Allow me to teach our difference in social standing to all individuals on this court.
Hold on there, Akashi!
Impossible!
Stop!
...your defeat is absolute.
73Q. WHY DON'T WE GIVE UP?
Twelve-point gap...
Akashi's defending a deeper area than ever before.
I assume his defensive area is ridiculously huge like Taiga's.
- The others are going with it... - No.
After that many mistakes in a row, I don't think Aka-chin expects anything from them.
I-Impossible...
He'll play defense by himself too?
No way! We're already in his defensive area?
A steal into a fast break?
Kagami!
Focus. Even if it's just clinging on, I have to stop him!
Damn you!
A comical show of resistance.
Stay there on your hands and knees.
It's in!
Akashi's domination!
Sei-chan...
On defense, watch out for threes. Even you can do that much, correct?
- Surely you... - Akashi!
I have no expectations.
If you cannot do even that, I will do it myself too.
Offense or defense, the biggest threat is the Emperor Eye.
If Akashi won't rely on his teammates anymore...
...it's similar to our situation with Seirin.
A duel between the two in the Zone.
Back then, the two players were almost even, but Akashi is totally overwhelming now.
Reflexes that move after seeing the opponent's movement can't overcome prediction.
Out of bounds. Black ball!
Dammit, it's no good!
No matter what I do, I can't play any better than I am now!
I entered the Zone, and now I'm at the bottom of the water. But...
I can't find a way to open the new door that I see down there!
I have to get the guy in front to step aside... Just waiting will never open it!
What should I do? What should...
Kagami-kun.
Kuroko...
Why don't we give up for now?
What are you saying? We came this far!
I don't mean we should be giving up on the game.
I'm talking about you fighting alone.
We did say we rely on you, but I think that may be too heavy.
If that's the case now, will you share the burden with me?
That's not... I'm fine by myself! Just a little more...
No, that's not how it should be...
Nothing begins over crying how the door won't open.
I have to do all I can while the door won't open.
All right. Then I'll have you help after all.
Let's do it, both of us... We'll beat Akashi!
It's on you, Kuroko, Kagami!
Akashi's defensive area with Emperor Eye and Zone is larger than Murasakibara's...
If so...
- A high-speed pass outside his defense! - All right!
Go!
- If he lands this, it's over! - Stop him! I beg you!
Kuroko!
Kagami!
Kagami in front? This is not a double-team?
There is no way Tetsuya can match my movements and Kagami's...
Even if they have a plan beyond expectation up their sleeves, I can see the future.
No man can ever outwit the Emperor Eye!
The difference between you and Akashi-kun is whether or not you have the Emperor Eye. If so...
I'll become the "eye" that fills that gap.
Right!
Impossible... That cannot be!
Why are you at my destination earlier than I am?
How did he...
Kuro-chin wasn't looking at Aka-chin just now.
Then what...
Kuroko was looking only at Kagami just now...
He predicted Kagami's movement in fact.
And he moved in the opposite direction as him.
By doing so, he caught up to Akashi, who predicted Kagami's movements!
It's different from Emperor Eye. It's due to his eye for misdirection...
...and the teammate he's fought alongside so long.
He can't use it on opponents, only with teammates he's built up an unyielding sense of trust with.
But because that trust was there, he saw a future a split second ahead of Akashi's.
A vision of his teammate's future... An Emperor Eye only Kuroko can use!
He did it!
- All right! - Time to strike back!
You're kidding! Stop him, Kotaro!
He got by!
Go!
A turnover?
Impossible...
From yours truly?
So fast!
In the instant Taiga's speed eased off the roll, he caught up!
Akashi!
The Emperor Eye can stop him!
Tetsuya?
An alley-oop?
Do not mess with me. I am the absolute.
My defeat is something that absolutely should not happen!
Score, Kagami!
Yeah, leave it to me. I'll score. I have everyone's feelings on my back now.
I'll make absolutely sure to score!
Score!
You're kidding me...
Sei-chan...
RAKUZAN SEIRIN
They finally did it. By supporting Kagami with a quasi-Emperor Eye...
Yeah. Kuroko is doing something phenomenal in fact.
And Kagami is intentionally not thinking about Kuroko as he moves.
Moving at full power and leaving everything to another... it's impossible without deep trust.
That was a breaking of the Emperor Eye that only Kagami and Kuroko could do.
