The Showdown of the Asura Divine Path

"So you've entered the Asura Divine Path. No wonder you're so confident."

"I will risk my life in this battle to defeat you."

Sensing the power suddenly emanating from Tokugawa, Byodoin finally frowned.

Although Tokugawa's power was very strong before, as long as he did not step into the Asura Divine Path, Byodoin would always be one step ahead of him.

However, now that he knows the truth, he has no choice but to take it seriously, for even the weakest Asura Divine Path should not be underestimated.

Seeing Tokugawa's resolute expression, Byodoin knew this match wouldn't end easily.

"Since you've already resigned yourself to certain death, then let me see the level of your Asura Divine Path."

Seeing Tokugawa's body enveloped in a layer of dark aura, Byodoin also released the power of his Asura Divine Path.

Like Tokugawa, a deep and terrifying aura appeared, enveloping Byodoin's body.

However, unlike Tokugawa, the atmosphere surrounding Byodoin was closer to a deathly gray.

"The main show is finally about to begin. Tokugawa's Black Hole and Byodoin's World Pirate —which of these two Asura Divine Path will prevail?"

Off-stage, Horio had only witnessed Tokugawa's Black Hole, but he was still very interested in Byodoin's World Pirate.

Therefore, when the two Asura Divine Path powers appeared, Horio immediately became alert.

"That guy, Byodoin, is very strong. His playing style is a domineering style that completely crushes his opponents head-on."

Furthermore, his World Pirate are also quite aggressive; the combination of these two factors creates an effect that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Knowing that Horio had never fought Byodoin, Oni, Horio's old rival, immediately fell into reminiscence.

"After Byodoin returned from the mountain, he entered the Asura Divine Path and mastered the power of another dimension. His strength was completely different from before."

Aside from his arrogant and self-centered personality remaining unchanged, his playing style and moves have become even more aggressive than before.

That's why he evolved faster and faster until he had no rivals in the training camp.

Unable to find an opponent, he began wandering the world, hoping to become stronger.

Ghost and I realized that there was no one in the training camp at that time who could match him, or rather, no one who could match him in the future.

That's why we saved him in the match between Tokugawa and Byodoin, so that one day we could challenge Byodoin's position.

After the demon fell into his memories, Irie also seemed to recall things from the past.

In particular, regarding the training of Tokugawa, neither of them even participated in the subsequent overseas training.

"While I don't quite agree with your approach of placing your hopes on others, Tokugawa certainly deserves it."

The reason Byodoin is pulling you, his fellow group, further and further apart is that he has found and is steadfastly pursuing his own path.

Although we don't know what happened to him during the old man's training, he must have grasped something during that time.

If you, Demon, had found your own path back then, I think you would be even stronger now, perhaps even stronger than Byodoin.

Horio, who had never quite agreed with Oni and Irie's ideologies, still held Tokugawa in high regard and felt sorry for the two years Oni had wasted.

As for Irie, Horio had nothing to say.

Since Horio arrived at the training camp, Irie has never revealed his true strength.

Even when competing against himself, he kept his performance within the range of the Coach staff's data.

The Coach staff rated Irie's total data across five dimensions as 22, but how could a guy with speed of 6, mental strength of 7, and technique of 6 have a combined strength and stamina of only 3?

Moreover, during the games on Court No. 3 and Court No. 5, Irie and Atobe engaged in a long battle, playing nearly four hundred balls.

This has already proven Irie's excellent physical strength, and although the match ended in a draw because both players were unable to continue, the result was still considered a tie.

However, it's important to know that Irie only pretended to be unable to continue after seeing that Atobe couldn't continue.

Others might not know, but Horio and Oni, and even Tanegashima, could see it.

Therefore, Horio could never truly understand Irie.

Bang!

"Byodoin scores, the score is 6-6, tiebreaker."

"Wow, that's amazing... Is this what a competition between the top high school students in the U-17 class is like...?"

"They actually dragged it to a Game 7, Tokugawa's pretty good."

Even with the power of the Asura Divine Path, the two players still couldn't pull ahead, and the score remained close, dragging the game into a tiebreaker.

The shock of this incident made the middle school students forget to marvel anymore, while on the other side, the First String camp...

Kimijima Ikuto also finds the current state of the competition quite novel.

"Ghost..."

"It can be done; have faith in Tokugawa."

In the stands outside the stadium, Oni and Irie, returning to reality from their memories, were also somewhat apprehensive about the current situation.

In the control room, which had been monitoring the game, several Coach were also somewhat surprised.

"Tokugawa and Byodoin actually fought to a draw. Maybe Tokugawa could actually win."

