You's confusion: What's the fun in basketball?

Akashi Seijūrō's chilling words, which dismissed basketball as a mere tool for victory driven by "efficiency above all else" and branded Bai Ze You's passion as a "weak fantasy," pierced deep into his heart like poisoned ice picks. The pain didn't dissipate with the end of the practice match; instead, it festered and swelled day after day amidst the rigorous, efficient, and cold training, ultimately transforming into a heavy fog of "confusion" that tightly enveloped him.

Under the bright lights of the Teikō gymnasium, sweat dripped onto the polished wooden floor, making soft "pat" sounds. The team members were engaged in Akashi's newly implemented "Absolute Efficiency" shooting drill. The requirements were simple: receive the ball in a specific zone, execute the shot with the most standard, fastest, and lowest-error movement, aiming for the highest success rate.

Bai Ze You stood at the fifteen-degree angle to the left. The ball landed in his hands, he bent his knees, sank his shoulders, raised his elbow, and flicked his wrist—his movements were as textbook-perfect as could be, even more meticulous than Midōrima Shintarō's. The basketball traced a precise parabolic arc and swished through the net.

"Good shot! Bai Ze-kun! Efficiency rating A+!" Akashi's cold voice rang out from the sidelines, carrying a hint of formulaic "approval."

However, Bai Ze You's heart remained completely unmoved. He silently ran to the next spot, repeating the same movements. Standard knee bend, standard shoulder sink, standard elbow raise, standard wrist flick. "Swish!" Another clean shot.

Very accurate. Extremely accurate. Highly efficient.

But... he felt nothing.

Momoi Satsuki stood by the court, her clipboard no longer just a tool for recording data but more like a weighty "White Phantom Observation Report." Her gaze closely followed Bai Ze You, her delicate brows furrowed with an unshakeable worry.

「Training Log D-7」

「Item: Fixed-Point Efficiency Shooting (Akashi Standard Template)」

「Bai Ze You: Success Rate 98.3% (Extremely High)」

「Movement Standardization: S (Perfectly Matches Akashi's Standard)」

「Emotional/State Observation:」

* Eyes: Calm, focused, but lacking brilliance. No excitement, no desire to challenge, no drive for creation. Like a machine executing a program with precision.

* Body Language: Movements are fluid but mechanical, lacking his signature rhythm and flexible coordination. The receive-pass-shoot sequence is routinized, with no superfluous movements (as Akashi requires), but also devoid of spirit.

* Micro-expressions: No smiles, no expressions of enjoyment. After completing a difficult/highly efficient shot, there's no trace of accomplishment, only the calm of completing a task (Abnormal!).

「Comparative Analysis (Nijimura Era):」

* Success Rate: Similar or slightly lower (more emphasis on simulated game situations then).

* Movement: Incorporated personal flexibility then (e.g., smoother transitions, utilizing smaller jumping spaces), which, though "non-standard," was full of spirit, combining efficiency with aesthetics.

* State: Clearly enjoyed the training process, eyes bright, often with a confident smile, willing to try new moves (linking feints with shots), and showing natural joy/pride after scoring.

「Conclusion: Technical execution perfectly meets the "Absolute Efficiency" requirements, but the core driving forces (fun/passion/desire for creation) are significantly depleted. Basketball behavior is alienating from "passion-driven" to "task-driven."」

「Risk Level: SSS (Core Belief shaken, crisis of lost fun!)」

During a training break, Bai Ze You walked to the sidelines to drink some water. Momoi hesitated for a moment before mustering the courage to approach him, offering him a clean towel.

"You... your shooting is so accurate," she said softly, trying to find a topic.

"Mhm," Bai Ze You took the towel and wiped his sweat, his voice a little low. "Captain Akashi's standard has been met."

"But..." Momoi looked at his lifeless eyes, her worry deepening. "You don't look... happy?"

Bai Ze You's sweating motion paused. He was silent for a few seconds, his gaze drifting to the high dome of the gymnasium, where giant banners symbolizing their three consecutive championships hung.

"Happy?" he murmured, as if asking Momoi, or perhaps himself. "Satsuki, do you still remember... why we fell in love with basketball in the first place?"

Momoi blinked slightly, then fell into memory, a warm smile unconsciously appearing on her face. "Of course, I remember! When we were kids at the street court, watching you use those dazzling feints to toy with opponents, and then sinking the ball with a super cool pose... Your eyes were as bright as stars back then! And you yourself, You, every time you pulled off a beautiful dribble move or scored, you'd smile so happily, as if you owned the world..."

As Bai Ze You listened to Momoi's description, his lips seemed to want to form a smile, but it ultimately turned into a bitter curve. He looked down at his hands, his knuckles distinct, his fingertips calloused from years of dribbling.

"Yeah... back then," his voice held a distant, almost ethereal nostalgia, "basketball... was such a joyful thing. Every successful feint that deceived an opponent, that sense of control; every time in the air, dodging defense, sinking the ball with an awkward posture, that thrill of challenging limits; every time a brilliant coordination with teammates, that satisfaction of understanding each other... Sweat was warm, heartbeats were fast, winning was happy, and losing... even when losing, there was unwillingness to accept defeat, but still a smile saying 'we'll get them tomorrow'."

His voice gradually lowered, filled with an overwhelming, almost tangible confusion.

