Getting Serious

"I must say, your Five Senses Deprivation is really troublesome. If it were someone else, they would have absolutely no ability to resist."

Just after the referee made his decision, Horio's voice reached Yukimura's ears.

When Yukimura heard Horio say that, he had a bad feeling.

When Yukimura looked at Horio again, he had an incredulous expression on his face.

What's going on!?

Seeing Horio's pupils refocus, Yukimura's eyes widened.

It was hard to believe, but it was true; the three senses that Horio had been deprived of had returned.

"What's wrong? Surprised? I was actually able to break through your Five Senses Deprivation."

"Impossible... You couldn't have recovered this quickly. You should have recovered after the match."

Horio's words struck Yukimura like a thunderbolt. He didn't actively erase the spiritual energy from Horio, but Horio returned to normal.

"Don't be surprised. You've fallen behind by four games, so I need to start catching up."

Seeing Yukimura's expression, which looked as if he had seen a ghost, Horio smiled and turned to walk towards the bottom line.

"Agan, it seems we were all right."

"That really suits his style; the real competition is just beginning."

"What's wrong, Agan? What do you mean by saying the real competition is about to begin?"

"Has Horio returned to normal!?"

"That's why Horio said that just now!"

Horio has returned to normal, confirming Miki and Fuji's suspicions.

The other members of Seigaku also understood the conversation between Horio and Yukimura, and the hope that had almost disappeared in their hearts was rekindled.

"Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this for some reason."

"What's wrong, Senpai Liu? What that guy just said was probably just to scare us, right?"

"Shut up, Akaya! Have you forgotten your match against Fuji during the Kanto Tournament?"

Seeing Yukimura's drastic change in expression and Horio's renewed recovery, Yanagi seemed to see the turning point of this match.

Kirihara, however, remained unconcerned. Sanada, standing nearby, seemed to remember something, and Kirihara's words undoubtedly ignited the anger within him.

"During the Kanto Tournament, in your red-eyed state, you hit Fuji with a tennis ball, and then you suddenly had a headache. Have you forgotten everything Horio said to you afterward?"

Sanada's words made Kirihara suddenly realize what he meant, and even though he didn't want to think about it, he understood what Sanada meant.

"Vice President Sanada, are you saying that my sudden headache was because..."

"That's right, it's because Horio can also use mental energy. After you deliberately hit Fuji's knee, he used his mental energy on you."

"That guy isn't just good at basketball, his mental strength is amazing too..."

"But why did it take him so long to break free from Yukimura's Five Senses Deprivation? He should have noticed when Yukimura activated his spiritual power."

Sanada's words were once again questioned by Marui, and what Sanada said next not only silenced him but also reopened a wound he didn't want to talk about.

"Do you remember my Kanto Tournament? That guy won't get serious unless he pushes his opponent to the brink."

Memories of the Kanto Tournament resurfaced in the minds of Rikkai Dai, and Sanada's disheveled appearance perfectly explained Marui's doubts.

"Could it be..."

"That guy loves to deliberately feign weakness, then gradually push his opponent to their limits, and finally, when he loses interest, he defeats them in one fell swoop. That bastard!"

Marui only managed to utter two words before Sanada angrily cut him off.

"You're using this trick again. You're really infuriating."

"Damn it! Doesn't he ever get tired of using the same trick?"

In the audience, two people in different seats surprisingly uttered the same sentiment.

Without a doubt, these two were Atobe and Kite, who had been treated in the same way by Horio.

Seeing their Captain suddenly become angry for no apparent reason, the other team members didn't dare to say anything.

"Ready? I'm about to get serious."

On the field, Horio Yukimura still immersed in surprise and couldn't help but offer a reminder.

Once he regained his composure, Yukimura quickly adjusted his stance and adopted a defensive posture.

"Although I don't know how you broke my Five Senses Deprivation technique, if I can deprive someone of their senses once, I can do it a second time."

Horio, unaware of Yukimura's inner thoughts, tossed the tennis ball in his hand after reminding him.

The tennis ball went into the air and fell a few centimeters before Horio's racket arrived.

The tennis ball flew out, heading precisely towards Yukimura.

"It's the Limitless Scattered Flowers!"

"He's really getting serious; it won't be easy to get back from the Limitless Scattered Flowers attack."

"But even if the Limitless Scattered Flowers' creates an illusion, it will still bounce. Isn't he afraid that Yukimura will hit the ball...?"

The appearance of the Limitless Scattered Flowers excited the Seigaku members, while also making the Rikkai Dai on the other side more vigilant.

Atobe, sitting in the stands, was somewhat puzzled. In his view, any ball that could bounce was not guaranteed to score for a player of Yukimura's caliber.

If it were before, Horio really wouldn't have known how to use the Limitless Scattered Flowers.

But now the Limitless Scattered Flowers have matured and become what Horio originally hoped for.

Amidst the various emotions of the crowd, the tennis ball landed in front of Yukimura's forehand racket.

Yukimura was ready to retaliate, just as he thought the tennis ball was about to bounce back.

Eight balls suddenly appeared in his field of vision, gliding along the ground in different directions.

Bang!

"Seigaku Horio scores, 15:0"

"What!? It didn't bounce up!"

Yukimura stared blankly at the spot where the tennis ball had landed, somewhat unable to believe what had just happened.

"The Limitless Scattered Flowers that will never bounce!"

"I remember that move was something that would bounce you up..."

"Perhaps... this is the true form of that move."

Sanada could no longer contain his surprise; it was already difficult to hit a serve that glides along the ground.

Even Atobe's the Vaishra Serve couldn't stay completely flat on the ground, while Limitless Scattered Flowers could create an afterimage while remaining close to the ground.

In the audience, Atobe, who had just been somewhat skeptical, was now stunned.

"I only recently mastered this move myself. How about it, want to try and beat it back?"

Horio smiled as he looked at the stunned Yukimura.

Although he said that, he didn't believe Yukimura could fight back.

On the other side, Yukimura seemed not to have heard Horio's words, but his expression remained just as grim.

Horio didn't care and continued to use the Limitless Scattered Flowers Serve.

Bang!

"Seigaku Horio scored, 30:0"

Bang!

"Seigaku Horio scored, 40:0"

Bang!

"Seigaku Horio scored, the score was 1:4"

The four-ball Limitless Scattered Flowers left Yukimura with no chance to retaliate.

After four games, Horio finally won the fifth game.