Sanada sat on the ground, dazed. He couldn't figure out what had just happened. He knew Akashi could disrupt someone's balance and make them fall—but this time, Akashi hadn't even done anything. When exactly had he destroyed Sanada's balance? Was this Akashi's true strength?
He stayed there in a daze for a long time. It wasn't until the umpire asked if he was injured that he finally snapped out of it. He hurried to his feet, signaling that he was fine, then walked to the baseline to serve.
The real reason Sanada fell so easily was because when he hit his second serve, Akashi had already fused with the secondary personality inside his system space. This perfected his Emperor Eye, allowing him to disrupt his opponent's balance using the tiniest fake motion during a swing.
As long as he timed it right, he could instantly throw the opponent off balance. That kind of precision had been beyond the previous version of the Emperor Eye. Now, even maintaining this fused state for an entire match posed no issue for Akashi's stamina.
Even in a best-of-three match, Akashi had full confidence he could win the first two sets without pushing his limits. His stamina was more than enough to sustain the consumption.
Of course, if Akashi were to activate the second stage of Zone at the same time, that would be another story. After all, Akashi was still human. His body, even with the system's enhancements, still had limits.
Right then, Yukimura, who had a sharp eye for detail, noticed that both of Akashi's pupils had turned rose-red, with golden halos circling around them. Up until now, Akashi's eyes had always been heterochromatic—one red, one gold. This change was completely new.
Emperor Eye
Sanada walked to the baseline, suppressing his confusion and steadying his mind. He launched another Swift as the Wind, but that move was now completely ineffective against Akashi. With the perfected Emperor Eye, no technique could escape being read.
Akashi stepped into the landing point and swung his racquet at the air. Instantly, all the raging wind vanished, and the tennis ball reappeared on Sanada's side of the court. But Sanada didn't back down. He erupted with surging lightning.
Crackling with electricity, he used a sudden burst of movement to appear at the ball, lightning dancing across his racquet as he struck hard.
The tennis ball transformed into a massive bolt of lightning, lighting up the entire court. It tore through the air with huge kinetic energy, flying straight toward Akashi's side.
The ball moved so fast, it was nearly impossible to track its trajectory. But it still meant nothing to Akashi.
In an instant, he read the ball's path. Golden light glowed on his racquet as he struck. The ball exploded into a massive golden flare, so bright that many in the audience squinted.
"Glowing Shot!"
The ball turned into a giant golden orb as it passed the net, roaring straight toward Sanada. Sanada didn't dodge. He used Silent as the Forest, trying to intercept the shot.
The moment the ball struck his racquet, it began to violently push against it. Though the Glowing Shot didn't break through immediately, the sheer force forced Sanada to grit his teeth and hold firm. But soon, his racquet was knocked away.
Luckily, the power and spin had been mostly neutralized. The ball bounced harmlessly out of bounds without damaging the court.
"15-40!"
Sanada shook out his numbed arm. He'd misjudged. Akashi's Glowing Shot was far stronger than he expected. Originally, this Silent as the Forest move had blocked Yukimura's Glowing Shot. He didn't think it would fail now.
"Trying to win this match with just Fire-Forest-Lightning... guess that's not gonna cut it," he muttered as he picked up his racquet.
Still, Sanada had no thoughts of giving up. He returned to the baseline and served another Swift as the Wind. The ball, wrapped in fierce wind, flew straight toward Akashi again.
Akashi returned it effortlessly, like it was just a normal serve. Sanada, seeing this, lit up with lightning again.
With a sudden move, he appeared right where the ball bounced. He struck it with a fierce swing, lightning bursting over the racquet, transforming the ball into a massive orb of crackling electricity.
"Thunder Strike!"
At that moment, a shadowy figure suddenly flashed behind Akashi. It looked human, but before anyone could get a clear look, it vanished.
Akashi's racquet met the thunderball head-on. All of its power instantly disappeared, and the ball began to dissolve in midair. As Akashi swung again, a rift tore open in the space ahead. A crimson spear crackling with lightning flew out, piercing straight through Sanada.
