After a brief daze, Keith slowly came back to his senses. His expression turned serious as he stared at Byoudouin, paying no attention to the wound on his face. His mind was already calculating how to counter the previous attack.
Byoudouin, seeing that Keith didn't respond, didn't care either. He turned, walked back to the baseline, and tossed up another ball. Once again, his left hand began to gleam with dazzling golden light.
The Glowing Shot—Destruction infused with destructive energy roared toward Keith. This time, it was clearly aimed straight at him, and Byoudouin had even slowed it slightly on purpose.
At that moment, Keith erupted with an overwhelming aura. A surge of powerful qi gathered around him, forming a brilliant blue glow that spread across half the court. When the glowing sphere collided with his racket, two immense forces clashed violently.
Cracks began to spread beneath Keith's feet as the impact drove him backward. The sheer power behind Byoudouin's shot was relentless. Keith struggled to withstand it, but in the end, he couldn't block the full force of Destruction. His racket was blasted from his grip, and his body was sent flying.
In midair, Keith twisted to regain balance, landing hard and sliding backward. His shoes carved two deep marks into the court before he finally stopped, just past the baseline.
"Ace! 30–30!"
"To think even Keith, who mastered Gravitational Pull, ended up like that... Is that Japanese high schooler even human?" Ling Xiu said in disbelief from near the England bench.
"Damn it! Who said Japan's team was weak?! What's that nonsense about being ranked outside the top twenty?! The Association bastards totally lied to us!" Peter growled, teeth clenched.
Leon and Eric exchanged uneasy looks—they now understood how terrifying the Japan team really was. This World Cup might completely shift the balance of power. At the very least, they believed Japan would make the top eight easily—and maybe even the top four, as long as they didn't meet one of the Big Four too early.
Keith glanced down at his damaged racket, frowning slightly. Walking to the now-empty coach's seat, he grabbed a new racket from his bag and returned to the court without a word.
Byoudouin didn't hold back. The moment Keith came back, he launched another Glowing Shot—Destruction. He wanted to see how long this English brat could last. The blazing golden sphere streaked through the air, carrying crushing force straight toward Keith.
This time, Keith suddenly switched his racket to his left hand. Instantly, a massive blue energy mass formed around him. Gravitational Pull burst forth again, meeting Destruction head-on. The collision of the two radiant forces engulfed the entire stadium in blinding light, forcing most of the audience to squint.
With a roar, Keith swung with all his might. A streak of blue light pierced through Byoudouin's half of the court. The ball struck the ground, leaving a small crater before bouncing high out of bounds.
"30–40!"
Byoudouin silently looked down at the cratered court, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. If Keith could return Destruction, then his earlier judgment of the boy's strength had been off. This kid's ability was at least world-class. Luckily, he was the one facing him—if Akutsu had taken this match, his abilities would've been completely exposed.
Still, Byoudouin wasn't done testing. Without hesitation, he unleashed another Glowing Shot—Destruction, eager to see how Keith would react.
But the result shocked him. Keith's eyes turned dangerously sharp as an enormous mass of energy materialized around him—far larger than before. The swirling currents of compressed qi tore across the court, warping the air.
"I'm going to crush you completely—so don't even think about standing up again!!!" Keith bellowed, swinging his racket with all his might.
Byoudouin's expression hardened. He focused entirely, locking his eyes on Keith's every move. The next moment, a blinding blue light erupted, swallowing Destruction whole and sending the ball soaring high into the air.
"Kneel before me!!!" Keith roared as the ball, now glowing with intense blue light, plummeted from the sky. A massive shockwave followed, crashing toward the ground.
In an instant, Byoudouin was engulfed in a towering blue pillar of light. The overwhelming gravity pressed down on him like a mountain, forcing his knees to buckle. Unprepared, he was crushed to the ground by the immense weight.
Gravitational Pull.
"Game! England! 1–0!"
When the smoke over Byoudouin's half of the court finally cleared, everyone turned their eyes toward him. Byoudouin was kneeling on one knee inside a massive crater. His Japan Team uniform was torn in several places, but his right hand still gripped his racket tightly.
