In The Zone

「Nara Preliminaries, Day 5, Winners of Both Blocks, Round 5: Exhibition Match.」

Zone, it is a term referring to a player's state when they reach their maximum potential. It is a superlative of regular concentration and focus. The conditions to enter this state vary from each person.

Seiji found out about this state when he was doing his research when he was still a kid. This state can't normally be seen since a great amount of talent is needed in order for you to even have a chance at entering it.

There are also conditions that needed to be met in order for you to enter this state. In Mitsui's case, it should be about battling strong opponents. Once they enter this state, a streak of lightning flash from their eyes.

The color of the lightning depends on the color of your eyes. Since Mitsui's 「Eye of Odin」 changes it from black to grey, his 'zone lightning' also changed alongside it.

'His eye color changes through the use of 「Eye of Odin」 while that isn't the case for me. It's probably because of the 「Balor's View」 though.'

While he is thinking about this, Seiji ran alongside his teammates to go for offense. However, Izuki made a careless mistake of throwing a cross court pass towards Kogure.

Mitsui immediately capitalized on this opportunity and cut the pass before immediately going for a fast break. Seiji didn't let him have an easy time though. He pursued Mitsui as they moved from coast to coast.

Mitsui would drive past him but Seiji would immediately catch up to him once again using his insane speed and agility. Then, after getting passed by twice, Seiji's face turned very serious, similar to how Koganei's face changed. This is the state when Seiji is making use of his Wild Instincts.

In conjunction with the use of 「Eye of Odin」, 「Balor's View」, 「Eagle Eye」, and his reflexes, Seiji managed to somehow keep up with a Mitsui who's now tapping into his potential at 100%. Even though Seiji could predict the future through the use of 「Balor's View」, his reflex, speedy calculations, and to a lesser extent, 「Eye of Odin」, it didn't work as much against an opponent who's in the Zone.

Due to the lesser information being transmitted to his brain, Mitsui could process information and make his move faster than Seiji could calculate and then move accordingly. This is why Seiji is lagging slightly behind. However, this isn't that noticeable as the two look like they're just going toe to toe.

When they are just about 25 feet away from the basket, Mitsui tried to pull up for a three pointer with great confidence. Through his Zone and 「Eye of Odin」 he thought that Seiji wouldn't be able to reach the ball even if he tries to contest him.

*wooosh*

When Seiji saw Mitsui release the ball, he waited for a split second before jumping up explosively, resulting in him reaching the highest point of his jump fast. Seiji swatted the ball away after the ball entered his range.

Although surprised, Mitsui didn't panic as he looked at the ball and where it will land. Then, he saw Koganei approaching the direction of where the ball will fall while sprinting.

"Hey! Quickly, pass the ball to me!"

Albeit startled by Mitsui's shout, Koganei didn't panic and grabbed the falling ball after crossing the half court line.

"Here, Mitsui!"

The ball flew up and Mitsui boxed out Seiji, preventing him from going for the ball. With the ball in his hands once again, Mitsui decided to go for a shot that Seiji would never be able to block.

The shot clock is winding down and he needed to make his shot in a few seconds so Mitsui sprinted towards the corner pocket, with Seiji trailing behind him. When they reached there, Mitsui jumped as high as he could diagonally before looking at the hoop and throwing the ball haphazardly using his left hand.

*woooosh*

*swish*

Even though Seiji tried to go for another block, he wasn't able to reach the ball. The both of them came tumbling down but fortunately, they weren't injured or anything.

"Tsk. That was such a nasty shot he took right there," Seiji muttered after getting up.

The next possession, Seiji told Izuki to let him handle the ball for now. Seiji could tell that Mitsui will only last until the end of this quarter.

Through simple calculations, you'll know that, if Seiji tried his hardest on defense and not give Mitsui open looks, Tōdaiji will only manage to at most take ten three point shots. And that's if Kyōsen makes the same mistake that Izuki committed earlier.

'With this much lead, I'll just have to duke it out with Mitsui for two more minutes before our win would be guaranteed. I can't lower the pace of the game because that way, he would be able to take some rest.'

Seiji could play all day but this game is just draining his mental energy so much. He isn't used to 「Eye of Odin」 yet and he only used 「Balor's View」 for a few times so he overestimated himself thinking that he could handle the load of using both of them at once.

