a lay-up... But misses. All of sudden, an angered Kagami Taiga appears behind Kuroko and he dunks the ball in, marking their first victory.
That evening, Kuroko and Kagami Taiga meet again at the Maji Burger, with Kagami Taiga getting annoyed because they encounter each other yet again. Kagami Taiga gives Kuroko one of his burgers, telling him he acknowledges him. Moving out of the restaurant, Kagami Taiga asks Kuroko how strong the Generation actually is. Kuroko replies that when Kagami Taiga would go up against them now, he would be instantly killed. He says that they have all gone to different schools and that one of these will be standing at the top. Kagami Taiga shouts his resolve, defeating the kiseki no sedai and Kuroko says that's unlikely. Yet, Kuroko says he found his resolve as well. He says that he will make Kagami Taiga the strongest of Japan, to be his supporting shadow.
The next day, Kuroko asks Riko if he can become an actual member of the club and then play in matches. Just like Kagami Taiga, who went to ask the same thing some moments later, Kuroko gets an application form and an invite for the rooftop test. Kuroko meets with Kagami Taiga not soon after, when they are both looking at Seirin's newspaper article form last year. Invisible as usual, Kuroko scares the crap out of Kagami Taiga. Kagami Taiga threatens Kuroko to death if he ever does that again. Kagami Taiga recalled Kuroko's former teammates went to veteran school and yet Kuroko went to a new school like Seirin. When Kagami Taiga is about to ask him about it, Kuroko disappears again.
That Monday, Kuroko and the other freshmen go to the roof, where they are awaited by Riko. She tells them that they have to be ready for the Nationals in order to join and that they have to shout their name, class and resolve in front of the entire student body below. Kagami Taiga does so without any problems. Kuroko moves towards the railing and brings out a megaphone, because he finds it difficult to speak to such a large group without electronic aid. Just when he is about the speak, the club is busted by a teacher and Kuroko can't fulfill the assignment.
That evening, Kuroko sees Kagami Taiga again at Maji Burger. He tells him that it's a problem that he hasn't met the requirements yet to join the team, since the rooftop's guarded since then. Kagami Taiga says that he'll be able to join the team anyway. Kagami Taiga moves on by asking why exactly he went to Seirin when the other GoM joined elite schools. Kuroko tells him the extreme winning philosophy of Teikō and that that was the end of teamwork. He tells Kagami Taiga that he was moved by his and the entire Seirin team's motives and resolutions and concludes by saying that he's only playing basketball in order to make him and the team the best in Japan. Kagami Taiga leaves by saying that it'll really happen. Between then and the next morning, Kuroko wrote "I will make you the number one in Japan" with chalk on the school's courtyard, for everyone to see. With this, he officially joins the Seirin basketball team.
One of the next trainings, Riko announces a practice match against Kaijō High and says that they have one of the kiseki no sedai, this being Ryōta Kise. When Kise enters the scene, they greet each other and say they haven't seen each other in a while. Kise says that he went to Seirin because he remembered that it was the school Kuroko joined. He claims that he and Kuroko got along in Junior High school, but Kuroko denies. When the other players are amazed by Kise's history as one of the GoM, Kise again identifies with Kuroko as the weakest of the bunch, being picked on, but Kuroko denies yet again. Kise is challenged by Kagami Taiga and when Kise shows his copy of Kagami Taiga's earlier move, Kuroko explains his ability further. He is perplexed to see Kise's growth, even going as far as saying that he's a totally different person. Out of the blue, Kise asks Kuroko to join his team, but Kuroko bluntly refuses. He says that he has already vowed to defeat the kiseki no sedai, but Kise isn't taking him serious. Kuroko presses the fact that he is very serious.
The day of the match, Kaijō seems to underestimate Seirin High since they're only using half a court. The other half is for the other members who won't be playing to continue their practice, since Kaijō's coach, Coach Takeuchi, assume they won't learn anything from the game. Everyone in Seirin is pissed off, although Kuruko masks it. Coach Takeuchi also won't let Kise play since he thinks its already unfair for Seirin playing their regulars. Kise asks Seirin to agitate the coach for him to let him play, also agitating them that if they can't let him in the game, they certainly won't beat "The kiseki no sedai". To this, Kuroko says to Kise that he should warm up since it won't long for him to be in the game. At the start of the game, Kagami Taiga breaks the goal after a steal from Kuroko and Kuroko asks Coach Takeuchi to use the full court.
It's only been three minutes after the start of the game but everyone is fired up, resulting in a high-paced play and takes a toll on Kuroko's weak body. When Riko calls a time-out, Kuroko tells the team about his technique's weakness. He won't be able to use Misdirection after 40 minutes. The more he uses it, the more their opponents get used to it and its effect gradually decreases. Riko is enraged the Kuroko didn't say something that important sooner while putting him in a headlock. He apologizes saying that they didn't ask so he didn't tell.
After the time-out, Kaijō puts an 8-point gap between Seirin. But during the second half, Kuroko coordinates with Kagami Taiga, passing the ball between the two of them. In defense, Kuroko suddenly faces Kise. Short on speed, Kuroko is easily passed by Kise but when he is stalled by Kagami Taiga, Kuroko lunges backwards and taps Kise's ball, stealing it. Later, Kise tries to shoot over Kuroko, but is blocked by Kagami Taiga. Then, Kise accidentally hit Kuroko in the head, resulting in an injury. Kise is stunned by what happened, and could only stare at Kuroko's face. With Kuroko resting, the original Seirin team show their skills. Even though he is injured, Kuroko manages to convince Riko to let him play sometime during the third quarter.
With Kuroko back in the game at his full Misdirection level, Seirin manages to close in on Kaijō with a tie. However, Kise powers up again, gets around Kuroko's steal and scores points for Kaijō. The struggle for points begins again and with mere seconds remaining, Kagami Taiga blocks Kasamatsu's shot and goes for a fast-break with Kuroko. They are awaited by Kise under the basket. Kagami Taiga passes to Kuroko and he throws it up for the alley-oop, winning the match.
After the game, since they have no money and the team wanted to go eat something as a celebration, Riko takes them all to a restaurant that serves 4kg steak for free which has to be finished in 30 minutes or else they'll pay 10,000 yen each if they fail, the Steak Bomber. Everyone except Kuroko and Kagami Taiga thought that this is too much, though it seems that Kuroko is just expressionless as always since he is the first one to give up while Kagami Taiga saved them all from paying by eating all of the member's half-eaten steaks.
While everyone was still inside, Kuroko went out and met Kise. They both go to a playground to talk, leaving behind the team. They talk about Midorima, who is also a member of the "kiseki no sedai", with Kise saying that he went to see the practice match. But what Kise wanted to talk about was why Kuroko disappeared during last year's middle school championship game. To which Kuroko answers that he doesn't know either, but what he does know is that he hated basketball during that time and that he highly respects Kagami Taiga's attitude towards basketball. Kise doesn't get it and says that someday, when Kagami Taiga reaches the level of the "kiseki no sedai", he will drift apart from the team. When Kagami Taiga finds them he argues with Kise. They then notice that Kuroko is protecting some highschoolers from some thugs in a basketball court and the three proceed to annihilate the thugs in a 5 on 3 game.
Kuroko first meets Kiyoshi while training in the gym. He shoots, misses and Kiyoshi picks up his ball. He tells Kuroko that he has seen that all he can do is pass, but that he likes that style of playing and that he just lacks experience. Kuroko asks who he is and Kiyoshi gives his name and offers him candy, to which Kuroko declines. He further introduces himself as the founder of the Seirin High School basketball club. He spells out his name in separate kanji's, but Kuroko reacts bluntly and uninterested.
As Kuroko asks what he is doing here, Kiyoshi explains that he will be discharged from the hospital in a week and that he came to take a look. He then saw a worried Kuroko and says to Kuroko that he has expectations from him and that he's interesting. He explains why basketball has different positions and says that the sixth player is a specialist. He continues by saying that he has never seen such an extreme specialist as Kuroko, but that the only thing Kuroko has accomplished so far is intimidation. He asks the ball from Kuroko and takes a shot himself, while saying that the only one who decides his limit is Kuroko himself. He concludes that Kuroko should have more faith in his abilities and leaves after that.
Riko's father Kagetora brings the Seirin team on a beach, along with all the necessary equipment needed for training. As soon as the team arrives, they start their training on sand. This training will help the them to improve the skills of each individual player, something which they need the most at this time. As each of them gets stronger individually, they will eventually combine their strength for team play thus making it stronger. As the team is divided into two separate teams, Kuroko tries to bounce pass the ball from the sand, but fails. Later on when everyone moves into the gym, they realise just how easier it is for them to move, this being the result of the sand training.
Night falls and Seirin is stretching in a room. Kuroko is helping Kagami Taiga stretch but when Kagami Taiga notices that Kuroko is dozing off he questions him what's on his mind, and if it is about his new style. Kuroko replies saying that he is concerned for not having any ideas as of yet. The next day, as Kagami Taiga is brushing his teeth he is surprised as Kuroko suddenly appears next to him brushing his teeth as well. As Kagami Taiga notices Kuroko's bed hair, Midorima and Takao are walking the corridors past Kuroko and Kagami Taiga. The two turn around and notice Kuroko and Kagami Taiga standing there. Kagami Taiga yells at Midorima asking him what they are doing here, and Kuroko gives them a polite greeting. Takao then tells them that it is Shūtoku's tradition of coming to the same training camp to train every year. The four are interrupted by Riko who had blood on her and was holding a kitchen knife.
Shūtoku High and Seirin are holding a practice match. Riko tells Kagami Taiga to go run and buy drinks for everyone, with the latter disagreeing at first but then heads out. As the match starts, Kuroko has a 1-on-1 with Midorima. Kuroko soon has the ball stolen by Takao who then passes to Midorima to score the basket.
Midorima gives Kuroko advice
Midorima gives advice to Kuroko
Midorima then tells Kuroko that he has come to make some ridiculous plays with Kuroko disagreeing and telling Midorima that he just wants to become stronger. Midorima tells him that he does not know how Kuroko feels after losing to aomine Daiki, and tells him that they already know his limits. Midorima then tells Kuroko that a man who cannot play by himself, cannot improve by himself, giving Kuroko a secret hint to improving himself. Later on in the bath, Midorima and Takao discuss on how Kuroko could improve and conclude that if there is a way for him to overcome his weakness, he will show terrifying improvement.
he two teams have another practice match which ended with the score of 82 - 91, for Shūtoku. After the match Riko has prepared some ice. It is to help their bodies with the fatigue. At night Kagami Taiga has been doing some jumping training with Riko, meanwhile Kuroko comes outside looking for Kagami Taiga when he sees Takao. Takao then tells Kuroko to duck his head hiding him from Kagami Taiga and Midorima who came to tell Kagami Taiga something. Kuroko and Takao are hiding behind the bush with Takao holding his laugh and Kuroko observing the two. After Kagami Taiga and Midorima finished their 1-on-1 battle, Midorima comes and sees Kuroko and Takao, knowing the two were there. He tells Takao they are going and then tells Kuroko not to disappoint him at the Winter Cup preliminaries.
After, Kuroko and Kagami Taiga go together for a run. Kagami Taiga tells Kuroko the reason he thinks he lost against Midorima, being that he can only shoot dunks. Kuroko remembers the advice Hyūga and Midorima have told him, and suddenly stops running. He then tells Kagami Taiga that he may be able to beat the kiseki no sedai in an areal battle, but he may not beat them on the ground. He then tells Kagami Taiga that he has found a way to make the most of Kagami Taiga and the rest of the team by mastering his own drive in addition to his passes. Saying that this way he will surpass the kiseki no sedai. Meanwhile, Takao was questioning why Midorima helped their opponents so much, saying that this way they will get stronger. Midorima replied with saying that that is what he is wishing for.
Seirin is departing from the training camp, but instead of going home, Riko suggests that they will go and spectate a quarterfinal match between Kaijō High and Tōō Academy. The group then heads off to watch the match of the Inter-High. The team is on a bus and Kuroko tells Kagami Taiga the message Midorima has left for him, "I only taught him a lesson because he's so stupid" and also "Don't lose until I beat you". The team finally arrives and Kagami Taiga asks Kuroko who he thinks will win, with Kuroko replying that he doesn't know. he tells Kagami Taiga that aomine Daiki was the one who inspired Kise to play basketball, but when they battled 1-on-1, Kise never won.
