Hiroshima Central Gymnasium.
Inside the venue where Shohoku faced off against Sannoh Kogyo.
The Shohoku players were still deep in celebration.
They cheered wildly, fully letting out the joy of victory.
Meanwhile—
The Sannoh players stood frozen like statues turned to stone.
Their faces were blank, dazed, as if their souls had been ripped away.
They stared at the scoreboard and the clock that now read zero, overwhelmed by emotions too tangled to describe.
Everything before them felt unreal.
They had lost.
The once-invincible Sannoh had actually lost.
They looked at the wildly celebrating Shohoku players with eyes full of regret and frustration.
But there was nothing they could do now.
They had completely lost this match.
And not just the players. Many of the spectators also felt like they were stuck in some kind of dream.
The mighty, unbeatable Sannoh dynasty had collapsed in an instant.
No one had seen this coming.
Players from other schools couldn't believe it either.
Sannoh lost? To Shohoku?
Their eyes drifted toward the celebrating Shohoku players.
But most stares were locked onto one person—Aoi Kunisaku.
Even after winning, he stood there with the same calm face.
That terrifying guy had completely overturned everyone's understanding of basketball with his overwhelming power.
'If we go up against him... can we really win?'
That same question popped into the minds of players from every team.
"Let's go, Hiroshi." The Meihou coach cast one last glance at the Shohoku players, then turned and said.
Morishige Hiroshi replied, "Old man, that guy's crazy strong!"
"Oh?" The Meihou coach raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You saying that? That's rare."
Elsewhere—
Maki Shinichi stood up and looked at Shohoku's players with a complicated expression. "It's over. Let's go."
Kiyota Nobunaga stared at the Shohoku players, visibly bitter. "Those guys sure got lucky."
Jin Soichiro calmly said, "Honestly, I don't think anyone in this tournament can beat Shohoku now."
No one argued.
Sannoh's defeat had proved that clearly.
Later, the Shohoku team lined up, and with reporters clicking their cameras and the crowd watching, they took a full team photo together.
With that, the match between Shohoku and Sannoh Kogyo officially came to an end.
Shohoku won by a score of 105 to 92, claiming victory with a 13-point lead over the so-called "strongest high school team in the country."
And from that day forward, everyone who watched the match—fans, reporters, or rival teams—
All remembered one name.
Aoi Kunisaku.
No one really understood what happened to him at the end of the game. No one could explain how he managed to perform the way he did.
But one thing was clear to all.
Aoi Kunisaku was powerful—absurdly powerful. Unbelievably powerful.
That night, news of Shohoku defeating Sannoh Kogyo spread everywhere.
Though newspapers and magazines wouldn't hit stands until the next day, the news had already taken the country by storm.
Anyone who followed basketball had heard the shocking report.
Everyone was completely blown away.
…
Chidori-sou Inn.
After returning triumphant, the Shohoku players threw a massive celebration.
Every face was full of joy that wouldn't fade. No one could stop smiling.
Kogure Kiminobu smiled wide and said, "Even now, I still can't believe we actually beat Sannoh."
Mitsui Hisashi echoed, "You're not the only one. I still feel like I'm dreaming."
Akagi Takenori, for once, showed a sincere smile. His eyes sparkled with resolve. Though his face still looked stiff, he said firmly,
"We may have conquered the highest mountain in Sannoh, but there are still countless other opponents ahead! We can't let our guard down. This time, we're going all the way and taking the national title."
Sakuragi Hanamichi ran up to Akagi Takenori with a huge grin and said proudly,
"Don't worry! With this genius on the team, no matter who we face, I'll crush them all!"
Miyagi Ryota gave him a sidelong look and muttered,
"You sure talk big."
Rukawa Kaede sighed, shrugged, and mumbled,
"Idiot."
"What did you say?!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi instantly bared his shark teeth and started yelling at Rukawa.
It was like he had a built-in radar for Rukawa Kaede's sarcasm. He picked it up right away.
Watching them, Aoi Kunisaku found it all amusing. He couldn't help but laugh to himself at their strange chemistry.
