"You've gotta be kidding me! That's the first time I've ever seen Oni get his racket knocked away!" Tanegashima's eyes were wide in disbelief from the Japan team's bench. Even Byoudouin's Glowing Shot—Destruction had never managed to blow Oni's racket out of his hand.
"Oi oi, give me a break! How many hidden cards does the Swiss team even have?" Omagari groaned, rubbing his temples with an exasperated look.
"Kuraraga Tatsuta, the Swiss team's secret ace. If Akashi-kun's information is correct, then he's actually the strongest player on their team—his power probably even surpasses Amadeus," Mitsuya said gravely.
The others immediately turned their attention to Akashi, whose expression remained as composed as ever. He didn't speak. His eyes stayed fixed on the match before him.
Oni picked up his racket, shook his wrist once, and walked straight back to the baseline. Pulling another tennis ball from his pocket, he tossed it high. A booming crack echoed across the court as he slammed the serve—he clearly intended to challenge Tatsuta head-on in raw strength.
Tatsuta remained calm, stepping into the return position. With a relaxed swing, he sent the ball right back across the court. The effortless motion left the Japanese team stunned; none of them had expected him to return such a powerful serve so casually.
Seeing the instant counter, Oni's eyes narrowed. This time, he gripped the racket with both hands, but instead of immediately swinging, he spun his body once with the ball's motion before driving it forward with full force.
The ball turned into a streak of black light, ripping through the air like a cannon blast and kicking up a cloud of dust that obscured the entire court.
"Black Tomahawk!"
Tatsuta's expression finally turned serious. He stepped forward, lowering his stance and gripping his racket with both hands. A dull impact rang out as the ball collided with his strings, denting the racket face deeply.
But in less than a second, Tatsuta countered—the ball exploded back across the court, flashing past Oni in a streak of multicolored light. The shot resembled Tokugawa's Prism Serve, landing in Japan's backcourt before bouncing out of bounds.
"Aurora!"
"0–30!"
'He countered my Black Tomahawk, and the speed of that return isn't even weaker than Kintarō's Ten'i Muhō!' Oni's expression darkened. He could already tell this was going to be a tough battle.
Without hesitation, Oni tossed up another ball. This time, instead of a power serve, he went for speed. The ball turned into a streak of light, skimming just over the net toward Switzerland's left baseline.
Oni's mastery of the Super Sweet Spot technique was on par with Byoudouin and Akashi—he could produce both crushing power and blinding speed with ease.
But Tatsuta was just as fast. Before the ball even touched down, he had already reached the left baseline. Meeting the ball mid-bounce, he flicked his racket upward in a clean topspin lift.
The ball shot high into the air over Japan's court. Oni didn't move from the baseline; he simply stood waiting. A moment later, the ball began to fall rapidly toward him.
'Heh… I thought he was the rough, brute-force type, but he's got a pretty sharp mind after all,' Tatsuta thought to himself as he watched Oni's steady reaction.
Oni didn't hold back. He gripped the racket with both hands and struck again—another Black Tomahawk. This time, the black beam of energy was noticeably thicker, the power radiating from it almost tangible.
"You want a battle of power, huh? I'll take you up on that," Tatsuta murmured softly, charging forward without hesitation.
When the black light met his racket, Tatsuta immediately sensed something was off—but it was too late to adjust. The tremendous force blasted his racket clean out of his hand.
"15–30!"
"Super Sweet Spot… I underestimated it," Tatsuta muttered with a wry tone, jogging to the side of the court to retrieve his racket.
Despite how fierce those three exchanges looked, they were really just both players testing each other. Each had held back most of their true strength. The real battle was only about to begin.
The moment Tatsuta picked up his racket, Oni had already tossed up another ball. He wasn't about to give his opponent time to reset. The crack of impact echoed again as the ball screamed toward Switzerland's right sideline.
It was clear Oni intended to strike while Tatsuta was still adjusting—to catch him off guard for an easy point. But Tatsuta's movement speed was beyond anyone's expectations. His figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he was at the landing spot.
