"Full-court man-to-man!"
Akashi roared, taking the lead as he stepped directly in front of Kota.
At the same moment, the other four Rakuzan players reacted as if receiving a secret signal, closing in tightly on their matchups.
Their individual defensive styles were slightly different, but one thing was the same—their eyes all crackled with pink electricity.
Team Zone Mode.
This was supposed to be Rakuzan's trump card — yet here they were, popping it at the very start of the second quarter, paired with an all-out full-court press.
Normally, at this level of play, a press this exhausting only appeared in the fourth quarter.
Kota didn't know what Akashi was thinking, but Rakuzan's sudden eruption of intensity undeniably put pressure on him.
The inbound clock was ticking — only five seconds. Kota hadn't expected Rakuzan to press so suddenly, so he didn't immediately find a safe passing angle.
Seeing the count about to expire, Kota made a split-second decision — he bounced the ball straight at Akashi's foot. The bumpy texture of Akashi's shoe knocked the ball back out of bounds.
Kaijō: "?!!"
Audience: "???"
Akashi: "…"
Referee: "…Six."
Following the rules, the referee picked up the ball and handed it back to Kota, indicating a re-inbound. But from the look in the ref's eyes, Kota understood perfectly: Try that trick again and you're getting a warning.
"No worries… that was enough."
Kota rolled his neck, narrowing his eyes as he assessed Rakuzan's defense.
Thanks to his little stunt, Kaijō finally reacted and burst into motion. Players scattered, weaving around Rakuzan's defenders, matching physicality with physicality.
Yuki exploded with speed—one step ahead of Reo—slipping into an open spot. Kota fired a two-handed bounce pass, finally breaking through the press.
"Yuki, slow it down!"
Kota called out as he jogged into Rakuzan's half, with Akashi glued to him like a shadow—executing the "press" part of the full-court press perfectly.
Knowing Yuki's ability, Kota felt safe letting him bring the ball up. Kota turned, grinned at Akashi, and teased:
"What's wrong? Don't tell me your coach ordered you to go all-out this early?"
As he spoke, he studied Akashi's expression. They both knew full well who actually called the shots in Rakuzan.
A burst of red light flickered around Akashi — Kota guessed the "red personality" was in control now.
"I didn't want to reveal our trump card this soon either… but something tells me that if we keep playing like we did in the first quarter, Rakuzan won't have even the slightest chance."
Akashi smiled faintly—his red side was more relaxed, almost amiable.
"You're still holding back plenty, aren't you? That trip to China must've given you more than just a boost in defense."
Akashi's pupils widened slightly as he added softly:
"The Emperor Eye told me so. So tell me, Kota… will you make me taste defeat again this year?"
Kota froze for half a second, then smirked at Akashi's meaningful gaze.
"Seriously? Haven't you tasted defeat enough already? I beat you every single year—we do this dance annually."
He tilted his head back as if recalling past games, then lowered it again, meeting Akashi's eyes:
"Actually… when we went fishing, I lied to you."
"In my mind, Kaijō's win rate this year isn't ninety percent—it's one hundred percent."
His declaration boomed with confidence.
Akashi's pupils tightened. A grin tugged at his lips.
"If you're gonna talk that big…you'd better give me a performance worth watching. Rakuzan won't fall to simple tricks. Bring out something real."
Kota licked his lips, unbothered by the doubt. His eyes shifted toward the arc.
Yuki was dribbling at the top, trying to find a way past Reo.
"Don't worry, Akashi. This next thing? It can't get any more real."
A white spark flashed in Kota's eyes.
Seeing it, Akashi tensed instinctively — assuming Kota had entered the Zone to take over on offense.
But this time, Kota hadn't opened the Zone for himself…
He opened it for something else entirely.
[Ding! Talent: Zone Mode – Activated. Talent: Zone Mode — Shared Version Activated. Choose shared target.]
Hearing the emotionless voice ring in his mind, Kota narrowed his eyes, locking onto Yuki.
