Chapter 111: The Heart Longing for Victory, Taking the Step of Evolution

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

With four more suddenly vanishing "Godly Concealments," Chitose easily took his service game.

"Amazing!"

The spectators shouted with immense enthusiasm.

Watching a national-level player serve was simply a treat; no matter how many times they saw it, they couldn't help but marvel at it.

"Fuji..."

His voice trembling slightly, Oishi could clearly feel the powerful pressure from Chitose even from the sidelines.

One could only imagine the pressure Fuji was enduring while facing Chitose head-on.

Fine beads of cold sweat instantly covered Oishi's forehead.

At this moment, Fuji seemed to radiate a different kind of light, a golden brilliance that was dazzling and eye-catching.

Lenses flashed with a calm light as the pen tip moved rapidly across the notebook, attempting to find the trajectory flaw in Chitose's "Godly Concealment."

That large-angle, fierce topspin was bound to land near the baseline, pinning Fuji firmly in the backcourt area.

Waving their arms, Kikumaru and Momoshiro nodded heavily.

However.

A gentle breeze brushed past Fuji's bangs, lifting his brown hair and revealing his sharp, piercing eyes.

Swish!

Unfortunately, before it could land, a racket appeared underneath; Chitose had rushed to the net, adopting a more direct and violent means to crack the "Swallow Return."

Swish~

His body swayed slightly, and the tennis ball was sent into the air by Fuji.

"Oh my, what a terrifying look!"

Boom!

A fierce baseline groundstroke shot out, pinning Fuji, who was attempting to approach the net, back again.

Chitose wore a beaming smile, his body pausing in place for a second before suddenly appearing at the ball's landing spot, easily returning the ball with a flick of his arm.

Thump. Thump.

With a tap of his toes on the ground, he leaped up suddenly, his clothes rustling, his heart—longing for victory—beating at an accelerated pace.

"Tezuka..."

He whispered softly, Fuji swinging his racket in a cutting motion along the trajectory of the wind toward the bouncing ball.

"All we can do is believe in Fuji."

"However..."

Boom!

A fierce baseline groundstroke drove Fuji, who was trying to approach the net, back again.

Chitose smiled brightly, his body pausing in place before suddenly appearing at the ball's landing spot, easily returning the ball with a flick of his arm.

The ball flashed, like a golden swallow plummeting from the sky to the ground; after bouncing, it completed the final leg of its flight while skimming the surface.

Lifting his head slightly, his azure eyes flashed with an unusual brilliance as the ball broke through the area shrouded in shadow.

Soaring through the high air, the ball landed precisely on the baseline in the backcourt, then shot back in the opposite direction.

Boom!

The racket followed the arm in an upward pull, directly whipping the ball back.

In mid-air, the gazes of the Seigaku team shone with the brilliant sunlight, all focused on this thin figure.

"... haven't you realized the gap between us yet?"

"White Whale!"

Sure enough, the "White Whale" executed by Fuji himself had much stronger spin and speed than the imitation under the No-Self state.

Sadaharu Inui was always the calmest person on the Seigaku team, but even though both players on the court had exceeded the limits of ordinary data, he still persisted in recording the situation of every ball in the match.

Fuji felt the gazes of his partners—filled with worry, yet mixed with anticipation—and finally realized just how heavy the burden of being the "Pillar of Seigaku" truly was.

"Haaah!"

After Tezuka left, Fuji was the "Pillar of Seigaku" in their hearts; he would absolutely not lose this match just like this.

On the court, the sun was setting.

"Inui was right!"

"I'm starting to understand what you've been carrying on your back as you move forward!"

In front of Chitose, the ball shot straight into the clouds like a water jet, creating a trajectory that defied common sense in the air.

"Swallow Return!"

Chitose let out a soft shout. Sensing the gust of wind brought by the ball behind him, he stepped with his left foot, his racket spinning a full circle with his body, whipping the returning ball back.

"Not enough."

Under the sunlight, the pale yellow ball shadow became exceptionally brilliant and dazzling.