Then, a tennis ball crashed into the ground behind him, leaving a deep hole the size of the ball.
"Gate of Babylon—Gáe Bolg!"
"Game! Fudomine! 1-0!"
As the first game ended, both tennis players and ordinary spectators were left stunned. While many had seen Sanada's Thunder Strike before, for first-time viewers—like the crowd from Higa Middle School—it was jaw-dropping.
Kai finally understood why Kite had come to Tokyo without hesitation. The tennis level here was completely beyond theirs. He thought yesterday's Shadow Strike had already shattered his worldview—but today's techniques were even more outrageous.
Meanwhile, over at Rikkai's bench, Yukimura was recalling that flickering humanoid figure that had appeared behind Akashi. He was already forming a solid guess: Akashi's strength had clearly entered another dimension.
"Was that just my imagination? Why did it look like there was a shadowy figure behind Akashi-senpai?!" Kirihara rubbed his eyes in confusion.
Now, Kirihara had a deep sense of respect for Akashi. Although he'd once gone into Devil Mode during their match and lost all memory of it, ever since then he'd developed a subconscious fear of Akashi.
"There are some things you should know now. If my data isn't wrong, that was the legendary other dimension. And the technique Akashi just used to return Sanada's Thunder Strike—was probably a dimensional move," Yanagi explained slowly as he looked at Kirihara.
"Other dimension?! You've got to be kidding me, Yanagi-senpai!" Kirihara swallowed hard, face full of disbelief.
"I'm not joking. Data doesn't lie. I heard about this from that place. Once the national tournament ends and you go there yourself, you'll understand," Yanagi replied calmly, then ignored Kirihara and focused on the match.
The players from Fudomine already knew Akashi had grasped the other dimension. Both Krauser and Kite had personally experienced it. So their expressions weren't surprised at all. Only Kintarō's face was flushed red, trembling with excitement.
"That was so awesome!!! Jin! Did you see it? It was a spear! A long spear!" Kintarō exclaimed excitedly to Akutsu beside him.
"I saw it! I saw it! How many times do I have to tell you—stop calling me Jin, you idiot!" Akutsu replied irritably.
Back on court, Akashi was already at the baseline, preparing to serve. Sanada's forehead was drenched in cold sweat. Just a moment ago, he'd thought he was really going to die.
That sensation of being pierced by a spear felt far too real. He could even feel the icy cold where it touched his skin. He had nearly said goodbye to the world right then.
Of course, it had just been an illusion. Akashi wouldn't actually injure him seriously. If that shot had truly hit him, the match would've already ended, and Sanada would be carried off the court.
Before he could recover from the scare, a pair of giant eyes suddenly appeared in his mind. They had rose-red irises encircled by golden halos—exactly like Akashi's.
A crushing pressure hit him out of nowhere. Sanada felt paralyzed, frozen in place. His movements became stiff and sluggish.
"Mental Pressure!"
Under Akashi's mental pressure, all five of Sanada's attributes were suppressed by 1 point each. His overall strength dropped to less than 70% of his usual state. But Sanada himself had no way of clearly sensing this change.
Akashi tossed the tennis ball high into the air and served with an ultra-high-speed motion. While it wasn't as fast as a Mach Serve, it still exceeded 250 kilometers per hour.
In his weakened state, Sanada couldn't even react. The moment Akashi served, he heard the ball bounce behind him—he didn't even have a chance to activate Thunder as Lightning.
"Ace! 15-0!"
Sanada struggled to calm himself and relax, but no matter how hard he tried, it felt like an invisible weight was pressing down on him.
"Ace! 30-0!"
"Ace! 40-0!"
Just like that, Akashi fired off two more high-speed serves. Sanada still couldn't react. He could only watch helplessly as the points slipped away.
But just as Akashi was about to serve for the fourth time, a stream of black energy suddenly surged around Sanada, wrapping around him completely. He instantly felt his body lighten.
"Black Aura!"