The training camp in the Nagano mountains entered its final day. The hellish trials of the previous two days had drained the Teikō players of their last reserves of strength, yet they had also tempered them like fine steel forged in raging flames, stripping away their restlessness and refining their will. The ache in their muscles still clung to them, but their breathing had gained a steadiness born of adapting to the bitter cold. Under Nijimura Shūzō's hoarse yet authoritative proclamation, the theme of the third day's training was unveiled—"Technical Refinement, the Art of Deception!"
Inside the gymnasium, the roar of the heaters became background noise. The players split into groups for specialized training. Aomine Daiki, assisted by a coach, polished his finishing touch on all kinds of difficult, twisting layups; Midōrima Shintarō repeated countless precise shots from every spot beyond the three-point line; Murasaki-bara Atsushi wrestled with his practice partner in the paint for position and rebounds; Kise Ryōta faced the footage, repeatedly imitating, dissecting, and reconstructing the movements he had "learned" from the various "Miracles"; Kuroko Tetsuya silently practiced more concealed, faster passing techniques.
Bai Ze You, meanwhile, stood alone in a special training area. Three mannequins stood before him at different heights and angles, each covered in thick foam padding. The coach held several extremely elastic rubber bands, one end fixed to the mannequins and the other gripped in his hand, ready to simulate a defender's arm interference and strips at any moment. The core of this training was the weapon Bai Ze You had become famous for—Fake Move. But today, the requirements were different.
Nijimura Shūzō stood at the side of the court, his face still pale but his eyes sharp as an eagle's. The pain in his ribs seemed to have been forcefully suppressed, and his commanding voice carried undeniable authority:
"Yū! Forget all your old fake moves! Forget shaking open space! Today, I want you to deceive them completely!"
"Don't just fool their eyes! Fool their neural reflexes too! Fool their instinctive predictions of space and time!"
"Against one mannequin, perform a triple fake move! Every shift in your center of gravity must be realistic enough to make the rubber bands—the simulated defensive arms—react incorrectly! Every change of direction must be as fast as lightning, striking decisively the instant their center of gravity has been deceived!"
"Fail once, and you'll do an extra set! Begin!"
The order rang out like a war drum. The rubber bands in the coach's hands darted around the mannequins like striking vipers.
Bai Ze You took a deep breath, his eyes calm as still water. The struggle at the limits of his physical ability yesterday, along with that unbelievable finish, seemed to have opened some hidden passage in his body. He was still tired, but his perception had grown sharper. He dribbled toward the first mannequin.
A convincing in-front-of-the-body change-of-direction feint! His shoulders, eyes, and even toes all pointed right! The movement was so exaggerated that his center of gravity tilted with it!
"Smack!" The rubber band on the left sprang out like a startled viper, simulating a block on the right lane!
Center-of-gravity deception! Success!
The instant the rubber band sprang out, Bai Ze You's core strength exploded like a precision spring! He forcibly pulled his right-leaning center of gravity back in an instant. At the same time, he pivoted on his left foot and executed an incredibly swift left turn! His body spun like a top, and during the turn, the basketball switched hands in a nimble between-the-legs dribble!
The second mannequin was within arm's reach! Bai Ze You did not pause. The instant his spin ended, his center of gravity made another exaggerated forward lean. His eyes locked onto the hoop, his shoulder dropped, and his entire upper body became like a fully drawn bowstring as he assumed the posture of a power drive through the middle!
"Smack! Smack!" The rubber bands on both sides of the second mannequin were triggered simultaneously, crossing to block the middle!
Second center-of-gravity deception! Success!
The instant the rubber bands crossed to block him, Bai Ze You's forward-leaning center of gravity vanished like a phantom! His body seemed to be pulled backward by an invisible hand. At the same time, his right foot slammed against the floor, and his body shot out like an arrow released from its bow, breaking at full speed toward the completely opposite direction—the left baseline! A ghostly-fast backstep into a flowing step-through drive!
The transition was seamless, and the changes in his center of gravity were so uncanny that the simulated defensive rubber bands missed completely! Bai Ze You slipped past the two mannequins in an instant and faced the third!
The third mannequin represented help defense from the paint! Bai Ze You did not slow down. At the moment before contact, his body displayed extreme flexibility as he performed a tiny, lightning-fast Eurostep! A feint left! A cut right! His body slid past the mannequin's "side" like a slippery loach, and he easily banked in the layup!
The entire movement flowed like water and clouds, completed in one breath! All three fake moves had precisely deceived the "defense" of the rubber bands. His changes in center of gravity were so fast they dazzled the eye, and the final finish was simple and deadly!
"Good!" Nijimura could not help letting out a low shout, a trace of approval flashing through his eyes.
The other players training nearby were drawn over as well. Aomine whistled. "Not bad, Shiro! You're slippery as an eel!"
