"Sleep" vs. Five Senses Deprivation

"You've had your turn to perform; it's my turn now."

You really embarrassed me last time, now you'd better pay me back properly.

After Mori Juzaburo lost his serve, it was Atobe's turn to serve.

Looking at Ochi Moonlight across from him, Atobe's tone was somewhat angry.

Having been tormented by Mental Assassination for too long, Atobe was eager to take revenge.

The Vaishra Serve tosses the tennis ball up and serves.

Bang!

"Junior high school students score, 15:0"

The tennis ball glides along the ground, Atobe serves to score.

Bang!

Bang!

"Junior high school student scores, score 3-0"

The Vaishra Serve proved powerful, and the junior high school student won the third game.

"They've already won three games. In the next game, that tall high school student will probably use the Mach Serve again."

"But even so, it's okay, right?"

"That's right, even if he has an unstoppable serve like Mach Serve's, his partner doesn't."

Off the field, middle school students discussed the course of the game.

After achieving a satisfactory result, it was as if Atobe and Yukimura had already won.

"First String scores, score 1-3"

Bang!

"Junior high school student scores, score 4:1"

Bang!

"Junior high school student scores, score 5:1"

"Great! Match point!"

"Win another game!"

"That high school student named Mori still looks the same. While that's an advantage for us, I have a feeling things aren't that simple..."

After Mori Juzaburo lost another game, Yukimura and Atobe took the match point in the second game.

At this point, the serve is back in Atobe's hands, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, Atobe will once again use the Vaishra Serve to win this game.

"You said you want revenge, right?"

"What?"

Just as the middle school students were preparing to cheer for their victory, Ochi Moonlight suddenly spoke to Atobe was also puzzled by this.

"Your serve is quite powerful; you can even gain the upper hand against opponents of your own level."

But you don't really think you're on the same level as me, do you? If you think that, you're wrong."

"Tch, try it and you'll see. What can you possibly do if I don't look into your eyes?"

Having already learned his Atobe was clearly more experienced. From the moment he broke through the Mental Assassination, he never looked Ochi Moonlight in the eye again.

On the baseline, Atobe tossed the ball up and swung his racket to hit the Vaishra Serve.

The tennis ball glided after landing as expected, but this time it failed to score a point.

"Haven't you realized yet? Your serve isn't as powerful as you think."

Ochi Moonlight suddenly uttered a sentence, and then his racket appeared in the path of the ball's trajectory.

The racket frame hit the tennis ball, and as the ball's spin was blocked, it actually slid up the racket.

Taking advantage of this moment, before the ball had fully ascended into the sky, Ochi Moonlight swung his racket forward.

"What!?"

"The Vaishra Serve was returned!"

"It's alright, Yukimura went to defend!"

The middle school students watching from the sidelines were already on edge because of this recurring incident. Fortunately, Yukimura reacted the moment the ball was returned.

Bang!

"Junior high school students score, 15:0"

"I didn't expect you to be able to return my amazing serve, but it doesn't seem to affect the outcome of the match..."

The Vaishra Serve was countered by Ochi Moonlight, and while Atobe was surprised, he was more concerned about the course of the match.

"Really? You mean my partner can't help me in time?"

Before Atobe could finish speaking, Ochi Moonlight interrupted him.

"After being idle for so long, that guy is finally going to get serious."

"Who knows what he's thinking? With his three senses deprived, that guy can't feel anything happening in the outside world."

Then, a sudden event on the field added a touch of uncertainty to the match, but in the eyes of Horio and Irie watching from the sidelines, the outcome of the match was already decided.

"What's going on? Why does that high school student look like he's asleep?"

"Could that also be due to Yukimura's Five Senses Deprivation...?"

"It doesn't seem as simple as we thought... Hopefully, it won't affect the match..."

On the court, Mori Juzaburo, who had Five Senses Deprivation by Yukimura, suddenly closed his eyes, as if he had fallen asleep.

"Atobe, be careful. Although my mental energy is still working on that person, I have a very bad feeling about him."

"What tricks are they trying to pull now? But I won't let them have their way."

Yukimura keenly noticed the change in Mori Juzaburo and immediately alerted Atobe.

Atobe also sensed something was wrong, and he was already prepared after hitting the Vaishra Serve.

"Yukimura, knock his racket out of my hand. You should be able to do that, right?"

"Since you've put it that way, let's cooperate properly."

Upon hearing Atobe's question, Yukimura understood his thoughts.

So, after Ochi Moonlight returned the Vaishra Serve, Yukimura aimed at Mori Juzaburo's racket and hit it.