"But now?"

"Every time I receive the ball, instead of thinking about how to deceive the opponent, I'm thinking about whether this move conforms to the 'Absolute Efficiency' standard, and if the risk is within Captain Akashi's permissible threshold."

"Every time I break through, my instinct is to use my best method, but my body subconsciously brakes, choosing the most 'correct,' most 'safe' route, even if it's as boring as chewing wax."

"Every score... heh," he chuckled self-mockingly, "it's just completing an efficiency-met 'task.' No excitement, no agitation, just... the numbness of task completion."

"Basketball has become like homework that requires precise calculation. Captain Akashi is the strict teacher, and we are machines solving problems. Solving problems (winning) is the only goal; the process... is unimportant, and fun? That's a 'useless thing' to be discarded."

Bai Ze You looked up at his teammates on the court, executing Akashi's commands: Aomine suppressing his wildness to perform "reasonable" shuttle runs, Midori meticulously shooting "safe" three-pointers, Murasbara lazily occupying "necessary" positions, Kise imitating "efficient" running patterns, Kuroko silently passing "zero-risk" balls...

"Satsuki," Bai Ze You's voice was filled with deep confusion and helplessness, "in this kind of basketball... where is the fun?"

"If there's no joy left, only the cold goal of 'victory,' then what's the meaning of the sweat we shed day after day, the pain we endure, the effort we put in? Is it merely to prove Teikō is invincible?"

"I... I feel like I'm losing it... losing the thing that initially made me fall in love with basketball so desperately." His voice trembled almost imperceptibly. "I feel trapped in a precision cage called 'Absolute Victory,' even breathing feels oppressive. What should I do?"

Momoi Satsuki looked at the confused and pained Bai Ze You before her, her heart clenching as if grasped by an invisible hand. She could feel his inner struggle and loss. She desperately wanted to give him an answer, to tell him to stay true to himself, but Akashi's cold, powerful will and Teikō's iron rule of "Absolute Victory" felt like heavy shackles, leaving her feeling powerless.

"You..." Momoi's voice was slightly choked. She reached out and gently took Bai Ze You's fingers, which were slightly pale from him clenching them. "I... I don't know the answer. But..."

She took a deep breath, her eyes becoming exceptionally firm as she looked directly into Bai Ze You's confused eyes:

"But I know that you, the one who moved freely on the court like a white phantom, deceiving the world with feints and sinking the ball with incredible poses... the you who would flash a brilliant smile after scoring... the you who enjoyed basketball itself, that is the most brilliant Bai Ze You I know!"

"Your basketball has life! It shouldn't be locked down by cold formulas!"

"Don't... don't lose it, You! No matter what Captain Akashi says, no matter how great the pressure, that passion is the source of your strength!"

Bai Ze You stared blankly at Momoi Satsuki. Tears glistened in her eyes, yet they were filled with undeniable sincerity and encouragement. Her words, like a faint light piercing through the heavy fog, though weak, carried a burning warmth, directly striking his cold, confused heart's lake.

Just then, Akashi's icy voice, like a death-knell charm, rang out again: "Rest is over! Next group, tactical positioning drill! Requirement: Zero errors! Maximum efficiency! Start!"

The command, like a cold tide, instantly drowned out the faint light brought by Momoi's words.

Bai Ze You's body stiffened, the confusion and vulnerability in his eyes instantly suppressed. He returned to the calm yet hollow state he exhibited during training. Releasing Momoi's hand, he said in a low voice, "...It's time to train." Then, he turned, silently running onto the court, merging back into the precision machine pursuing "Absolute Victory."

Momoi watched his white figure as he rejoined the team. His posture remained upright, yet it seemed as if he was carrying invisible, heavy shackles. She bit down hard on her lower lip, and on the last line of the clipboard, she wrote with a force that threatened to tear through the paper:

"Core Diagnosis: Basketball Fun Loss Syndrome (Bai Ze You)"

"Cause: High-Pressure Ideological Environment (Akashi's Reign) + Core Value Conflict + Suppression of Self-Expression"

"Symptoms: Passion Fading, Creativity Frozen, Behavior Mechanized, Lack of Sense of Accomplishment, Deep Confusion"

"Therapy (Potential): Adhere to the core of love, find gaps for expression, external support (Momoi)..."

"Prognosis: Without intervention, may lead to the annihilation of the 'phantom' essence!"

"Action: Continuous observation, emotional support, finding an opportunity..."

Training continued. Bai Ze You ran to the correct position, received the ball, and passed it with precision. His movements were still standard and efficient, conforming to all of Akashi's requirements. But in Momoi's eyes, that white figure was like a traveler lost in the desert of "Absolute Victory," bitterly pursuing an oasis named "Basketball Fun" that seemed impossibly out of reach.

Where is the fun?

This simple question, like a key, hung beneath Teikō's cold, efficient facade, and also in the depths of Bai Ze You's struggling heart's lake.

Akashi's iron curtain had descended, transforming basketball into a cold symbol of victory and defeat.

Could the White Phantom's soul's question penetrate this thick ice layer and regain the lost light of passion?

The answer flowed silently in the youth's heavy footsteps and confused gaze, in every instinctively suppressed movement, and in the lines of worried writing on Momoi's clipboard, waiting for an opportunity to break free.