At this point, no one from Hyōtei had any hope left for the doubles match. Just from watching Fudomine warm up, it was clear that the next pair stepping onto the court would be none other than Tachibana Kippei and Chitose Senri—known as the top junior high doubles pair in the country.
Interestingly, even though Tachibana and Chitose didn't attend Shitenhōji, they still earned the nickname "Twin Stars." Now, people called them the Twin Stars of Kantō.
On Hyōtei's side, the ones taking the court were Shishido Ryō and Ōtori Chōtarō. Technically, they could be considered national-level doubles players now, but against a top-tier pair like this, they didn't stand a chance.
Currently, in the junior high doubles scene, Tachibana and Chitose were in a league of their own. After them came the pairs of Marui and Jackal, and Oishi and Kikumaru. Only then would you consider teams like Oshitari and Mukahi, or Minami Kentarō and Higashikata Masami.
Then there was Niō. Thanks to his unique talent, he could sync with anyone he teamed up with. That was why he didn't have a fixed partner. Lately, though, he was most often seen paired with Yagyū.
But truthfully, Yagyū's level was falling behind. He could no longer keep up with national-level Niō. If Niō were paired with someone truly at the peak of national level, their doubles potential could be limitless.
Since Mōri Jūzaburō graduated, Rikkai still had four national-level players. As for whether Yukimura had surpassed that threshold—only he himself knew.
"Now starting the first doubles match! From Fudomine, Tachibana Kippei and Chitose Senri, versus Hyōtei's Shishido Ryō and Ōtori Chōtarō! All players, please enter the court!"
As the umpire's voice rang out, all four players stepped onto the court. After exchanging bows at the net, they simply nodded to each other without saying much. Even Shishido, usually short-tempered, wore a serious look.
During the coin toss, Ōtori won the serve. But despite that, no one on Hyōtei looked pleased. They knew Ōtori's Scud Serve wouldn't do much against this kind of opponent.
"First game! Hyōtei to serve!"
As Ōtori walked to the baseline, Shishido suddenly turned and said,
"Chōtarō! Go all out! Show everyone the results of your training!"
"Yes, Shishido-senpai!" Ōtori responded with determination.
He took a deep breath, composed himself, and tossed the ball high into the air. Word by word, he shouted:
"Ikkyuu Nyuu Kon!"
With the sound of the strike, the ball rocketed toward the other side. The speed clearly exceeded the limits of a normal Scud Serve.
"Close to 230 km/h! That's faster than my Waterfall?!", Inui Sadaharu exclaimed from the sidelines, clearly surprised.
The ball flew past Chitose in a blink and zipped out of bounds. But neither Tachibana nor Chitose looked stunned or surprised.
"Ace! 15-0!"
"Nice shot, Chōtarō! That's the power of the new Scud Serve!" Shishido shouted.
"Thank you for the praise, Shishido-senpai!" Ōtori replied respectfully.
On the other side, Tachibana and Chitose didn't seem fazed by the lost point. They just wanted to see how much Ōtori's serve had improved.
"That was a solid serve~ Seems like Ōtori-kun has grown quite a bit," Chitose nodded, acknowledging the effort.
"Not bad at all—but I guess it's time we got serious, Chitose," Tachibana said.
"Ah~ Got it, Tachibana!" Chitose's expression turned serious.
As they spoke, a deep crimson aura surged from their bodies, quickly linking the two of them. Their pupils shifted to a pale gold, and their movements became perfectly in sync.
"Beast Synchronization!"
Now, they'd made Beast Synchronization a base ability. In any doubles match, they activated it almost immediately. The aura barely consumed any stamina. With their current strength, they could even keep it up for a best-of-three match.
Seeing Tachibana and Chitose activate Beast Synchronization, Shishido and Ōtori's faces both turned grim—but all they could do was keep playing.
"Ikkyuu Nyuu Kon!"
Ōtori launched the new Scud Serve again. The ball shot across the net at close to 230 km/h, speeding toward the backcourt. But just as it bounced up, a racket intercepted it cleanly.
Chitose returned the serve with a strong forehand, sending the ball to the far corner. Suddenly, Shishido appeared in its path and struck it back with both hands.
At that moment, Tachibana had moved to the net. He leaped off one foot and swung down hard with the frame of his racket. The ball split into over 20 shadows that came raining down like a storm.
"Abare Dama!"
"Don't underestimate me, Tachibana!" Shishido roared. His body became a blur as he tracked the rapidly shifting shadows on the court. The moment he spotted the real one, he stepped in and fired off a blazing fast half-volley. The ball connected with a loud smack, and all the shadows vanished.
"Not bad—so you can return Tachibana's Abare Dama. Let's try this one then!" Chitose grinned as he stepped into position.