But still, to see him this beat... Can it be the first time in his high school career?
No.
I think it's the first time since our match in middle school.
And even then, in the end, Aka-chin was the winner.
And I never heard of him losing before that.
But Aka-chin tried to score now and couldn't... And tried to stop the opponent and couldn't...
So this may be the first time for Aka-chin. Not only in high school...
...but the first time in his entire life that he senses defeat.
Rebound!
Akashi missed? Is he still tilted from that last play?
This is the first time I'm seeing that Akashi.
His heart's in more disarray than any time in the past. A disturbance equals idle thoughts.
He fell out from his Zone.
It's in!
RAKUZAN SEIRIN - Their lead's finally down to 10! - We can do it! We can do it!
- You're at your limit. - Stop joking.
My defeat is impossible!
Give up... We can't win anymore with you.
Shut up! I will be victorious... I have been... and I will be!
All right, defense! Let's stop one!
Yeah!
But still, to think Akashi had such a brittle side...
I mean, it must've been shocking to see his Emperor Eye beaten...
What? A pass?
Akashi stopped his one-man play?
What a horrible pass! It feels like I'm receiving this from a different person!
The Heaven shot! But this will...
Run!
Go!
Wait a sec! You're slow to get back! Seriously, what's with you, Akashi?
- Yeah! - All right!
It's in!
Rakuzan's back is in sight!
One possession game... It's a one-possession game!
RAKUZAN SEIRIN
Quit fooling! What's with that pass a grade schooler could pick off!
You really think that'd fly at this point?
That's enough outta you, dammit, Akashi!
Time out, white team!
Kuroko?
Unbelievable... Akashi was this brittle a player?
He wouldn't budge if it was just a dwindling lead. However...
The reason he's wavering is because they broke his victory-sealing trump card.
That immense mental damage creates a discord within the team...
At this rate...
It's time for a substitution. Aka...
Please hold on a minute.
What a disgrace.
Did you think we'd comfort you or cheer you up? We'd never do something like that.
You made all those pompous statements, but this is all you've got? I can't believe that.
You're nothing like the guy I first met on the school roof.
More like... Who the hell are you?
Who am I?
I am...
You are my weakness.
Born to a distinguished family, I've always stood above others. It was my duty to win.
Even when I lost my mother, my only respite...
...I wasn't allowed to stand still.
By then... I may already have started to be torn apart.
Basketball. A foundation my mother left me...
Even my strict father allowed me to devote myself to basketball as long as I won.
The practice at Teiko's basketball team was hard but not taxing.
Further, I enjoyed the days where I could play as much basketball as I wanted with my teammates.
And we did it. Repeat national champions.
It would've been impossible with anyone else. It was possible because it was them.
However...
At a certain point, the team leaned towards winning for victory's sake.
And around then, all their individual talents started to bloom, one after another.
That growth turned into the fear that I couldn't handle them...
...as well as the anxiety that they would leave me behind.
I, Seijuro Akashi, am going to lose?
This cannot be. Such a thing must not happen.
What I gained from victory would be lost in defeat.
I had to stay the strongest so that I could continue to play with them.
Correct. That is why...
Who are you?
I'm Seijuro Akashi of course...
That is why I was born.
I made them subservient to me once more. A three-peat was a simple task.
A commanding victory. I am the absolute.
It would be the same even if they were my foes. I will continue to prove my strength.
That's why you don't need me at all?
Correct. You shall stay here... for eternity.
I was planning to. But now, the foreboding sense of defeat is grating upon you.
What do you know! You stepped down as one of the meek!
Yeah. I probably didn't understand.
I tried to keep them together by winning... Those who were irreplaceable.
That was the only way I knew how.
That weakness was what created you.
Only seeking victory, abandoning everything else... I lost sight of why I wanted to stand strong.
And now...
You are about to make the same mistake.
Our sin will never fully fade.
If we're going to lose, I thought that might be fine too. But...
It doesn't look that way after all.
Maybe because we faced Kuroko.
I can't hold back the urge to win.
Who, you ask? That's outrageous.
You're...
I'm Seijuro Akashi of course.
- We can't back down here. - You're back on track?
Yeah, my eyes have been opened. I'd like you to lend me your strength again to beat Seirin.
74Q. SO IT WAS YOU I don't want to lose either. All out's the only way.