Chapter 66: Zone!

Despite the players taking a short break between halves, the crowd was still lively, with people talking excitedly about the first half.

Their voices filled the arena with echoes, creating an electric atmosphere.

However, the voices quieted down in the corridor leading to the locker room for Too Academy.

Inside, it was completely silent.

They were in shock over Aomine being overwhelmed.

Too Academy realized they might have underestimated Totsuki Academy by a large margin since they came from a culinary school. Imayoshi himself wanted to think of a way to turn this around and secure the win.

They had been undefeated for the whole series!

It was obvious he wanted to keep it that way as he felt sweat rolling down his back at the thought.

"..."

He fixed his glasses nervously.

The others around Imayoshi wore similar expressions, unable to find the words. The atmosphere was tense, and even Coach Harasawa seemed hesitant to speak.

"...Just what the hell happened to this guy?"

Wakamatsu couldn't help but mumble quietly to himself.

Everyone clearly heard him, as the room was so silent that even the clock ticking was audible.

They all looked at Aomine, who was grinning widely with a towel draped over his head.

He stared at the floor, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.

However...

"He's giving me chills..."

Wakamatsu gulped, feeling a strange, oppressive aura emanating from Aomine.

Everyone kept their distance from Aomine, feeling nervous. The regulars were left wondering about this sudden shift.

"...I really want to know what happened, but..."

Imayoshi silently thought while looking at Aomine's state. He then glanced at Momoi, who was gazing at Aomine softly, and silently added, "...but it seems like it's a good thing for us."

He knew Aomine had yet to give it his all, and this realization made his heart skip a beat.

"Are we... going to see his full potential?"

Imayoshi was truly looking forward to it if that was the case. He exchanged a knowing glance with Harasawa, and they nodded in silent agreement.

This time... they might turn this around!

The oppressive pressure in Too Academy's locker room kept everyone quiet. The regulars slowly rested to prepare themselves for the next half...

Meanwhile...

"You bastard!"

"Ha! You asked for this, you son of a bitch!"

"Motherfuckers, why are you both dragging me into this?!"

The atmosphere in Totsuki's locker room was quite the opposite.

Aoki and Sato were still randomly starting beef with each other over the slightest issue, and as usual, dragging Marui into their arguments.

While Marui would usually stay out of it, this time was different since he was still riding an adrenaline rush.

Surprised by this, Aoki and Sato looked at each other, silently getting excited, and then they all went into a brawl.

"..."

Sakamoto, trying his best to keep his composure, could only roll his eyes at them through his glasses.

He shook his head before turning to Tsuna, who was sitting calmly as he asked, "...You're resting, huh? That's pretty rare..."

Normally, Tsuna would be doing push-ups while the rest were busy with their own activities, but it seemed like Aomine had put pressure even on him.

"I guess Aomine really does wo---!?"

As he tried to continue his sentence, a water bottle went flying toward his face from the brawl, hitting him fair and square.

"You bastards!!!"

Veins bulged on his forehead as he fixed his glasses, his eyes reddening with anger. 

"Let's go, Sakamoto!"

Rindo raised her hand, cheering for Sakamoto as she watched the whole fight with keen interest.

"..."

Tsuna speechlessly watched the scene before turning to the four who were brawling, with Sakamoto coming out on top as usual. He sighed, "These fools..."

Their loudness echoed across the corridor, and some staff members gave weird looks towards their locker room as the break slowly came to an end.

"Finally!"

"I wish they could just start the second half right away!"

"Though it's bad for the players, I agree with you this time..."

Excited murmurs filled the crowd as the players from both teams slowly made their way back onto the court. The game had been so thrilling so far, and the fans wanted more.

"...?"

Sakamoto furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at the Too Academy players, whose expressions were strangely composed.

A doubt crept into his heart, "What happened to them?"

"Hmm?"

As both teams positioned themselves on the court, Tsuna raised his eyebrows, sensing a strong presence approaching. He saw Aomine still grinning and muttered, "...He still hasn't shown me everything, huh?"

"This should be fun..."

Recalling something unique to the original canon, he couldn't help but grin in anticipation.

The referee, seeing both teams ready, signaled for the game to continue. Too Academy surged forward with the ball in their hands. It seemed they had a silent agreement as they nodded to each other and passed the ball to Aomine.

Both aces immediately faced off once again.

"...I've got goosebumps somehow..."

Among the crowd, Hyuga muttered to himself as the rest of the Seirin players also felt something intense was about to happen.

The air was electric with anticipation.

"..."

Kagami felt the tension as he silently observed the game, noting how Aomine still struggled to break through while Totsuki maintained their momentum.

He didn't fully understand what was happening, but the current Aomine gave him chills. He silently thought, "...Seems like he's actually enjoying this."

Unlike the usual Aomine who looked down on everyone and saw them as mere toys for his entertainment, this time he seemed to genuinely enjoy the game. It reminded Kagami of himself, making him watch the game with even more focus.

Despite his initial difficulties, as the game progressed, Aomine was getting faster, surprising both teams.

The more the one-on-one continued, Tsuna noticed Aomine slowly catching up with his movements.

Tsuna was enjoying this as well, with sweat drenching his jersey.

Even though Aomine couldn't always stop Tsuna, he began making successful breakthroughs and scoring for Too Academy.

Both teams could only watch as they became bystanders, captivated by the duel between these two players.

They observed in awe, shock, and disbelief as the third quarter neared its end.

Tsuna took a deep breath as he sidestepped, evading Aomine's steal, then sharply crossed over to the left, which Aomine effortlessly followed.

However, Tsuna smirked and suddenly changed his pace, crossing over in the opposite direction once again.

But...

"...!"

Tsuna's eyes widened as Aomine swiftly stole the ball during the movement.

At the same time...

A strong pressure suddenly enveloped the whole court as Tsuna turned to look at Aomine, whose expression was now absolutely calm. Everyone else was looking at Aomine in shock as well.

In Aomine's eyes, there was a navy spark streamlining across his pupils.

"What..."

Sakamoto watched in shock as Aomine burst forward with a speed that was completely on a whole new level, easily breaking past their defensive formation despite Tsuna following closely behind.

He blurted out, "...the fuck is that!?"

"...Is this..."

Imayoshi was sweating, but an excited grin was plastered on his face as he mumbled with mixed emotions, "...Aomine's 100%?"

Aomine had entered the zone!

"Kekeke..."

Tsuna smiled in delight as he watched Aomine jump up and slam the ball down into the basket with a resounding sound, the cheers soaring through the whole arena. He couldn't help but mutter, "This is fun..."

"Though, I might need to unload some of my weight."

He grinned widely, understanding Aomine had truly made him sweat!