Tokugawa's Asura

Compared to the Japan Team's quiet regret, those who knew Polk well didn't share their feelings.

Even Polk himself, the opponent, showed a flicker of surprise on his iceberg-like face.

If the first return had been a fluke, and he'd simply hit the ball back for the sake of it, Polk could have dismissed it.

But Muneyoshi had returned the second ball, too—and from that distance.

Did that mean...

"Frankensteiner, watch his serve!"

Polk began switching places with Frankensteiner, moving to the middle of the court.

"Tokugawa, keep it up. I believe we can do this!"

As they switched positions, Muneyoshi encouraged Tokugawa.

Tap. Tap. Pop.

Muneyoshi lightly tapped the tennis ball. Streams of air gathered around him once again, and a powerful aura burst from his body.

Without even looking at Frankensteiner's position, Muneyoshi's palm was already completely wrapped in azure currents.

Whoosh!

He tossed the ball into the air.

Then he drew his arm back and bent his knees. His foot pushed off the ground, and his taut body leaped upward. As water vapor billowed around him, an enormous mass of air drove Frankensteiner beyond the baseline.

Thud!

After checking the replay and confirming the serve was good, the umpire called:

"ACE, point for the server. 15–15."

Polk had taken the previous point, but Muneyoshi had evened the score again.

Muneyoshi held his breath and focused, then quietly walked to the right-hand service line. He looked at Polk, who was standing at the baseline to receive. The muscles that had just relaxed tensed up again.

But the match had come this far. He had nothing to fear.

Whoosh...

The ball went up again. The next instant, air currents surged like a storm.

Thwack! Thwack!

The two impacts sounded almost simultaneous, reaching the spectators' ears.

Only then did everyone