"Alright! This time I won't lose to you, Tezuka!!!" Kintarō shouted excitedly, but the look on his face quickly turned serious.
Seeing that, Tezuka also nodded solemnly. He tossed up the ball and swung his racket directly. The tennis ball spun violently as it flew over the net, heading toward the ground. Kintarō leapt to intercept it just before the bounce.
At that moment, a deep brown aura surged up around Kintarō, making him look even wilder. As the ball landed, he swung forward, sending a fierce gust of wind pressure crashing into the ball.
The spin on the ball instantly unraveled, and it bounced back up slowly—low, but just high enough. Kintarō swiftly swung his racket to scoop it up, spun once in midair, and returned the shot with full momentum.
"That's... Wild Instinct?!" Tachibana Kippei exclaimed in surprise from the sidelines.
"Hmph~ At least that guy's improved a bit," Akutsu muttered with a sneer.
"Didn't expect Tezuka's Zero-Shiki Serve to get broken so easily by Tōyama," Fuji said thoughtfully as he watched the two on court.
Tezuka's face didn't change at all after Kintarō successfully returned the serve. A brilliant seven-colored glow erupted from his body as he quickly followed up the ball, gathering the power of Muga no Kyōchi in his left hand and striking hard without hesitation.
The spinning ball soared toward the opposite side, imbued with the power of Tezuka Zone. Kintarō jumped high and somersaulted several times midair, then smashed the ball down with full force. Though Tezuka had used topspin, Kintarō turned it into a full-on overhead smash.
The ground trembled slightly from the impact, and the ball flew straight out of bounds. But in the next moment, a white whirlwind formed around Tezuka, pulling the ball straight toward him.
From the sidelines, Migihashi's eye twitched. He could feel the sheer power of Kintarō's last shot even from here. He hadn't expected even such a powerful smash to fail at breaking through Tezuka's Zone. If it had been his own right-side Zone, it would've crumbled instantly.
As the ball floated in front of him, the glow in Tezuka's left hand intensified. He unleashed another fierce strike—this time with doubled power, speed, and spin—blasting the ball back across the court. But Kintarō didn't flinch.
"Haha~ Now this is getting fun! Next up, take this—Super Invincible Ultimate Delicious Mega Wheel Mountain Storm!!! Hyah!!!" Kintarō shouted with excitement, spinning rapidly on the spot.
A massive storm erupted instantly, lifting the tennis ball high into the air. Compared to before, the wind-up of this move had clearly shortened. As the ball reached its peak, Kintarō burst from the storm and smashed down with all his might.
Red light filled the court. The spin of Tezuka's Zone shattered completely. The ball, packed with insane momentum and force, exploded toward Tezuka. Seeing it approach, a flicker of approval passed through Tezuka's eyes. He didn't move, just stood there calmly.
A thunderous crash echoed across the court. Smoke billowed so much that even players on Court No. 1 looked over. When the dust finally cleared, a totally deformed tennis ball was embedded in the wall behind Tezuka.
"Tōyama Kintarō! 1-0!"
"Looks like you really have gotten a lot stronger, Tōyama. Then keep it coming—give me everything you've got!" Tezuka said, completely unfazed by losing a point. Instead, he looked pleased.
"No problem! Here I go~ Super Mega Ton Fantasy Deluxe Volcano Eruption Shot!!!" Kintarō grinned as he tossed the ball ridiculously high, then jumped up to follow it.
Spinning through the air, Kintarō's racket ignited with blazing flames. He used the momentum to swing down hard, turning the ball into a molten fireball as it roared toward Tezuka like a natural disaster.
Tezuka's eyes narrowed. A burst of dazzling blue light exploded around him, with countless glowing particles swirling as he instantly entered the state of Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami. Ryōma, watching from the side, froze in awe. Even now, he needed time to gather inner strength to enter Ten'i mode—there was no way he could trigger it instantly like Tezuka.
Meanwhile, the high schoolers on Court No. 2 were completely dumbfounded. This match had already surpassed the level of their court entirely. This kind of battle was something you'd only ever see during the top-tier matches of the first string.
With Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami activated, Tezuka blinked forward and appeared right at the ball's landing point. Ignoring the volcanic flames spraying everywhere, a massive white tornado rose around him, completely enveloping the rebounding ball.
"Ultimate Zone!"
Not only did Tezuka return the shot with ease, but the ball carried a complex double spin as it flew straight toward Kintarō's court. Still laughing, Kintarō somersaulted through the air to meet it. The wild aura around him surged violently as he struck the ball hard with overwhelming force.
The returned ball turned into a yellow blur and shot back. But as it crossed the court, it began veering to the right, eventually flying out of bounds and slamming into the wall, leaving a deep black mark.
"OUT! Tezuka Kunimitsu! 1-1!"
"Uwah!!! Still no good? I really thought that one would make it!" Kintarō puffed up his cheeks in frustration, clearly unhappy with the result.
"Why isn't Kintarō using Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami against Tezuka?" Atobe frowned from the sideline.
"Probably because he just recently grasped the power of Wild Instinct. He's still caught up in the excitement," Chitose guessed, stroking his chin.
"Wild Instinct mainly boosts intuition and explosive power. It might actually be enough to go up against Ten'i Muhō. More importantly, Kintarō's natural talent allows him to fully bring out its potential—only Akutsu might be able to match him in that regard," Tachibana added.
In truth, Wild Instinct is very similar to the Aotō state used by that seaweed-headed kid in the original series—both are short bursts of explosive power used to fight against Ten'i Muhō. But unlike Aotō's brief 10 seconds, Wild Instinct lasts longer. Right now, only Akutsu and Kintarō can use it.
Of course, Tachibana's "Beast King Aura" is a similar type of ability, but its focus differs completely. While both enhance burst strength, one boosts intuition—instinct—while the other enhances spiritual focus. That's also why Tachibana can form dimensional space without needing to go through the Asura Path.
While they talked, Kintarō had already served again. Facing Tezuka's Ultimate Zone, Kintarō didn't have Yukimura's technique to strip the spin from the ball at the moment of impact. So, he went with the simplest and most direct method.
"In that case~ take this—Shining Ball! Horyaa!!!" Kintarō shouted midair as golden light burst from his left hand. On the sidelines, Akutsu looked like he'd given up completely—he no longer had the energy to correct Kintarō's naming habits for glowing shots.
With a thunderous impact, a huge glowing golden ball shot forward like a meteor toward Tezuka's court. But Tezuka's face remained calm as ever, not bothered in the slightest by Kintarō's light-based attack.
This time, the light ball didn't fly out of bounds after crossing the net. That meant the Ultimate Zone's spin had already been partially broken. Still, the ball was dragged down by a powerful white vortex and pulled straight in front of Tezuka.
Tezuka had mastered the Super Sweet Spot technique way back in his first year. He just didn't favor flashy moves like glowing shots. But that didn't mean he couldn't handle them.
Glancing up at Kintarō still midair, Tezuka swung his racket into the glowing ball. A massive shockwave blasted out, slamming into the wall behind him and leaving a huge dent—but that was all.
Tezuka calmly neutralized the power on the ball, then flipped it upward with a slicing shot. The ball spun intensely as it soared, flying high over the court and toward the baseline on Kintarō's side.
Kintarō landed and flipped backward several times, jumping into the air above the baseline. Just as he went to swing at the bouncing ball, it began to spin rapidly after landing—then rolled gently backward and stopped moving.
"Zero-Shiki Lob!"
"Tezuka Kunimitsu! 2-1!"