As the match starts, Kuroko and the rest of Seirin are spectating the match. The first quarter ends with the score of 18 - 13 for Kaijō. Riko comments on how Kaijō completely dominated the first quarter and Kagami Taiga adds that aomine Daiki is holding back. Kuroko denies saying that right now Kise is beating him. Kiyoshi interrupts asking everyone how they beat Kaijō, with Kagami Taiga replying that they did it with spirit. Kuroko then tells them that even though he said that aomine Daiki is trying, he tends to get stronger as the game goes on. As the game goes on, Kagami Taiga notices that Kuroko is focus on watching the game. Later on, Kurko notices that Kise has given up on looking up to aomine Daiki and tells everyone that he is trying to copy aomine Daiki's style of play.
he second quarter ends and Kuroko meets Kise outside while taking Tetsuya #2 for some fresh air. Kise then asks him why he is here with Kuroko replying that he was training nearby an came to watch the match. Kise then asks Kuroko that between him and aomine Daiki, who does he think will win. Kuroko pauses but then replies that he doesn't know, much to Kise's surprise. He tells him that as long as he doesn't give up, anything can happen, and tells him that he thinks that neither Kise nor aomine Daiki would give up. Telling Kise that it wouldn't be strange if either of them won. Hearing this, Kise tells Kuroko that he will do his best, but Kuroko tells him that he was sure he would say "I'll definitely win!". Kise then tells Kuroko that in middle school it was natural for them to win, but now that he doesn't know, it is better.
The match continues and Kise and aomine Daiki go toe to toe. Kise makes a free throw rising the score to 51 - 60, still with Tōō Academy leading. As Kise was about to dunk, aomine Daiki stops him leaving Kagami Taiga and Kuroko surprised as the ball falls to the audience. Finally the last quarter begins and aomine Daiki is marking Kise. As he marks Kise, aomine Daiki notices the eyes Kise has and tells himself that as long as he has those eyes, there's no telling what will happen. As long as he has eyes similar to Kuroko. aomine Daiki and Kise continue to battle when finally the ring bells, ending the match with the score of 98 - 110 for Tōō Academy. As the match ends Seirin leaves. While leaving Kagami Taiga notices a large player walking by. When Kuroko sees the person, he tells Kagami Taiga that he forgot to greet an old acquaintance.
Pre-Winter CupEdit
Kuroko arrives at Seirin's training a little late and announces that he brought a dog in a box. He tells them that he found the dog in the park of Seirin High School and couldn't bear leaving it, so he took it to practice. Meanwhile, the dog has crawled up Kuroko's head and shaking his tail. Izuki looks at the dog more closely and asks if the dog reminds them of someone and later they realise that the dog resembles Kuroko a lot, so Koga decides to call him Tetsuya #2.
When Kagami Taiga confesses his fear for dogs, Kuroko chases him with Tetsuya #2 on purpose. The club later votes to keep the dog, with only Kagami Taiga opposing. Kuroko sadly asks Kagami Taiga if he wants to abandon the doggie a second time. Riko tells Kuroko that it'll be difficult to keep him, but Kuroko proposes that if he can get Kagami Taiga to like Tetsuya #2, that they will keep him. Riko accepts and Kuroko takes Tetsuya #2 along with Seirin's jogging. Back in the gym, Seirin starts training and when Kuroko makes a successful invisible pass, Tetsuya #2 barks and seems happy. Kuroko plays further with Tetsuya #2, only annoying Kagami Taiga.
Eventually, Tetsuya #2 poops into Kagami Taiga's sneakers and an enraged Kagami Taiga washes them outside. Kuroko approaches him and asks him why he doesn't simply accept Tetsuya #2. He tries to convince Kagami Taiga that #2 is a good dog and that he could just try to pet him. They are disturbed by Kawahara, who calls Kuroko inside. Kuroko leaves #2 with Kagami Taiga and they reconcile.
When Furihata and the other first years suggest going to the Street Basketball 5 on 5 tournament, Kuroko along with Kagami Taiga and Kiyoshi go with them, with Riko's permission. Once they arrive they meet their old enemies, Seihō High. The third years told Seirin that since they lost they will not be able to participate in the Winter Cup so this is the only opportunity for them to play together once more as a team. As the group watch lunch together, the five players from Seihō High are soon announced onto the court and leave the Seirin five. Seirin stays behind but they soon catch up to see Seihō beaten by one single player. That player was Himuro, Kagami Taiga's brother from the states. As Kagami Taiga and Himuro reunite, Kagami Taiga tells Kuroko and the rest his past with Himuro. As Kuroko hears the story, he tells Kagami Taiga that it is his fault, and tells him that he shouldn't have went easy on Himuro in the past, since no one wants their opponents to go easy on them in the game they love.
Seeing Kuroko, Himuro asks him who he is and Kuroko introduces himself to him. After hearing Kuroko's name, Himuro tells Kagami Taiga that he has found an interesting partner. Surprised Kagami Taiga asks Himuro how he knew of Kuroko, when Himuro told him that an interesting player on his team told him about Kuroko. Soon after Kagami Taiga and Himuro decide to play their decisive fiftieth match to decide who is the strongest, with their brotherhood on the line. As soon as the tip-off starts and the ball is thrown into the air, a candy bar appears on top of the ball. Murasakibara appears stopping the match telling Himuro that they are not allowed to play outside of school as it is the school's rule.
Murasakibara then sees Kuroko and pats him on the head, much to Kuroko's annoyance. Later on, the latter continue with the match, however, they are soon stopped by heavy rain and are forced to leave. Just before Murasakibara left, he pats Kuroko's head once more, when Kuroko shoves the hand off and asks Murasakibara if he still finds basketball boring. Angered Murasakibara tells him that if he asks him this again, he will crush him even though it's Kuroko. Murasakibara and Himuro leave promising to meet again at the Winter Cup. Soon after, Kuroko gets a text message from Riko telling them to return to the gym.
When Kuroko arrives at the gym with the rest, he is greeted by crying Momoi who jumps on him, hugging him. Kuroko soon asks what the problem is, with Momoi saying that aomine Daiki hates her. Momoi then sits on a chair surrounded by the Seirin members while Kuroko brings her a drink. Momoi is then questioned about the results of the Inter-High and the reason aomine Daiki, Murasakibara and Akashi did not participate in the finals. She tells them that due to his injury aomine Daiki was not able to participate, and that since Akashi told Murasakibara not to play he did not participate. Then when asked about Akashi, she told everyone that he simply said "It would be boring". Meaning that victory would be attained for sure if he played. After their discussion, Kuroko decides to walk Momoi back home. The two then walk together leaving the gym.
As Momoi and Kuroko walk, Momoi notices Kuroko playing with the ball in his hands and tells him that it is unusual for him. Kuroko then suggests making a detour in order for him to show her something. The two arrive at the basketball court, when Kuroko tell her that he will show her his new move. This way she would not come back to aomine Daiki empty handed. Momoi asks if it is fine, with Kuroko replying that he doesn't intend to hide the technique before they face Tōō Academy. Kuroko then goes on to show Momoi his new Vanishing Drive. Seeing this new technique, Momoi was shocked realising that when he perfects this, it could become a lethal weapon. As the two continue to walk, Momoi parts with Kuroko telling him that she hopes that everyone will be able to play together again.
The Winter Cup preliminaries started and Seirin was to go up against Josei High in order to qualify for the final league. Before the match started, the Josei players recognised Kiyoshi as one of the Uncrowned Kings making them uneasy about the match. This made Kuroko feel at ease now with Kiyoshi on the court with Seirin. Later on in the match, Kagami Taiga jumped too high hitting the hoop and making him fall. Luckily it was the interval time, and Kuroko dragged the collapsed Kagami Taiga off the court with the rest of the team. As the match resumed, Kagami Taiga was impatient. Seeing him Kuroko pulled his wristband and told him that the Tōō Academy players were among the audience, surely to tell aomine Daiki the results of the match. This however had the opposite effect on Kagami Taiga and made him even more motivated to play.
As Kagami Taiga shot the decisive dunk, allowing Seirin to win the match, Kuroko helped him stand back up. Seirin had won the match, qualifying to the Final league. Meanwhile, Shūtoku having also won their match, qualifying to the Final league as well. Later on, Kuroko asked Kagami Taiga if he would make some time for him, to help him with his new drive. The rest of the Seirin team went home, while Kagami Taiga and Kuroko went on a street court in order to help Kuroko with his drive, Kagami Taiga went with him a 1-on-1 battle. As they began, Kuroko used his newest technique, the Vanishing Drive and managed to pass Kagami Taiga, shocking him. However, the drive was incomplete resulting in Kuroko leaving the ball behind. Holding the ball, Kagami Taiga noticed just how much it is worn out and was shocked to find out that this was Kuroko's sixth one.
Seirin's first opponent in the Final league was Senshinkan High. A match they have won with the score of 78 – 61. The Senshinkan players were surprised to see Seirin's overwhelming improvement since their last match. Meanwhile, on the court right beside Seirin's, Shūtoku had their match against Kirisaki Daīchi High's first year players who were not regulars on the team. Having won both their games, it was time for Seirin to face off against their next opponent, Shūtoku.
The match between Shūtoku High and Seirin is about to commence. The tension between the two teams is high, but the Seirin players believe in their victory. Kuroko, however, told them otherwise. Telling them that Shūtoku is set out for revenge and that it won't be easy. As both teams enter the court and the match was about to commence, Takao approached Kuroko to tell him that Midorima has no time for him, as he has completely accepted Kagami Taiga as his rival.[51] The rest of the team feeling the same way. Hearing this, Kuroko told him that's good to hear and that this is the all more reason Seirin cannot lose. Just before the tip-off commences, Kuroko approaches Kagami Taiga and tells him that he leaves Midorima to him. Kagami Taiga replies saying that he planned that all along.
The match commences and Seirin gets the tip-off, Izuki has the ball but not for long as Takao steals it. He then passes it on to Kimura, who then attempts to pass it to Ōtsubo. He was however intercepted by Kuroko who stole the ball back. Unfortunately, Midorima got the ball and attempted to shoot. He however, was stopped by Kagami Taiga, resulting in the ball going out of bounds. Midorima and Kagami Taiga continue their match of stamina. To see who will run out of gas first, as Midorima keeps on shooting and Kagami Taiga jumping to stop him. Takao marks Kuroko using his hawk eye. When Midorima was made to miss by Kagami Taiga, Kuroko got off Takao's mark and got under the basket to use his Cyclone Pass to throw the ball to the other side of the court.[54] Izuki caught the ball and scored the basket for Seirin. Later on in the game, Seirin was surprised to see Midorima using teamwork against them, something he did not before. Now that he is cooperating with his teammates, it would be much harder for Seirin to stop him.
As Seirin regroups and thinks of their next course of action, they decide to bench Kuroko. Kuroko is benched and Mitobe takes his place. As Kuroko sits on the bench, he tells the rest of his benched team members that he is not worried, and that he believes in everyone. The match goes to Shūtoku's favour, and everyone notices the changes in Modirima. Takao notices that it is true and that the reason Midorima changed is because of Kuroko. Meanwhile on the sidelines, Momoi and Kise spectate the match having noticed the changes in Midorima as well. Momoi tells Kise that both him and Modorima have changed. Kise then tells her that it is not them who changed, but they were rather made to change by Kuroko. He tells Momoi than when you play against him, you get the feeing that teamwork is not a sign of weakness but rather strength. As Shūtoku is leading and the match is in their favour, Kise tells Momoi that Shūtoku would win if it were not for Kuroko. The Phantom 6th Man of the kiseki no sedai would not stand still. On Seirin's bench, Kuroko tells Riko that he is ready to use his new drive and the member change is announced.
The Shūtoku players are surprised that Kuroko would come now in the game but Midorima tells them otherwise, that Kuroko would not be coming back without something up his sleeve. The game resumes and Kuroko is marked by Takao again. Kuroko makes him move and gets rid of Takao's mark by using a screen with Kagami Taiga. Kuroko gets the ball and faces off against Midorima, using his new Vanishing Drive to pass him. Kuroko passes Midorima and passes the ball to Kiyoshi who then made the basket.
The Shūtoku players were surprised to see Kuroko's new drive. Kuroko gets the ball again from Izuki and dribbles to the basket. Takao goes on to stop him but as well as Midorima he was passed by the Vanishing Drive. Kuroko then passes the ball to Hyūga who then made a three-pointer. Shūtoku got the ball back, only for it to be stolen by Kuroko again. He passes the ball to Hyūga, who then scores another three-pointer. Now the score is tied. Since Kuroko has come back to the game, Seirin has managed to score up 8 points. Kuroko turns to Midorima and tells him that now they are back where they started, Midorima replying with "interesting".
The final quarter begins and Izuki passes the ball to Hyūga. Wanting to intercept their pass is Miyaji, who was however stopped by Kuroko who escaped Takao's mark. Kuroko passes the ball to Kagami Taiga who then scores a dunk. The game continues as Izuki loses the ball which is about to go off-bounds, resulting in Shūtoku's ball. Kuroko however, manages to catch the ball. As Takao tries to stop him, Kuroko uses his Vanishing Drive again and passes Takao, passing the ball to Kiyoshi.[61] Kiyoshi attempts to shoot but is stopped by Midorima who made a foul, resulting in Kiyoshi getting two free throws.