Roaring out the low growl from the deepest part of his heart, he swung his racket with all his might, slamming it down onto the ball.

Bang!

At this moment, a crisp sound rang in Chitose's ears. When he turned his gaze to the opposite side, Fuji had already completed his follow-through.

Swish!

Boom!

That fierce groundstroke rushed toward Fuji's backhand baseline again.

Tap tap!

The sound of footsteps was short and rapid.

Fuji didn't care about Chitose's verbal taunts at all. His eyes calmly captured the ball's trajectory, his arm extended, and his racket swung down decisively.

The next second.

Swish!

His body jolted again; his racket swung through empty air. The ball that had just bounced was the same as the previous serve.

It had vanished again!

"15-0!"

"'Godly Concealment' isn't limited to serves, you know!"

Chitose's voice rang out, the unmasked pressure pouring down upon Fuji.

Unfortunately, he didn't see a look of defeat on Fuji's face; the other's expression remained as firm as ever.

"Haaah!"

With a low growl, Fuji's eyes burned with fierce flames.

"To lose just like this..."

"... how could I possibly allow it!"

To hit a more powerful serve, Fuji's body bent back even further, storing unimaginable power within his thin frame.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion; the ball kicked up a ring of air waves at the point of impact, plummeting down with tremendous force.

"What a Fuji Syusuke!"

Chitose's eyes narrowed; he finally began to take it seriously, his racket whipping toward the bouncing ball with force.

Boom!

A low-altitude diagonal groundstroke, its rapid speed no less than the previous serve.

Whoosh!

A figure rushing forward suddenly appeared on the baseline.

Boom!

Boom!

An astonishing rally unfolded on the court.

Although every time Chitose used "Godly Concealment," the point would end, the momentum Fuji displayed still made people look at him with newfound respect.

Boom!

"Think you can turn the tide by just acting recklessly like this?"

"Tennis isn't that simple!"

Offsetting the powerful spin on the ball, Chitose shouted in a low voice.

Hah. Hah.

"If I don't try, how would I know!"

Fuji panted heavily, but facing Chitose's fierce offensive, he didn't retreat a single step.

Once, he enjoyed the process of drawing out all of his opponent's potential.

In a situation where he could lose the match at any moment, he savored the thrill of dancing on the edge of a blade, heart trembling with fear.

Whether he won or lost the match didn't matter to him.

But now...

Fuji lunged forward, his body slamming heavily into the ground, but he successfully saved the ball.

Swish~

The ball traced a stream of light through the air.

He had no intention of resting; he scrambled up quickly, running to the defensive zone, ready to meet the next attack.

Crystal-clear sweat beads flew from his hair tips, appearing exceptionally translucent under the setting sun.

"Now..."

"... I only want to carry everyone's expectations, fulfill my promise to Tezuka, and win victory for Seigaku!"

"Haaah!"

Fuji roared as he swung his racket.

Slap!

The racket swung through, the strings shattering the sweat beads, sending light spots scattering in all directions.

However.

A cold light pierced past his side without mercy.

"Game, Hyotei Academy, Chitose Senri, 4-1!"

"At this point, what's the use of struggling to the death?"

The ball flew up; Chitose bent his knees and swung his racket suddenly, opening with "Godly Concealment" without mercy.

Swish!

A cold stream of light pierced through the court, flashing and vanishing before Fuji's eyes.

"15-0!"

Boom!

"30-0!"

Boom!

"40-0!"

"Simply..."

"... completely unable to fight back."

On the sidelines, although it was his own teammate completely controlling the match, Oishi couldn't see much happiness on Oshitari Yuushi's face.

Watching the helpless Fuji, his expression was complex and difficult to describe.

This genius had once defeated him, but in front of Chitose, he had no way to respond.

"Is this the gap between us and a national-level player?"

Oshitari Yuushi's eyes were solemn, his palms turning pale as sweat unconsciously broke out. If he were the one on the court right now, the situation would only be more tragic.

"Heh heh..."

