Boom!
On the court, the two players' movements became progressively faster. Even with Yukimura seeing through it, Tezuka's Zone, relying on its subtle spin, could still be instantly achieved, imperceptibly reducing Tezuka's defensive range.
Gradually, the Rikkai Dai team members outside the court couldn't keep up with Yukimura and Tezuka's rhythm. Before they could think too much, the tennis ball had already landed on the opposite court.
"This... this is such an astonishing rally!" exclaimed a somewhat naive-looking, wide-eyed, wine-red-haired boy from the crowd at the Rikkai Dai Tennis Club. This was none other than Marui Bunta, one-half of the future strongest doubles team in the nation.
"Marui, their power is really something else," said the dark-skinned, bald-headed boy standing beside him. He was also a future Rikkai Dai doubles ace, perhaps due to his mixed heritage, possessing natural athletic prowess and a defense like an impenetrable wall, with an unimaginably wide defensive range.
"Yukimura Seiichi, Tezuka Kunimitsu!"
A silver-haired, short-haired boy observed the match silently from the side, his heart seemingly stirred by the game. His eyes carefully watched the match's progression, as if strategizing something.
"At the level these two are playing, they're already among the nation's best," Fushimi sighed, his eyes fixed on the two figures on the court, a little lost in thought. In just half a year, they had surpassed his two and a half years of effort. This kind of disparity was truly hard to accept.
Boom!
"30-15!"
"30-30!"
"40-30!!"
"Game, Yukimura, 1-0!"
Change sides!
Yukimura successfully held his service game. Tezuka also roughly figured out Yukimura's style. He raised his hand and hit a beautiful flat serve, precisely landing on the service line.
The two once again engaged in a baseline rally. However, this time it was Tezuka's serve, and even without activating his Zone, he relied on the advantage of his serve to firmly pin Yukimura to the baseline.
Yukimura had incredible tenacity, and every shot landed in the exact same spot. Seeing this, Kamikawa also guessed something.
"Yukimura has started his move," Kamikawa said calmly. Through repetitive, monotonous returns, almost always landing the ball in the same spot, and being unable to score for a long time, the opponent's mind, constantly seeing their shots returned under layers of pressure, would fall into a state where their five senses were stripped away. This was the tennis of Yukimura Seiichi!
"What?!" Oishi looked at Kamikawa, confused.
"Just watch," Kamikawa narrowed his eyes, offering no further explanation. Yukimura's method of stripping the five senses was based on fundamental skills, a product of his materialized mental power. It was a very sophisticated technique. In Germany, there was also a middle schooler who could induce opponents into a state of five-sense deprivation through mechanical returns. Yukimura himself was once deprived of his five senses by an opponent in the U-17 World Cup.
Smack!
After more than twenty rallies, Tezuka suddenly lowered his racket face slightly. A beautiful slice shot landed near the net. Seeing this, Yukimura quickly moved forward, squatted down, and before the ball could even land, he touched it with his racket, returning a drop shot.
Woah!
Tezuka stepped forward and hit a tight-to-the-line smash, firmly pressuring the corner. Yukimura tried to return it, but the ball grazed past his racket and heavily landed in the corner.
"15-0!"
"Yukimura should have waited for the ball to land just now." Yanagi Renji's face showed a hint of confusion. He thought that if Yukimura had waited for the sliced ball to land, he could have returned it from mid-court. Why go to the net and return it before it bounced?
Sanada shook his head beside him, saying, "That slice shot just now wouldn't bounce. Tezuka applied a backward-rolling spin to the slice." Sanada had also fallen victim to this technique before, which is why he had repeatedly warned everyone before the match to be careful of Tezuka's Zero-Shiki Drop Shot. Once it landed, there was no chance to return it.
"A slice that doesn't bounce?"
Theoretically, such a slice shot could indeed be achieved. However, it required extremely high control skills. If the spin applied was slightly off, the ball would bounce after landing.
"This kind of slice puts a lot of strain on the wrist," Yanagi Renji also realized something. Applying such astonishing spin to the ball for a long time would put considerable strain on the elbow and even the shoulder. This was different from his Emptiness.
"15-15!"
On the court, Yukimura capitalized on Tezuka's mistake, quickly winning the point with a quick attack.
Boom!
"30-15!"
The next point, Tezuka still controlled the match's momentum, taking the point with a beautiful volley.
Boom!
"40-15!"
"40-30!"
"Game, Tezuka, 1-1!"
"Game, Yukimura, 2-1!"
"Game, Tezuka, 2-2!"
"Game, Yukimura, 3-2!"
"Change sides!"
The situation on the court was incredibly tight. However, Tezuka's unexpected Zero-Shiki Drop Shot and his occasionally activated Tezuka Zone still posed a significant threat to Yukimura. Even his fundamental tennis started to show slight openings under Tezuka's constant attacks.
Under immense pressure, Yukimura managed to fix his weaknesses, but he still firmly controlled the rhythm of the match in his service games. He managed to drag the score to 3-2.
"You must have seen it, right?" Atobe suddenly spoke to Kamikawa beside him, seeing Tezuka sitting silently in the coach's chair. "That guy is too eager to attack. From the beginning of the match, he pulled the game into a high-intensity mode. However, Tezuka's occasional Zone releases have caused him quite a bit of trouble." Atobe watched Yukimura sitting in the coach's chair on the opposite side of the court.
"Is that so? I feel like the one at a disadvantage is Tezuka," Kamikawa chuckled lightly. "His Zone is continuously being blocked, and the Zero-Shiki Drop Shot cannot be used consecutively."
