The second game was Akutsu's service game. Across the court, Niō was still maintaining the illusion of Tezuka, which irritated Akutsu. Without hesitation, he tossed the ball high into the air.
With a loud crack, the tennis ball shot toward the opposite court at high speed. At the same time, "Tezuka" suddenly lit up in seven-colored light that instantly surged into his legs. In a flash, he appeared near the bounce point.
'Looks like Niō's mastery of the Muga techniques is getting sharper. Honestly, Niō might be the most troublesome one on Rikkai's roster,' Yukimura thought with a smile as he watched from Rikkai's coaching bench.
The ball bounced sharply, but a racket glowing with seven colors intercepted it with perfect timing. The moment it touched the racket, all of the ball's power, spin, and speed were doubled and sent flying back.
"Tch... Just Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami? That's nothing to brag about," Akutsu growled in a thoroughly irritated tone.
As Akutsu was about to rush in and return the ball, a streak of blue suddenly appeared in front of it. With a loud swing and his signature cheerful laugh, Kintarō struck the ball midair while in Ten'i Muhō mode.
"Heeeyah! Leave this one to me, Jin-chan!"
"Hmph! Stop meddling, dumbass!" Akutsu barked back, though there was no real anger in his voice.
"Based on Kintarō's personality, there's a 94% chance he'll rush the ball, 82% chance he'll go for a diagonal shot, and with Ten'i Muhō's boost, interception needs to happen 2.36 seconds ahead of bounce. Data adjustment margin: 3.8%," Yanagi suddenly rattled off a stream of calculations as he appeared at the predicted bounce point.
The ball hit the ground, carving out a shallow crater, then shot upward. But Yanagi, gripping his racket with both hands, intercepted it precisely. The ball spun briefly upon contact and was swiftly returned.
"Force output differs from the data by 5.6%. Seems I still need to refine my calculations under Ten'i Muhō's influence," Yanagi muttered, looking at his slightly trembling hands.
"Renji, be careful of Ten'i's devouring glow!" "Tezuka" warned from behind.
At that moment, Akutsu had already appeared at the ball's path. This time, he didn't give Kintarō another chance to act. With a forceful swing, he struck the ball hard. It immediately lit up with blinding brilliance, forming a massive glowing sphere that blasted toward the other side.
"Glowing Shot!"
Although the audience was excited by the appearance of a Glowing Shot, they weren't as shocked as they would've been two years ago. After being exposed to Akashi's generation, their nerves had been hardened. Even Akashi's Dimensional Space earlier only caused brief surprise. Some mentally weaker spectators couldn't even perceive the Dimensional Space at all.
"To return a Glowing Shot, you need Super Sweet Spot technique. At my current level, my success rate is 34.8%," Yanagi said with a frown, staring at the incoming light sphere.
"Leave it to me, Renji!" a steady voice suddenly rang out behind him.
Yanagi turned his head to see "Tezuka" sprinting toward the ball. But as he ran, his figure began to twist and change. By the time he reached the glowing shot, the illusion had vanished—replaced by a short-haired boy in a U-17 training uniform.
As the glowing ball struck the racket, a silent ripple spread out. The ball, now stabilized, spun at high speed in the center of the strings. Then, as if all energy had drained from it, the rotation slowed to a stop.
"Halt Destruction Nothingness."
"Yare yare~ That was a dangerous one, Akutsu-kun," came a thick Kansai accent from "Tanegashima."
In the next instant, "Tanegashima" vanished. A stern-looking boy with a black cap appeared in his place, also wearing a Rikkai uniform. His racket crackled with electricity as he slammed the ball back.
"Swift as a storm!"
'This is no ordinary illusion anymore. That kind of mental fluctuation… Niō must've developed something crazy,' Akashi thought silently from the coaching bench.
The ball transformed into a serpent of lightning in midair, shooting toward the opposite side with a bizarre, erratic path—impossible to read, like real thunder.
