Serve Showdown

"Looks like I need to get a new racket; it's not keeping up with my game anymore."

Byodoin's words had no effect on Horio; at that moment, Horio only felt that his racket needed to be replaced.

As if making a self-deprecating remark, Horio went to the sidelines, changed into a new racket, and then returned to the court.

"I should be able to guess that the phoenix wasn't just something that looked flashy."

Recalling the burn marks on the strings of his damaged racket, Horio looked at Byodoin with a serious expression.

"It was my mistake to underestimate that move. From now on, I won't be careless at all."

Horio twirled his racket, gripping it with both hands, ready to continue the match.

Upon seeing this, Byodoin smiled, and it was a satisfied smile.

He tossed the tennis ball up from the baseline, and then the power of the Asura Divine Path erupted.

"Wallace Great Bee!"

Then Byodoin shouted out a move he had never heard of before, and his racket had already hit the ball.

The tennis ball flew out, but this shot was different from his previous Overlord Tennis style.

Compared to the previous shots that focused on power, this one was more skillful.

The tennis ball, launched at a tricky angle, hurtled towards Horio, its power amplified by the power of Asura Divine Path.

Bang!

Byodoin score: 40-0

Byodoin delivered an extremely skillful and elegant serve, directly scoring a point against Horio.

"Can he also make such a skillful shot...?"

"As expected of the team's number one, he's not just powerful."

"Even I, in my old age, have a hard time hitting that kind of fancy serve."

"Even Atobe, who's known for his flashy playing style, says so. That Byodoin is just too strong."

"But I believe Horio can't possibly lose! Compared to that high school guy, Horio is the much tougher one to deal with."

While the middle school students were marveling at the strength of Byodoin, Kintaro asserted that Horio was actually the stronger one.

Upon hearing Kintaro's words, the middle school students couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Although Byodoin had a great impact on the junior high school students, Horio, who had left a deep impression on everyone from a long time ago, was undoubtedly more intimidating.

Bang!

"Byodoin scores, score 1-1"

The referee's voice rang out again; Byodoin had won a point and held their serve.

Once again, it was Horio's serve. Without hesitation, Horio tossed the ball up and prepared to use the Limitless Scattered Flowers.

"Fool, do you think this trick will still work?"

Seeing Horio's familiar serving posture, Byodoin couldn't help but mock him.

But Horio had already swung his racket, and the tennis ball flew towards Byodoin.

Seeing this, Byodoin sent out Indian Snake Charmer, awaiting the arrival of the tennis ball.

You're not the only one who's kept a backup plan.

As the tennis ball was about to land, Horio glanced at the eight Byodoin opposite him and a smirk appeared on his lips.

Byodoin realized something was wrong, but it was too late to regret it.

The tennis balls landed, and eight of them slid outwards.

Eight figures from Byodoin each swung their rackets at a tennis ball, but unlike before, all eight tennis balls passed through the rackets and disappeared.

Bang...

"Horio scores, 15:0"

Byodoin, who had missed all eight shots, was somewhat bewildered. Upon hearing the referee's voice, he instinctively looked down at the ground.

There, where the tennis ball had landed, lay a ball lying quietly on the ground, with traces of the ball's friction against the ground still visible.

"The real ball remained stationary on the ground the whole time?"

Byodoin frowned as he looked at the ball on the ground.

"Even without the power of the Founding God, I can still hit a shot you can't return."

Horio found Byodoin's tense demeanor quite amusing.

Then move to the other side and toss the ball up again.

Bang...

"Horio scores, 30:0"

Limitless Scattered Flowers scored another point, but the tennis ball remained on the ground without bouncing.

"Now, the Limitless Scattered Flowers truly look like a flower."

"Yes, a ball that's sliding on the ground can be caught, but a ball that doesn't bounce on the ground has no chance of being returned."

"With this serve, Horio can guarantee he won't lose his service games, just like Ochi- Senpai."

"So the advantage is currently in Horio's hands. As long as he can break his opponent's serve, he can easily take the point."

The Limitless Scattered Flowers unleashed its true power, and the middle school students outside the arena became excited once again.

Bang...

"Horio scores, 40:0"

At this point, Horio had reached game point and was about to throw the final ball.

Bang...

Horio scores, making the score 2-1.

With Limitless Scattered Flowers, Horio held his serve again, and the point went to Byodoin.

"I didn't expect it to turn into a serving contest. Now, whoever breaks serve will control the game."

"Although Byodoin couldn't break Horio's Limitless Scattered Flowers, Byodoin's Wallace Great Bee is also very difficult to counter."

"I believe him. That guy's true strength is far more terrifying than we imagine."

In the high school team's area, the course of the competition surprised Tokugawa.

Irie was somewhat hesitant about the strength of the two players' serves, while only Oni had full confidence in Horio.

