As the bus slowly came to a stop at Sports Park, Ueno and the others stared at the massive stadium not far away, all of them visibly stunned. The Sports Park was a super-sized stadium capable of holding tens of thousands of people, with an area so vast it was almost frightening. Normally, the Sports Park was only used for finals, but today, an exception had been made for the preliminaries. The reason was simple: this was Teikō's match. This was the Generation of Miracles' preliminary round.
Looking at the sea of spectators surrounding the stadium, even Ueno felt shaken. They knew these people were here to watch a game, but not their game. They were here to watch Teikō. Even so, the sheer number of people was overwhelming. As far as the eye could see, it was nothing but heads packed together. Among the crowd were not only ordinary spectators, but also people from other middle schools and even scouts from high schools.
This year was Teikō's third year, the final year before the Generation of Miracles graduated. It was also the year when high schools everywhere fought to recruit talent. Just as Ueno and the others were still in shock, three luxury buses slowly pulled up nearby. When the people inside began to step down, cries of excitement erupted from all around.
"It's the Generation of Miracles!"
"Ah! Kise is so handsome! I love you, Kise!"
"What an incredible presence... as expected of Teikō!"
Unlike the awe and excitement of the crowd, Ueno's team felt something entirely different. One by one, their expressions turned ugly, and the atmosphere became heavy and oppressive. Compared to Teikō's basketball team, which looked like it had close to a hundred people, their own team didn't even have ten players.
Looking toward the Generation of Miracles, Ueno didn't know why, but the first person he noticed was Kuroko, his familiar light-blue hair standing out. However, Kuroko's expression didn't look very good. He was probably worried about the changes in the Generation of Miracles. Just as Ueno withdrew his gaze, Kuroko's light-blue eyes subconsciously looked in Ueno's direction, filled with confusion.
"Did someone just look at me? Was that my imagination?"
"Kurokocchi, what's wrong?" Seeing his friend Kuroko's gaze, Kise didn't notice anything unusual. His handsome face was full of confusion.
"It's nothing." Shaking his head, Kuroko didn't say more. Kise didn't press further. Instead, he began smiling and waving at the fans around him, triggering another wave of shrill screams from the female crowd.
...
Inside the Sports Park, after leading the team to Ōki's locker room, Ueno changed into the school's black jersey and silently sat in a corner, calmly observing the condition of his teammates. Compared to the others, Ueno, armed with an adult mindset and years of experience being tempered by society, clearly had far greater mental endurance. The other players all looked pale and tense, but Ueno remained calm.
Sweeping his gaze across the locker room the coach standing to the side, couldn't help but sigh quietly. The Generation of Miracles really were like a towering mountain, crushing everyone of the same generation until they could barely breathe. When he noticed Ueno's composed expression, the coach felt both surprised and comforted. Ueno was his proudest disciple and the most hardworking player he had ever coached.
A moment later, an announcement came:
"The match is about to begin. Players from Teikō Junior High and Ōki Junior High, please enter the court to begin warm-ups."
As the announcement echoed through the arena, Ueno took a deep breath. Meanwhile, the players around him looked increasingly uneasy, their expressions full of anxiety. Ueno had played basketball in his previous life, but only casually. Basketball in this world, however, was practically fought with superpowers; it was completely different.
As they walked toward the court, Ueno, who was at the back of the line, suddenly froze for a moment, then immediately recovered. But now, his eyes were filled with excitement and disbelief.
[Ding!
Sign-in System activated.
Would you like to sign in?]
Hearing the cold electronic voice, Ueno nearly jumped with excitement. A system? This was good stuff. Forcing himself to suppress his excitement, he glanced at his teammates and replied inwardly,
"Sign in."
[Ding!
Sign-in successful. Reward obtained: Enhanced Zone.
Next sign-in available in seven days.]
Ueno froze. Zone? An enhanced version of it? This was the biggest cheat in the world of Kuroko no Basket. Even Kuroko himself, the protagonist, didn't have the potential to enter the Zone. The Zone was a state where one's potential was fully unleashed. It could also be described as a kind of domain where strength, jumping power, speed, court vision, and reaction time reached 100%. However, entering the Zone required not only talent, but also a heart that truly loved basketball.
When he realized that his very first sign-in reward was the Zone, Ueno almost laughed out loud. But soon after, he could only smile bitterly. The burden of the Zone was enormous. He didn't know whether this body could even handle it. Even if he forced it, he estimated he could last about one minute at most, maybe not even a full minute.
In the original story, Aomine and the others had long been capable of entering the Zone. But because the strain on their bodies was too great, Akashi had stopped them, forbidding its use during their middle school years. Moreover, the Zone amplified one's abilities based on their existing foundation. Ueno's current physical attributes and basketball skills were only slightly above average. There was still a massive gap between him and the top-tier Generation of Miracles.
"Well, whatever. At least I won't lose too badly."
Ueno understood that even if he entered the Zone, he still wouldn't be a match for the Generation of Miracles, especially since they could enter the Zone as well.
But what exactly did "Enhanced" mean? With curiosity rising, Ueno asked the system inwardly,
"System, what does Enhanced Zone mean?"
[Answer to host: Enhanced Zone increases the user's overall ability to 120%.]
"One hundred and twenty percent?" Shock flashed through him, quickly followed by excitement. The corner of Ueno's mouth slowly lifted. Now, all he needed was to bring his base level up to that of the Generation of Miracles. Thankfully, the previous owner of this body had been a basketball training maniac, and his talent wasn't bad either.
Ueno was confident that if he activated the Enhanced Zone now, he could score at least a few points against the Generation of Miracles. After all, ever since the Generation of Miracles won their first national championship, no opposing team had scored a single point against them, except during garbage time after the substitutes were put in.
Taking a deep breath, Ueno felt it clearly. Right now, he had the confidence to contend with the protagonist team. Or perhaps, to defeat the Generation of Miracles and create his own era of miracles.