Akashi's King's Treasure skill required enormous mental energy to sustain. Niō had already used Illusion multiple times during the match, and at the end he even did an Ability Synchronization with Fuji. His mental energy wasn't completely drained, but it wasn't much either.
Under those conditions, using King's Treasure—which demanded a massive amount of mental energy—naturally left him overdrawn. That was why Akashi said Niō had been a little too hasty. Still, with the match at set point, Niō's choice was understandable. It only showed how strong their opponent was—the very man even Byoudouin and Oni couldn't defeat.
When the match ended, Fuji supported Niō off the court. Niō's condition was poor from mental exhaustion and he urgently needed rest. Akashi didn't say much, simply motioning for Fuji to take him to the spectator seats.
The middle schoolers quickly stepped in to help and soon laid Niō down on a seat. Sanada glanced at him rubbing his temples, wanting to speak but stopping. Soon his attention shifted to Yukimura.
Yukimura slowly stood, walked to the coach's seat, and took off his jacket. Everyone from Rikkai understood—that meant Yukimura would be playing at full strength from the very start.
"Thank you very much for your help and guidance last night, Akashi-kun," Yukimura suddenly said as he folded the jacket, his words leaving others confused.
"Being able to grasp that move was your own talent. I only gave you some basic direction," Akashi replied calmly with a nod.
"Even so, I still owe you thanks, Akashi-kun. That's why I absolutely won't lose this match," Yukimura said firmly.
"Then let me borrow Tezuka's words—give it everything you've got," Akashi said seriously, turning to glance at Tezuka on the bench.
Akashi's line made Kite cover his mouth, but his shaking shoulders betrayed him. Tachibana Kippei and Chitose laughed outright.
Tezuka himself remained calm, as if unbothered by Akashi's remark, even nodding slightly in acknowledgment. That twitch of Akutsu's brow as he shot Tezuka a look showed otherwise.
"Akashi-kun really is..." Yukimura hadn't expected that. He gave a helpless smile, then turned and walked to the court.
On the other side, in the high schoolers' seats, Oni stood up. His aura flared so powerfully that people instinctively stepped aside. As he passed Irie's seat, Irie called out:
"Oni! Be careful, okay? Looks like your opponent is Yukimura-kun. His strength is no less than yours!"
"Ah, I know. I won't take this lightly," Oni said seriously, giving Irie a look before striding toward the court.
"Hmph, let me see how much strength you still have left, Oni," Byoudouin sneered at his back.
Byoudouin had always disliked Oni's mentoring of juniors. Oni's ability wasn't far from his own, yet instead of fighting alongside him, Oni chose to guide those "useless brats." Worse, he and Irie had rejected a First String spot to train Tokugawa, choosing not to compete on the world stage. Byoudouin couldn't stand it.
To him, they didn't even know how far they'd get in the world tournament this year, yet Oni was already worrying about the future. Besides, Tokugawa was too young to play in the next U-17 World Cup anyway.
"Next will be the first singles match! Representing Team Japan, No. 5, Oni Juujirō, versus Second String Selection, Yukimura Seiichi! Players, please enter the court!"
With the referee's announcement, Yukimura and Oni walked onto the court together. At the net, they shook hands. Facing Oni's massive, imposing figure, Yukimura smiled.
"Please take care of me in this match, Oni-senpai."
"Yukimura-kun, I'm not like Irie. Get ready for hell," Oni said coldly.
Though gentle at heart, he saw Yukimura now as a true opponent. He wanted to give Yukimura a taste of the world stage atmosphere early, so that later, in the real tournament, he wouldn't falter.
But Oni was overthinking. With Yukimura's current mentality, even if Polk himself stood in front of him, Yukimura wouldn't show fear or retreat, nor let the environment affect his state.
"Hell, huh? I wouldn't mind visiting. But whether it's me or you going down there isn't certain yet, Oni-senpai," Yukimura said with a smile as powerful mental energy flowed out of him, already pressing against Oni.
Seeing the tension, the referee quickly urged them to start the toss. Yukimura won and gained serve first. Oni didn't mind at all, calmly walking to the backcourt.
"First singles right away against Oni? Yukimura-kun really drew the short straw," Omagari commented from the stands.
"As the former No. 1 of Team Japan, he's definitely not the ideal opponent," Kimijima agreed, pushing his glasses up with his left hand.
"Don't underestimate Yukimura-kun. Oni might not win this match," Irie said with a different opinion.
"Arara~ you're only saying that because you lost to Yukimura, right, Kanata?" Tanegashima teased.
On court, Yukimura walked to the baseline, picked up a tennis ball, and while testing the bounce, he kept recalling every bit of information about Oni. Like Niō, before the match he had asked Yanagi Renji for data on his opponent.
All the third-year middle schoolers were already familiar with Oni since they had spent over a year together, but Yukimura clearly valued this match highly. He didn't want to overlook even the smallest detail that could cause defeat.
He tossed the ball, and his mental energy burst out at once. When he swung down, enormous mental power wrapped the ball as it shot toward Oni's court.
Just as Oni was about to move, a massive phantom suddenly flashed behind Yukimura. Oni froze for an instant. The next moment, the sound of the ball hitting the court rang in his ears.
"Ace! 15-0!"
"Oi oi! You've got to be kidding! Oni actually got aced?" Omagari shouted in disbelief.
"Such terrifying mental force. I didn't think he'd go all out right from the start," Tanegashima said, his expression turning serious.
After the ace, Yukimura's face didn't change at all. He tossed up the second ball and without hesitation unleashed another ultra-fast serve. The ball, loaded with crushing mental force, screamed toward Oni's side.
This time Oni focused, sprinted to the spot, and swung at the bounce. But the instant his racquet touched the ball, he suddenly couldn't feel his right hand anymore. His return shot flew over the net but went straight out.
"Out! 30-0!"
Oni frowned deeply at the sight of the ball sailing out. Just as he was about to speak, everything went dark. Silence surrounded him. Even smell and taste vanished completely.
"Yips—Five-Sense Nullification!"
"Falling into darkness must feel just like going to hell, Oni-senpai," Yukimura said coldly, his calm eyes fixed on his opponent. Behind him, a towering phantom appeared—a white robe, twin wings unfurled.
"Alternate Dimension—Morpheus!"
Yukimura knew Oni couldn't respond in this state, so he simply tossed the ball again. With a crack of impact, it flashed past Oni and bounced out.
"Ace! 40-0!"
"Game! Second String Selection! 1-0!"
Watching Yukimura take the game so easily, both middle schoolers and high schoolers turned grim. Byoudouin especially looked furious, glaring at Oni standing unresponsive on court, his eyes burning with scorn.
Just as everyone wondered how Oni would serve, a brilliant blue light burst out, covering the entire court. The familiar scene made it clear to all what had happened.
Oni shattered the five-sense nullification instantly. Countless blue particles swirled around him, his hair standing on end, making him look like an oversized Kintarō.
"So, you caught me off guard. But tricks like that won't work again, Yukimura-kun," Oni said coldly after regaining himself.
"Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, huh? So Oni-senpai also has boundless love for tennis. Too bad… Ten'i Muhō alone won't work on me," Yukimura answered calmly, his voice steady and expression unchanged.
From the stands, Echizen Ryōma frowned slightly. He couldn't explain why, but hearing Yukimura's words left him with a strange uncomfortable feeling, like something had been taken from him. Still, he brushed it off as just his imagination.