"Want to try that serve again? I think I can break it soon."

"Hmph, pay the price for your arrogance."

Hearing Horio's provocation, Byodoin snorted coldly and then tossed the ball into the air.

"Wallace Great Bee!"

Byodoin unleashed the power of Asura Divine Path, and the tennis ball transformed into a giant bee with two large mandibles around its mouth.

The bee flapped its wings and flew towards the Horio half of the field.

Horio's pupils flashed with a purple-gold light, and then the corners of his mouth curled up.

With a step back with his right foot, Horio disappeared, reappearing in the bottom corner.

Keeping up with the speed of the tennis ball, Horio swung his racket.

The sound of the ball being hit was heard, and Horio caught the tennis ball.

Bang!

Byodoin Score, 15:0

However, after Horio returned the ball, the referee awarded the point to Byodoin.

"So... can that Wallace Great Bee be used in hitting too!?"

"That should be right. After Horio returned that ball, the opponent's return shot also turned into a 'bee'."

It turned out that after Horio returned Byodoin's serve, Byodoin responded with Wallace Great Bee.

"I really underestimated you, but you can only use this trick once."

Horio's expression changed slightly upon seeing Byodoin take the points.

Seeing Horio display this expression for the first time, Byodoin felt a surge of satisfaction.

He chuckled and turned back to the baseline to serve again.

Horio also successfully returned Wallace Great Bee's serve.

However, Byodoin's counterattack this time did not use the power of Asura Divine Path; he simply used a normal swing to hit the tennis ball.

Seeing Byodoin do this, Horio frowned slightly but still swung his arm.

Bang!

"Byodoin score, 30:0"

"The ball went through!"

"And it turned into a ball smaller than the mesh of a tennis racket..."

Byodoin scored again, and the junior high and high school students, who were initially shocked by Wallace Great Bee, showed expressions of surprise.

Because of that last shot, the tennis ball changed after Byodoin returned it.

The closer the tennis ball gets to Horio's racket, the smaller it becomes.

This change isn't just visual; you can actually feel the tennis ball shrinking and passing through the racket.

Russian Dolls.

"Is this move called that? It's like Russian Dolls, getting smaller and smaller until it's even smaller than the sphere's mesh."

Watching the tennis ball shrink to an enormous size as it passed through the racket, Horio thought that Byodoin had quite a few tricks up his sleeve.

Russian Dolls!

Bang!

Byodoin score: 40-0

Bang!

"Byodoin scores, score 2-2"

"They were too strong; both players held their serves with absolute skill."

"The match is so close, I don't know when it will end."

"Just watch, Horio won't let us down."

"That's right! Horio is really strong, that long-haired guy has no chance of winning!"

When Byodoin tied the score, the junior high school students were already buzzing with discussion.

Bang!

"Byodoin scores, score 6-6"

"It's a tiebreak now, and neither player has broken their serve yet."

"No matter what, a winner will eventually emerge."

The two players went back and forth on the court, and the first game went to a tiebreaker.

"Horio Satoshi, you are really strong, but I can't see your true strength as Zero yet."

Let me witness your prowess further, otherwise your path to conquering the world will be very difficult.

Looking at Horio across from him, Byodoin's expression was serious.

Then Asura Divine Path power was released, covering the entire Byodoin.

After the profound Asura Divine Path power was fully armed, Byodoin transformed into a pirate captain, and the racket he originally held in his hand became a rapier in the pirate captain's hand.

Seeing that Byodoin was really serious, Horio also unleashed the power of the Founding Shinto.

A purple aura permeated the air as Horio unleashed the Limitless Scattered Flowers.

The tennis ball, imbued with the Genesis Aura, landed in front of Byodoin, who had transformed into a pirate captain and swung his racket towards the Byodoin.

The rapier, shrouded in a dark aura, slashed at the Genesis Aura emanating from the tennis ball. The two auras collided, and the Genesis Aura actually suppressed the dark aura.

Seeing this, Byodoin increased the output of Asura Divine Path power, thus suppressing the Genesis Aura.

Then Byodoin swung his racket towards the sky, and the falling Limitless Scattered Flowers were actually knocked back.

Horio leaped towards the net, his racket swirling with the Genesis Aura, and successfully returned the ball with a forehand flat drive.

"Spanish Bullfight!"

The power of the Asura Divine Path increased the strength of the Spanish Bullfight, but the moment the racket hit the tennis ball, a purple beam of light destroyed it.

The beam of light then moved in tandem with the tennis ball, which, as if drawn by an attraction, plummeted toward the ground.

Bang!

Horio scores, score 1-0

"Very good!"

"It's the Weak Water!"

The Limitless Scattered Flowers was countered, Horio used the Weak Water, which he hadn't used in a long time.

The power of the Genesis Aura allowed this move to be fully unleashed, and Horio won the first point in the tiebreaker.