"Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, huh? Hmph! It's nothing special. Don't think that'll let you score!" Akutsu sneered, erupting once again with the power of the Path of Asura and his beastly instincts. His figure split into six silhouettes, each with a different posture, and he slammed his racket into the incoming ball with brutal force.
"Path of Asura—Eighth Consciousness!"
On the opposite side, 'Tezuka' marveled briefly at the power of Ten'i before immediately focusing back on the match. When Akutsu activated the Eighth Consciousness, 'Tezuka' barely managed to see through two of the six silhouettes using the boost from Ten'i, but he couldn't respond in time to the other four.
Still, his expression remained calm. He randomly picked one angle and prepared to receive. In the next instant, as Akutsu struck the ball, 'Tezuka' realized his judgment was wrong. But just then, an even larger white vortex erupted around him, covering almost the entire half court.
The moment the ball crossed the net, it was dragged directly toward 'Tezuka' by the vortex. Akutsu's expression darkened. He remembered clearly how during their previous training match, his Eighth Consciousness had been completely neutralized by Tezuka's ultimate Zone.
Ultimately, the main purpose of the Eighth Consciousness is to confuse—multiple illusions with different forms are meant to throw off an opponent's ability to predict the shot's path, catching them off guard. It's like an enhanced version of "unknowable as shadow." However, its raw power doesn't see much improvement and it's naturally countered by Zone-type techniques.
In the World Cup arc of the original story, Amadeus was only able to return those six illusion shots thanks to his powerful insight, game sense, and overwhelming five-dimensional advantage. And even then, that was before Akutsu had fully mastered the technique. That's how absurdly strong Zone-type techniques are in defense.
'Tezuka' stared at the ball pulled right in front of him by the vortex, then swung without hesitation. The ball shot to the far left baseline on the other side, spinning with intense Zone rotation. Clearly, 'Tezuka' planned to rely on the power of Ten'i and use his Zone to battle Akutsu and Kintarō.
At that moment, Kintarō noticed Akutsu's expression. Surprisingly, he didn't charge forward as usual. His instincts screamed danger. 'Better not mess with Jin-chan right now.'
"This boring act ends now, Niō Masaharu!" Akutsu growled viciously, the black and red aura around him swelling wildly like a demon straight out of hell.
In the next second, Akutsu's figure appeared right in the ball's path. His racket glowed with that black-red aura, and as he swung, the outline of a massive silver wolf emerged behind him.
"Mad Wolf's Howl!"
There was no usual racket impact—only a beast-like roar echoed across the court. 'Tezuka' was suddenly overwhelmed by a fierce aura of bloodlust and slaughter. His body froze on the spot. Though it only lasted a second before the brilliance of Ten'i pushed it back, that instant cost him the chance to return the shot.
A yellow afterimage flashed by. Yanagi Renji, who had been focused on data collection, couldn't react in time. The match had already gone beyond his ability to process. The ball shot straight out of bounds past both 'Tezuka' and Yanagi's eyes.
"Game! Fudomine! 3-1!"
Everyone, except for Akashi on Fudomine's bench, showed signs of surprise. Especially Mifune in the audience—his eyes were wide open. That aura from Akutsu just now? No mistake. It was a different dimension—and not some beginner or half-finished version.
"That brat Akutsu's growth is way beyond my expectations. Guess I'll have to put him on the same training plan as Byoudouin and Oni," Mifune muttered with a satisfied nod once he recovered.
"Looks like something very interesting just happened~ The Japan Team's odds of winning the World Cup just rose by 3.9%," Mitsuya said with a soft smile.
"Champions? You're dreaming… Though, this year, we really do have a shot. With that Akashi kid and the others performing like this, even Germany won't scare us!" Mifune's voice brimmed with ambition. Though at that moment, he still didn't know—the Japan Team's biggest enemy at this World Cup might not be Germany after all.
Back on Rikkai's bench, Yukimura looked worriedly toward the figure of 'Tezuka' on court. He whispered, "As I thought… Akutsu has probably also awakened to the different dimension. Niō and Renji are really in trouble now. Ten'i Muhō alone won't be enough."
