Eric couldn't understand it. He had clearly used a feint just now to hide the dead angle—so why did his body still send out a danger signal? After a moment's thought, a shocking realization hit him, and he stared at Atobe in disbelief.
"Absolute dead angle? You can actually see to that extent!" Eric swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly.
Atobe didn't bother to respond. He simply lifted his left hand to his nose bridge in his usual insight pose, his sharp gaze locking on Leon and Eric as if he could pierce through their every movement.
Within the domain of Atobe Kingdom, Leon and Eric found themselves immobilized at critical moments, forced to watch helplessly as the ball swept past them. Their attacks, meanwhile, were effortlessly blocked by Tanegashima.
"Game! Japan leads 3–0!"
The England team losing three consecutive games only deepened Peter's anger from the bench. They had a binding agreement—if Keith and the others wanted their freedom restored, the team had to perform well in the World Cup. But as things stood, even making it out of the group stage was in jeopardy.
The fourth game was Tanegashima's serve. He stood at the baseline, paused briefly in thought, then tossed the ball high. With a crisp strike, the ball spun rapidly over the net and darted toward the left backcourt.
Leon sprinted to the bounce point and swung at the ball—but when it landed, it rebounded upward at a perfect right angle, soaring high into the air. The spin defied the limits of an ordinary sidespin serve.
"ACE! 15–0!"
"Tanegashima-senpai can serve like that too?" Shiraishi said in surprise, watching from the player hall.
"You didn't think that guy only relied on standard high-speed serves, did you? That's one of his few offensive weapons," Ōmagari said with a helpless sigh.
"Shūji-kun actually has more than a few serve variations, you know~," Irie added with a light smile.
On court, Leon shook off his surprise and focused on Tanegashima's next serve. The second ball didn't have much spin—but its speed was far greater than the previous one.
A flash of yellow streaked before Leon's eyes. The next sound he heard was the ball landing behind him. All his preparation had been for nothing—the ball was already rolling slowly out of bounds.
"ACE! 30–0!"
For the third serve, Tanegashima unleashed another ultra-fast shot. This time, Eric had anticipated its trajectory and barely managed to block it. But Atobe was already in the air, eyes locked sharply on Leon's left hand as he smashed down with full force.
The ball struck Leon's racket handle precisely, forcing his grip open. The rebound shot the ball upward again. Atobe, already in motion, leapt for a second jump and spiked with everything he had.
The ball tore through the court like a beam of light, brushing past the tip of Eric's racket before shooting out of bounds.
"Rondo Towards Destruction!"
"40–0!"
As Tanegashima tossed the next serve, Eric sprinted toward his predicted landing spot. The ball came at high speed, but this time he was ready—he returned it with a sharp backhand.
Atobe was already waiting at the net, switching into an aggressive stance. Constantly maintaining Atobe Kingdom strained even his powerful eyes, but he showed no hesitation. The two sides collided in an intense volley rally.
Leon and Eric quickly noticed something troubling: every one of Atobe's returns was a crushing overhead shot, while all their strongest counterattacks were intercepted effortlessly by the high schooler across from them. Frustration settled in their hearts.
Finally, Leon was forced to lob a high defensive shot. He and Eric retreated several steps at once, subtly hiding the position of their racket handles.
But when Atobe's smash landed, the two could only stare in disbelief. The ball spun fiercely on the ground for a brief moment—then slid forward across the court and rolled out of bounds.
"Rondo Towards Despair!"
"Game! Japan leads 4–0!"
Leon and Eric exchanged a glance. Both could see the same bitter helplessness in each other's eyes. They fully understood now—the gap in strength was overwhelming. There was no path to victory.
Even so, neither intended to give up. In the fifth game, Leon continued to hunt for opportunities, trying to produce disruptive net-touching serves, while Eric analyzed the data he'd gathered, desperate to find any weakness in Atobe or Tanegashima's coordination.
But then, Tanegashima vanished from their field of vision. Eric's data instantly became useless. He could still roughly predict Atobe's returns, but Tanegashima's counters came from completely unexpected angles every time.