Long-term use of the Zone and the Zero-Shiki Drop Shot would put considerable strain on Tezuka's wrist. Yukimura was exploiting this by hitting the ball to Tezuka's left side, his forehand side, starting from the third game. The Zero-Shiki Drop Shot is hit with a backhand slice to create a downward trajectory. If the hitting spot is always on the forehand return area, the Zero-Shiki Drop Shot cannot be executed.
His insight was certainly not inferior to Atobe's. Being able to see through the essence of techniques by observing and analyzing during a match was Yukimura's innate talent, and also a skill he had honed over many years.
"..." Tezuka sat in the coach's chair without speaking. He looked at his palm, constantly loosening and clenching his grip, combining it with the images in his mind. He seemed to have noticed something. His gaze refocused on Yukimura.
"Depriving the five senses, huh?" Tezuka stood up, took the tennis ball from the ball boy, and slowly walked onto the court. "Come on! Try to deprive me of my five senses!"
"At this rate, we can win this match!" Ishihara pumped his fist, as if victory was already within reach.
"Don't celebrate too soon, Ishihara." Fushimi frowned slightly. He felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. From the match's progression, both Yukimura and Tezuka had held their service games, but Yukimura had a slight advantage. As long as it reached 5-4, he could then break the opponent's serve with full effort at match point in the tenth game, and naturally win the match. Even if it went to 6-5, Yukimura would still be in the advantageous position. This was the advantage of getting the first serve.
Yanagi Renji was about to say something when he noticed Sanada, who was looking serious and hadn't said a word. He couldn't help but ask, "Genichiro, your face—"
Even though Yukimura had the advantage, Sanada's expression wasn't relaxed, as if he was worried about something.
"That guy still hasn't used that move yet." Sanada's mind was replaying past memories like a movie. Especially the semi-final of the JR tournament, his match against Tezuka, which remained vivid in his mind to this day. At that time, Tezuka was like an insurmountable mountain, standing on the court, exuding a suffocating pressure. A milky white aura swirled around him. In that state, every swing of Tezuka's racket carried immense power, precisely landing in areas he couldn't return. He tried his best to resist but couldn't win a single game from Tezuka.
Under duress, he had also activated that special realm.
Muga no Kyouchi (State of Self-Actualization)!
He activated it under duress, while Tezuka had reached the level where he could use it freely.
"Genichiro, what exactly is that move?!" Yanagi Renji urgently wanted to know.
As Yanagi Renji's words fell, Tezuka, who had walked onto the court and stood in the service box, now had a milky white aura swirling around him, a special energy originating from within his body and released outward. His dark eyes were tinged with a deep blue glow, and his movements became lighter.
"This is what I mentioned, a realm that one can only reach when the human body reaches its limits: the State of Self-Actualization!" Sanada crossed his arms, taking a deep breath as he watched Yukimura on the court. The next part is where this guy truly shines. Yukimura must control the ball's spin so that guy can't smoothly use his Zone!
Atobe showed a meaningful smile and slowly said, "I thought that guy, Tezuka, wasn't going to use that move in this match."
"Atobe," Kamikawa suddenly realized something when he saw Tezuka activate Muga no Kyouchi. "Tezuka isn't just activating Muga no Kyouchi. Keep watching. Muga no Kyouchi is like a switch in the body, activating a hidden power within the tennis player. And the three doors that extend from Muga no Kyouchi each correspond to a specific power."
Saiki Kanpatsu no Kyokuchi (Pinnacle of Intellectual Intuition) utilizes the power of Muga no Kyouchi in the brain, activating brain cells to simulate and predict future scenarios.
As for Ten'i Muhou no Kyokuchi (Pinnacle of Perfection), it stores the power of Muga no Kyouchi deep within the body and releases and explodes it in a specific, un-wasteful, and appropriate manner.
The light of Ten'i Muhou no Kyokuchi amplifies the original glow of Muga no Kyouchi Limitless. Once an opponent is engulfed by this light, they cannot unleash their true potential.
Whoosh!
Tezuka raised his hand and served. This serve was more powerful, faster, almost instantaneous. Yukimura also had a similar glow around him. He caught up to the ball and instantly smacked it, sending it to Tezuka's forehand. Tezuka's footsteps shifted slightly. The tennis ball seemed to be absorbed and returned to Tezuka's side. At this moment, the glow on his body converged on his left wrist, and he hit a powerful forehand.
Boom!
The tennis ball landed on Yukimura's backhand side.
"The power doubled?"
Yukimura touched the ball and clearly felt an extraordinary spin from it. The ball spun rapidly on the racket. Yukimura stared at the ball, paused his action slightly, lowered his racket face, and hit a plain-looking slice with spin.
Smack!
The ball landed at the front of the court, but was instantly drawn to Tezuka's front. Tezuka, in the State of Self-Actualization, could release his full Zone by enhancing his five dimensions. Weaknesses in his slice and lob shots were completely overcome at this moment.
"Yukimura too..."
The Rikkai Dai team outside the court, except for Sanada, all showed disbelief. This special realm was appearing simultaneously in the same match.
"It's just like before!" Atobe's face slightly changed when he saw a similar scene. He felt that the aura Tezuka was emitting now was much stronger than when he played against him. If Tezuka before was like still water, with only slightly increased five dimensions and not much desire to attack, at this moment Tezuka was full of offensive desire. Almost every return precisely pressured Yukimura into an unfavorable return spot.
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