After every simulation ends, it feels as though a massive amount of energy is drained from his body.
This was a terrible experience, one he had gone through several times already.
But there was no other way. The requirements for the Weakness Revision talent on his five attributes were simply too high.
Physical talent and technique both had to start at 90, and Mentality had to reach a terrifying 150.
He had possessed the simulation system for two years; this was now the third year!
He had practiced for two and a half years... yet still hadn't met the criteria, only managing to activate it temporarily.
However.
"Almost there. The next simulation will meet the conditions."
Entering high school had another benefit: there was the Winter Cup to play.
This meant he could earn even more experience points.
Consuming the memories, Yuuto fused Hawk Eye, Eagle Eye, and the Eye of Data, obtaining the Eye of the Sky.
He didn't rush to fuse the minor fundamental skills; those Green talents were somewhat useful, so there was no need to clear them out urgently.
As for the Acrobatic Shot talent, he planned to fuse it during the next simulation to see what he could get.
...
Afternoon.
Basketball club activity time.
Yuuto started shooting practice as soon as he entered the gym.
A year of effort hadn't been in vain. The massive amount of practice memories allowed him to adapt to the effects of his sudden surge in strength.
His shooting had returned to a normal level. He didn't need to force drives into the paint most of the time like in the simulation.
After practice began, he sat on the sideline silently observing his teammates.
The existence of the Eye of the Sky allowed him to see a possibility.
To prevent an upset like the one against Kaijo from happening, he needed to make secondary preparations in advance.
"What's wrong, Yuuto? Practice is over. Let's go home."
"Yeah, we have a match tomorrow, so no extra training today."
After the club activities ended, Tomoki Tsugawa, who was preparing to leave, called out to Yuuto.
On match days (or the day before), they wouldn't do any extra training.
Even Yuuto would only go home and do simple shooting drills to maintain his form.
"For the upcoming matches, I need to make even more thorough preparations."
Fwoosh!
The moment his voice fell, a massive amount of steam began to emanate from Yuuto's body.
His short black hair was dyed snow-white at a speed visible to the naked eye.
This transformation gave every Seiho player present goosebumps as an immense pressure washed over them.
It was their first time seeing Yuuto in this state.
"Could this be..."
"The rumored Demon Mode!"
Ryuhei Kasuga's mouth hung open. Yuuto in this form truly looked like a demon walking out of the abyss; his fierce aura was chilling.
But a moment later, when Yuuto opened his eyes, his gaze had become clear.
He had corrected the "brutality" that was useless for the match!
"Let's begin. I want you all to better keep up with my rhythm."
Yuuto grabbed a ball and had Iwamura and the other three rotate to coordinate with him.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
Zzzzt! Four streaks of black lightning erupted from the corners of Kasuga and the others' eyes.
"This will do."
Yuuto put down the basketball. His snow-white hair quickly faded back to black, and the steam dissipating into the air vanished.
Only after he left did Kasuga and the others wake up as if from a dream.
"Just! Just now! What was that?"
At that moment, he felt his body lighter than ever before.
Things he couldn't do before suddenly became easy.
The group looked at each other, unsure of what Yuuto had done to them.
They only knew one thing.
Their state at that moment was a height they had never reached before.
"It was the Zone!"
Yamashita Shio was not far away; he had watched the entire process.
Although his voice sounded calm right now, his hands couldn't stop trembling.
Clearly, the shock Yuuto brought him was profound.
"Zone? You mean..."
"That's right, the realm of geniuses. I never imagined Yuuto had the ability to stimulate your physical potential."
However.
It wasn't the true Zone. At best, it could stimulate 90% of the potential of Kasuga and the others.
After all.
They didn't possess the qualifications to enter the Zone on their own; it was Yuuto using his individual ability to pull them through the door.
"Physical potential... does that mean he..."
"Yeah. Through perfect passes, he guided you into a higher realm, though it only reaches a maximum of 90%."
90%, huh?
Tsutomu Iwamura clenched his fist.
It was certainly a pity not to fully enter the realm of geniuses.
But.
For them, it was enough.
They were filled with confidence for the upcoming matches.
Shutoku, Tōō—none of them would escape.
"This should be enough to prevent most accidents."
On the other side, Yuuto looked into the distance with a deep gaze.
Behind him was Sora, complaining about being tired after walking just a few steps.
Truly a burden to carry forward.
"Let's buy a car some other day, shall we?" He wanted to buy a vehicle for transport.
"No, it's too dangerous." Sora shook her head like a rattle drum, burying her face in Yuuto's neck, refusing no matter what.
...
The next day.
Group stage, Round 4.
Seiho's match was scheduled for noon.
This time.
Yuuto didn't reveal the ability of the Eye of the Sky. He played normally, leading the team to an easy victory.
This disappointed Masaaki Nakatani, who was hiding in the audience, as he failed to see Seiho's trump card.
If only Seiho had been given a dark horse opponent like Seirin.
"What a tortoise shell with no weaknesses."
He had a huge headache over Seiho's defensive formation.
If they couldn't strip Yuuto away from Seiho's formation, it would be nearly impossible for them to get the ball into the paint.
"But Shutoku can win without two-point shots." Nakatani stood up and left.
Since learning they were in the same group as Seiho, he had been constantly studying Seiho's game footage.
Seiho's new defensive formation chilled many participating teams to the bone.
The combination of Tsutomu Iwamura, Yuuto, and Tomoki Tsugawa made Seiho's defense almost flawless.
However, if Yuuto, the "central axis," could be stripped away, Seiho's defense would be significantly discounted.
As it happened, Shutoku possessed a super shooter capable of dragging Yuuto out of Seiho's formation.
But to do that, Midorima would have to stand alone to attract Yuuto's defense.
"Truly a difficult opponent."
...
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