"Ten seconds of full-body paralysis?! That's impossible... that's straight-up cheating!" Dodo shouted from the American bench, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Not necessarily," Ryōma said suddenly, recalling something. "I've met a player like that before—though nowhere near Mares's level. Ibu-kun from Fudomine, his tennis can paralyze too."
"This isn't the time to talk about whether it's possible or not! If this keeps up, we're going to lose Singles Three!" Rocky said anxiously from the side.
"Calm down, Meredith. All we can do now is trust Alan. Even if he can't win this one, we'll just fight back in the next," Kiko said softly, patting Rocky's shoulder to comfort him.
While the American team discussed, Mares kept scoring point after point using his Sniper Serve. Hopkins was helpless—every time he went for a return, his body locked up for ten seconds. If he didn't, he'd lose the point anyway.
"Game! Spain leads! 5–0!"
"Looks like Mares has this one in the bag. Time for us to get ready, Bambieri," Julio said from the Spanish bench.
"OK," Bambieri replied indifferently. To him, it didn't matter who his opponent was—it made no difference.
———————
"The Singles Three match now stands at 1–1 overall! The final deciding set begins! Germany serves first!"
Q.P. walked to the baseline and drew a deep breath. Then, tossing the ball high, he struck hard. The ball shot toward Japan's side, carrying massive force. Tezuka's body flickered—an instant later, he was already at the drop point. A roaring white tornado burst up around him, wrapping him completely.
"Ultimate Zone!"
The ball shot back instantly, now layered with dual spin. Q.P. darted forward, intercepting it at the net. He neutralized the reverse spin in one fluid motion and then unleashed a fierce counter drive.
White wind swirled violently around the ball, but its raw power broke through the pull of the vortex—it didn't get drawn back toward Tezuka. Just as it was about to fly out of bounds, a familiar blue light erupted across the court.
Tezuka raised his left arm, racket high, his body flickering as if teleporting in front of the ball. Azure particles spun around him—but this time, there was no giant spectral Tezuka behind him.
He swung upward with his backhand. In an instant, the ball vanished from everyone's sight. The next moment, a streak of blue light crashed down behind Q.P., followed by the heavy thud of the ball hitting the ground.
When Q.P. turned, the ball was still spinning furiously on the court. After a few seconds, it began rolling toward the net, then stopped.
"Zero Shiki Lob!"
"0–15!"
"Strange... that kid already grasped the meaning of 'Return to Simplicity' so quickly?" Nanjiro said from the stands, his voice carrying clear surprise.
"Isn't Tezuka using the most basic Ten'i Muhō right now?" Chitose asked uncertainly from the Japan bench.
"Seems like it. I don't sense the power of all three Radiances," Yukimura said with a frown.
"Then why can't Q.P. still return his Zero Shiki?" Sanada asked, puzzled.
"The so-called Limit of Ten'i Muhō originally includes three Radiances—Love, Strong Heart, and Despair," Coach Mifune explained with a sigh. "It's just that no one in Japan could ever awaken all three, so over time, the normal Light of Pride got mistaken for Ten'i Muhō."
"So my guess was right after all," Akashi said quietly, his suspicions finally confirmed. He'd long wondered why Nanjiro had changed the name Light of Pride to Ten'i Muhō.
In the original records, Nanjiro had realized that everyone misunderstood Light of Pride as Ten'i Muhō, and even confused Ten'i Muhō with Muga no Kyōchi. But instead of correcting them, he deliberately kept quiet—and when teaching Ryōma, he even told him that Light of Pride was Ten'i Muhō.
Because in Nanjiro's view, without extraordinary talent in tennis, understanding the true Ten'i Muhō meant nothing. If one couldn't even awaken all three Radiances, then distinguishing between Light of Pride and Ten'i Muhō was pointless.
"Game! Japan leads! 0–1!"
On the court, once Tezuka entered Ten'i Muhō, he completely suppressed Q.P. Within moments, he took the first game. Even someone as composed as Q.P. was now sweating—proof that he wasn't nearly as calm as he appeared.
In the second game, it was Tezuka's serve. Q.P. immediately prepared to counter the Zero Shiki Serve, but the moment Tezuka reached the baseline, he tossed the ball and swung. A flash of blue light flickered—then the ball had already landed beyond Q.P.'s backline.
"Ace! 15–0!"
"He doesn't even need to use Zero Shiki anymore?" Q.P. muttered under his breath, eyes fixed on the ball outside the court.
For the next three serves, Q.P. still couldn't react. He stood frozen, watching helplessly as the ball streaked past him again and again.
"Ace! 30–0!"
"Ace! 40–0!"
"Game! Japan leads! 0–2!"
"If Q.P. doesn't activate the Light of Pride soon, he'll be completely consumed by the Radiance of Ten'i," Oni said calmly from the Japan bench.
"That's what's strange. Even if his Light of Pride can't resist Tezuka's triple Radiance, there's no reason for him not to try at all. What is he planning?" Irie said with a tense tone.
"Honestly, I'm more interested in Volk's attitude," Kimijima said, frowning. "Germany's already losing badly, but he doesn't look the slightest bit worried."
"Didn't Akashi-kun mention before that Q.P. can absorb the power of the three Radiances?" Byoudouin said evenly. "Tezuka may have begun merging them, but he's still radiating the Radiance of Strong Heart, right? Maybe Q.P.'s behavior has something to do with that."
"Boss, you're saying Q.P. is absorbing Tezuka's Radiance of Strong Heart?" Duke asked, his eyes wide and serious.
"Hmph, it's just a guess," Byoudouin replied coolly. "But I think Akashi-kun probably knows for sure, doesn't he?"
He turned his gaze toward Akashi, but the red-haired boy didn't answer. His full attention was already locked on Q.P. Through the Emperor Eye, Akashi could see the energy within Q.P. expanding wildly at an unnatural rate.
"Game! Japan leads! 0–3!"
Tezuka soon took the third game in a row. As the match entered a break, he returned to the bench and released the Ten'i Muhō state. At this level, the time limit no longer restricted him at all.
"I don't know what your teacher said to you earlier," Coach Mifune said seriously, "but one thing's clear—you still haven't fully merged the three Radiances. Don't underestimate what's next. Q.P. won't lose that easily."
"Yes, understood, head coach!" Tezuka replied firmly. In truth, he'd already sensed it—Q.P. was about to fight back.
On the German bench, Q.P. sat silently, staring at his racket. Yet the aura around him was steadily rising, the pressure building with each second until even his teammates could feel it spreading behind him.
The break ended. Without a word, Q.P. picked up his racket and walked toward the court. His aura was completely different now—beyond human.
"Looks like it's just as we expected... right, coach?" Volk said, his expression now grim as he watched Q.P.'s back.
"Exactly. Finally... the ultimate tennis we've been waiting for," Ken said, eyes gleaming as he stared at Q.P.
The fourth game began with Tezuka serving again. As usual, he stepped to the baseline, activated Ten'i Muhō, and fired a blistering high-speed serve toward Germany's court.
But this time, something strange happened. As he served, Tezuka felt a sharp gust brush past his ear, even cutting a few strands of his hair. For a moment, he didn't understand what had just occurred.
"0–15!"
Only when the umpire announced the score did Tezuka realize—the object that had passed by was the tennis ball itself. Yet he hadn't even seen how Q.P. returned it.
He instinctively looked across the court. There, standing at the baseline, was Q.P., his body engulfed in blinding white light, as if a spotlight from the heavens shone upon him. His expression was cold, his presence overwhelming.
"I will become the God of Tennis," Q.P. said flatly, his voice echoing with unwavering conviction.