Swish!
On the court, ten figures moved simultaneously.
The spectators felt dizzy just watching, followed by an overwhelming pressure.
This wasn't just rapid-fire exchanges—this was ten players attacking at once. Even a professional would feel their scalp tingle at this sight!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, the ten figures collapsed into one. Ishikawa's eyes had only managed to track eight of them.
But in a battle of this caliber, even that split-second delay was fatal.
BANG!
Byodoin's return shot straight through Ishikawa's defenses, landing squarely on the baseline.
The ball erupted in a flash of pale yellow light, leaving the high schoolers wide-eyed.
"49-49, Byodoin!"
The umpire's call finally broke the suffocating tension.
But when the crowd saw Byodoin's state, their hearts sank.
His eyes were rolled back, veins bulging across his forehead, his entire body wreathed in dark, hellish flames. Just looking at him made it hard to breathe.
"Alaya Vijñana!"
Watanabe's eyelid twitched violently.
This was only the second time he'd seen Byodoin use this move. It was his ultimate technique—and his deadliest.
The word "deadly" applied not just to his opponent, but to himself.
Watanabe remembered that day clearly—a gloomy afternoon on the Swiss U-17 courts. Byodoin had been locked in a fierce battle with their top prodigy, Amadeus (who wasn't yet a pro).
Just as Byodoin was being pushed to his limit, a bolt of lightning struck him mid-match.
The game ended abruptly.
Byodoin was rushed to the hospital—pronounced dead.
Yet he didn't stay that way.
When he awoke, he had attained the ultimate secret: Alaya Vijñana.
Later, in Spain, he used it against their strongest genius, Medanore.
The result?
Byodoin injured—Medanore crippled.
Europe's tennis world lost a top-tier talent that day, paving the way for Germany's Borg to claim the title of "World's Strongest High Schooler."
And now, in an internal ranking match, Byodoin had unleashed it again.
To Watanabe, this could only mean one thing:
A brutal ending for Ishikawa.
Once Alaya Vijñana activated, Byodoin entered Killer Mode.
Only two outcomes existed:
His opponent's defeat—or his own death.
No one could stop it.
No one could change the result.
Whoosh!
Byodoin moved.
He tossed the ball, and in an instant, his figure split into ten.
"Again?!"
Mouri and Tetsuya's hearts pounded.
They didn't know about Muga no Kyouchi, let alone Alaya Vijñana. To them, tracking two illusions was their limit. Seven was already insane.
But ten?
That was tennis from another dimension.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
As the ten Byodoin clones moved in unison, the spectators felt their breath hitch.
Whoosh!
Then—they merged into one.
The racket struck.
A serve aimed at the outer corner—Ishikawa's backhand.
Boosted by Alaya Vijñana and Asura Path, the shot reached monstrous levels of power.
To the untrained eye, it was over in a flash.
But the stronger the player, the more they sensed the terror behind it.
To the U-17 elites—even Mares, who had one foot in the Hyper-Speed Dimension—this serve was unreturnable.
BANG!
Yet—
The sound of a clean return echoed across the court.
"He hit it?!"
"How?!"
"That's impossible!!"
Shock rippled through the crowd.
Ishikawa had not only seen through the serve—he'd returned it on the second try.
"Wait… is that Asura Path?!"
Up on the second-floor platform, the three coaches' pupils contracted sharply.
They never expected Ishikawa to have mastered this power.
"But… that doesn't make sense."
Saito's voice trembled. "Byodoin has both Asura Path and Alaya Vijñana. How did Ishikawa return it?!"
By pure stats, Byodoin and Ishikawa were roughly equal.
But simple math said:
Asura Path + Alaya Vijñana > Asura Path alone.
Kurobe narrowed his eyes, focusing on Ishikawa. "Look closer. His power isn't just Asura Path."
"What?!"
Saito and Tokugawa followed his gaze.
Sure enough, swirling around Ishikawa's dark, razor-sharp aura was another energy—a chaotic mix of black and white.
"No way…" Saito's face paled. "T-Two different Asura Paths?!"
Swish!
Across the net, Byodoin split into ten again.
"Your abilities are impressive," Ishikawa said, his voice calm despite the overwhelming pressure. "But Muga no Kyouchi and Alaya Vijñana share one fatal flaw."
A flaw?
The crowd stared, baffled.
BANG!
The ten figures merged. Byodoin's racket smashed into the ball.
Tap! Tap!
Ishikawa moved before the ball landed, positioning himself perfectly. As it bounced up—
CRACK!
He returned it cleanly.
"Again?!"
Watanabe's jaw dropped.
"Unpredictable attacks are terrifying," Ishikawa continued. "But while the present is uncertain… the future is not."
Hum!
Behind him, a phantom emerged—a figure holding a single chess piece, radiating wisdom.
Asura Path: Omniscience and Omnipotence.
To Ishikawa, the court was now a chessboard.
