Sealing the Heart

Because Momoshiro saw through his plan, leading to four consecutive losses, Oshitari finally realized he needed to change his approach.

"So... we're going to... what!?"

The fifth round began, and Momoshiro was full of fighting spirit.

As he dribbled the ball, preparing to attack again.

Momoshiro, who was subconsciously looking at Oshitari to observe him, suddenly paused. Oshitari, who was clearly visible before, now seemed to be protected by a layer of blurry air currents.

Momoshiro immediately sensed something was wrong and decided to end the battle quickly.

So he tossed the ball up and swung his racket to hit it.

The tennis ball flew towards Oshitari, and Momoshiro's eyes suddenly widened as he watched the ball fly further and further away.

Bang...

"Hyotei's Oshitari scores, 15:0"

"Oshitari's presence has vanished."

Tezuka's words from the sidelines seemed somewhat inexplicable, but Momoshiro understood them perfectly.

Just now, as he was preparing to observe how Oshitari would handle the ball, Oshitari's body seemed to vanish.

By the time Momoshiro realized what was happening, the tennis ball had already been returned to his own half of the court.

You can't beat my Momoshiro.

After scoring a counterattack, Oshitari reappeared.

"I can't see through him anymore... but that's what makes it interesting."

After staring at Oshitari for a while longer, Momoshiro confirmed his judgment.

However, Momoshiro became even more determined to fight after Oshitari suppress his aura.

So he quickly adjusted his mindset and served again.

"Momoshiro, I'm sure of your ability to merge with nature, and your insightful understanding of even your opponents' psychological states."

However, your opponent is not easy to deal with; the geniuses of Hyotei are people who can close their hearts completely.

The game continued, but it was Oshitari who kept chasing the score.

On the Atobe, Atobe placed his finger between his eyebrows, carefully observing the situation.

Da... da da

"Hyotei's Oshitari scores, score 1:4"

Having sealed his aura, Oshitari was completely different from the previous four rounds. Although his cold face remained unchanged, he now possessed a profound aura.

Bang...

"Hyotei's Oshitari, score 2:4"

Bang...

"Hyotei's Oshitari scores, score 3:4"

Bang...

"Hyotei's Oshitari scores, making the score 4-4."

Four consecutive games followed, but this time it was Oshitari scored.

"The situation is bad. Oshitari keeps using complex spinning balls to lure Momo."

"Without understanding the opponent's psychology, Momoshiro can only be led by the nose."

"As expected of Hyotei's genius, he's actually managed to shut himself off."

"The score has been tied, and there's only one point left in the ninth game. If A-Tao doesn't find a way out, the situation will be dangerous."

Momoshiro's insight was suppressed, and the more triumphant the Seigaku team was in the first four games, the more worried they became now.

On the field, Oshitari continued to use various spinning balls. Just after he lured Momoshiro to the left half of the field, the spinning ball appeared again.

The tennis ball arced through the air and flew directly out of the right half of the court.

Momoshiro, watching the tennis ball repeatedly veering away from him, suddenly lost his temper.

Regardless of whether he could catch the ball, he quickened his pace and chased after it.

"Stop! Momoshiro!"

Momoshiro on the field couldn't see the problem, but the Seigaku members off the field could see it clearly.

Hearing Oishi's reminder, Momoshiro also came to his senses.

He looked away from the tennis ball and saw a thick iron pillar appear in the direction he was running.

Bang...

After a loud crash, Momoshiro fell straight to the ground.

"Hyotei's Oshitari scores, score 5:4"

"Momoshiro!"

Are you alright?

"Quick! Get the first-aid kit!"

"Are you alright?"

"Cheer up, Momoshiro!"

When the Seigaku members outside the court saw Momoshiro crash into the post, they rushed onto the court in a panic.

"What's going on... I'm going to lose if this keeps up... Stop joking!"

As Momoshiro lay on the ground, he vaguely heard the voices of his teammates, and his head, which had been dazed from the impact, slowly cleared.

"It's bleeding!"

"First aid kit! Bandage and stop the bleeding."

"No need, Senpai, I want to finish the competition first..."

When Momoshiro heard that Gan was going to bandage him, he immediately refused.

He got up from the ground, casually wiped the blood off his face with his arm, picked up his racket, and went back onto the court.

The members of Hyotei felt a chill run down their spines when they saw Momoshiro's face stained with blood.

"Oshitari..."

"I understand, Atobe. Although I don't know what that guy is up to, victory will definitely belong to Hyotei."

Seeing that Momoshiro was bleeding but still insisted on playing, Atobe looked at Oshitari with some concern.

However, Shinobu, who had already closed his heart off, felt no Oshitari when facing Momoshiro as he was now.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

"Alright... it's about time to bring this to a close."

Wiping the blood off his face again, Momoshiro appeared even stronger than before.

Oshitari didn't care; a wounded person can't win against themselves.

He then returned to the baseline and served a powerful serve.

"Come on! It seems this is all I can do after all!"

Unlike the previous rounds, Momoshiro has once again returned to its passionate state.

Facing Oshitari's serve, Momoshiro gripped his racket with his other hand as well.

Then aim at the incoming ball and return it with Center of Gravity Vertical Jump Style.

The tennis ball streaked across the sky like a yellow beam as it flew toward Oshitari.

"As expected, he was hiding his true strength. In the first few matches, he used 70% of his power to get his opponents used to the speed, and then used his full strength to defeat them."

Even so, coincidentally, I've only used 70% of my strength so far.

Facing Momoshiro's powerful shot, Oshitari didn't stop moving.

He immediately sprang into action from the baseline, sprinting towards the net as if to intercept a shot.

Just as Oshitari was about to swing his racket to volley, he suddenly lowered his racket.

Then, with a flick upwards, a Lob Shot appears.

Having already opted for a power-based style of play, Momoshiro didn't care about anything else; facing this opportunity, he sprinted and jumped.

"Smash Shot!? Atao can't do that!"

Momoshiro, Fuji the court, was about to launch a smash, and it was too late to stop him.

When Momoshiro unleashed Vertical Smash, Oshitari made a familiar move.

Just then, Oshitari, facing Smash Shot, suddenly changed his hand and swung his racket out.

The Brown Bear Drop and caught the powerful shot.

He can't return that shot.

Seeing that Oshitari wanted to use the Brown Bear Drop to retaliate against Momoshiro's smash, Horio rejected the idea without even thinking.

In the previous rounds, Momoshiro had managed to hold his Oshitari without even using half his strength. Now that he's completely unleashed, how could he be so easy to deal with?

Sure enough, after Oshitari caught the ball with his racket, the ball, which should have bounced back to Momoshiro's backcourt, was still spinning on his racket.

Oshitari's arm began to tremble, but in the end, the tennis ball broke through Oshitari defenses and knocked his racket away.