An hour later, after their short break, Seirin resumed practice.
Compared to before, their success rate in the passing-and-cutting drills had noticeably improved.
However
That was only after Haizaki Shōgo joined the training.
"Damn it, the Generation of Miracles is just too terrifying…"
Hyūga Junpei wiped the sweat off his face after barely surviving Shigure Akihito's half-hearted defense. Watching Haizaki score again on the opposite end, he couldn't help but sigh.
"I know, right? No wonder they're three-time national champions back in middle school. That level's unreal," Izuki Shun added, panting heavily.
Only now, after Shigure Akihito joined their joint camp, did the Seirin team finally realize
Even without Akihito or Nijimura, just facing the standard of the Generation of Miracles alone, the gap between Seirin and Teiko was enormous.
So far, under Shigure Akihito's defensive pressure, no one could complete a clean pass
except Haizaki Shōgo, who managed to receive and score a few times.
Aside from him, only Kiyoshi Teppei, still recovering from injury, could occasionally pull it off.
And that was already impressive…
Because Haizaki had just finished an intensive training cycle with Teiko before this.
Everyone glanced toward the opposite court.
If Akihito was merciful enough to "hold back" on Seirin, then over at Teiko's side, Nijimura Shuzo showed no such restraint.
He had gone full beast mode.
The difference in training volume between the two sides was staggering.
Even Coach Aida Riko, who prided herself on her players' limits, could barely watch. The sight of Teiko's relentless intensity—where even the "Miracles" were being pushed to exhaustion—made her heart pound in alarm. She half-expected someone to collapse and require immediate medical attention.
But
When morning training finally ended…
Riko saw her own Seirin players lying flat on the sand, eyes glazed and bodies trembling in exhaustion, completely spent.
Meanwhile, the Teiko squad—who had looked just as battered before lunch—had already recovered by the afternoon break, fully recharged and ready to go again.
At that moment, she understood it clearly:
Monsters and humans can't be measured by the same standards.
Later that evening
As the sky turned dark, the Seirin team watched Teiko finish dinner and head straight back to the gym for another session.
The atmosphere grew unbearably tense, the air thick with pressure.
"Coach…"
"Should we…"
"…train too?"
Their determination flared again.
If they were going to lose to monsters a year younger in skill, so be it.
But they refused to lose in effort.
Even Riko, glancing at her exhausted team, wanted to stop them
their bodies clearly weren't ready for another session.
But then… she remembered what Nijimura said earlier that day about their nightly training plan
that the evenings were meant for conceptualizing new abilities.
Riko bit her lip.
Even if they didn't train…
They could still observe.
Maybe… even steal a few tricks.
Judging from how Nijimura acted earlier, he didn't seem the type to mind being watched.
At worst, she figured, they'd just watch Haizaki and Kuroko, since they'd both soon be part of Seirin anyway.
Yeah… that should be fine!
"Alright!"
Riko clenched her fist.
"Let's go too!"
As they made their way toward the brightly lit gym, Seirin's players grew increasingly nervous. When Riko admitted they weren't actually going to train but to observe, everyone's steps faltered.
"Uh, Coach… maybe this isn't a great idea?"
"Yeah, it's not really 'observing' if we're basically spying…"
"If we get caught, that Nijimura guy's gonna kill us! He's Teiko's captain and Kaijō's captain now—middle school and high school champion… he looks terrifying!"
Hearing her team so intimidated by Nijimura only made Riko grit her teeth.
"This gym isn't Teiko's private property!" she snapped.
"What's there to be scared of? We're just here to learn!"
But the moment they reached the gym entrance and heard Nijimura's deep, commanding voice from inside, Riko's courage evaporated instantly.
Her heart skipped.
She froze.
Thankfully, Kiyoshi Teppei stepped forward.
"Let's go," he said, eyes burning with quiet resolve.
"We're still far behind. Asking to learn directly from them isn't shameful."
Without hesitation, he opened the door and stepped inside.
Hyūga clicked his tongue but followed right after.
The rest exchanged glances—then filed in one by one.
Inside, instead of the expected chaos of practice, they found something else entirely.
The gym was silent.
No one was moving.
The Generation of Miracles were sitting in a loose circle on the floor.
In the center stood Aomine Daiki, looking unusually grim.
Across from him were Shigure Akihito and Nijimura Shuzo.
Nijimura's calm but thunderous voice echoed through the hall.
"Ball control, touch, reaction speed, wild instinct, stamina, agility…
these are your greatest strengths. On top of that, you need to refine your ability to attack and defend based on those attributes."
He paused.
"Shigure's given you a theme—'Entanglement.'"
Aomine scratched his head. "Uh… entanglement?"
Akihito shot him a glare.
"You've seen Hagioka-senpai's 'As Steady as the Forest,' right?"
Aomine blinked. "Huh? Oh… that move."
He nodded uncertainly.
Akihito continued:
"That ability is based on visual information gathering and instant situational analysis—reading an opponent's movements and delaying their actions through reactive counter-timing."
He crossed his arms.
"In simpler terms… it's like when Nijimura faced me back in middle school—he analyzed my play down to every micro-detail, countered every motion, every rhythm. That's the essence of it."
"But Hagioka's 'Forest' is a more generalized version of that—it weakens the precision but applies the concept broadly as interference against multiple targets."
Aomine frowned. "Senpai, I don't have that kind of brain or analysis skill."
Akihito sighed.
"Of course not. I know you don't have the brains for it."
"Pfft…" Haizaki snorted immediately.
Then
"Neither do you, Haizaki."
"Pfft!" Aomine burst out laughing this time.
Akihito grinned faintly.
"But you've got something no one else does—wild instinct and unmatched agility.
What I want is for you to channel that wildness to amplify your reflexes even further."
"Through directional training, we'll turn your natural reactions—those instant, pre-emptive movements—into deliberate habits that can delay your opponent's rhythm."
He raised a finger.
"That's only step one."
"Next, using Nijimura's 'Half-Rainbow Stream' as your foundation, we'll train your control of explosive power—not just in your legs, but your arms, elbows, chest… everywhere."
"And after that…"
"We'll go deeper—not just delaying movement from the surface, but freezing it from within. Controlling the flow of motion itself."
Aomine blinked. "Freeze?"
"You mean… like actually freezing?"
Akihito's lips curved.
"Exactly. Like this."
In that instant, everyone felt it
A surge of pressure rolled out from Akihito's body, cold and sharp.
The air around him shimmered.
Before their eyes, wind and snow began to gather, swirling visibly around him.
Whumm
Whumm
Lines of white light traced his movements through the air like ribbons of frost.
"This," Akihito said calmly,
"is the Domain—Heaven of Ice and Snow."
A pause.
"…Well," he added lightly, "a simplified version."
END OF CHAPTER
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