"Right diagonal sixty-five degrees, distance eight point six seven meters, estimated arrival in zero point nine two seconds—" After Mōri Juuzaburō used the teleport serve again, Dankmar suddenly muttered softly, but he did not move at all.
"ACE! 40-0!"
When Mōri fired the fourth teleport serve, Dankmar continued calmly reading out data, still standing completely still, as if he had already given up resisting.
"GAME! Japan Team! 1-2!"
"Well? Bertie-kun~ did you figure something out?" After returning to the bench, Dankmar—his body already back to normal size—asked casually.
"A very troublesome ability, but using Satellite Perspective, I've basically got the idea. I just need to verify it with a few more balls," Bertie replied after thinking for a moment.
On the Japan Team bench, Mifune looked at Mōri and Ochi, hesitated briefly, then spoke. "Are you planning to rely on Ability Synchronization to win this match directly?"
"More or less~ I'm sure you can see it too, Mifune-sensei. That German big guy's ability is way too annoying. If we clash head-on normally, there's a high chance we'll lose, and we might even get injured, so we can only reveal our trump cards. I just hope things go smoothly from here~" Mōri replied with a helpless tone.
"If that's the case, then gamble once. But stay flexible! Don't let that giant illusion mess with your judgment!" After hearing Mōri's answer, Mifune thought it over and could only give this reminder.
When the timeout ended, both sides returned to the court. The fourth game was Germany Team's service game. Dankmar slowly walked to the baseline, then his body suddenly began to stretch upward, quickly turning back into a giant. Even the racket and tennis ball in his hand expanded several times in size. As Dankmar tested the bounce of the ball, every time it hit the ground, the entire stadium seemed to shake like an earthquake, clouds of dust bursting up from the floor, making Mōri swallow hard.
Finally, Dankmar tossed the huge tennis ball high into the air. A heavy, muffled impact rang out, and the massive ball instantly turned into a vast white pillar of light, blasting straight toward the Japan Team's half.
Although the ball started shrinking after crossing the net, Mōri seemed frozen in place. He did not react at all until the ball smashed down beside his feet, the shockwave whipping his uniform violently. Only then did Mōri snap back to his senses, cold sweat dripping down his face.
"ACE! 15-0!"
"Dynamic vision ninety-three percent, neural reaction speed thirty-one point two seven meters per second. That's some impressive talent~ too bad muscle strength is only nine point four eight RM. Guess that's a common issue for Asians~" Using Satellite Perspective's god's-eye view, Bertie had already roughly analyzed Mōri's key stats.
Unaware that he had been completely seen through, Mōri prepared solemnly to receive Dankmar's second serve, though he had no confidence at all.
Just as Dankmar was about to serve, Mōri steeled himself and closed his eyes, instantly entering sleep mode. He knew very well that with his waking five-dimensional stats, there was no way he could return that kind of serve.
The next second, another massive, heavy impact echoed through the court. Feeling the overwhelming force rushing at him, Mōri followed pure instinct and stepped forward, gripping the racket with both hands.
Amid thick clouds of dust, Mōri's body was blown straight back, crashing to the ground and rolling several times before finally slamming into the wall and stopping.
"ACE! 30-0!"
"Mōri!!!" "Mōri-senpai!!!"
On the sidelines, the Japan Team shouted anxiously. Ochi immediately strode over with his long legs to Mōri's side and checked his condition.
Fortunately, with Ochi's support, Mōri quickly stood back up. He did not seem injured, just covered in dust and looking a bit miserable, and he had completely awakened from sleep mode.
"Don't enter sleep mode so easily for the rest of this match, Mōri," Ochi said, his tone calm but filled with concern.
"But if I don't store power through sleep..."
"Relax. From here on, just leave the match to me. I originally wanted to keep one more trump card..." Ochi cut Mōri off before he could finish speaking.
Before Mōri could figure out what Ochi meant, the umpire urged them to return to their positions. With no choice, Mōri walked to the front court in confusion, but a faint worry rose in his heart. Even though he had been asleep just now, his hands were still numb, which clearly meant the power behind that serve was no joke.
Ochi now stood at the baseline, his presence rising steadily, especially his mental force, which surged wildly out of his body and wrapped around him. The next second, Ochi raised his hand, brushed all his bangs back, and fixed them in place using the secret technique "Hair Gel Hand."
"Are you planning to fully unleash Mental Assassination, like when you dealt with the Australia Team? Too bad, with Satellite Perspective around, that trick won't work on us~" Bertie sneered as he watched Ochi's movements.
Just as Bertie said, since Dankmar's current viewpoint was from above, he would not make eye contact with Ochi at all, and Bertie, who shared that viewpoint, would likewise not be affected by Ochi's Mental Assassination.
On the sidelines, Yukimura Seiichi suddenly smiled. He already knew what Ochi-senpai was about to do, since the principle behind this move was something he had explained to him personally.
Thinking of that, Yukimura instinctively glanced at Akashi Seijurō. As if sensing it, Akashi turned his head and met Yukimura's gaze. The corner of Akashi's mouth twitched slightly, and from Yukimura's eyes, he could roughly guess what Ochi was about to pull off.
Sure enough, on the court, two white bolts of lightning suddenly burst from Ochi's eyes. His already terrifying mental force swelled even further, and within the white lightning, a phantom full moon slowly rose inside his pupils.
"ZONE!"
'I knew it was ZONE... with Ochi's mental strength, mastering this isn't strange. But to grasp ZONE in such a short time, he must've experienced Yukimura's Five-Sense Nullification quite a lot~' Akashi thought quietly as he watched Ochi enter ZONE.
At this moment, Dankmar tossed the huge tennis ball high into the air again and fired another overwhelmingly powerful serve. Ochi did not move at all. He knew very well that the serve was aimed straight at where he was standing.
Ochi immediately gripped the racket with both hands, vast mental force condensing onto it in an instant, and swung without hesitation. When the ball struck the strings, even Ochi in ZONE felt a sharp numbness in both hands.
Still, he grit his teeth and returned the ball. Yet Dankmar showed no surprise at all, as if he had expected it, and at the same time, Bertie's figure had already appeared at the net.
"Upward diagonal forty-five degrees, height one point six one meters, net-crossing time one point eight three seconds..." Streams of data flashed through Bertie's eyes. He intercepted the ball with extreme precision and struck it back, but the next second, his entire body stiffened as a massive pressure suddenly rose in his mind.
"Since it's an assassination, there's naturally more than one way to achieve the goal..." Ochi muttered coldly as he watched the ball fly back again.
In the next instant, the tennis ball vanished directly from Ochi's racket. By the time Dankmar reacted, the sound of the ball hitting the ground was already at his feet. Even Satellite Perspective failed to catch Ochi's return just now.
"Ability Synchronization—Teleport!"
"30-15!"