On the other side, at the match between Rikkai and Hyōtei, Doubles Two had just ended with a score of 6-4. Hiyoshi and Oshitari walked back to the bench with their heads down. Hyōtei had now lost twice in a row, and it looked like their chances of winning today were almost zero.
In Singles Three earlier, Jirō hadn't lasted long against Sanada. Sanada easily dominated using the Four Grand Techniques of Fūrin Kazan, and the final score was 6-1, even though Sanada had been testing Jirō in the first game.
In Doubles Two just now, Marui and Jackal showed the overwhelming strength of a true national-level doubles team. Though Hiyoshi and Oshitari were also national-level, they were still a step behind.
Now Atobe's brows were furrowed deeply. He couldn't think of any way for Hyōtei to win. Even if he could take Singles Two, Rikkai's Doubles One would most likely be Yanagi Renji and Niō Masaharu. With Kabaji and Mukahi's strength, there was no chance of victory there.
But there was no time left to keep thinking. The Singles Two match was about to begin. Atobe had to go up and at least protect Hyōtei's pride.
However, when Atobe saw the boy draped in a jacket on the other side, a deep sense of helplessness washed over him. Because that boy was Rikkai's captain, Yukimura Seiichi!
During training camp, Atobe had already learned how unfathomably strong Yukimura was. Even the monster Akutsu from Fudomine had never beaten him. Though Atobe didn't know the details, the results alone told him Yukimura's strength was on par with Tezuka's—at a level just below Akashi.
But Atobe the great king wouldn't surrender easily. No matter how strong Yukimura was, Atobe refused to believe he could overcome the inherent blind spots in his World of Ice.
As the umpire signaled, the two walked to the net for their bows, surrounded by Hyōtei members' cheers. Yukimura smiled at Atobe and said softly,
"Atobe-kun, looks like this is our first official match together~"
"Yeah~ but I'm definitely going to win this one!" Atobe declared, refusing to yield even a little.
"No! You're wrong, Atobe! In this match, you have no chance of victory!" Yukimura replied seriously.
"Hah? You're really arrogant, Yukimura!" Atobe snapped, annoyed.
"This isn't arrogance. It's confidence," Yukimura said calmly.
Just as Atobe was about to retort, the umpire urged them to call the toss. Atobe swallowed his irritation and stepped forward to pick. In the end, Atobe won the right to serve.
"First game! Hyōtei to serve!"
Standing at the baseline, Atobe wasted no time. He tossed the ball high and snapped his wrist on the swing, sending the ball with special spin flying into Yukimura's side.
Yukimura immediately recognized Atobe's Tannhauser Serve, moved quickly to the bounce, and as the ball barely rose, he swept it up with a forehand, driving it deep into Atobe's left baseline corner.
Atobe had anticipated Yukimura could return his Tannhauser Serve and dashed to the corner without hesitation, smacking a Jackknife return. Yukimura, unruffled, stepped into the incoming ball and countered calmly.
The two exchanged fierce shots. After 7 or 8 rallies, Yukimura finally seized a brief opening and took the first point.
"0-15!"
Atobe's eyes locked intensely onto Yukimura, trying to read any weakness. But after just one rally, even Atobe's sharp vision couldn't find anything yet.
Atobe then stopped using Tannhauser Serve; since it wasn't effective and put strain on his wrist, there was no point. He went all in on offense from the start—something he'd never done before—showing his respect for Yukimura's strength.
Yukimura, however, handled Atobe's aggressive attacks with perfect composure, calmly returning every shot. Any ball path seemed completely ineffective against him.
"0-30!"
"0-40!"
"Game! Rikkai! 1-0!"
Yukimura quickly took the first game by breaking Atobe's serve. Atobe continued to stare him down, focusing his eyesight to the utmost.
At the side of the court, Niō Masaharu suddenly commented,
"Puri~ didn't expect him to start so early. Looks like even for Atobe, Captain Yukimura needs to take it seriously~"
"Atobe isn't an easy opponent. None of us here—except Yukimura—could say we'd beat him with certainty," Yanagi Renji said gravely.
Among the onlookers, Irie watched Yukimura and Atobe with great interest and turned to Mitsuya beside him, saying:
"These two kids are impressive. One has mental strength far beyond his peers, and the other… interesting, he seems to have a pretty good pair of eyes~"
"Yukimura Seiichi and Atobe Keigo. They're easily the top middle school players right now besides Akashi-kun. Even in the training camp, they'd make it into Court One, maybe even the last ten spots of the First String," Mitsuya said with a hint of awe.
