"Looks like the match is about to end. You two don't have any fight left in you!" Akutsu sneered after scoring the point, his tone full of disdain.
But Niō and Yanagi Renji had no intention of giving up just yet. Niō took a few deep breaths, stood up straight, and bent forward, ready to continue the match. Yanagi silently picked up his racket and walked solemnly to the baseline to serve again.
"Tch~ Pointless resistance." Akutsu clicked his tongue and turned around, walking away, though there was a faint look of acknowledgment in his eyes.
Yanagi tossed the ball high again and swung his racket with full force toward the falling ball. At this point in the match, both he and Niō knew their loss was inevitable. Still, they were determined to fight until the very last moment.
The tennis ball flew swiftly over the net toward the back left corner of Kintarō's side. This time, Kintarō didn't use the Flaming Tornado Glowing Shot—he had only been excited earlier after seeing Akutsu's alternate-dimension technique. Even for him, that move was physically taxing.
Even so, Kintarō's offense under Light of Love wasn't easy to return. Niō, now transformed into 'Tanegashima', used the simulated Halt Destruction Nothingness to intercept Kintarō's shot. But that was all he could manage—his earlier transformation into 'Byoudouin' and using Glowing Shot—Destruction had drained most of his remaining mental strength.
Meanwhile, Yanagi was only able to share data; beyond that, he couldn't offer much help. This was the limit of his talent—unless his five attributes could break past the national-level ceiling, his data tennis would be useless.
Unaware of the concept of holding back, Akutsu activated his alternate-dimension power again, making it impossible for Niō and Yanagi to even put up a real defense—especially with Kintarō still empowered by Light of Love.
"0-30!"
"0-40!"
"GAME! Fudomine! 5-2!"
By the end of the seventh game, Niō could no longer maintain his illusion. He returned to normal, drenched in sweat, his signature braid stuck to the back of his neck.
With Niō's mental energy nearly depleted, Yanagi deliberately broke their forced synchronization to ease the load. At this point, having or not having shared data and vision made no real difference.
"That Niō kid needs to improve his physical strength. Once he joins the training camp, make him play more matches with Oni and Irie. His mental strength is decent—maybe he'll break through that way," Mifune said to Mitsuya beside him.
"Understood, head coach. I'll discuss it with the other coaches once we're back. Also, when they enter U-17, I'd like to bring over Yanagi and Inui Sadaharu to assist me. They're natural strategists," Mitsuya replied with a smile.
"No need to tell me—I was already planning that. You arrange those two however you see fit," Mifune said without surprise.
While Mifune and Mitsuya chatted in the stands, the eighth game had already started. This was Kintarō's service game. But Niō was completely spent, and Yanagi, under the erosion of Light of Love, could barely serve, starting to lose points rapidly.
"15-0!"
"30-0!"
"ACE! 40-0!"
As the umpire announced the score again and again, the match quickly reached match point. Yanagi held his trembling right hand with his left. He hadn't even reacted to the last shot—he only realized he lost the point when the umpire announced it.
"GAME! 6-2! Match over! Winner: Fudomine!"
No matter how unwilling Yanagi was, the match ended with Kintarō's cheerful laughter as his racket was knocked out of his hand. Niō dropped to the ground in the front court, breathing heavily—he had clearly pushed himself too far.
With Doubles Two concluded, Fudomine now led Rikkai 2-0. Once again, Rikkai found themselves on the edge of a cliff. Even with Yukimura set to play Singles Two next, everyone on the Rikkai bench looked grim.
At that moment, the umpire declared a pause to clean and repair the court. After two matches, the court was full of pits and cracks. But the organizers had already gotten used to this. As long as a match involved Fudomine, the court rarely stayed intact.
Because of that, the youth tournament organizers and the tennis association had developed a rapid court-repair method. In less than twenty minutes, the court was mostly fixed. It still looked a little off, but at least it didn't affect the match.
With the crowd cheering excitedly, the match resumed. The umpire climbed into his seat and, after confirming with both benches, announced:
"Next up is the Singles Two match! Representing Fudomine: Tezuka Kunimitsu. Representing Rikkai: Yukimura Seiichi. Players, please enter the court!"