Kiyoshi makes his first throw tying the score between the two teams. His second throw didn't go in and resulted in a rebound battle. Kagami Taiga got the rebound and attempted to score the basket, Midorima went on to stop him as the two battle for the ball. The sound signalising the end of the match has ringed, as Midorima and Kagami Taiga let go of the ball, they see that the score is tied, resulting in the match being a tie. Since the Winter Cup final league is trying to keep the games short, there is no overtime. As the game ends, the players decide that they will settle everything at the Winter Cup later. Both teams leave the court and the audience gives them a big applause for the wonderful game they have played.
Seirin notices Tetsuya #2 is missing so everyone goes to look for him. Kuroko finds him with Midorima, Kise and Momoi who faints when she sees Kuroko. Midorima tells Kuroko that they will play again at the Winter Cup and then leaves. Kise takes the collapsed Momoi and leaves as well. Later on as they walk home, Kagami Taiga asks Hyūga what is wrong with Kiyoshi, having overheard their conversation earlier. Hyūga then tells Kagami Taiga and Kuroko about the team's past and the time the Seirin club was made.
Seirin's third match of the Final League was about to commence, their next opponent, Kirisaki Daīchi High, the team that has injured Kiyoshi in the past. During the warm-up, both Kuroko and Kagami Taiga have their resolve conveyed to the opponent team, telling them they won't lose. Hanamiya recognises the two as Seirin's first year duo and tells them to be careful, hoping that nothing serious will happen during the match. As the tip-off commences, Izuki gets the ball and passes it to Hyūga who then passes it to Kuroko who uses his Vanishing Drive to pass Yamazaki. After passing Yamazaki, Kuroko passes the ball to Kiyoshi who scores a dunk. Giving Seirin a start advantage. Seeing the Vanishing Drive for the first time that Momoi has described, aomine Daiki was surprised while spectating the match. The match continues and Kirisaki Daīchi uses their rough style of play to score baskets. Kiyoshi stopping most of the injuries falling on the Seirin players. Kagami Taiga having reached his limit, attempts to punch Hara, but he is stopped by Kuroko who grabs him by his feet and makes him fall. Kuroko then tells him that the thing they should be doing for their seniors is not brawl, but win using basketball. Kagami Taiga agrees and apologises to everyone.
The game continues and Kiyoshi is getting more and more injured. Despite this he wishes to stay on the court to protect Seirin, this being the reason he came back. As the second quarter ends, Kuroko asks Hanamiya if he truly enjoys playing basketball the way he is. Hanamiya answers by telling him that he doesn't but there is no other way to beat other powerful schools. Hanamiya then rolls out his tongue telling Kuroko that he does enjoy seeing other suffer and that it's enjoyable to break the dreams and hopes of others. Kuroko and the rest of the Seirin members left to their locker room where they were enraged by Hanamiya's statement. Kagami Taiga notices that Kuroko was angry, something he didn't see before. Meanwhile in the bathroom, aomine Daiki tells Hanamiya that he will lose because he made Kuroko angry.
The game continues and Kuroko uses his Vanishing Drive again. This time both Hara and Yamazaki try to stop him, but failed. Kuroko passes them and passes the ball to Kagami Taiga who then dunks over Kuroko. Kuroko is subbed out and Koganei takes his place. Later on when Hanamiya uses his Spider's Web to prevent Seirin from scoring, Kuroko is subbed back in with an idea of how to break free of the Spider's Web. With Kuroko back in the game, Izuki makes a pass which is about to be stolen by Hanamiya.
Kuroko however, changes the course of the pass resulting in Hanamiya not stealing the ball. Seirin finally scored their first point since Kuroko left the court. On the sidelines, aomine Daiki comments that the Seirin players know where Kuroko is going to pass because they trust him. It's time-out and Riko wants to sub-out Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi refuses but Kuroko tells him that Kiyoshi is like an older brother protecting them and that he wishes for him to protect them in the future. Finally after convincing Kiyoshi to rest, the Seirin team heads out to finish the match.
The match continues and Izuki passes the ball to Kuroko who prevents Kirisaki Daīchi from stealing the ball, and passes it further on to Hyūga who shoots but misses. Later, Kuroko passes the ball again to Hyūga who finally manages to score the basket. On the sidelines, Imayoshi comments that with Kuroko and Hyūga, Seirin has finally fully broken Hanamiya's Spider Web. As the match goes to Seirin's favour, the Kirisaki Daīchi players note that it was Kuroko who changed the course of the play. It was all because of the Phantom 6th man of the kiseki no sedai. Frustrated Hanamiya uses a screen to get rid of his mark and faces Kuroko in a 1-on-1 battle. He tells Kuroko that it is all his fault they are losing, as he tries to injure Kuroko. Kuroko invades and Hanamiya goes past him. Hanamiya goes on to score the basket using his Floater shot.
As the basket goes in, he tells Seirin that he doesn't need to use dirty tricks in order to win. Angered Kuroko tell him to stop screwing around as he prepares to launch an Ignite Pass. As Kuroko passes the ball, he tells Hanamiya not get in the way of their basketball using his style, and that he chose to play because he believed the basketball of the kiseki no sedai was wrong. Kuroko then launches the Ignite Pass which Kagami Taiga catches and scores the basket. As the game continues, Seirin kept on scoring baskets until the final bell was rung signalising the end of the match. Seirin had won with the score of 76 - 70, qualifying to the Winter Cup. Meanwhile, Shūtoku having also won their match qualify to the Winter Cup as well.
The match had ended and the Seirin members were in their locker room. Kiyoshi tells everyone that this year's Winter Cup is special because all of the Teikō Junior High's geniuses including the Phantom 6th man will be participating. Meanwhile, Kuroko was playing on a street court outside of the building. Kagami Taiga comes and asks him if he is excited. Kuroko replying that he doesn't know but that his hands are shivering and that he cannot stand still. Kagami Taiga then tells him that that is what it means trembling with excitement. The two then have a 1-on-1 battle until they are interrupted by Hyūga and the other Seirin members. The team is ready to go to the Winter Cup.
On the last day of the Winter Camp, Kuroko overhears a conversation between Kiyoshi and Hyūga. Kiyoshi tells Hyūga that the Winter Cup will be his final tournament and that they will have to be number 1 this year already. Kuroko decides that he will throw away their chances for the future in order to win this year's Winter Cup.
The training camp is supervised by Riko's father, Kagetora, who was used to be a national player. He tried to train and enhance every player individual skills, but told Riko that he gives up on Kuroko, said that even he had never met such an extreme outline special sportman in his life, but already gave him some suggestions. It is known later that it is for Kuroko to develop his shooting for when he has the space after he passes his opponent with his Vanishing Drive.
Winter Cup
Kuroko joins Seirin at the opening ceremony of the Winter Cup. When the ceremony was finished, Kuroko receives a text message on his cellphone. He tells Riko that he has to go, he has been summoned. He tells the team he is going to see his former captain, the former captain of the kiseki no sedai, Akashi. Riko sends Furihata along.
Kuroko meets up with his former teammates and while aomine Daiki makes fun of him at having a chaperone, Kuroko greets them. They talk casually to each other but Furihata could feel the air is heavy, and recalled in spite of being former teammates, Kuroko and the Generation of Miracle members are rivals now in court. Akashi arrives shortly after and greets them all. He demands that Furihata leaves because he wants to speak with his comrades. Kagami Taiga finally arrives and like Furihata, Kuroko is surprised and happy to see him. Akashi attacks Kagami Taiga with Midorima's scissors and Kuroko is seen shocked like everyone else. Akashi leaves again and says to the rest that it seems they haven't forgotten their oath they made last year.He departs by saying that the next time they will meet, will be in battle.
Seirin's first match of the Winter Cup is about to begin and Kuroko fetches Kagami Taiga from the locker room. Kuroko looks worried, but Kagami Taiga sets him at ease, saying that he isn't thinking about Akashi, but about aomine Daiki. When the match begins, Kuroko approaches aomine Daiki. Recalling his past experiences with aomine Daiki, from their last match, to their friendship and his promise with Momoi, he declares to aomine Daiki that they will definitely win this time. aomine Daiki agrees to settle it for good. Both teams line up and the match commences.
Seirin gets the ball at the tip off, but it gets stolen by Tōō's pressure defense. Sakurai passes to aomine Daiki, who does an alley-oop and scores the first point. Following Riko's orders given before the match, Seirin quickly passes to Kuroko, who pulls up for his Ignite Pass Kai, intending to pass to Kiyoshi. Facing aomine Daiki, Kuroko doesn't even activate his Misdirection on him, showing confidence in the strength of his new pass. He puts much power in his legs, rotates his arm and hits the ball with the palm of his hand, also spinning. The ball spirals besides aomine Daiki, knocking his hand away, and eventually reaches Kiyoshi, who receives the ball with effort. Kiyoshi, after facing Wakamatsu, passes to Kagami Taiga and he dunks the ball.
In the audience, the kiseki no sedai amaze themselves over Kuroko's new pass. aomine Daiki approaches him and says that he has gotten a bit more interesting. Kuroko responds that if aomine Daiki thought they would be the same as before, then he would be dissapointed.
Back to the game, Imayoshi gives a high pass to Susa. Kuroko is guarding him but can't do anything because Susa is much bigger than Kuroko and because of the high pass, he also can't use his misdirection and steal it.
The match goes on with Hyūga's Barrier Jumper versus Sakurai's quick-release shot. Sakurai scores another three-pointer with the time of the first quarter running out. Kuroko ends up with the ball and shows his Invisible Drive for the first time in the Winter Cup. He is able to break through Susa's defense, but encounters Wakamatsu at the basket. He passes outside to Hyūga and he scores another three-pointer. Seirin goes out of the first quarter with a tie on the scoreboard.
During the pause, Kuroko tells Riko that he will do the Vanishing Drive one more time. Riko agrees and resumes that it's better if they use it now. Meanwhile at Tōō's side, Momoi figures out the system of the Vanishing Drive and tells the team to keep Kagami Taiga and Kuroko apart. The match restarts and Kagami Taiga screens out Susa and Kuroko runs free. He gets the ball and faces aomine Daiki. They have a conversation how they both have a mutual understanding of basketball. Kuroko and Kagami Taiga do the Vanishing Drive together and Kuroko seemingly passes aomine Daiki. But aomine Daiki suddenly turns around and cuts Kuroko off, defeating his last resort move. He was able to do that by closing his eyes and trusting on his feeling to follow Kuroko. He steals Kuroko's ball and dunks. He approaches Kuroko and says that he can't defeat him, putting Kuroko even more in despair.
In hopelessness, Kuroko tries to defeat aomine Daiki by launching his new Ignite Pass Kai right off the get-go. He fires the ball, but is stopped by aomine Daiki. aomine Daiki tells Kuroko that his effort is futile and over dribbles him. He scores and Tōō takes the lead. At a time-out called by Riko, she subs him out for Koga. He refuses Furihata's taping and stays alone with his grief. While thinking about his history with aomine Daiki, he clenches his fist and is frustrated because he can't beat him. As Seirin is about to go back to the game, Kagami Taiga goes to Kuroko and motivates him by saying that everyone believes that he'll come back and defeat aomine Daiki. He tells Kuroko that his effort wasn't futile at all.
While Kuroko was on the bench defeated, Kagami Taiga became the one who had to help Kuroko and unleashed his nearly full potential. His true power came out and he was able to fight with aomine Daiki on the same level. Eventually, half time is reached with Tōō's two point lead. In the half time break, Kuroko went outside to get some fresh air and was joined by Kagami Taiga, who brought him a jacket. He asks Kagami Taiga if he enjoys basketball and tells him his past in Teikō Junior High, how he befriended a totally different aomine Daiki than in the present. He concludes that he wants to see aomine Daiki play basketball with a smile again. Kagami Taiga says that they'll do that by playing as hard as they can and win the match.
During half-time, in the locker room, Kuroko tells the team his plan. This is to make his misdirection run out in order for him to use his Misdirection Overflow. He explains that by making the opponents' glances focus at him, the other players will have the chance to use Kuroko's Vanishing Drive.
They go back inside and enter the court for the second half. Kuroko is back in. Tōō starts with the offense and aomine Daiki ends up with the ball. He drives past Kagami Taiga, but is forcefully stopped by Kuroko, who predicted his path and was able to make aomine Daiki bump into him, making an offensive foul. He says that while aomine Daiki knows him well in terms of basketball, the opposite is also true. He is helped up back on his feet by Kagami Taiga. In Seirin's offense, Kuroko gets the ball, but passes through to Kagami Taiga. It seems that Kuroko got back in to help Kagami Taiga's defense with his experience, but he gets the ball back from Kiyoshi and suddenly fires his Ignite Pass to Hyūga. Hyūga scores a three-pointer and gets Seirin the lead. He later complains about the pass being way too hard.
