At that moment, the England spectators were starting to regret coming to the match. They'd seen powerful techniques before, but something that could destroy the court like this? That was definitely a first.
Byoudouin looked across at Tanegashima in front of the opposing team's bench. His expression showed no surprise—he'd already sensed Tanegashima's movements before unleashing Destruction, which was why he'd swung with full power and no hesitation.
Keith also got up from the ground. He didn't understand why his Universal Gravity had no effect on Byoudouin. After all, one of England's team members had been seriously injured just from receiving that same shot.
"What's wrong? Weren't you gonna destroy everything? Why are you just standing there?" Byoudouin sneered, mocking Keith without mercy.
Provoked, a cold gleam flashed in Keith's eyes. Unwilling to accept it, he fired Universal Gravity again. A massive blue shockwave surged downward toward Byoudouin—but in the next second, the entire half of Byoudouin's court turned into a vast ocean.
The giant shockwave barely caused a few weak ripples on the water's surface before vanishing. Then, a dagger suddenly pierced Keith's back and drove straight through his chest. A skeletal pirate stood behind him, soul fire burning in its eye sockets as it stared into him.
"Alternate Dimension—Pirate!"
In reality, Byoudouin's return shot tore right through Keith's half of the court. The ball struck the baseline and flew out, while Keith dropped to one knee, just like Byoudouin had earlier.
"15–30!"
"Enjoy some real alternate dimension tennis, English brat!" Byoudouin stood on the deck of his ghost ship. Overhead, dark clouds loomed as lightning flashed menacingly through the sky.
The illusion struck Keith hard—he'd never seen anything like it. Not even when watching replays of England's pro players with Ling Xiu had he witnessed this kind of scene.
This was the reality for most European professionals. They usually relied on sheer five-dimensional attribute strength to win. At most, they had one or two signature techniques. The most representative example was Volk.
Japanese tennis players started off similarly, building their game on five-dimensions. But physically, Asians were naturally different from Europeans, so they struggled to achieve global results. Only a few truly gifted players ever made a name for themselves.
That all changed when the old man developed the Divine Path of the Asura. From then on, Japanese tennis took an entirely new direction. Later, Echizen Nanjirō spread the secrets of Muga, leading to an explosive rise in native techniques.
Many Japanese players now spent more time developing techniques than raising their five-dimensional attributes. Of course, that came with downsides—if the attribute gap was too wide, even the strongest techniques couldn't change the outcome.
Still, it opened up a whole new world for Japanese tennis. The most successful example? Alternate Dimensions. Even monsters like Volk, Rhinehart, and Amadeus didn't have it—they relied solely on overwhelming five-dimensional stats to crush opponents.
A player like Camus was a rare exception in Europe. That's why he wanted to spark a tennis revolution. His Alternate Dimension was built on love, and that's also why he valued Duke so highly—like him, Duke had the power of alternate dimension destruction.
As for Keith, his use of qi didn't come from England. It was passed down from Ling Xiu's homeland—Huaxia. Even though Huaxia hadn't made much noise in the U-17 tournament, that was mostly due to national circumstances. Their top pros were more than capable of ranking in the global top ten.
Urged on by the umpire, Keith snapped back to reality. But this time, he didn't use Universal Gravity. Instead, he served a regular high-speed ball. It spun violently, targeting the open space deep on Byoudouin's left side.
"Oh? Giving up on those qi attacks already? Too bad for you—'cause I'm not letting you off that easy! World Pirate!" Byoudouin chuckled as he noticed Keith avoiding Universal Gravity.
He countered the serve, turning it into a dozen sharp daggers aimed straight at Keith. Keith pushed aside his chaotic thoughts and focused. He'd have to give it everything to handle Byoudouin's return.
A massive qi sphere formed a wall, blocking the incoming daggers. Then Keith swung with full force. The blue shockwave exploded once again—but this time, it charged head-on toward Byoudouin.
Byoudouin sprinted forward a few steps, then suddenly jumped. Using inertia, he forced his way through the shockwave, swinging his racket in a backhand slash at the tennis ball behind it.
A massive flaming bird burst into existence, radiating scorching heat as it flew across to the other side. Keith didn't even have time to form another qi sphere before the firebird engulfed him completely. After it passed over the court, a scorched tennis ball rolled to a stop outside the lines.
"Chinese Phoenix Dance!"
"15–40!"
Keith glanced at the ball out of bounds but said nothing. He silently returned to the baseline and quickly served the fifth ball. He still didn't use Universal Gravity—but Byoudouin clearly had no intention of dragging things out anymore.
Empowered by the Shura Path, Byoudouin ramped up his attack. In the spiritual realm, the skeletal pirate began a fierce assault on Keith, slashing him relentlessly. One wound after another appeared across Keith's body.
After just a few quick rallies—without even using any world-class techniques—Byoudouin forced an opening and won the second game with a clean diagonal strike.
"Game! Japan! 1–1!"
The third game began, and Byoudouin pushed the pressure even harder. Even though Keith tried to block and counter with Universal Gravity, it no longer worked. In the end, he was helplessly cut down by the skeletal pirate and collapsed to the ground.
"Game! Japan! 2–1!"
After the third game ended, the break began. Keith walked slowly back to the coach's bench, lost in thought. He didn't know why he was even here, or what he should do in the match going forward. He was supposed to not care about winning or losing—but now…
"Keith! That kind of violent style isn't your tennis! Try to remember our tennis—remember why you started playing in the first place!" Ling Xiu stepped up beside him, speaking firmly.
"Our tennis, huh..." Keith muttered under his breath, head lowered.
On the other side, in the Japan team's bench area, Byoudouin casually took a sip of water. Coach Mifune watched him closely. Seeing the excited look on Byoudouin's face, he hesitated a moment before speaking.
"It's just the group stage. Don't reveal too much of your strength. You know what to do, right?"
"How can I hold back when I finally find a worthy target to destroy at the World Cup? As for holding back... how much strength do you think I've really used so far?" Byoudouin grinned at Mifune, voice cold and vicious.
Hearing that, Mifune relaxed. As long as Byoudouin wasn't exposing his true power, everything was fine. What happened to that England kid wasn't his concern.
The break ended quickly. The fourth game was Keith's serve, but he was still dazed. On instinct, he sent another Universal Gravity flying toward Byoudouin. The massive blue shockwave slammed downward, trying to crush him on the spot.
"I'm sick of that move. So it's about time I send you straight to hell, English brat!" Byoudouin stood firm beneath the shockwave, a cruel smile spreading across his face as he addressed Keith.