"What… what just happened?"
"What was that? How did Shohoku score?"
"What was with that last play? How did number 9 from Shohoku suddenly show up under Sannoh's basket?"
"Am I seeing things? I think I just saw something shoot across the court."
…
The crowd looked completely stunned. Their eyes were wide, some almost bulging out of their sockets like they might fall out if they blinked.
Their faces twisted with shock, confusion, curiosity, numbness, disbelief—every kind of stunned expression imaginable.
It was like they were all in a trance. Nobody could figure out what had just happened.
But deep down, they knew it had to be something truly unreal.
The players from other schools in the stands were all frozen, faces twisted in pure horror.
Meihou's coach couldn't even speak, stunned by what he had just seen.
Morishige Hiroshi stared wide-eyed, jaw slack, completely dumbfounded.
Maki Shinichi stood there speechless. His mouth was open, but no words came out.
Miyamasu Yoshinori's face was blank. His eyes were empty as he stared at the court below, still in shock.
Kiyota Nobunaga looked terrified, his face full of disbelief. His eyes were filled with confusion and doubt, like he didn't recognize the world anymore. He even started wondering if he was dreaming—or hallucinating.
On the court.
Everyone from Shohoku and Sannoh had the same dazed expression. None of them could understand how Aoi Kunisaku pulled off that dunk in a split second.
At the benches, Domoto Goro and Anzai Mitsuyoshi both stood up from their seats.
Domoto Goro's eyes were huge, like he'd seen a ghost. His face screamed disbelief and shock.
Anzai Mitsuyoshi's glasses flashed white. His usual calm and gentle face was gone, replaced by rare astonishment.
Ayako, Miyagi Ryota, Kogure Kiminobu—all of them had their mouths open, eyes wide, frozen like statues.
For a moment, the whole bench was dead silent. Not a sound.
Shimizu Kanon blinked rapidly. Her eyes were locked on Aoi Kunisaku. She covered her mouth with her hand, thoughts racing in her head. 'Is this… is this what he meant before…?'
No one knew how much time passed before the referee finally snapped out of it. He had completely forgotten what to do next.
He thought back. That was a dunk by Shohoku's number 9.
Right. Shohoku dunked.
Wait—hold on!
When did Shohoku dunk?
The ref muttered in his head. He only heard the slam, and by the time he turned, Aoi Kunisaku had already finished the dunk.
Tweet—
The referee blew his whistle and signaled a timeout.
He needed to check what just happened.
After a few moments, the ref came back with confirmation.
Tweet—
The whistle blew again.
He gave the signal for a valid dunk and shouted, "Score counts. Game continues!"
"What?!"
The Sannoh players were still in a daze. They didn't get what was going on.
They tried to speak up.
But the ref cut them off. "Sannoh, inbound the ball."
Hearing that, they swallowed their words and got ready to resume play.
Sawakita Eiji and the others pulled themselves together and launched another attack against Shohoku.
Aoi Kunisaku stood just in front of the three-point line on Shohoku's side.
He stood there quietly, looking harmless.
But somehow, everyone on Sannoh felt a deadly pressure coming from him like never before.
Fukatsu Kazunari had just crossed half-court when he passed the ball toward Matsumoto Minoru, who was farther away from Aoi Kunisaku.
But before the ball was halfway there—
Zzzlaa—
A blue flash cut across the court like a streak of lightning. It moved so fast it stunned everyone.
When the light vanished, even the ball that was mid-air disappeared in an instant.
"What?!"
The Sannoh players went pale. It was like they had seen something terrifying. Panic was written all over their faces.
Fukatsu Kazunari's eyes bulged. It was like he had just witnessed something impossible. His face froze in disbelief.
Bang—
The sharp sound of the ball bouncing on the hardwood echoed.
By the time Sannoh snapped out of it, Aoi Kunisaku was already dribbling into Sannoh's half-court.
Kawata Masashi and Nobe Masahiro rushed over to block his path.
But in the next second, their vision blurred. Before they could react, Aoi Kunisaku swept past them like a gust of wind and was already behind them.
Bang—
The sound of the ball bouncing came from behind them.
Kawata Masashi and Nobe Masahiro felt their hearts clench. Panic and disbelief filled their eyes.
They stiffly turned around.
And what they saw drained the color from their faces.
Aoi Kunisaku was already airborne above the paint, holding the ball in one hand like a powerful eagle, and slammed it down with force.
Clang—
A loud, deep slam rang out. The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
Shohoku 89, Sannoh Kogyo 92.
Aoi Kunisaku landed steadily. His face was eerily calm. The aura around him was quiet but terrifying.
Blue streaks of electricity danced at the corners of his sharp blue eyes, giving off an air of mystery, calm, and overwhelming strength.
Zone.
Right now, Aoi Kunisaku had entered the Zone.
He felt like he was floating. Everything around him slowed down and became clearer, like he was underwater.
That massive, ancient door in front of him had opened wide.
Aoi Kunisaku stood inside, head high, looking down from within.
'How…?'
Kawata Masashi and Nobe Masahiro stared in disbelief. They couldn't react at all. They hadn't even caught Aoi Kunisaku's breakthrough movement.
'This is insane.'
They shouted in their hearts.
Even when the ball bounced behind them, they turned their heads right away. But just in that brief moment, Aoi Kunisaku had already jumped and dunked.
That entire sequence lasted barely 1 second.
What kind of speed was that?
Everyone watching Aoi Kunisaku had horror in their eyes. They couldn't believe—didn't want to believe—what they were seeing.
Too fast.
Too crazy.
Too unreal.
Was this really something a human could do?