Pair that with 「Eagle Eye」 and you'll get yourself a major headache if you don't have a body like Seiji. Even Seiji could only handle using these abilities at once for thirty minutes before possibly frying his brain in the process.

Thus, an epic battle inside the Sika Deer Arena ensued. A wide array of dribbling moves was showcased as Mitsui free formed his ball handling. Seiji was able to keep up with him but he couldn't stop Mitsui's shots.

Mitsui shot the ball wherever the hardest angle for a defender to cover is. Meanwhile, on defense, he tried to choke Seiji as hard as he can.

However, Seiji could still make separation between them through the use of his 「Balor's View」 and take tough shots.

This strategy could only take him so far though. Mitsui was able to stop him a few times while Seiji was unable to stop Mitsui.

This made Seiji realize that, even if he have great abilities, 80% of his true potential could only take him so far. He could outlast a player who's in the Zone, yes, but the difference between them could still be seen.

At the very last play for the quarter, Kyōsen have the ball possession. Even though Seiji only managed to score three baskets against a Mitsui who's in the Zone that score six baskets in total, his team still trusted their ace fully.

He already took them so far, battling toe to toe against a player who have more basketball experience than him and is overall a more developed player while he is just starting his own journey.

"Haa… haa… haa…"

Seiji and Mitsui is already panting, the former is panting from mental fatigue and less from physical exhaustion while the other is physically and mentally exhausted. They're on their last straws in which they can perform at their best before their game plummet.

"This is the most fun I've ever had playing basketball," Mitsui said in between his heavy breaths.

"It's tiring to play against someone who's in the Zone," Seiji replied while breathing heavily as well.

After their short conversation, Seiji finally made his move. As he dribbled the ball, his movements became faster and faster. If Mitsui could shut him down and choke him by his defense previously, Seiji could now somehow keep up with a player who's in the Zone.

Seiji pounded the ball on the ground and moved his right feet forward explosively, seemingly trying to go for a drive. His movements is quicker than last time so Mitsui only have a split second to think of how to react.

In a split second, Mitsui thought that Seiji will definitely go for a drive. This made him be on his heels, waiting for a drive to come. Unfortunately for him, this was a mistake.

Seiji took a step back before picking up the ball, his knees in a lower position than usual and his torso upright. Before Mitsui could try to go close and block him, Seiji is already mid air, shooting a three-pointer.

This is a move that Seiji have long since saw in some matches but couldn't pull off because it is a highly advanced separation move that nobody could pull off without years of practice. Some even train it since childhood in order for them to really ingrain the rhythm of the move into their body.

Even though he have less practice on this move, Seiji compensated it by using the 「Eye of Odin」. With this ability active, Seiji managed to pull off the shot with relative ease.

*swish*

Accompanying the swishing sound of the ball going through the hoop is the sound of the buzzer, indicating the end of the quarter. The score is now 141-122. Seiji scored 116 points for his team while Mitsui scored 108 points.

Everyone except the two players who scored those ridiculous points in just three quarters had their mouths agape. The audience thought that the tickets they bought to watch this match is money well spent when they saw such a blood boiling matchup.

Threes raining down left and right, two players having some kind of shoot out, and the last two minutes where two players are taking the ball from coast to coast, playing some great basketball.

Seeing all the players return to the bench, the audience finally woke up and cheered for the two of them, regardless of the team they are supporting.

*whistle*

"Woooo! Damn, ya two are freakin' awesome!"

"That's some crazy basketball match!"

"Way to go you two! You were awesome out there!"

After that quarter, Seiji and Mitsui just sat on the bench for the rest of the game. The game ended with the score of 201-147, in favor of Kyōsen.

※・※・※・※

「Arisugawa Seiji's Stats」

(116 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 10 blocks, and 5 steals)

To be continued…

[A/N¹: Well, that escalated quickly. I had fun writing this chapter. A person in the Zone having a battle against Seiji.]

[A/N²: This is a proof of just how ridiculous Seiji is. He managed to keep up with someone who is 'in the zone' even though he isn't in the state himself. It has been proven many a time in the Anime that someone who's in the zone is the only one who could stop someone who's in it, too. However, Seiji did the impossible and kept up with Mitsui(even though Mitsui is still not that developed as a player) and matched up to him in his incomplete state. I hope this clarified some of you guy's doubts about what I meant when I listed those abilities for Seiji.]

[A/N³: Can't really say anything else. I fried my brain thinking of what to write in this chapter.]