As Akashi began watching the match, his Emperor Eye completely analyzed Yukimura's every move. Akashi was certain now: in the previous match, Yukimura hadn't used his full strength—at least, his mental energy consumption was far less than it should have been.
After the match ended, everyone returned to the hotel. Many were eager to explore Osaka, since the finals were still four days away and there was no need to worry about matches yet.
As for Shitenhōji and Hyōtei, already eliminated, they had no more pressure at all; after all, the national tournament didn't have a third-place match. The Shitenhōji members even offered to act as tour guides to show everyone around. Akashi readily agreed and covered everyone's expenses for their outings.
Just like that, players from all five schools spent their days sightseeing across Osaka, wandering here and there. Some even went to neighboring Hyōgo Prefecture for seaside bathing and hot springs.
In no time, four days passed. Today was the day of the national tournament final. Tennis fans from all over Japan gathered at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium to watch, and even representatives from schools eliminated earlier came to spectate.
As a senior editor of Tennis Monthly, Inoue Mamoru of course wouldn't miss such a grand event—he'd followed Fudomine's rise from the very beginning, witnessing the birth of a new king.
From the U-17 side, besides Irie and Mitsuya, even Oni showed up at the venue, and surprisingly, Kurobe Yukio arrived alongside Oni, clearly having received Irie and Mitsuya's reports.
Today, Oni wore a plain tracksuit, standing beside Kurobe Yukio like he was the coach himself, which made Irie giggle constantly. But Oni was already used to it—he always looked this way; what could he do about it?
Because this was the final, the organizers chose a venue large enough to accommodate a massive audience. The overall setup was on par with international professional events, showing how much they'd invested.
As the match drew near, many spectators settled into their seats, excitedly waiting for the showdown. But among the crowd, two groups stood out sharply: Hyōtei and Fudomine members. Although Fudomine's regular and non-regular members wore the same style of uniforms, Akashi had ordered custom uniforms for the non-regulars, similar to the regulars' but without the stripes and patterns—just the three small kanji for "Fudomine" printed over the heart.
When the two teams officially entered the court, thunderous applause and cheers erupted throughout the stadium. For players with weak mental fortitude, this atmosphere alone could easily shake their mindset.
The umpire soon arrived, and not long after announced the official start of the national tournament final, calling for the singles three players to step onto the court.
But what no one expected was that both boys sitting at the coaches' benches stood up at the same time, walking slowly onto the court. The singles three players were—Akashi Seijurō and Yukimura Seiichi!
As Yukimura reached the baseline, he tossed his jacket toward Sanada. Seeing this, Akashi paused briefly, then also removed his long-worn jacket and threw it to Krauser.
When they came to the net to bow, Yukimura looked seriously at Akashi and said, "I've finally gotten the chance to face you again, Akashi-kun. I haven't forgotten our match before we entered school!"
"Then are you ready to accept defeat once more, Yukimura?" Akashi replied calmly.
"I will give everything I have to beat you, Akashi-kun. That's the resolve of a challenger!" Yukimura said with utmost seriousness.
Akashi didn't say anything more, only exchanged a cold handshake with Yukimura before starting the coin toss. This time, Yukimura won the serve.
"First game! Rikkai to serve!"
Standing at the baseline, a vast wave of mental energy surged from Yukimura, sweeping toward Akashi. But when Akashi sensed it, he wasn't fazed—Yukimura's mental power wasn't enough to affect him.
Yukimura tossed the ball high and swung quickly, pouring his mental force into the shot. Akashi flashed to the bounce point and easily returned it—his Emperor Eye had already seen Yukimura's next move.
Yukimura rushed to meet the ball without hesitation and swung hard. But in the next instant, Akashi appeared at the net, smashing the ball at lightning speed. Yukimura's vision blurred for a moment, and the ball was already past the baseline.
"0-15!"
Yukimura steadied his breathing without any sign of shock or frustration, returning to the baseline with a serious expression to serve again.
With another sharp crack, Yukimura sent the ball to Akashi's left baseline. But before it landed, Akashi was already there waiting—it was clear that Yukimura's every move was completely under the Emperor Eye's control.
As Akashi returned the ball, he felt Yukimura's mental energy still trying to invade his mind, but unfortunately, that level of power could never break into him.
"0-30!"