When Seirin is back in offense, everyone is shocked to find out that Imayoshi is now guarding Kuroko. Kuroko tries to get to the ball by using his usual misdirection, but for some reason it doesn't work and Kuroko is unable to shake off Imayoshi's defense. It was then revealed that Momoi discovered the trick behind Kuroko's misdirection, that his position is revealed by the eyefield of the passer. They made it so that Imayoshi switched with Susa and is now rendering Kuroko disabled. The ball is eventually passed to Kuroko, but Imayoshi manages to steal the ball.
The match progresses and Kuroko still can't manage to shake off Imayoshi. He has been trying to change Seirin's patterns by passing all over the place (like during the match with Kirisaki Daīchi), but Imayoshi reads his every move and seals him completely. After a few minutes, Susa changes back to guard Kuroko. This means that Kuroko's misdirection has worn off and that everyone can see him clearly now. Now that Kuroko's abilities are suppressed, Seirin seems hopeless in the match.
Imayoshi tries to convince Seirin to give this match up and hope for next time, but Kuroko and the entire Seirin team disagree. They become fired up again and regain their fighting spirit to win now. It is around that moment that Kuroko's misdirection has completely run out and that his sudden appearance as the tenth man on court begins to dawn. Kuroko activates his Misdirection Overflow, actually amplifies his presence and makes it able for Izuki to use the Vanishing Drive. Izuki scores.
On Seirin's next offense, Kuroko does it again and Hyūga does the Vanishing Drive and makes the lay-up. Kuroko's explanation during half-time is seen and his technique is explained by Riko. But Misdirection Overflow also has two downsides, as clarified by Midorima. The first is the limited time of the technique and the second is throwing away every chance of winning against Tōō in the future. Kuroko fully realizes this, but puts winning here, for the team and for Kiyoshi over winning in the future. Seirin gains the ball yet again and even aomine Daiki can be passed by Kagami Taiga's Vanishing Drive by Kuroko's Misdirection Overflow. Seirin's chances have turned.
In the time-out between the third and the last quarter, Kuroko seems drained. After aomine Daiki gets his passion back and begins scoring, Kuroko agrees with Kagami Taiga and Kiyoshi to triple-team aomine Daiki. aomine Daiki still passes Kagami Taiga and Kiyoshi and when he's about to be blocked by Kagami Taiga, he falls and throws the ball to the ring in the fall. But before he can shoot, he is distracted, even for a moment, by Kuroko's Misdirection Overflow. This leads to the ball bouncing of the rim and missing. It turns out that Kuroko's new skill was specially designed for stopping aomine Daiki's shots like this.
Seirin manages to hold on and uses a heavy zone press to steal the ball at the inbound. Kuroko swings it to Hyūga, who gets fouled on the three point line and scores his free throws. As aomine Daiki stands at three point line, he cracks open the gates of the Zone and thanks Kuroko for finding him a competent opponent. aomine Daiki now dominates the match and after Kagami Taiga declares he will take on aomine Daiki, Kuroko's Misdirection Overflow starts to run out. Imayoshi nearly taps the ball out of bounds but Kuroko is able to save it by throwing it to Hyūga, leading to a basket by Kiyoshi. Kuroko tells aomine Daiki that he believes in Kagami Taiga. Not soon after, Kagami Taiga enters the Zone as well and battles it out with aomine Daiki, leaving Kuroko perplexed.
1 minute left and Tōō is still up by five. Kagami Taiga and aomine Daiki continue to clash without the scoreboard advancing until Kagami Taiga gains the upper hand and brings his team within 1 point. aomine Daiki takes back a basket and during Seirin's offense, Kiyoshi manages to score with an and-one. Opting to purposely miss the free-throw and make the rebound for the definite win, Kiyoshi misses the free-throw, but a roaring aomine Daiki slaps the ball out of Kagami Taiga's hands towards the the other side of the court. However, Kuroko had anticipated just that and makes it to the ball first and sends it directly back to Kagami Taiga. Squeezing out their last ounce of strength, Kagami Taiga overcomes aomine Daiki, makes the dunk and brings Seirin victory.
Kuroko, unable to stand on his own, is helped by Kagami Taiga and stands face to face with aomine Daiki. aomine Daiki admits his defeat and Kuroko asks for a fist bump, something aomine Daiki reluctantly accepts.
Prior to the second round of the Winter Cup, Kuroko is seen asking aomine Daiki if he can help Kuroko learn how to shoot. It's revealed that that's what Riko's father counseled him on - his inability to make shots. When aomine Daiki and Kuroko go off to find a court, Kuroko demonstrates a shot right off the bat, missing, and after that aomine Daiki tells Kuroko that he felt more emotions in their match than he had in a long time. He then agrees to teach him.
In Seirin's second match, their opponent is Nakamiya South High. Riko tells them that their playing style is the opposite of Seirin's which is much slower. Seirin's starters for this match are shown to be Hyūga, Izuki, Kiyoshi, Mitobe, and Tsuchida, opting to rest their first-year duo. Kuroko watches on the bench as his team struggles to find their rhythm, but manages an upset with the help of Hyūga and Riko and wins the match with a 4-point difference.
Round 3
Seirin's opponent in Round 3 is Kogōmo North High. Kuroko and Kagami Taiga were benched for the first three quarters again and the team held the advantage for all three quarters, only allowing Kogōmo North to grasp the lead at the end of the third quarter. During the final quarter, though, Kuroko and Kagami Taiga were sent in, turning the tide and leading Seirin to victory over Kogōmo North with a final score of 87-82.
Quarter-finals
Before Seirin's fourth game, Riko is seen talking on her phone. She tells the rest of the team that the favorites, Kaijō, Shūtoku, and Rakuzan, also won their third matches, and that Seirin's next opponent is Yōsen High. The team heads to Kagami Taiga's house, where they will watch films of Yōsen's games. They are astounded by what they see. Yōsen completely dominates their opponents, with their impenetrable defense. The team opposing Yōsen couldn't even score once, the score of that game totaling up to 0 - 81.
Later that night, Kuroko is shown practicing with aomine Daiki. aomine Daiki says that with 70% accuracy, Kuroko might even be able to do something in a match. Momoi bursts in to hug Kuroko, and aomine Daiki promptly tells her to leave if she's just going to be annoying. Kuroko thanks aomine Daiki, but aomine Daiki says that the only reason he helped was because seeing Kuroko so weak was grating on his nerves. He adds that Murasakibara is strong, and even he has trouble beating him. After that, he bids Kuroko farewell, adding that the next time they meet, they'll be enemies, and then he and Satsuki leave.
In the morning, the Seirin team enters the court after a spirited "Let's go!" from Hyūga. Yōsen enters as well, and Seirin notes that their prescence is almost overwhelming, what with their amazingly tall players. Yōsen's Murasakibara says that he remembers Kiyoshi, and promises to crush him. Kagami Taiga and Himuro also speak to each other, Kagami Taiga saying that Seirin will win and Himuro telling him to play with all he's got. Kuroko meanwhile remembers what aomine Daiki told him after they parted, and that is "Don't you dare lose, Tetsu".
When the match starts, it appears that Yōsen has control of the ball first. Fukui shoots, Izuki failing to block his shot, but it misses bouncing off the rim. Seirin goes for the rebound, but Yōsen's height gives them an advantage, and one of their players makes a basket, the first in the game. Seirin gets the ball after that, and Kuroko performs a cyclone pass, the ball going around Okamura to Izuki, but as Izuki turns, he is blocked by Murasakibara. Soon, he's being tiple-teamed, but he passes the ball off to Hyūga, who goes for a three-pointer. His ball is blocked by Okamura. As it falls, Murasakibara takes the ball.
This sort of play continues. When there are only fifteen seconds left in the first quarter, Yōsen has scored 18 points, and Seirin is left in the dust with none at all. The first quarter ends without Seirin scoring a single point. Riko explains Yōsen's formations during the break, and Kuroko interrupts to propose an idea. The idea is not revealed at this time, as we are shown aomine Daiki and Momoi arriving at the game and seeing the score, stunned.
The second quarter starts off with Seirin in control of the ball, but Izuki is quickly cornered by the Yōsen defense. He passes the ball to Kiyoshi, who attempts to run past Murasakibara; as he jumps, Murasakibara reaches up to block without jumping. Kiyoshi then passes to Kagami Taiga mid-jump, but as Kagami Taiga tries to dunk, Murasakibara jumps and blocks Kagami Taiga's ball by putting a hand on it. Kagami Taiga hurriedly throws the ball to Kuroko, who is waiting on the ground behind them. It is revealed here that Kuroko's idea was for himself to make a shot. Both Murasakibara and Izuki are surprised by this, both of them thinking that Kuroko is incapable of shooting. Everyone on both teams is shocked by Kuroko's unorthodox shooting posture as he readies himself.
Murasakibara jumps in front of Kuroko as he starts to shoot, but to no avail; Kuroko uses his right hand to push the ball up and creates an effect similar to the Vanishing Drive, except that this time, the ball disappears, this is called the Phantom Shot. He ends up scoring Seirin's first two points with this basket.
Murasakibara expresses his disbelief that Kuroko would be the one to make the first points against Yōsen; there is a flashback to when aomine Daiki was teaching Kuroko. He helps Kuroko by telling him to hit the ball with the palm of his hand when shooting instead of flicking his wrist. After this, Yōsen begins to counterattack. Kagami Taiga is forced off his mark, Fukui, by Okamura. Okamura passed the ball, and he dodges around Kagami Taiga, shooting the ball and making it. He comments that he didn't even notice Kagami Taiga, since Kagami Taiga's so light.
Kuroko gets the ball after this, and as he makes his way down the court, he dodges around Fukui with his Vanishing Drive. As he takes up position to attempt a Phantom Shot, Liu and Murasakibara jump in front of him. Kuroko passes the ball to Hyūga quickly, and Hyūga shoots a three-pointer, bringing Seirin's score up to 5. Okamura makes a shot, and after that, Kiyoshi reminds Kagami Taiga of some points they came up with during the break. Soon after, Izuki makes a shot, adding three points to Seirin's score. The total score is now 22 - 8, with Seirin narrowing the gap slowly.
Okamura has the ball again, and is in position under the hoop. Kagami Taiga, after thinking, takes into account what Kiyoshi told him, and crouches down behind Okamura, springing up higher than before to block his shot. Both Seirin and Yōsen go after a rebound soon after, and Liu gets the ball for a moment before Kiyoshi jumps up and steals it. Seirin runs down the court, but the goal is being guarded by Murasakibara. Hyūga readies himself for a shot, but Murasakibara jumps up, so he passes it through Murasakibara's legs to Kuroko. Kuroko shoots his Phantom Shot quickly, by passing Murasakibara's defenses.
With this, the second quarter ends. The score is 17-29, with Yōsen still winning, but not by as much. During the ten-minute break, Araki tells the Yōsen team about how Kuroko will be benched for a while in the third quarter, since Overflow won't work on Yōsen. Riko is telling the Seirin team the same thing, and says that this is because Overflow only works on outside shooters, while Yōsen has mostly inside players. Riko continues by saying that offense has to attack without Kuroko. She finishes up, saying that Kagami Taiga must beat Himuro, and that Kiyoshi has to beat Murasakibara. At the end of the break, Kuroko fist-bumps both Kagami Taiga and Kiyoshi, and the two go off, saying, "Leave it to us!".
Kiyoshi hits his limit and collapses on the court. He's pulled back up by Murasakibara, who taunts him about having fun playing basketball; then, Kiyoshi is hurriedly switched out with Kuroko, who vows to beat Murasakibara for Kiyoshi. Murasakibara counters by saying that he'll push back, even if it's Kuroko.
There's a flashback of Kuroko and Murasakibara when they were in Teikō, with aomine Daiki saying that they have different views about basketball. Kuroko, he says, loves the game but lacks the talent, and Murasakibara despises the game but wins with raw talent. This repeats itself now, and Murasakibara claims that it makes him sick to listen to the idea that players without talent can win. Kuroko gets the ball and goes in with his Vanishing Drive, making his way past everyone but Murasakibara. He gets in position for a Phantom Shot, which Murasakibara tries to block, assuming that even though it's invisible, it still takes the course of a regular ball. But it's actually a pass intended for Kagami Taiga, who's jumped up behind Murasakibara. Kagami Taiga dunks the ball.