The fifth game started quickly. This time, it was Niō's turn to serve. Kintarō, wearing a look of excitement mixed with tension, stared intently at Niō, who still maintained the illusion of 'Tezuka'.
It seemed that the Zero Shiki Serve just now had left a strong impression on Kintarō. Even with his usual personality, he didn't dare let his guard down. He didn't want to give away another free point from the serve.
As expected, 'Tezuka' served another Zero Shiki, now further boosted by the Ten'i state. Both the ball's speed and spin were significantly stronger than in the first game. Just as the ball crossed the net, Kintarō had already dashed to the landing spot.
The moment the ball touched the ground, Kintarō swung his racket. But when the frame made contact, he immediately felt the intense spin—much stronger than before. He couldn't react in time. The ball veered off to the left, and he failed to return it.
"15-0!"
'Even with Light of Love, Kintarō still can't deal with the Zero Shiki Serve. Without the right level of technique, it's hard to catch that tiny window of opportunity. But then again, technique was never Kintarō's thing.' On the bench, Akashi watched the failed return, silently thinking.
"With Ochi-senpai's Mach Serve, and now both Niō and Tezuka's Zero Shiki Serve, looks like our Japan Team won't be lacking in serves this time. Not to mention Akashi's bottomless strength—it really gives me room to plan our tactics." Mitsuya nodded in approval as he spoke, watching Niō's play.
'Tezuka' was already preparing his second Zero Shiki Serve. Kintarō, still unwilling to give up, tried again to strike the moment the ball landed. But unfortunately, the result didn't change. The ball spun quickly backward and ended up bouncing off the net.
"30-0!"
"This is too annoying! What kind of serve is this?!" Kintarō scratched his hair, frustration creeping into his voice.
His reaction made the corner of Tezuka's mouth twitch slightly into a smile on Fudomine's bench. But no one noticed—he still perfectly maintained his poker face.
Back on the court, 'Tezuka' lifted the ball again with a blank expression. The blue light around him seemed even brighter now. With a sharp crack of the racket, the ball flew straight into the opposing court, spinning fiercely.
Kintarō once again flashed to the landing spot. But this time, he didn't plan to use technique to return. The Light of Love burst around his entire body. He gripped the racket with both hands and swung hard at the air in front of him. A small shockwave spread outward, hitting the ball just as it landed.
"Haah!" Kintarō shouted loudly.
The fiercely spinning ball actually jolted upward under the force of the wave. With quick reflexes, Kintarō scooped it with his racket—but his timing wasn't perfect. The ball clipped the top of the net and failed to cross.
"40-0!"
Though it was still a failed return, Kintarō grinned. He had finally broken through the Ten'i-enhanced Zero Shiki Serve. If he could just master the timing, he was confident he wouldn't lose more points to it.
'Tezuka' was slightly stunned seeing Kintarō lift the Zero Shiki Serve. Even with the boost from Ten'i, its spin level had gone way up. Yet Kintarō had still forced it open with brute strength.
"As expected, you're not to be taken lightly… Now for the final serve…" 'Tezuka' murmured quietly. The last words were barely audible, only he could hear them.
"Nice one, Kintarō! Smash him head-on!" Akutsu shouted unexpectedly in encouragement.
Off to the side, Yanagi Renji remained expressionless as he continued crunching numbers at high speed. He trusted Niō to figure things out. The best he could do now was construct a full data model and sync it with Niō to provide maximum support.
'Tezuka' bounced the ball, testing its elasticity, then tossed it into the air. On the opposite side, Kintarō was already fired up, fully alert for the incoming Zero Shiki Serve. But just as 'Tezuka' was about to swing, something unexpected happened.
His figure suddenly blurred—and in his place stood a massive silhouette well over 220 cm tall. Two sharp sounds rang out. A yellow ball bounced lightly beyond Kintarō and Akutsu's baseline.
"Mach Serve!"
"Game! Rikkai! 3-2!"
"Never drop your guard, no matter what~ That's a friendly tip from a professional trickster! Purii~" Niō, now back in his true form, grinned slyly at the dumbfounded Kintarō.