In the third game, Fuji served as usual, opening with his invisible serve.
"Little Fuji, I've found a way to crack this shot. That trick is useless against me now!"
As Mori spoke, he swung his racket effortlessly, returning the invisible serve that had given so many players headaches.
"As expected from you, Mori-senpai!"
Fuji easily returned Mori's shot, and the two were locked in another grueling rally. The third game stretched even longer - a full twenty minutes. Thanks to his serving advantage, Fuji managed to claim the game.
"If Mori-senpai continues fighting Fuji Shusuke like this, Yamabuki's probability of winning reaches eighty-four percent!"
Based on all the data he'd collected, Yanagi calculated Yamabuki's chances.
"Trust Mori-senpai. He won't let us down."
Yukimura spoke with unwavering confidence.
On the court, Mori glanced toward Rikkaidai's rest area, then turned to Fuji and said:
"Little Fuji, I'm sorry, but for Rikkaidai's victory, I'm going to use my ultimate technique next!"
"I'm looking forward to seeing your move, Mori-senpai!"
Fuji opened his eyes wide with anticipation.
In the fourth game, as soon as Mori served, he closed his eyes and appeared to fall asleep.
"There it is - that technique!"
Atobe glared at Mori through gritted teeth. That unconventional move had been his downfall.
Looking at Fuji on the court, since Sengoku had warned him beforehand to watch out for the sleeping Mori, Fuji remained completely alert.
Before closing his eyes, Mori's serve had been quite ordinary and easily returned by Fuji. But after closing his eyes, Mori's returns became incomparably sharp.
Though Mori appeared to be sleeping, the power and precision of his shots exceeded even his conscious state.
More importantly, Mori's defense became impeccable while "sleeping." He could catch and return any type of shot.
"Sengoku, you're the only one who's faced Mori before. Tell us what it was like during your match."
"Sure thing, Coach."
Seeing Coach Banji ask about his experience against Mori, Sengoku nodded in agreement.
"Mori-senpai's technique is called 'Sleep,' but it's not the same as actually sleeping. It means closing your eyes, emptying your mind, removing all distracting thoughts, and letting your body take control of everything."
"Mori-senpai's combat ability rises dramatically in his 'Sleep' state. Through pure physical reaction, he can handle any tricky shot and execute powerful techniques."
"When I played against 'Sleeping' Mori-senpai in the Kanto Tournament, my biggest feeling was helplessness. No matter what I tried, he could easily counter it."
Sengoku recalled his Kanto Tournament experience and shared all his observations.
"I call Mori's state 'natural instinct.' Let the body return to its most natural condition and trust everything to physical response. The stronger the body, the more powerful the natural state becomes. Even Tezuka would face a tough battle against Mori in this condition."
"We understand, Coach."
The Yamabuki players nodded to show their comprehension.
"Fuji, if you were facing anyone else, you'd be in serious danger. But fighting Mori is actually perfect for you - after all, you have a technique similar to his."
Coach Banji looked at Fuji on the court with this thought.
In the fourth game, with the help of "Sleep," Mori finished in less than three minutes - a stark contrast to the grueling rallies of the previous games.
"Mori-senpai's 'Sleep' is truly powerful. I'm no match for him in my normal state."
Fuji observed Mori, whose eyes remained closed.
"But Mori-senpai, I also have a technique very similar to yours."
A faint smile crossed Fuji's face. At the start of the fifth game, after serving, Fuji closed his eyes as well.
"What are these two doing?"
"Why did he close his eyes too?"
"Is this still tennis?"
Seeing Fuji also close his eyes, the audience began whispering. This was beyond strange.
"Here comes Fuji's ultimate technique - Mind's Eye!"
When Mori had closed his eyes, Conan had felt the move seemed familiar, as if he'd seen it somewhere before. Watching Fuji close his eyes, Conan remembered - back when he was still aboard the Bamboo Staff, facing pressure from Tezuka, Fuji had broken through his limits and created the Mind's Eye.
Close your eyes, rely purely on intuition and memory, focus all attention. You can execute unexpected shots and return seemingly impossible balls. This was the Mind's Eye.
Though both had closed their eyes, Fuji and Mori were in completely different states. One closed his eyes to maximize concentration, while the other emptied his body and mind to follow pure instinct.
"Did Fuji have a hidden technique when he competed against me?"
In the audience, Shiraishi seemed lost in thought watching Fuji's closed eyes.
Actually, Fuji hadn't been deliberately hiding it back then - he'd simply consumed too much stamina in that match to enter the Mind's Eye state. Now in this game, Fuji's physical reserves were still sufficient to support this advanced technique.
An extraordinary spectacle unfolded on the court. Both Fuji and Mori had their eyes closed, yet they battled fiercely against each other.
If Eiji's acrobatic tennis looked superhuman, Fuji and Mori's current display was even more so. In a slightly more normal world, both might have been dragged away for scientific study.
"Waaaaaaaa!"
"Brother Gustave, I want to learn this! Anya wants to learn how to play tennis with her eyes closed while sleeping!"
Anya was incredibly excited seeing the two players compete with closed eyes. Sleeping - wasn't that her specialty? She'd never expected you could play tennis while asleep. Anya's tennis career suddenly seemed full of possibilities.
"Ah? You want to learn this? That might be a bit difficult..."
Gustave scratched his head. Though Fuji and Mori looked like they were sleeping, they weren't actually asleep at all!
Seeing Anya's expectant expression, Gustave couldn't refuse and could only say:
"I'll take you to ask about it when I have time, then."
"Mm-hmm!"
Anya nodded excitedly, eagerly anticipating the day she could play tennis even in her sleep.
After Mori entered "Sleep" mode, people had expected the game to end quickly. However, with Fuji also closing his eyes and using his Mind's Eye to counter Sleep, the rallies resumed with even greater intensity.
The time these two spent in each exchange exceeded any previous game in the tournament.
The crowd watched in stunned silence as impossible shots flew back and forth between two players operating purely on instinct and intuition. Neither player seemed to miss - every ball somehow found its way back across the net, defying conventional tennis logic.
"This is incredible," Inui muttered, frantically scribbling notes. "How do you collect data on players who aren't even consciously thinking about their shots?"
"You don't," Yanagi replied from Rikkaidai's bench, equally mesmerized. "This transcends data tennis entirely."
The fifth game stretched on and on, with both players locked in a battle that seemed to exist outside normal time and space. The scoreboard showed they'd been playing this single game for over thirty minutes, yet neither showed signs of fatigue or weakness in their otherworldly states.
"Brother Gustave," Yang Chan tugged on his sleeve, "they look like they're dancing instead of fighting."
She was right. Despite the fierce competition, there was an almost choreographed beauty to their movements - two masters performing at the very peak of their abilities, pushing each other to heights neither could reach alone.