In less than two minutes, four perfect aces had left everyone watching from the sidelines stunned.
In tennis, the player with the advantage on serve also had an indirect advantage in controlling the match, especially in singles.
In singles, the players took turns serving. If one of them was guaranteed to score on his serve, the other could only do everything possible to hold his own service games.
At the start of the match, both players had tacitly focused on holding their own serves. When their opponent served, they tried to prolong the rallies as much as possible, wear him down, and make it harder for him to score.
But then Kamikawa unleashed that Dancing Golden Snake!
The balance between them was shattered in an instant.
Tezuka couldn't even touch the ball, let alone wear Kamikawa down. Meanwhile, Kamikawa had plenty of energy to spare for disrupting Tezuka's attempts to hold his own serve.
The match continued on court.
Thwack!!
"15–0."
Thwack!
"15–15!"
Thwack!!
"15–30!"
Thwack!!!
"30–40!"
Thwack!!!
"Game, Kamikawa. 5–4!"
"Haah... haah..."
Tezuka felt as if his lungs were about to burst.
The side effects of Muga had swept over his whole body once more. Although this was his service game, he had lost this crucial game. Kamikawa would serve next, and his Dancing Golden Snake would bring the match to an end.
During the break, sweat streamed uncontrollably down Tezuka's forehead. His gold-rimmed glasses were clouded with condensation, and his heart was full of shock.
"My Domain Technique is completely sealed off... Muga can't pose a threat. Now I don't even have the strength to activate the Limit of a Hundred Refinements."
Tezuka took off his glasses and wiped the condensation from the lenses.
He suddenly felt exhausted—more exhausted than he had ever been. Even so, the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. He had truly enjoyed the match.
It had been exhausting, but it had been a great match, hadn't it?!
Kamikawa was strong.
But he would break that serve.
He would!
Tezuka took a deep breath, trying to force his body back into shape by regulating his breathing.
Much later, only when the referee's warning rang in his ears did Tezuka slowly rise to his feet. A milky-white aura swirled around him once more. He hadn't lost yet!
"He knows he's going to lose, and yet he still has the courage to pick up his racket?"
Staring at Tezuka Kunimitsu's back, Yukimura stood dazed for a long while before finally coming back to his senses.
In the latter half of the match, Tezuka had been overwhelmed in mind, skill, and body, yet he still held on to his conviction that he wouldn't lose.
Just that alone meant that even if the match were the final, and he were facing Tezuka, he would be the one to lose.
That was right.
Deep down, Yukimura had already imagined a match between himself and Tezuka.
"Come on."
Kamikawa smiled as he tossed the ball into the air. "Try returning it, Tezuka!"
Snap!
That golden streak raced wildly across Tezuka's court again. Tezuka darted forward, seeming to catch the ball's position, and swung. All he struck was the whistle of air.
Thwack!!
The ball slammed into the wall and shot sharply upward.
"15–0!"
Thwack!
"30–0!"
Thwack!!
"40–0!"
This was the final point.
Even now, the Dancing Golden Snake showed no sign of slowing down.
Tezuka remained in his Muga stance, crouching low and staring fixedly ahead. He could now read where the Dancing Golden Snake would land, but his body still couldn't keep up. He was just a little short.
Because the Dancing Golden Snake bounced at such a low angle, the only way to return it was with a half-volley, the instant the ball hit the ground and sprang back up.
This tested more than a player's eyesight. He also had to consider whether his arm could withstand the strain of returning the rapidly spinning ball after making contact.
That was what made the Dancing Golden Snake so difficult.
"Here it comes."
Kamikawa raised his hand, tossed the ball, and unleashed another powerful Dancing Golden Snake.
Its power hadn't diminished in the slightest. The pale-yellow ball appeared on Tezuka's side in an instant.
This time,
Tezuka appeared at the ball's landing point. The milky-white aura around him instantly solidified, turning into a dazzling white light that enveloped his entire body. The light blazed brilliantly, and his movements quickened along with it.
Brilliant Radiance!!
Yukimura, Sanada, and the others saw Tezuka suddenly surge forward. His movements sped up in that instant, and he managed to reach the falling ball.
Thwack!
The next moment, Tezuka turned sideways and swung with a backhand, striking the ball the instant it bounced up. He felt a tearing strain through the racket strings.
That dazzling white light wrapped around the ball, lending Tezuka extra strength as he sent it back.
Clack!
A crisp sound rang out.
Scrrrt.
Then came a grating scrape. The ball became a golden bolt of lightning, but it didn't clear the net. It writhed violently against the net until it had lost all its force, then slowly brushed against the net as it fell.
"The match... the match is over!"
The referee, seated on the tall chair, finally came to his senses and called out, "The winner is No. 26, Kamikawa Mutsu, from Tokyo Metropolis!"
"The score is 6–4!"
A wave of cheers erupted throughout the stadium.
Tezuka let his Muga stance fade and forced himself to his feet. He tucked his racket beneath his arm and clapped. He was genuinely happy for Kamikawa.
"Congratulations, Kamikawa," the referee said as he climbed down from the tall chair. "You've won the JR Tournament elementary division."
"Thank you." Kamikawa nodded.
He walked past the referee and onto Tezuka's side of the court. Smiling faintly, he said, "You really forced yourself to use the Limit of a Hundred Refinements in the end."
"It was worth it."
Tezuka straightened and smiled calmly. "Next time, I'll definitely break that serve."
"Next time, you might have to figure out my slice too. The Maple Leaf Slice is still incomplete."
The Maple Leaf Slice was the strange slice Kamikawa had hit earlier, which bounced to the left.
The slice was still unfinished. It needed a particular spin, and Kamikawa would have to grow stronger before he could perfect it. Once complete, it might be similar to Tezuka's Zero-style Slice.
But the direction it rolled, or the way it moved, would definitely be different from the Zero-style Slice.
Zero-style was Zero-style, and Maple Leaf was Maple Leaf. The two had some things in common, but they were still different kinds of slices.
"We should go," Yukimura said suddenly, watching Tezuka and Kamikawa on the court.
Sanada paused. "We're leaving already? Shouldn't we go talk to them?"
"No."
Yukimura shook his head. "Sanada, sooner or later, we'll face them. We aren't strong enough yet, but this defeat will only make us stronger."
"Stronger?"
"Right." Yukimura nodded. "We'll only grow stronger than before, win the National Tournament three times in a row, and carry on our seniors' legacy of dominating the Kanto region."
Rikkai Dai Fuzhong, the top tennis school in Kanagawa Prefecture, was also a renowned tennis school in the Kanto region. To this day, it still held an unbroken winning streak in the Kanto Tournament.
Yukimura's task was to continue that winning streak in the Kanto Tournament and claim the National Tournament championship trophy that Rikkai Dai Fuzhong had never won.
Before you continue