Tezuka Domain!

Before Tezuka could react, the ball bounced up to his right and flew out of bounds!

"Point, Hyotei. 15–0."

The referee's voice rang out.

"Another disappearing serve!"

"It vanished, then reappeared!"

"Yagami's so strong!"

"Yagami's so cool!"

"Come on, Tezuka!"

Chiba Yun Chuan's serve was like a raging fire, instantly igniting the crowd's pent-up excitement.

Cheers rose and fell, filling the air without pause.

"That serve is even faster than Chotaro's cannonball serve in Hyotei's doubles. I still can't calculate its speed." Chiba Yun Chuan had shattered Inui's expectations again and again.

Inui flipped open a fresh page. From this moment on, he would begin recording data!

"Chiba Yun Chuan, Hyotei's captain—just how strong are you?" Fuji's voice was no longer calm. If Seigaku faced Hyotei again, could they win?

"I can't even see the ball. How are you supposed to play against that?" Momoshiro said in frustration.

"Hyotei's captain is a monster. Tezuka!" Oishi thought to himself.

"I never thought Tezuka would get aced. It looks like Seigaku has no hope left!" Ryuzaki Sumire's spirits sank to rock bottom once more.

She had thought victory was certain when Tezuka entered the State of Selflessness, but she hadn't expected Chiba Yun Chuan to be even more terrifying!

He had opened two gates at once!

And he had all kinds of impossible-to-counter techniques. Even his serve was unbelievably fast! Now she knew it was only a matter of time before Tezuka lost!

Tezuka couldn't counter Chiba Yun Chuan's techniques or his State of Selflessness.

Thinking of this, Ryuzaki Sumire wearily closed her eyes. She was exhausted!

Was there really something wrong with her coaching? Ryuzaki Sumire began to ask herself.

On the court

After seeing Chiba Yun Chuan win the point with his serve, Tezuka still looked fully committed. He hadn't given up and waited seriously for the next serve!

Seeing Tezuka like this, Chiba Yun Chuan knew he wouldn't be beaten easily. He was the future pillar of Seigaku.

What a shame. If things had happened sooner, Tezuka would certainly have become a pillar of Hyotei!

"Tezuka, watch closely!"

With that, Chiba Yun Chuan prepared to serve again!

Thwack!

As the sound of the hit rang out, the ball left the racket and vanished once more.

Then, once again, it flew out of bounds to Tezuka's left.

"Point, Hyotei. 30–0."

"Point, Hyotei. 40–0."

"Game, Hyotei. 2–0."

Chiba Yun Chuan's service game took only five minutes. He won all four points in a row and took the game!

Tezuka hadn't just failed to score—he hadn't even touched the ball!

"It's over. Seigaku has no hope. They've lost."

"Yagami's too strong!"

"Victory belongs to Hyotei!"

As the crowd's discussion swelled around them, the third game was about to begin!

It was Tezuka's turn to serve again.

But at this point, his service game hardly mattered!

He hadn't scored a single point in the first two games. If he lost the third, he would be broken!

In truth, Tezuka could no longer hold his service game.

Chiba Yun Chuan's strength was unfathomable!

That was the only thought in Tezuka's mind. As he looked at Chiba Yun Chuan, standing across from him with a wicked smile, his fighting spirit slowly ebbed away.

Chiba Yun Chuan's strength left him unable to see any hope. It made him feel powerless!

But then he thought of Seigaku, and of what his captain, Yamato Yuudai, had told him.

"Tezuka, you must become Seigaku's pillar!"

Hope flared in Tezuka's heart once more.

"Even if I can't win, I'll give it everything I've got!"

With that thought, Tezuka's resolve hardened again. His grip on the racket tightened!

Determination was written all over his face.

Seeing the change in Tezuka's expression, Chiba Yun Chuan couldn't help but marvel.

"Tezuka, you really haven't let me down!"

Tezuka tossed the ball into the air. A white light radiated from his hand—the Limit of Thousand Forgings!

His racket swept toward the ball, leaving an afterimage!

It was clear that Tezuka was giving it everything he had this time. The ball was faster than before.

Thump!

After a muffled impact, the ball shot toward Chiba Yun Chuan once more!

Watching the ball spin toward him like lightning, Chiba Yun Chuan's eyes remained calm.

"Tezuka, let me show you the gap between us!"

This time, Chiba Yun Chuan didn't use the State of Selflessness or the Light Bullet. Instead, he chose to return Tezuka's serve with brute force!

Chiba Yun Chuan simply swung a forehand, easily sending the ball back.

But something strange was happening around Tezuka, and Chiba Yun Chuan sensed it too!

"Oh, Tezuka. Have you figured it out already?"

Though Chiba Yun Chuan admired Tezuka's talent, he paid it no mind!

It was as if an area of gravity lay beneath Tezuka's feet, while spiraling currents of air began to swirl around him.

They whipped Tezuka's clothes and hair into the air. He was like the eye of a storm, his whole presence heavy with power.

The ball, which had been flying toward Tezuka's left corner, slowly changed direction and headed back toward him!

Seeing this strange sight, hope flared in Ryuzaki Sumire once more!

"That's the Domain?! Well done, Tezuka!"

Tezuka shifted his left foot slightly, then raised the racket in his left hand and swung at the incoming ball!

Thwack!

The ball's power and speed doubled!

It now carried an even fiercer spin as it shot past the net like lightning, reaching Chiba Yun Chuan in the blink of an eye.

"It's the Domain! Tezuka's already figured it out. He really is incredibly talented!" Atobe felt that his own skills still weren't strong enough.

"But Tezuka's Domain doesn't seem very strong yet. It probably isn't fully formed.

"Even if it were fully formed, would Chiba care? With his strength, he probably wouldn't give it a second thought. What a terrifying guy!"

Atobe spoke calmly.

"Atobe, what's the Domain? Is it powerful?" Chotaro asked.

"Yeah, what is the Domain?" Shishido had already forgotten the pain in his arm and was just as curious.

"The Domain is a way of demonstrating ball control. By controlling the ball's spin or trajectory, you can make it keep going to a particular spot or area!

"But Tezuka's Domain is too rough. Even I could break through it, let alone Chiba."

Only after hearing Atobe's explanation did they relax.

"How could the ball change direction?"

"Why is it flying toward Tezuka?"

"What's going on?"

Tezuka's Domain set the crowd abuzz once more.

It was true that a technique like this seemed almost absurd. It made a ball that had been heading in the opposite direction fly right back to its user!

It was practically a bug!

As the ball, still boosted by the doubled power, headed toward his back left once more, Chiba Yun Chuan raised his arm high.

Then an indescribable aura began to gather around him. The sleeves of his uniform fluttered, though there was no wind!