Unborn Zero

"Can't you read my mind just by looking into my eyes? It seems that's not the case now."

"Grip the racket, "Sanada said, facing the opposite half of the court.

"I really underestimated you. So, your target now is me, right? Then let's have a head-on showdown."

On the field, Tanegashima reappeared, but the calm smile he had worn earlier was gone.

Instead, there is seriousness and earnestness.

"So you're finally brave enough to show your face? I thought you'd hide until the end of the competition."

Seeing that Tanegashima was Will Not Be Zero longer in use, Akutsu scoffed.

"You should be in your best form right now, so keep going. If you drag this out any longer, you won't be as confident as you are now."

Looking at Akutsu's unruly demeanor, Tanegashima chuckled softly.

"Akutsu, what does he mean?"

"Stop asking so many questions, hurry up and serve, time is precious."

Tanegashima was puzzled by Sanada's words and immediately turned to look at Akutsu.

Akutsu didn't say much, but simply urged Sanada.

Having received no answer, Sanada stopped asking and, as Akutsu had instructed, went to the baseline to serve.

"Your Black Dragon Triple Slash was indeed quite powerful, but I won't give you another chance to hit that ball."

Seeing that the dark Aura around Sanada had not yet dissipated, Tanegashima knew that Sanada would continue with his previous tactics.

No longer wanting to prolong the conflict, Tanegashima gave up on continuing to engage with the two. Facing Sanada's serve, Tanegashima changed his swing motion to a downswing.

"Unborn Zero."

Tanegashima unleashed a new move, sending the tennis ball soaring into the sky.

Akutsu and Sanada both looked up at the tennis ball in the air, only to see that after flying a certain distance, the tennis ball seemed to freeze in mid-air.

"What happened!? Why didn't the ball stop?"

"Be careful, Sanada. This is probably one of his other moves."

Before Sanada could even have a chance to wonder, Akutsu quickly reminded him.

The two men stared intently at the tennis ball, but the ball remained suspended in mid-air, its size appearing unchanged to them.

Thump...

"First String scores, 15:30"

"What!?"

When was it!?

As the two players were still looking up at the sky, the referee's decision interrupted their focus on the game.

Turning to look at the ball lying on the ground, Sanada and Akutsu's faces showed horror again.

"The Unborn Zero can keep a tennis ball suspended in the air for a long time."

The prolonged airtime can create a false impression for the opponent, allowing for a surprise attack.

In one match, Tanegashima used "Unborn" after "Extinguished Zero" and "Will Not Be Zero"Unborn Zero.

Horio saw that Tanegashima had already used three of the "Five Zeros's " techniques, and knew that Tanegashima wanted to end the battle quickly.

"Akutsu..."

"I know, don't panic now. There's definitely something fishy about that shot. Let's observe the next shot and see what happens."

Both players were completely bewildered by the first goal, so they decided that even if they conceded another goal, they would observe the situation further.

Hearing Akutsu say that, Sanada had no choice but to hit the tennis ball in his hand.

"Want to figure out what's going on? It's not that easy to see through, you know. (Unborn Zero)"

Seeing the two people opposite him looking like they were facing a formidable enemy, Tanegashima narrowed his eyes and Unborn Zero another attack.

The tennis ball flew into the air, then came to a stop in mid-air again, under the watchful eyes of Sanada and Akutsu.

Just like the previous ball, the tennis ball froze in mid-air.

Thump...

"First String scores, 30:30"

The same situation occurred again; Sanada and Akutsu still had the tennis ball frozen in mid-air in their eyes, but the referee had already declared a point.

"It seems like there's something wrong with our vision. That ball can indeed stay in the air, which is why we think the tennis ball is stuck in that position."

"But while our eyes were fixed on the tennis ball, it had already started to fall."

"That's right, the truth and the falsehood, the deception and the reality, that's the secret behind that guy's move."

After the second goal was scored, both Sanada and Akutsu roughly guessed the principle behind the concept of "Unborn Zero".

"For the next ball, you'll cover the air, and I'll cover the ground. As soon as the ball touches the ground, I'll hit it back immediately."

"Good."

After understanding the general principle of the Unborn Zero, the two quickly came up with a solution.

"It seems they've found a way to deal with Unborn Zero."

"But can they really break that move?"

"Of course not, they can't even break through 'Extinguished Zero,' so 'Unborn Zero' combines the effects of 'Extinguished Zero.'"

Off the field, Horio couldn't help but laugh as he watched the two on the field discussing their plan so skillfully.

Hearing Tokugawa say this, Horio, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but feel a little skeptical.

Horio also bluntly stated that Sanada and Akutsu were unable to break the Unborn Zero, and that defeat was all that awaited them.

On the court, Sanada hits the ball out of his hand.

At the same time, Akutsu quickly moved to the baseline.

Sanada moved forward to the front lines to prevent Tanegashima from launching a surprise attack.

"Is this your solution? In that case, you can try to crack it."

