Even after Tezuka Kunimitsu took three points in a row, Q.P.'s expression barely changed. He walked calmly to the baseline. The fourth point was Q.P.'s serve. Without wasting time, he picked up a tennis ball from the side and tossed it up fast.
With a thunderous impact, the ball turned into a pillar of light and blasted straight into the Japan Team's half. Clearly, Q.P. no longer planned to rely on speed to win. Tezuka frowned slightly, then instantly moved to the landing point.
In truth, this serve from Q.P. had already begun to drift away from the simulation of Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami. Even so, Tezuka still shifted the power of Muga no Kyōchi to both arms in an instant and swung with all his strength. But the moment the ball hit his racket, an unimaginable force surged in.
In less than a second, the ball pierced straight through the racket and flew past the baseline. Tezuka felt intense numbness flood both hands. He was certain that if he had not been holding the racket with both hands just now, his wrist would already be injured.
"ACE! 1–3!"
"By collecting match data on your opponent and then using an activated brain to simulate everything, that should be what you call Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami, right? Unfortunately, this level of simulation can't help you win the match," Q.P. said calmly after seeing Tezuka finish changing his racket.
Without waiting for Tezuka to respond, Q.P. tossed the ball again and fired off another overwhelmingly powerful serve. This time, Tezuka did not activate Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami. He focused all the power of Muga no Kyōchi into both arms, while the Ten'i radiance burst out in full.
Amid the overlapping glow of blue and rainbow light, Tezuka's aura subtly changed. This change went unnoticed by everyone—except Akashi Seijurō, who was watching with the Emperor Eye, and Echizen Nanjirō in the stands.
"The power of Muga no Kyōchi has basically fused with the Light of Pride. From here on, it depends on your own tennis talent, Tezuka Kunimitsu!" In the audience, Nanjirō seriously called out Tezuka's name for the first time.
'So the thing that finally pushed the three lights to fully merge was the power of the Muga no Kyōchi secret art! No wonder after Nanjirō, no one in the world has been able to open the true Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami. After all, outside of Japan, other countries probably don't even know what the Muga realm is!' Akashi realized, thinking with a hint of emotion.
Akashi had always found it strange why Nanjirō deliberately created the Muga realm to optimize the awakening process of the Light of Pride. Especially after Akashi figured out that the Muga realm and Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami were two completely different powers, his curiosity only grew stronger.
Now, Akashi finally understood everything. Whether it was love, fortitude, or solitude, each represented a different state of mind for the player. But no matter how stable a player's mentality was, completely fusing these three vastly different mindsets was nearly impossible.
That was why an external force was needed to assist the fusion, and the Muga realm was the most suitable force. Since the principle of the Muga realm was to turn the mind completely into nothingness, reaching a special state of no distractions and no stray thoughts, it instead accelerated the fusion of the three lights.
"2–3!"
"3–3! Change courts!"
"4–3!"
While Akashi was thinking about this, Q.P. had already taken the lead on the court. Once Tezuka's Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami lost effect, Q.P. regained absolute control, using his powerful physique—far superior to Tezuka's—to keep scoring.
The eighth point was Tezuka's serve. After reaching the baseline, he subtly moved his left arm, then tossed the ball up with his right hand, his gaze firm. As the hit rang out, the ball flew toward the Germany Team's half with intense and complex spin.
Q.P. instantly moved to the front-court landing point. When he saw the ball spinning wildly on the ground, he already understood Tezuka's plan. He quickly pressed his racket flat against the court and swept it toward the still-spinning ball.
The moment the racket brushed the ball, the built-in spin made it rebound toward the net. Then something incredibly bizarre happened. While still some distance from the net, the ball suddenly stopped. It hovered in midair, spinning for a fraction of a second, then slowly dropped to the ground.
"ACE! 4–4!"
"This is… Void Before Birth?!" At the side of the court, Irie Kanata cried out in shock.
"...Tezuka-kun is really going way too far this time~ His left wrist must be feeling a severe tearing sensation right now, along with waves of sharp pain," Tanegashima Shūji said in a low voice, his expression rare for being both serious and angry.
After all, Tanegashima's four techniques of Nothingness were all developed based on his own Nothingness ability. That kind of ability required an extremely special wrist structure and perfectly matched neural reflexes. It could be said to be something unique to Tanegashima alone. For Tezuka to forcibly imitate it using the power of Muga no Kyōchi would place an enormous burden on his wrist.
"And not just that—he even combined it with the Zero Shiki Serve technique... Does this guy seriously not care about his future career at all?" Oni Juujirou said through clenched teeth, but that anger was clearly directed at himself.
"Tezuka Kunimitsu... I've seen your resolve! The coaches really didn't choose wrong this time!" Byoudouin Houou said openly, showing his approval without hiding it at all. After all, he was the same kind of person—someone willing to give everything for the Japan Team's victory.
"ACE! 4–5!"
Just as everyone was worrying about Tezuka's wrist, on the court Tezuka fired off a second Zero Shiki Serve fused with the Void Before Birth technique without any hesitation. This bizarre serve was something even Q.P. couldn't crack in a short time.
'That's not it... No matter how miraculous the power of Muga no Kyōchi is, it can't imitate techniques that require special innate talent! Tezuka's current state is more like turning the Muga realm into instinct and merging it with the Ten'i radiance. Only then could he possibly use Tanegashima's Void Before Birth!' The golden light in Akashi Seijurō's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Standing at the baseline, Q.P. couldn't help taking a deep breath. He was starting to lose his grasp on Tezuka across the net. In this match, Tezuka kept breaking his plans again and again. Every time Q.P. thought victory was already in hand, Tezuka would survive at the most critical moment.
Still, Q.P. only sighed inwardly. His movements showed no mercy at all as he blasted a powerful serve straight into the opposite court. Thanks to the boost from Ultimate Quality, even at this stage of the match, Q.P.'s stamina was still holding at a normal level.
Tezuka, on the other hand, still had his left wrist completely numb from the two special serves just now, with sharp pain pulsing through it. This caused a clear drop in the quality of his returns. Even when he managed to reach the ball, facing Q.P.'s powerful shots, Tezuka looked extremely weak.
"5–5!"
"6–5!"
As expected, Q.P. took another two points, and the match reached match point. As long as Q.P. won one more point, the Germany Team would claim victory.
However, Q.P. didn't feel relaxed at all. That was because the next two points were Tezuka's serve. To be honest, Q.P. had no confidence he could crack those special techniques from earlier.
"ACE! 6–6! Change courts!"
"ACE! 6–7!"
Sure enough, Q.P. still failed to return them. Tezuka once again relied on two special serves to take the points, shifting the pressure of match point onto Q.P.'s side. But on the sidelines, every member of the Japan Team looked grim, because they had all seen Tezuka's trembling left arm.
Suddenly, the sound of a racket hitting the ground echoed across the court. Everyone looked up at once. They saw Tezuka clutching his left arm. His expression was barely calm, but cold sweat was pouring down his forehead. He was clearly enduring intense pain. The racket lay at his feet—he no longer had the strength to hold it tightly.