From the stands, Echizen Ryōma instinctively lowered the brim of his cap when he saw Atobe's Emperor of Ice. He clearly remembered how, just a week ago, he had been so proud of unlocking Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, only to have Atobe nearly shatter that confidence using this very move.
Back then, Atobe had relied on the explosive power of Emperor of Ice to break free from the glow of Ten'i, and that move—no question—was a world-class technique, even if Atobe himself hadn't fully reached the world level yet.
"Looks like we'll need to bring a few extra pairs of glasses next time we watch Atobe's matches," Inui Sadaharu muttered while scribbling into his notebook.
"Not necessarily, Inui! Look at Tezuka over in Fudomine's seat," Fuji suddenly said, pointing Inui in Tezuka's direction.
Inui looked over and noticed Tezuka's glasses completely intact—not even the slightest crack despite the force of Emperor of Ice. That only deepened Inui's curiosity, and he immediately started furiously writing down incomprehensible formulas.
On the court, Akashi still wore that cold, emotionless look, unfazed by having just lost a point. He vaguely remembered Emperor of Ice. In the original timeline, Atobe awakened it during the world tournament against the host team, Australia.
'I think in the original story, Atobe got kicked into a river by J. J. Dorgias... Maybe I should set up a singles match between Atobe and J·J next time? Ah, whatever. Let's focus on this match for now,' Akashi briefly recalled Atobe's humiliating moment and found himself distracted.
Just then, his vision suddenly blurred. A violent force swept past his face, followed by the sound of a tennis ball hitting the ground. That instantly snapped him back to focus.
"Ace! 30-0!"
"What's wrong, Akashi? Scared of my Emperor of Ice?" Atobe mocked him with a smug grin after scoring again.
"No. I was just analyzing your future," Akashi replied with zero emotion, ignoring Atobe's taunt completely.
"Tch! I hate that look of yours the most! Bow down to me completely, Akashi Seijūrō!" Atobe growled, annoyed. He tossed the ball up again without hesitation.
With wild force from Emperor of Ice, the ball rocketed toward Akashi's side. But Akashi still didn't move, letting it fly past and bounce out of bounds.
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Looks like you've got no answer for my Emperor of Ice, huh, Akashi? Right, Kabaji?" Atobe flipped his hair and shouted smugly.
"Usu!" Kabaji replied firmly from the bench.
"Your little show's over, isn't it, Atobe?" Akashi suddenly spoke in his cold voice from across the court.
"Hah? Trying to save face now? Fine then, I'll make you face reality with this next serve!" Atobe sneered and launched another Emperor of Ice serve. He was already waiting for the umpire to call the game in his favor.
Just as the ball, blazing with destructive energy, flew over the net, a strange and eerie wave rippled around Akashi's body.
"Divinity."
In an instant, Akashi appeared right in front of the ball. He swung his racket, and a second later, the sound of the ball landing behind Atobe echoed through the stadium—followed by the umpire's call.
"40-15!"
"Face reality? You talking about yourself? Using mental-force techniques on me... don't you think that's a bit of a joke, Atobe?" Akashi's icy voice rang out at last, drifting into Atobe's ears.
"Wha... What?! That was..." Atobe spun around, stunned. The only thing he saw was the tennis ball slowly rolling to a stop.
After a few seconds of shock, Atobe composed himself. The arrogance on his face vanished. Staring at the ever-calm Akashi across the court, a wave of shame surged up inside him. But he quickly suppressed it.
By the time Atobe returned to the baseline to serve, his mind had completely settled. His eyes gleamed coldly with sharp resolve. He had to admit he'd gotten a bit carried away. He'd completely overlooked the fact that Akashi excelled most in mental-force techniques—far beyond even Yukimura.
'No choice... If Emperor of Ice doesn't work, then I'll have to use that move, even if I hate it!' Atobe thought grimly. He tossed the ball up and twisted his wrist sharply as he swung, adding intense spin to the ball.
"Tannhauser Serve!"
The tennis ball, spinning violently, flew over the net toward Akashi's court. Akashi instantly stepped forward to the landing point and calmly said, "Looks like you've developed the Tannhauser pretty well. But what made you think it'd work on me, Atobe?"
As he finished speaking, Akashi bent low and swung his racket. The ball was cleanly picked up, but due to its intense spin, it soared high into Atobe's court. Atobe, already positioned at the net, suddenly leapt into the air and shouted midair, "Because this is my real finishing move! Watch closely, Akashi! The finale toward annihilation!"
His racket slammed down hard with overwhelming power. The tennis ball shot back with incredible energy toward Akashi, who still showed no emotion. He raised his racket to meet it.
The moment their rackets connected, a massive impact surged into Akashi's right hand—but it was instantly suppressed. Thanks to the Emperor Eye, Akashi had flawless control over every fiber of his muscles, allowing him to neutralize most of the ball's kinetic force in a split second.
A yellow blur streaked under Atobe's feet, slammed into the backcourt, then bounced out of bounds. Atobe had just landed when the point ended.
"40-30!"
"No action can escape my sight. Your defeat is already inevitable, Atobe," Akashi said after scoring. His mismatched eyes shimmered with a strange light.
Emperor Eye
"Heh~ So in the end, it's a battle of vision between us. But I've been evolving at lightning speed—did you really think you could win for sure, Akashi?" Atobe replied. As he spoke, icy light burst from his eyes and slowly formed the illusion of a massive frozen castle behind him.
Atobe Kingdom
Right now, in Atobe's vision, countless ice crystals were forming across the court—each one marking a blind spot in Akashi's field. Akashi's body gradually faded from view, replaced by an anatomical skeleton in Atobe's sight.
"Let me shatter all your blind spots, Akashi!" Atobe said with absolute seriousness.
From the stands, several members of the U-17 team showed expressions of admiration. Even the usually emotionless Ochi's face twitched slightly as he spoke.
"Looks like Atobe's grown a lot. I'm not sure I could beat him right now."
"Sigh~ Looks like little Atobe's already left this senpai in the dust. Hope I don't run into him during the shuffle matches," Irie said with a wry smile, though Tanegashima just rolled his eyes silently beside him.
"If Atobe-kun faces Irie-senpai, his chance of winning isn't even 10%," Mitsuya said, brushing his hair behind his ear with a soft smile.
"Oh my~ Seems like Mitsuya-kun really overestimate me," Irie's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint before he returned to his usual gentle tone.
While they chatted, Atobe had already tossed the ball up high. This time, he used neither Emperor of Ice nor Tannhauser Serve—just a simple high-speed serve, aimed directly at one of the ice crystals near Akashi's feet.
"Blind spot? Ridiculous. That kind of thing has never existed!" Akashi declared, stepping into position.
Just as the ball neared the ice crystal, every crystal near Akashi shattered on its own. As the ball bounced, Akashi intercepted it instantly and returned it with even greater speed toward Atobe.
"I already knew your blind spots aren't easy to hit. But even you can't ignore your body's instinctive reactions! This point is still mine!" Atobe wasn't surprised at Akashi's return. His eyes gleamed coldly as he targeted an absolute weak point between Akashi's bones.
He flashed forward and struck, sending the ball exactly where he'd predicted—but the very next second, a beam of light shot past him.
"40-40, deuce!"
"When did you start thinking you could see through me, Atobe?" Akashi said calmly. The golden rings in his pupils shimmered faintly.