"Oh? That brat Kaji's power seems to have gone up a lot~ Looks like that overseas trip actually did something," Mifune said, sounding a bit surprised as he watched Kaji on the court.
"If it weren't for Oni-kun, no one would've easily taken that No. 5 spot from him. But he's still got some personality issues. He's fine when things go well, but once he's under pressure…" Kurobe spoke while checking data on his tablet.
"Anyway, he's definitely strong enough to be a sub! Too bad his opponent this time is Tezuka. Watching him reminds me of Nanjirō in his younger days. Honestly, in terms of talent, Tezuka seems more like his dad than Ryōma does~" Mifune said with a sigh.
While Mifune was talking, Kaji had already served his third high-speed ball. Even though Tezuka had lost two points in a row, there was no change in his expression. Even the middle schoolers on the sidelines looked completely calm. It was nothing unusual for Tezuka to lose a few points at the start of a match.
Tezuka quickly moved to the landing point. Suddenly, a seven-colored glow gathered around his left hand. The power of Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami instantly wrapped around the tennis ball. In a flash, the speed and force of his return shot doubled.
Kaji noticed it too, but didn't care. He still used his overwhelming speed to become a blur. That burst of acceleration gave him strong momentum, and he poured all that force into the ball.
During his recent overseas training, Kaji had specially focused on power. He could now handle Duke's regular hits without breaking a sweat.
The ball, charged with heavy impact and insane speed, zipped over the net in a blink. Tezuka's white vortex appeared again, spiraling toward the ball—but the next moment, the ball blasted right through it.
Just when everyone thought the ball would fly out like before, Tezuka's figure also turned into a blur. In the next instant, he appeared right in the ball's path. The power of Muga no Kyōchi in his legs transferred to his left hand, and he smashed down with full force.
The powerful return, already strong in speed and force, got boosted again by Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami, flying back toward Kaji like a rocket. But Kaji didn't panic. His figure flickered, and suddenly it was like the court was filled with copies of him, just like Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu.
Even Tezuka started to feel dizzy from the overload. A flash of yellow shot past, and the ball slammed down at Tezuka's feet before rolling straight out of bounds. The Tezuka Zone couldn't trap it at all.
"40-0!"
"Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami? Only works against weaklings~" Kaji said mockingly as the afterimages faded, casually smoothing his hair.
Tezuka didn't reply. Instead, he shifted the power of Muga no Kyōchi entirely to his brain. Faint starlight shimmered around his Boss, and a soft seven-colored glow wrapped around his entire body. For some reason, Tezuka directly activated Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami.
"Four shots," Tezuka said quietly—an absolute prediction.
"Heh~ Don't bring out that kiddie trick. You'll just embarrass yourself," Kaji sneered and tossed the ball up without waiting for a reply.
With a sharp whack, the ball flew fast toward the right baseline. But Tezuka was already there, pulling back his racket for a backhand the moment the ball bounced.
The spinning shot Bossed straight for Kaji's feet. Since it flew directly at him, he couldn't speed up properly. After he returned it with a topspin lift and tried to accelerate again, Tezuka was already soaring at the net.
His left hand smashed down hard, racket slicing the air. The ball, loaded with fierce spin, flew toward the center line. Kaji blinked into position, but as he swung at it, the ball spun a few times on the ground and rolled backward, not even bouncing up.
"Zero Shiki Smash!"
"40-15!"
"You bastard!" Kaji looked pissed. He'd just mocked Tezuka's Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami as child's play—and now the absolute prediction had come true.
But Kaji quickly calmed down. While his temper was a bit impulsive and unpredictable, something this minor wasn't enough to shake his mindset. Without another word, he turned and walked to the baseline.
After seeing Tezuka's Zero Shiki Smash, Kaji recalled what Tanegashima had just told him and formed a plan. As long as he could hit the ball before it bounced, he'd be fine. For him, that wasn't difficult at all.
With that thought, Kaji didn't hesitate. He grabbed a tennis ball, tossed it up fast, and smashed it. In the same moment, his figure blinked forward toward the net. With his speed, he didn't need to worry about Tezuka hitting passing shots or lobs.
Tezuka had already released Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami. The simulated image in his mind had started to collapse. That meant Kaji had changed his playstyle. Without fully grasping the opponent's rhythm, the effectiveness of Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami was limited.
Tezuka moved quickly to the landing point and returned the shot, adding his signature spin—Tezuka Zone—almost by instinct. But this time, Kaji didn't give him the chance to form the zone.
The moment the ball crossed the net, it was devoured by a silver streak—afterimage light trailing behind Kaji's movement. Then, a burst of white shockwave exploded from his racket.
"Suisei Shōgeki!"
In an instant, the tennis ball stretched like a comet into a sharp oval and slammed into the court near Tezuka's side of the net, then flew straight out of bounds. The spin of the zone couldn't hold it, and Tezuka couldn't reach it in time.
"Game! Team Japan leads 1-0!"
"Hurry up and use your Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami already~" Kaji said, glancing at the calm-faced Tezuka across the net.
He'd already experienced Oni's Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami last night during their match. He was confident he could handle it. Kaji had lost not to the seamless technique but to Oni's Golden Great Broadsword and second-stage Alternate Dimension Pressure.
Even though Oni hadn't gone full power with his second-stage Alternate Dimension—Demon God, the pressure still severely affected Kaji, drastically slowing his movement and making it impossible to react to Oni's attacks. In the end, he lost consciousness after being struck by one Golden Great Broadsword.
"So this is the fastest man among high schoolers? Compared to him, I guess this 'Star of Naniwa' is kind of a joke," in the stands, Oshitari Kenya chuckled at himself. On the other side, Kamio Akira looked utterly defeated.
"Don't overthink it, Kenya! Kaji-senpai may be insanely fast, but your talent's great too. Shitenhōji's counting on you next year!" Shiraishi smiled as he tried to cheer him up.
"Tezuka hasn't changed. No matter who the opponent is, he always starts by probing carefully," Yukimura said, his voice steady after recovering a bit.
"Hmph! Way too soft!" Sanada growled, annoyed by Tezuka's usual cautious approach—though he seemed to forget he often did the same.
"Now Tezuka will probably start getting serious, huh?" Fuji said with a calm smile, showing no concern about the outcome.
"If it were anyone else against Kaji-senpai, maybe it'd be a toss-up. But Tezuka? I can't think of a single reason he'd lose," Marui said casually, blowing a bubble.
Not just the middle schoolers—even among the high schoolers, few had faith in Kaji. After seeing Niō's illusion version of Tezuka earlier, they'd gotten a pretty good sense of his level. Right now, Kaji probably couldn't even beat the illusionary version of Tezuka.
"Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, huh? I'll use it—but not yet," Tezuka said coolly as he walked to the baseline. He didn't think he needed it for this service game. Maybe it was from spending too much time around Akashi, but Tezuka had started showing a bit of pride himself.
"Tch! What a damn show-off~" Kaji muttered, clicking his tongue.