In the second game, it was Tezuka's turn to serve. He stepped up to the baseline without hesitation, tossed the ball, and swung down with his left hand. The ball flew toward the opposite court—not too fast, not too slow.
"That serve's way too slow~" Kaji muttered as he watched the ball, then blinked into position at the landing point.
The ball hit the ground and started spinning rapidly along the surface, then rolled backward and stopped at the net. Kaji stayed frozen in his return posture, staring blankly at the scene.
"Ace! 15-0!"
"Yare yare~ Didn't you tell Kaji about the Zero Shiki Serve, Shū-kun~?" Irie asked Tanegashima with a teasing smile as he glanced at Kaji's dumbfounded expression.
"Ah~~~ I think I forgot! But it's no big deal!" Tanegashima stuck out his tongue, clearly not bothered.
Irie chuckled softly. He knew his friend too well—Tanegashima wasn't malicious, but he could be a real Bossache sometimes.
"What kind of serve is that…" Kaji muttered, staring blankly at the tennis ball near the net. The Zero Shiki Serve had completely thrown him off.
"Kaji-senpai, are you planning to stand there forever?" Tezuka spoke up from across the court, ready to serve again.
Kaji snapped back to reality and stepped behind the center line. His face turned serious, eyes locked on Tezuka. But when Tezuka served again, the result was exactly the same.
"Ace! 30-0!"
In the next two serves, Kaji tried to swing the moment the ball touched the ground—a typical response to the Zero Shiki Serve. Unfortunately, not everyone had the technique of Akashi or Yukimura.
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Game! Second String Selection! 1-1!"
After watching Tezuka take the second game so effortlessly, Kaji's earlier arrogance vanished instantly. He knew very well what it meant to consistently hold your own service game in singles.
It reminded him of his match against Ochi. That feeling of being completely helpless in the opponent's service games had been unbearable. Even when he used his trump cards, Kaji still couldn't cleanly return the Mach Serve.
But Kaji wasn't someone who'd break easily. After all, he'd been forged through matches around the world. He quickly composed himself, walked to the baseline, and served fast again, charging the net like always. This was Kaji's style—intercepting every return as soon as possible using his speed.
Tezuka's eyes glinted behind his glasses as he dashed to the landing spot. As he swung, he layered the ball with a complex spin. It shot toward the far right baseline—but before it could get there, Kaji, already sprinting, intercepted it at the net.
Without hesitation, Kaji struck the ball hard. But the result surprised him again—the return arced through the air and flew straight out of bounds, disappearing into the stands.
"Ultimate Zone!"
"Out! 0-15!"
While Kaji's power could break through the regular spin of the zone, Ultimate Zone's reverse rotation was over six times stronger than normal. That kind of spin couldn't be overcome just by hitting hard—you'd need to completely cancel the spin on the ball.
"Wasn't Tezuka supposed to only have Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami? Forget that serve—what's up with this weird reverse zone now? Damn it, Tanegashima's info was useless!" Kaji muttered with a frown, starting to complain under his breath.
Up in the stands, Tanegashima suddenly felt a tickle in his nose. But he was too busy enjoying Kaji's frustration to care. Meanwhile, Mitsuya was scribbling down notes, clearly analyzing some new data.
Kaji served again with blistering speed. After Tezuka returned it, Kaji exploded forward with everything he had. The momentum gave his strike massive force, and his arm left trailing afterimages as he swung hard at the ball.
The ball shot toward Tezuka's court with tremendous force, but the result was the same as before. Just after crossing the center line, it veered off course and flew straight out.
"Out! 0-30!"
"Can't break it with speed and power alone? This spin's turning into a real problem~" Kaji said irritably.
In truth, Tezuka was a natural counter to speed-based players like Kaji. No matter how strong the interceptions or returns, against an unreasonable technique like Ultimate Zone, it all came down to bad luck.
'Since this is the reverse use of the zone, I'll need to shave off the topspin during the return. If I cancel out the reverse spin, I should be able to crack this shot that keeps going out!' Kaji thought to himself as he stood at the baseline.
Acting on that thought, Kaji tossed the ball high and swung his racket down with full strength. The ball shot toward Tezuka's left sideline. This time, he didn't rush the net right away—his focus was locked on Tezuka's return.
As expected, Tezuka easily handled the serve, sending it back laced with the spin of Ultimate Zone. The ball whirled back with the same complex rotation.
Seeing it, Kaji judged the ball's path, blurred forward like teleportation, and raised his racket horizontally to slice at the ball before it bounced.
Kaji was known for speed, but his technique wasn't weak either—solidly above average. Cutting away spin like this wasn't beyond him.
With each slice, he slowly chipped away at the reverse spin. Spotting an opening, he whipped out a backhand drive. The return went through cleanly this time, no longer curving out of bounds.
But then, Tezuka's white vortex rose again in the backcourt, pulling the ball straight toward him. Tilting slightly, he swung his racket fast, driving the ball back once more, layered with that same complex spin.
Kaji's brow furrowed deeper. He finally realized the truth—the ball carried dual spin. Even if he removed the reverse rotation, his weakened return no longer had the power to escape the grip of the zone.
The rally locked into a strange tug-of-war. Kaji used his insane speed to intercept every shot, slicing off the reverse spin as best as he could. Tezuka, on the other side, kept pulling each return into his zone, the vortex reeling the ball back to his racket again and again.
But the sharp-eyed spectators noticed something else—Tezuka wasn't standing still. Slowly, subtly, he was creeping forward toward the net.
When Kaji shaved off the reverse spin yet again, Tezuka was already close to the net. He raised his racket and sliced down. The ball spun hard, cleared the net, and dropped fast toward the ground.
Kaji, used to the heavy rallies, froze for just an instant at the sudden drop shot. He reacted quickly, blurring to the bounce point, scraping the ball up just before it hit the ground. But the only thing he could manage was a lob.
And then, shadow fell over him.
Tezuka was already airborne, hammering the ball down without hesitation. It slammed the court just inside the center line, spinning violently along the ground before rolling back toward the net. Watching it, Kaji couldn't help but sigh.
As expected, the ball slowed to a stop right at the net. Tezuka had sealed the point with another Zero Shiki Smash. This time, Kaji had been led around completely by Tezuka.
"0-40!"
"I guess I underestimated you. But I've almost figured out all your tricks! From here on, don't expect to score so easily!" Kaji said gravely, his expression finally serious.