World-Level Showdown
The golden light enveloped the tennis ball that Akutsu had hit. Muneyoshi slashed with his left arm, and the unremarkable black and red racket swiftly struck the dazzling ball. ♖👤 ♔😾
In an instant!
A burst of golden light, sending shivers down everyone's spines, erupted instantly, causing the surface of the stadium to tremble slightly.
A surge of air erupted.
The tennis ball made a rather sharp hissing sound before shooting towards Akutsu.
"Tch, Shining Shot? That's no problem for me!"
With a whooshing gust of wind, Akutsu's body moved swiftly toward the tennis ball.
Akutsu's lips curled into a cold smile.
As he charged forward, the aura emanating from his body continued to expand.
Sizzle!
A dazzling golden light also erupted from his palm, but compared to Muneyoshi's pure light, Akutsu's golden light contained more blood-red and grayish-white hues.
Bang!
The tennis ball landed, bursting with golden light, but only for a fleeting moment before its power was fully unleashed.
Swish!
He darted to the point where the tennis ball would land, and scooped it up from below with a racket with a silver-white frame.
Akutsu's muscular arm produced a sharp, whistling sound as the silver-rimmed racket was imbued with a thick layer of golden and blood-red aura.
Boom!
A completely different Shining Shot erupted from Akutsu's racket.
A cloud of dust suddenly billowed outwards from both sides of his body, and tiny cracks appeared on the ground beneath his feet.
"Aaaaaah~"
Akutsu let out a roar, seemingly breaking away from his previous "weak" self when facing Muneyoshi's attacks.
"Get over here! Here you go!"
BOOM!!
The stadium shook again, and a noticeable crater appeared on the ground. Amidst the billowing dust, Akutsu's figure stood resolutely.
"Akutsu, what are you trying to show off for? You don't actually think you can score with an attack like that!"
Thump!
Enveloped in light, the Light Ball undulating in an arc was easily caught by Muneyoshi, who then hurled it back at an even faster speed. 👽♛ 🐸♡
"Hehehe, what nonsense are you talking about? I've been waiting for your attack!"
Sizzle!
A simple, minimalist gray-white aura, enveloped in golden light, pressed down on Muneyoshi once again with unstoppable force.
The two sides launched such an astonishing offensive right from the start that the audience, who had been debating which side had a higher chance of winning, were completely stunned.
"Akutsu's evolution is incredibly fast. From the very first ball, he was already able to Shining Shot with Akutsu Saeki Muneyoshi."
The light in his eyes was palpable, and his tone was full of admiration for Akutsu.
In this competition that completely transcends the level of junior high school students and surpasses the National Level, Akutsu has not fallen behind, at least for now.
However, engaging in continuous Shining Shot is an extreme test of leg strength, eyesight, mental fortitude, and judgment.
Saeki Muneyoshi was already at that level, and Akutsu's ability to adapt so quickly once again shattered his understanding of Akutsu.
Even Fuji and Tezuka started discussing it at this moment.
"Tezuka, what do you think about this match...?"
Fuji, his eyes now fully open, turned to look at Tezuka beside him, his tone incredibly serious. "Do you think Akutsu has any hope of winning?"
Tezuka also abandoned his usual indifferent demeanor, his gaze becoming somewhat intense as he stared intently at the audience, barely blinking.
After hearing Fuji's question, Tezuka paused for a moment before replying, "Akutsu's strength is now on par with mine. If he can't win, then neither can I!"
"Huh... Saeki Muneyoshi."
Fuji wasn't surprised by Tezuka's answer, but he did feel a sense of defeat.
Akutsu and Tezuka's strength had already widened the gap between him and Tezuka, while his improvement had almost stagnated.
Just as Fuji was lost in thought...
Swish!
A black figure suddenly leaped up from in front of the net, its perfectly outstretched arm resembling that of a ruthless swordsman.
The black shockwave swallowed the golden light, and Akutsu's Shining Shot was annihilated.
Saeki Muneyoshi leaped high into the air, a glint of light flashed in his eyes. Time seemed to slow down at that moment, Akutsu's next move was completely observed by Muneyoshi.
"I won this round, Glowing Flame - Fireworks!"
Muneyoshi wore a confident smile; he was still in mid-air, but his words carried weight.
"Can Akutsu withstand this attack?" Fuji's eyes widened slightly, his azure pupils filled with seriousness.
Strands of spiritual energy began to gather, and a rich, purplish-black light overflowed from his fingertips.
Bang!
Muneyoshi swung his arm violently, swinging his racket.
A streak of purplish-black Glowing Flame, like a firework, leaped from the net of his racket, flew into Akutsu and Momoshiro Takeshi, and exploded instantly.
It transformed into ten shattered flames that fell in all directions.