Yukimura ignored his lost points, expressionless as he continued to serve. His mental waves still pulsed fiercely, but Akashi paid them no mind, scoring again and again with precise control.
"0-40!"
"Game! Fudomine! 1-0!"
The match moved into the second game, this time with Akashi serving. Standing at the baseline, Akashi launched a serve exceeding 210 kilometers per hour. But Yukimura wasn't ordinary—his body blurred, leaving an afterimage as he appeared at the bounce point, returning the serve.
The two started rallying again, but with the Emperor Eye in play, Yukimura couldn't last many exchanges before losing the point as the ball skimmed past his feet.
"15-0!"
Just as Akashi was about to serve again, everything around him suddenly went dark—he had lost all senses. Akashi paused, then let out a cold chuckle; the dark world instantly shattered, and his senses fully returned. Akashi said quietly, "So you tried to force me into the world of Five-Sense Nullification with your mental power? Too bad that comes with a price, Yukimura!"
Across from him, Yukimura stood motionless with unfocused eyes, like he couldn't feel anything at all—clearly, he had been backfired by his own Five-Sense Nullification.
The Rikkai members looked shocked, unable to believe Yukimura could get caught in his own ultimate technique—it was beyond comprehension.
"Because of the difference in mental power, he got countered?" Kurobe Yukio remarked in the stands as he watched Yukimura frozen on the court.
"This kid Akashi has terrifying mental strength. I've never seen someone his age with such immense mental power," Oni said seriously beside him.
"Yukimura Seiichi's mental power is also extraordinary, way beyond his peers, but he happened to meet Akashi-chan… though something still feels off…" Irie said with some hesitation.
"Mental-based techniques can backfire—that's useful info," Mitsuya said thoughtfully.
Akashi glanced at the frozen Yukimura without mercy and served again. The ball flew over the net and bounced out of bounds without any response from Yukimura.
"Ace! 30-0!"
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Game! Fudomine! 2-0!"
"Game! Fudomine! 3-0! Change sides!"
Yukimura was unable to move, and Sanada had to help him switch sides. Sanada called Yukimura's name several times, but it had no effect.
"Game! Fudomine! 4-0!"
"Game! Fudomine! 5-0!"
The match continued with Yukimura completely trapped in the world of Five-Sense Nullification, unable to break free—his first time experiencing his own technique.
"Game! Fudomine! 6-0! Match over! Winner, Fudomine!"
Yet even after the final point, Yukimura didn't recover. Akashi easily took the singles three victory. But as Fudomine's players were about to cheer, and Rikkai's members hung their heads in despair, cracks appeared in the space around them like a shattered mirror—and everything broke apart completely.
Everyone was stunned to see the match was still going on, not finished as they'd thought, and the score had changed dramatically, leaving everyone frozen with disbelief.
On the court, the scoreboard now read 3-1, Rikkai leading Fudomine! Akashi stood unmoving while Yukimura looked at him and said quietly, "It seems you just had a pleasant dream, Akashi-kun."
In the stands, Irie finally realized what had felt wrong earlier—everything had been an illusion woven by Yukimura. Even the spectators had been caught in the dream; was this really a middle schooler's ability?
"This is… an illusion?" Oni said in surprise. Even with his strong mental power and mastery of Shura Mode, he'd never expected to be caught off-guard just watching a match.
If even Oni was caught, everyone else had no chance. They stared at Yukimura with expressions of utter disbelief as Yukimura served fluidly.
"Ace! 15-0!"
"Ace! 30-0!"
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Game! Rikkai! 4-1!"
This time, it was Akashi who stood completely still, letting Yukimura score at will. In Akashi's next service game, he exceeded the time limit without moving, giving another game to Rikkai.
"Game! Rikkai! 5-1! Change sides!"
Krauser stepped in to help Akashi switch courts but didn't call out his name—he didn't believe Akashi would lose like this.
Unfortunately, Akashi showed no signs of recovery and Yukimura took the final game with four straight aces.
"Game! Rikkai! 6-1! Match over! Winner, Rikkai!"
Fudomine's players couldn't believe their captain had lost—the Akashi who had never been defeated before, beaten today by Rikkai's captain!
Just as Rikkai's members were about to cheer their captain's victory over the unbeatable Akashi, the same scene happened again—cracks appeared across the space and shattered completely like before.
Everyone in the stadium was already numb; whatever happened next, their minds were already broken beyond repair.
