"Muga no Kyouchi."
"He... how old is he?! This is insane!"
Apart from Yoru, everyone on the court—including Kirihara—was stunned.
Muga no Kyouchi (Selfless State)!
A temporary, slight increase in muscle efficiency, indirectly boosting all five stats, while granting the ability to quickly replicate others' basic techniques.
But the real shock wasn't the ability itself—it was Tezuka's age.
Right now, Tezuka was at most a sixth-grader, yet he had already mastered Muga no Kyouchi!
(Author's Note: Honestly, I can't even complain about this. After digging through multiple sources, I found that after Tezuka's injury, his skills barely progressed during middle school until he left U-17. The only exception was when he unlocked Saiki Kanpatsu (Pinnacle of Great Wisdom) against Chitose Senri.)
(In a way, most of Tezuka's strength by his third year of middle school was already there in elementary school. Middle school just gave his body time to develop and slightly improve his stats.)
(Tezuka is absolutely the author's favorite—his setup is even more broken than Ryoma's.)
"This should help me keep up... for a while."
Tezuka took a deep breath, feeling his stamina draining rapidly.
Not only could he activate Muga no Kyouchi—he could control it, avoiding the mindless playstyle that usually came with it.
He didn't want to use it unless absolutely necessary.
His stamina was already running low, and activating Muga now was an all-or-nothing gamble.
BAM—!
The sound of a serve echoed across the court.
Once Tezuka was ready, Kirihara fired off a serve—faster than any before.
But Tezuka moved just as quickly.
With Muga's boost, he could now barely match Kirihara's speed.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The two instantly launched into a blistering rally.
On the sidelines, Yamato watched with admiration—and a hint of bitterness.
"No wonder you said I couldn't compare to him. A no-bounce slice, Tezuka Zone, and now Muga no Kyouchi... another monster."
Yoru replied calmly, **"Not only has he mastered Muga—he's also unlocked Hyakuren no Kiwami (Pinnacle of Hard Work)."**
"What?!"
Yamato's jaw dropped again as he stared at Yoru in disbelief.
Yoru wasn't the type to lie.
But Yamato quickly realized something. "Wait, if Tezuka can use Hyakuren, why is he still maintaining Muga? Hyakuren compresses stamina consumption to the extreme, right?"
Yoru rolled his eyes.
"Did you forget? Hyakuren focuses all energy into the arms, weakening the rest of the body. In that state, how could he possibly keep up with Kirihara's speed?"
"If he can't reach the ball, even a 10x return multiplier is useless."
"..."
Yamato awkwardly rubbed his nose. He had forgotten.
"Just watch. The moment Tezuka completes his Zone again, Hyakuren will appear."
Zone + Hyakuren combo, huh?
Yamato shuddered, remembering how brutally this combo had crushed Kirihara before.
He never thought anyone other than their captain could pull off such a precise combination.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
After another intense rally, the white whirlwind of Tezuka Zone reappeared.
At the same time, the white aura around Tezuka began converging into his left arm, growing denser.
Kirihara groaned. "Damn it, not the Hyakuren + Zone combo again!"
Seeing Zone and Muga appear, he'd already suspected Hyakuren was coming.
So when it did, he wasn't that surprised.
The club members, however, were completely floored.
BOOM—!
A heavy, exaggerated impact shattered the air.
With Zone's assistance, Tezuka's return carried double the force.
The ball blasted across the court, slamming into the ground with terrifying speed and momentum.
Even at full speed, Kirihara could barely intercept it—but the moment his racket made contact, a shockwave of force shot through his fingers.
His grip faltered for less than half a second—but that was enough.
SLAP—!
The ball ripped the racket from his hand, sending both flying out of bounds.
"Tezuka scores, 15-15!"
A new battle dynamic had begun.
Once Zone was established, it only took three exchanges or fewer to reform.
And every time it did, Tezuka would activate Hyakuren no Kiwami, unleashing double-powered returns to score.
For a while, the match became Tezuka's scoring streak.
BAM!
"Tezuka scores, 30-15!"
...
BAM!
"Tezuka scores, 40-15!"
...
BAM!
"Tezuka scores, Game 1-1!"
...
Four straight points.
Though not as effortless as Kirihara's earlier dominance, the visual impact was undeniable.
"Whoa... Kirihara actually dropped a game?"
"Are all the new kids this terrifying now?"
"Incredible. I think only the captain could suppress him at this point."
"Well, Kirihara's probably still holding back, right?"
Whispers filled the court as the players switched sides.
Tezuka, now back at the service line, didn't immediately serve. Instead, he flexed his wrist slightly.
Yoru frowned.
In the original story, Tezuka's injury was caused by an outside attack—but the fact that it never fully healed was also due to the strain of his techniques.
The Zone + Hyakuren combo was already beyond what his body could handle at this age.
And that wasn't even counting the Zero-Shiki techniques, which placed immense stress on his arm—especially the Zero-Shiki Serve, which was just as taxing as the combo.
It wasn't until the World Stage arc, after his body had fully developed and healed, that Tezuka could use them without restrictions.
"Kirihara-senpai... be careful."
Tezuka's voice was firm as he bounced the ball, his expression deadly serious.
Be careful?
Kirihara narrowed his eyes, his breathing steady, his mind icy calm.
This wasn't his first time facing the Zone + Hyakuren combo—though Yoru's version was far stronger.
In terms of skill level, Yoru and Tezuka were even, but base stats were what determined the combo's true power.
Still, if Tezuka was giving a warning, Kirihara wasn't about to ignore it.
SWISH—!
The ball arced high into the air.
Tezuka leaped, his racket swinging down in a controlled motion.
The serve wasn't particularly fast, but the spin was extreme—the ball drifting lazily toward the center service line.
"Inside serve?"
Kirihara's brows furrowed.
At first glance, this serve seemed like a free opportunity—slow speed, middle placement.
But his instincts screamed that something was off.
No time to overthink.
The ball was already descending.
Gritting his teeth, Kirihara sprinted forward, racket poised for a half-volley.
No matter how much spin was on the ball, it would only change after the bounce—so intercepting it early would neutralize the effect!
He reached the landing point in a flash.
Racket raised, ready to strike the moment it rebounded.
"This ball... you won't be able to return it."