Settling the Score

Bang...

"Seigaku's score: 40:40"

Horio retaliated with Aggressive as Fire, catching Sanada off guard.

Horio scored, tying the score again.

Before the first game was even over, Sanada's trump cards had already been countered by Horio, with two of them already being countered.

At this moment, not only Sanada was somewhat anxious, but even the people from Rikkai Dai were worried.

"We absolutely cannot lose. Rikkai Dai's three-peat must be won without any weaknesses."

The anxiety in Sanada's eyes was replaced by determination, and the wind struck again.

Horio continued to try to quell the unrest, Sanada refused to give up.

He anticipated Horio's return shot and struck with Swift as the Wind.

"Looks like you're still not giving up. Do you really think this kind of skill is that great?"

Horio took in Sanada's persistence, and then a purple aura appeared in Horio's right hand.

With a calm expression, he swung his racket.

Bang...

"Seigaku advantage"

"Was that... the Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired Limit...?"

"I never imagined that guy would reach that level."

"But if that's the case, then Sanada's chance might have come."

"That's right. While the Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired Limit can double the power of an opponent's return shot, it will reduce other physical abilities."

The people from Rikkai Dai were clearly aware of the existence of the three gates and had some understanding of them.

"You're really arrogant. Without someone like Tezuka in the Tezuka Zone, your Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired' will only make you suffer."

Sanada, who had already entered a state of State of Selflessness, must have understood this as well.

I gave up this technique because the State of Selflessness consumed too much of my physical strength.

Seeing that Horio had actually mastered the Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired, he was briefly surprised, but quickly recovered.

Since Horio had not yet retired from Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired, Sanada did not use the wind serve and instead used a regular serve.

They didn't even use any other ball skills, instead engaging in a war of attrition with Horio.

Sanada was certain that Horio couldn't maintain his Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired for long, so he kept pulling against Horio to increase the burden on Horio's arms.

"You Rikkai Dai are all the same, even your tricks for dealing with people are identical."

As soon as Horio spoke, the expressions of Rikkai Dai outside the arena and Sanada's inside changed.

Those watching felt Horio was mocking them, while Sanada sensed the disdain in Horio's tone.

"But if you try to scheme against me, that's your mistake."

Horio then decided not to delay any longer and unleashed a Shatter attack.

A purple aura was infused, and the tennis ball, unchanged, flew towards Sanada.

Sanada's muscles had already adapted to playing against Horio, and he was completely unaware of the unusual sensation in the tennis ball.

He gripped his racket tightly and hit the tennis ball as before, but when the tennis ball made contact with Sanada's racket...

Sanada's expressionless face suddenly contorted as a tearing pain shot through the center of his racket, catching Sanada off guard.

"Seigaku scores, score 1-0"

Then he saw Sanada's racket fly out, and his own arm was trembling slightly.

Those who had competed against Horio and been taught a lesson by Horio Shatter style all changed their expressions, as if some unpleasant memories had been stirred up.

"What happened? What Sanada?"

"There must have been something wrong with that last shot."

"Even if 'Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired' allows for a doubled counterattack, it shouldn't cause Sanada that much pain."

There's definitely something we haven't noticed.

The Rikkai Dai and others in the spectator area had no idea what had just happened, while the Seigaku students became excited when they saw Horio unleash Shatter.

"Good job, kid. Give him a few more Shatter to show him what's what."

"That's right Horio, let him taste the power of Shatter."

When Sanada heard that Horio had just used a ball technique, his doubts were instantly resolved.

"It looks just like a normal return shot, yet it generates such terrifying power."

Picking up his racket from the ground, Sanada walked towards Horio's half of the court, preparing to start the second game after the change of ends.

"Now it's my serve. Remember what I told you? You'll have to pay for Kirihara's mistake."

As the two passed each other, Horio said to Sanada.

Upon hearing this, Sanada felt a renewed sense of unease.

Upon reaching the finish line, Horio revealed a slight smile on his calm face.

He looked up at Sanada, who was preparing to catch the ball, and then threw it out.

Thump... bang... plop...

"Seigaku score, 15:0"

The sound of a racket hitting a tennis ball, the sound of the tennis ball bouncing on the ground, and then the sound of someone falling to the ground.

The three sounds appeared within just two seconds, and the entire arena was silent except for the referee's voice.

Seeing Sanada lying on the ground, people from Seigaku, Rikkai Dai, or other schools were all shocked.

Everyone was startled by what they saw, because it happened so suddenly.

"Was that... an invisible swing...?"

"That guy, he even knows Sanada's style."

"And it's not just about the wind... That last shot combined Sanada's wind with an Outer Spin Serve."

"That... that guy, is he really going to treat Captain Sanada like that?"

Seeing Sanada knocked to the ground by Horio's serve, Kirihara's fear resurfaced on the sidelines.

"In the last match, you clearly knew what the consequences would be Kirihara Akame were in that state, but you didn't stop him and let him continue to play that kind of tennis that hurts people."

I don't know what you were thinking at the time, but for me, tennis has never been about hurting people.

Since you just condoned Kirihara's unforgivable act, I'll let you experience what it feels like to be hurt by tennis.

Seeing Sanada get up, Horio no longer concealed his anger; he was determined to teach Sanada a lesson.

Next, Horio took turns serving Sanada with wind, Outer Spin Serve, and knuckle serve.

He was knocked down time and time again, got up again and time again, only to be knocked down again.

"Seigaku scores, score 2-0"

"Next, it's your knees' turn."

Sanada was repeatedly defeated by Horio, but Horio did not feel any remorse.

He hates people hurt by playing tennis, but that doesn't mean he can't punish such people.

Looking at the tennis ball in his hand, Sanada was considering whether to continue hitting the same ball as before.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Sanada decided against using the wind since it was no longer effective against Horio.

A standard high-speed serve, Horio receives the ball and hits it towards the open space on the other side of Sanada.

Because the ball was moving too fast, Sanada rushed to save it, and before Horio could even catch the ball and regain his balance Sanada was already caught off guard.

Suddenly change posture and hit a short drop shot.

Sanada had just received the ball and was about to run to the net again, his body swaying slightly.

The racket, stretched out with effort, caught the tennis ball just before it hit the ground at the last moment.

The tennis ball bounced up, Horio's figure suddenly appeared, filling Sanada's field of vision.

A forehand swing sends the tennis ball hurtling through the air.