During the timeout break, Sanada quietly walked off the court and headed to Rikkai's coaching bench to rehydrate. Yukimura looked at Sanada and could only sigh helplessly.
This kind of situation was something Sanada had to think through on his own. Yukimura didn't speak up to disturb him. To be honest, even Yukimura didn't know what to do. The gap in strength was so huge, there was simply no way to make up for it by other means.
On the other side, Akashi calmly walked back toward the coaching bench. He glanced at Sanada, whose face was mostly hidden beneath his cap, and thought silently:
'Facing a completely overpowering opponent, how far can you go? Sanada Genichirō.'
"Vice Captain is being too lame, isn't he? Akashi-senpai's really strong, sure, but it's not like the match is over. How can he already look like he's given up?!" Kirihara said anxiously from the players' bench when he saw Sanada with his head down, assuming he had lost the will to fight.
"Akashi's strength is honestly not even in the same dimension as ours anymore. Maybe only Yukimura can barely keep up with him. But Sanada's not the type to give up that easily. Just keep watching the match, Kirihara," Yanagi Renji, rarely opening his eyes, responded seriously.
"Another dimension, huh? That's some crazy stuff, pufufufu~" Niō squinted, his face sly like a fox.
At that moment, in the audience, a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, dressed in monk's robes, was sneakily watching the two players on court. He wore sunglasses and a mask, hiding his face completely.
"Oya oya~ The kids these days are surprising. Using dimensional techniques so easily at their age? Oh no! I almost got caught by that old fart Mifune!" the man muttered in a panicked tone, thinking he was well-disguised.
On the opposite side of the stands, a wild-looking man belched as he mumbled:
"Nanjirō, huh? Sneaking around again. You're too old for this kind of crap. Still so ridiculous. But I gotta admit, that brat Akashi didn't lie—this year's middle school national tournament is pretty decent. At least there's less trash this time around."
"But pulling out a dimensional move against that kid Sanada—wasn't that kind of overkill? Whatever. Doesn't matter. They'll be touching that level soon enough anyway. Better to experience it now against peers. Might lead to something unexpected." Mifune muttered, then took another gulp from his gourd of liquor.
Back at Fudomine's bench, Tezuka stared intently at Akashi over at the coaching area. Deep within his eyes was strong fighting spirit. Honestly, even though he knew Akashi had mastered dimensional tennis, this was his first time seeing it in action.
'Just how much power are you still hiding, Akashi?'
The break ended quickly, and with the umpire's call, Akashi and Sanada returned to the court. Akashi's face remained calm and expressionless as he walked to his baseline. On the other side, Sanada's entire body gave off an even darker aura than before.
The fourth game was Akashi's serve. He pulled a tennis ball from his pocket, glanced at Sanada across from him, then tossed the ball high without hesitation and served a blistering fastball.
As soon as Sanada saw the serve, the Black Aura around him surged dramatically. Blue lightning flickered within it, and his figure shot toward the landing point like a bolt of lightning. Facing the high-speed ball, he swung his racket down hard without hesitation.
"Swift as Thunder!"
Watching the ball tear through the air like a lightning serpent, Akashi furrowed his brow slightly and muttered with a hint of confusion:
"This is the most basic Swift as Thunder? He's not even using the Sweet Spot technique, let alone Thunder Strike. What are you trying to do, Sanada?"
Even as he spoke, it didn't slow his return at all. Akashi casually swung at the air, intercepting the electrified ball with perfect precision. The lightning vanished instantly, and the ball flew back even faster than before.
But Sanada still used only the most basic Swift as Thunder to return it again. This made Akashi start to wonder if Sanada was really planning to give up. Yet, from what he knew of Sanada, that was almost impossible.
"Genichirō, I believe you've made your decision. Bet everything—charge forward without hesitation!" Yukimura said quietly as he watched Sanada from the coaching bench.
Just as Akashi was about to counter with overwhelming five-dimensional force, his Emperor Eye suddenly noticed something strange about Sanada. He paused for a second, then the corner of his lips lifted in an almost imperceptible smile. He eased off the return's power and began exchanging shots with Sanada with mild interest.
"This feeling... I'm not mistaken, am I? You actually awakened that level of power on your own? Not bad. Let me see if you can break the limits set in the original storyline, Sanada Genichirō." Akashi spoke softly to himself while casually rallying the ball back and forth.
"What's up with Akashi? Why is he suddenly rallying evenly with Sanada?" Chitose frowned from the bench.
"He must have his reasons. But no matter what Akashi does, the final outcome won't change," Kite said coolly as he adjusted his glasses.
In the audience, Mifune stopped mid-swig and stared oddly at Sanada on the court. His voice was slightly unnatural as he muttered:
"Didn't expect that kid Sanada to have this kind of guts. I might've misjudged him. As expected of someone from the same year as that Akashi brat—none of them are normal. This match might turn out to be interesting after all."
Elsewhere in the stands, Echizen Nanjirō, who had just been sneakily checking out a girl in black stockings, also looked back toward the court. He rubbed his chin and spoke in a teasing tone:
"Oh? That's pretty interesting, kid~ But this road isn't easy. Speaking of which, maybe it's finally time to help that brat Ryōma take the last step."
The moment he finished speaking, Nanjirō's slightly sketchy silhouette vanished from the stands. No one around him even noticed he had left.
"15-0!"
Back on court, after a few rounds of "stalemate," Akashi still scored the point. Sanada's expression didn't change much, but the black aura around him seemed to swell even more intensely.
As Akashi prepared to serve the second ball, a milky white stream of air suddenly surged from Sanada's body—but it quickly faded and vanished as if it had never been there. Akashi's face showed a fleeting moment of surprise.
'Was that Muga no Kyōchi just now? Why would Sanada enter Muga at this point? For him right now, Muga would only be a burden. He definitely knows that. Whatever—let's keep watching. Don't let me down, Sanada,' Akashi thought silently.
He didn't pause his motion. He tossed the ball high again and casually launched another high-speed serve. Since he wanted to see how far Sanada could go, Akashi wasn't in a rush to end things. He even lifted the mental pressure he'd been exerting.
At that moment, Sanada—channeling a certain power—suddenly felt lighter, like a mountain had been lifted off his back. But right now, he had no mental space to think about it. His mind was filled with only one thought: 'I have to win.'
With Akashi relaxing his grip, the match became tense again—as if Sanada and Akashi were on the same level. But those who could see through it all knew: Akashi was clearly waiting for Sanada's transformation to complete.
"30-0!"
"40-0!"
"GAME! 4-0! Fudomine!"
Even though Akashi deliberately dragged out the game, he didn't allow Sanada to score. After dozens of rallies, he still easily held his serve.
The fifth game was Sanada's service game. By this point, Sanada already seemed different from before. His pupils had lost focus, though it clearly wasn't the same as Yukimura's visual deprivation.
Inside Sanada's mental sea, it was like he was wandering through dense black fog. He couldn't tell east from west, up from down. He just kept walking forward in a mechanical, purposeless way.
Then a sliver of light appeared ahead. Sanada instinctively looked toward it. A massive cavern came into view—its deep tunnel looked like the entrance to hell, pulling Sanada's consciousness toward it.
Back on court, just as Sanada was about to serve, a silver glow enveloped his body. It even pushed back a portion of the black aura around him. At that moment, his unfocused eyes snapped back to clarity.
"Hah... Sorry to keep you waiting, Akashi. Let's have a proper match from here on out!" Sanada said seriously, with a touch of gratitude in his tone.