"Looks like we came at the right time. This year's middle school generation is really something~" Irie praised.
The second game was Yukimura's serve. He wasted no time and fired off a high-speed serve. Apart from his mental strength, Yukimura's tennis was plain yet flawless.
Atobe attacked immediately after returning the serve, charging the net and maintaining a hyper-aggressive stance. He unleashed a fierce barrage at the net, but Yukimura calmly blocked every shot, silently putting immense pressure on Atobe.
"15-0!"
Despite multiple attack attempts, Atobe couldn't break through Yukimura's defense and was caught off guard, losing the point.
A thin layer of cold sweat began forming on Atobe's forehead. Yukimura felt like an unyielding wall standing in his way, with not a single crack to exploit.
As Yukimura served again, Atobe kept pressing forward relentlessly. After a relentless barrage of smashes, Yukimura finally hit a high lob. Atobe leaped up, eyes locked on the grip of Yukimura's racket, and smashed down hard.
"Rondo Towards Destruction!"
Yukimura instantly reacted, pulling his right hand inward. The ball slammed into his racket, and he softly dropped a short ball over the net, landing it on the court along with Atobe.
"30-0!"
"Chasing only flashy tennis is putting the cart before the horse, Atobe-kun," Yukimura said calmly, eyes fixed on Atobe.
Atobe snorted coldly without replying, turned back to the baseline, and got ready to receive Yukimura's serve again. Yukimura didn't care about Atobe's attitude and returned to the baseline himself.
When Yukimura served again, the situation didn't change at all. Atobe kept up his fierce attacks—because it was the only thing he could do—but Yukimura wasn't someone so easily overwhelmed.
"40-0!"
"Game! Rikkai! 2-0!"
Yukimura secured another game with his overwhelming strength, his jacket still draped perfectly over his shoulders without a hint of slipping. This made Atobe even more irritated, because he couldn't help but remember Akashi—also wearing his jacket—easily dominating him.
But suddenly, Atobe's eyes sharpened. He finally saw it: the faint cold glint hidden deep within. Atobe's lips curled into a confident smile.
This was Atobe's service game. Standing at the baseline, he tossed the ball high and smashed it, sending it hurtling toward Yukimura's right baseline corner.
As Yukimura ran for the ball, a cold glint flashed from Atobe's eyes. The moment Yukimura returned the ball, several icy spikes shot out from Atobe's eyes, stabbing into the space around Yukimura.
"World of Ice!"
Atobe targeted one of the icy spikes, swung his racket, and smashed the ball. It flew past the net, shattered the spike, and bounced out of bounds. Yukimura froze mid-motion, unable to finish his swing.
"15-0!"
"So this is an attack aimed at blind spots? I really can't underestimate you, Atobe-kun," Yukimura said softly.
"Yukimura, I admit you're strong. But no matter how powerful you are, you can't hit a shot aimed at your blind spot. This match is mine to win!" Atobe declared confidently, his old arrogance restored.
After speaking, Atobe went back to the baseline and served again, his eyes locked onto Yukimura, ready to read his blind spot at any moment.
As Yukimura returned the ball, more icy spikes shot out from Atobe's eyes, pinning Yukimura's blind spots. Atobe used this to strike again and scored another point.
"30-0!"
Yukimura flexed his body slightly, now fully understanding what World of Ice was. He had to admit, Atobe's eyes were truly impressive. But this alone wouldn't be enough to beat him.
In the next rally, as Atobe activated World of Ice again, Yukimura spoke calmly:
"Atobe-kun, there's one thing you got wrong~ humans can't eliminate their blind spots, but they can shift them!"
As Yukimura finished, his body shifted slightly. Instantly, all the icy spikes in Atobe's vision shattered. The ball, which had been heading straight for a spike, was intercepted by Yukimura's racket and shot past Atobe's feet, out of bounds.
"30-15!"
"Impossible! You can actually shift your blind spots? Your strength has reached this level already, Yukimura!" Atobe said in disbelief.
From then on, Atobe refused to give up, repeatedly unleashing World of Ice. But each time the icy spikes formed, they shattered instantly. Unnoticed by Atobe, a strange mental pressure crept into him as his emotions swung wildly.
"30-30!"
"30-40!"
"Game! Rikkai! 3-0, change court!"
While the match paused, Fudomine's members arrived courtside to watch the clash between Hyōtei and Rikkai. When Akashi saw Atobe's opponent was Yukimura, he shook his head slightly. It looked like Hyōtei's journey would end here this year.
