That glowing yellow tennis ball landed, and then, with an eerie, twisted trajectory, it suddenly sliced past Atobe's feet.
Whoosh!
The bright yellow light vanished as the ball, spinning furiously, slammed into the wall. It shot straight up, soaring into the sky!
Atobe's gaze dropped, his face frozen. Even though he knew beforehand that Kamikawa would use his "Golden Snake Dance" at that moment, his body had only prepared for a hitting motion; he simply couldn't react in time.
"15-0!"
After a long moment, Gen Hikaru's voice, acting as the referee, finally drifted over. This guy's skill... perhaps he really was superior to Atobe!
"No matter how many times I see it, it's still shocking." Shishido gasped, regaining his composure as he muttered.
"His serve is faster than before." Oshitari wasn't seeing the Golden Snake Dance for the first time, but he clearly felt that serve was much faster than when Kamikawa played against Akutsu.
"It's even faster than the serve he hit against Tezuka at the Junior Tournament, you know?" Mukahi's mind flashed back to the Junior Tournament finals. Back then, Kamikawa had also used the Golden Snake Dance like that. A few months later, that serve had gotten even more powerful.
Earlier, when he saw the Golden Snake Dance at Yamabuki, he wanted to ask about it... It was clearly the Golden Snake Dance, but in terms of ball speed and the degree of its left-right swerve, it was clearly inferior to the Golden Snake Dance Kamikawa unleashed at the Junior Tournament.
This was the first ace of this match. And it was an ace that directly crushed the hearts of everyone watching. Forget returning that serve; some people didn't even react in time. All they heard were two sounds: the ball landing and then bouncing off the wall.
"This guy..."
He, who was usually so calm, felt an involuntary fear creep into him after seeing that serve. Atobe suppressed the terror in his heart. He took a deep breath, repeatedly adjusting his breathing to stabilize his current state. But Kamikawa wouldn't give Atobe much time to adjust.
Thwack!
Soon, Kamikawa raised his hand and hit another Golden Snake Dance.
"30-0!"
...
Thwack!
"40-0!"
...
Thwack!
"Game, Kamikawa, 4-2!"
After four consecutive aces, Atobe had vaguely seen the trajectory of the serve, and he tried to resist, but his body just froze in place, unable to move. If his body couldn't even move, let alone receive the ball, even if he managed to touch that serve, Atobe wasn't confident he could return it.
The pressure of being broken, the pressure of being unable to return his opponent's serve, and the pressure of having to hold his own service game—under these layers of pressure, Atobe's mental focus wavered momentarily.
Atobe stood frozen, the scene of his service game being broken replaying in his mind.
"Hmph..."
Atobe tossed the ball, bent his knees, raised his arm, and sharply hit the tennis ball.
Whoosh!
Screeeech!
The ball hit the net cord, scraping loudly, then slowly fell.
"Fault!"
"Hmph..."
Atobe shook his head, taking a new ball from the ball boy.
Thwack!
He raised his hand again and hit another topspin serve.
Whoosh!
The ball again hit the net cord, scraping loudly, then slowly fell.
"Double fault."
"0-15!!"
"Tch!" Atobe looked at the ball, annoyed. He could feel the immense pressure right now.
"No way!"
"Atobe, he actually double-faulted! And it was just a normal topspin serve, how could he miss?" Shishido's eyes widened. Such a simple mistake, one that couldn't be simpler, happened to Atobe twice in a row. And from Atobe's state, this was definitely not as simple as it looked on the surface. What was going on?!
After a long silence, Oshitari said, somewhat uncertainly, "It's the pressure, isn't it?"
"Pressure?!" Mukahi and Shishido couldn't believe it—Atobe was making serving errors because of pressure!
"It's more than just pressure; it's about mental strength."
"You could also call it willpower, temperament, determination, belief—those things that can't be expressed in words, all collectively known as mental strength." At that moment, Tezuka's voice came from behind them. With more mental strength than Oshitari and the others, Tezuka naturally saw things they couldn't.
"Power, speed, technique, stamina. If a player excels in just one of these and reaches a national level, they're not truly national-level; they've only just stepped through the national-level threshold."
"Relying on one's own advantages to suppress an opponent, like Oshitari's technique and stamina being far superior to Jiro's, which is why he could win easily against Jiro."
"Similarly, in this moment, Atobe's mental strength is far inferior to Kamikawa's. Not only that, but his power, speed, and technique are also not as good as Kamikawa's. Under layers of combined pressure, and having already lost his service game, he can no longer remain calm in this match."
Tezuka knew more than Oshitari and the others, and of course, Kamikawa had told him these things. If a player's mental strength doesn't break through its limits, they will never truly break through to the national level.
Thwack!
Screeeech!
"Double fault!"
"0-30!!"
"Hmph... Why... why can't I get it in?!" Sweat beaded on Atobe's forehead, his body feeling drained. The immense pressure was almost crushing him completely. Images of his previous serving faults and his broken service game kept flashing in his mind. He tried his best to shake off these ingrained impressions. But the moment he tossed the ball, his mind involuntarily recalled them.
"Atobe-kun!" Kamikawa held his racket with one hand and smiled slightly. "I told you, Tezuka was too kind to you. In that match, with Tezuka's skill, he could have given you a 6-0."
"I admit, your speed and power have improved somewhat lately, but it's not enough... Atobe, if your evolution is only this much, you won't be able to keep up with Tezuka and me." Kamikawa's smile vanished, and he spoke in a flat, calm tone.
Atobe's face went pale upon hearing that. These words were undoubtedly a heavy hammer, striking hard at Atobe's heart. Had the gap between himself and them really become this vast?! No wonder, after that match, he always felt that Tezuka was holding something back, only sweating a little and looking perfectly fine.
The match continued, and Atobe tried his best to adjust his state. But that serve was like a nightmare; he just couldn't get it over the net.
"What... what are you even thinking, Keigo Atobe!" Atobe was scrambling on the court, forced to run back and forth, constantly chasing the tennis ball that seemed just out of reach. His inner pride was completely crushed by Kamikawa in this match.
Thwack!
Kamikawa's backhand cross-court shot landed precisely in the reverse triangle corner. The ball flew past Atobe, bounced high, and headed towards Tezuka. Tezuka reached out and caught the ball, his eyes calmly watching the two on the court.
"Game over!"
Then, Gen Hikaru, sitting in the referee's chair, shouted loudly, "Winner, Kamikawa Muzuki, 6-2!"
Atobe said nothing, putting his racket back into its cover. He turned and walked in the opposite direction, his eyes filled with dejection. This was the first time he'd been so utterly defeated since he first picked up a tennis racket. Since then, he'd developed eyes that could see through everything, but now... He had lost, and to someone his own age at that. As for the two games he did win, they were merely points Kamikawa had casually given up while testing him. Just like Tezuka had done back then...