With Yōsen on the offense, Kuroko is now marking Murasakibara. When Murasakibara receives the ball, he turns to shoot, but forgets that Kuroko is there; he gets a foul for charging. Now, the score is 43-34. Immediately following this, Hyūga makes a three-pointer, raising Seirin's score to 37.
Seirin takes up an all-coat man-to-man defensive formation with Liu holding the ball. Yōsen tries to break through with speed, but the marks of Seirin players change with the shifts of Yōsen. This style utilizes Kuroko's ability to steal. After stealing one such play, Kuroko once more makes a Phantom Shot.
Fukui has the ball, and dribbles through the court without passing. Kuroko hits the ball out of his hand, and Izuki catches it. He shoots and makes the shot, but the referee says that it doesn't count. With this, the third quarter ends, with the score at 47-43. Yōsen is still in the lead, but Seirin is catching up. During the break, Kagami Taiga requests that if Yōsen breaks through the all-coat defense, he's the center. Riko agrees to this. Right before the game starts back up, Kuroko says that the team should huddle, which they do. This seems to unite Seirin even more.
Murasakibara says to Kuroko once they're back on the court that he'll push everyone back; Kuroko replies that Seirin isn't that weak. Fukui starts off with the ball, and he dribbles a few steps before alley-ooping it to Murasakibara. Kagami Taiga jumps up behind him to try to stop him, but Murasakibara dunks the ball in backwards. After this, Kuroko makes another Phantom Shot, but aomine Daiki thinks that things have gone too smoothly with Kuroko's shots, what with their accuracy only being 60-70%, Kuroko could miss at any moment.
Okamura has the ball soon after, and he passes it to Himuro. All of the Yōsen players move up, despite the man-to-man defense being played by Seirin. Himuro and Kagami Taiga go one-on-one, with Kagami Taiga trying to stop him. Himuro fakes and ducks around Kagami Taiga, but Murasakibara yells at him to stop. Kuroko almost steals the ball, and Himuro is only saved by Murasakibara's warning. Himuro still has the ball, and Fukui tells him to pass it; instead, while Kagami Taiga is distracted by Fukui, Himuro ducks past him and shoots, faking a Mirage Shot, which Kagami Taiga has figured out the trick to, and doing a simple shot instead.
Kuroko gets the ball, and attempts a Phantom Shot, but it fails for the first time in the game. Following this, Murasakibara and Himuro score a few times, and the score is shown here to be 58-49, with Yōsen pulling ahead once more. After Kagami Taiga shoots are blocked by Murasakibara, the ball goes out of bounds. As Kagami Taiga goes to fetch it, he's confronted by Kise, who taunts him from the sidelines and says that the Kagami Taiga he went up against in that practice match was scarier than this Kagami Taiga. Seirin calls a time-out.
As play resumes, Kuroko, Hyūga, and Izuki triple-team Himuro. Fukui, who has the ball, passes it to Liu, who jumps up to shoot. Kagami Taiga jumps up to block, but Liu makes a change of plans and passes the ball to Okamura, who catches it in spite of Mitobe, who is covering him. Okamura makes a dunk. Kagami Taiga jumps to block a dunk by Okamura. Due to his interference, the shot bounces off the backboard, but then Murasakibara jumps up and forces it in. Murasakibara goes for another dunk, but Kagami Taiga jumps higher than him and forces the ball out of Murasakibara's hands; Kuroko comments on how he always thinks that Kagami Taiga is the light of Seirin, as it is evidenced that Kagami Taiga is once more in the "Zone".
Kuroko gets the rebound and passes it to Kagami Taiga, who shoots a three-pointer seemingly without Murasakibara interfering. Fukui gets the ball after that, and Murasakibara yells for him to pass it. Fukui does so, and Murasakibara begins to perform his two-handed rotating dunk. But Kagami Taiga forces the ball out of his hands again, a phenomenon that leaves everyone in shock. Kagami Taiga blocks and scores with an incredible success rate. After that, Kuroko steals a pass, and throws it to Kagami Taiga. Kagami Taiga dribbles down the court, and fakes out Himuro successfully, only to be met by Murasakibara, who's in position. But Kagami Taiga jumps before Murasakibara and makes a lay-up. Yōsen calls for a time-out.
Murasakibara tries to get himself subbed out, but Himuro slaps him and berates him for not using his talents, whereas someone like Himuro himself doesn't have that special a talent to use. Murasakibara relents and says that he'll stay until the end. By now, Seirin is only six points behind Yōsen, with three minutes left on the clock. Himuro is once again triple-teamed, but Okamura prevents Hyūga and Izuki from going after him, and he fakes Kuroko out. Himuro and Kagami Taiga once again meet face-to-face. Himuro jumps for a Mirage Shot, and so does Kagami Taiga, but Himuro changes the course of his ball at the last moment and passes it to Murasakibara, who jumps up as well, seemingly about to dunk. However, due to them knowing about Kagami Taiga's extended air time, Murasakibara passes once more to Himuro, who is now on the ground. Himuro makes the shot.
With less than two minutes left, the score is 72-66. Seirin is still six points behind. Hyūga fumbles the ball, but Kuroko hits it into Fukui's hand, causing it to go out on Yōsen. With one minute left, Kiyoshi returns to the court. Soon after, Kagami Taiga makes a fadeaway, bringing Seirin up to 68 points.
There are four seconds left. Murasakibara runs down the court with the ball, but as he jumps, his knees almost give out. This gives Kuroko the time he needs to run in front of Murasakibara and hit the ball out of his hands. Seirin wins against Yōsen with a score of 73-72.
After their match, Kuroko gives Kagami Taiga his ring back and asks him on why he and Himuro can't be both brothers and rivals. Kagami Taiga then goes to find Himuro who was with Alex. When Kagami Taiga arrives, he sees them being attacked by Haizaki. After the confrontation was calmed down by Kise, Kagami Taiga returns and asks Kuroko about Haizaki. Seirin then spectate the Kaijō High vs Fukuda Sōgō Academy match. During the match, when Kise was overwhelmed by Haizaki, Kuroko calls out from the crowd to Kise, telling him he believes in him. Kise then awakens his Perfect Copy and beats Haizaki. It is decided that Kaijō would be Seirin's next opponent in the Semi-finals.
On the day of the Semi-finals, both Kagami Taiga and Kuroko's shoes are broken and they have to get new ones before their match. Kuroko found his shoes at first try, while Kagami Taiga couldn't find his size. Kuroko then decides to call Momoi for help.Later on, Kuroko and Kagami Taiga meet Momoi who came with aomine Daiki. Momoi goes on to give Kagami Taiga aomine Daiki's shoes but aomine Daiki challenges Kagami Taiga to a 1-on-1 for the shoes. While Kagami Taiga and aomine Daiki play, Momoi tells Kuroko about Haizaki and about aomine Daiki punching him. aomine Daiki and Kagami Taiga finish their 1-on-1 battle with aomine Daiki winning. Despite losing, aomine Daiki still gives Kagami Taiga his shoes, telling him that he can't make an excuse for losing due to not having proper shoes. After meeting Momoi and aomine Daiki, Kuroko and Kagami Taiga meet up with their teammates and spectate the Rakuzan High vs Shūtoku High match.
During the interval of the Rakuzan vs Shūtoku match, Kuroko briefly encounters Akashi when his team prepares for a warm-up. Akashi greets Kuroko, seeing him for the first time since the opening ceremony. Kagami Taiga interrupts them by asking Akashi if he still remembers him with Akashi saying he does. Akashi then tells Kagami Taiga that his head is held too high and uses Ankle Break on him. Akashi then tells Kuroko that he should be prepared if he's planning to fight him, as he was the one who first discovered Kuroko's power. As the Rakuzan vs Shūtoku match resumes, Rakuzan emerges victorious and it is time for the Kaijō High vs Seirin High match of the Semi-finals.
During the warm-up, Kaijō gives Seirin a "greeting" with Kise using Kagami Taiga's high jump to throw a lane up. Kuroko and Kagami Taiga then show them the original, as the two teams have made their declaration of war. Just before the match starts, Kise approaches Kuroko and Kagami Taiga telling them that he won't lose this time. Kuroko tells Kise he feels the same way but also tells him that he really dislikes him, meaning it in a good way. Kuroko tells Kise that since their time in Teikō, even though it was one sided, he has always seen Kise as his rival. Kise was surprised and tells Kuroko that this is not just a compliment but that it also really sets him on fire.
The tip-off begins and Seirin gets the ball. Seirin members remember their plan Riko told them just before the match in which they have decided to attack with everything from the start. Kuroko gets the ball and uses his Vanishing Drive to pass Hayakawa. After passing Hayakawa, Kuroko scores using his Phantom Shot, taking the first two points for Seirin. However, Kise shoots the ball back, using Midorima's long range shot. Revealing that he is using Perfect Copy from the start.
Kuroko uses his Ignite Pass to pass the ball to Kiyoshi who then passes the ball further to Hyūga, who shoots the ball. However, Kise uses Murasakibara's block to stop the shot, stealing the ball. Kise attempts to shoot but is blocked by the Seirin members. He uses his Perfect Copy to evade both Kiyoshi and Kagami Taiga who went to block him. Kise uses Akashi's Ankle Break to make Kagami Taiga fall and make the basket. It's Seirin's counterattack as Hyūga uses his Barrier Jumper to pass the ball to Kuroko. Kuroko gets the ball and attempts to shoot his Phanotm Shot. However, Kise appears to block him. Kise uses Murasakibara's block and Akashi's Emperor Eye to block the shot. After shopping the shot, Kagami Taiga asks Kuroko if he is alright. Kuroko tells him that he's not and tells Kagami Taiga that Kise is so strong that he can't help but laugh.
Kise uses aomine Daiki's formless shot to make the basket. After, he uses Akashi's Ankle Break on Kuroko and Midorima's long range shot to score again. Kise then uses Murasakibara's Thor Hammer to dunk the ball. Kise overwhelms Seirin with the current score of 15 - 2 for Kaijō. Kise tells Kagami Taiga and Kuroko he'll stop using Perfect Copy as it is too tiering copying the abilities of the GoM, but tells them that he has completed his mission, now that Kaijō has the initiative. Seirin counterattacks and Kagami Taiga gets the ball. He prepares to shoot but misses. On the sidelines, Murasakibara comments on how Seirin is rushing too much to catch up in score and that this is making them play poor. On the bench, Riko decides for a member change, substituting Izuki for Furihata.
Furihata enters the court but due to the pressure his play is poor. Kasamatsu uses his chance to steal the ball from Furihata, which Kuroko steals back. Furihata gets the ball again and Kuroko tells him that everything will be alright, telling him he was also nervous in his debut match, by tripping and getting a nosebleed. Furihata passes the ball to Kagami Taiga who was about to go in a 1-on-1 battle against Kise. However, Furihata tells him to stop and Kagami Taiga passes the ball back to Furihata. Kaijō's coach notices that with the addition of Furihata, Seirin's atmosphere has changed. Furihata passes the ball to Kuroko who uses his Invisible Pass to pass the ball to Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi gets the ball and passes it to Hyūga who makes the basket, raising Seirin's points.
Kaijō counterattacks and Furihata tries to steal the ball from Kasamatsu. He fails but Kuroko attempts to steal the ball as well, failing as well, with Kasamatsu evading both of them. Kasamatsu shoots but misses, resulting in a rebound. Kiyoshi gets the rebound and passes it to Hyūga. Furihata uses a screen to get Kuroko off of his mark. When Moriyama was about to steal the ball, Kuroko appears passing the ball to Furihata. Furihata then scores the basket for Seirin.
Riko calls out for a substitution realising this is as far as Furihata can go. After the interval ends, Izuki is substituted back in and the game continues. Both teams keep scoring the basket, leading to the score of 25 - 17, with Kaijō still in the lead. Kise and Kagami Taiga face each other in 1-on-1 battles and keep blocking and scoring points. Suddenly Kaijō calls out for a substitution for Kise due to the injury to his leg. The match resumes, and Kagami Taiga passes the ball to Kuroko who attempts to shoot his Phantom Shot. Kuroko makes the basket, raising Seirin's score. After Kuroko scores, Kasamatsu tells his teammates that he has figured out the secret behind the Phantom Shot.Kaijō keep scoring points, resulting in the score of 34 - 27. On Seirin's bench Koganei asks Riko if this is the right time to substitute Kuroko out as his Misdirection will run out. Riko agrees but tells Koganei that they will keep him on the court a a little longer. If he runs out of Misidrection, they will have Misdirection Overflow to use.
