Limit of a Hundred Refinements, A Serve That Cannot Be Returned!

In less than two minutes, four perfect Aces left the spectators stunned.

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After all, the side that holds the advantage in their service game indirectly holds the initiative in a tennis match, especially in singles.

In singles, both players exchange service games, and if one player is guaranteed to score on their serve, the other can only do their utmost to hold their own service game.

At the start of this match, both sides tacitly held their service games, and during the opponent's service game, they tried to prolong the match as much as possible, exhausting the opponent's stamina so they wouldn't score so easily.

Then Kamikawa unleashed that Dancing Golden Snake!

The original balance was shattered in an instant.

Tezuka couldn't even touch the ball, let alone exhaust Kamikawa's stamina. Meanwhile, Kamikawa could dedicate enough energy to interfere with Tezuka holding his service game.

On the court, the match continued.

Bang!!

"15-0."

Bang!

"15-15!"

Bang!!

"15-30!"

Bang!!!

"30-40!"

Bang!!!

"Game, Kamikawa, 5-4!"

"Hoo... hoo hoo..."

Tezuka felt like his lungs were about to explode.

The after-effects of Muga no Kyochi swept over his entire body once again. Although it was his service game, Tezuka had lost this crucial point. The next game was Kamikawa's serve, and Kamikawa's Dancing Golden Snake would end this match.

During the changeover, sweat poured down Tezuka's forehead. His gold-rimmed glasses were fogged up, and his heart was filled with dread.

"My domain abilities are completely sealed... Muga no Kyochi poses no threat, and now I don't even have the strength to activate the Limit of a Hundred Refinements."

Tezuka took off his glasses and wiped the fog from the lenses.

He suddenly felt very tired, more tired than he had ever felt before. Yet, even so, a smile still graced his lips. He was having a really good time playing.

Even though it was tiring, he was playing great, wasn't he?!

Kamikawa was very strong.

But with one serve, he would break through.

He definitely would!

Tezuka took a deep breath, forcefully adjusting his current state through his breathing rhythm.

After a long while, he only slowly stood up when the referee's warning voice sounded in his ear. A milky white vortex swirled around him again. He hadn't lost yet!

"Do you have the courage to pick up your racket even when you know you're going to lose?!"

Looking at Tezuka Kunimitsu's retreating back, Yukimura stared blankly for a long time before snapping back to reality.

Mind, technique, and body – in the latter half of the match, despite being almost crushed, he still held onto the belief of not losing.

Based on this alone, even if it were the finals, a match between him and Tezuka, the one who would ultimately lose would definitely be him.

That's right.

Deep in Yukimura's heart, he had already simulated a match between himself and Tezuka.

"Come on."

Kamikawa chuckled, tossing the tennis ball upwards. "Try to return it, Tezuka!"

Snap!

It was that golden streak again, darting freely across Tezuka's court. Tezuka moved forward quickly, seeming to have pinpointed the ball's location. He swung his racket, but all that came was the whistling sound of the wind.

Bang!!

The tennis ball hit the wall and bounced up violently.

"15-0!"

BANG!

"30-0!"

BANG!!

"40-0!"

This was the final point.

Even until the very end, the speed of the Dancing Golden Snake showed no signs of decreasing.

Tezuka maintained his "Surrender to None" state, lowering his body, his eyes fixed on the ball ahead. He could now predict the landing spot of the Dancing Golden Snake, but his body still couldn't keep up; it was just a little short.

Because the bounce angle of the Dancing Golden Snake was quite low, it could only be returned with a half-volley the instant the ball bounced.

This not only tested the player's eyesight but also required them to consider whether their arm could withstand hitting back the high-speed spinning tennis ball.

This was the most difficult aspect of the Dancing Golden Snake.

"Here it comes."

Kamikawa tossed the ball, and another high-quality Dancing Golden Snake was served.

Its power undiminished, the pale yellow tennis ball instantly appeared in Tezuka's court.

This time, Tezuka appeared at the ball's landing spot. The milky-white aura around him instantly solidified, transforming into a dazzling white light that enveloped his entire body. At this moment, the light was exceptionally brilliant, and Tezuka's movements quickened slightly along with it.

Radiant Light!!

Yukimura, Sanada, and the others only saw Tezuka's sudden forward movement. In that instant, his speed increased slightly, and he successfully reached the falling tennis ball.

BANG!

The next moment, Tezuka sidestepped, swung his racket backhand, and returned the ball the instant it bounced up, feeling a tearing sensation on his racket strings.

The dazzling white light wrapped around the tennis ball, invisibly adding some power to Tezuka's shot as he sent it back.

THWACK!

A crisp sound rang out.

Sssshhh.

This was followed by a harsh grinding noise. The tennis ball turned into a golden lightning bolt, but it didn't cross the net. It struggled violently at the net until it lost all its momentum and slowly dropped down, grazing the net.

"Match... Match point!"

Then, the umpire, seated on the high chair, recovered and shouted loudly, "The winner is Kamikawa Mutsu, number 26, from Tokyo!"

"The score is 6-4!"

The entire stadium erupted in cheers.

Tezuka deactivated his "Surrender to None" state and forced himself to stand up, tucking his racket under his arm and clapping with both hands. He was genuinely happy for Kamikawa.

"Congratulations, player Kamikawa."

The umpire also descended from his high chair. "You have won the JR Tournament elementary division championship."

"Thank you," Kamikawa nodded.

He walked past the umpire and into Tezuka's court, saying with a slight smile, "You really pushed yourself to use the Limit of a Hundred Refinements at the end there."

"It was worth it."

Tezuka straightened his back and smiled calmly. "Next time, I will definitely break through that serve."

"Next time, you might have to break through my slice shot. The Maple Leaf Slice is still incomplete, you know."

The Maple Leaf Slice was the peculiar slice shot Kamikawa had used earlier that bounced to the left.

That slice shot was not yet perfected; it still lacked some specific spin and required further improvement in skill to fully complete. The finished product might be similar to Tezuka's Zero-style Slice.

However, its trajectory and the way it presented itself would definitely be different from the Zero-style.

The Zero-style was the Zero-style, and the Maple Leaf was the Maple Leaf. While they shared some connections, they were still two different types of slice shots.

"We should go."

Outside the court, Yukimura watched Tezuka and Kamikawa's retreating figures and suddenly said.

Sanada blinked. "We're leaving already? Aren't we going to say something?"

"No."

Yukimura shook his head. "Sanada, we'll meet them sooner or later. We're not strong enough yet, but this loss will only make us stronger."

"Stronger?!"

"Yes."

Yukimura nodded. "We'll only become stronger than before. Three consecutive National Tournament championships, and continuing the seniors' legacy of dominating the Kanto region."

Rikkai Dai Fuzhong, Kanagawa Prefecture's top tennis school, was also a renowned tennis powerhouse in the Kanto region, maintaining an undefeated streak in the Kanto Tournament to this day.

What Yukimura needed to do was to continue the Kanto Tournament's winning streak and win the National Tournament championship trophy, which Rikkai Dai Fuzhong had never obtained.