*Silver and white.*
*Sharpness and coldness.*
Two distinct auras erupted, intertwining with the thick dust swirling around the court. The entire arena seemed to transform into a forbidden zone, inaccessible to outsiders!
"This is insane! Absolutely insane!"
Matsudaira Yoshihiko, with his egg-shaped head and dyed blond hair, stared wide-eyed at the court, unable to believe what he was witnessing.
He had never imagined the match would escalate to this level.
If this were a match between Echizen and another top-ranked player from Japan's U-17 team, he would have found it normal.
But now.
The one standing toe-to-toe with Echizen was a middle schooler. And from what Echizen and the other Ice Emperor members had said, this was a *first-year* middle schooler!
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Matsudaira would have dismissed this as some absurd story cooked up by a bored prankster.
But the reality was.
Echizen, the No. 4 representative of Japan's U-17 team, was locked in an intense battle with a middle schooler.
*Boom!*
A loud crack echoed as the tennis ball, wrapped in a sharp, icy aura, shot forward. The sheer pressure of the shot scattered the thick dust in all directions.
"Nice shot!"
Ishikawa's spirits soared as his own aura erupted. A sharp, piercing energy surged from him, and his racket moved like an extension of his arm, thrusting forward like a sword to meet the ball.
*Bang!*
The collision between the ball and the racket released two opposing forces, clashing fiercely.
*Sizzle...*
The ball spun violently, trying to tear through the racket's strings. But the racket held firm, trapping the ball like a cage.
*Whoosh!*
With a flick of his wrist, Ishikawa sent the ball flying back, now bathed in a silvery glow. The sharp energy sliced through the dust screen, locking onto Echizen.
*Gasp!*
The spectators couldn't help but inhale sharply at the sight.
This was Echizen in his *Full Moon* state.
Even without using his ultimate serve, his abilities in this state were more than enough to secure his position in the top five of the U-17 team.
But now.
Echizen was struggling to gain the upper hand against this middle schooler.
Did that mean this black-haired boy's strength was on par with the top five of the U-17 team?!
The thought was both absurd and undeniable. The way they looked at Ishikawa now was filled with awe... and even fear.
"This kid is strong!"
Echizen, feeling the immense pressure from Ishikawa, found his usually unshakable calm beginning to waver.
He had initially planned to hold back, but now it seemed there was no room for that.
If things continued like this, Ishikawa's relentless fighting spirit might overpower his *Full Moon* state's icy dominance.
After all.
Echizen's position as No. 4 in the U-17 team was largely due to his *Mach Serve*. With that restricted, holding back any further could lead to him being suppressed... or even defeated.
*Hum!*
With that thought.
Echizen's eyes narrowed, and his icy aura surged like a raging tide, enveloping Ishikawa in an instant.
"Huh?!"
Feeling the overwhelming pressure, Ishikawa instinctively broke into a cold sweat.
The distraction caused him to react a split second slower than usual.
*Thud!*
The ball flew high.
While the mistake seemed minor, for a player of Echizen's caliber, that half-second delay was fatal.
*Boom!*
The next moment.
A powerful smash landed, and Ishikawa officially lost the point.
*Phew...*
The Ice Emperor high schoolers let out a collective sigh of relief.
Matsudaira, who had been sweating nervously, also relaxed, feeling a weight lift off his chest.
It was understandable.
If Echizen couldn't defeat this middle schooler, it would mean Ishikawa had already reached a level they couldn't even fathom.
Especially for Matsudaira.
Even though he wasn't Ishikawa's opponent, the thought that this first-year middle schooler had effortlessly reached a position he had struggled for three years to even approach was hard to swallow.
Of course.
They didn't dare underestimate Ishikawa.
After all, even among the 17-year-old high schoolers in the U-17 team, few could handle Echizen's overwhelming mental pressure as well as this boy had.
Given time.
With his talent, Ishikawa was sure to become one of Japan's top U-17 players.
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
*Boom!*
As the match continued.
Echizen, now fully unleashing his mental strength, finally began to suppress Ishikawa. He scored point after point, securing the second game in just three minutes.
1-1.
