"Whoa! You cheated! Why didn't you use the same serve as before?!" Kintarō shouted at Niō after snapping back to reality.
"Ma~ ma~ I heard you like takoyaki. I'll treat you after the match!" Niō chuckled as he looked at the slightly ruffled Kintarō.
"Really?! You're such a good guy!" The moment he heard "takoyaki," Kintarō instantly forgot about being tricked and lit up with joy.
Behind them, Akutsu couldn't help but feel the urge to cover his face. Getting fooled, then turning around and calling the other guy a good person—Kintarō's emotional IQ must be inversely proportional to his tennis skills.
"Hmph! You're not getting another chance to serve again!" Akutsu growled at Niō.
"Same goes for you two—not another easy point from now on!" Yanagi Renji, who had been quietly gathering data, suddenly spoke up.
Akutsu scoffed and said nothing more, turning to walk toward the baseline to prepare his serve. Meanwhile, Kintarō was still happily asking Niō when the promised takoyaki would happen.
The sixth game was about to begin. This was Akutsu's service game. Across the net, Niō had transformed into 'Tanegashima Shūji'. What shocked everyone was that this 'Tanegashima' was glowing with the blue radiance of Ten'i and had activated Forced Synchronization, linking his mind directly with Yanagi Renji.
'Using the illusion of Tezuka to awaken Ten'i Muhō, and then absorbing it into his own strength... No wonder even Coach Kurobe didn't dare let Niō power up too fast in his five attributes. This guy's an anomaly.' Akashi, from the coaching bench, was speechless at Niō's absurd illusion capabilities.
"Already using 'Halt Destruction Nothingness', huh? Heh! Even if it were the real Tanegashima Shūji, I'd crush him all the same!" Akutsu sneered. A wave of black-red aura erupted from him, even beginning to overtake the Divine Path of the Asura.
At that moment, a massive, terrifying silver wolf materialized behind Akutsu. Its crimson slit eyes made the entire court feel like it had turned blood-red.
"Alternate Dimension—Fenrir the Demon Wolf!"
Fenrir the Demon Wolf.
"Whoa! That wolf looks awesome! Jin-chan, teach me! Teach me!" This was Kintarō's first time seeing Akutsu's alternate dimension. He couldn't contain his excitement.
But Akutsu ignored Kintarō's shouting. His eyes stayed fierce as he stared down the two opponents. Then he tossed the ball high into the air. The giant Fenrir behind him lifted its massive head, and a chilling howl echoed straight into everyone's hearts.
The tennis ball turned into a glowing full moon, slowly rising. Under the moonlight, the massive wolf howled skyward. For a brief moment, 'Tanegashima' and Yanagi both lost focus. By the time they snapped back, the ball had already bounced out of bounds.
"Howling Moon!"
"ACE! 15-0!"
"A deep refinement and evolution of Mad Wolf's Howl? Looks like you're finally stepping away from brute-force tennis, Akutsu!" Akashi smiled in approval from the coach's bench.
"Didn't expect Akutsu to have this hidden. So during practice matches, he wasn't even going all out?" On the Fudomine bench, Tachibana Kippei was surprised. A sense of pressure welled up inside him—at this point, there might not be many teammates he could beat anymore.
"Yeah, looks like aside from Akashi, Akutsu also quietly unlocked his alternate dimension. If Tezuka hadn't stuck with Ten'i, we might have three alternate dimension users in Fudomine by now," Chitose said with a trace of amazement.
"Ten'i Muhō and Alternate Dimensions aren't mutually exclusive. I just haven't drawn out the full potential of Ten'i yet, so I'm not thinking about Alternate Dimensions for now," Tezuka, uncharacteristically, offered an explanation.
"Tezuka's right. If someone could combine all three lights of Ten'i, the power could surpass an alternate dimension. But that's incredibly difficult—only Echizen Nanjirō's ever pulled it off!" Akashi chimed in, responding to the conversation among Fudomine's members.
Up in the stands, Mifune and Mitsuya both wore a knowing look after seeing Akutsu's serve. Mifune had sensed it before, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself:
"Five alternate dimension users on the team. I've never fought a war this rich in firepower! Germany... Germany... heh! We're dragging you off that pedestal real soon!"
"Maybe it's more than just five..." Mitsuya's eyes sparkled as he scanned the players on Rikkai's side.
On Rikkai's coaching bench, Yukimura watched Akutsu unleash his alternate dimension and sighed softly. He understood. Niō and Yanagi's chances of winning this match were practically zero now. He knew all too well how overwhelming an alternate dimension could be. Now, all that mattered was what Niō and Yanagi could gain from the rest of the match.
