The Prototype of Ice World

On the court, after hearing Atobe's words, Oshitari was on full alert. His eyes stayed fixed on the gray-haired boy opposite him, watching Atobe's every move.

He knew Atobe never spoke without reason. If he let his guard down even a little, he would end up the loser of this match.

Atobe walked to the baseline and looked across at Oshitari with a faint smile. "Yuushi, watch closely."

As he spoke, the tennis ball soared high from Atobe's hand. He bent his knees and leaped, stretching his body upward as he brought his racket down in a vertical swing.

Whoosh...

The ball shot away from the racket. The serve was like a powerful smash, displaying strength and speed to perfection.

Atobe executed the entire motion flawlessly, without a hint of distortion. Every movement flowed smoothly into the next.

Thwack...

A crisp crack rang out. A golden streak flashed across the court, heading straight for the corner of the sideline on Oshitari's side.

"Atobe, that serve was perfect. But if you think that'll win you a point, you're underestimating me, Oshitari Yuushi."

Oshitari spoke in a low voice as he rushed forward. Just before the ball could fly out of bounds, he reached it.

He raised his racket high in his right hand and swung at the ball, his motion blurring into a streak.

Thwack...

The ball shot toward Atobe's side of the court, its speed nearly matching that of the serve.

Facing Oshitari's return, Atobe simply lowered his stance and studied the ball's trajectory. His improved eyesight let him see where it would land at once.

A cold glint flashed through Atobe's eyes. He strode forward and sprinted toward an open spot.

Thwack...

His racket intercepted the ball. The muscles in his arm bulged as he swung with all his strength. 69🅂🄷🅄🅇.🄲🄾🄼

The orange ball streaked through the air, passed over the net, and struck an unusual spot.

Oshitari moved forward and got into position to return it with Fleeting Mandala. For some reason, though, a strong sense of resistance welled up inside him.

But the ball was already in front of him, and Oshitari had no time to wonder where the feeling came from. He intercepted it, then stretched his arm far back, preparing to unleash his signature move—Fleeting Mandala.

Yet the moment Oshitari swung, that strange feeling grew even stronger. It was as if a voice in his mind was telling him to abandon the return.

What did he do...?

Oshitari looked at the boy across from him, already preparing for the next shot, his expression growing grave. Still, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to use his signature move, Fleeting Mandala.

This time Oshitari didn't shout. The shot had no power at all, and instead turned into a lob.

The ball traveled high over the net. As soon as it passed across, a shadow on the ground rapidly grew larger.

This is bad...

Oshitari jerked his head up. Atobe was already soaring through the air, his racket arm swinging down with fierce force. The ball left a golden beam in its wake as it shot straight toward Oshitari's grip.

The ball was too close. Oshitari had no time to react, let alone use Brown Bear Drop Shot.

Smack...

The ball struck with tremendous force, knocking the racket from Oshitari's hand. But it didn't hit the ground; instead, it shot back into the sky.

"Dance of Destruction!"

Atobe leaped up again and swung his racket down with all his might.

Boom...

The second smash crashed down.

"15–0, Atobe scores."

Atobe landed and stood there, basking in the moment. His voice rang out clearly. "Lose yourselves in my dazzling technique!"

Dance of Destruction was certainly a dazzling smash, beautiful to watch and perfectly capable of enthralling an audience.

But most of the people off the court were focused on Oshitari Yuushi. Why hadn't he used Fleeting Mandala after getting into position?

"Oshitari was clearly preparing to use his signature move. I don't know why he couldn't pull it off, but his movements looked strange too—there was something awkward about them."

Yamazaki Uye, one of the regulars, voiced the oddity he had noticed.

"So you noticed something was off too, senpai. I thought I was seeing things..."

Mukahi Gakuto chimed in beside him. He stared at Oshitari on the court, his face full of confusion.

"This isn't Ice World."

Kannagi Shinichi was certain of it. Atobe's move was definitely not Ice World. Ice World directly targeted an opponent's dead zones; if that were the case, Oshitari wouldn't have had any chance to return the ball.

But Oshitari had returned it. He simply hadn't been able to use his signature move.

Kannagi Shinichi furrowed his brow slightly. He didn't believe Oshitari had simply made a mistake on that shot. Atobe must have done something.

But what had Atobe done?

On the court, Atobe continued serving.

Just like before, it took only three shots for Atobe to score again.

"30–0, Atobe leads."

After losing points in a row and finding himself unable to use his signature move, Oshitari was beginning to panic.

And the rest of the match went just as expected, swinging entirely in Atobe's favor.

"Game, the score is 2–2. The match is tied."

"Game, the score is 3–2. Atobe leads."

"Game, the score is 5–2. Atobe leads."

The games went by quickly, each lasting no more than three minutes. Oshitari tried to fight back, but every time he returned the ball, his body instinctively resisted.

"15–0, Atobe scores."

"30–0, Atobe scores."

"Match over. The score is 6–2. Atobe wins."

When Akutagawa Jirou announced the end of the match, the two players came to the net. Oshitari stepped forward and asked, "I want to know why I felt a sense of resistance whenever I tried to hit back your shots. Why couldn't I even use Fleeting Mandala?"

As Oshitari questioned Atobe, everyone outside the court who wanted to know why he couldn't use his signature move perked up their ears, eager to hear the explanation.

Atobe saw everyone watching him. He didn't hide the truth; instead, he placed two fingers beneath his eyes. "It's because of these eyes of mine."

"Your eyes?"

Oshitari continued, puzzled.

"That's right." Atobe nodded, a faint smile appearing on his handsome face, as if his eyes were his greatest pride. "My eyes can identify an opponent's non-comfort zones. The reason you felt resistance when hitting the ball just now was that I sent it into one of your non-comfort zones."

"Non-comfort zones..."

Oshitari murmured to himself. He had never imagined there could be non-comfort zones when hitting a tennis ball.

Could this be the prototype of Ice World?

Off the court, Kannagi Shinichi looked at Atobe and wondered. Perhaps before long, Atobe would evolve this move. When that happened, the true Ice World would be born in his hands.

Beside Kannagi Shinichi, several of the regulars began discussing it.

"Could Atobe really be right? Do non-comfort zones actually exist in tennis...?"

"I wonder if I have a non-comfort zone..."

"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone has non-comfort zones." Hearing the discussion from outside the court, Atobe lightly swept a hand through his hair and scoffed at the regulars who had spoken. Then he looked toward Kannagi Shinichi. "Even you, Kannagi, have non-comfort zones. How about it, Kannagi? Want to play a match against me and experience what it feels like to have your non-comfort zones attacked?"

But Kannagi Shinichi shook his head at Atobe's challenge. "Forget it. If I want a match, I'll find a time to play you after we win the regional championship. But you've already played a match today, so it wouldn't be fair to you if we played now."

"Hahaha..." Atobe burst into hearty laughter. "I'm in great shape right now."

The skies had cleared and the rain had stopped; Atobe felt ready for anything again.

But Kannagi Shinichi still refused. "After the regional tournament ends, I'll come find you even if you don't ask me to play."

Hearing that, Atobe didn't press the matter. His expression turned serious as he said, "All right, Kannagi. Don't you dare back out when the time comes."

Kannagi Shinichi didn't reply. He simply nodded. After all, if Atobe was to awaken Ice World early, he would need to face an opponent stronger than himself to bring out his potential. And Kannagi was the perfect opponent for him.