Treading Fire Chasing Sun

Bang!

"Tezuka Kunimitsu, score is 4-3."

Bang!

"Tezuka Kunimitsu, score is 5-3."

Even though the match was nearing its end, Tezuka showed no hesitation or relaxation. With a flick of his arm, the State of Selflessness once again shone, and he tossed the tennis ball back up with his wrist.

The next instant.

Bang!

It was still a perfect serve, combining technique and power.

"15-0."

"Whew... Ha, Tezuka, your tennis skills and system are truly a perfect fusion with yourself."

Saeki Muneyoshi shook his head. The difficulty of defeating Tezuka now was not just a little bit.

However, the pressure Tezuka applied was already enough!

Besides, his goal wasn't simply to win. He wouldn't give up until the very last moment.

Thump thump...

His feet pounded out a series of afterimages. A cold glint flickered in Saeki Muneyoshi's eyes as his mind calmly and rapidly processed information.

Currently, and even moving forward, the core of Tezuka's tennis system had always been the Tezuka Zone.

Whether it was the countless repetitions of the Double Rebound, or all the Zero Series developed later.

They were all designed to help him control the match's rhythm and ultimately score points after using the Tezuka Zone.

Therefore...

To defeat Tezuka, one had to break through his Tezuka Zone, which was like a turtle shell.

Since he had found a way, it wasn't Saeki Muneyoshi's style to not try it.

The corners of his lips curled up slightly. All his mental energy surged out, crackling.

A sound like burning flames emanated from his side of the court.

"It's time. If I wait any longer, it'll be too late. Detonate!"

Sss...

His foot slipped, and Saeki Muneyoshi pulled his body to the side. An endless fiery light seemed to dance in his eyes.

His immense mental energy was instantly ignited, and the entire court felt like it had fallen into a furnace.

The fiercely burning mental energy made Tezuka's expression turn serious.

He also noticed Muneyoshi's actions, knowing that his opponent was about to use some kind of move!

"Treading Fire Chasing Sun!"

At this moment, Saeki Muneyoshi's footwork was incredibly fast, catching up to a ball that Tezuka thought should have been a point.

He twisted the firm and thick muscles of his arm, creating several sharp angles, and then swung powerfully at the bouncing tennis ball.

Bang!

With an explosive sound, a backhand shot sent the tennis ball like a beam of light shooting out towards Tezuka's half of the court, straight into his blind spot.

Unfortunately, this shot was still within the pulling range of the Tezuka Zone.

Bang!

The tennis ball flew back, once again smashing heavily into Muneyoshi's court.

Just as Tezuka thought he was about to score, Muneyoshi's figure reappeared at the ball's landing spot.

"Treading Fire Chasing Sun!"

"Explode!"

Crackle!

Tezuka, whose mind was intensely focused, saw his vision blur. A bright yellow flame flashed across Saeki Muneyoshi's half of the court.

Thump!

A sharp, crisp sound reached his ears, and the net in the center of the court swayed slightly.

The tennis ball, unexpectedly, had slightly escaped the pull of the Tezuka Zone, bouncing out 30 centimeters outside of Tezuka's attack range.

Looking at the still slightly swaying net, Tezuka was also a little dazed.

This was the first time he had encountered an opponent who could directly break the pull of his Tezuka Zone.

He glanced at the still-swaying net.

Based on his experience of playing eight games against Muneyoshi, Tezuka, after a brief moment of thought, understood how Muneyoshi had achieved this.

Mental energy and reverse rotation, combined with Muneyoshi's intentional net touch, created an explosion.

Tezuka was well aware of the rotation aspect; Muneyoshi had already showcased it in several games during their previous exchanges.

Saeki Muneyoshi was also skilled at manipulating spin.

It wasn't surprising he could do this.

Using the net touch to cancel out some of the spin was a reasonable maneuver.

But why did his mental energy suddenly surge again?

Tezuka felt deeply confused and relieved.

"15-15."

"I really can't afford to be careless for even a moment!"

Tezuka felt it was incredibly fortunate to play against Saeki Muneyoshi just before entering junior high.