The match seemed to reset, with both players back at the starting line.
"So this is the level of Japan's top U-17 players?"
Feeling the pressure radiating from Echizen, Ishikawa, who already possessed strength surpassing the national level, was reminded of the awe he felt when he first arrived in this world.
However.
Ishikawa's expression remained unchanged.
If anything, the pressure from Echizen only fueled his fighting spirit, making it burn even brighter.
"This kid is no ordinary opponent."
Sensing Ishikawa's unyielding determination and fierce will to fight, Echizen's eyes flickered with surprise.
Since entering high school, joining the U-17 team, and competing internationally, he had faced all kinds of players.
Apart from the captains of other teams.
This was the first time Echizen had seen such a unique reaction in someone else.
"Thriving under pressure, huh?"
Echizen raised an eyebrow, a glimmer of anticipation in his eyes. "If your talent is further unleashed, you might just cross that threshold, wouldn't you?"
*Hum!*
At that moment.
The silvery aura around Ishikawa suddenly shifted, transforming into a blend of black and white.
In an instant.
Ishikawa's presence became enigmatic and profound.
"What is this?!"
Seeing the change in Ishikawa, the spectators' expressions shifted once again.
"Oh?"
Echizen was also surprised.
Under the influence of this new aura, he found it difficult to gauge Ishikawa's emotions.
At the same time.
He felt a strange pressure, as if Ishikawa's gaze was peeling away his secrets layer by layer.
"A second special ability?"
Echizen's gaze turned intrigued.
Even he had only mastered one special ability, *Moonlight*, during his three years of middle school—a skill developed through his mental strength.
But this kid.
Had already mastered two abilities as a first-year middle schooler, and both were highly developed.
For a moment, even the usually cold and composed Echizen felt the urge to吐槽. Was Ishikawa being too greedy, or was his talent simply too monstrous?
"However."
After a pause, a glint of determination flashed in Echizen's eyes. "The mental barrier I've built isn't something you can easily break through."
*Swish!*
With that, he widened his stance, ready to receive the next shot with full focus.
*Hum!*
On the other side.
In Ryo's eyes, a flash of black-and-white light flickered as he tossed the ball into the air. With a swift swing of his racket, he struck the ball with tremendous force.
*Thud!*
This serve.
Ryo didn't use his *Stellar Trace* technique.
Just as Yoshi hadn't used his *Mach Serve*, Ryo also held back his trump card.
*Boom!*
But this serve was still impossibly fast. Its placement was so precise that it completely caught Yoshi off guard.
"This spot... did he see through my positioning weakness?"
Yoshi's heart sank slightly, but his mental fortitude was extraordinary. Any emotional fluctuation was instantly masked by his icy demeanor.
*Thud!*
He quickly returned the shot.
*Beep beep beep!!!*
Meanwhile, from Ryo's perspective, the ball Yoshi had returned was covered in a series of numbers and symbols invisible to everyone else.
Probability (%), energy (Joules), wind speed (m/s), pressure (P), and spin degrees (F/centrifugal force).
Under the effects of *Chessboard Truth*, Ryo's mind operated like a precision machine. With his enhanced mental calculations, every move and shot Yoshi made was laid bare.
*Sizzle...*
However, the mental pressure Yoshi exerted caused a kind of interference, like static disrupting a signal. The data Ryo was observing began to flicker with snow-like distortions.
"Hmm."
Ryo's expression shifted slightly.
Yoshi was simply too strong. Ryo's *Sword Intent* and *Chessboard Truth* alone weren't enough to break through Yoshi's mental barrier.
This wasn't a gap in special abilities—it was a difference in raw stats.
In the original story, Yoshi's mental strength reached a terrifying 7, second only to Japan U-17's strongest player, Byodoin Houou.
During the shuffle matches, even Atobe, whose mental stat had broken through to 4.5, was overwhelmed by a single glance from Yoshi.
The fact that Ryo could maintain his composure was already remarkable.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
The intense battle continued.
Since Ryo had sealed his serve technique, even though it was his serve game, he kept losing points.
"It's over."
Watching Ryo fiercely clash with Yoshi, the spectators began to form their own conclusions.