Seeing the two quickly change positions, a slight smile flashed across Tanegashima's lips.

Then, with a downswing, he returned Sanada's serve, Unborn Zero cause.

Upon seeing Sanada immediately looked up, while Akutsu at the bottom line focused all his attention on the ground.

"Oh? Trying to return the ball the instant it hits the ground? How naive."

"If Tanegashima's Unborn Zero could be cracked so easily, he wouldn't have spent so much time practicing and perfecting it."

Even we are somewhat powerless against this move.

Outside the stadium, in the First String seating area, Byodoin and the others, seeing the method used by Sanada and Akutsu, couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

The two players on the court were unaware of all this. Sanada stared intently at the tennis ball in the sky, Akutsu kept his eyes glued to the ground, not daring to relax for a moment.

"There!"

Just then, something other than Sanada suddenly appeared in Akutsu's line of sight.

Seeing the tennis ball fall, Akutsu moved and rushed towards it.

However, the tennis ball landed almost halfway across Akutsu, and it was falling at an extremely fast speed, almost as fast as a smash.

Even if he were in excellent physical condition, it would be too late for him to travel such a long distance.

Thump...

"First String scores, 40:30"

"Hateful!"

Seeing the tennis ball land and score, Akutsu, who had already dove out to save the ball but failed, slammed his fist on the ground in frustration.

"One person alone isn't enough. I'll hold the baseline, and you hold the midfield."

"Okay, this is the last chance. We have to succeed."

Sanada walked up to Akutsu and reached out to help him up.

Upon hearing Sanada's suggestion, Akutsu knew that he couldn't do it alone, so he didn't object.

"It's the last ball, we absolutely can't lose..."

Back on the baseline, Sanada looked at Tanegashima on the other side.

" Its Swift as the Wind Storm!"

The game had reached a critical moment, and Sanada, disregarding whether it was useful or not, unleashed another attack Swift as the Wind Storm.

The tennis ball flew out, and Sanada and Akutsu moved simultaneously.

They each took their agreed-upon positions, and this time both simultaneously prepared for the ground.

"Even if there are two of them, it's useless, Unborn Zero."

Tanegashima was generous in giving the two, who kept trying, and readily used the skill "Unborn Zero".

"Akutsu, you're here!"

"Knew."

Seeing the tennis ball fly into the sky, the two immediately focused their attention on the ground.

About six seconds later, the tennis ball hit the ground.

However, this time the tennis ball landed neither at the net nor near the baseline.

"Akutsu! Behind you!"

The tennis ball appeared behind Akutsu, falling almost right next to Akutsu cylindrical body.

Upon hearing Sanada's reminder, Akutsu unleashed his full power, reaching a state of No-Perception State.

Jump to the left, rotating 180 degrees in mid-air.

"I saw you! Get back here!"

As Akutsu completed his turn, he saw the person who had just landed and bounced up.

However, the ball's power seems to vanish the instant it hits the ground due to its rapid descent.

The ball, which should have had a noticeable rebound, only bounced up slightly, but this was enough for Akutsu, who had unleashed all his otherworldly power.

The instant the tennis ball bounced, Akutsu swiftly swung his racket.

Using a distance of only about ten centimeters, he jumped into the air and successfully hit the ball, then returned it.

"He actually managed to hit me!"

"Is that middle school student's otherworldly ability that strong? He actually managed to forcefully return that ball."

"It seems that middle school students these days shouldn't be underestimated. If it weren't Tanegashima was playing against him today, the outcome of the match might have been decided by him alone."

Akutsu's outburst instilled fear in several high school students in the First String, even causing them to feel a sense of dread towards him.

"It really happened! Tanegashima's Unborn Zero been cracked."

"But Akutsu can't continue the match either."

After Akutsu knocked Misaki back to the Unborn Zero, Horio clearly felt that Akutsu's otherworldly power was rapidly disappearing. Finally, having exhausted his power, he also withdrew from the state of No-Perception State.

"Did you use up all your extradimensional power trying to get that ball back? It seems you've put yourself in a desperate situation."

Tanegashima wasn't angry that his signature ball skills had been countered.

Since Akutsu used all of his extradimensional power, it was well worth it in comparison.

Seeing Akutsu kneeling on the ground struggling to support himself, Tanegashima aimed at his side and returned a smash.

"Don't forget, we're not just one person in this match!"

At that moment, Sanada appeared next to Akutsu at the baseline, and he could only hastily respond to Tanegashima's return shot.

In a moment of quick thinking, he spotted a large open space on the left side of the opposite half of the field.

Aiming at the easiest spot to score from in that open space, Sanada swung his racket.

"You're right, there's more than one person in this match."

But it seems like we're not alone, right, Ryuji?"

Let's end it with this one goal.

At that moment, Tanegashima suddenly spoke, looking to the left and addressing the empty court.

He didn't understand why Tanegashima was talking to thin air at first, but then the voice of Ohmeguro Ryuji suddenly appeared and he was jolted awake.