"Looks like hiding his true strength won't be so easy this time," Oni said grimly from the player hall, eyes fixed on the screen.
"That English player might only be at a world-class level, but that control over qi is seriously troublesome," Irie said, frowning slightly.
Akashi didn't say anything. He knew Byoudouin's strength well—after all, he had just subdued him not long ago. But Keith's power was unexpected. In the movie version, Keith had been injured and eventually fell gloriously to Ryōma, the protagonist.
On the court, Keith showed no joy or excitement after taking the first game. His face remained cold as he walked silently to the baseline, tossed the ball high, and served.
A blinding blue glow appeared once more. This time, all his qi condensed into the ball itself. To the naked eye, it looked like he had tossed up a small sun—but to Akashi, it resembled a massive Rasengan.
Keith's serve.
With a fierce shout, Keith swung his racket down, striking with full force. The ball, strengthened by Gravitational Pull, shot over the net and slammed into the ground right in front of Byoudouin. It was clear Keith had aimed directly at him.
The moment the ball touched down, a gigantic blue pillar of light crashed from above, pounding Byoudouin's half. He felt the same crushing gravity again. This time, though, he wasn't knocked down—but even standing upright took effort.
Then, as the ball bounced back up, the direction of the gravity suddenly reversed. The force yanked upward, and Byoudouin's body lifted off the ground—only to be smashed back down a moment later by a shockwave so strong it cracked the court beneath him.
"Gravitational Pull!"
"Ace! 15–0!"
Even Duke couldn't stay calm this time. It wasn't that he doubted Byoudouin's strength—he was worried about him getting hurt. If this kind of damage carried into the knockout stage, it would be a nightmare all over again.
"Tch, damn it… I'm not about to give Oni any reason to laugh at me later," Byoudouin's voice came through the lingering smoke. When it finally cleared, he stood tall again as if nothing had happened.
"Guess I played around too much, huh? Time to end the warm-up, English brat!" Byoudouin twisted his neck, the pressure around him skyrocketing. As he stepped back to the baseline, a black aura surged up around him.
"Divine Path of the Asura!"
Keith, who was preparing to serve, suddenly felt a crushing, indescribable sense of danger. The aura radiating from the Japanese high schooler was suffocating—monstrous, demonic, overwhelming. For the first time, a hint of dread stirred in his chest.
But there was no time to hesitate. Keith unleashed another Gravitational Pull. The ball landed, and another massive blue column of light fell toward Byoudouin's side.
This time, though, the black-glowing Byoudouin didn't even flinch. As the ball bounced up, he swung forward—his racket exploding with blinding golden light. A colossal sphere of pure radiance engulfed the court, roaring toward Keith like a descending sun.
It was a fusion of Destruction and the Japanese Technique—a new move born from both. But at its core, it was still Glowing Shot—Destruction, so Byoudouin didn't bother to rename it.
Keith's eyes widened. The massive golden sphere bearing down on him was terrifying. He gathered another massive qi mass instinctively, his mind reeling. He returned Gravitational Pull so easily?! And that aura… like a demon from hell itself!
But the instant the two forces collided, Keith's instincts screamed danger. The next moment, the light sphere shattered his qi defense, and an unbearable weight slammed into his racket.
The impact sent both Keith and his racket flying through the air. The golden ball didn't slow down—it streaked toward the back wall like a meteor.
Then, just before it struck, a figure appeared in front of the wall, raising his racket to block it.
Everyone from the England bench turned their heads. Tanegashima had appeared out of nowhere, now standing calmly with his racket raised. Faint ripples shimmered across its surface, dispersing the ball's spin and momentum little by little.
"This wall wouldn't survive your full-power Destruction. It'd be trouble if any of the spectators got hurt, you know, Byoudouin~" Tanegashima said with a helpless sigh, his tone half reproach, half amusement.
"15–15!" The referee's delayed announcement finally echoed across the court.