Akutsu wasn't paying any attention to what others thought. Without hesitation, he fired off another Howling Moon. The power of the alternate dimension was so overwhelming that even 'Tanegashima' in Ten'i state couldn't fully counter it. Under the blindingly bright full moon, there was no chance to activate 'Halt Destruction Nothingness'.
"ACE! 30-0!"
"Alternate dimension... I guess it's still too much to take on with my current strength?" 'Tanegashima' murmured unconsciously. In the synchronized state, Yanagi Renji sensed Niō's thoughts clearly, but he had even less power to resist, so he could only respond with silence.
For the next two points, Niō and Yanagi still had no way to respond. Alternate dimension was just what it sounded like—tennis from another dimension. Without equal power, it was impossible to go against it.
"ACE! 40-0!"
"GAME! Fudomine! 4-2! Change court!"
Relying entirely on the alternate-dimension technique—Howling Moon—Akutsu took his service game effortlessly. Niō's illusion and Yanagi's data were completely useless, helplessly watching as the points slipped away.
During the break, Akashi didn't offer any more suggestions. This version of Akutsu was simply not someone Niō and Yanagi could handle. Yukimura had already gone off to warm up, but before leaving, he told Niō and Yanagi to relax and enjoy the match.
After a short rest, the seventh game began quickly. Yanagi stood at the baseline, data and formulas flying through his mind. After completing his analysis, he shared it with Niō and tossed the tennis ball into the air. Even knowing the win probability was only 0.3%, Yanagi had no intention of giving up.
The tennis ball spun rapidly, flying at a sharp angle toward Kintarō's right. But for Kintarō, it wasn't hard to return. He flipped through the air and landed near the bounce point.
Maybe Akutsu's alternate dimension had inspired him. After intercepting the rising ball, Kintarō didn't go for a power shot right away. Instead, he used the inertia to let the ball stick to his racket and began spinning rapidly in place.
"If Jin-chan's pulling out moves, then I can't fall behind! Watch this—Super Cannon Invincible Flaming Tornado Flash Ball!" Kintarō shouted in his usual naming style.
With his cry, a massive vortex of flame rose into the air. The entire stadium felt an overwhelming wave of heat, as if they'd been dropped into a desert storm.
As the fire vortex climbed higher, a flash of golden light emerged. Then a massive, glowing fireball burst out of it, rocketing toward the opposite court like a natural disaster.
"Combining Glowing Shot with two other finishing moves? Not a bad idea. Though... that name—don't name it again," Akashi muttered unconsciously as he watched Kintarō's new technique.
Across the net, Yanagi instantly analyzed the technique's general data and shared it with Niō. He recognized it as a fusion of Glowing Shot, Volcano Eruption Ball, and Super Ultra Great Delicious Mountain Storm. The only word for its power was terrifying.
"One after another... you guys really don't give anyone a break. Guess I've got no choice. I'll give it a shot too! Puri~" Niō sounded relaxed, but his face was deadly serious.
The next moment, Niō's body began to distort and shift. A messy mop of golden hair appeared first, followed by a slightly tattered headband, and finally a sunny, smiling face—none other than Phoenix Byoudouin during the France World Cup era.
Phoenix from the France World Cup.
If Niō had seen the current Byoudouin, he might've copied the weathered version instead. But what emerged now was the confident, youthful aura of his former self—an aura Niō recreated purely through mental force.
'Byoudouin' stared down the incoming fireball without flinching. He closed in immediately, and his racket flared with golden light. The massive fireball vanished. In its place was a tennis ball radiating intense heat, smashing violently into 'Byoudouin's' racket.
A wild force blasted through the frame and into the ground, creating a massive crater on impact. 'Byoudouin' gritted his teeth, struggling to contain the ball.
Niō had thought about using 'Halt Destruction Nothingness', but he knew he didn't have Tanegashima's wrist technique. If he forced it against a shot like this, he'd probably injure himself. So he chose instead to mimic Byoudouin and try to counter with Glowing Shot—Destruction. It couldn't match the original, but backed by Ten'i Muhō, he had a fighting chance. This was the only method he could think of.
With a loud roar, 'Byoudouin' transformed the tennis ball into a massive sphere of light and sent it rocketing back. But at that instant, his illusion flickered and Niō returned to normal, half-kneeling on the ground, gasping for breath.
A second later, Akutsu appeared in front of the blazing light ball. The demon wolf's shadow loomed behind him. He swung without hesitation. A beastly roar echoed. Yanagi instinctively stepped forward to block, but the overwhelming murderous aura froze him in place. His racket was blown away, and the ball flew out past the baseline.
"0-15!"