Midōrima pushed up his glasses. "Fake move success rate: 100%. Center-of-gravity control efficiency has improved significantly."
Momoi Satsuki recorded at lightning speed. "Fake Move Level Increased: From Deceiving Vision → Deceiving Neural Reflexes and Spatial Predictions! Center-of-Gravity Shift Speed and Deceptiveness ↑↑↑!"
However, this was only the beginning. Akashi Seijūrō had approached at some point, his red eyes calmly fixed on Bai Ze You as he spoke in a cold voice, raising the requirements even higher:
"Deceiving a static target is only the foundation. The true battlefield is dynamic and full of variables."
He pointed toward the side of the court. "Kishimoto, Minami, cooperate with Bai Ze You. Simulate a real-game double team."
Kishimoto Minori grinned viciously as he rolled his shoulders, while Minami Ryō nodded sharply.
The real-game simulation began! Kishimoto pressed in like a bull, using strength and physical contact to squeeze away space; Minami prowled around the perimeter like a ghost, ready at any moment to anticipate a steal or block a passing lane. The pressure rose sharply!
On Bai Ze You's first attempt, he used a rhythm change to try to lift Minami, but Minami's anticipation was precise. His center of gravity was not completely drawn away, and he only disrupted him slightly! Kishimoto's powerful pressure left Bai Ze You almost no room to change direction. He barely broke through before the two closed the door on him!
"Too slow! Your intent was too obvious!" Akashi's cold voice rang out.
"Use your strength! Crush him with it!" Kishimoto snarled, spewing trash talk.
Bai Ze You was not discouraged. He steadied his breathing and rapidly replayed what had just happened in his mind. Against experienced defenders like Kishimoto and Minami, simple fake moves were difficult to make work. He had to upgrade the depth and suddenness of his deception!
On his second attack, Bai Ze You faced Kishimoto's tight pressure and suddenly lowered his center of gravity, using an exaggerated in-and-out dribble to feign a power drive to Kishimoto's right! The shoulder drop and deception in his eyes were utterly convincing! Kishimoto's center of gravity instinctively shifted right to block him!
Kishimoto's center of gravity was deceived!
The instant Kishimoto's center of gravity shifted, Bai Ze You's core strength erupted! But this time, he did not immediately change direction and drive. Instead, he forcibly stabilized his body while making an extremely subtle flick of his wrist! The basketball seemed to come alive, firing into a lightning-fast behind-the-back bounce pass! The ball traveled at incredible speed along a vicious angle!
The basketball passed through the extremely narrow gap between Kishimoto, whose center of gravity had shifted, and Minami! It was delivered precisely to Kuroko Tetsuya, who had used Murasaki-bara's screen to cut successfully into the paint! Kuroko caught the ball and laid it in with ease!
Fake attack! True objective: passing!
"Beautiful!" Nijimura shouted in praise.
"Tch! What kind of skill is passing?" Kishimoto muttered unhappily.
Minami Ryō watched Bai Ze You thoughtfully. The angle and timing of that pass had been completely beyond his prediction.
For the first time, clear interest tinged with scrutiny appeared in Akashi Seijūrō's eyes. He raised a hand to signal a pause, then walked over to Bai Ze You, his red eyes staring directly at him:
"Deception isn't only aimed at the defender in front of you." Akashi's voice remained cold, but now carried a hint of guidance. "Higher-level deception means deceiving the opponent's 'intuition' and 'predictive patterns' themselves."
He pointed at Kishimoto and Minami. "Kishimoto predicted that you would force your way through. Minami predicted that you would pass to the Strong Side. Your fake attack combined with the behind-the-back pass just now successfully shattered their established predictive patterns. But that still isn't enough."
Akashi's gaze was as sharp as a blade:
"Imagine that when you perform an incredibly realistic drive fake, you not only draw Kishimoto's center of gravity away, but also make Minami instinctively believe that you will definitely pass and rush toward a possible receiving point in advance... At that moment, wouldn't the true driving lane appear?"
"Or imagine that after using fake moves to lift your opponents several times in a row, you choose to pass each time, causing them to form the predictive pattern that you 'don't dare to finish'... The next time, wouldn't a genuine finish possess absolute suddenness?"
Deceive the opponent's predictive instincts! Exploit the mental patterns the opponent has formed!
Akashi's words were like a door opening onto an entirely new world! An unprecedented radiance burst from Bai Ze You's eyes! His previous fake moves had mostly remained at the "Technical Aspect" of shaking open space. What Akashi described had risen to a higher dimension—the level of "Psychological Warfare" and "tactical deception"!
"I understand!" Bai Ze You's voice trembled with excitement.