Not only did his opponent offer a completely different tennis system, but he also pointed out the current flaws in Tezuka's game.

Moreover, the pressure he felt in that instant made him aware of a crisis; this feeling of his whole body trembling was wonderful.

Tezuka's poker face, unchanged for years, finally showed a flicker of emotion.

Was it recognition of his opponent?

Conversely, Muneyoshi wasn't feeling great either.

Treading Fire Chasing Sun was the only defensive skill he had developed, and it was most effective against opponents with formidable strength.

Only their powerful skill could make Muneyoshi feel immense pressure.

At this point, ordinary methods were insufficient for a return, forcing him to sacrifice one aspect of his Five Dimensions and transfer it to another.

This was the only cheat his golden finger could provide: a sacrifice and increase, though the magnitude was minuscule.

For example, in the previous return, Tezuka's powerful counter, with its added spin, force, and speed.

And the spin targeting the Tezuka Zone were all things he couldn't easily return, having already reached his limit.

Therefore, to return that shot, he sacrificed 0.5 strength and 0.5 stamina, increasing his technique and mental energy, bringing his mental energy dimension to 5 points.

His technique also reached 4 points, resulting in a significant, instantaneous improvement in his displayed strength.

His technique was already good.

A month ago, when playing against Fuji, who was adept at returning spin shots, he had sealed Fuji's Returning Swallow after just one instance, preventing Fuji from hitting another return shot for the entire match.

He was already skilled with spin, and with his technique now breaking through, he couldn't say he could completely nullify Tezuka's added spin, but he could cause interference.

He could make the ball, which should have flown to his forecourt due to the Tezuka Zone, land prematurely.

Combined with his mental energy reaching 5, he could finally use the effects of Scorching Sun Tinder and Treading Fire Chasing Sun together.

Igniting the Tinder, he unleashed the power accumulated over several games.

Then, using the spin of his racket, he forcibly nullified or wore down any of the opponent's techniques to return the shot.

At this moment, Saeki Muneyoshi became incredibly dangerous.

The illusion, which had been dormant for several games, could reappear.

Muneyoshi's strength, at this moment, finally broke through to the national level, thanks to the immense pressure Tezuka provided.

On the court.

The match became extremely intense. Originally, Tezuka was only one game away from victory, needing just two more points.

However, Saeki Muneyoshi's bottom-out explosion had directly shattered that idea.

Bang!

He broke through the pull of the Tezuka Zone once again, and the tennis ball flew out of bounds.

"5-4."

Tezuka quickly adapted to Muneyoshi's burst of power, showing no signs of holding back.

At this point, there was no more probing; it was purely a clash of spirit and willpower, neither wanting to lose to the other.

"Here it comes, the final point."

Moving rapidly along the baseline, Muneyoshi slipped slightly, and with a swing of his racket, the tennis ball shot back with sharp ferocity.

Sssshhh.

Air currents, like a vortex, reappeared on the court. The Tezuka Zone took effect once more, but even Tezuka's temples were beaded with sweat.

Swish!

His left foot drew another arc in front of him, and Tezuka sliced the tennis ball, which had been drawn close to him, diagonally back.

"The ball's power has become even heavier!"

As he felt the power of Tezuka's counterattacks growing stronger, Muneyoshi's premonition of impending doom intensified.

The drawbacks of continuously using Treading Fire Chasing Sun and igniting fire seeds were beginning to manifest.

Using such a method meant that Muneyoshi was completely exposed.

He had to defeat his opponent quickly and absolutely avoid a protracted battle.

Otherwise, if the fight dragged on, he would become weakened.

The Five Dimensions that were sacrificed to increase certain attributes would be truly lost, and the temporarily added Five Dimensions would also drop.

Although it was equivalent to breaking through a bottleneck, and he could regain it with time, it would also allow his Five Dimensions to advance further once he trained them back due to this breakthrough. However, this period of weakness would not be short.

Feeling his body grow heavier and his spirit wane, Muneyoshi sensed that victory was slipping further away from him.

A new book really needs collections and recommendations, right?

I don't really understand it myself, but thank you all for your support.