"Beautiful!"
"The ball is in! Teiko's Ace!"
"Aomine Daiki scores consecutively!"
"..."
The voices of the Tokyo crowd, silent for a long time, began to rise high.
For the past while, they had felt genuinely suppressed.
They were being rubbed against the floor by a countryside team.
Homi Academy was huge in Tochigi, the local star team. But nationwide, Teiko possessed the largest number of fans.
The Generation of Miracles lineup was star-studded.
This was like the Los Angeles Lakers facing the Detroit Pistons in the Finals.
Aside from Detroit, almost no one supported the Pistons to win.
Only the people of Tochigi wanted to see the "Kingslayer" script; the majority of fans still wanted to see Teiko complete the unprecedented three-peat.
Some neutral fans began to defect.
They mixed in with the Tokyo fans, contending against the Tochigi fans.
The ball went in.
Yuuto failed to stop Aomine from scoring.
Turning back, Yuuto, having completed another Weakness Correction, exploded with golden light, bringing out his best state to challenge the Zone.
He was inconceivably strong.
For a short time, facing Aomine in the Zone, he could actually contend slightly.
But his positioning and timing proved he wasn't as relaxed as people imagined.
Once he broke through to the free-throw line, it became difficult, struggling with every step.
"It's actually the Zone. That Aomine Daiki, this early..."
"Zone? Coach, what is the Zone?"
Yukio Kasamatsu heard this term for the first time.
"That is the domain of true geniuses."
Genta Takeuchi didn't actually know much about it either.
Even though he was once a professional player, he had never set foot in that domain.
He only realized its existence through an interview with Jordan.
"Kasamatsu, do you know how much of their physical potential a player can utilize at most during a game?"
"Isn't it all of it?" Kasamatsu said as a matter of course.
"No." Takeuchi shook his head. "A normal player can only utilize at most 80% of their potential! That is the limit a purely ordinary player can access."
80%?
Only that much?
"Then what about the remaining 20%... Could it be that the Zone is the key to unlocking a player's treasury of physical potential?"
"Exactly!"
Takeuchi never expected to see that 20% domain from the legends in a high school game.
"Only by entering the domain of the Zone can a player break their own shackles and unleash 100% of their physical potential."
"A player in this state reaches a level of focus hard for ordinary people to comprehend. The speed at which they see things slows down, while their movements become more agile."
Simply put, one slow and one fast.
The opponent's actions slow down, while one's own speed increases.
This shift isn't a simple 1+1=2!
Kasamatsu sucked in a cold breath, beginning to realize the terror of the Zone.
"But..."
"That is why it is the domain of geniuses." Takeuchi seemed to know what he wanted to ask and spoke in advance. "The Zone domain is cruel; only true geniuses are qualified to touch it."
That level of genius?
Takeuchi didn't say it, but Kasamatsu understood.
That was probably an existence a player like him couldn't even peek at.
Perhaps only monsters like the Generation of Miracles and the Lion of Okukozome were qualified to see the door to the Zone.
"Then Homi Academy... are they done for?"
Kasamatsu admired Yuuto.
Honestly, he hoped Homi Academy could win.
"Ah. If Yuuto cannot enter the Zone at the same time, Teiko will win."
Takeuchi stated with certainty.
The Zone's boost was only 20%, unlocking the body's potential.
The problem was...
At the level of Yuuto and Aomine, a 20% increase was an unimaginably huge boost.
Take Yuuto for example.
His Red Eye mode allowed his defensive range to cover the entire area inside the three-point line. Combined with the Weakness Correction talent, give him a half to adjust, and he could even suppress all five members of the Generation of Miracles.
If he continued to improve by 20% on top of that base, it would be an immeasurable upgrade.
Simply put, if players like Kasamatsu were a 50, then their 20% is a 60.
Zone gives them 10 points.
But if it's Aomine Daiki, their improvement isn't just a simple 10 points.
It could be 20, 30, or even more.
...
On the court.
Aomine continued to ravage the rim.
At this moment.
He was like a god possessed. Already the fastest player in the nation, now every move was as swift as a thunderclap.
The Weakness Correction boost activated again and again.
But.
...
Can't stop him!
Aomine's explosive improvement exceeded the speed of the Weakness Correction talent.
No.
It wasn't that the correction speed couldn't keep up with the game rhythm.
It was that Yuuto's stats were being left in the dust by Aomine.
If previously Aomine was 100 and Yuuto was 105.
Then after the Zone, Aomine had reached 120, opening up a gap of a full 15 points.
Aomine didn't know any of this.
He was enjoying himself, fully indulging in the happiness this intense confrontation brought him.
Yuuto's expression became very serious. Momoi, who was watching him constantly, noticed he hadn't spoken trash for the second time on the court.
Everyone at Homi Academy was expecting Yuuto to open that door, to barge into the Zone domain just like Aomine Daiki.
Since Aomine could get in, they believed their captain Yuuto definitely could too!
...
But reality is just that cruel.
Yuuto probably wouldn't be able to step into the Zone in this lifetime.
Having gone through simulation after simulation, Yuuto had long discovered one thing.
He was not a true genius.
Take Akashi, for example. When he reached a certain standard, he would inevitably "accidentally" discover the existence of the Zone.
The Zone would let these geniuses notice "its" existence.
However, Yuuto.
In countless simulations, the Zone had never appeared before him.
At first, he didn't understand, but later he knew.
Everything he possessed now stemmed from the system's talent buffs.
It was like a fantasy novel where all his cultivation power came from popping pills.
He was not a real genius...
For Yuuto, this was f*cking cruel!
From last year to now, he didn't know how many times he had simulated. He had spent at least thirty years in simulation time.
Over thirty years of bitter practice, never relaxing, only to end up with such a result...
The day he learned this result, he was devastated.
Now...
He had let it go.
"Zone or no Zone, so what if I'm not a genius? Today I will definitely crush you guys."
So what if I'm not a genius.
No one can strip away his right to pursue victory and success.
If talent isn't enough, then pay with more effort. One fold, two folds, until victory is achieved.
Just like the master and disciple, Might Guy (from Naruto).
The effort paid will not betray you. If you can't do it, that just means you haven't worked hard enough!
...
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