"That was a great topspin smash. The power and spin were far beyond what I'd imagined. You really are something, Tezuka."
At the net, Muneyoshi swung his arm up and down once, then spoke calmly as he looked at Tezuka's back.
"But since Tezuka's already made his move, I can't afford to fall behind."
Tezuka said nothing in response. He only nodded and continued serving.
"Thwack... thwack... thwack!"
The sound of the ball bouncing stopped. Tezuka tightened his grip on the yellow ball, tossed it up, jumped, drew back his racket, and struck.
A perfect airborne overhead serve, its motion almost identical to Muneyoshi's, came from Tezuka's racket.
Thump!
The yellow streak shot toward Muneyoshi's side of the court.
Once again, it landed at the corner of the service box, right on the baseline at the edge of the court.
Only someone supremely confident in his accuracy would dare attempt a serve like that.
Muneyoshi knew Tezuka's style well. He knew how much Tezuka favored the corners.
After all, hitting every ball into those two spots required exceptional control.
But serves aimed at the edge of the baseline near the corner and the far corner of the service box were naturally dangerous.
That didn't trouble Muneyoshi.
Whoosh!
Muneyoshi's silver-white hair glinted brilliantly in the sunlight.
His brown eyes were cold. By the time the ball dropped, he had already reached the right position to return it.
Thwack!
He swung hard with his forehand. The ball shot straight back with a crisp crack.
Under Muneyoshi's precise control,
it landed near the sideline on Tezuka's left half, forcing Tezuka to run after it.
Thwack!
Thump!
Thwack!
Tezuka and Muneyoshi launched into a fierce rally, trading shots at tremendous speed.
The sidelines, corners, centerline, net, and baseline—there wasn't a spot on the court where they didn't appear.
The fierce battle showed no sign of letting up. The two kept returning each other's shots and racing around without pause, leaving Akutsu Jin stunned.
Without thinking, he gripped the railing beside the court so tightly it creaked.
The intense back-and-forth made the match more and more thrilling.
"So this is how strong they are?"
Watching the two locked in a stalemate, Akutsu's face twisted into a grimace.
They had already traded dozens of shots, yet neither had scored.
Muneyoshi, of course, had noticed.
Suddenly, he changed tactics, sending the ball toward the left corner to draw Tezuka into chasing it. Then he used the chance to move up to the net.
From there, he could hit into the open space on Tezuka's right, left empty as Tezuka chased the ball.
But Muneyoshi had his strategy, and Tezuka had his own confidence.
A low hum...
At some point, a halo rose around Tezuka, and wisps of swirling air flowed toward where he stood.
"That's... the Tezuka Zone!"
"Damn it!"
In the instant Saeki Muneyoshi faltered in frustration, a straight ray of golden light arced gracefully through the air.
Thwack!
Tezuka countered with a slice. As he returned the ball, Saeki Muneyoshi noticed that just before the shot, Tezuka's elbow had dropped 3.2 centimeters lower than it did for his usual slice.
He guessed what was coming and immediately stopped chasing the ball.
It was a Zero-Shiki Slice.
Just as he'd expected, the ball hit the ground without bouncing and slowly rolled back toward the net.
Tezuka Zone + Zero-Shiki Slice!
Muneyoshi felt a powerful pressure bearing down on him.
"30–0."
The tennis ball traced another arc as it flew in front of Tezuka.
"40–0."
Thwack!
Another, thicker beam of golden light streaked past Saeki Muneyoshi's backhand at the baseline.
"Game, Tezuka Kunimitsu leads, 1–0. Change sides."
"My, my. Tezuka really is something. No matter who he's facing, he takes them seriously and never lets his guard down. There's no opening to exploit!"
As they changed sides, the two crossed paths. Muneyoshi felt a little troubled.
He'd tried several approaches, but Tezuka hadn't fallen for any of them. And no matter how tricky the angle, the Tezuka Zone always drew the ball right back in front of Tezuka.
Powerful!
Pressure!
Tezuka had given Muneyoshi everything he wanted.
"Saeki, let me see your tennis. Give it everything you've got!"
Tezuka's expression didn't change at Muneyoshi's words. He simply looked at Saeki Muneyoshi, calm and resolute.
"If that's what you want, then I'll give it to you!"
A faint smile lifted Saeki Muneyoshi's lips. This was the Tezuka he knew. A flash of excitement crossed his eyes and vanished. He put away his smile and prepared to serve.
"My chance to break through is going to come from you, Tezuka!"
"Give me a little more pressure! Scorching Sun Tinder, start burning!"
Muneyoshi focused his mind and unleashed his immense mental strength, a power that almost no one his age could match except Yukimura Seiichi.
Though he hadn't learned any other skills since arriving in the Prince of Tennis world, he had spent years exploring and had developed a system of his own.
Scorching Sun Tinder was one way of using mental strength.
Compared to a video game character's abilities, it was like a passive skill.
It could only take effect against a powerful opponent, and it could keep stacking during a match. Once it reached five games or more,
it could exert tremendous mental pressure on his opponent. As the tinder built up, it also increased the penetration and spin speed of his shots.
But this technique didn't work on everyone. Only opponents stronger than him gave it room to take effect.
This was only the second time he'd used it. The first had been in fifth grade, during a practice match with a third-year senior from Rokkaku Middle School.
That time, it had raised his five-stat total above 15 by the end of the match. He'd been weak for over a month afterward, but it had all been worth it.
This time, as he used the technique again, his target was the national tournament!
Thump... thump...
Muneyoshi bounced the ball slowly. Then, with a sharp smack, he caught the pale yellow ball in his hand. He steadied himself, focused, and slowly raised his right hand.
But Muneyoshi didn't serve right away. He paused for a second as mental energy surged through his mind like a cool stream.
He seemed to see a tiny flame, and for a moment, it felt as though he and the flame had become one.
In an instant!
Muneyoshi's brown eyes snapped open!
"This pressure is giving me a feeling I've never experienced before!"
"Scorching Sun Burn!"
In Muneyoshi's eyes, everything around him seemed to be engulfed in flames.
The flames were still weak, but as the games went on and his strength grew, they would one day sweep across the entire world.
There was no breeze or color in that space, only boundless darkness and a single flickering flame illuminating it.
Everything on the court seemed frozen. Tezuka was motionless, and the tennis ball had stopped as well.
It was as if time itself had been suspended.
In that moment, only the burning flame and his own body could move.
Whoosh!
While everything remained still, Muneyoshi swung his racket.
In an instant!
The pale yellow ball became a streak of light and flashed away!
To Tezuka, the ball didn't seem especially fast. But the moment he tried to move, he felt a stinging heat, as if flames were scorching him.
That hesitation and misjudgment left him unable to make his body respond, no matter how hard he tried.
He could only watch as the ball flashed past him.
Muneyoshi's counterattack had begun.
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