Thwack!
After a few rallies, Yukimura noticed the flaws in the "Pinnacle of Hard Work" and intentionally hit returns that varied in speed, even adding some reverse spin. He used this method to disrupt the balance of Tezuka Zone and the Pinnacle of Hard Work.
However, Tezuka's tenacity was terrifying. He held his service game steadily, and when it was Yukimura's turn to serve, he relentlessly attacked, occasionally increasing the spin, forcing Yukimura to hit reverse spins. This approach made it difficult for Yukimura to find a suitable way to attack, even when he wanted to counter.
!!
"Game, Tezuka! 3-3!"
Thwack!
"Game, Yukimura! 4-3!"
Thwack!
"Game, Tezuka! 4-4!"
The two sides were locked in a stalemate, with the score constantly climbing. The match entered the crucial ninth game. If Tezuka broke Yukimura's service game, the next game would be Tezuka's serve and match point, giving Tezuka a natural advantage. However, if Yukimura held his service game, then Tezuka's upcoming service game would not allow for any mistakes.
Yukimura gripped the tennis ball, his chest heaving as he gasped for air. "Damn it, the side effects of Muga are showing."
Yukimura's gaze then fell on Tezuka across the net. Tezuka, like him, was also maintaining a high-intensity Muga state. The only difference was that Tezuka occasionally used his Zone ability to reduce his movement distance. Even with Muga fully active, his physical exertion wasn't as much as Yukimura's.
"He's not having an easy time either. I can tell his hitting point is off." Yukimura adjusted his breathing, recalling his previous returns, and his heart stirred. Tezuka's mental strength was formidable, and with Muga, it reached new heights. But how much worse could Yukimura's mental strength be, also using Muga?
Thwack!
With a loud crack, a glowing yellow streak shot across the court. In the next instant, the ball pierced through the court, landing heavily in Tezuka's territory, bouncing high!
It was a high-quality topspin serve. Tezuka, in excellent form, caught up to the ball, swung his racket with a powerful stroke, sending it to Yukimura's backhand. The two once again began an intense rally.
"This feeling—" As the rally continued, the force transmitted to his palm gradually weakened, and the tennis balls hit by Tezuka began to deviate from their trajectory.
!!
The tennis ball was pulled back by Tezuka's counter-stroke.
"There's a deviation in his hitting point. Tezuka has probably had his sense of touch stripped away." Kamikawa raised an eyebrow slightly. One or two mistakes were normal, but such obvious errors appearing from Tezuka... something felt off about that.
At a national level, with the conviction to win against any opponent, Tezuka's mental strength, especially after activating the State of Self-Actualization, was no less than Kamikawa's. But facing Yukimura, who also activated the State of Self-Actualization, the enhancement in their five core stats was negligible. Both were in deep Muga states, meaning Tezuka had opened one more "door," while Yukimura chose his own path. In terms of heart, body, technique, speed, and power, they were equally matched.
The only thing truly affecting Tezuka might be the invisible pressure Yukimura was applying!
That's right! It was pressure.
Any tennis player, in any match, would feel some degree of pressure. The pressure of not being able to use Tezuka Zone or Zero-Style Drop Shot, combined with the pressure of his team only winning one match, piled up. Under such layers of pressure, his mental state was bound to show cracks. And Yukimura seized that mental vulnerability, gradually applying pressure, bit by bit stripping away Tezuka's sense of touch. It was already remarkable that Tezuka could maintain his composure under such circumstances. Even a player like Echizen, who reached the Pinnacle of Perfection, momentarily had his five senses stripped when facing Yukimura in the U-17 World Cup. Not to mention Tezuka, who had only opened one of the doors to Muga.
"Stripping away touch? How is that even possible?" Shishido was the first to deny it. Even though he had seen Kamikawa and Yukimura's match, he still couldn't believe someone could strip away an opponent's sense of touch during a match. For a tennis player, touch is a crucial factor. Once touch is lost, returns and serves lack their intended power.
"The fact proves that Tezuka's sense of touch has indeed been stripped." Kamikawa glanced at Tezuka on the court.
Smack!