"Kuraraga has been tempered through Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami—his legs and core are incredibly strong," Amadeus said from the bench, arms crossed. "When it comes to speed and power, he doesn't have a single weakness."
As soon as Tatsuta returned Oni's serve, the two launched into a fierce rally. Explosive sounds filled the court one after another. It wasn't just power—both players' speed was far beyond ordinary standards. Many spectators couldn't even see the tennis ball anymore.
Facing Tatsuta's lightning-fast forehand, Oni's expression stayed calm. He stretched out his racket to block, then quickly stepped back. Tatsuta leapt into the air, bringing his racket down hard for a smash.
Oni slid to the center line, intercepting before the ball even bounced. Ignoring the force of the smash completely, he countered by driving the ball right at Tatsuta's feet.
Tatsuta, just landing, was caught off guard for a moment but immediately bent down and swung, using a half-volley technique to return the ball. But Oni had already charged to the net—meeting the return head-on with another Black Tomahawk.
The black streak ripped through Switzerland's court like a blade. Tatsuta took one look, started forward, then stopped. Chasing that ball now was pointless.
"30–30!"
"Neither of them are pure power players, but their strength is beyond human," Duke muttered in awe from the Japan bench.
"Then, what do you think of Tatsuta's ability?" Byoudouin asked casually, glancing over.
"Since he can trade blows with Oni without falling behind, his level's at least on par with Amadeus," Duke replied after thinking for a moment. "We'll see what happens as the match goes on."
"I see. Looks like Switzerland's been hiding one hell of a trump card," Byoudouin murmured softly, though his voice remained steady. Truth be told, he still trusted Oni's strength completely.
While the two discussed, Oni had already launched his fifth serve, yet Tatsuta returned it easily again, showing no sign of struggle.
Oni didn't mind. He wasn't known for power serves anyway. Sprinting forward, he used his running momentum to spin once with the ball's trajectory before swinging a sharp backhand.
"Black Tomahawk!"
Tatsuta didn't flinch. Holding the racket with both hands, he met the strike head-on. The ball rebounded in a streak of radiant light—his Aurora—cutting across the court toward Japan's baseline.
This time, Oni was ready. He instantly activated his multi-ball tracking technique, and in a blur, multiple afterimages of him appeared across Japan's half. No matter how fast Aurora flew, he managed to intercept it.
Then, Oni's aura flared dramatically. Holding his racket horizontally, he swung with tremendous force. The ball transformed into a massive black blade, slicing down toward Tatsuta like a guillotine.
The shot carried part of Oni's willpower—it was stronger than his previous Black Tomahawk. Tatsuta narrowed his eyes, muscles in his arms tightening as he sank his weight, bringing his racket up to meet it.
The ball crashed against his strings, vibrating wildly but refusing to break through. Finally, Tatsuta redirected it with a clean counterstroke.
At that moment, Akashi's pupils flashed gold from the bench. He had noticed a strange, almost imperceptible vibration coming from the ball.
'Such refined control over power... Tatsuta's technique is even stronger than I expected,' Akashi thought silently.
As the ball met Oni's racket again, that same trembling force surged back through his wrist. Gritting his teeth, Oni tried to hold firm, but the compression energy in the ball suddenly exploded outward. The backlash was overwhelming.
He managed to keep his racket this time, but couldn't return the shot properly—the combined force and vibration drastically weakened his grip, making a strong counter impossible.
"30–40!"
'I need to figure out how to deal with that. If I can't, the rest of this match will be tough,' Oni thought, frowning and flexing his wrist.
"What terrifying control... He compresses the power on the ball, then releases it all at once when the opponent hits back!" Irie said seriously from the bench.
"Yeah. That technique's kind of like Akashi-chan's Glowing Shot—Mana Cannon. Looks like we've underestimated Switzerland's lineup. Amadeus might not be their only powerhouse," Tanegashima said, his usual playful grin replaced by a rare look of seriousness.
"Tch… that old-looking high school kid feels different now. That aura… No way… it can't be," muttered Nanjirō from the stands, his expression one of disbelief as he stared down at Oni on the court.