The situation flipped again, with the LED scoreboard now showing 4-0, Fudomine in the lead!
Akashi stood coldly across from Yukimura and said calmly, "It really was a nice dream. But too bad the one trapped in the dream was you, Yukimura~"
From the start of the match, Akashi had noticed something strange. Normally, using Five-Sense Nullification on him wouldn't require such an enormous amount of mental power—Yukimura was already at his limit.
When Akashi realized Yukimura's mental power had started to spread toward the spectator seats, he understood Yukimura wasn't just using Five-Sense Nullification; he had developed a new move—Dream!
A thought flashed in Akashi's mind, and he immediately used Pseudo ZONE to link his own mental power with Yukimura's, extending it together into the spectator area.
"These two kids really played us! That was a lesson: never let your guard down!" Oni said with a sigh.
"Totally unexpected development~ But now it makes sense. For things to end up like this, Akashi-chan must've used his own mental power too~" Irie said with a helpless smile.
"Exactly! Yukimura Seiichi alone couldn't have created a double-layered dream or pulled the entire audience into it. I should've realized sooner!" Kurobe Yukio said with a furrowed brow.
"Coach, I think we should consider recruiting Yukimura Seiichi. His ability is extremely rare, and his own strength isn't weak either!" Oni suggested to Kurobe Yukio.
"I'll think about it. I also need to report to the head coach. This year's middle school tennis scene is truly extraordinary—it might even surpass your generation," Kurobe Yukio said slowly.
Oni and Irie both nodded; they felt it deeply. Thinking back to when they were first-years, they'd have been completely crushed by the two boys on the court, with no chance to fight back.
In the entire stadium, only the umpire had been unaffected from beginning to end, so he couldn't quite understand what everyone around him was talking about. But as the umpire, all he had to do was keep score.
The fifth game was Yukimura's serve, but with his current state, it was clear he couldn't serve. The umpire counted down the seconds and announced a time violation, awarding the point to Fudomine.
"Game! Fudomine! 5-0!"
The match came to the final game, but it was already the third time the audience had seen this, and everyone felt a sense of déjà vu. Even Fudomine and Rikkai's players on the sidelines felt the same way.
So this was the world of mental tennis? Too terrifying—better not mess with these monsters!
As Akashi stood at the baseline, ready to serve and end the match, Yukimura suddenly moved to receive the ball, though his pupils were still unfocused, giving an eerie look.
Akashi understood instantly: Yukimura was close to breaking free from the dream's hold. Realizing it so quickly was worthy of the Yukimura Seiichi known as the Child of God in the original story.
Akashi waited a moment, then served. Surprisingly, Yukimura ran to meet the ball. The spectators' eyes instantly focused on him.
Yukimura quickly reached the bounce point and returned the ball with perfect precision. Seeing this, Akashi remembered another ability Yukimura had in the original story!
But this was likely just coincidence; Yukimura probably hadn't mastered the move yet, or even thought of developing it.
With that, Akashi wanted to see just how far Yukimura could go in this state. He eased his offense slightly to make it easier for Yukimura to keep returning the ball.
The two began a strange but fierce rally. Yukimura was completely relying on instinct and muscle memory, while Akashi subtly adjusted his play to match.
Akashi soon noticed that in this state, Yukimura's overall ability had slightly improved. This might really be the prototype of Inspired Tennis. Confirming this, Akashi stopped holding back and swiftly scored the point.
"15-0!"
"30-0!"
"40-0!"
The match reached true match point. Many spectators had a psychological shadow from the earlier false endings, terrified it might all reset again.
As Akashi served, Yukimura's eyes finally regained focus. He completely broke free from the dream and, without hesitation, rushed to the bounce point and returned Akashi's serve.
Actually, in the previous games, Yukimura had already felt a vague sense of what was happening. He had been pushing his mental power to the limit so that once he broke free, he could instantly react.
But even with Yukimura back, nothing changed. Under Akashi's Emperor Eye, Yukimura couldn't escape defeat. He could only watch helplessly as the ball flew past him.
"Game! 6-0! Match over! Winner, Fudomine!"
The audience didn't cheer immediately; they waited a long time, making sure nothing strange happened again. Finally, a massive cheer erupted—this dramatic singles three match was destined to go down in the history of the National Middle School Tennis Tournament!