Right now, Kintarō felt like he was trapped in a pitch-black space. He couldn't feel anything, and as time passed, even his sense of existence seemed to be fading.
This situation made Kintarō panic. He had never experienced anything like this before. What he couldn't understand the most was—he had just been in a match, so why did the entire world suddenly disappear?
As the saying goes, the unknown is the most terrifying. Even with Kintarō's personality, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear.
On the court, because Kintarō remained completely still, the umpire called out to him several times, but there was no reaction. Eventually, the umpire declared a service time violation.
"Service time violation! 0-30!"
"Service time violation! 0-40!"
"GAME! Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku! 3-0! Change court!"
Watching Kintarō still standing motionless on the court, Akashi walked over helplessly and guided him back to the bench. Internally, he was a bit speechless. Sure, Kintarō could break free from this state by activating Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, but whether he could realize that himself was the real issue. It was up to him now.
In the stands, the players from Seigaku and Hyōtei were murmuring among themselves. Given the current situation, it seemed likely that Fudomine would lose their Singles 3 match.
"What's going on with Tōyama? Why can't he move? He looks like he's lost his soul," Ryōma said uncertainly.
"That's Rikkai's captain Yukimura Seiichi's signature technique—Zero Senses Tennis," Fuji said with a serious tone.
"By giving the opponent overwhelming mental pressure, and then using strong spiritual energy to invade their mind, he strips them of all five senses. It completely cuts off their awareness of their surroundings—and it can even break their spirit. It's a really dangerous technique!" Inui added gravely.
"Wh-what kind of technique is that? Are you kidding me?!" Ryōma gulped, struggling to speak.
"You know, Yukimura was called the Child of God back in elementary school. But after entering middle school, Akashi's light was just too bright, so people stopped mentioning it as much," Fuji explained.
"Child of God! Whoa, that nickname sounds awesome!" Kikumaru exclaimed, surprised. He didn't pay much attention to players from other schools, so he hadn't heard Yukimura's nickname before.
Meanwhile, over in the Hyōtei camp, Atobe was staring at Yukimura on court with an annoyed expression. He remembered how powerless he was against Yukimura back in his first year, and just yesterday, how Kabaji had been completely overwhelmed. The memory filled him with frustration.
"That Yukimura guy's getting better and better at activating Zero Senses. Just a few shots now and it's working. I have to keep evolving constantly. Otherwise, forget Akashi—even Yukimura and Tezuka will leave me in the dust," Atobe muttered.
The break ended quickly. Akashi helped Kintarō change sides, while Yukimura calmly stood at the baseline, holding a tennis ball, ready to serve.
As soon as the umpire called for play to resume, Yukimura served a high-speed ball without hesitation. Kintarō didn't move at all, letting the ball fly past him and out of bounds.
"ACE! 15-0!"
"ACE! 30-0!"
"ACE! 40-0!"
"GAME! Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku! 4-0!"
Yukimura took the fourth game with four high-speed serves. Seeing Kintarō still trapped in Zero Senses, he was puzzled. He knew Kintarō could use Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami. That explosive force should be enough to shatter the state.
But that wasn't Yukimura's concern for now. He returned to the backcourt and bent down, preparing to receive serve. Even if Kintarō showed no reaction, Yukimura would never underestimate any Fudomine player.
"Service time violation! 0-15!"
"Service time violation! 0-30!"
The umpire's score announcements echoed through the stadium. On the Fudomine side, everyone in the stands watched Kintarō with tense expressions. They believed he could break through Zero Senses—they just didn't know when he'd wake up.
On the Rikkai side, Kirihara wore a mocking grin as he looked at Kintarō. 'That's what you get for making fun of captain with that nickname. Serves you right.' Kirihara had experienced Zero Senses himself, and it was something he never wanted to go through again.
Just as the umpire glanced at his watch, about to call another violation, a voice rang out in Kintarō's mind—Granny's voice, filled with fury, scolding him over and over.
'Yeah… what am I doing? Where am I? Granny…' Kintarō mumbled to himself.
'That's right! I'm playing tennis! I have to defeat every opponent and become the best tennis player in Japan! There's no way I'm going down here!' Suddenly, a radiant blue light burst from Kintarō's body, shattering the darkness in an instant.
Yukimura's eyes grew sharp as he stared intently at Kintarō. He knew the boy had finally activated Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami and broken free from the world of Zero Senses.
"Let me see just how powerful this so-called Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami really is," Yukimura said seriously.
With all his senses restored, Kintarō glanced around, then exhaled deeply. He looked at the scoreboard and frowned—it turned out he was still trailing badly.
Not wasting a second, Kintarō tossed the ball before the umpire could call a violation, and smashed it with full force. The ball slammed right beside Yukimura's feet and bounced out of bounds. A jacket marked with "Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku" slowly fell to the ground.
"ACE! 15-30!"
Yukimura clearly froze for a moment. When he turned his head, he saw the tennis ball slowly rolling out of bounds. He hadn't reacted to Kintarō's serve at all.
