Chapter 329: I Knew It Would Be Like This, This Guy Yukimiya Kazuma!

Yukimiya Kazuma: "……"

The first appearance of zone in the original plot.

"Yukimiya?"

"Did you hear that?"

Aomine activated zone at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter of the Seirin vs. Touou match in the Winter Cup, then ran out of stamina in the closing stage and could no longer sustain it.

Five minutes…

"Don't bother him…"

"Let's focus on our own jobs. Long Tian, have you gotten used to Yukimiya's passing speed yet?"

"Not…"

"No problem!"

Right now, although only the first half of the game had been played, the stamina drain he had deliberately inflicted on Aomine over the first two quarters was absolutely no less than the three and a half quarters from the original Seirin vs. Touou match.

Aomine had already kept zone going for four minutes…

There was still some rest time at halftime.

Estimating from this, in the most extreme case… let's say Aomine can keep it up for five minutes.

Yukimiya Kazuma was lost in his own world, only subconsciously following his teammates off the court; his concentration was so intense that he didn't hear a single word his teammates said beside him.

A moment later.

"Huh? Where's Yukimiya?"

"Oh, he said he wanted to step out for some air, and then he just left…"

"……"

"I see…"

"Niga, go check on him. If we can't find him for the second half, that'll be bad."

Outside the gymnasium.

The wind was blowing fiercely. Yukimiya Kazuma leaned against the railing, his snow-white hair blown straight back.

"You just finished sweating—don't catch a cold."

Takefuji Masaki suddenly appeared beside Yukimiya Kazuma and spoke.

Yukimiya Kazuma was startled, jumping a little. "Masaki… what the hell? Did you learn that appearing-and-disappearing act from Kuroko?"

On the other side.

Liang Huayin also spoke up: "It's because you were thinking about something way too seriously, right? With your awareness, you actually didn't notice me?"

Takefuji Masaki nodded. This state of Yukimiya's was truly rare; even back when they played at Teikou, he had never seen him like this. Unable to hold back, he asked: "What are you thinking about? Because of Aomine's sudden surge in strength?"

Yukimiya Kazuma propped his chin on his hand against the railing. "As for Aomine's true strength, I've known about that for a long time already…"

He thought for a moment…

"I'm not really thinking about anything in particular."

"It's just that if even a guy like Aomine can enter zone, then…"

"What about me?"

"Honestly…"

"Even a guy like that—who once got sick of basketball and skipped practice for a while—can casually push open the door to zone, and I…"

Have been grinding away with this handicap, and yet I haven't even seen what that door looks like.

"I really am…"

"Pretty ordinary, aren't I?"

Facing Yukimiya's utterly serious expression—yet words that sounded somehow off, like he was humblebragging—Takefuji Masaki was at a loss for how to respond for a moment.

He just couldn't help letting a trace of worry show in his eyes.

Liang Huayin suddenly asked: "That thing is called zone?"

"Mm…"

"Basically, it's a state where you can unleash your full potential for a short time."

"Can you not win?"

Yukimiya Kazuma, hearing this, gave Liang Huayin a rather odd look. "Of course I can win."

Liang Huayin: "……"

Liang Huayin turned and glanced at Takefuji Masaki, who had just been worrying.

The two exchanged a quick look.

Takefuji Masaki quickly read the meaning in the other's eyes:

See?

I knew it would be like this, this guy Yukimiya Kazuma!

……

"Both teams are back on the court!"

"Finally, the second half!"

Aomine walked into the gymnasium, came to Touou's bench, and took off his outerwear.

Everyone on Touou's side who saw him wore looks of surprise.

Though they couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed, after that halftime break it was obvious—the smile on Aomine's face seemed to have become…