Both players' auras were still intense, especially Ryo's, whose mysterious presence made it hard for outsiders to interpret his actions.
But the score didn't lie.
As time passed, Ryo's opportunities to score grew fewer. The match was clearly tilting in Yoshi's favor.
"This kid's impressive."
The Hyotei high schoolers nodded in acknowledgment.
After all, losing to Yoshi wasn't something to be ashamed of. Mouri didn't find it strange either—he hadn't even been able to put up a fight against Yoshi.
The Matsudaira brothers, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.
Their reactions seemed more like they were clutching at straws to save face after losing to a middle schooler.
Only Yoshi, feeling Ryo's unshakable and increasingly fierce fighting spirit, grew more cautious.
This was unusual.
He had never faced an opponent who, under his immense mental pressure, not only didn't crumble but grew stronger.
And it made Yoshi feel a faint sense of unease.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
On the court, with each return Ryo made, his aura continued to build.
Contrary to what others might think, Ryo wasn't panicking under Yoshi's pressure. Instead, he was using it to push himself to new heights.
At this moment, Ryo was like a piece of red-hot iron, and Yoshi's terrifying mental pressure was the hammer, relentlessly striking him.
With each blow, impurities were forced out, leaving Ryo sharper and more refined.
As time passed, Ryo's gaze grew even brighter and more piercing.
*Thud!*
"Game!"
"Yoshi, 2-1!"
*Thud!*
"Game!"
"Yoshi, 3-1!"
Yoshi began to pull ahead, but the unease in his heart only grew stronger.
"What is this kid planning?"
He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at his opponent. But due to the effects of *Chessboard Truth*, he couldn't decipher Ryo's intentions.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
The match continued.
The spectators, watching Ryo tirelessly run across the court and clash with Yoshi, couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
"Say what you will, this kid's willpower is insane."
"Yeah, if it were me, I'd have broken down by the second game."
"Too bad. Against Yoshi, this struggle is just futile."
The Hyotei high schoolers murmured among themselves.
"Sigh."
Mouri also sighed softly.
At this rate, Ryo's loss was only a matter of time. Still, he admired Ryo's ability to stay true to himself in the face of adversity. That alone was incredibly difficult.
At the very least, Mouri knew he couldn't do it.
"It's over."
Matsudaira Chikahiko sighed softly.
This was Yoshi's match, after all. As the No. 4 representative of the U-17 first string, there was no way he would let himself lose here.
Even though he had long since lifted the 60% power restriction.
"That kid's got some fight in him."
Matsudaira Yutaka shook his head. "But he's still too young. He's just a first-year middle schooler, after all. He should be proud of how far he's come. It'll take him at least two or three years to stand a chance against someone like—"
*Thud!*
But at that moment, Ryo unleashed a shot that resembled a laser beam.
The ball landed near the baseline behind Yoshi, who didn't even attempt to return it.
"What just happened?!"
The spectators were baffled.
One of the Hyotei high schoolers seemed to realize something. "Did the ball go out?"
The others quickly caught on.
Right!
With Yoshi's skill, the only explanation was that the shot had been out. Otherwise, there was no way to explain why he hadn't returned it.
*Whoosh!*
But as the dust settled, the truth was revealed.
Behind Yoshi, there was a clear white mark on the court.
"In... in bounds?!"
The Hyotei high schoolers exchanged stunned looks.
Mouri and Matsudaira were equally confused, unable to make sense of what had just happened.
"That shot..."
Only Yoshi, standing on the court with an expressionless face, felt a deep sense of shock.
That shot had frozen him, as if his very soul had been immobilized. It wasn't until the ball landed that he realized its trajectory, but by then, he couldn't even move a finger.
*Swish!*
At that moment, as if by some unspoken understanding, Yoshi and Ryo locked eyes.
"Huh?!"
But in that instant, despite his superior mental strength—second only to Byodoin in Japan's U-17—Yoshi's icy gaze wavered.
For the first time, he felt as if his secrets had been laid bare. A wave of unease surged from deep within him.
"What kind of eyes are those?!!"
(End of Chapter)