"Shared target: Hashimoto Yuki."
He spoke so quietly that even Akashi, right beside him, didn't hear. Akashi started to ask what Kota said—
—but a sudden gasp behind him cut him off.
Akashi turned to see Mibuchi frozen in place like he'd seen a ghost.
Just as Akashi furrowed his brow, his peripheral vision caught sight of Yuki.
Dribbling at the top of the arc. Wearing the exact same stunned expression as Mibuchi. Except in Yuki's eyes… an orange lightning bolt pulsed slowly.
Akashi's mind blanked.
Before he could recover, Kota — expecting this very reaction—cut behind him and sprinted straight toward the paint.
"Yuki!"
Kota pointed at the rim, snapping Yuki out of his trance.
Seeing Kota's position, Yuki didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat — he launched a high-arching lob pass, the ball slicing through the air like a cannon shell toward the basket.
Kota locked onto the ball, timed his run, and jumped. The moment he caught it mid-air, he felt something off — Yuki had put too much power behind the pass.
Thankfully, Yuki knew his captain's hops and aimed lower rather than higher, giving Kota room to adjust.
Using that margin, Kota switched hands mid-air, scooping the ball up—
A gliding alley-oop layup.
A few bounces later, the ball dropped cleanly through the net.
Kaijō scores two.
It wasn't as explosive as a dunk, but Kota and Yuki's coordination was flawless — maximum finesse.
Naturally, the crowd erupted in applause.
Amid cheers, Kota walked up to Yuki and raised a hand for a high-five.
"Kid, that pass had way too much juice. I almost dropped it — your highlight reel was one bad catch away from becoming a blooper."
Yuki scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry, Kota-senpai… it's just — I'm not used to this. When I was dribbling earlier, I suddenly… entered the Zone."
He hopped twice, checking his body like a man inspecting a new engine.
Kota smiled, grabbed Yuki's cheeks between his hands, and looked into his eyes—the white lightning in his gaze syncing perfectly with Yuki's orange spark.
"Don't doubt it. You're in the Zone right now."
"Welcome…to the world of geniuses."
Rakuzan requests a timeout.
Coat-crossed arms, platinum coach Shirogane stood as calm as ever—except for his trembling legs, betraying how not-calm he truly was.
"Akashi…"
He hesitated, but chose not to lecture him. He decided to trust Akashi to find a way.
But even Akashi, the boy who could solve anything, seemed at a loss.
Midway through the second quarter, the scoreboard read 47–39. Kaijō leading by eight.
Ever since Yuki entered the Zone out of nowhere, Kaijō's offense had climbed to an entirely new level.
Built around Kise and Kota, Kaijō was already one of the best offensive teams in Japan.
Now they had Yuki — and his Zone.
His strength now rivaled another Generation of Miracles.
Counting Kise and Kota, Rakuzan was essentially fighting three Miracles at once.
Even against Akashi's Team Zone, the duo of Kota + Yuki in simultaneous Zone outright overwhelmed them.
"This is… genuinely troublesome."
Akashi exhaled, eyes closing as he slipped into deep thought.
He remembered Kota whispering earlier. He hadn't heard what was said — but right after that, Yuki suddenly entered the Zone.
Through the Emperor Eye, Akashi could see Yuki's enormous potential.
But this power…this Zone…
It didn't feel like it came from Yuki himself.
"Don't tell me… you can even do something like that?"
His brow tightened as irritation clawed at him.
Whenever something involved Kota, Akashi's almighty Emperor Eye failed.
"I think… we're in real trouble."
Akashi opened his eyes.
His teammates looked tense — every one of them fully understood what Yuki's awakening meant.
But thankfully, Akashi didn't see even a flicker of surrender in any of their eyes.
Even Mibuchi — who had been destroyed by Yuki all game — stood with burning determination, itching for the timeout to end so he could clash with Yuki again.
Akashi pressed his lips together, rose from the bench, and headed for the court.
"Let's go."