Riko tells Mitobe to get ready for the substitution, while on the court, Kuroko gets the ball and attempts to shoot. Kasamatsu comes to block him, and when Kuroko shoots, Kasamatsu having figured out the secret behind the shot, stops it. Everyone is surprised as Seirin calls for a player substitution. Riko notes that this is the worst time for them to be substituting Kuroko, giving off the impression that they are doing so because he has lost. Kuroko apologises for his mistake and for disturbing the flow of the game. The benched members then ask him if he is in shock. Kuroko confirms but tells them that Seirin didn't lose yet because they have a reliable ace.
Kuroko is benched as his teammates take the lead in score from Kaijō, 62 - 77. On Kaijō's bench, Kise demands from his coach to let him in. When he went to asks for a substitution Kuroko appears asking for a substitution as well. Both Kise and Kuroko are substituted in for the last four minutes of the match. As the two of them enter the game, on the sidelines, aomine Daiki comments that it's the climax. On the court, Kuroko tells Kagami Taiga that they won't know who has won until they hear the final buzzer. The match resumes and Kise uses his Perfect Copy to score. Kagami Taiga passes the ball to Kuroko who uses his Ignite Pass Kai to pass the ball to Kagami Taiga again. Kagami Taiga then attempts to dunk but is stopped by Kise. Kise copies Kuroko's Ignite Pass Kai to pass the ball to his teammate who scores. On the bench, Riko realises that Seirin cannot win without stopping the Perfect Copy.
Seirin calls for a time out as Riko tells the team that Kise's Perfect Copy time limit has increased. Kuroko interrupts her, saying that they don't need to stop Kise. Everyone agrees with Kuroko's plan and before the time out ends, Hyūga tells everyone that missing baskets is not allowed. The match resumes and Kagami Taiga has the ball stolen by Kise who uses Akashi's Emperor Eye. Kuroko catches the ball, stealing it back for Seirin. Kuroko passes the ball to Hyūga who attempts to shoot a 3 pointer but is blocked by Moriyama. Kobori wins the rebound battle and passes the ball to Kasamatsu. Kise receives the ball again but is then faced by Kuroko in a 1-on-1 battle. Kise passes Kuroko, knowing Kagami Taiga is behind Kuroko planning to steal the ball. After passing Kuroko, Kise is ready to face Kagami Taiga, when suddenly Kuroko along with Izuki who uses his Eagle Spear, try to steal the ball. Kise, however, evades passing the ball to Kasamatsu. Kasamatsu passes back to Kise who alley hoops the basket.
Kaijō slowly catches up to Seirin in points as Moriyama passes the ball to Kise, who then uses Kuroko's Phantom Shot against Kagami Taiga and scores. Kaijō scores and Seirin realise the support Kaijō is receiving from the audience and note that it is as if they are the bad guys. Hyūga attempts to shoot a 3 pointer but misses. Kuroko catches the ball but the referee stops him as the ball goes to Kaijō. After getting the ball, Kise goes for a dunk, however, Kagami Taiga stops him, failing him in the process. Kise gets a free throw. Kagami Taiga approaches Kise and tells him that he doesn't think Seirin are the bad guys. He tells Kise that this is Seirin's drama and that they are deciding the plot. During the tie out, both Hyūga and Kuroko make fun of Kagami Taiga's statement, along with everyone else in Seirin. Kuroko, however, tells Kagami Taiga that his words gave him an idea of breaking through the Perfect Copy.
Kuroko tells everyone that if they can predict Kise's next moves, then they have a chance of stopping the Perfect Copy. On the sidelines, Akashi comes to the same conclusion and tells his teammates that the last two minutes will be the most difficult play. On Seirin's bench, Kuroko tells his teammates that he will need to observe Kise but in the meantime they will have to resist him. Seirin do they cheer before they go back on the court, Kaijō notice Seirin's spirit coming back noting they will be stronger now. Kise makes his free shots, raising Kaijō's score to 72 - 77. After scoring, Kise faces Kagami Taiga and uses his Perfect Copy to block him. When Kagami Taiga loses the ball which was going off bounds, Hyūga jumps and throws the ball to his teammates, falling down. Kuroko asks him if he is alright but Hyūga tells him not to worry as there is something else he should focus on. Through both team's desperate efforts, the audience started to cheer for both teams.
Kise scores the basket, resulting in Kaijō taking a lead in points, 78 - 77. On the sidelines, Akashi notes that the next attack will be Seirin's last chance and if Kuroko doesn't have a solution by then, it will be Seirin's defeat. Seirin calls for a time out as the familiar faces in the crowd note that this will be the last chance for one. Akashi tells his teammates that the result of the match will depend on Kuroko, while his teammates most likely think that Seirin will lose. Akashi agrees but only if Kuroko was not there, and tells them that his expectations might not be turned over. On the bench, Kuroko tells his teammates that he has seen a lot of Kise but tells them that it is still incomplete. Noting that the next action will be their last opportunity to see all of Kise. Kuroko then tells everyone his plan. Riko and everyone else is surprised as Riko notes that they will be taking a huge risk. Kiyoshi tells everyone to follow the plan.
The time out ends and Momoi along with aomine Daiki notice the change in Seirin's fighting spirit. Seirin has the ball as they use their run and gun offence. Hyūga receives the ball from Kiyoshi but is then confronted by Kise. Kise comes to steal the ball but Kuroko suddenly appears, stealing the ball back. Kagami Taiga gets the ball and prepares to dunk when Kise comes to block him. Kagami Taiga still manages the dunk and raises Seirin's score to 78 - 79. It's Kaijō's counterattack when Kuroko approaches Kagami Taiga and tells him he has found a solution, following the plan they discusses during the time out. As Kise gets the ball, he is faced by Kuroko again in a 1-on-1 battle. As he faces Kuroko, Kise remembers his first impressions of Kuroko and how they have changed over time. He now gladly accepts Kuroko as his rival, this being the reason he must absolutely win.
Kise prepares to pass Kuroko but is suddenly surprised when Kuroko goes on for a steal. Kise copies aomine Daiki to evade Kuroko but is then faced by Kagami Taiga. Kise uses Akashi's Ankle Break to make Kagami Taiga fall, Kagami Taiga, however, stands back up forcing Kise to use the Ankle Break twice. Kise is then faced by Hyūga and Kiyoshi, making him use Murasakibara's Thor Hammer. Kagami Taiga notes that everything has gone according to plan up until now, and that they have predicted everything Kise has done. Kise realises Seirin's intentions of leading him to that position, when suddenly Izuki uses his Eagle Spear to steal the ball from Kise. Kise steals the ball back and passes it to Kasamatsu who then makes the shot. Everyone now believes that Kaijō has already won but Himuro still notices that Seirin has not given up.
Kiyoshi grabs the ball and passes it to Kagami Taiga who runs to the basket. Akashi realises that this is Seirin's last attack and notes that even though Kuroko cannot defeat Kise, he has not given up on the match. Kagami Taiga is faced by Kise who suddenly appears before him. Kagami Taiga goes on to shoot a Meteor Jam but Kise jumps as well to block him. While shooting, Kagami Taiga realises that his shot will miss, when suddenly Kuroko appears behind him telling him to pass. Both Kagami Taiga and Kise are surprised, noting that it is already too late to stop the shot as it is already leaving Kagami Taiga's hand. Kagam throws the ball on the basket, bouncing off and falling to Kuroko. Kuroko receives the ball and shoots with his Phantom Shot. Kuroko makes the shot when the final buzzer is heard, resulting in Seirin winning the match.
Seirin wins the match and Kise approaches Kuroko to congratulate him on his win. Kuroko then tells him that even though he has won the match, he was not able to stop him. Kise then tells Kuroko that they will battle again next year. On the sidelines, Rakuzan leaves knowing that their opponent in the finals will be Seirin.
Kuroko tells his new teammates about his past. From the time his basketball passion started to the time he spent with the kiseki no sedai in Teikō. After hearing Kuroko's story everyone knew that their next opponent, Rakuzan, would not be easy to beat. With Akashi and three of five Uncrowned Kings, it would be near impossible to win. However, Seirin musters up the courage and everyone decides that showing Seirin's true strength is enough to win the match. After everyone leaves Kagami Taiga's apartment where they listened to Kuroko's story, Hyūga tells Kiyoshi that it's unusual for Kuroko to talk this much as he is alway silent. Up until now he wasn't fully considered a part of the Seirin team, but now that he has opened up to them he is.
On the day of the finals, just before the match, Kuroko is in Seirin's gym preparing for the finals match which will determine the winner of the Winter Cup. He remembers everything that has happened thus far since he joined Seirin. He then tells himself that he will vent all those feeling on Akashi. Kuroko then leaves leaving Tetsuya #2 behind where Alex will pick him up later.
During the warm-up, Kuroko was practicing with the rest of his teammates. Until his ball rolls up to Akashi who then throws it back to Kuroko. Akashi asks him if he has found the answer to his question which is "What is Victory?". Kuroko confirms and Akashi replies by telling him to show him his basketball. Kuroko then tells him that it will not be his basketball he will be showing, but Seirin's basketball. Akashi accepts Kuroko's challenge as the warming up ends.
The finals match is beginning and all of the players are announced onto the court. When Kuroko is announced in the starter line-up, the familiar faces in the crowd comment on how Kuroko received many cheers from the spectators. They also comment on how Kuroko has become a great player. Finally when all of the starter members line up and bow, the match commences. The tip-off starts and Kagami Taiga gets it resulting in Seirin's ball. Kagami Taiga passes the ball to Izuki who then passes it to Kuroko. Kuroko uses his Ignite Pass Kai to pass the ball further to Hyūga. Hyūga didn't catch the ball as Kuroko used too much force in his pass. Hyūga fumbled and got the ball. When he attempts to score the basket he is stopped by Mibuchi who then tells him that if he wouldn't have fumbled he would have made the shot. Rakuzan gets the ball and Nebuya attempts to score the basket when he is stopped by Kagami Taiga. It's Seirin's ball again and Kiyoshi passes the ball to Kagami Taiga who is marked by Akashi. Kagami Taiga then remembers the story of Kuroko's past and tells himself that it's not only Kuroko's fault. He then musters up his determination and uses his Meteor Jam to score on top of Akashi, entering the Zone.
Kagami Taiga keeps scoring baskets after baskets, the score now being 4 - 0 for Seirin. Kuroko along with everyone else is surprised by this. On the bench, Riko decides that instead of stopping Kagami Taiga, they will go along with it. She then decides to substitute Kuroko out for Mitobe. Mitobe being better in defence. Kuroko was disappointed, even though he went on the court with full fighting spirit. Koganei tells Kuroko that he shouldn't worry and tells him that the audience wants to see more of him. Riko agrees and tells Kuroko to preserve his strength. Kuroko agrees and watches as the play continues.
Akashi began marking Kagami Taiga, resulting in Rakuzan raising their points. With the score of 15 - 9, Riko decides to substitute in Kuroko, in oder to keep the gap in points. As the ball goes out of bounds, Kuroko enters the game again. The audience is excited to see Kuroko again, but Furihata notices that the Rakuzan players noticed Kuroko's presence and notices that the audience noticed his presence as well. He then wonders if Kuroko's lack of presence is fading. As the match resumes, Kagami Taiga has the ball but is marked by Hayama. He passes the ball to Kuroko who then uses his Ignite Pass to pass the ball to Hyūga who catches the ball and attempts a 3-pointer.He is however blocked by Mibuchi and misses the shot. It's Rakuzan's ball when Hyūga asks Mibuchi if he touched the ball, with Mibuchi replying that he did a little but that Hyūga should't worry about that.
It's Rakuzan's counterattack and Hayama uses his fast dribble to make the basket. Kuroko notices that something is wrong, but still keeps on playing. Furihata notices that since the start of the match, Kuroko was not able to cut away from any of the Rakuzan players. With everything he has observed, Furihata decides to tell Riko that something is wrong with Kuroko. Just when Furihata was going to tell Riko that something is wrong, on the court, the Rakuzan players have intercepted Kuroko's pass and have stolen the ball. Seirin and the familiar faces in the crowd were shocked as Kuroko's passes have been broken. Hyūga asks Mibuchi what they did, with Mibuchi replying that they just simply saw the ball and went to steal it.
Akashi approaches Kuroko and tells him that back in middle school he told Kuroko to focus on the variation of his passes and not letting him master shooting or dribbling. If he were to learn how to dribble and shoot, Kuroko would lose his ability to hide his presence. Akashi then tells him that Vanishing Drive along with Phantom Shot are flashy techniques and that there would be no way they wouldn't stand out. Adding the buzzer beater at the end of Seirin's match against Kaijō in the Winter Cup. Akashi tells Kuroko that he will never be able to become a shadow again, and tells him that it's an act of folly that's unbearable to watch. He then tells Kuroko that he is no longer the Phantom Sixth man but a merely an average player with no value whatsoever. Akashi leaves by saying that he is disappointed in Kuroko.