Yukimura and Tezuka walked onto the court slowly. Following the umpire's instructions, they met at the net for a handshake. Yukimura smiled slightly, but his tone was firm as he said:
"Singles Two is Tezuka-san, huh? Looks like you at Fudomine are planning to finish us Rikkai in just three matches. Too bad—that's not gonna happen!"
"I've wanted to play against Yukimura for a long time. Let's give it everything we've got this time—no regrets," Tezuka responded seriously, fully aware that Yukimura was a player on his level.
After those words, neither side said more. The coin toss result came quickly, and to Akashi's mild surprise on the coach's bench, Tezuka actually won the right to serve first.
As Tezuka slowly walked to the baseline and turned to prepare his serve, Yukimura did something unexpected—he calmly removed Rikkai's team jacket from his shoulders and casually tossed it toward the coach's bench, letting it float down gently.
This action caused Tezuka's eyes to narrow slightly, and Akashi immediately sensed Yukimura's immense mental pressure spreading toward Tezuka. Clearly, Yukimura intended to go all out right from the start.
"Singles Two begins now. Tezuka Kunimitsu to serve!"
Standing at the baseline, Tezuka seemed to sense something as well. A subtle but growing aura surrounded him. He tossed the ball, and with a smooth, familiar motion, sent it across the net at a measured pace.
"Zero Shiki Serve, huh? Fine, let me see how it compares to Niō's version," Yukimura said softly as he watched.
The ball crossed the net and dropped quickly. Yukimura didn't move. He simply stood there and watched as the ball spun rapidly after landing, then slowly rolled backward until it hit the net and stopped.
"ACE! 15-0!"
"As expected from you, Tezuka-san. But if that's all you've got, I doubt you'll score directly again," Yukimura said confidently, unfazed by the lost point.
"I'll be watching closely," Tezuka replied calmly.
He tossed the ball again and served a second Zero Shiki. The ball once again floated across the net toward Yukimura's side. This time, Yukimura stepped in smoothly, meeting the ball as it dropped. His racket skimmed the court and intercepted it just before it could spin.
The moment the ball hit the ground, Yukimura scooped it up with his racket, twisting his wrist to counteract the heavy spin. In the blink of an eye, the ball turned into a streak of yellow light, zipping past Tezuka's feet. Caught off guard by Yukimura's return, Tezuka hesitated for a split second and missed it. The ball slammed into the court and bounced out of bounds.
"15-15!"
"Yes! Captain's amazing!" Kirihara shouted from the Rikkai bench, thrilled by Yukimura's counter.
"Quiet, Kirihara! Don't get careless. This level of match isn't something you see often. Watch carefully—learn something," Sanada barked at him.
"As expected, Zero Shiki doesn't do much against Yukimura. Puri~" Niō muttered with a strange expression, having recovered a bit.
"Wonder who's really stronger—Yukimura or Tezuka," Yagyū Hiroshi said calmly.
"We'll know after this match," Marui said with unusual seriousness.
Over on Fudomine's bench, Chitose sighed as he watched. "Yukimura dismantled Zero Shiki so easily… no doubt about it, he's stepped into the world-class realm. I've got a feeling this match is gonna be intense."
"Hmph! That's what makes it interesting, isn't it?" Akutsu's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint.
"World-class, huh…" Tachibana Kippei muttered quietly to himself.
Back on court, Tezuka had steadied himself again. He stared deeply at Yukimura, face as unreadable as ever. He tossed the ball and hit yet another Zero Shiki Serve.
"Give it up, Tezuka! Zero Shiki doesn't work on me. Keep using it, and you're just hurting your arm!" Yukimura said as he intercepted the freshly dropped ball with a half-volley and returned it—this time charging it with strong mental energy.
Tezuka didn't respond. He stepped forward and swung to return the shot. But the moment his racket touched the ball, a wave of invisible mental pressure surged up his arm and into his body.
As the ball came flying back, Tezuka's vision suddenly darkened—then slowly faded to black. All sound vanished from his ears. He could no longer feel his limbs. It was as if he no longer existed.
"15-30!"
"Looks like you've lost your five senses now, Tezuka~" Yukimura said gently, a breeze brushing softly against his bangs.