Dankmar soon served again. Ochi still held the racket with both hands and returned it smoothly, but this time the power was clearly weaker. The ball did not fly fast, carrying a bit of spin as it drifted into the Germany Team's half.
Bertie vaguely sensed something was wrong, but he had no time to think. The moment the ball crossed the net, his racket intercepted it. As soon as the ball hit the strings, it immediately began to spin violently.
Bertie's expression changed. He tried to twist his wrist to neutralize the spin, but his body stiffened in place. In the end, using the rebound force, the ball flew straight up into the Japan Team's high air.
At some point, Ochi had already arrived at the front court. Without hesitation, he leaped high. With his original height added, Bertie was completely swallowed by Ochi's shadow. Luckily, Bertie instantly broke free from the Mental Assassination and rapidly retreated.
The next second, Ochi's Mach Smash arrived as expected. The ball slammed into the ground in a blink, then bounced high, about to fly out of bounds. At that moment, Bertie suddenly appeared in midair and swung his racket with a backhand.
Right after that, Bertie seemed to lose his balance and began to fall rapidly. Dankmar rushed forward in time and caught the upside-down Bertie with his belly, acting like a one-of-a-kind trampoline. However, Mōri had also already appeared at the net without warning. He extended his racket to the left, and the ball struck the strings directly, then slowly fell toward the ground. Neither Bertie nor Dankmar could get there in time to save it.
"30-30!"
"This is doubles, you know. If you both focus only on Tsukimitsu-san, I'll get pretty troubled too~" Mōri said, looking at the two across from him with a strange Kansai tone.
"Nice one!!! Mōri-senpai!!!" On the Japan Team's bench, Kirihara shouted loudly in support.
"...This game probably can't be taken," Yukimura suddenly sighed softly.
"Yeah. With Mōri-senpai's current strength, it's probably impossible for him to handle Dankmar's serve," Sanada agreed immediately.
"Still, this is doubles. Their number of serves is limited, and don't forget—Ochi-senpai and Mōri-senpai's Ability Synchronization absolutely has the advantage when serving!" Shiraishi spoke up in time to boost morale.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple... I feel like Germany Team's Bertie is planning something," Fuji replied with open eyes, his tone extremely cautious.
While they were talking, the situation on court unfolded just as Yukimura expected. Facing Dankmar's powerful serve, Mōri simply couldn't cope. Even when he tried to weaken the ball's force with technique, he couldn't last even half a second before his racket was blown away.
"ACE! 40-30!"
"GAME! Germany leads! 1-3!"
——————
At the same time, in the match arena of Spain Team versus United States Team, Kiko ran back and forth across the court, drenched in sweat. He already knew Romeo's ability, but even so, the shock in his heart was immense.
"So deep down in my heart, Captain Rhinehart is actually this troublesome... if this keeps up, things will only get worse," Kiko muttered bitterly to himself.
Across from him stood Romeo, yet what Kiko saw was Rhinehart. Especially that ability to rapidly correct weaknesses—it almost made Kiko think Rhinehart had really taken the court.
As for Dodo, his mood was even worse than Kiko's. It was the first time he realized that he had actually lost to someone else in jumping ability. The opposing Bambieri always intercepted his smashes at unbelievable angles and even intentionally returned lobs to him.
What made Dodo feel worst was Bambieri's special footwork. He simply couldn't predict how the other man would move next. There was no pattern at all. Several times, Bambieri's sudden appearance nearly scared Dodo out of his skin.
"GAME! Spain leads! 4-5! Changeover!"
Watching Romeo and Bambieri walk back to the bench, Medanoré showed a trace of an unnatural expression, then spoke with some impatience.
"Hurry up and wipe out the United States Team~ This kind of meaningless game should end already!" Medanoré said arrogantly.
After hearing Medanoré's words, Romeo and Bambieri exchanged a look, then nodded together. They had no intention of dragging things out anyway. Since even the captain had spoken, this match really was time to end.
When the timeout ended, Romeo fully released the manifestation of his consciousness. For a moment, Kiko felt as if he were facing attacks from the entire United States Team at once. Resisting became extremely difficult, and even though Dodo wanted to step in to help, he had no opening at all.
Because of Romeo's earlier psychological suggestion and hypnosis, Kiko subconsciously believed that most of his tennis had already been devoured by Ryōga. As a result, he could not bring out his proper strength at all. Even though he knew this was fake, he still could not break free in a short time.
As for Bambieri, although he seemed to be holding back in this match, he still firmly suppressed Dodo. After all, this was his first time playing doubles with Romeo, so most of the time he was coordinating with Romeo's actions to avoid low-level mistakes between them.
"GAME! 4-6! Match over! Winner, Spain Team! Total score 2-0!"
Kiko and Dodo walked to the players' bench with dejected expressions. They almost did not dare to face Reinhardt. The United States Team had already lost two matches in a row, and if Singles Two was lost as well…
"Don't make those faces, Kiko, Dodo~ I know you've already done your best. Since that's the case, there's nothing to regret. In the end, believe in Ryōma," Reinhardt said calmly as usual, though a trace of undisguised disappointment flashed in his eyes.
"Ryōma-kun~ I'm counting on you next!" Kiko turned around and said seriously to Ryōma.
"Heh~~~~~~ It's rare to see you look like that, Kiko. But don't worry. I absolutely won't lose this match!" Ryōma glanced at Kiko teasingly, then adjusted the cap on his head, his small face filled with fighting spirit.
"Ryōma, I'll ask one last time. Do you really plan to play against Ryōga, even if your tennis might be completely taken away? If you regret it now, I can apply to the referee to change the player," Reinhardt suddenly asked, looking at Ryōma with extreme seriousness.
"I've been waiting for this match for a long time, Captain. I know you're worried, but having my tennis taken away is exactly what I want," Ryōma replied just as seriously, word by word.
The break between sets passed quickly. When the referee announced the start of Singles Two, Ryōma and Ryōga were already waiting at the side of the court, with a faint smile lingering on Ryōga's face.
"Next, Singles Two will begin! Spain—Echizen Ryōga, third-year middle school! United States—Echizen Ryōma, first-year middle school! Players, please enter the court!"
When the two brothers met at the net, Ryōma spoke first to Ryōga.
"I'm strong enough now, so don't look for excuses to avoid this anymore. Today, let's have a match with nothing held back!"
"Oh my~ So you still remember what was said on that orange, little one. As your older brother, I'm really touched~" Ryōga replied with a grin, clearly having no intention of picking up Ryōma's words.
"Stop changing the subject! Whether you get serious or not, I have an absolute reason I can't lose this match!" Ryōma's eyes suddenly turned sharp, which made Ryōga pause slightly.
"Alright~ Since you insist, little one, I won't say anything more. I just hope you can last until the end of the match," Ryōga said with a shrug, his tone slightly helpless.