Atobe Kingdom

Bang!

"Score in Court No. 3, final score 3-5"

Having demonstrated some skill, Irie easily won the eighth game after taking the seventh.

Busy keeping up with Irie's pace, Atobe completely lost his previous momentum.

"Atobe, who used to dominate his opponents, is now being dominated by them."

"That high school student named Irie is a tough character to mess with."

Seeing Atobe's completely changed Atobe, Yukimura and the others in the No. 6 court also realized how terrifying Irie.

"Damn it, how dare they look down on me! I'll make them pay!"

Bang!

"Score in Court No. 3, final score 4-5"

Atobe, who was already angry about Irie's acting, was easily caught up by Irie in several rounds.

His strong sense of pride made him want to retaliate, but even though he thought that, he couldn't keep up with his actions.

"Hey Atobe, you gotta do your best!"

"Hateful..."

Irie tapped his shoulder with his racket and, in a very mature manner, said some encouraging words to Atobe.

How could he, as the king of the Hyotei, tolerate this? But Irie didn't care about such things and continued speaking.

"But that makes sense, because you feel really embarrassed right now."

With his signature smile on his face, Irie spoke.

"I saw it, Irie- Senpai."

This time, I've truly seen your blind spot.

Freeze it for me.

Despite Irie's continued talking, Atobe was constantly looking for an opportunity to retaliate.

The moment the Irie drained, revealing a blind spot, Atobe immediately spotted it.

Then the Ice World was unleashed once more, and ice pillars flew out.

"What!?"

This time, the flying icicle didn't disappear, but Atobe still exclaimed in surprise.

The reason he did this was because all the flying icicles landed in his half of the field.

Why!? Why are all the blind spots on my side!?

Seeing the horrified look on Atobe's face, Irie smiled triumphantly and then swung his racket.

"Listen carefully, Irie's strength lies in his ability to accurately understand his opponent's psychology."

Therefore, he can see through all of his opponent's thoughts and actions.

If you ever run into him in the future, be sure to pay attention to this.

Seeing that the junior high school students' expressions had also changed, Gui promptly spoke up to comfort them.

"Irie is just like you, always trying to push the potential of high school students going abroad."

As soon as Oni finished speaking, while the middle school students were still thinking, Horio turned to look at him.

"We have to do this now. Those guys will be back soon, and we need to grow strong enough to fight them."

"So this team competition wasn't actually decided by you alone, but rather something you two planned together, right?"

Upon hearing the meaning behind the ghost story, Horio smiled.

The ghost, whose true nature had been revealed, did not respond further, but simply refocused its gaze on the field.

Bang!

"Court No. 3 scores, score 6-5"

Irie won the eleventh game, instantly turning the tide of the battle, and the dark clouds filling the sky seemed to foreshadow Atobe's fate.

"The one who's full of flaws is actually yourself, isn't it?"

"I don't care what people around me say. For me, this is the only path I can take."

Despite Irie's rejection of his playing style, Atobe remained unmoved.

In the twelfth game, the serve went to Atobe.

"I knew it... this was the only path I could take."

"Oh? It seems you've already come to your senses."

Seeing Atobe's eyes harden again, Irie knew that her efforts had paid off.

The ball is tossed up, Atobe serves.

Under these circumstances, he did not choose to the Vaishra Serve, but instead faced Irie head-on.

"Open up all the pores on your body, and make even your nerve endings more sensitive."

I will claim the glory of victory in my own way.

With my X-ray vision, your body has nowhere to hide!

With each round after recovering, Atobe's body becomes even stronger.

It wasn't until Irie returned the ball that Atobe began to see things more clearly than they appeared on the surface.

He had originally only been observing Irie's movements, but now he could see the bones and joints inside Irie's body.

Having clearly seen all this, Atobe suddenly swung his racket.

The tennis ball flew quickly towards Irie, and before Irie could react, the point was already scored.

"What!? I was just... unable to move."

Welcome to... my Atobe Kingdom.

On the court, when Irie finally came to his senses, he was shocked by what had just happened.

Even the elite high school students like Tokugawa, Tanegashima, and Oni on the sidelines, as well as the Coach in the control room, were stunned.

"To see through the opponent's bones and joints, and then to hit a deadly shot that the opponent can't possibly handle—is this the Atobe Kingdom?"

Seeing the slight change in Atobe's eyes just now, Horio also became somewhat interested in his new skill.

"You're saying Atobe can see through things and look at his opponent's bones and joints? Is that really possible...?"

"In any case, Atobe has now regained the advantage."

"We must seize this opportunity and win in Atobe!"