But Kintarō was already spinning on the spot. A powerful tornado erupted on the court, and even the lightning-serpent was pulled toward it.
The next moment, a small figure burst out from the tornado, still shimmering with blue particles. With legs spread wide, his body arched back like a bow, and the racket in his right hand raised high above his head, he smashed downward at the incoming tennis ball. Instantly, red light engulfed the entire court like the end of the world.
"Take this! Super Ultra Great Delicious Mountain Storm! Heeyah!" Kintarō shouted excitedly in midair.
Across the court, "Sanada" reacted without hesitation. Electric sparks flashed around him, and he teleported into the ball's path. His body twisted rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, a figure in a Seigaku uniform appeared—"Fuji Shūsuke"!
As the ball hit the ground and formed a small crater, "Fuji" leapt high into the air. The moment the ball rebounded, he slammed his racket down hard with a strong gust of wind.
"Wind technique—Aoi Fubuki!"
But to everyone's surprise, Fuji's racket was knocked out of his hands after a brief clash with the ball, and his figure stumbled as he landed, nearly falling.
"15-0!"
"Didn't expect that move to be pure power and inertia combined… Bit of a misread," "Fuji" said with a frown, rubbing his wrist.
"You okay, Niō?" Yanagi asked with concern from the side.
"Don't worry~ That wasn't enough to hurt me! Puri~" "Fuji" smiled in reply, slipping into Niō's signature phrase.
"Good. But that last shot probably wasn't just Kintarō's raw power… we may already be under the influence of the Light of Glory," Yanagi said seriously after confirming Niō was fine.
"Yeah~ This Light of Glory really is a troublesome thing. Looks like there's no choice… I didn't plan to use it so soon," "Fuji" muttered thoughtfully.
At that moment, Akutsu was preparing for his second serve. Holding the ball in his left hand, he seemed deep in thought and didn't serve right away. After a brief pause, he glanced at Kintarō beside him, still in Ten'i Muhō, and tightened his grip on the ball.
In the next instant, a layer of silver light wrapped around Akutsu's body. This made Sanada's face darken from the Rikkai bench—he knew exactly what that meant. After all, he had just entered that state earlier.
"Path of Asura… this is trouble," Yanagi murmured with a sharp breath, his tone extremely cautious.
Once in the Asura Path, Akutsu didn't wait. He tossed the ball high. At the same time, four figures with different stances emerged from behind him. Including the original, five figures appeared, each in a unique position ready to strike the ball.
"Asura Path—Eighth Consciousness!"
Unlike the tense Yanagi, "Fuji" instantly shifted into "Atobe." His eyes locked tightly on Akutsu, who was about to serve, and a piercing gleam shot from his pupils, attempting to see through the deception of Eighth Consciousness.
But unfortunately, even with mental force support, Niō was not truly Atobe. He didn't possess that god-tier perception. So when Akutsu served, both "Atobe" and Yanagi misjudged. They could only watch as the ball landed and flew out of bounds. Even Niō didn't have time to switch illusions.
"Ace! 30-0!"
"Two out of five chance, huh? Not exactly low, but still hard to deal with. If this were singles, it'd be even more of a nightmare," Yanagi muttered, his gaze locked on Akutsu. In that moment, he clearly saw the vast power gap.
"Guess trying to use Atobe's insight was too forced. Using Akashi would be even more impossible… better drop the idea of seeing through his tricks and think of another plan," "Atobe" murmured.
But against the extreme misdirection of Eighth Consciousness, neither Niō nor Yanagi had a real counter. Even if Niō could imitate some strong U-17 players, his own ability wasn't enough to fully read Akutsu's techniques. In the end, they helplessly lost the second game.
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Game! Fudomine! 1-1!"
As the third game began, Niō's form shifted once again. The next second, two Yanagis appeared on Rikkai's side of the court, connected by a milky-white stream of air.
"Illusion Synchronization!"