However, the racket that was supposed to be knocked away unexpectedly this time.

Just as the ball was about to hit his racket, Mori Juzaburo seemed to be asleep, suddenly started to move.

The arm holding the racket suddenly moved downwards a short distance, and the tennis ball hit the racket face.

Bang!

"First String scores, 15:15"

Was that an unconscious retaliation?

"Shouldn't he feel nothing at all!?"

"So his seemingly asleep state helped him escape Yukimura's Five Senses Deprivation, and now he can retaliate unconsciously..."

This time, the middle school students were astonished, while Atobe and Yukimura on the field looked solemn.

Can he really retaliate unconsciously while in a "sleeping" state?

"This is certain so far, because he is stronger when he is asleep than when he is awake."

"I have to say, he's a bit of an oddball."

Off the field, Horio was somewhat surprised to see Mori Juzaburo's appearance.

Especially after hearing Irie confirm that his strength increased while asleep, Horio felt that Mori Juzaburo was even more of a freak than Momoshiro.

"An unconscious counterattack... You clearly had this trump card but waited until now to use it. Do you think I'm so easily looked down upon? I'll see just how far you can go with your unconscious counterattack."

Caught off guard by Mori Juzaburo, and with Ochi Moonlight returning the Vaishra Serve, Atobe simply stopped insisting on using the Vaishra Serve.

"Make way, let me have this ball."

After Atobe hits a regular serve, which is returned by Ochi Moonlight, he stops Yukimura's actions.

He rushed towards the net and aimed at Mori Juzaburo's racket again.

Bang!

"First String scores, 30:15"

The familiar scene unfolded once again: before Atobe and Yukimura could react, Mori Juzaburo returned the ball and scored.

"Are you guys focusing on Mori now? You're such naive middle schoolers."

Ochi Moonlight's indifferent tone was laced with sarcasm regarding Atobe's actions.

But Atobe clearly didn't care about any of that; he insisted on breaking through Mori Juzaburo's defenses, and was repeatedly countered by his unconscious retaliation.

Bang!

"First String scores, score 2:5"

"Although he didn't reach that level in terms of degree, Mori Juzaburo's state was very similar to Muko's."

At least in the ability to retaliate without conscious thought, relying solely on bodily memory, this is something only State of Selflessness can achieve.

Watching Atobe and Yukimura launch attacks on Mori Juzaburo during the previous match, only to be countered, Horio even felt that the two were overestimating themselves.

"Get yourself together quickly, you don't have much time left to counterattack."

After Atobe lost his serve, it was Ochi Moonlight's turn to shine.

After winning another game with a fourth Mach Serve, the score was now 3-5.

Based on the current situation, junior high school students still have an advantage.

As long as the match ends in this round or the next round, the victory will still belong to them.

If the score is tied, the game will completely tilt in the favor of the high school students.

However, facing a fully-fledged Mori Juzaburo and a fully unleashed Ochi Moonlight, how much of a chance do Atobe and Yukimura have left?

Bang!

"First String scores, score 4:5"

Bang!

"First String scored, score 5-5"

In the end, Atobe and Yukimura failed to seize the opportunity, even though they focused their attacks on Ochi Moonlight.

"Oh? It's Atobe's serve again. Even if Ochi doesn't use his Mental Assassination, he's under enough pressure right now."

"The outcome of the match is already decided, but Atobe hasn't finished his tricks yet. This show isn't over yet; you can watch a little longer."

"Right, he still has that one he hasn't used yet. Given the current situation, he should probably take some action by now."

By this point in the match, apart from the junior high school students who were still watching the game with bated breath, the rest of the First String and Horio Irie, who were standing on the other side of the field, had all lost interest in the match.

Atobe and Yukimura are like spent arrows; no matter how hard they try, the outcome is already decided.

"What I thought would be a quick and easy match has turned into a protracted battle."

"Atobe, you don't want to lose, do you?"

"I know what you mean. Let's start now and see who wins."

Upon hearing Yukimura's pointed remark, Atobe responded with a similarly pointed response.

It was still a normal serve, but after Ochi Moonlight returned the ball, Atobe placed his finger on his brow.

"As long as you're within my Atobe Kingdom, I can see every blind spot of yours. Freeze me!"

The Atobe Kingdom is now open, and Atobe can clearly see the joints and bones of Ochi Moonlight and Mori Juzaburo.

Aiming at a perfect blind spot for both players, Atobe swung his racket, fueled by all his frustration.

"What happened!? Why can't I move?"

As the tennis ball flew towards him, Ochi Moonlight, now fully conscious, noticed something amiss.