"No… That serve was fast, but not so fast I couldn't react. Is it because of Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami?" Yukimura murmured, then tossed his jacket toward the coach's bench.
Kintarō was already preparing to serve again. Last time, because of the time limit, he had just launched the ball as fast as possible. This time, he stuck to his most comfortable serving form, flipping midair as he slammed the ball.
Yukimura focused all his attention and finally managed to see the trajectory. He rushed toward the landing point, but as he ran, he noticed something—his speed had dropped. It wasn't much, but he clearly sensed it.
He reached the spot and swung at the bouncing ball. The next moment, Yukimura's racket was knocked right out of his hand, spinning a few times in the air before landing on the ground, the ball flying straight out of bounds.
"30-30!"
Yukimura frowned and looked at his right hand. Even though he'd neutralized some of the ball's power, his arm still couldn't take it, and he ended up losing grip of the racket.
"What's going on? Why do I feel like both my strength and speed have dropped? Is this the powerlessness Gen'ichirō was talking about?" Yukimura muttered.
Kintarō served again. This time, Yukimura held his racket with both hands, using all his strength to return the ball. He barely managed it, but the quality of the return was low—by Yukimura's standards, it was a misplay.
The ball flew high into Kintarō's court. He lit up with excitement, charged the net, leaped into the air, flipped, and smashed down hard.
"Great chance! Watch this! Super Megaton Deluxe Volcano!" Kintarō's excited voice echoed from the air.
Yukimura felt the ground tremble slightly before hearing the loud bang of the ball hitting the court. Just as he turned to look, the ball had already flown out of bounds, and the umpire's voice followed.
"40-30!"
Yukimura finally started to grasp what Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami was really about. Simply put, it enhanced the user while weakening the opponent. He didn't know the specifics yet, but he had a feeling he'd figure it out soon.
Just as Kintarō got ready to serve again, Yukimura's entire body began radiating an intense mental force, wrapping himself within it. He was going to use his own spiritual energy to sense the power of Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami.
As the energy surrounded him, he felt an invisible force continuously invading his body—the source was the glowing blue aura around Kintarō.
Kintarō served again. The ball, charged with tremendous power and speed, flew toward Yukimura's front court. Under the effect of Ten'i, Kintarō's overall strength had leveled up, and his serve naturally became more powerful.
Even though Yukimura sprinted with everything he had, he still missed the ball by a hair and could only watch as it shot past and out of bounds.
"GAME! Fudomine! 4-1!"
"Yeah! I finally won a game!" Kintarō jumped for joy after holding his serve.
"So that's it… the glow of Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami? It's similar to spiritual energy. Then if I can block that power, I should be fine," Yukimura muttered, his eyes flashing with a strange light.
The sixth game was Yukimura's serve. Standing at the baseline, he took a deep breath. His spiritual energy began flowing inward, and soon his sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste all started to diminish.
Yukimura had actually used Zero Senses on himself. But he didn't erase his senses completely—he just reduced them to the lowest level possible while maximizing his ball sense.
"Zero Senses Tennis."
Now, Yukimura could feel nothing except the tennis ball. Even his pupils lost focus, stunning everyone in the Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku section of the stands.
"What's going on with captain? He looks like someone hit by Zero Senses!" Kirihara exclaimed.
"Not looks like—he really stripped his own five senses!" Yanagi said gravely.
"What?! Why would captain do that? Is he giving up the match?" Kirihara asked, panicked.
"Quiet, Kirihara! Yukimura must have a plan. If I'm right, this is to resist the power of Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami," Sanada said firmly, though a hint of worry flashed in his eyes—too subtle for anyone to notice.
On Fudomine's side, everyone was puzzled. Yukimura looked exactly like someone under Zero Senses. But that was his own technique. Could Kintarō's Ten'i have bounced it back? That didn't make much sense either.
"Didn't expect him to block Ten'i's erosion this way," Tezuka said with some surprise, watching Yukimura.
"Oh? Tezuka, you think Yukimura stripped his senses to counter Ten'i?" Chitose asked in disbelief.
"That should be right. The erosion from Ten'i comes from weakening the opponent's senses to lower their overall strength. But Yukimura already shut his own senses off—so Ten'i loses its effect," Tezuka explained calmly.
"But doesn't that mean Yukimura can't play tennis like that?" Tachibana asked, confused.
"Not necessarily. Just watch," said Krauser, eyes fixed on Yukimura, voice heavy.
Despite losing most of his senses, Yukimura still tossed the ball accurately and swung with precision. The serve rocketed toward Kintarō's back court.
With Ten'i's buff, Kintarō's strength had soared. He was close to top-tier national level now and easily caught up to the ball, smashing it back without effort.
But Yukimura, now in Zero Senses mode, had slowly regained his own strength. And with his ball sense pushed to the limit, in some ways, his ability had even improved.
He flashed toward the landing point and intercepted the ball cleanly. With a swift forehand, the ball shot toward Kintarō's feet. Fortunately, Kintarō reacted fast and scooped it back up.
