The Next Opponent: Shitenhoji

The tennis ball, which split into several pieces in mid-air, passed through Chitose's body, its force directly overwhelming him.

"Great, let's have even more fun then, Yoshihira."

Once she realized what was happening, Chitose's body once again shone with a light of various colors, even brighter than when the match had started.

"Your Chitose has once again awakened the spirit of selflessness!"

"Is he about to retaliate?"

"No, that's not selflessness; that's the Radiant Talent Limit, one of the three great gates."

Hearing what the Seigaku members said, Horio denied it, clearly sensing that the aura Horio was Radiant Talent.

"But that one is different from the one you had before, Horio. He looks more like Echizen entering State of Selflessness."

"Yes, could it be that the legendary three gates manifest differently in different people?"

"I don't know either, this is how I was when I entered this realm."

Faced with everyone's questions, Horio didn't know how to answer. He couldn't very well say it was because of the system.

"Seventh goal."

A single sentence uttered by the Chitose on the field suddenly drew everyone's attention.

"What seventh goal?"

Is it some kind of special code?

"It's an absolute preview... that's the special thing about his Radiant Talent."

By focusing the power of selflessness on the brain and activating its cells, one can instantly simulate the game and predict when they will score.

Just as Horio was explaining to them, the game had reached the sixth point, and just as Tachibana Kippei was returning the seventh point, the tennis ball touched the net.

"That really was the seventh goal, amazing!"

"The Radiant Talent Limit is one of the three realms of the legendary limit of State of Selflessness."

I've been studying this ever since I first encountered the concept of selflessness, and I've finally mastered one of the three realms Radiant Talent Limit.

After Tachibana Kippei's return shot hit the net, Chitose began to talk about his research into the state of State of Selflessness. Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and he pointed at Tezuka.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu, that guy has also mastered the Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired Limit, one of the three great realms."

And you, Horio Satoshi, have mastered both the realms of Radiant Talent and Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired.

When Chitose mentioned Horio, an expression of disbelief clearly appeared in his eyes.

When the Seigaku members heard Chitose say those words with such certainty, they already had their own guesses.

But when my suspicions were confirmed, I was still shocked.

On the court, Chitose, displaying his Radiant Talent, instantly turned the tide of the game.

The score, which was initially 5-4 in favor of Tachibana Kippei, was quickly reversed by Chitose, who won two consecutive games.

It was already match point for Chitose, Tachibana Kippei was still being suppressed, causing the Fudomine players on the sidelines to get anxious.

Seeing this, Tachibana Kippei finally revealed his trump card, bending his right leg.

"That pose!? It was from back then..."

"You're going to be Chitose soon, so don't get hurt!"

After saying this, Tachibana Kippei swung his racket, which was already held horizontally.

"Explosive Ball Dance!"

The racket frame struck the tennis ball, and the ball shattered into at least twelve pieces, more than the number of Rampaging Lion.

"What!? I can't see..."

There are too many tennis balls to count immediately, even for Chitose.

But suddenly an idea flashed into his mind, and he instinctively swung his racket.

He actually hit the real ball amidst a dozen or so phantoms, then roared and unleashed a Divine Concealment strike.

"Match ends, Shitenhoji scores, score 7:5."

Chitose successfully scored with Divine Concealment counterattack, ending the match.

Despite losing the game, Tachibana Kippei wasn't upset; he shook hands with Chitose and left the field.

"Well done, Chitose! But your right eye still can't see very well, right? You were still able to return the ball in the end, that's really impressive."

After Chitose left the field, Konjiki Koharu on the sidelines, offered her blessings.

"It's simple. That guy Yoshihira didn't hit a single ball towards my right eye's blind spot. If he had hit it at the end, I wouldn't have been able to return that ball."

It turns out that the last flash of inspiration in Chitose's mind was this, which is why she was able to successfully catch the Explosive Ball Dance.

"Want to quit the tennis club?"

"I'm sorry, I've always wanted to look at tennis from a different perspective."

"Fine, whatever time you come back is fine."

Beside a large tree in the stadium, Chitose handed Watanabe Shu a resignation application.

Watanabe Shu did not object to Chitose's application, nor did he even try to persuade her to stay.

However, after Chitose left, Watanabe Shu simply threw away his resignation application.

"What do you need me for?"

"The last of the three gates in legend, the Seamless Limit."

As far as I know, only one person unlocked it decades ago, and that person was the samurai Echizen Nanjirou. You also have high hopes for his son, Echizen Ryoma, don't you?"

After submitting her resignation from the company, Chitose went directly to Tezuka.

"Is that all you wanted to say? Then I'll take my leave."

"It's a pity that Echizen Ryoma went to participate in the All-American Open, and right now, the person closest to Heavenly Clothes Seamless isn't the young samurai."

Chitose's words made Tezuka, who had already turned to leave, stop.

"That person is Tooyama Kintaro, the super rookie from Shitenhoji."

"You're saying it's the closest, right? And are you really sure that, apart from the Samurai Nanjirou from decades ago, no one has ever reopened it?"

Tezuka turned to look at Chitose, then left.

Tezuka's words startled the previously confident Chitose, who then began to carefully consider Tezuka.

Suddenly his eyes changed as he thought of a possibility, then he shook his head.

"Impossible. It's already incredible that two doors can be opened at the same time, let alone the third door, which is as difficult as climbing to the heavens..."

"Alright, next up is the formidable Shitenhoji. Whoever they are, they're no pushovers. But you guys have fought your way here, so you're not to be trifled with either. If you maintain your confidence and play to your usual level, you're sure to get good results."

If we win the semifinals, we'll go eat barbecue!

The day after the match between Fudomine and Shitenhoji, Coach Ryuzaki was giving everyone pre-match instructions in the gymnasium.

"The next match is finally the semi-final against Seigaku. They're a team with outstanding average strength, but their doubles is our weak point. If we can win both doubles matches, we'll be guaranteed to win."

On the other side, at Shitenhoji, Watanabe Shu and the others were doing pre-match analysis.

"Alright, let me tell you about the lineup now."

"The semi-final match between Shitenhoji and Seigaku Academy is about to begin. Players, please prepare."

Inside the stadium, the announcement of the start of the game came over the loudspeaker.

Because it was the semi-final, the venue was moved from the outer field to the inner field.