"Game! Japan leads 5–0!"
Once Tanegashima began using Void Before Birth, the outcome of the match was already decided. Combined with Atobe occasionally freezing Leon and Eric in place, the fifth game was lost in no time.
In the sixth game, Atobe showed no mercy, finishing the match cleanly with four consecutive Tannhauser Serves. His serve now was on the same level as Tezuka's Zero Shiki Serve—something players like Leon and Eric had no chance of returning.
"Game! 6–0! Match over! Winner, Japan Team!"
"Man, I didn't expect your strength to have reached this level. We lost fair and square~," Leon said with a wry smile after the match.
"Ore-sama already told you—you had zero chance of winning!" Atobe replied smugly, arms crossed, his expression full of confidence.
"I'll let you know the time and place once the dinner gathering's set, Atobe," Eric said as he walked over, his tone light. Their match was over—what remained was just friendly talk between classmates.
"Got it. We've got a few days to rest before the knockout stage anyway," Atobe said readily, nodding in agreement.
While they chatted, Tanegashima had already returned to the bench. After all, he wasn't close to the England players. His face was nearly dry—barely a drop of sweat—suggesting he hadn't even used sixty percent of his strength.
Byoudouin, seeing the match end, immediately began thinking about who to field for the doubles one match. Meanwhile, Coach Mifune lounged back in his chair, looking entirely unconcerned.
He had seen enough to understand: the England team they had been so wary of wasn't even as strong as Greece. Given today's lineup, it would be hard for Japan to lose even if they tried.
"Hey, Boss! How about letting me stretch my muscles in the next match?" Duke said cheerfully from the side.
"Sure. Pick whoever you want as your partner," Byoudouin replied with a nod. He had complete faith in Duke's strength—he could probably win even one-on-two.
Duke glanced around the team, then stopped on Tokugawa. Seeing this, Tokugawa blinked once in surprise, then rose calmly with his racket in hand. When it came to matches, he wasn't picky about timing.
"I see. Well, that's fine too. Those middle school brats have been getting too much spotlight lately—it's about time the high schoolers showed what Japan's really made of," Mifune muttered under his breath, amused by Duke's choice.
On the other side, in England's bench area, Peter glared scornfully at the returning Leon and Eric. He was about to mock them, but the icy stare from Keith silenced him. Peter just gave a sharp snort and said nothing more.
"Next match—Peter, Ling Xiu, you're up. I think I don't need to remind you how to perform, do I?" said the middle-aged coach seated nearby, his tone cold and emotionless.
"Damn it! Why the hell do I have to play with this traitor?!" Peter snapped, glaring at Ling Xiu.
"Watch your mouth, Peter! You don't have the right to refuse. Disobey, and I'll have you deported immediately," the coach said, his eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Ugh, fine! But stay out of my way, or I'll take you down along with them!" Peter spat, face dark with fury, then stomped toward the court with his racket.
"I will pull you out of that abyss, Keith," Ling Xiu said quietly, his voice firm as he followed. At the mention of his name, a flicker of emotion crossed Keith's eyes.
"Now beginning the U-17 World Cup Group B Doubles One match! England—Ling Xiu (First-Year High School), Peter Kasper (Third-Year Middle School)! Japan—Duke Watanabe (Third-Year High School), Tokugawa Kazuya (Second-Year High School)! Players, please enter the court!"
At the referee's announcement, all four walked into the court. When they reached the net, Peter didn't bother with even a hint of sportsmanship. Ling Xiu, distracted by thoughts of Keith, didn't offer a handshake either.
Duke just laughed it off, unconcerned, while Tokugawa's eyes grew slightly colder. The referee, sensing the tension, quickly gestured for them to start the coin toss. Peter won the serve. It seemed Japan's luck in the toss wasn't great today.
"One set match! England to serve first!"
"I'm nothing like those two jokers from earlier! Guess you two are just unlucky today!" Peter shouted from the baseline, his tone full of hostility, before tossing up the ball and swinging his racket fiercely.