"... Chitose's move is about to stop working."

At this moment, a cold laugh suddenly rang in his ear.

Oshitari Yuushi turned his head to look, only to see Atobe Keigo covering one eye with his left hand, a trace of cold light flashing across the tear mole under his eye.

Boom!

On the court, it wasn't until Chitose hit "Godly Concealment" again that Oshitari Yuushi reacted to what Atobe had said.

"'Godly Concealment' ineffective? How is that possible?"

His gaze hurriedly turned to the court.

Whoosh!

He saw the ball flying across the court, pulling a yellow stream of light, its momentum astonishing.

And Fuji stood on the baseline, like dark clouds gathering before a thunderstorm, an equally astonishing momentum brewing around him.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!

He had eyes only for the ball, nothing else; his gaze was sharp yet fervent.

Focus! Focus! Focus!

He shouted inwardly, discarding all external interference, excluding the gain or loss of the score, focusing all his attention on the ball about to land.

Slap!

The ball landed, and Fuji's footsteps moved accordingly.

"Since the Triple Counter is no longer enough..."

"... then, go beyond the Triple!"

His lips parted slightly.

"Fourth Counter..."

The racket spun, desperately recalling the scenes of training with three ball machines to develop the Fourth Counter.

As long as he could return three serves at the same moment, he would definitely be able to hit the trajectory where the ball vanished.

Although this training wasn't finished, but...

"Mayfly Overlap!"

A sharp light flashed in his eyes; the moment the ball vanished, the racket shrouded all the space in front of him in an instant, like a golden mayfly swimming about.

Boom!

A crisp sound; the ball appeared right in the center of the racket.

Fuji flicked his wrist lightly, eliminating all spin on the ball, pressed his body forward, and whipped the ball back with force.

"He actually caught it!"

Oshitari Yuushi's eyes trembled, feeling both shocked and happy.

Shocked, because an uncertain factor had appeared in Hyotei's originally certain victory.

But what was the inexplicable joy for?

He couldn't say for sure.

Seeing "Godly Concealment" returned, Chitose's brows twitched, his face changing slightly.

"What a troublesome guy."

Fuji made him feel a few moments of difficulty.

Boom!

His body twisted, his arm whipping up from bottom to top like a lash, the ball returning with fierce spin.

"Not enough, still not enough."

Fuji ran on the court; although he had cracked "Godly Concealment," wanting to defeat Chitose was still far from enough.

I must push all the Triple Counters aside, and then...

... RECONSTRUCT THEM!!!

Boom!

Boom!

In this tense and exciting game point, Fuji displayed astonishing resilience.

The handsome youth, swearing not to give up his defensive line, turned this intense defensive counter-attack battle into a complete ignition of the audience's passion.

In an instant, all the spectators inexplicably began to cheer for Fuji.

"Defend one more!"

"Defend one more!"

Unknowingly, the cheering for Fuji had actually drowned out Hyotei's cheering squad.

"Come on!"

Every time a beautiful shot by Chitose was intercepted by Fuji, the rhythmic shouting from the stands would ring out.

"It is my wish to get Seigaku into the Nationals,"

"so..."

"... I absolutely cannot fall here!!!"

Fuji roared, and a brand-new power was born within his body.

A golden crescent moon flashing with dazzling light appeared on the court.

The speed of the ball's descent was too fast even for Chitose to react; the violently vibrating yellow beam of light pulled a golden horizon line across the court!

"15-40!"

As the referee's voice fell, the entire audience erupted into cheers that shook the sky.

"Wooooooooh—!!!"

Fuji gripped his racket with his right hand, clenched his left fist, and growled, his emotions excited and fervent.

"Yes!!!"

Under the dirty, gray-blue and white uniform, a completely different Fuji Syusuke had emerged.

Watching this fervent figure, Sadaharu Inui's eyes trembled.

He didn't even notice the ugly lines his pen had drawn on the notebook, his lips trembling slightly as he said:

"This... this is the real Fuji!"

"His original self has been ignited by Chitose!"