"Whew~ This is trouble!" Oshitari stood at the baseline, looking at Chitose who had entered Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami.
Still, he didn't back down. He once again mimicked the violin-bowing motion with his racket, and darkness descended, completely hiding his figure. A soft violin melody echoed in the air, calming the heart.
"Melody of the Night!"
But this time, Chitose, radiating with Radiance of Love, immediately sensed the presence of the tennis ball. With a swift movement, he appeared at the left back corner, swung his racket from top to bottom toward the air, and spoke:
"Making the tennis ball vanish isn't your specialty alone!"
The ball suddenly materialized midair, but the moment it touched the racket, it vanished again, leaving only the sound of a strike. Then the net rippled, and just as Mukahi widened his eyes to try and catch it, the ball struck the ground.
"Kamikakushi Kai!"
"0-15!"
Meanwhile, standing in the forecourt, Tachibana Kippei felt the power within him surging, almost as if it would set him ablaze. It was as though a monstrous beast was trying to break out of its cage. The final missing sensation within him was rapidly completing under the light of Radiance of Love.
"Ara ara~ Figures that anyone on Akashi-kun's team wouldn't be ordinary~" Irie's eyes were glowing with growing excitement and anticipation.
"Tachibana Kippei, third-year at Fudomine. Height: 179 cm, weight: 60 kg, specializes in frontal brute force attacks. His playstyle is wild. Alongside Chitose Senri, he's dubbed one of the Kanto Twin Stars—recognized as the strongest junior high doubles pair. Based on current data, he should still be a step away from the next level," Mitsuya calmly listed Tachibana's stats.
"But people aren't just cold data. Sometimes the unexpected happens!" Tanegashima's gaze had also grown serious.
"Give me a break~ Are all kids these days like this? Every one of them is ridiculously strong. Hopefully that brat Ryōma won't take too big of a hit from this. Speaking of which… should we stick with the plan to have him join the American team? Eh, I'll talk it over with Ryōga after the match," Echizen Nanjirō mumbled while rubbing his chin in the stands.
"Looks like you'll need to step it up, Genichirō. I think Tachibana Kippei's about to break through," Yukimura said as he glanced at Sanada beside him.
"Hmph! I won't let my guard down!" Sanada responded sternly.
"You're something else, Tachibana Kippei! But don't think you'll get past this emperor's eye!" Atobe muttered irritably from the players' bench.
A strange situation had formed on court. Although Chitose had covered Tachibana with most of his Radiance of Love, Oshitari and Mukahi were still being affected. They should've been completely overwhelmed, but with Chitose alone handling both offense and defense while Tachibana barely moved, they were still holding on.
Oshitari and Mukahi had tried aiming their shots at Tachibana, but he simply tilted his head or sidestepped lightly. Chitose would always appear in position to return the ball. That odd pattern stirred an uneasy feeling in Oshitari's heart—it reminded him of the match between Fudomine and Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku.
"Yuejin! Keep your eyes on Tachibana Kippei! He's definitely on the verge of awakening something!" Oshitari couldn't help but warn Mukahi. Even without saying it, their synchronization allowed Mukahi to grasp what he meant.
"Don't care what he's awakening. I'll block every shot—Moon Return!" Mukahi shouted as he leapt across the air.
Mukahi's biggest change now was his stamina. Thanks to repeated joint training and his participation in the U-17 camp from his first year, he no longer ran out of energy easily. In this regard, even Kikumaru couldn't compare—right now, Kikumaru was only just managing to stay online.
"0-30!"
After several back-and-forth rallies, Oshitari and Mukahi still lost the point. Not even Oshitari's enhanced return using Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami worked against Chitose in his radiant state. The Mu-level power infused in the ball simply disappeared like a pebble in a pond upon contact.
This proved again that techniques like Hyaku Ren Jitoku and Saiki Kanpatsu weren't on the same tier as Ten'i Muhō. If anything, Mu was more like a key—awakening the dormant power within. Hyaku Ren and Saiki were deep applications of that awakened force.
But Ten'i Muhō was that dormant power itself. It wasn't derived from Mu—it was awakened by it. From the start, it might have been something fundamentally different, only categorized among the "Three Mu Ultimates" due to Nanjirō's influence and everyone's habit.
Though Oshitari and Mukahi knew they had almost zero chance of winning, they still chased every ball relentlessly. As long as there was even a sliver of hope, they wouldn't give up—this was their final match representing Hyōtei.
