During the break, Yukimura walked silently back to his team's bench. He didn't drink any water—only three games had been played so far, and his stamina was still going strong. At that moment, Sanada on the bench looked at him with concern and asked,
"No problem, Yukimura?"
"Tezuka is stronger than I expected, but I won't lose. Time never stops turning. May the gods bless me as I step forward into the unknown! But just praying will never create miracles. If you want to win, it's only natural to suffer for it," Yukimura said slowly, his Zero Senses Tennis state now gone.
"After all, a match you can't win has no value!"
As his second sentence dropped, the mental energy around Yukimura flared stronger. A subtle new force radiated off him too. From the Fudomine bench, Akashi's pupils flashed sharply.
'Didn't expect Yukimura to reach this level already. Looks like even I can't predict how this match will end now,' Akashi thought to himself.
Just then, Akashi looked over at Tezuka, who was coming off court. He could feel the intense fighting spirit inside him and smiled.
"Didn't think you had a passionate side too. But Yukimura isn't easy to deal with. The next few games should get even crazier."
"Yeah. I won't let my guard down. Maybe this match will help me reach new heights. Someday, I'll surpass you, Akashi," Tezuka said, his expression calm but his voice full of determination.
"I look forward to that day—though I doubt it'll ever come," Akashi replied with a smile.
The break ended quickly. Following the umpire's instructions, Yukimura and Tezuka returned to the court and switched sides. Game four was Yukimura's serve.
As he slowly walked to the baseline, a loud cheer suddenly erupted behind him. Yukimura turned to see a huge crowd of Rikkai students packed outside the stands, holding banners and yelling their lungs out to support him.
"Looks like I've got one more reason not to lose," Yukimura whispered. He took a deep breath, his eyes growing firm and sharp.
Across the court, Tezuka glanced at the Rikkai supporters, then met Yukimura's unshakable gaze. In the next second, a dazzling blue aura exploded from his body, stretching all the way into the stands.
"Radiance of Love(Light of Love)!"
Yukimura didn't hesitate. He instantly focused his mental power, lowering all unnecessary senses and sharpening his perception of tennis to the max. His pupils slowly unfocused.
"Zero Senses Tennis!"
As Yukimura tossed the ball into the air, a terrifying wave of spiritual energy burst from him. With a loud crack, the ball blasted across the net, pulsing with immense mental force and speed.
Tezuka took one quick split step to the landing point. A huge white tornado burst up around him. He swung his racket sharply, hitting the rebound with double-layered spin. The ball rocketed back to Yukimura's side.
"Ultimate Zone!"
Yukimura flashed forward and appeared in front of the ball. In a blink, he switched his racket from right to left and swung at the spinning shot. He canceled out the reverse spin, then recharged the ball with more mental power.
As it crossed the net, the white vortex around Tezuka pulled it in, curving it straight toward him. But just as Tezuka moved to hit it, his left hand went numb and his vision went dark.
A second later, the blue aura on Tezuka flickered, and his senses returned—but he could no longer attach Ultimate Zone spin to the ball. That shocked him. Even with Radiance of Love, his five senses had still been disrupted by Yukimura.
"Finally got the motor control disorder to work. As expected, it took a whole game even under Radiance of Love," Yukimura said with a soft smile.
Just then, an image flashed in Tezuka's mind: his return shot had failed to cross the net. But the vision disappeared right after. He wasn't sure if it was real or just an illusion.
By now, Yukimura had already reached the ball. He swung a clean forehand, sending it flying back. Tezuka didn't have time to think—he chased it down and swung again. Just as he tried to add Ultimate Zone spin, the numbness in his left hand hit again, costing him the moment.
Then the match erupted into fast, furious exchanges—just like the first game. But this time, the blue light around Tezuka kept flickering, like it was fighting something off. And the false image of his failed return kept replaying in his head.
"Yukimura... you really are still the Child of God. Using sensory deprivation to constantly disrupt Tezuka's strokes, keeping him from fully activating Ultimate Zone—only you could pull that off," Yanagi Renji said, closing his notebook and letting out a slow breath.
"On one hand, he's stripping the opponent's senses with mental pressure and suggestion. On the other, he's using Radiance of Love to restore and resist mental interference... I didn't think the match would turn out like this. Guess we really are on a different level from them, puri~" Niō chuckled bitterly.
"Yukimura... is this the tennis you've chosen?" Sanada muttered as he watched Yukimura clash head-on with Tezuka on court.
"To think Ultimate Zone could be suppressed by Yukimura like this? I really underestimated him," Krauser said with surprise from the Fudomine bench. After all, Tezuka had only completed Ultimate Zone through resonating with Krauser's ability—so no one knew its limits better than him.
"Yukimura Seiichi... one day I'll settle the score from two years ago!" Akutsu was shocked too, but he was certain his current strength surpassed both players on the court.
While everyone discussed, the match on court suddenly shifted. After several intense rallies, Tezuka began adapting to the interference from Yukimura's sensory deprivation. Just as he was about to attempt Ultimate Zone again, that familiar numbness returned.
This time, it wasn't just his left hand—his whole body lost sensation. His knees buckled instinctively, but Radiance of Love kicked in immediately and neutralized the effect. He steadied himself and barely managed to return the ball.
But then, a familiar scene played out before Tezuka's eyes. The ball he had just hit smacked right into the net, then slowly dropped down and bounced weakly on the ground.
"15-0!"
'What was that...? Did Yukimura do something? Why does that image keep flashing in my mind?' Tezuka kept a straight face, but he was turning it over in his mind.
"Yukimura's mental aura just now was strange. And Tezuka normally wouldn't make that kind of mistake. You see anything, Mitsuya?" Mifune asked, eyes fixed with interest on the two players.
"Probably something Yukimura-san did. But the data's still insufficient. You know mental-force tennis is hard to pin down... even Akashi-kun's alternate dimension—I'm still analyzing it," Mitsuya said with his usual smile, though his heart was a bit shaken. These middle schoolers were far stronger than the Byoudouin generation ever was.
"Looks like it really is the technique I thought. So you finally developed it, Yukimura," Akashi whispered, watching Tezuka lose the point.
As Yukimura served again, the match kicked back into a fierce exchange. Just like the last point, he used sensory deprivation to shut down Ultimate Zone. Still, even without that technique, Tezuka wasn't someone Yukimura could beat easily. Neither side backed down.
But then, a new image flashed in Tezuka's mind—a tennis ball landing by his foot and bouncing out of bounds. While returning the shot, he stared at Yukimura with piercing focus.
Fortunately, his resistance to the sensory loss was growing. He could now just barely activate Ultimate Zone. But that didn't really change the flow. At best, Ultimate Zone brought the ball back to his side—it couldn't help him win points outright.
Then, Tezuka gave the ball a double rotation again. A huge white tornado formed around him. On the other side, Yukimura dashed forward. As he neared the ball, he smoothly switched the racket to his left hand. Tezuka instinctively watched the left side, shifting his stance slightly.
But in the next instant, Yukimura launched a backhand from the left side. The ball still curved, but approached from Tezuka's right. It was too late for Tezuka to rebalance. The ball landed near his foot and bounced out of bounds.
"30-0!"
Tezuka frowned at the ball lying outside the court. Just like before, he'd seen the outcome in his mind before the point was even lost—as if he'd foreseen it.
"Foreseen the future, huh?" he murmured aloud without realizing it.
"Looks like you've caught on, Tezuka-kun. That's right—I'm going to steal your future," came Yukimura's calm voice from across the court.