Training continued! This time, Bai Ze You's eyes had changed. He no longer focused only on the defender before him. Instead, like a chess player controlling the board, he incorporated Kishimoto's, Minami's, and even the distant help defenders' positions and possible reactions into the territory of "deception"!
* He first used two convincing shot fakes to lift Minami, then habitually chose to drive and kick out after shaking him off, passing to Kise on the perimeter. After repeating this twice, Kishimoto and Minami began forming the predictive pattern that "after a fake move, he will always pass."
* The third time! Bai Ze You once again performed a convincing shot fake! As expected, Minami's center of gravity rose! Kishimoto also instinctively turned sideways, preparing to block his possible passing lane!
* Now!
Bai Ze You's core strength erupted in an instant! He forcibly pulled his shooting posture back. At the same time, his right foot drove powerfully into the floor like it had a spring attached! His body, compressed like a spring to its limit, shot forward in an instant! A ghostly-fast straight-line power drive! Straight to the heart of the defense!
Kishimoto's center of gravity had shifted because he anticipated a pass, and by the time he tried to recover, he was already a step too late! Minami was still descending! Like a white bolt of lightning, Bai Ze You pierced the huge gap exposed between them by their mistaken prediction! He reached the basket first and laid it in with ease!
Success! The ultimate deception—exploiting the opponent's "mental pattern"!
"Nice!" Aomine could not help shouting.
"Deception of prediction... successful." Midōrima murmured.
Kishimoto and Minami looked at each other, their faces full of shock and disbelief. They felt like puppets being toyed with in the palm of someone's hand.
Bai Ze You landed, his chest rising and falling slightly, excitement and confidence shimmering in his eyes. He had found it! Under the pressure of Akashi's cold philosophy of "Absolute Victory," he had not abandoned his own "phantom" nature. Instead, he had pushed it to a higher realm—the evolution of deception! He had risen from simple technical movements to the level of psychological warfare!
Akashi Seijūrō watched Bai Ze You, a trace of imperceptible fluctuation passing through his red eyes. He said nothing, merely giving a slight nod. That subtle acknowledgment carried more weight for Bai Ze You than any praise could have.
The whistle signaling the end of training sounded. The players were exhausted, yet satisfied by what they had gained. Bai Ze You walked to the side of the court to drink water, and Momoi Satsuki immediately hurried over with her clipboard, stars of admiration shining in her eyes:
"Yū-kun! That was incredible! Those drives just now—especially that final one where you deceived Kishimoto-senpai and Minami Ryō-senpai! Your fake moves have become completely different! Your changes in center of gravity were so fast I couldn't even follow them! And..." She excitedly flipped through her notes. "Your 'targets of deception' expanded from simple defenders to their 'predictive patterns'! The data shows that their defensive reactions were delayed by more than 0.5 seconds! This is a qualitative leap!"
On the "Fake Move" section of the clipboard, she heavily marked it in red:
"Evolution: Deception Level Leap!"
"Level 1: Deceive Vision (Basic) → Level 2: Deceive Neural Reflexes/Spatial Awareness (Advanced) → Level 3: Deceive Predictive Instincts/Mental Patterns (Master)!"
"Core Support: Extreme Center-of-Gravity Control + Psychological Warfare Ability + Tactical Insight!"
"Rating: S → S+!"
Beside "Personal Style," she drew a more agile white gear diagram containing multiple phantoms:
"Code Name: Phantom Gear—Evolution Complete! Deception Mist Upgrade, Psychological Warfare Begins!"
Bai Ze You watched Momoi's excitement and the detailed data on the clipboard, a faint smile appearing on his face. Sweat slid down from his temples. He was still exhausted, but his heart was filled with the exhilaration of breaking through and anticipation of becoming stronger in the future. Akashi's philosophy of "Absolute Victory" was like a towering mountain, but Bai Ze You did not have to go around it or submit to it. He had found his own path—using even more extreme "deception" to carve out a unique evolutionary road belonging to the "White Phantom," between team coordination and individual finishing, between flair and certainty!
However, just as the joy of their gains spread through the gym, a dull crash like thunder exploded from its corner as something heavy hit the ground!
"Captain!"
"Nijimura-senpai!"
The terrified cries instantly tore apart the calm at the end of the training camp!
Everyone turned toward the sound, only to see Nijimura Shūzō's tall body collapse heavily onto the cold hard floor as though all support had been ripped from beneath him! His face was pale as paper, his eyes tightly shut, and a glaring trace of scarlet remained at the corner of his mouth! The hand that had always pressed against his ribs drooped limply to the floor.
"Captain Nijimura!!!" Momoi Satsuki screamed, her voice breaking with tears.
The water bottle in Bai Ze You's hand dropped to the floor with a smack, and his pupils contracted sharply!
The entire Teikō basketball team seemed to freeze in an instant, sinking into deathly silence and panic!
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