Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 91 Flow, Advancement

"Tsuchiya-san received a great pass from Maki Shinichi-san... and made the three-pointer... It went in! Beautiful breakthrough and pass!" Tashiro Heihachi's voice echoed over the stadium through the radio.

There seemed to be an endless whirlpool in Makishen's eyes, and his unyielding aura was almost condensed into substance. His loud voice was like the roar of a lion: "Come on! Kaneki Ken!"

"Very good, very energetic!" Kaneki Ken's eyes were filled with excitement, "Do your best to please me!"

"What's going on..." Gao Wei and Cheng Cheng suddenly felt a chill on their backs, "I feel like something terrible is about to happen..."

Takao Kazunari's feeling was not wrong. As Kaneki Ken slowly dribbled the ball across half the court, the players of Poseidon High School felt as if a mountain was slowly walking towards them. A heavy feeling of oppression made everyone feel suffocated.

Ta~ta~
Facing Kaneki Ken who was under endless pressure, Maki Shinichi's face showed no emotion. He took a step forward and walked in front of Kaneki Ken.

"This feeling is..." Kaneki Ken felt a familiar breath, "No, the degree is not enough... Forget it, no matter who you are, you are the same in front of me!"

Facing Maki Shinichi's defense, Kaneki Ken's eyes were filled with fighting spirit, his figure was so fast that it was difficult to catch, almost turning into a golden flash, the whole person seemed to be illusory, and he easily broke through Maki Shinichi's body length.

"You are indeed very strong..." Mu Shenyi's voice sounded faintly, "But, for the glory of Emperor Mu, I must stop you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Maki Shinichi's hurried footsteps sounded like drumbeats, and his speed suddenly increased a lot. Just as Kaneki Ken was about to slam dunk, he jumped up, and a big brown hand pressed on the basketball that was about to enter the basket.

“Amu-senpai actually caught up!” Takao Kazunari stood up in surprise and leaned out of the fence. “Amu-senpai’s condition seems to be a little different… What’s that condition…”

"It's not a zone." Muji Teppei shook his head firmly. "Although it's very similar, Amu's strength is not enough to enter the zone. If I have to say it, this state is more appropriately called a flow."

"Flow?" Takao Kazunari looked at Kiyoshi Teppei with some confusion, "What is that?"

"Flow, or the flow state, refers to a selfless competitive state that athletes reach after unremitting efforts. It is very similar to the zone state, but also slightly different." Muji Tieping said slowly, "On the surface, both of them abandon all distractions and devote all their attention to the game, but the zone is more inclined to improve the absolute combat power of the individual, and the zone's requirements for talent are extremely demanding, while the requirements for talent in flow are relatively lower. This state focuses more on allowing the players to do better in the field they are good at..."

"Then..." Takao Kazunari was about to say something when he was interrupted by Kiyoshi Teppei.

"Don't even think about it, Takao." Kiyoshi Teppei said with a wry smile, "Flow's talent requirements are only lower than zone's, but it's not without a threshold. If I have to put it in a different way, it's the difference between one in a thousand and one in ten thousand. Even I've only just barely touched the threshold of flow."

"Genius, in front of the players who can enter the zone... is nothing more than a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers besieging Sun Wukong..." Muji Tieping sighed with some envy.

"Flow? Kind of interesting." Kaneki Ken looked at Maki Shinichi who was trying to compete with him in the air with clenched teeth, a vague smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, golden light flashed in his eyes, and the strength of his hands gradually increased, "But, that's all!"

As the force continued to increase, Maki Shinichi, who was already struggling to hold on, finally ran out of strength. With a loud bang, the basketball was dunked into the basket, and Maki Shinichi was knocked to the ground.

"Are you okay, Mu?" Hearing the loud noise of the landing, everyone from Poseidon High School rushed forward and asked with concern. "It's okay, don't worry." Mu Shenyi smiled and took Tsuchiya Jun's arm and stood up, patting Tsuchiya Jun's arm as if nothing had happened, "Hurry up and go back to defense, I'm fine."

"How is it?" Nijimura Shuzo smiled and came to Kaneki Ken with his hands on his hips, "Do you feel a headache? That guy Amu may be defeated, but it will take some effort to defeat him."

"What's there to worry about?" Kaneki Ken smiled and shook his head, "My victory is absolute, any resistance is just a futile effort."

……

"Alas... I didn't expect that even if he entered the flow, Maki Shinichi would not be his opponent..." Tobita Souji sighed, "I was hoping that he could put up a bit of resistance."

"There is no miracle." Domoto Koichiro said firmly, "As the team's trump card, he has been suppressed by Kaneki Ken on both offense and defense. The influence of other players on the game is far from enough."

"That Mibuchi Reo hasn't even started to perform yet, and you've already made such a conclusion?" Tobita Souki asked with a smile, "Last year, Mibuchi Reo made 12 three-pointers in a game, which caused an uproar at the time."

"A shooter without the ball, his basic shooting skills are indeed good, but he doesn't have the ability to hold the ball and force the opponent." Domoto Koichiro smacked his lips with some regret, "After all, there are still too few people in Poseidon High School who can hold the ball. In the past, it was Maki Shinichi's strong breakthrough ability that supported the combat effectiveness of Poseidon High School, but once Maki Shinichi was defended by the opponent, the combat effectiveness of Poseidon High School would be reduced to one tenth..."

As the game progressed, the progress of the game was exactly the same as what Domoto Koichiro said. Although Maki Shinichi relied on the bonus of the flow state to struggle in front of Kaneki Ken and barely maintained, he still couldn't cover up the huge gap in strength. The score difference was widened step by step, and Maki Shinichi's physical strength also reached the limit.

"Okay, Amu, come down and take a rest." During a timeout, Takagi Riki took off his glasses and sighed softly.

"Coach, I can still fight!" Maki Shinichi looked at Takagi Riki unwillingly, "It's not time to give up yet!"

"Of course I don't want to give up." Gao Muli wiped his glasses and put them back on, "But your current physical strength can no longer support you to do such high-intensity exercise. If you continue to fight without rest, you will be at risk of injury."

"It's okay, Coach..." Maki Shinichi wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Takagi Riki's gentle but firm voice.

"Of course I trust you, Mu, but I can't risk the health of my students." Gao Muli said slowly, "Take a rest first and trust your teammates."

"Yes, coach..." Maki Shinichi clenched his fists unwillingly and slowly lowered his head.

With the departure of Maki Shinichi, the wealthy families watching the game sighed and stood up to leave.

"Let's go, Takao, Fujima." Kiyoshi Teppei looked at the one-sided game with some regret, "Teiko Junior High School's promotion is a foregone conclusion, the next game will be ours!"

(End of this chapter)