Air temperature, humidity, wind direction, spin angles—every variable was mapped in his mind.
Like a supercomputer, he calculated all possibilities—and arrived at the one solution.
Click.
The phantom's piece landed on a corner of the court. Black and white light erupted.
Thud!
The ball rebounded off the wall, rolling gently.
"Gulp."
The umpire swallowed hard. "50-49… Ishikawa."
"No way!"
Watanabe looked at Ishikawa like he was seeing a ghost.
Two Asura Paths?
And the second one hard-countered Alaya Vijñana?!
"Just what are you?!" he whispered.
"Hah… hah…"
On the other side, Byodoin gasped for air.
Even his body was struggling under the strain of dual powers.
"Two Asura Paths…" He raised his head, locking eyes with Ishikawa. "You're dangerous. But this is your limit. Merging them is beyond you right now."
Steadying himself, he took his return stance.
Hum!
Dark energy flared around him again.
BANG!
Ishikawa served—Stardust Mark.
Amplified by Asura Path, the ball breached the Hyper-Speed Dimension.
Swish!
Byodoin split into ten.
Then—
Eleven.
"What?!"
The crowd gasped.
"There's a level beyond Alaya Vijñana?!" Kikumaru muttered.
Eleven.
Each additional figure was a qualitative leap. For Ishikawa's Omniscience, this meant exponential calculation growth.
His power worked like AI—processing endless data to predict the future.
More variables meant more computations.
Even Ishikawa's prediction flickered between two outcomes.
But his monstrous mental strength compensated. In a split-second, he locked onto the answer.
BANG!
His racket met the ball.
Swish!
Byodoin split again—twelve figures now.
"Guh—!"
Mouri and Tetsuya recoiled.
"He still had this much left?!"
But Mares noticed something else—Byodoin's shoes, now stained red.
His body was breaking.
Every shot from here was burning his life force.
Yet he didn't hesitate.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Twelve figures swung. Twelve different trajectories.
Ishikawa's face paled slightly under the strain.
BANG!
But he returned it.
"Insane!"
Watanabe was numb.
He'd countered twelve Alaya Vijñana clones?!
Swish!
Then—thirteen.
"Monster!!"
The crowd was speechless.
"It's over," Kurobe said quietly. "Byodoin's pushed Alaya Vijñana to a realm even pros rarely reach."
The cost was his life—but the match's outcome was decided.
No matter how strong Ishikawa was, his Asura Path couldn't handle this.
U-17 was still Byodoin's domain.
Swish!
But then—
Ishikawa split into multiple figures.
"Muga no Kyouchi?!"
For a moment, the crowd thought they were hallucinating.
Seven Ishikawa clones glowed with that same black-and-white energy, analyzing futures in parallel.
Swish!
They merged.
Muga no Kyouchi and Omniscience combined, bridging the gap in perception.
BANG!
The ball rocketed back.
"He… returned it?!"
Watanabe was beyond shock.
Thirteen Alaya Vijñana clones—shattered.
Swish!
Byodoin split again, holding at thirteen. Any further, and he'd die.
Even so, his shoes were now soaked in blood.
Crimson streaks marred his face and arms.
He was betting everything on this match.
Ishikawa, too, radiated terrifying energy—Muga no Kyouchi and Asura Path fused into something deeper, darker.
With Omniscience, he countered Byodoin's moves at minimal cost.
BANG!CRACK!BANG!CRACK!
The final points were a war of attrition.
Each shot pushed their bodies closer to collapse.
But Byodoin was worse off.
The court was littered with his bloody footprints. Every step burned his lifespan.
"Is this… my limit?"
His vision blurred. The fire inside him dimmed.
Yet his eyes blazed with resolve.
Even if it killed him—he'd win this set.
Swish!
Thirteen figures became fourteen.
"Fourteen?!!"
The crowd's minds short-circuited.
"This point… is mine!"
BANG!
The figures merged.
The ball tore through space, aimed at Ishikawa's backhand—beyond his calculations.
To everyone watching, Ishikawa stood frozen.
Hum!
But then—
The ball stopped.
Hovering beside Ishikawa, trapped in a patch of blackness.
"Black Hole?!" Tokugawa gasped.
BANG!
Ishikawa swung.
The ball exploded at Byodoin's feet.
He didn't move.
"G-Game and first set!" The umpire's voice shook. "Ishikawa wins, 7-6!"
Silence.
Every eye turned to the towering blonde figure.
He'd lost.
Just the first set—but after that battle, the message was clear:
Japan's No. 1 had been beaten in a direct clash.
The crowd waited for the king's reaction.
But Byodoin didn't move.
He stood like a statue.
"B-Byodoin?" the umpire ventured. "The set is over. You may rest now."
Thud.
Then—he collapsed backward.
"Eh?"
The crowd froze.
"BOSS!!"
Watanabe sprinted onto the court, face white.
The other U-17 reps paled.
A horrifying thought struck them.
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