"...!"
The momentum noticeably shifted as the game continued.
Sakamoto dribbled the ball forward, sweat slowly falling down his forehead. He could vividly feel the pressure from Aomine, despite the guy being far away, marking Tsuna closely. He muttered, "Is this... the Zone?"
He had heard of it a long time ago—a state where players could reach their full potential and utilize it in a game, supposedly almost impossible to achieve.
A state only a select few could enter. Not only did they have to be overwhelmingly talented, but they also needed to have a screw loose in their head, allowing them to give it their all for basketball.
A strong passion that Sakamoto knew to be something akin to a borderline insanity people called obsession.
"He's truly on a different level, right?"
A voice interrupted him as Sakamoto widened his eyes in shock, watching the ball get swiped away from his hand as the perpetrator was smirking widely.
Imayoshi's annoying smirk ticked him off.
"Fuck, I was careless...!"
He got so preoccupied with his thoughts that he let his guard down!
Despite this, Sakamoto was still quick on his feet and chased after Imayoshi.
However...
Immense pressure surged forward, giving the Totsuki players goosebumps. A shadow blurred through the court as Imayoshi chuckled, "Aomine is simply..."
"...the best player ever!"
He swung his arm and threw the ball carelessly to his side, yet Aomine's figure sharply caught it in his hand, sparks streamlining across his pupils as he dribbled the ball forward.
Knowing Aomine's style, the Totsuki players abandoned their marks and rushed at him, knowing the guy wouldn't pass at all.
Despite seeing them all rush at him, Aomine's expression didn't change as he accelerated even faster.
"Not in front of us, you fucker!"
Aoki and Sato screamed, exchanging a knowing glance before moving in sync toward Aomine.
They might have been fighting all the time over the slightest mistakes, but they knew each other so well that their coordinated movement created intense pressure.
If Aomine wasn't in the Zone, he might have had to adjust his pace slightly.
However...
"Just small fries..."
Aomine's mumble was loud enough for both Aoki and Sato to hear, making veins bulge out on their temples in anger.
Still, anger alone wasn't enough.
Aomine effortlessly broke through their defensive combo, leaving them gritting their teeth in frustration and cursing, "Fuck! Just how!"
Marui also tried, but Aomine left him in the dust, slicing through Totsuki's defense like a hot knife through butter as he dribbled toward the basket.
"As expected, you're pretty quick..."
Aomine silently acknowledged, realizing that despite not slowing down for the lousy defense, Tsuna managed to chase him in time.
"However..."
Aomine leaped into the air, and Tsuna did the same, aiming to block him from slamming the ball down Totsuki's basket.
Aomine's eyes widened into a crazed grin as he shouted, "You can't stop me anymore, Ito!"
"...!"
Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise as the crowd gasped at the sight.
Aomine swiftly twisted his body in midair, evading Tsuna's block, and slammed the ball down with a resounding sound reverberating across the court.
The sound echoed loudly without any interruption, as the crowd fell silent, their expressions painted in shock over what had just happened.
Slowly...
One of them snapped back to reality and clapped their hands, creating a domino effect before the whole arena filled with claps and cheers.
Aomine landed on the ground as the third quarter ended.
"72 - 65... They're closing the gap..."
Hyuga mumbled, looking at the scoreboard where Too Academy was slowly catching up. With the momentum on their side, the next quarter would be tough for Totsuki Academy.
Everyone in Seirin could only nod in response, their eyes fixed on Aomine as he made his way off the court for the short break, shock evident on their faces.
"...If that guy uses this against us..."
"We're screwed..."
"...No, we're already screwed to begin with..."
They couldn't help but feel chills down their spines, realizing the skill gap was too vast, making them quite scared.
On the other side, both Kuroko and Kagami clenched their fists, their chests filled with mixed emotions.
"He wouldn't use that against us..."
Kagami thought silently, knowing his own limitations. He wasn't even worth using Aomine's Animal Instinct against, much less the Zone!
Kuroko quietly observed Aomine on the court, "...Aomine-kun."
He wanted to bring the former Aomine back himself. Though he knew this was the Aomine he was familiar with, it felt completely different at the same time.
"He's completely playing basketball on his own..."
Aomine had lost his sense of belonging to a team. They were just burdens to him. He didn't need them at all, which made Kuroko feel a bit conflicted.
"...It's going to be harder, but..."
Kagami's and Kuroko's eyes suddenly burned with determination as they thought, "I will prove my basket/worth to you...!"
Back on the court, Totsuki's players looked quite annoyed by how things had played out.
"Oh my, this is quite troublesome, isn't it, Tsuna?"
Rindo tapped her chin thoughtfully as she sat next to Tsuna, helping him wipe his sweat. He thanked her and looked at Aomine, who, with a towel draped over his head, still seemed focused on the game.
"...I guess I should really take some of the load off my body."
If he had known it would be like this, Tsuna would have saved more of his stamina from his morning routine.
It seemed he had underestimated Aomine by quite a lot.
As everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts while Sakamoto spoke some encouraging words to keep the team motivated, Tsuna quietly took off a weight bar from his buckle that weighed around 25 kg.
"Hmm?"
Rindo noticed this and blinked in confusion as Tsuna took something out from under his jersey and placed it on the bench.
She tilted her head and asked, "What is that, Tsuna?"
However, Tsuna and the rest of Totsuki's players had already returned to the court as the fourth quarter was about to begin.
"Well, let's see..."
Rindo snickered excitedly, thinking it was something precious to Tsuna that she could keep for herself. She reached out her hand to grab it.
Yet, the second she grabbed onto it...
"...!"
Rindo was shocked to find how heavy the bar was. She failed to lift it perfectly, and it slid off the bench with a loud thud that reverberated across the court.
Everyone looked in her direction, wondering what she had done to make such a loud noise.
Rindo's eyes went wide as she turned to Tsuna with a look of disbelief, muttering, "...He's been carrying such a heavy weight under his jersey the whole game?"
It was simply unbelievable.
Meanwhile, Tsuna didn't seem bothered despite only taking off 25 kg. He lightly moved his body, feeling it was a bit lighter, and chuckled, "Now, I don't know if I can apply this in basketball but..."
"Zone, huh? A state in which you can utilize 100% of your potential. Quite a fancy ability..." Tsuna could feel the pressure emanating from Aomine even from a distance.
Yet, Tsuna didn't seem bothered in the slightest as he continued, "I have something similar, but mine doesn't have such fancy sparks and pressure."
It was a state of focus he would enter whenever he was on an assassination mission, a state that allowed him to be a man of focus, commitment, and sheer fucking will.
"And I call mine... Immersion!"
His eyes gleamed as all his focus slowly narrowed down to the game, while his muscles loosened so he could move more easily.
"Huh?"
Aomine suddenly felt goosebumps and sharply turned to Tsuna.
"What is this?"
Aomine mumbled to himself.
He suddenly felt a chill down his spine, but when he saw Tsuna, all he could see was a normal guy seemingly in a relaxed state.
Yet...
His hair stood on end the more he looked into those composed eyes.
Trusting his instincts, a wide grin spread across his face as the sparks in his pupils seemed to ignite even fiercer.
He chuckled, "Tsunayoshi Ito, huh? I would never find a better opponent than you..."
A strong pressure from Aomine was met with a calm, almost nonexistent pressure from Tsuna.
Yet, both teams could feel something was amiss as their bodies tensed up.
---
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