As Atobe took a drink, Sakaki Tarō walked over with a serious look and said, "Atobe, it's not easy to correct your own blind spots. You have to trust your eyes—if your opponent shifts his blind spot, then you just have to see through it again!"
Atobe nodded firmly. He wasn't going to give up here. He believed his eyes could once more find Yukimura's true blind spots so he wouldn't let him hide them so easily again.
When the break ended, the match resumed with Yukimura's service game. Standing at the baseline, Yukimura looked across at Atobe and said softly, "You still haven't given up? Too bad you're about to understand what true despair is!"
Yukimura tossed the ball high and smashed his serve, the ball carrying a subtle wave of mental pressure straight into Atobe's court. Atobe ran to the bounce point and swung, but as he hit the ball, the faint mental wave traveled through his racket right into his body.
The two quickly began another fierce rally, but this time Yukimura seemed to deliberately extend the exchanges, making each rally much longer than before.
Atobe sensed something strange, but focused entirely on reading Yukimura's blind spots. After an extended rally, Atobe still couldn't break through.
"15-0!"
The next point was just as long, but once again Yukimura won it. By now, Yukimura's mental pressure was clearly visible to any player familiar with mental-strength techniques.
"30-0!"
"Looks like Yukimura-kun is about to use something interesting~" Irie said, eyes narrowing in anticipation.
"Mental tennis, huh? That's something even data can't accurately calculate. But it sure is fascinating intel!" Mitsuya said with a smile.
"It's starting? Let's hope Atobe can withstand it~" Akashi said calmly as he sensed Yukimura's mental power.
"Seems like Atobe's in for a tough time~ purrin!" Niō laughed, his grin like a sly fox's.
Yukimura stood at the baseline, feeling Atobe's state through his mental pressure. He judged the timing was right, so he tossed the ball high and with a sharp smack sent it flying over the net into Atobe's court.
Atobe dashed to intercept the ball and returned it with a powerful shot, but as the rally continued, he noticed the light around him growing dimmer—even though it was broad daylight. Confusion gripped Atobe as the darkness deepened.
Then, suddenly, his vision was swallowed completely by blackness, leaving him stunned on the spot, unable to comprehend what had happened. That's when he heard the ball bounce on the court, followed by the umpire's voice.
"40-0!"
"Seems like you've already lost your sight, Atobe-kun~" Yukimura said calmly as he looked across the net.
Atobe stood frozen, eyes unfocused as his brain desperately tried to understand what was going on. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he spoke in disbelief: "Is this… the rumored Five-Sense Nullification?!"
That's right—during the training camp, Atobe had heard whispers that Yukimura's ultimate technique was Five-Sense Nullification, but Yukimura had never explained what it entailed. Atobe had always thought it was some special tennis move. He never imagined it was literal—this was beyond anything logical!
"You never cease to surprise me, Yukimura! But even without my sight, I won't give up!" Atobe shouted loudly.
Seeing that Atobe still refused to give in, Yukimura could only wish him luck in his heart. He served again, and though Atobe couldn't see, he tried to rely on the sound of the ball striking and bouncing to locate it.
This way, Atobe barely managed to hang on with his hearing alone. But soon, panic set in—his ears started to fail him too. The sounds grew fainter until they disappeared entirely. At the same time, his sense of touch through the racket, the smell in his nose, and the taste on his tongue vanished one by one.
"Game! Rikkai! 4-0!"
"I admire your determination, Atobe-kun. But now your remaining four senses are gone as well. How will you respond? Oh—my mistake, you can't hear me anymore, can you?" Yukimura said coldly as he watched Atobe stand motionless on the court.
With his five senses completely erased, Atobe faced his own service game next, but stood frozen. The umpire urged him multiple times, but Atobe didn't react at all, so the umpire had no choice but to call a time violation.
"Game! Rikkai! 5-0!"
In the final game, Atobe faced Yukimura's serve without any response at all. He was completely trapped in the darkness, unable to see, hear, feel, smell, or taste anything. Over time, he would probably even lose his sense of his own existence.
"Game! 6-0! Match over! Winner, Rikkai!"
Thankfully, the match ended quickly, and Yukimura immediately released his mental pressure. Slowly, Atobe regained his senses. As light returned to his eyes, even he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"The world of Five-Sense Nullification really isn't something I want to experience again. But next time, I won't fall for it so easily, Yukimura!" Atobe declared the moment he recovered.
With this, Rikkai claimed a 3-0 victory over Hyōtei, securing their spot in the finals. This time, they would challenge Fudomine once more to settle the score!