The ball landed near the center line. The spin wasn't strong enough, and the impact was slightly weaker. Neither the accuracy nor the speed was as strong as before.
"Tezuka is still adjusting his condition." Atobe held a hand in front of his face, watching Tezuka through his fingers. Even with his sense of touch stripped, Tezuka showed no sign of giving up, stubbornly clinging to the score.
"Perhaps." To break free from the stripping of the five senses, there were only two ways: one was to adapt to the state of having one's touch stripped, and the other was to overcome inner fear and pressure by reaching the Pinnacle of Perfect Self-Actualization. But with Tezuka's strong desire to win right now, could he truly immerse himself completely in tennis, like he did in the U-17 training camp?!
Thwack! Thwack!
This time, Yukimura's offense sped up, and Tezuka matched his pace. In just three or five rallies, another fierce hitting sound echoed across the court.
Whirrrrr!
After hitting the ball again, Yukimura's expression grew more serious. This guy, even with his sense of touch stripped, could still hit such high-quality backspin shots. Could it be that he had adapted to the state of having his touch stripped in such a short time? Yukimura had a bold guess.
!!
Yukimura held his racket with both hands and hit a beautiful drive.
Smack!
The ball violently hit the center net, forcibly changing its trajectory. Tezuka stepped forward and rushed up. In this state, Tezuka could no longer use his Zone ability. He simply couldn't control that subtle spin; he still needed time to adapt. Tezuka reached the net but hit a very ordinary topspin.
Smack!
The angle wasn't outstanding, the landing spot seemed unremarkable, the spin wasn't strong, and there wasn't much impact, as if it had lost its inherent power.
"Just as I thought!" Seeing Tezuka's reaction, most of his concerns vanished. But he still remained cautious; he always felt that things weren't as simple as they seemed on the surface.
!!
"Game, Yukimura! 5-4!"
"Yukimura's match point, change sides!"
The score quickly climbed. With a beautiful line shot from Yukimura, this game reached Yukimura's match point. Prolonged use of Muga drained his stamina significantly. Sweat soaked his uniform, his breathing was unstable, and it was hard for him to concentrate. Even though Yukimura knew the side effects of Muga would severely deplete his stamina, he had no choice but to continue using it now. If he didn't use Muga, with Tezuka's mental strength, he would definitely recover his sense of touch in a short time. Moreover, Tezuka was also in the Muga state at this moment, so the physical consumption of both players was consistent; there was no one consuming more or less stamina.
"Are you planning to outlast him physically?" Kamikawa stated, and Tezuka remained silent, clearly indicating that was indeed his intention.
"If you do that, your arm won't be able to handle it." Kamikawa shook his head, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone. This was just a practice match, a practice match to see the shortcomings of both players. It wasn't the Kanto Tournament finals. In this match, Tezuka used his Zone ability, Zero-Style Drop Shot, Muga, and even the deeper "Pinnacle of Hard Work." The use of multiple techniques put a significant strain on Tezuka's wrist and consumed a lot of stamina. Now, his sense of touch was stripped away as well, making the situation seem completely tilted towards Yukimura.
"I want to win!" Tezuka replied calmly. No extra words, just three simple ones. He wanted to win! Tezuka was a very proud and stubborn person. In that match where he lost to Kamikawa, even though Kamikawa was his childhood friend, a feeling of unwillingness still stirred deep within Tezuka. He wanted to win, to win every match, to lead Hyotei to a higher stage! Since he took on the role of Hyotei's Tennis Club Captain, he should fulfill the duties of a captain! Just like the Seigaku Tennis Club Captain back then.
"Is that guy immortal?" Ishihara's face showed alarm, his palms sweating, as he nervously said, "He's still stubbornly walking onto the court even after his sense of touch has been stripped." Back then, he himself had only had his sense of touch stripped for a moment and completely lost his fighting ability. Forget rallies, even serving became a problem. Not just him, but all the regulars of the Rikkaidai Tennis Club at that time had experienced the feeling of having their sense of touch stripped. Among them, Fushimi was the most deeply affected, losing his sense of touch, sight, and hearing all at once. That scene was tragic! Fushimi took almost half a month to recover then and still held a grudge against Yukimura.