"This is way too crazy."
Everyone spoke over each other, the room bursting with energy.
Coach Anzai sat quietly in the corner, sipping tea. Watching the lively scene, a contented smile spread across his face.
Just then, Rukawa Kaede stepped up to Aoi Kunisaku and asked,
"What was that thing you did today?"
The noisy room instantly fell silent. Every eye locked onto Aoi Kunisaku.
They were all curious. What was that state Aoi Kunisaku showed at the end of the match?
That terrifying power boost had left them shocked and maybe a little jealous.
Who wouldn't want power like that? The kind that breaks all common sense?
Even Coach Anzai turned his attention toward him.
As a seasoned coach with a deep understanding of basketball, he already had some guesses about what happened. But he wasn't sure.
What he did know was that Aoi Kunisaku must have entered some kind of special state—something like 'Wild Instinct.'
Aoi Kunisaku looked at their eager eyes and sighed.
"It's nothing really. Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."
Everyone's faces dropped.
"Oi! Are you looking down on us?" Miyagi Ryota immediately protested.
Aoi Kunisaku answered calmly,
"You could call it a kind of state."
"State?"
The others all looked confused.
Aoi Kunisaku, getting a little annoyed, continued,
"Put simply, it's when you bring out 100% of your power. I call this state the Zone."
Now they got it—sort of. But they still looked unsure.
Zone? What even is that?
"Just as I thought," Coach Anzai suddenly said.
"Usually, a player can only bring out a limited amount of strength in a match. On a good day, maybe 80% to 90%. On a bad day, it might drop to 60% or 70%, or even lower. Hitting 100% is nearly impossible."
Everyone looked even more confused. They sort of understood, but sort of didn't.
Coach Anzai paused, then looked straight at Aoi Kunisaku and said meaningfully,
"So this Zone... it's where you can bring out all your strength—100%, right?"
Aoi Kunisaku nodded. He even gave Coach Anzai a silent thumbs-up.
'As expected of a coach.'
Kogure Kiminobu looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could—
Kuwata Toki, the dreamy and naïve first-year, suddenly asked,
"So... can we learn it?"
The moment he said that, everyone turned their eyes back to Aoi Kunisaku again.
Aoi Kunisaku scoffed at them with a smirk.
"Not to be a jerk, but don't bother. Mortals are just mortals. Don't go dreaming about becoming gods."
Akagi Takenori and Mitsui Hisashi immediately looked pissed. Their veins bulged. They looked like they might tear him apart.
Mitsui Hisashi gritted his teeth and snapped,
"Oi! What the hell's that supposed to mean?"
Shimizu Kanon rushed to smooth things over.
"Saku-chan, don't say it like that!"
Aoi Kunisaku stayed indifferent.
"I'm just being honest. You can see it too, right? That's their limit. No matter how hard you try, a house cat can't turn into a tiger."
Sakuragi Hanamichi glared at him and shouted,
"Damn you... You just called us cats!"
Hohohoho...
Coach Anzai laughed and chimed in,
"Kunisaku-kun's example is pretty spot-on! He's not wrong. This was my first time seeing that legendary state, too."
"Legendary state?" Kogure Kiminobu asked curiously.
"Coach Anzai, you mean that Zone thing?"
Coach Anzai nodded.
"Yes. I heard about it when I was younger. They say there's a state in basketball that's unbeatable. In that state, a player can bring out not just 100% of their strength, but also massively boost their vision, vertical leap, speed, power, awareness... all of it. Only a rare few players with incredible talent can reach it."
He let out a long sigh.
"Never thought someone your age would already reach that level."
Aoi Kunisaku shrugged.
"That's why I said they couldn't do it."
Now everyone got it.
Zone wasn't something just anyone could achieve.
But still, they all had the urge to punch him.
Seeing the way Aoi Kunisaku looked down at them like a god watching mortals only made their blood boil.
Rukawa Kaede clenched his fists in silence.
'Zone, huh... Someday… I'll reach it too.'