"4-3? Yukimura's in the lead."
Having just finished his own match, Sanada hurried straight to the Group B final.
As soon as he arrived, he saw the score on the scoreboard.
4-3. Yukimura was ahead.
"Yukimura's sweating so much..."
Sanada's expression shifted.
Even he couldn't manage such a terrifying amount of sweat. And on the Group A court, after breaking through his own limits, Sanada had also successfully entered the Muga no Kyochi.
Now, he could sense the faint aura emanating from Yukimura.
So his friend had entered the Muga no Kyochi long ago.
"Muga no Kyochi. So he's mastered this power too."
Tezuka arrived a little late, his tennis bag on his back as he quietly watched the match.
From the moment Tezuka first saw Yukimura, he had sensed the faint "presence" emanating from him. It seemed to be the same as the "presence" Tezuka himself had mastered.
From that moment on, Tezuka had known that Yukimura had entered the Muga no Kyochi too.
As for this match, even if Yukimura had activated Muga no Kyochi, Tezuka still thought his friend Kamikawa would win.
From the first time he'd seen Kamikawa to now, after all their tennis practice, Kamikawa had always given him a subtle, hard-to-read impression. Tezuka couldn't tell just how strong his childhood friend really was.
"Deprivation of Touch?"
Kamikawa stood at the service line and squeezed his racket in his palm.
His sense of touch still hadn't returned.
But it didn't matter. Kamikawa had already adapted.
As long as his other senses hadn't been taken away, it was time to end this match.
"Yukimura."
Kamikawa held the tennis ball in his left hand, looked up, and said with a smile, "It's about time we ended this match."
Huh?!
Yukimura froze and stared at him. His powerful mental strength also sensed that something about the aura Kamikawa was giving off had changed.
"Phew..."
The next moment,
Kamikawa tossed the ball, raised his arm, then leaped up on the spot and swung.
His movements flowed seamlessly. Just one rally ago, Kamikawa hadn't been this accurate when returning the ball.
Thwack!!
The ball landed at the inverted triangle of the service line.
Its power, speed, and control were all flawless.
He didn't seem to be affected at all by the Deprivation of Touch. Or perhaps Kamikawa had already adapted during the previous rally to having his sense of touch taken away, and could freely control his strength to serve the ball perfectly.
"So fast!"
Yukimura was startled. He quickened his steps and rushed forward, catching up to the ball before swinging and sending it toward the left corner.
The instant the ball hit his racket, Kamikawa had already judged where it would land. He reached the left baseline a step ahead of time and returned it with a smooth swing.
Thwack!!
Suddenly,
Yukimura charged forward, his steps growing faster and faster.
The ball skimmed over the center of the net like a maple leaf.
Yukimura rushed in and dove for it. But the ball, which had seemed to be bouncing toward him, changed direction in a bizarre way and shot to the left. It bounced lightly, then rolled to a stop beside Yukimura's wrist.
"15-0!"
"What was that just now?"
"A slice? How did it bounce so low?"
"A slice that dropped like a maple leaf as soon as it crossed the center line—and it bounced to the left. Wasn't his sense of touch taken away? How could he still hit such an incredible shot?!"
"Yeah! Th-that's impossible!"
The many tennis fans outside the court all gasped.
"That was..."
Tezuka's gaze sharpened. This was the first time he'd seen Kamikawa hit a slice like this. The motion was very similar to an ordinary flat shot. Other players might not even react in time to this slice.
Yukimura had only managed to read it by watching Kamikawa's footwork, but he still hadn't reached the ball.
He hadn't even touched it. And even if he had, with that angle, the most he could have done was lift the ball high. The slice had landed far too close to the center of the net.
Tezuka was curious about when Kamikawa had learned to hit it. Lately, he'd also been studying a unique slice, but it put a great deal of strain on the arm.
With his current physical condition, he could only hit it a few times.
Kamikawa's slice had given him some inspiration, though. Tezuka had a feeling that after this JR Tournament, he would enter a whole new realm.
"Not good. Yukimura's stamina..."
As Yukimura's tennis coach, Sakata knew better than anyone that with this much sweating, Yukimura's body had reached its limit.
And even after using Annihilation of the Five Senses for so long, he had only managed to take away Kamikawa's sense of touch.
Judging by his performance, Kamikawa had already adapted to the loss of his sense of touch.
And now he'd added that high-quality slice.
The balance of the match had shifted again.
Thwack!!
Another one of those bizarre slices. This time, the bounce was a few millimeters lower than before.
"30-0!"
Thwack!!
"40-0!"
Thwack!!
"Game! Kamikawa, 4-4."
By now, Yukimura could barely react even to ordinary flat shots. Kamikawa's slices were brilliant. In that instant, it was difficult to tell whether he was hitting a crosscourt flat shot or a slice.
Yukimura was exhausted from running back and forth, and his stamina kept dwindling. There was no sign of Muga no Kyochi activating anymore. Even his mental strength had briefly run dry.
Kamikawa sensed it too. He tightened his grip on the racket, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Just as I thought."
Kamikawa looked across the court at Yukimura, who was panting heavily. "His Annihilation of the Five Senses is tied to his mental strength. Against opponents with powerful mental strength, it's difficult for Annihilation of the Five Senses to take effect."
"That's why he activated Muga no Kyochi halfway through the match..."
"His eyes... Has his sense of touch returned?!"
Yukimura stole a glance at Kamikawa. He couldn't be mistaken. Kamikawa had really regained his sense of touch, and it had taken him only one rally.
"So his mental strength is even greater than his technique, power, and speed?!"
Yukimura had always been most proud of his extraordinary mental strength.
It was precisely because of this mental strength that he had mastered a technique like Annihilation of the Five Senses.
But now...
Kamikawa's mental strength was no weaker than his own. That meant Annihilation of the Five Senses wasn't having much effect on him. In that case, winning this match was nothing more than a pipe dream.
On the court,
it was now Yukimura's service game.
The match continued.
Thwack!!
"0-15!"
Thwack!!
"0-30!"
"Game, Kamikawa, 5-4!"
Once again, Kamikawa relied on that flawless slice. This time, the ball's bounce was even lower.
"Phew... pant, pant..."
Yukimura sucked in deep breaths of fresh air, feeling as if his lungs were about to burst.
He still wasn't willing to give up. The score had reached 5-4, and he was only one ball away from losing this round.
He knew where the slice would land, but his body couldn't react in time.
In the end, stamina was still Yukimura's weakness.
Am I really going to lose?!
Yukimura's vision gradually blurred, and his mental strength began to run dry.
That milky-white vortex rose around him once more, and his pupils were once again tinged with a blue light. At that moment, Yukimura felt extraordinarily light.
"He activated Muga no Kyochi unconsciously."
Kamikawa saw Yukimura's current state at a glance. Compared to when he'd entered Muga no Kyochi earlier, it was obvious that Yukimura was now relying on sheer willpower to keep the match going.
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