Akashi indeed felt unprecedented pressure.
Not now, but in the imminent future.
That was the oppression the Emperor Eye couldn't see but could only feel.
Yuuto.
Was evolving forward at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Even that Dead Spot would appear on him sooner or later.
A result irreversible even by the Emperor Eye.
He had never thought of such a thing; since awakening the Emperor Eye, he thought this was the strongest talent.
Now...
Beep~
The second quarter ended.
The gap between Rakuzan and Seiho still hadn't widened.
But the situation on the court was quite unfavorable for Rakuzan.
Yuuto temporarily still couldn't find Akashi's Dead Spot; the opponent's Emperor Eye was too perfect.
He still needed correction, still needed evolution, to break it completely.
However, compared to himself, in the latter half of the second quarter, Akashi could only frequently rely on Mayuzumi Chihiro's Misdirection to maintain the score.
Locker room.
Eiji Shirogane held the tactical board for urgent deployment, but Akashi knew any deployment wouldn't make much sense.
Yuuto probably predicted even the choices they would take in advance.
In the end.
Wanting to win still depended on himself.
"Thanks for your hard work. Please rest for a while next."
Akashi spoke to Mayuzumi Chihiro, not as gentle as the primary personality, but not calling him by name directly was already giving face.
"Is that so? I understand." Mayuzumi Chihiro was a bit unused to it; the Akashi in front of him was too different from the one he knew.
If the Akashi he knew was the sun, then the one in front of him was like a moon without temperature.
Seeming to realize he was a bit unkind, Akashi added, "In the fourth quarter, we still need your power."
Fourth quarter?
We haven't even finished the third quarter yet.
Hayama Kotaro hurriedly asked, "Akashi, are we going to use that?"
Rakuzan had another killer move.
"That is our last chance; haven't reached that stage yet."
Akashi wiped sweat with a towel.
Although there were slight deviations from expectations, overall, it was still going according to plan.
"In the second half, I will enter the Zone."
What?!
Zone!!!
Hearing this, the expressions of the Rakuzan players all changed.
Not surprised that Akashi could enter the Zone, but the condition for Akashi to enter the Zone was too crazy and ruthless.
What is the trigger for Akashi to enter the Zone?
When he chooses to abandon everything and decides to use his own ability to solve the match, the door to the Zone will open for this solipsistic genius.
And at that time, it also means the other teammates have become useless trash.
"Sei-chan..." Mibuchi Reo wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Akashi. "I will enter the Zone to engage in a further contest with Yuuto. During this time, others cannot intervene; you must seize the time to recover stamina."
Abandoned.
But not completely abandoned.
Because when Akashi in the Zone domain couldn't contend with Yuuto, his job would be done.
At that time, the primary personality Akashi would return again; that would be the moment of the decisive battle between Rakuzan and Seiho.
Hearing this, the others nodded silently.
"You can try opening your heart to them."
The primary personality Akashi spoke at this time, hoping the other self would try to accept others.
"No need; that's not my responsibility." Akashi refused flatly.
Not everyone was qualified to be his friend.
He was the proud Akashi Seijuro.
"Now I'm going to prepare to enter the Zone; don't disturb me."
"Sigh~" A sigh came from his mind, finally returning to nothingness.
Listening to the sigh of another self, Akashi closed his eyes and entered the domain of the Zone, seeing that door.
Then.
Abandoning the people around him, he stepped in alone.
...
On the other side.
Seiho was also making urgent preparations.
The score on the field now was 60:58; Seiho temporarily led by 2 points.
The advantage was slight, possible to be reversed at any time because their opponent today was Emperor Rakuzan.
The good news was.
Their leader Yuuto became stronger, evolved to a higher level, and faintly began to see his suppression of Akashi.
The team leader solved the biggest trouble; next, what they had to do was manage their own people.
"But speaking of which, Rakuzan is really strong."
Ryuhei Kasuga sighed with emotion.
Didn't have the chance to play against them before, thinking they just lacked an opportunity.
Now facing them truly, only then did he truly realize why Rakuzan was hailed as the Emperor.
Really too strong; every position was impeccable, surpassing the national standard.
...
The helmsman was the leader of the Generation of Miracles. If not for Yuuto, he couldn't imagine where this battleship Rakuzan would sail to.
Nationals three-peat?
Even including the Winter Cup three-peat?
These were not impossible.
Their lineup possessed all conditions to create history.
"Isn't this something known long ago? Or are you scared now?"
"Scared?" Ryuhei Kasuga smiled stubbornly. "I'm more afraid of becoming my old laughable self again."
Calling themselves Kings, actually frogs in the well.
Even if they failed this time, he would absolutely not become that ridiculous self again.
Yuuto didn't speak from the side; he was actively adjusting his breathing, recovering stamina as much as possible.
...
His biggest advantage wasn't the initiative visible to fans on the court, but the perfect rhythm brought by the Bible of the Star.
Second half.
Akashi probably wouldn't remain indifferent; he would definitely counterattack.
Then.
Seiho would welcome the real challenge.
Unknowingly, halftime was about to end.
Time was up; Yuuto led people out of the locker room, heading to the battlefield that attracted much attention.
"Yuuto." Yamashita Shio stopped him at this time. "It's the final moment; say something to everyone."
This was also the responsibility of the captain.
Yuuto stopped, turned to face all teammates, finding everyone looking at him.
His gaze swept across the locker room, making eye contact with everyone.
A moment later.
He organized his language and spoke, "Excluding sleep, a person's life is only more than 10,000 days. But the difference between people lies in whether you lived 10,000 days or just lived one day and repeated it 10,000 times?"
"The past is past; we don't have the ability to turn back time. Regardless of whether we lived a repetitive day in the past, today is definitely a brand new day for us."
"In twenty minutes, we will stand on the podium. We don't want bronze medals, nor silver medals; we want gold medals!"
A relatively realistic speech ignited everyone present.
Because.
Most of them might be one of the sentient beings, living repetitive days.
But if they could win today.
At least, they lived more than one day in their lives; that is the meaning of the Nationals championship!
...
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