Upon seeing Akutsu lowered his gaze and unleashed a powerful surge of spiritual energy.
Trying to find the real tennis ball.
But why didn't Muneyoshi cover up this flaw?
Each shattered sphere was enveloped in a mass of purplish-black spiritual energy, making it impossible to distinguish between the real and the fake.
"Since I can't tell the difference, then I'll send them all back to you..."
After a brief attempt, Akutsu made his own judgment. He raised his arm, and the grayish-white aura expanded again, accompanied by a trace of blood-red light that began to spread.
With his significantly improved foundation, several afterimages of Akutsu suddenly appeared on the field.
"That's fast!"
In the Fudomine rest area, Kamio Akira's heart sank slightly upon seeing this.
However, this sudden burst of speed had no effect; Akutsu's speed was not fast enough, and the tennis ball flew directly out of his backcourt.
"Game! Fudomine doubles team scores, score 1-0."
"Change venues!"
Not enough! Far from enough!
Thinking of Saeki Muneyoshi's condition during his match against Echizen Ryoga, and Byōdōin's seemingly maddened state during last year's expedition.
Akutsu's face grew increasingly ferocious, and his aura became more and more dangerous.
"Heh heh, I'll definitely beat you back with every single one of your moves!"
When it was Ibu Shinji's turn to serve, his serve posed no threat to Akutsu, but the rules of doubles don't always allow Akutsu to receive the ball.
However, when it was Akutsu's turn to retaliate, his attack was wild and fierce, a mid-air interception without a trace of fancy moves.
Bang!
With a muffled thud, a pale shockwave emanated from his racket face, but Muneyoshi immediately saw the blood and danger hidden within the tennis ball.
Thump!
The tennis ball lands on the ground.
It was like a giant rock crashing down, causing cracks to appear on the ground again, and the tennis ball shot up in a cloud of dust.
Tap tap tap...
However, Muneyoshi, who had prepared in advance, was not affected in any way.
Muneyoshi leaned forward quickly, and in the blink of an eye, he was right above the point where the tennis ball landed.
Bang!
With his right hand flashing through the purplish-black light, Muneyoshi raised his left hand and pulled, his arm swinging in a smooth arc. Even this powerful, unconventional Shining Shot attack could not stop his movements in the slightest.
Falling Bright!
Then Muneyoshi swung his racket, and a black wave of air swept out, the tennis ball almost grazing the white edge of the middle net, heading straight towards Akutsu's baseline in the backcourt.
After passing through the net, the black gusts of air rose higher and higher, and the air mass grew larger and larger.
"Give me your full strength, Saeki Muneyoshi!"
However, this did not frighten Akutsu. On the contrary, Akutsu was very angry because Muneyoshi did not use his full strength, and a solemn low shout came from his mouth.
After seeing Muneyoshi's attack path, Akutsu quickly turned back and returned to the backcourt. He pressed his right foot down diagonally, almost falling to the ground.
With the tennis match approaching, Akutsu's superior physical abilities propelled him into the air.
This bizarre posture caused his swinging racket to land precisely in the middle of the trajectory of the tennis ball's afterimage.
A pale aura outlined a blood-red shadow behind him, and the racket in his hand, like a steel blade, forcefully pierced into the air mass, firmly locking the tennis ball in the middle of the net.
Bang!
Crimson and golden light tore through the darkness once more, the tennis ball landing squarely in front of Saeki Muneyoshi.
"Alright, Akutsu, now you're worthy of me showing you some of my strength!"
A light laugh, tinged with commentary and amusement, escaped Muneyoshi's lips, yet Akutsu remained unperturbed by his words.
His gaze was fixed on Muneyoshi's movements. He saw Muneyoshi's arm turn ninety degrees and his racket decisively slash downwards.
Bang!
The sky seemed to darken as the tennis ball transformed into a black thread, faster than Akutsu could react, bypassing his defense and crashing straight into his baseline.
"Chaotic Flower Burial!"
"Game, Fudomine Saeki Muneyoshi and Ibu Shinji score, score 3-0."
P. S.: I'm rushing to catch a flight and I'm so tired. I wrote for a while at the airport. Please vote with your monthly tickets!
I finished the last things for my business trip on the morning of the 27th, and then I had to catch a flight in the afternoon. First, I went from Xiangyin to Changsha, and then waited for my flight. I shouldn't get home until the early morning of the 28th.
So I wrote for a while at Huanghua Airport, and then added what I wrote yesterday, so there are only two chapters today. I'll go back and rest for a few days, including the New Year's Day holiday, and I'll start adding more chapters for everyone tomorrow.
Double monthly tickets will be available starting on the 29th, so please give them to me. I'll add extra chapters during my few days off if I meet the demand. I always keep my word.
Of course, I can have double if you have it today! Thank you!