"Don't you remember? That fateful duel two years ago?"

Kurobe remained as somber as ever when he heard Saito's words. Seeing that Saito hadn't noticed the problem, Kurobe brought up what had happened two years ago.

"You mean the match between Byodoin and the demon...?"

"Byodoin, who had not yet entered the Asura Divine Path Byodoin, lost to the demon by a hair's breadth, even though the demon had already entered the Asura Divine Path at that time."

Saito then remembered, and his face instantly turned ugly.

"That was truly a life-or-death duel."

"Ever since that incident, Byodoin has had a mark etched on his forehead by a demon that he can never erase in this lifetime."

However, after that defeat, Byodoin, who had become as powerful as Ashura, would not be so easily surpassed by others.

Byodoin, as the main Kurobe in charge of the Coach staff, clearly knew Byodoin better than Saito and Takuetsu.

Looking at the two players still neck and neck on the screen, Kurobe's eyes were filled with worry for Tokugawa.

Bang!

Tokugawa scores, score 6-5.

"From this moment on, history will be rewritten."

"Not bad, but I won't lose."

A cloud of dust rose from the tennis ball in Byodoin as Tokugawa scored, bringing the match to Tokugawa's match point.

"Just one point short, Tokugawa..."

"To win the first game, Tokugawa has no choice but to attack now."

Off the court, seeing Tokugawa reach match point, both Oni and Irie became tense.

"Hmph, bring it on, you returning elite."

Just like a year ago, Byodoin once again addressed Tokugawa as an elite returned overseas student, while simultaneously hitting the ball in his hand.

The tennis ball flew out, and Byodoin was once again shocked upon seeing Tokugawa's return stance.

"Light Ball Shot, you've even mastered that? Pretty impressive, elite."

After Tokugawa served the ball at Byodoin, a golden light appeared in his right hand.

After being entangled with the Byodoin for so long, Tokugawa finally revealed his signature move, the Light Ball Shot.

"Tokugawa, imprint this ball with the marks of your year of perseverance and valor. Go forth!"

"Go, Tokugawa! This is your moment to prove yourself!"

"Pour your determination into it, and transform into a completely new Tokugawa."

Seeing the light in Tokugawa's hand, Oni and Irie outside the arena were as excited as if they were competing themselves.

In contrast to the excitement of the two, Horio remained much calmer.

However, his eyes still held expectations for Tokugawa, hoping that he could overcome the inner demons he had about Byodoin.

"Now, I'm going to make history!"

Memories of previous failures flashed through his mind, and with that same determination, Tokugawa unleashed the Light Ball Shot.

The tennis ball, carrying a golden light, flew towards Byodoin, where the Byodoin was ready.

"Oh, I really miss this feeling."

Facing Tokugawa's counter-attack with Light Ball Shot, Byodoin suddenly spoke to the demons outside the court.

Upon hearing Byodoin's words, a bad feeling arose in the demon's heart.

"But you still need to know that the ones who deserve to be destroyed are you!"

Having said that, Byodoin held his racket with both hands and hit the glowing tennis ball.

To everyone's surprise, Byodoin caught Tokugawa's ball.

The tennis ball didn't even stay on the racket for more than a second before it was returned.

Tokugawa felt very frustrated when his own Light Ball Shot was returned.

Before he could react, the tennis ball had already swept past Tokugawa's ear at an irreversible speed.

Bang!

Tokugawa scores, total score 1-0

The tennis ball didn't bounce and hit the wall behind Tokugawa directly, immediately creating a crater about half a meter in radius centered on the ball.

The shockwave from the explosion rebounded onto Tokugawa, sending Tokugawa flying even though he was several meters away from the wall.

Although Byodoin lost the first game because of this point, Tokugawa was also affected by the power of the final point and fell to the ground.

"Although... although the opponent lost the first round, that wall was also destroyed..."

"The U-17 team's number one player is indeed more than just a smooth talker..."

What happened on the field made the junior high school students in the audience once again acknowledge that Byodoin's strength was on another level.

"You say you want to be number one? I'll show you just how powerful the world really is."

Seeing Tokugawa stagger to his feet, Byodoin was no longer the person Tokugawa had been suppressing earlier.

Now, he looks like the king of the court.

"This is terrible. Although Tokugawa won the first round, Byodoin clearly has the upper hand in terms of the Byodoin situation on the field."

"Hopefully he won't overthink it, otherwise his mindset will change, and it will be difficult for Tokugawa to win another game."

Anyone can clearly see the changing situation on the field.

However, for Oni and Irie, who were trained by Tokugawa's competitive mentality was the key to the outcome of this match.