The middle school students found Horio's explanation of the Atobe Kingdom unbelievable.

"I see it clearly, I see it all too clearly, your absolute blind spot."

Even if you try your best to eliminate blind spots, your bones and joints clearly tell me where those blind spots are.

Once the attack targets the blind spots of your bones and joints, you won't even have a chance to react.

This is my world, the Atobe Kingdom!

Bang!

"Court No. 5 scores, score 6-6"

Having successfully evolved his insight once again, Atobe, now in the Atobe Kingdom, tied the score, forcing a tiebreaker.

However, due to the high intensity of the match, Atobe, who had already played twelve innings, began to experience stamina issues.

After scoring with Smash Shot, he lost his footing and fell to the ground.

On the other hand, Irie, from the very beginning of the match, hadn't taken off his jacket.

After playing twelve games, there was hardly any sweat on his face.

"I see, so you've mastered the ultimate X-ray vision."

You teenager are really a headache.

Seeing Atobe break through his limits, Irie said this, but his face was full of satisfaction.

"I think Irie has achieved his goal, now it's up to him to decide what he wants to do."

"He won't be satisfied with just that. Now that Atobe has unlocked a new power, Irie will inevitably increase the intensity."

As expected of someone who had spent a lot of time with Irie, Oni firmly refuted Horio's guess.

"Alright, it's going to be a tiebreaker."

"Now we have an even greater advantage!"

"Hey, don't get so excited yet."

Hearing the excited voices of the middle school students beside him, Horio had no idea what they were thinking.

"You guys think that once it's a tiebreaker, it's Atobe's home turf, right? It's not that simple."

Seeing the questioning looks from the middle school students, Horio turned to Atobe.

"Putting aside his physical limitations, his left ankle should be very painful right now."

Upon hearing Horio's words, the others immediately shifted their attention.

Atobe immediately revealed a weakness on the field, and a look of pain flashed across his face as he prepared to turn around.

"It hurts, doesn't it? But the game isn't over yet."

Then let's continue, and begin the war of attrition you excel at.

Irie was clearly aware that Atobe was acting strangely, but he didn't express any concern for him.

After the start of the tiebreaker, Irie's attacks specifically targeted Atobe's left foot.

Even in rallies, they would play diagonal shots, forcing Atobe to run back and forth.

"It seems that Atobe's left foot injury has been completely locked down by the opponent."

"If this continues, the injury to my left foot will get worse and worse. If it gets really bad, I'll have to give up the match."

"But would he really give up? He's Atobe, how could he possibly give up like that?"

On the sidelines, the junior high school students no longer cared about whether the game was won or lost; they were all wondering if Atobe's foot injury was serious.

While everyone was discussing, Atobe on the field persisted.

Facing Irie's ever-changing diagonal shots, Atobe gritted his teeth and persevered.

"It's really embarrassing. In the past, only Atobe would Atobe a fierce attack on the opponent's weaknesses in a protracted war."

Now the tables have turned, Atobe himself has become the one being attacked.

Horio watched Atobe running back and forth on the baseline, feeling a pang of emotion.

After maneuvering Atobe left and right several times, Irie made a change.

A backhand shot produces a short ball.

"Come on, this ball is up ahead."

Seeing this, Atobe didn't care about anything else and rushed straight to the net.

However, due to running back and forth, his left leg was already under too much strain.

Now, having to change direction again, and using different methods of exertion, adds fuel to the already heavy burden.

As he ran a few steps toward the net, a sudden pain in his left foot made Atobe.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt more?"

At that moment, Irie's voice reached Atobe's ears again, and his previous pain was instantly replaced by anger. He swung his racket hard at the tennis ball.

"You're such an annoying person!"

"Fine, fine, I am an annoying guy, but what you need to do is not to insult me, but to catch the ball."

Despite hearing Atobe's angry voice, Irie remained unmoved.

After catching up with Atobe's return, Irie hit a backswing and a Lob Shot.

"That guy did it on purpose. He hit a short ball and then Lob Shot. He was clearly trying to cripple Atobe's leg."

"First they run left and right, then they run back and forth; the guys at Court No. 3 always seem to use this tactic."

Seeing Atobe running, the middle school student couldn't help but think of the Kurazatoza, who was toyed with by the Nakagawanaidou.

Atobe ignored the complaints from the crowd outside the arena.

Seeing the tennis ball sail over his head, he quickly turned and retreated to the backcourt.

The ball was successfully returned the moment it hit the ground.

"You bastard, you wanted to wage a war of attrition with me? I'd love to."