The roaring gymnasium suddenly fell into silence.
Everyone had been stunned by the sudden flash of blue lightning.
It was like a sports car tearing past the camera at full speed. In the blink of an eye, Aomine's figure had vanished downcourt.
Even Kirisaki Daiichi's players couldn't react in time.
The word floated into Kuroko's mind without him even realizing it.
He'd come across it once—mentioned by the basketball god Michael Jordan himself during an interview.
"Zone? That's the Zone?"
Apparently, Kuroko wasn't the only one who had seen the interview.
Even the background character from Seirin—the diehard basketball fan—knew what it was.
"You know about it too?"
"Yeah," he replied, uncertain.
"I saw it in the news. Jordan once shared it with the world."
"He said… when a player enters that state, it's like the whole world around them slows down.
"It's not that everything actually slows—your perception just speeds up.
"Your thoughts move so fast, it feels like time is dragging."
"In that moment, your opponent's defensive flaws appear right in front of your eyes—and you can score at will."
"He also said… apart from a flash of inspiration or intense practice, there's no shortcut to reaching it."
"I thought he was joking—but now… it's real."
The rest of the Seirin squad listened, stunned—as if they were hearing some mythical legend come to life.
"To put it simply, it's breaking your internal limiters—releasing all of your potential."
Across the gym, Midorima and Kise's faces both shifted.
This was something even they had never touched.
"Normally, a player can only tap into 80% of their actual capabilities," Midorima said.
"In specific moments, under pressure, they might push to 90%—but that's usually the cap."
"Zone is the exception. Once inside, a player's full potential is activated—100% output, no restrictions."
Kasamatsu Yukio felt like his entire worldview had just been rewritten.
"But if that kind of state exists, why has only Aomine ever reached it?"
Basketball history was long and storied.
Across the years, many legends had come and gone.
If Zone had always existed, hidden within the human body…
Why hadn't anyone else ever discovered it? Why hadn't word of it spread?
"The first requirement to enter Zone… is overwhelming talent."
"It's a realm for the chosen few. Only the truly gifted can access it."
In short—if you're not one of the gods, stay out.
Kasamatsu didn't argue. He wasn't upset, either.
Because the Generation of Miracles wasn't just "strong"—they were historic.
Their talent alone would rank them top six in the history of high school basketball.
Because there were six members of the Generation of Miracles.
Still, he couldn't help wondering—
"Why does Midorima know all this? Could he enter Zone too?"
And if so—why had he still lost to Seirin?
Midorima's face clearly said: Don't ask.
Back on the court, Aomine was already in Kirisaki's half.
Yamazaki Hiroshi and Hara Kazuya rushed in from both sides to block him.
They weren't hoping to stop him—just to slow him down and buy Tendou a few extra seconds to recover.
They'd already seen what this state could do. Tendou had shown them.
Aomine slapped the ball down hard, and as it bounced up, it smashed into Hara's face.
At first, he thought Aomine had made a mistake. But his brain kicked in immediately:
No way. Aomine doesn't make rookie mistakes.
Just as his thoughts resumed, Aomine was already gone—along with the ball.
The blue light surged past him.
Even national-level defenders were nothing but traffic cones in front of this Aomine.
"You see it now? This is the real Aomine."
Imayoshi slowly opened his eyes.
Just like the first time he'd witnessed it—he was once again shaken to the core by this sheer strength.
That's why, no matter how lazy or reckless Aomine acted in practice, Imayoshi never said a word.
"This is what it means to be the strongest."
To him, Aomine wasn't one of the strongest.
He was the strongest.
Because if this Aomine actually trained seriously?
No one else would have a chance.
He smiled faintly as he looked toward his underclassman.
From Hanamiya's expression, he could tell the guy was shocked.
And maybe even… remembering something unpleasant.
Meanwhile, in the real world—the anime cut to a flashback:
A glimpse of daily life inside Kirisaki Daiichi's basketball club.
All of the starters, including Hanamiya, were sprawled on the ground, gasping for air.
Only Tendou stood tall at center court.
"Once I enter this state," Tendou said,
"it means Kirisaki Daiichi's teamwork ends here."
"From that point on, all of you—including Hanamiya and Hara—need to do only two things."
"First: Give me every damn ball."
"Second: Find a nice spot to rest. Try not to get in the way." Chapters first released on novel fire.net
The Kirisaki players weren't offended. They weren't thinking about "team play."
They were just wondering—
"What the hell are we supposed to do now?"
Meanwhile, the livestream comment section blew up.
『Don't tell me Tendou can enter Zone too?!』
『They made Zone sound so impossible—how come this guy just walks right in?!』
『Bruh, this anime is totally misnamed. It's not 'Ordinary Basketball'—it's 'DIVINE Basketball!'』
The screen glitched again.
This time, a streak of silver-white lightning erupted from center court, slicing across the screen like fire.
Viewers felt literal chills as goosebumps spread across their skin.
When the visuals snapped back, Tendou had already blitzed past Hara from the other side.
His eyes trailed behind him—a long, thin silver arc still shimmering in the air.
"NANI?!" Imayoshi's pupils shrank.
Wasn't that supposed to be Aomine's domain?
But now—the leader of the Generation of Miracles had it too?
Two bolts of lightning crashed into the paint.
Aomine leapt, arm raised like a war axe, ready to smash the ball through the rim.
But Tendou, arriving a fraction later, exploded in from the wing.
He leapt too—just like a volleyball spike—and with one brutal swipe, he smacked the ball right out of Aomine's hand.
Fast. Precise. Devastating.