"So you've already mastered the Fourfold Slash? And ore-sama… what the hell am I even doing… truly pathetic!" Atobe muttered self-mockingly under his breath.
On the other side, Mōri didn't care what Atobe was thinking. He went straight to the baseline and served again. Atobe slid into position, and though he still hadn't completely shaken off the effects of Mental Assassination, at least the quality of his return was better than before.
But Ochi took a single stride and fired the ball back. Sanada had already rushed to the net without anyone noticing, and behind him rose the shadow of a towering mountain, stopping the incoming ball dead.
"Immovable as a Mountain!"
After blocking, Sanada's left hand crackled with lightning, while his right arm swung the racket in a brutal strike. The ball transformed into a huge thunder sphere that blasted forward. Mōri's eyes flashed open for an instant, and then both hands gripped his racket tightly as he met the strike head-on.
The ball spun wildly on his strings, arcs of electricity scorching black marks into the ground, but Mōri ultimately neutralized it. Ever since being battered by Akutsu's Light Shot back in middle school, he had paid special attention to super sweet spot techniques.
At U-17, he had trained the skill relentlessly. While he still couldn't hit a Light Shot himself, normal Light Shots no longer fazed him—Sanada's lightning-infused variant was no different.
The scorched ball was driven back. Sanada spun twice on the spot, using the momentum to smash forward, the ball erupting into a massive pillar of fire that roared across the court.
"Attack like Fire!"
Mōri's hands, still numb from parrying the thunder strike, were blasted clean of his racket. Ochi frowned slightly at the sight, but said nothing. From the start, both Mōri and Sanada had shown an eagerness for head-on clashes, so Ochi simply let Mōri handle it while he covered the space.
"0-30!"
Still in Sleep Mode, Mōri wasted no time. He stepped to the baseline, tossed the ball high, and smashed down with blinding speed, sending it toward Sanada's left sideline.
Wreathed in sparks of lightning, Sanada teleported into position. Dark aura wrapped the bouncing ball as his racket lashed forward, blasting it across the net.
"Black Dragon Fourfold Slash!"
Sanada was now fully unleashed, throwing out one technique after another. Though it looked reckless, dragging the game into a singles rhythm, he was actually buying Atobe time to recover.
Mōri, relying purely on his sleeping instincts, ignored the first two refractions and reacted on the third, moving to intercept. Ochi had already noticed—Mōri's limit was only up to the Triple Slash.
As expected, the fourth refraction slipped past Mōri's racket, but it didn't escape Ochi. He intercepted smoothly and sent the ball flying back. Sanada instantly flashed in a bolt of lightning, both hands gripping his racket as he cleaved down.
"Move like Thunder!"
The ball crackled across the air in erratic lightning arcs, zigzagging toward the far court. Yet Mōri somehow "saw through" the attack, sprinting into the backcourt to intercept it precisely.
Sanada pressed on alone at the net, clashing fiercely against both Mōri and Ochi. His violent storm of offense reached its peak—until Ochi finally intervened. A single look froze Sanada for a split second, enough for the ball to slip past him and streak toward the baseline.
In that moment, countless ice crystals materialized around Ochi and Mōri. Atobe had silently appeared at the baseline, his eyes gleaming with chilling brilliance. He swung straight into one of the crystals.
"Atobe Kingdom!"
The ball tore past Mōri, cutting straight toward Ochi's right foot. Just as Ochi prepared to move, a sharp sting jolted through his body, forcing him still. The ball shattered an ice crystal and spun out of bounds.
"0-40!"
After losing the point, Ochi lifted his gaze. Across the court, Atobe stood drenched in sweat but wore a smug smile. For that one moment, he had broken free of Mental Assassination and unleashed Atobe Kingdom to claim the point.
Unfortunately, as soon as Ochi's eyes met his, the crushing pressure shook Atobe again. Still, the crescent shadow in his eyes was beginning to fade, proof he was fighting back against Mental Assassination with all his will.