"That man..." Sanada took a deep breath, his expression grave. "Is his dedication to victory even beyond mine?!" If he were in a state where his five senses were lost, would he have the conviction to win, to persist and finish this match? Sanada wasn't sure, couldn't be sure. Because Sanada had never had his five senses stripped by Yukimura.
"Hah!" Tezuka instinctively gripped the tennis ball but felt no sensation from it. There was no time for Tezuka to think. He tossed the ball up, swung his racket heavily, and hit a high-quality serve that landed precisely within the corner of the service box.
!!
The ball bounced up, perfect in both angle and power.
"He's adapted?" Yukimura's brows furrowed. He caught up to the ball, felt the force transmitted through his racket, and his heart trembled. As the next few balls were rallied, Yukimura increasingly perceived that Tezuka had recovered his sense of touch.
"This is bad!" Upon seeing Tezuka's playing style return to normal, Yanagi and Sanada's expressions instantly became solemn. Once his sense of touch recovered, it would be disadvantageous for Yukimura.
Yeah!
Soon, Tezuka hit a standard Zero-Style Drop Shot, further confirming their thoughts.
"15-0!"
Thwack!
"15-15!"
Yukimura capitalized on Tezuka's mistake, hitting a net-cord drop shot, stubbornly clinging to the score. Even if Tezuka's sense of touch recovered, he would persevere until the very last moment.
!!
"30-15!"
!!
"40-15!"
!!
"40-30!"
The match had been going on for almost an hour. Both players had been in the Muga state, rallying until now. Anyone else would have lost all strength and collapsed, unmoving.
!!
Another standard Zero-Style Drop Shot, the ball slowly rolled back towards Tezuka.
"Game, Tezuka! 5-5!"
"It looks like Tezuka has completely recovered his sense of touch." Atobe also breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. Once his sense of touch returned, Tezuka would regain the initiative in the match. But Kamikawa, beside him, still had a grave expression. Hearing Atobe's words, he slowly shook his head. "No! Tezuka's sense of touch hasn't recovered. He's just hitting near-perfect tennis by relying on muscle memory."
"What?" Hearing that, Atobe's pupils constricted. He had originally thought Tezuka had recovered his sense of touch, but now Kamikawa was telling him that Tezuka's sense of touch hadn't recovered from the beginning. How... how could this be?
"If his sense of touch hasn't recovered, how is he hitting Zero-Style Drop Shots?" Oshitari's brow furrowed, then he looked at Kamikawa, wanting to hear his opinion.
"It's an unconscious action."
"There's no need for this match to continue." Kamikawa shook his head. If they kept playing like this, one of them would eventually end their tennis career. For these two, this was just the starting line, not the finish line.
"Let's end this match here." Kamikawa stood up, looking towards Sanada on the Rikkaidai side.
"I have no objection," Sanada said calmly. "Tezuka, it's time to stop."
Kamikawa walked onto the court and grabbed Tezuka's arm. A sensation of heat came from Tezuka's elbow, indicating his current state. The aura of Muga had grown weak, and the Pinnacle of Hard Work couldn't be properly unleashed due to a lack of stamina. Even the Zero-Style Drop Shot was being released unconsciously. On the other side, Yukimura wasn't doing well either. The prolonged use of Muga, combined with the mental energy drain from stripping senses, meant he was also running on fumes to finish this match.
"Okay," Tezuka regained some clarity and nodded.
"This match has no winner or loser," Yukimura said, looking at Tezuka's retreating figure. "We'll meet again at the Kanto Tournament."
"Yes. Kanto Tournament, see you then!" Tezuka nodded, his arm draped over Kamikawa's shoulder as he was helped off the court. Yukimura was also helped off the court by Sanada. No one expected the match to end this way.
As the final match concluded, both teams walked onto the court and bowed to each other, officially ending the day's matches.
The sky grew darker. The Hyotei regulars sat in the bus, all looking down, not at each other. For a moment, the entire bus fell silent, with only the hum of the engine.
1 win, 3 losses, 2 draws. For Hyotei, this was an unacceptable, crushing defeat.