The two clashed with intensity far beyond the previous games. Kintarō's body glowed with a vibrant blue aura from Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, making him look energetic and radiant. In contrast, Yukimura, who had stripped himself of his five senses, appeared dull and lifeless.
As Kintarō returned another shot, Yukimura suddenly appeared at the net and hit the ball at a bizarre angle, targeting the left-side gap in Kintarō's defense. Caught off guard, Kintarō couldn't react in time, and the ball flew out of bounds.
"15-0!"
Yukimura slowly walked back to the baseline and served a high-speed ball, launching into another intense rally with Kintarō. Even with Ten'i's enhancement, Kintarō found it hard to keep up with the fully recovered Yukimura.
Soon, Yukimura grasped the full extent of Kintarō's current strength and intensified his offense. Kintarō began to falter, showing more and more openings.
Still, Kintarō's raw power and instinctive playstyle gave Yukimura some trouble too. The points kept going back and forth, but overall, Yukimura held the upper hand.
"30-0!"
"30-15!"
"40-15!"
"40-30!"
"GAME! Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku! 5-1! Change court!"
After neutralizing the erosion from Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami with Zero Senses Tennis, Yukimura used his heightened ball sense to take the sixth game.
Kintarō didn't look discouraged at all. In fact, the blue aura around him grew even brighter. Tiny glowing particles surrounded his body like floating sparks.
After the court change, waves of light pulsed around Kintarō. With his spiked hair and rising energy, he looked like a Super Saiyan powering up.
"This match has been so fun! But let me tell you something—if you're losing, then strike back with all you've got! Haaah!" Kintarō shouted at Yukimura.
He tossed the ball up, jumped, and slammed it down with force. The ball shot across the net with explosive power.
Yukimura stepped into position with a two-handed grip and countered it cleanly, redirecting the forceful shot to the far back right corner of Kintarō's court.
Instead of running straight to the corner, Kintarō spun in place rapidly, generating a giant tornado that filled his side of the court. The wind swept the ball high into the air.
The next instant, the tornado vanished and Kintarō appeared midair. Unlike before, he didn't flip—just a few fast spins before slamming the ball.
"Invincible Ultimate Delicious Whirlwind Mountain Storm!" he roared.
The ball raced toward Yukimura, who stepped up with no hesitation, using both hands to return it. But the force caught him off guard, and he misjudged the angle. The ball soared high into the air.
Kintarō dashed to the front court, jumped, flipped through the air multiple times, and struck the descending ball hard.
"This time it's Super Invincible Ultimate Delicious Whirlwind Mountain Storm!" Kintarō shouted again.
The ball rocketed over the net, smashing into Yukimura's front court and sending up a huge cloud of dust. When it cleared, Yukimura's racket lay on the ground, and a misshapen tennis ball rested outside the baseline behind him.
"15-0!"
Fueled by a massive burst of energy, Kintarō pushed Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami to its limit, gradually putting Yukimura on the back foot—something no one from Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku could believe.
"GAME! Fudomine! 5-2!"
Kintarō snatched the seventh game with that explosive power, and the blue glow around him brightened even more.
The eighth game was Yukimura's serve. Even with his senses dulled, he still understood everything happening on court. Kintarō's burst just now had genuinely surprised him.
But Yukimura quickly focused, tossed the ball, and served a blazing shot. The ball flew at 240 kilometers per hour, racing toward Kintarō's side.
Caught off guard by the sudden speed boost, Kintarō couldn't react in time. The ball zipped past and bounced out of bounds. He didn't seem too fazed by it.
"15-0!"
On the next serve, Kintarō chased it down and returned with a burst of power. But something seemed off—Yukimura was switching his racket between hands, playing like he was using Nitōryū.
"Mirage Mirror!"
With this move, Yukimura could hit with perfect precision from both hands, making it impossible to predict the ball's spin and allowing for unexpected angles. Kintarō struggled to adapt.
"30-0!"
"40-0!"
Using Mirage Mirror, Yukimura quickly reached match point. Kintarō's face was dripping with sweat. His earlier burst had drained a lot of his stamina. Yukimura, meanwhile, showed no signs of fatigue—thanks to Zero Senses Tennis, not even a drop of sweat was visible on him.
Without delay, Yukimura unleashed another ultra-high-speed serve. Kintarō returned it, and the two entered another fierce rally. Slowly, the glow from Kintarō's body intensified until it spread across the stands, enveloping the audience.
"It feels... warm somehow!" many spectators exclaimed in disbelief.
"Light of Love! Didn't expect Kintarō to be the first to evolve Shyness Light to a higher form," Akashi said, surprised but also like he'd expected it.
At that moment, Yukimura reached the net. With his left hand, he made a racket-switching motion. Kintarō immediately picked up on it and blocked the left side, but in the next instant, Yukimura used his left hand to hit a short ball, catching Kintarō completely off guard.
"Charging forward recklessly won't always win you the match. Keep going, Tōyama Kintarō," Yukimura said calmly, his five senses fully restored without anyone noticing.
"GAME! 6-2! Match over! Winner: Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku!"