Q.P. tossed the tennis ball high into the air. His left arm swung the racket in a powerful motion, launching a blazing serve that tore through the air toward the Japan Team's half of the court.
At that exact moment, Tezuka's eyes snapped open. In the next instant, every spectator felt their vision blur—then suddenly, the ball had already appeared behind Q.P., who was still frozen in his follow-through motion.
"0–15!"
As the umpire's voice echoed, Q.P. finally realized what had happened. For the first time, his perpetually calm expression showed disbelief. Stiffly, he turned around to look—there, outside the baseline, the tennis ball sat motionless on the ground.
From the German bench, Volk stood up abruptly. The aura Tezuka exuded right now reminded him of a legendary player—someone who had also come from Japan.
"He really did it… this might've been a miscalculation after all~," Nanjirō muttered from the stands, his face a mix of frustration and awe.
Everyone watching could see Tezuka surrounded by an intense blue radiance. Around that light, arcs of electric blue particles circled like tiny lightning bolts. Behind him, a massive spectral image of Tezuka himself had manifested—its form and features perfectly clear.
That phantom Tezuka moved in perfect sync with the real one, both standing with one hand gripping the racket. The scene looked strange, yet there was an undeniable natural harmony to it.
"Radiance of Strong Heart… he actually awakened all three Radiances! Could Tezuka Kunimitsu be the second Echizen Nanjirō?" Volk said softly once he steadied his breath.
'The Radiance of Strong Heart? But when… did I awaken it?' Tezuka thought, dazed by the overwhelming energy coursing through him.
Just moments ago, when Tezuka had reached the state of Calm Insight—a heart as still as a mirror—the Radiance of Strong Heart had erupted on its own, merging and intertwining with the Radiance of Love and the Radiance of Pain. Though not yet completely fused, the boundary between them was fading fast.
Recovering his focus, Q.P. immediately tossed up another ball. His next serve, enhanced by the Light of Pride, shot forward at blinding speed. Yet, in Tezuka's eyes, the ball's motion had slowed almost to a crawl.
Q.P. saw Tezuka's form flicker—and then, behind him, came the sharp crack of a ball hitting the court. He froze once again, completely unable to process what had just happened.
"0–30!"
"So this is what you usually see when you enter the Light Wind, huh, Fuji?" Tezuka murmured, glancing instinctively toward Fuji Shūsuke at the sidelines after returning Q.P.'s serve.
"Embrace the path toward the true Ten'i Muhō, boy. I hope you'll walk it your own way," Nanjirō sighed softly from the stands, his tone warm and filled with approval.
At the umpire's urging, Q.P. hit his third serve. Perhaps shaken by the previous points, this serve was slightly weaker in quality, though still fast enough to blur in flight.
But to Tezuka, speed no longer had meaning. He stepped lightly to the side and swung. The ball seemed to vanish in a flash, engulfed by an invisible force, then shot back toward Germany's side with impossible velocity.
Having witnessed the previous returns, Q.P. managed—barely—to respond this time. He sprinted left at full speed, his racket intercepting the ball just as it was about to fly out of bounds.
The ball rebounded sharply, rocketing toward Tezuka's right-side gap. But before Q.P. could exhale in relief, his eyes widened—Tezuka hadn't moved at all. The ball arced strangely through the air and landed outside the line.
"Ultimate Zone!"
"OUT! 0–40!"
"At that kind of speed… and he can still apply such complex spin? Tezuka Kunimitsu—how are you even doing this?" For the first time that match, Q.P.'s face turned grim. Everything unfolding before him was beyond his calculations.
Refusing to accept it, Q.P. launched another serve with all his might. The Light of Pride around him flickered violently as the ball became a streak of blue, landing with explosive speed near Tezuka's right side.
But as soon as it bounced, Tezuka's figure, glowing with blue radiance, suddenly appeared in front of it. His left hand swung in a half-volley motion, sending the ball back instantly. Around him, a towering blue whirlwind spiraled upward.
Q.P. burst forward with an explosive step, his speed reaching its absolute limit. In a blur, he appeared in front of the incoming shot, his left arm swinging as he tried to counter the reversed spin head-on.
The moment Q.P.'s racket struck the ball, the intense spin made him feel as though he were returning Volk's Wirbel Taufe. Before he could fully adjust to the rotation, the ball had already left his racket and shot straight toward the Japan Team's side.
