"What time is it now?"
"It's around 9 p.m, I think. I'm not exactly sure."
After sleeping for almost 5 hours, Shōgo felt refreshed and noticed an unfamiliar change in his body.
"So, how do you feel? We'll be heading back in two days. Any thoughts?"
"Not really, just made some money and experienced a month of primitive life."
...
"Shōgo, earlier during that moment, you were terrifying."
"You mean when we hunted the lion?"
"Yeah."
Shōgo didn't feel like he had been terrifying. He felt really tired.
"Shōgo, are you interested in street basketball or blackball? If you are, you can contact me."
"Um, not at the moment."
Nash, being a native American white guy, had a tough life despite his ethnicity. He struggled alongside black people, enduring a lot of darkness and cruelty.
While Nash was talented and paved his path, his experiences forced him to chase money and participate in more street basketball showcases, challenge matches, and blackball games.
Looking at the sleeping Friedrick, Shōgo made a bold guess.
"Friedrick seems quite promising. Have you considered recruiting him?"
"Friedrick?"
Surprised by the suggestion, Nash shook his head.
"I don't need to recruit Friedrick. He's quite well known in the European region. I suspect professional teams will approach him soon."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Shōgo felt a bit rueful. He hadn't realized that Friedrick, this big guy, was already ahead of him and Nash.
"Didn't you notice? With Friedrick's height, as long as he's not too lacking in skill, he can become a great center. And Friedrick's skills are quite good. Don't be deceived by his simple appearance."
With a chuckle, Nash used the term "simple appearance," making Shōgo want to laugh.
But at this moment, that simple voice abruptly spoke up.
"Hehe!! My buddies, don't talk bad about someone behind their back."
Shōgo fell silent, then felt a bit awkward. Talking behind someone's back and being caught was embarrassing.
"Are we saying bad things? We're praising and admiring you, Friedrick."
Nash, ever quick-witted, turned the conversation around.
"Hahaha! Then I'll thank you guys for your praise."
The three of them chatted randomly on this hot night, discussing basketball, teams, professional matches, and even blackball games Nash knew about.
Shōgo's horizons were broadened, giving him another layer of understanding about the basketball world.
The campsite was quieter than usual at night, possibly due to a pack of hyenas feasting on the lion's corpse in the distance. No animals were approaching the campsite.
So, the night passed peacefully.
Three days later, a reinforced off-road vehicle arrived at the campsite, picking up Shōgo, Nash, and Friedrick.
In the Kenyan capital, at the established hotel of the organizers.
After a month without a bath, Shōgo spent a good two hours scrubbing himself in the bathroom.
In front of the mirror, he looked at his long hair and found a pair of scissors, cutting it much shorter, transforming it from long hair to a buzz cut.
Staring at his dark skin and short, grey buzz cut, a realization dawned on Shōgo.
He had cut his hair short. Wasn't the later-stage Shōgo in the anime also changing his hairstyle during this period?
How did Shōgo with the black messy bun later change it?
Converting someone from long, silvery, cool hair to messy buns all over the head, what did the Shōgo of that time go through?
Shaking his head to clear distant memories, Shōgo changed into clean clothes and left the hotel.
In the restaurant, Nash, Shōgo, and Friedrick sat around a table, covered in a variety of food.
They feasted, enjoying themselves to the fullest. For these young men, there was no need to worry about gaining weight.
Their physical exertion and metabolism were far from ordinary.
After eating, the three of them intuitively explored Nairobi, bidding their farewells and drawing a conclusion to their time together.
Two days later, on the flight to Japan.
Shōgo looked at the big clusters of cotton candy clouds and smiled.
And the virtual data panel, which he hadn't paid attention to for a long time, also made him very happy at this moment.
Name: Shōgo
Height: 191 cm (in growth)
Weight: 78 kg (in growth)
Position: Small Forward (in growth)
Jersey Number: None
Strength: Special Rank
Agility: Special Rank
Endurance: Special Rank
Jumping Ability: Special Rank
Explosive Power: Extreme Rank
Special Skill 1: Pillage
Skill Description: Steal other people's skills, converting them into one's style and rhythm, causing the opponent's rhythm to unconsciously collapse and rendering them unable to use the same technique again.
Special Skill 2: Zone (Second Stage)
Skill Description: Upon entering the "zone," at the cost of substantial physical energy, all abilities are enhanced to their peak, and the field of vision expands. The time spent in the zone is limited by one's physical energy, but the energy consumption is significantly reduced in the second stage.
Special Skill 3: Ferocity
Skill Description: "Ferocity," tempered through life-and-death trials, forged in a world of extreme survival and survival of the fittest. Possessing the explosive power, strength, intuition, speed, and field of vision of ancient ferocious beasts while ignoring intimidation.
Special Skill 4: Devour (Soul Fusion Advanced Skill)
Skill Description: "Devour" other people's skills, permanently incorporating them into one's abilities, each consumption requires 1 point of devouring energy.
Energy Points: 2
Very good and very powerful.
Shōgo's original goal was to attempt extreme survival challenges, stimulate his body, and see if he could trigger his "Wild Instinct" as he had imagined.
However, "Wild Instinct" wasn't triggered. Instead, he unleashed something even more potent, his "Ferocity."
At this moment, Shōgo was extremely content, as he had forcefully opened the second gate of the Zone differently.
Furthermore, Shōgo believed that his Zone should be the real "Zone." At this point, he had never been this self-assured.
He once desperately wanted to devour Nash's Belial's Eye, but he didn't because it was no longer necessary.
With the opening of the Zone did Shōgo still need to devour?
No, "Pillage" was enough.