When Mōri launched his fourth super high-speed serve, Sanada once more rushed the net and attacked with everything he had. But because he deliberately avoided Ochi's gaze, he gradually began to fall behind.
"If Atobe can't break free from Mental Assassination soon, Sanada alone won't last long!" Yukimura frowned on the bench.
"But Ochi-senpai's technique isn't so easy to escape from, and he keeps piling on the pressure!" Fuji replied with a grim face.
"Exactly. Ochi-senpai deliberately sends the ball to Sanada. On the surface, it looks like he's letting Mōri and Sanada play singles, but in reality, he's using Sanada to continuously force pressure onto Atobe behind him. That makes Atobe desperate to escape the effect and only more restless," Yanagi calmly analyzed.
"This match is already under Ochi-senpai's control. Now it's up to Atobe to see if he can claw out of his crisis. Puri~" Niō said with a sigh, watching the situation unfold.
"So this is the man who once led Hyōtei's name across the nation?" Hiyoshi swallowed hard, the weight of the captain's position he was about to inherit pressing down on him even more heavily.
'This feeling again… where have I felt it before? That's right, it's exactly the same as when I faced Akashi. But I am Atobe Keigo! Ore-sama's evolution has never stopped! Even you, Akashi, I will defeat with my own hands!' Atobe stood at the baseline, glancing toward Akashi at the side of the court as his thoughts churned.
At that moment, the ball slipped past Sanada's defense, slamming toward the center line. Behind Atobe, a vast starry sky suddenly unfurled, his aura surging sky-high. He leapt up and smashed down hard at the bouncing ball.
"I, ore-sama, won't be crushed by pressure! It only fuels my evolution! Atobe Kingdom!" he shouted arrogantly in midair.
The ball, wrapped in a rainbow glow, shot across the net toward Ochi's right side. Ochi stepped in to counter, swinging fast, but in the next instant his racket was blown straight from his hands, spinning out of bounds.
"Game! Second String Selection! 1-1!"
"Care to try your Mental Assassination again, Ochi-senpai?" Atobe sneered across the court after winning the game.
"Turning pressure into fuel? You truly are a worthy captain of Hyōtei," Ochi replied, his tone carrying an unusual softness.
The third game was Sanada's serve. After sending the ball out, the now-unshackled Atobe shifted into hyper-offense, while Sanada followed with his ultimate techniques without hesitation.
But aside from Black Dragon Fourfold Slash and Radiance of Cloud, Unhindered as the Void, every other move was easily dismantled by Mōri. With Ochi's guidance, their seamless switching of positions also blunted the effect of Atobe Kingdom.
The match suddenly flowed back into proper doubles, with both sides clashing fiercely. In terms of chemistry, Mōri and Ochi far outstripped Atobe and Sanada. But in raw attack power, Atobe and Sanada clearly had the edge.
"15-0!"
"15-15!"
"15-30!"
"30-30!"
"40-30!"
The score rose and fell as their exchanges intensified. In Sleep Mode, Mōri showed off his powerful intercepts at the net, while Ochi in Full Moon Mode kept forcing sudden eye contact from the backcourt, making Atobe and Sanada freeze for that crucial instant.
When Sanada sent a Swift as the Wind serve, Mōri countered with a sharp crosscourt, the ball spinning wildly toward the baseline. Sanada flickered into place, his racket intercepting. The ball's spin and force instantly weakened, sticking strangely on his strings. Sanada gave it a light push, sending it floating across the net.
"Calm as the Forest!"
Just as the ball cleared the net and was about to drop, Ochi appeared at the net, lifting it up with his racket. But the next instant, Atobe appeared opposite, smashing it down hard.
The familiar explosive shockwave burst outward, the ball pounding toward the ground with crushing force. Mōri's body, guided by instinct, flashed into place to meet it, but his racket was blown clean away.
"Ice Emperor!"
"Game! Second String Selection! 2-1!"