On the sidelines, aomine Daiki realises why Akashi did not teach Kuroko how to shoot. The uneasy feeling he had when he was teaching Kuroko how to shoot has proven to be right. As the match continues, Kuroko is guarded by Rakuzan's number 5, unable to shake him off. Akashi steals the ball from Izuki which goes off bounds, resulting in Seirin's ball. Seirin has a player substitution and Kuroko comes out of the game. The familiar faces in the audience comment that it is the best thing to do right now as Kuroko won't be of any use anymore. Riko tells Kuroko to sit next to her and tells him not to give up, as he will be going back in the game soon. Kuroko is surprised, but Riko tells him that she will give him 3 minutes of the 1st Quarter, telling him that it's for the sake of victory.
On the court, Tsuchida updates the rest of the players with Riko's plan, and that is that there's absolutely no way they will win without Kuroko and that is why they will take on the challenge of continuing with Kuroko's poor plays. Telling them that Kuroko, Riko and everyone else will plan for Kuroko's rebirth or search for a hint for it. The players on the court are motivated, as it is finally time for them to repay Kuroko for saving them all this time. Hyūga tells them that they are not repaying him, but that teammates should naturally look out for each other. The game continues and the score evens up 15 - 15, with both teams tied. Seirin calls for a player substitution and Kurok is substituted back in. Riko apologises to Kuroko for sending him on the court in his state, but Kuroko thanks her. The audience and the Rakuzan players were surprised to see Kuroko come back into the game.
Kuroko has the ball and he attempts to use his Vanishing Drive. However, the Vanishing Drive didn't work and Kuroko didn't get rid of his mark. Kuroko continues on to the hoop and now attempts to use his Phantom Shot to score the basket. The Phantom Shot was blacked as well and Rakuzan steals the ball. Hayama attempts to score the basket but is stopped by Kagami Taiga, however, Mibuchi manages to save the ball and scores for Rakuzan. The familiar faces in the crowd comment on how Kuroko is leaving such a high hole, but still Seirin is managing to keep up the score. The first quarter ends with the score of 21 - 21.
Before the start of the second quarter, Riko decides to substitute Kuroko out again. Realizing they won't find a solution in just three minutes, they will have to gather intel and watch the video recordings to gather more information. Kuroko agrees and Furihata gives him a towel, noticing Kuroko's shaking in frustration. Kagami Taiga tells Kuroko to cheer up, telling him that they will definitely need his passes if they want to win. Even though he is completely helpless they somehow made it through the first quarter, telling Kuroko to leave it to him. Kuroko then tells him that he understands what he is trying to say, but tells him that he should be more tactful in the way he phrases it. Kuroko gathers up the courage and tells everyone that he will definitely come back to the court, in order to win. Everyone is content with Kuroko's answer and tell him that there is still a chance for them to succeed in the second quarter. They mention Rakuzan's number 5 and how there is nothing remarkable about him, having Mitobe mark him would be no problem.
The interval ends and the game continues. Kuroko is suddenly surprised when he notices that Rakuzan's number 5 disappears and use Misdirection. Akashi names Mayuzumi the new model of the Phantom Sixth man and tells everyone that he is better than the old model; Kuroko. During the game Mayuzumi notices that Kuroko is observing him to find any clues in order to revive his Misdirection. When Furihata comes back from marking Akashi, back onto the bench, he tells Kuroko just how frustrated he feels due to his weakness and tells him that he strives to become stronger. Kuroko agrees and tells him that he is the same.
Rakuzan overwhelms Seirin, with the current score of 37 - 62. On the sidelines, Murasakibara comments that even if Kuroko were to come back into the game, it would already be too late as the difference in points is too wide. He continues on to say that a miracle won't happen. As the second quarter ends, the audience comments that Rakuzan has completely crushed Seirin's will due to their difference in strength and due to the large difference in points. During the interval, Hyūga tries to get the team's spirit up. They decide on their tactics and their next move, and also note that Kuroko did not come up with a solution yet so they will have to continue on without him. As the interval ends, Kuroko fist bumps Kagami Taiga and tells him that he is counting on him. Kagami Taiga tells him not to worry and leave it to him.
Seirin grows even more desperate as the point difference is not shrinking. Due to Mibuchi's technique, Hyūga receives a technical foul, resulting in a interval. The audience comments on how Seirin's ray of hope has vanished and that they are completely crushed. On the bench, Kuroko remembers how Kagami Taiga told him that they have been friends this whole time and remembers just how glad he is to be playing basketball. Kuroko then remembers Ogiwara's parting words, where he told Kuroko that he could not move a limb under the frozen gazes of the kiseki no sedai, but believes that one day Kuroko would surely face them and melt that ice. Kuroko starts to cry and tells everyone that he won't accept this.
Everyone, was surprised when Kuroko told them that even if it was pointless, he wanted to become number one in Japan with everyone. Everyone then starts questioning him if he has come up with an idea. Kuroko tells them that he doesn't know yet but turns to Riko and asks her to let I'm onto the court yet again. The kiseki no sedai were all surprised when they saw Kuroko coming back to the court. The Rakuzan members remark that even though Kuroko came back to the court, there's not anything he can do to change the score. Akashi approaches Kuroko and asks him of his plan. Telling him that it's hard to believe that he still thinks he has a chance of victory. He then questions him how long he will stay so optimistic. Kuroko then tells him that it's not the way he is thinking of it, and tells him that he is fighting because he wants to win. No matter the result end up being, until the very end, he won't run away. Akashi then tells him that he has inane determination.
The game continues as Seirin remember Kuroko's words during the interval. He told them that he has nothing that can cure him of his condition but tells them that he has an idea. Kuroko uses a screen to get Mibuchi off Izuki's mark. Izuki then passes to Koganei who makes the basket. Mibuchi notes that Kuroko's screen was effective but that he didn't do anything remarkable yet. During Rakuzan's counterattack Mayuzumi gets the ball and faces Kuroko on a 1-on-1 battle. Mayuzumi easily passes Kuroko and attempts to shoots the basket, but is however stopped by Kagami Taiga. Seirin steals the ball and the current score is 44 - 65, with Rakuzan still in the lead.
Again it's Rakuzan's counterattack and Mayuzumi has the ball again, as he faces Kuroko again on a 1-on-1 battle. On the sidelines, Takao wonders if Kuroko is doing this on purpose while the Rakuzan members wonder if this is a combination play between Kuroko and Kagami Taiga. Mayuzumi passes Kuroko again and heads towards the basket. The audience notice that no one is going to guard Mayuzumi, even Kiyoshi who had the opportunity. Mayuzumi makes the shot, scoring for Rakuzan. On the sidelines, Imayoshi notes that Seirin is letting Mayuzumi shoot as he is the weakest member of Rakuzan and has low probability of making the shot. Realizing this, Mayuzumi is angered that Seirin is underestimating him. Deciding that from now on he will go all out. He passes Kuroko again and scores the basket. Mayuzumi approaches Kuroko and tells him that the old model of the Sixth Man has no way of stopping the new and improved model, and tells Kuroko that he has no chance of winning against him.
Seirin scores a basket and it's Rakuzan's counterattack. Kuroko approaches Mayuzumi and remembers what Takao told him long ago, about the rivalry of your own kin. Kuroko then tells Mayuzumi that he is sorry and that he does't intend on surrendering the title of the Phantom Sixth Man just yet. Just as Kuroko said that, Mayuzumi loses sight of him and Kuroko appears between Hayama and Nebuya, intercepting their pass. Akashi and the rest of the Rakuzan members were surprised at just how Kuroko has managed to disappear. Kuroko steals the ball resulting in Seirin's counterattack. Kuroko dribbles when Hayama goes to mark him. He was expecting Kuroko to use his Vanishing Drive but instead Kuroko passes the ball to Kagami Taiga who dunks. The audience cheers as Seirin is somehow able to hold on. The benched Seirin members also rejoice as they have finally scored. Kuroko and Kagami Taiga bump fists as it's finally time for their counterattack.
On the sidelines Takao asks Midorima if Kuroko's lack of presence has returned to which Midorima disagrees. On the court, Mayuzumi realises that Kuroko's lack of presence did not come back as he didn't use the vanishing Drive when he had the chance. Mayuzumi gets the ball again and faces Kuroko again. Mayuzumi then realises what Kuroko has been doing and asks him if he has been overwriting him. On the sidelines, Midorima tells Takao that Kuroko was simply making Mayuzumi stand out more than himself. If there is a brighter light, then the attention will be diverted onto the brighter light rather than on the smaller one. Kuroko was just making Mayuzumi the brighter light than he is. Midorima then concludes by saying that Mayuzumi has dug a grave for the new model of the Phantom Sixth man. Mayuzumi passes the ball to Hayama who attempts to shoot. However, due to the pass being too low, Hayama misses which results in a rebound battle which Kiyoshi wins. Seirin counterattacks as the Kaijō players note that Kuroko has been changing the patterns of his play in order to stay unpredictable to the Rakuzan players. The Rakuzan players being familiar with his passes, would make it more difficult to pass, thus Kuroko is changing his patterns. Murasakibara also comments that this won't be enough to beat Akashi.
As Akashi steals Seirin's ball, Kagami Taiga remembers Kuroko's determination and remarks on how amazing Kuroko is. Kagami Taiga then enters the Zone once again to face Akashi. As Kagami Taiga is marking Akashi, Akashi passes to Mayuzumi who gets Kuroko off of his mark and uses his Misdirection to pass the ball to Nebuya. Nebuya catches the ball and scores the basket. Mayuzumi notes that if he devotes himself completely to the shadows, he will be able to stop Kuroko overwriting him. Seirin scores during their attack, and now it is Rakuzan's counterattack. Mayuzumi gets the ball and faces Kuroko again. Mayuzumi remarks on how Kuroko is annoying and that even if his goal is to let Mayuzumi pass him, he acts as if he doesn't want to let him. Mayuzumi then tells himself that he won't play along in Kuroko's set up and starts to dribble due to the five second rule being already up. Mayuzumi dribbles and passes Kuroko attempting to shoot.
Mayuzumi questions himself on why he has passes Kuroko knowing full well that he shouldn't have. Kagami Taiga stops Mayuzumi's shot as Seirin counterattacks. On the sidelines, Murasakibara and Kise explain that the Phantom Sixth man needs an iron will and total control of their action, not acting on their natural reflexes. Kise then comments that Mayuzumi can do some things better than Kuroko, but there are some things in which he can never beat Kuroko. The things such as the career as the sixth man and the will to fight for the team. On the court Mayuzumi realises that Kuroko has completely overwritten him as Kuroko disappears and uses his Invisible Pass to pass the ball to Kiyoshi. On the sidelines Kise comments that Mayuzumi doesn't have the weight of determination from being in the shadows.
Kiyoshi dunks, raising Seirin's score, the current score being 52 - 71. On the sidelines, the familiar faces comment that Kagami Taiga is keeping the pressure on Akashi in defence and Kuroko is on the offence getting points. They note that now there is still hope for Seirin, with the power of light and shadow. Rakuzan calls for a time out and the Seirin members gather on the bench replenishing their strength, when Hyūga apologises to Kiyoshi for his careless play. Kiyoshi tells him that he shouldn't worry and thet they will need him to come back soon. The interval ends, and the match continues. Everyone was surprised when Mayuzumi came back to the court, due to losing his Misdirection. Akashi faces Kagami Taiga again when suddenly Akashi's pass disappears. Passing the ball to Mibuchi who then scores the basket. Kuroko notes that Mayuzumi didn't do anything and that Akashi is simply using him to divert Kagami Taiga's attention to him, in order to have successful passes. Kuroko notes that akashi is only using Mayuzumi as a tool to let passes through, this being Mayuzumi only current use.
Kuroko uses his Ignite Pass to pass the ball to Koganei who makes the basket. Rakuzan counterattacks when Akashi passes the ball to Nebuya who then dunks. The Seirin members note that the current treatment of Mayuzumi is heartless. Kagami Taiga shoots raising the score to 56 - 78 with Rakuzan still in the lead. Hayama has the ball and decides to use five fingers due to his annoyance with Izuki. Hayama passes Izuki with his speed dribble and scores. During Seirin's counterattack, Kuroko uses his pass to pass to Kiyoshi who scores the basket.
Izuki faces Hayama again, but is unable to stop him. This time Izuki tells his teammates that he will definitely stop Hayama. Izuki faces Hayama again, but Hayama passes him again. After passing Izuki, Hayama notices Kuroko trying to stop him, but invades Kuroko as well, when suddenly Kagami Taiga stops Hayama when he was attempting to shoot. Kuroko catches the ball and uses his Cyclone Pass to pass the ball to Koganei who passes to Izuki, who then passes to Kagami Taiga who dunks.
