After he entered ZONE, the world before Ryota Kudo's eyes changed.
Sight: every movement on the court slowed several times over!
He could clearly see the markings on the spinning basketball and the path of the sweat sliding down Eiji Sawakita's temple.
The minute twitch of the muscles in Fukatsu's fingertips as he passed, even the pores on the spectators' faces, distorted by their shouting.
Hearing: the deafening roar was filtered out, leaving only the steady pulse of the basketball striking the floor, the sharp squeal of his opponents' soles against the court, and his own heartbeat, as steady and cold as precision machinery.
Perception: the positions, speeds, shifts in balance, and degrees of muscle tension of the other nine players...
All that information flooded his mind like a stream of data, instantly analyzed and used to anticipate what came next.
His opponents' defensive intentions and his teammates' possible running routes were as clear in his "Kūmyō" state as the lines on his palm!
Body: the feeling of being weighed down by lead vanished! In its place came an unprecedented lightness and coordination!
His muscle memory was activated to its utmost limits. Every joint and every bundle of fibers seemed to possess a will of its own, capable of perfectly executing any command from his brain.
The taste of blood and the stinging pain were shut out of his perception.
Zone! A realm of basketball beyond human limits! At that moment, Ryota Kudo was no longer human, but the very embodiment of the court's "Absolute Domain"!
He slowly raised his head. His eyes no longer held exhaustion and anxiety, but a cold, indifferent calm, like a god looking down upon all living things.
That gaze made Kazunari Fukatsu, who was preparing to inbound the ball, catch his breath, and made