Cut off the Future (Three Updates Today, Please Vote Double!)

Thwack!

Yukimura's fierce smash failed to score. After bouncing off the ground, the ball flew back toward Tezuka.

As his thoughts wavered, Tezuka hadn't yet figured out why the scene felt so familiar when his racket swung up on instinct.

Thwack!

Although the situation was urgent, this was the style of play he excelled at: using Tezuka Zone to draw out a perfect opportunity ball.

Long years of training and practice had made even Tezuka's instinctive movements flawless.

This shot was no exception.

The ball sailed across the court and toward the baseline, where it would be difficult even for Yukimura to reach.

But the next second, countless flecks of static once again appeared over the scene before him.

It was as though the image had frozen, blurred, and finally vanished.

Tezuka saw the scene before his eyes abruptly darken once more.

At that moment, Yukimura twisted his ankle, driving his speed to its limit as he raced toward the baseline.

Without even looking, he scooped the ball up between his legs just before it hit the ground again.

Thwack!

"Game, Yukimura Seiichi of Rikkai Dai. The score is 4–3."

On the court, as if he'd sensed Tezuka's confusion, Yukimura lifted his unfocused eyes with an eerie smile.

"Tezuka, did you just see the future where you lost?"

Without waiting for Tezuka to answer, he walked back to the baseline to receive serve.

Tezuka's heart jolted. One blurred, overlapping fragment of an image after another appeared before his eyes.

The future... Is this what Akutsu said he experienced back then?

The path of mental power really was both powerful and uncanny when taken to its ultimate heights, just like what Muneyoshi had demonstrated before.

But I'm not going to give up just like that. What's false will always be false!