Just like before, once it crossed the net, its trajectory twisted midair. Under everyone's astonished gaze, it curved sharply and flew out of bounds.
"Game! Japan! 4–1! Change sides!"
"Radiance of Strong Heart… so that's how it works…" Q.P. muttered in a low, complicated tone, his gaze locked firmly on Tezuka after losing the fifth game.
As Tezuka walked back to the bench, Mifune stood up excitedly and grabbed him by the arm, immediately pressing him for details about what he was feeling. After all, this was the first player since Nanjirō to begin fusing all three Radiances.
"It's hard to describe exactly… but judging from that last game, it feels kind of like Fuji's Light Wind," Tezuka replied calmly after a brief moment of thought.
"My Light Wind?" Fuji exclaimed, clearly surprised. He hadn't expected such an answer from Tezuka.
"Yeah. That sense of the ball suddenly slowing down—it's probably the same as what you experience with your Light Wind, right?" Tezuka said seriously, looking straight at Fuji.
"I see… maybe that means my Light Wind still has room to evolve," Fuji murmured softly to himself, thoughtful.
"Tezuka, you need to stay cautious," Akashi interjected, his tone cutting through the air like a cold blade. "Right now, your three Radiances have only just begun to merge. If Q.P. manages to absorb the Radiance of Strong Heart before you complete the fusion, the situation could shift again."
"Yeah, I know. I won't let my guard down—no matter what," Tezuka answered firmly, his eyes full of resolve.
The break ended quickly. When Tezuka and Q.P. returned to the court, the crowd's anticipation surged. What had seemed like a settled match just moments ago had completely reversed—no one could predict how it would end now.
Though it was Tezuka's serve for the sixth game, he didn't use the Zero Shiki Serve. Instead, he simply hit an ordinary high-speed serve—but even that was enough to push Q.P. to his limits trying to return it.
Q.P. had revised his strategy during the break, but as the rally resumed, he realized his plan was useless. Tezuka's reaction time, ball control, and striking power had all increased dramatically—surpassing even his own.
Under these conditions, the Ultimate Zone's power was fully unleashed. If Q.P. was even a fraction of a second late neutralizing the reverse spin, the ball would fly out of bounds. And even when he managed to return it, the ball immediately came flying back at impossible speed.
But what truly stunned everyone was the enormous phantom behind Tezuka. The towering blue silhouette, holding a racket just like him, mirrored every one of his movements perfectly, continuously returning Q.P.'s shots in unison.
"Game! Japan! 4–2!"
Tezuka took the sixth game cleanly. The tide had completely turned—now it was Q.P. who couldn't keep up. After his initial shock, though, Q.P.'s face returned to its usual calm, unreadable expression.
Then, to everyone's surprise, he let the Light of Pride fade away entirely, as if giving up. But no one on the court or in the stands believed that. After all, Germany was still leading.
"Speed, reflexes, control… decent enough~ But that's still far from true perfection. Ten'i Muhō isn't that simple. Keep going, kid," Nanjirō said from the stands with a small grin, speaking half to himself as he watched Tezuka play.
The seventh game began with a powerful serve from Q.P., but without the Light of Pride, he had no way to resist. Tezuka's simple backhand return shot out like lightning, passing Q.P. before he could react and bouncing out of bounds.
"0–15!"
Q.P. didn't seem fazed. He calmly tossed the ball again and delivered another powerful serve. This time, he anticipated Tezuka's shot, barely managing to reach it—but had no time to counter the fierce spin on the ball.
"OUT! 0–30!"
From the bench, Akashi immediately noticed something different about Q.P. He quickly understood—Q.P. was beginning to feel the power of the Radiance of Strong Heart. It was only a matter of time before his Ultimate Quality awakened completely.
While Akashi was lost in thought, Tezuka appeared in front of the incoming ball like a flash. Raising his racket behind his head, he sliced downward sharply, sending the ball spinning across the net with a soft, floating motion.
The next second, Q.P. lunged forward, stretching his racket under the ball in an attempt to scoop it up. But as soon as the ball touched the strings, it began spinning violently in place. Q.P.'s eyes widened as it rolled off his racket and dropped gently to the ground.
"Zero Shiki Drop!"
"Game! Japan! 4–3!"