He swung at the incoming ball, applying a sharp spin at the moment of contact. The instant the ball left his racket, it vanished.
"Kamikakushi Kai!"
On the other side, Shishido dropped his head and scanned the court, looking for the ball's shadow. But by the time he spotted it, the ball had already hit the baseline and bounced out of bounds.
"15-15!"
After losing the point, Shishido clicked his tongue in frustration and gave Ōtori a quick signal. Ōtori nodded in understanding.
When Ōtori launched another New Scud Serve, he immediately began to move, quickly stepping behind Shishido. The two of them overlapped perfectly. From Tachibana and Chitose's perspective, only Shishido was visible.
"Pile Mirage!"
Chitose moved fast to intercept the serve and returned it cleanly. Shishido and Ōtori charged toward the landing spot in complete sync, like they were one person.
Just as Shishido swung his racket, Tachibana instinctively tilted his weight to the right based on experience. But in the next instant, Ōtori's racket appeared in their view and blasted a straight shot.
It turned out Shishido's swing had been a fake. He intentionally let the ball pass, and it was actually Ōtori who hit the return. This kind of play required an extremely high level of coordination between the two.
This was the first time Shishido and Ōtori had used this move, and it caught Tachibana and Chitose completely off guard. By the time they reacted, the ball had already flown past the baseline.
"30-15!"
"A feint-based play, huh? Looks like you two make a pretty good team now! Too bad it won't work again," Tachibana said with a grin.
"Don't be so sure, Tachibana!" Shishido shot back without backing down.
But just like Tachibana said, things didn't go their way after that. When Ōtori finished serving and again moved behind Shishido to activate Pile Mirage, the trick failed to deceive their opponents a second time.
Because of the beast aura, Tachibana's mind was laser-focused. Once he understood how Pile Mirage worked, he instantly saw through who was actually going to return. He caught up to the ball and countered with Abare Dama.
Still syncing with Ōtori, Shishido failed to react in time and couldn't spot the shadow on the ground. All he could do was watch as the ball images rained down and flew out of bounds.
"30-30!"
"30-40!"
"Game! Fudomine! 1-0!"
In the next two points, Shishido and Ōtori kept trying to use Pile Mirage, refusing to give up. But Tachibana and Chitose could now see through the feint instantly. All Shishido and Ōtori could do was desperately defend—and still lose their service game.
Chitose served the second game and hit four consecutive Kamikakushi Kai. Even though Shishido was ready this time, Kamikakushi Kai's shadow was even harder to find than Abare Dama. Combined with the high speed, he was always a step too late.
"Game! Fudomine! 2-0!"
The third game was Shishido's service. He didn't have any special serves, so he just hit a clean flat shot and rushed the net. At this point, he could only rely on his speed and high-speed half volleys.
"Game! Fudomine! 3-0! Change courts!"
Unfortunately, the difference in level between the two teams was just too big. Ōtori was still at Kantō level, and Shishido was only half a step into the national level. They had no way to stop themselves from losing points.
After a short break, both sides returned to the court. Shishido and Ōtori were giving it everything they had, but the gap was clear. Hard work alone couldn't make up for it.
"Game! Fudomine! 4-0!"
"Game! Fudomine! 5-0!"
"Game! 6-0! Match over! Winner: Fudomine Middle School!"
In the end, Tachibana and Chitose easily won the doubles match. Atobe's mood turned extremely heavy—he had a strong feeling that he might not even get a chance to play today.
As Shishido and Ōtori walked off the court with their heads down, Sakaki Tarō didn't scold them. He simply pointed out a few of their mistakes and told them to rest.
On the other side, Tachibana and Chitose looked completely relaxed. Akashi only gave them a nod and a small smile to show his approval. He didn't say much else. Tachibana was still refining his upgraded beast aura, and Chitose's Ten'i had to be perfected by his own state of mind.
"Next up, Singles 3! Fudomine's Tōyama Kintarō versus Hyōtei's Akutagawa Jirō! Will both players please take the court!"
Kintarō bounced up to the net. Looking at the still-groggy Jirō, he said excitedly,
"I know you! You can play tennis while sleeping—that's so cool! Can you teach me how?!"
Jirō, now a bit more awake from Kintarō's loud voice, smiled and said,
"That might be a bit tough to learn, but Fuji and Marui are the real ones with crazy skills~"
"Yeah, I know that Fuji guy! Super strong! But for now, let's have some fun, Curly Onii-san!" Kintarō grinned, nodding eagerly.
Jirō's smile twitched when he heard Kintarō's nickname for him. His expression turned a bit weird, but he quickly brushed it off and got ready for the coin toss.
This time, Kintarō won the serve. Jirō didn't care either way—he didn't know any serve techniques, so it made no difference whether he served first or not.