"0-40!"
Even with Oshitari and Mukahi pushing themselves, the match had reached match point. But Chitose was drenched in sweat, panting heavily—clearly under heavy strain. That kind of exhaustion shouldn't have been possible given his physical endurance.
'So he's overloading Radiance of Love to help Tachibana awaken? That's very much like Chitose,' Akashi thought with a faint smile from the coach's bench.
Normally, the most effective way to help a teammate awaken would be Akashi's Pseudo ZONE. But Radiance of Love, when pushed to overload, could also do it to a certain extent—though the cost clearly outweighed the benefit.
"Melody of the Night."
Even at match point, Oshitari fired his strongest serve without hesitation. Unfortunately, Chitose intercepted it instantly, returning a basic Kamikakushi. His stamina had drained so much he couldn't use Kamikakushi Kai anymore.
Mukahi saw the ball vanish just after clearing the net and immediately performed a high backflip, his body moving like a dancer in the air. His racket extended downward, catching the ball as it reappeared. In a flash, Mukahi adjusted midair and smacked a backhand shot across the court.
Dance-Style Strike.
Chitose blinked forward, intercepting the bounce with a clean forehand. The ball turned into a yellow blur, streaking past Mukahi in midair. But Oshitari sprinted forward from the backcourt, delivering a sharp lob upward.
"Trying to bait me with Higuma Otoshi? I'm not falling for that!" Chitose saw right through Oshitari's plan and retreated to the landing point, countering with a topspin backhand.
"Sorry, but Higuma Otoshi wasn't the goal—Fugue Towards Despair!" At some point, Oshitari had slipped up to the net. He leapt high and spiked down with full force. Mukahi, synced with him, instinctively stepped aside to make space.
But Chitose wouldn't be undone so easily. He dashed in with a slide-step, preparing to intercept the ball before it hit the ground. To his shock, a wave of fatigue surged through his legs, making him stagger. He returned the ball, but the quality was poor—it floated up weakly toward the opposite end.
"Miscalculated… the drain was worse than I thought…" Chitose muttered as he completed the return.
"Looks like you're starting to fall apart, Chitose! Rondo Towards Destruction!" Oshitari jumped again and smashed the ball down hard, landing it near Chitose's feet before it rocketed out of bounds.
"15-40!"
Only now did Oshitari notice something was off with Chitose. He'd seen Ten'i Muhō before—and even Radiance of Love—but Chitose's stamina loss was clearly abnormal. While he couldn't pinpoint the reason, he was sure it had to do with Tachibana, who hadn't moved much since earlier.
"Heh~ This level of drain's nothing. I just got careless for a second. Doesn't change the fact that you're still one point away from losing!" Chitose had caught his breath and tried to play it off like nothing.
"Never expected you to be the first one with stamina issues!" Mukahi taunted with a smug grin.
"Chitose's right—you're finished! Haaah!" Suddenly, a strong, booming voice came from Tachibana. The temperature on court soared as flames erupted around them, swallowing the arena in a sea of fire.
Everyone finally turned to Tachibana. Behind him rose a massive creature with a lion-like form. Its blazing eyes and fiery mane radiated terrifying heat. Just a glance struck fear into the heart.
"Alternate Dimension—Huoyan Suanni!"
Huoyan Suanni.
"Is that… the legendary Suanni?" Kite, from Ryukyu Island, recognized it instantly.
'Suanni… if I remember right, it's the fifth son among the nine sons of the Dragon…' Even Akashi was stunned. Suanni was an ancient divine beast from Chinese legend—he never imagined Tachibana's Alternate Dimension would take that form.
"The probability that the head coach regrets missing this match is 89%," Mitsuya said with a calm smile.
"I think Oni will regret it too~" Irie replied with a grin.
"The entire hierarchy of Court One is about to shift!" Ochi finally spoke up.
"It's only his initial awakening. It's probably still unstable. I doubt he can beat Oni yet—let alone Byoudouin," Tanegashima remarked, eyes drifting toward Irie beside him.
Back on court, Chitose slowly exited Radiance of Love. He no longer had the stamina to maintain it. But now that Tachibana had awakened, he could hand everything over without worry.
"Then, this next shot… let me show you the new me!" Tachibana shouted to Oshitari and Mukahi. His golden hair shone brilliantly in the blaze and sunlight.