It's Rakuzan's counterattack and Hayama cannot pass the ball due to his teammates being guarded. He notices that Mayuzumi is free and passes to him. In his mind, Mayuzumi tells himself that Hayama is an idiot for passing to him and asks himself if he has forgotten who is marking him. Hayama realises his mistake when suddenly Kuroko intercepts the pass, stealing the ball and passing to Kagami Taiga who then scores. Seirin has managed to score consecutive points.
After his revival, Kuroko has only been passing the ball using his Invisible Pass, not using any of his techniques such as the Phantom Shot or the Vanishing Drive. The 3rd quarter ends with the score of 68 - 88, with a 20 points difference for Rakuzan. On the bench, Hyūga tells Kuroko and everyone else that he's coming back into the game. After the intermission ended, Kuroko encouraged Hyūga telling him that he is counting on him, since the 4th quarter will only last for 10 minutes. Hyūga replies that by saying it politely, Kuroko made him even more nervous. Seirin do their cheer before coming back on the court. Kuroko approaches Kagami Taiga who tells him that he is nearing his limit, but tells Kuroko that he will play as long as it takes since his opponent is Akashi. As the match resumes, Kuroko uses the Ignite Pass to pass the ball to Hyūga who then scores a 3-pointer.
Seirin manages to close the gap in points. However, when Akashi enters the Zone, Seirin is overwhelmed by him. Kuroko tries to defend the basket and jumps with Kiyoshi to block Akashi, however, the latter passed the two and scored. As Akashi continues to play in the Zone, Seirin is defenceless resulting in the score of 78 - 90 for Rakuzan. Seirin entrust their hopes to Kagami Taiga but Kuroko thought it was too big of a burden for him alone to bear. Kuroko suggests that himself and Kagami Taiga should team up to stop Akashi. Kagami Taiga is hesitant at first but then realised his mistakes from before and agreed to Kuroko's help. Hyūga puzzled as to how the two could take on Akashi, approaches Kuroko and questions him on his plan. Kuroko notes that the only difference between Kagami Taiga and Akashi is the Emperor Eye which he will try to make up for the lack.
During Seirin's counterattack Izuki passes the ball to Kuroko who, outside of Akashi's sphere of defence, passes the ball to Kiyoshi to score. Kiyoshi is however stopped by Akashi who steals the ball. During Rakuzan's counterattack, Kuroko and Kagami Taiga double team Akashi who is headed for the basket. Akashi passes Kagami Taiga easily using his Emperor Eye, however, he notices that Kuroko is moving faster than himself. It was revealed that Kuroko had awakened his own Emperor Eye which can only predict the movements of his teammates. Due to the strength of the bond and trust Seirin share, Kuroko's Emperor Eye is further ahead in predicting the future than Akashi's Emperor Eye. Kuroko steals the ball from Akashi, shocking everyone and passes the ball to Kagami Taiga.
Kagami Taiga recieves the ball and passes Hayama who went to block him easily. Out of frustration of having a turnover happen from him, Akashi catches up to Kagami Taiga quickly thinking he cannot possibly lose as he is absolute. Just as Akashi is about to use his own Emperor Eye to steal the ball back, Kuroko snaches the ball away from Kagami Taiga using his Quasi-Emperor Eye, preventing Akashi from stealing it. Kuroko and Kagami Taiga do an alley-oop but Akashi goes to guard Kagami Taiga again. Kagami Taiga manages to overwhelm Akashi and score the basket out of his will to win for his team. There is only a 10 point difference between the two teams as Seirin is slowly catching up, the score being 82 - 92. After the counterattack, Kuroko notices Kagami Taiga's fatigue and that he is nearing the end of his Zone. Kagami Taiga assures him that he can still hold on.
A time-out is called and Riko considers substituting Kagami Taiga out. Kagami Taiga denies saying they will lose the momentum if he would be taken off. Kagami Taiga stays in the game as the time-out ends. As the game continues, Rakuzan is showing very poor play, mainly Akashi whose mental state is in dismay due to the shock of his loss against Kuroko and Kagami Taiga. Akashi's poor play is reflected onto his teammates as well who cannot coordinate well without their point guard. Kiyoshi approaches Kuroko and asks him if he is worrying about Akashi, and if he is that he is making a mistake. Kuroko denies, since they do not have the lea sure for that. Seirin manages to score baskets in a row due to Rakuzan's poor play, which results to the score of 90 - 92, a one basket difference. Rakuzan calls for a time-out, in which the real Akashi re-awakens.
The game continues and Kuroko with Kagami Taiga continue their combo play. Kagami Taiga notices the change in Akashi as he tries to steal the ball but fails. Kuroko uses his Quasi-Emperor Eye to intercept Akashi, but the latter is not taken aback as Akashi tells Kuroko "It's been a while, hasn't it? Kuroko", indicating the switch in personalities. Akashi evades both Kuroko and Kagami Taiga as he passes the ball further to Mibuchi, who scores the basket. Both Kuroko and the rest of the kiseki no sedai have notices that the old Akashi has come back. Kuroko informs his teammates of this and tells them that he is far more formidable than before. The game continues but the difference in points is getting wider once again, 96 - 101. Seirin notice that the whole Rakuzan team has now entered the Zone due to Akashi's second ability.
Seirin manages to score some points but are overwhelmed by Rakuzan and Akashi. Hayama receives the ball and dribbles to Seirin's basket. He is confronted by Kagami Taiga who tries to block him. Not being able to advance further, Hayama passes the ball to Akashi who further passes it to Mayuzumi who does an alley-oop with Nebuya. Kuroko and Seirin notice that Kagami Taiga has finally run out of the Zone. Meanwhile, a mysterious person in the crowd mutters Kuroko's name.
On the bench, Riko notices Kagami Taiga's fatigue but has no means of making a time-out due to the current circumstances. Back on the court, both Hyūga and Kiyoshi are overwhelmed by Mibuchi and Nebuya who mark them, and overpower them. Rakuzan easily receives the ball as Hayama gets it. He dribbles past Izuki who tries to block him but fails. Hayama evades Izuki but is confronted by Kuroko and his Quasi-Emperor Eye. Kuroko tries to steal the ball but fouls instead due to his fatigue. The ball is still in Rakuzan's possession. Riko notices that it is not just Kagami Taiga, but the whole team which is fatigues, compared to Rakuzan who still have stamina reserves left. Riko loses hope of victory as there is nothing else left to do.
From the crowd, a person cheers on for Seirin and also calls out to Kuroko. Kuroko turns around and notices that the person is Ogiwara. Ogiwara turns to Mochida who also came to spectate with him and tells him to cheer on for Seirin as well. Ogiwara then takes out a basketball and shows it to Kuroko with a smile, indicating he has regained his passion for basketball. Seeing the sight, Kuroko cries but smiles as well. Following Ogiwara's example, aomine Daiki stood up as well encouraging both Kuroko and Kagami Taiga not to give up. Kise follows, along with his teammates, as soon all of Seirin's past opponents cheer them on. Seirin is taken aback, realising they carry the hopes of the teams they have defeated as well.Kagami Taiga tells Kuroko that the cheering really does energise you, something to which Kuroko agrees. Seirin are prepared to face Rakuzan again as they have regained their spirits.
The game continues and Kagami Taiga is determined to open the 2nd door of the Zone. The familiar faces in the crowd note Kagami Taiga's intentions but question if he can really enter it, as it is Seirin's last chance to win. On the court, Akashi notices a change in the Seirin players. There is no notable change in them but the immense pressure they are giving off. Akashi passes the ball to Hayama who receives it and tries to shoot. He is, however, confronted by Kagami Taiga who tries to block him. Hayama notes that Kagami Taiga has entered the Zone once again. Knowing it could happen, Hayama predicted it and evades but is blocked by Hyūga instead. Rakuzan is surprised by Seirin's tactics.
Akashi notices that Seirin is synchronising their plays to match Kagami Taiga's and wonders how they are able to do that. On the sidelines, aomine Daiki realises what the real Zone is, something which Akashi realises as well. aomine Daiki laughs in realisation that there is no 'gatekeeper' before the 2nd door, but actually Kuroko who is standing there. Kagami Taiga finally opens Zone's 2nd door from which all of his teammates emerge from. Kagami Taiga and Kuroko continue their coodirnation play along with the rest of the team, which is the Direct Drive Zone
Kagami Taiga is in control of the ball but is faced by Nebuya and Hayama who try to block him. Kiyoshi is without a mark but has no means of matching with Kagami Taiga's speed while he is in the Zone. Despite this, Kiyoshi decides to trust in his instincts and his bond with his team to synchronise his movements with Kagami Taiga and successfully perform an alley-oop. Seirin score a basket, which surprises the whole Rakuzan team. As the audience cheer, Akashi realises that thus is the true form of the Zone. On the sidelines, the kiseki no sedai all realise that they cannot win alone anymore. Meanwhile, Ogiwara compares the current Seirin with Teikō Junior High, them being a ruthless team which crushes their opponents with no mercy, leaving them in despair, while Seirin is a team which encourages people to love basketball even more.
Seirin is on the defence as it is Rakuzan's counterattack. Mibuchi gets the ball but is guarded by Hyūga. Mibuchi fakes and advances further to the basket but is faced by Kagami Taiga now. With a warning from Akashi, Mibuchi evades and passes to Nebuya. However, Kuroko appears and intercepts the pass, stealing the ball for Seirin. Kagami Taiga receives the ball again and passes to Hyūga who goes for a shot which is stopped by Mayuzumi. During Rakuzan's counterattack, Akashi has the ball and uses his Ankle Break to make Kagami Taiga fall and score a basket for his team. Akashi claims that the victors will be Rakuzan as Seirin has only forty-one seconds left, with a seven point gap difference.
During Seirin's counterattack, Rakuzan is excerpting great pressure on them. Izuki has the ball but is unable to pass to Kagami Taiga due to him being double teamed by Hayama and Mayuzumi. Instead, Izuki passes to Kiyoshi who passes the ball further to Hyūga. Hyūga is marked by Mibuchi as he passes the ball to Kuroko who performs a lateral long pass to get the ball to Kagami Taiga who shoots and scores the basket. Seirin raised their points but the score still maintains in Rakuzan's favour, 101 - 105.
Seirin move to defence and Imayoshi notices that everyone is getting fired up except for Izuki who remains calm. Izuki uses his Eagle Eye to steal the ball from Mibuchi and Nebuya. It is Seirin's counterattack again as they advance to the basket, with only eight seconds left. Izuki wants to pass the ball to Kagami Taiga but he is still double teamed by the Rakuzan players. Instead, Izuki passes to Hyūga who calls out for the ball. Hyūga receives the ball but is guarded by Mibuchi. Seeing as it is the only way to score in this situation Hyūga decides to copy Mibuchi's "Earth" shooting form and score the basket. Hyūga gains a 3-pointer for Seirin but also a foul from Mibuchi due to the nature of the "Earth" shot. Hyūga receives a free throw. Seirin trusts Kiyoshi with the rebound.
Everyone gets in the position for the free throw as Hyūga gets into position as well. Hyūga remembers everything which has led him to where he is now as he sheds tears for everything that has happened. Hyūga shoots as the ball misses and everyone goes for the rebound. Kiyoshi gets the rebound and the Rakuzan players wonder who he will pass the ball to. Mayuzumi notices that when he though of who all get the ball, he thought of Kuroko instantly as Kuroko receives the ball. The Rakuzan players remark that Kuroko did not shoot during the match at all and realise that it was for this very moment. Akashi appears as he tries to block Kuroko from shooting. Akashi tells him that this is the end, but Kuroko tells him it is not and adds that he is a shadow. Kuroko performs an alley-oop with Kagami Taiga as the latter dunks and the buzzer beater is heard. Seirin emerge as victors of the match.
Seirin cheer as they are announced as this year's champions of the Winter Cup. Meanwhile, the Rakuzan players are shocked of their defeat, as well as Akashi who finally realises what defeat is like. Akashi describes defeat as immense pain in the chest as he approaches Kuroko and extends his arm for a handshake. Tears are seen on Akashi's face as he congratulates Seirin and Kuroko on their victory. Kuroko and Akashi shake hands and agree to play with each other again in the future. The ceremony begins and Seirin are given their trophies, along with the Winter Cup. Seirin's opponents in the audience leave, preparing to train for future confrontations with Seirin.
A few weeks later, Seirin continue their practices for future matches so the are not left behind by the rest of the teams who are training as well. They notice that Kuroko is missing and Kagami Taiga goes to get him in the locker room. Kagami Taiga finds Kuroko who apologises for being late due to getting a photo from Momoi, which was taken on his birthday. The two join the rest of the team as the image in Kuroko's locker is shown with himself and the rest of the kiseki no sedai playing street ball. Kuroko has renewed his friendship with his past teammates, as he continues to train for future matches with them.