"First game! Fudomine to serve!"
Kintarō stood at the baseline, stretched a few times, then tossed the ball high into the air. He leapt up after it, flipping in midair. After several full rotations, he used the centrifugal force to smash the ball with all his might.
The tennis ball rocketed toward Jirō's half with immense force. Seeing this, Jirō didn't dare be careless. Gripping his racket with both hands, he moved to the bounce point and swung at the rising ball.
As he made contact, he felt a powerful weight behind the shot—but it was still within his control. His flexible wrists helped absorb much of the impact.
After returning the shot, Jirō rushed the net. Kintarō leapt into position with a few quick jumps, spun vertically in the air, then smashed a forehand at the ball.
Just after it crossed the net, Jirō, already at the front, intercepted it. With a flick of his wrist, he absorbed some of the ball's force and countered toward Kintarō's feet.
Seeing his shot so easily returned made Kintarō even more excited. He spread his feet, jumped, intercepted the incoming ball with his racket, and hit it back with a backhand.
"Is that… a special shot?" Oshitari asked Mukahi nearby.
"It kinda looks like one… but I don't think it is. That kid's movements are totally natural—he's not planning any of it," Mukahi said, his face a bit conflicted.
From the stands, Kikumaru had the same impression. Back when Kintarō played against Ryōma, he'd already sensed something was off. Now, that feeling was confirmed.
The two on court were completely locked in, trading blows with excited expressions. Kintarō was thrilled to finally meet an opponent who could go toe-to-toe with him, while Jirō was captivated by Kintarō's wild, unpredictable moves.
"0-15!"
In the end, Jirō was the first to spot an opening in Kintarō's play and took the first point. But Kintarō didn't look discouraged at all. He was still bursting with energy, ready to serve again.
The two soon entered a fast-paced rally. Back and forth, each shot fueled their excitement. The score climbed point by point, though overall, Jirō held a slight advantage.
"15-15!"
"15-30!"
"15-40!"
"30-40!"
"Game! Hyōtei Academy! 1-0!"
After Jirō took the first game, Akashi called out from the coaching bench,
"Kintaro! Release the limiter. Play without holding back."
"Whoa! Really? Akashi!" Kintarō's eyes lit up as he looked at Akashi. When he saw him nod, he cheered and bounced around, then immediately shouted for Jirō to hurry up and serve.
Jirō didn't catch what they were saying, but from Akashi's words, it seemed Kintarō hadn't been using his full strength. That meant he needed to be extra careful.
As the second game began, Jirō stood at the baseline and tossed the ball low, then rushed the net after his serve. But just as the ball landed, Kintarō had already appeared at the bounce point and smashed it back as soon as it rose.
Jirō was still short of the net but didn't stop moving. He swung his racket at the oncoming shot—but suddenly, a power far stronger than before surged through the frame and into his arm. Completely unprepared, his racket flew out of his hands as the ball rocketed out of bounds.
"0-15!"
After picking up his racket, Jirō rubbed his numb wrist. Only now did he understand what Akashi's words really meant. Kintarō's strength was unreal—it didn't match his body at all.
He even thought Kintarō's power might surpass Kabaji's. In all his practice matches with Kabaji, he'd never had a shot knock his racket away.
Back at the baseline, Jirō started his serve-and-volley play again. He wasn't going to let the same thing happen twice. Kintarō hit the rising ball with full force once more.
Jirō used the momentum from his sprint to meet the ball and return it—but then he noticed Kintarō had started spinning in place. The next instant, his racket burst into blazing flames as he smashed at the ball.
"You're so fun to play with, Curly Onii-san! Take this—Super Megaton Deluxe Volcano Ball!" Kintarō shouted with glee.
The tennis ball burst into scorching flames and flew straight at Jirō. He reacted fast, held his racket with both hands, and met the flaming ball head-on.
The moment the racket touched the ball, a wave of heat rushed over Jirō. It felt like smashing into a lead ball. After barely holding out for a second, the racket flew out of his hands again as the ball exploded like a firework.
"30-0!"
As the score was announced, Jirō turned to look. A completely blackened tennis ball was now embedded in the wire fence. The spectators behind it were visibly shaken.
Jirō couldn't help but gulp. No wonder Akashi had placed a limiter on that kid. If an average player got hit by that shot, they'd be out cold for good. But seriously—was Akashi overestimating him?
The umpire's voice snapped Jirō out of his daze. He rushed back to the baseline to serve again. But against a fully unleashed Kintarō, even he couldn't handle the absurd power. In the end, he lost his service game.
"40-0!"
"Game! Fudomine! 1-1!"
The third game was Kintarō's serve. After winning the last game, he looked even more excited. But on the other side, Jirō slowly closed his eyes, relaxed his body, and within seconds—entered sleep mode.