"Tachibana Kippei! Fudomine third-year regular! Power 6, stamina… cannot be measured, speed 5.5, technique 6, mental 5.5, total unknown! As expected, all the Fudomine guys are monsters!" Tsuge Ryōji slowly read off Tachibana's stats from the screen.
"Chitose Senri! Fudomine third-year regular! Power 5, stamina 5.5, speed 6.5, technique… cannot be measured, mental 5, total unknown! He's not a bit behind Tachibana Kippei. Right now, these two are being called the number one doubles pair in all of middle school!" Kurobe also read out Chitose's stats.
"If they're a regular from Fudomine, then none of them are pushovers. Even the four guys from their second team have pretty good talent, though they don't quite match the first string." Saitō Hajime added.
"I remember two of those four are younger brothers of Fuji Shūsuke and Ishida Gin, right? No wonder they've got talent. If they've made progress under the head coach's training, we could consider letting them join the main training camp." Kurobe said calmly.
"But if we do that, aren't there going to be too many Fudomine members? And what about the middle school slots…" Tsuge Ryōji said, sounding unsure.
"That doesn't matter. This is the U-17 training camp. It doesn't matter what school they came from. They're all representing the Japan Team!" Kurobe replied indifferently.
"As for the middle schooler limit—if the head coach doesn't object, then who's going to care if we add a few more? And with all the funding we have now, we can afford it. Honestly, that's thanks to Akashi-kun and Atobe-kun!" Saitō followed up with a grin.
"Fair enough. Then let's ask the head coach later." Tsuge Ryōji nodded.
"Ara~ Letting those two take the doubles slot—it's like bullying the high schoolers!" Saitō said with amusement, staring at the monitor.
"Then the high schoolers are just too weak!" Kurobe replied bluntly.
"Game! Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri! 2-0!"
While the three coaches chatted in the office, Tachibana and Chitose had already secured the second game. Faced with their fierce onslaught, Washio and Suzuki were struggling badly. Cracks were beginning to show, and points started slipping away fast.
The third game was Chitose's serve. Standing at the baseline, he casually glanced toward the sideline where Tezuka stood. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he muttered to himself,
"I've wanted to try this one for a long time. Guess now's as good a time as any."
He tossed the ball and swung the racket down. The ball flew forward at a deceptively slow pace toward the opposite court, confusing both Washio and Suzuki. Still, Suzuki sprinted to the landing point.
After crossing the net, the ball slowly descended. Suzuki was already in position. When the ball landed, it started to spin in place. Just as Suzuki readied to return it, the ball rolled backward right before his eyes—stopping only when it bumped the net.
"Zero Shiki Serve!"
"Ace! 15-0!"
"Not bad… a decent Zero Shiki." Tezuka commented quietly from the sidelines, his expression unreadable. He didn't seem to mind that Chitose had used his serve.
"You're kidding, right? That serve… it's totally unfair!" Some of the other high school players looked stunned.
Even many of the third-years were shocked. Tezuka had never used the Zero Shiki Serve during his time at the U-17 camp—not even during second-year training—because back then, it still put a strain on him.
"Chitose! When did you learn that serve?! That's totally cheating!" Suzuki said, staring blankly at Chitose.
"Don't get it wrong. It's not my move—I just wanted to try it out. Though, it feels kinda off~" Chitose replied, rotating his right arm.
"Someone else can do a serve like that?!" Washio gulped, a bead of cold sweat trailing down his temple.
"From what I know, there are at least three others who can pull off a Zero Shiki Serve!" Tachibana added with a grin.
After hearing what Tachibana Kippei said, Washio and Suzuki exchanged a glance and both saw the bitterness in each other's eyes. Faced with such powerful underclassmen, they suddenly started to question if they were even cut out to play tennis.
"Zero Shiki Serve… Even I get headaches thinking about it. I don't know how these guys even come up with this stuff!" Tanegashima said from the sidelines, holding his forehead.
"Why are the middle schoolers so insanely strong? Has everything I worked for been meaningless…?" Tokugawa muttered to himself while watching the match. His belief in himself seemed to be wavering.
"Don't underestimate yourself, Tokugawa~ I think your current strength is already very close to pro level. Honestly, even Byoudouin might not be able to beat you easily. You already have what it takes to defeat him!" Mitsuya said in a slightly comforting tone. Whether those words were sincere or not, only he knew for sure.
"Byoudouin! That's right! Everything I've done up to now was for one goal—to beat him! I'm not giving up!" Tokugawa snapped back to focus after hearing Byoudouin's name and began thinking again about how to bring him down.
Meanwhile, the match on court continued. Chitose didn't use the Zero Shiki Serve again. Even though it no longer placed any real burden on him, it just wasn't his style of tennis. So this time, he used Shin'in Kai instead.
But Washio and Suzuki still couldn't return it. Even if it wasn't the unsolvable Zero Shiki, something invisible like Shin'in had nearly the same effect. The result was still a lost point.
"Ace! 30-0!"
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Game! Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri! 3-0!"
"As expected, it's turning out like this. Doubles Two has no chance of winning~" Irie sighed, looking unusually gloomy.
"Heh~ Cut the act. I don't think you care at all." Atobe said, annoyed after hearing Irie.
"How could I not care, Atobe-kun? If we lose this shuffle match, I'll get demoted to Court No. 5!" Irie replied, sounding hurt.
But everyone who knew Irie well ignored his drama. If there was anyone in the group who cared even less than Oni about court number and rank, it was definitely Irie.
"Game! Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri! 4-0!"
"Game! Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri! 5-0!"
Soon, the match turned into a completely one-sided affair. Even with Synchronization, Washio and Suzuki couldn't put up a fight. The individual difference in ability was just too big.
"Hey, Tachibana, Chitose! You two haven't been going all out, have you? It's the final game—let us see just how wide the gap really is!" Suzuki said bitterly.
"Yeah! I don't want to lose the match without fully understanding your true strength!" Washio added.
Tachibana and Chitose glanced at each other, then nodded. Tachibana said,
"In that case, we won't hold back. Better watch yourselves, senpai!"
Right after speaking, both Tachibana and Chitose exited Beast Synchronization. Their aura shifted dramatically. Tachibana was wrapped in a fiery red energy, like erupting magma.
Chitose, on the other hand, was surrounded by glowing blue light that lit up the entire court. His messy hair floated with the radiance, and countless blue particles enveloped his whole body.
"Beast King's Aura!"
"Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami!"
Seeing the forms Tachibana and Chitose entered, Washio and Suzuki were struck by immense pressure. Only now did they realize that their opponents hadn't even been serious earlier.
But truthfully, even now Tachibana and Chitose weren't showing their full strength. Techniques like Alternate Dimension and Radiance of Love were still being hidden. If they really went all out, they could crush their seniors' tennis spirits altogether.
From there, the rest of the match spoke for itself. Even without Beast Synchronization, their synergy was flawless. And with such a huge gap in skill, Washio and Suzuki had already given up resisting. The match ended quickly.
"Game! 6-0! Match over! The winners are Tachibana Kippei and Chitose Senri!"