(The third chapter is here~ I finally get a day off, but it looks like I won't be able to go out on my days off from now on o(╯□╰)o)
"Bring it on!"
"Atobe!"
"I'll beat you head-on!"
Screeeech~~~
The yellow-and-white soles of his shoes scraped continuously against the ground, making a harsh sound.
Watching Atobe smash the ball down, Muneyoshi's expression didn't change in the slightest. He calmly calculated where the ball would land.
Just as Atobe was about to score,
Muneyoshi pursued the ball's landing point with pinpoint accuracy, quickened his steps slightly, then turned sideways and pulled the ball back.
After returning the shot, Muneyoshi didn't stop. His eyes burning, he continued charging toward the net.
He had shown that same forward momentum
many times in their earlier matches, so Atobe wasn't surprised.
However, Atobe, who should have been charging toward the net himself, stopped right then.
"Hahahaha! Finally... I've got you!"
Atobe, who had been bracing himself on his knees, suddenly burst into laughter. Then he straightened up, his brows drawing together.
His eyes, as still as a tranquil lake, fixed on the ball Muneyoshi had returned.
Without a hint of change in his calm, composed expression,
he stopped, stepped sideways,
drew back his racket, and swung.
Thwack!
With a sharp crack, Atobe caught the speeding ball by dragging his racket to absorb its force, then returned it with a slice that added another layer of spin.
"Saeki, you're the one who pushed me to improve. Let me show you my new technique!"
Atobe was positively cocky now.
"Atobe, I'm watching..."
Tap, tap, thump—
Muneyoshi paid no mind to Atobe's boast. His footsteps were perfectly steady.
He took a few more strides and ran straight toward where the ball was going to land.
But as he watched Muneyoshi chase down the ball, a strange smile spread across Atobe's lips.
Thwack!
Thump!
The two figures crossed back and forth, each scoring in turn. The match grew ever more intense.
Atobe was still wary of Muneyoshi's stunning drive from their last match.
So from then on, he mostly kept to the baseline, trading shots with Saeki Muneyoshi.
As he returned Atobe's backhand shot to the baseline, Muneyoshi furrowed his brow.
He sensed something was off. Atobe, who had been relentlessly attacking and trading shots with him, had suddenly grown quiet.
He'd abandoned his earlier attacks at the net and switched to low, long shots from the baseline, drawing Muneyoshi into rallies as if preparing something.
Muneyoshi considered it. He still couldn't figure out what Atobe was doing, so he decided to wait and see.
Thwack!
Another long shot to the baseline.
"Hm?!"
Just as Muneyoshi was about to move, a dull ache suddenly flared in his right knee, making his body falter.
Muneyoshi was briefly startled, but quickly regained his composure and forced down the sense that something was wrong.
But in that instant, Atobe scored.
"30–0."
"What was that just now?!"
Muneyoshi pulled back the foot he'd just stepped forward with. The sudden loss of coordination had left him no time to reach the ball.
It was also the only shot in the match that had gone beyond his calculations.
Muneyoshi's gaze sharpened. He quietly studied Atobe's solemn expression, as if trying to see through the mystery of that shot.
After looking Atobe over, Muneyoshi returned to the service line.
Having trained scientifically since childhood, he understood his own body far better than most people.
As far as he was concerned, the momentary problem with his knee had definitely not been a coincidence.
It must have been Atobe's doing.
What could it be?
Has he already begun to evolve ahead of schedule?
Saeki Muneyoshi's gaze shifted as he carefully watched every one of Atobe's movements.
Thwack!
Another low shot aimed at his body, and the two of them were soon locked in another baseline rally.
One shot, two shots... ten shots later...
It's happening again.
Muneyoshi frowned. Once more, he felt something wrong with his knee. His body seemed to lock up, and he could only watch as the ball slipped past the tip of his racket.
A few seconds later, everything returned to normal. Muneyoshi straightened up, his smile gone, and fixed Atobe with another long look.
Looks like I was right. This is Atobe's doing.
Atobe's lips curled into a smile. "Saeki, looks like you've figured it out?"
Muneyoshi knew Atobe's skills and abilities very well, of course.
But many of them weren't supposed to emerge until his third year—or even his time at U17. Atobe was only in his first year now.
At this age, he was certainly strong, one of the top players in the Kanto region.
But to Muneyoshi, who had already fully entered the national level and was still advancing beyond it, Atobe wasn't all that impressive.
And yet the Atobe he'd never paid much attention to had just taken two points from him in a row.
And before I knew it, I'd fallen into Atobe's rhythm. Muneyoshi couldn't help admiring Atobe's tactical sense on the court.
I really can't afford to underestimate these geniuses!
Thump. Another beautiful drop shot. Muneyoshi returned it without any trouble.
But Atobe had already anticipated that. He was standing right in front of the ball, barely moving as he reached out with his right hand.
He drew back his racket and swung in one fluid motion!
Thwack!
The ball shot away at incredible speed with an unusually muffled sound.
The moment he saw the ball coming, Muneyoshi—who had been keeping his eyes fixed on Atobe's movements—stiffened.
"What is this?!"
Seeing Muneyoshi's startled expression, Atobe let out a wild laugh. "Ahahahahahaha..."
Atobe laughed louder and louder, more and more brazenly, until his whole body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Hahahaha... It's done... This king has finally... finally... done it!"
"Saeki! Your weaknesses and blind spots are laid bare before these eyes of mine! Have you made peace with the fact that you're going to lose?"
Weaknesses and blind spots laid bare... Muneyoshi steadied himself. It seemed Atobe really had evolved.
His Insight, which would eventually be like X-rays, had already begun to show results.
And that wasn't all. Atobe's eyesight had evolved beyond simply spotting weaknesses. "Let's see your blind spots, Saeki!"
An ice pillar radiating a bone-chilling cold stretched from Atobe's side of the court into Muneyoshi's.
The chill instantly slowed Muneyoshi's movements. The ice pillar pierced into his side of the court, landing somewhere he couldn't possibly reach with the skill he'd shown so far.
As the cold gathered around him, his body felt as if it had been frozen in place. He couldn't take even a single step.
"Crack!"
Crystalline shards of ice scattered in every direction, glittering brilliantly in the sunlight.
Tap... tap... tap...
Only when the ball rolled lazily to his feet did Muneyoshi realize that he hadn't been able to react to Atobe's return at all.
Is this my blind spot?
Muneyoshi didn't panic. Instead, he closed his eyes and recalled the strange sensation he'd just experienced, contemplating Atobe's unusual use of Qi.
"What a fascinating use of Qi!"
Watching Atobe's brazen grin, Muneyoshi spoke calmly.
"Different people use Qi in different ways. But generally speaking, Qi is the sum of a person's will, their character, their determination, and their belief in victory—in other words, things that are difficult to describe concretely, yet truly exist."
Seeing Atobe's smile slowly fade as he listened, though still seeming unsure what Muneyoshi meant, Muneyoshi continued:
"Qi is the key to entering the national level."
"And now, you hold that key, Atobe!"
Before you continue