"Niō, are you trying to outshine me in style?" Atobe's voice suddenly rang out from above. At some point, he had returned to the court, and judging by his movements, his body seemed fine.
"Atobe, you showed up at the perfect time~" Shishido Ryō called out after glancing at him.
"Niō-senpai, who is he phantoming now? I've never seen this guy before… and he's foreign!" Kirihara asked, confused.
"Leopold Camus de Charpentier! He was one of the captains of the French team in the last World Cup. This year, he'll likely lead France again. His revolutionary tennis is unique and unfathomable. The question is—how much of his strength can Niō phantom?" Yanagi Renji explained.
"And by the way, the current U-17 No. 3, Duke Watanabe, used to be on the French team. He was on good terms with Camus," Inui Sadaharu added.
On court, Tanegashima's face grew serious. He didn't know how Niō had gathered Camus's data, let alone phantom him so vividly. But since he dared to use it, it wouldn't be for show.
'Camus' gently picked up a ball, kissed it, then caressed his racket with affection. The display even left Duke in the stands a little dazed. Luckily, Niō was phantoming Camus as he was two years ago, with subtle differences from the present.
"The path to revolution is harsh, but I'm blessed to have my beloved by my side. Now, let me hear how deeply you love tennis!" 'Camus' said, tossing the ball while raising his left leg high, like a dancer's pose.
With the crack of impact, the ball soared surrounded by a shower of phantom petals. Tanegashima quickly reached the spot, erased its power with Void, then drove a backhand. The ball vanished mid-air.
"Halt Destruction Nothingness, hm? Too bad my beloved already told me where it will land~" 'Camus' sprinted toward the right sideline, as if he knew exactly where it was headed.
He spun in place, his racket twirling in his right hand. With a graceful flourish, the ball slipped between Tanegashima and Omagari, bouncing out of bounds.
"30-15!"
"Though revolution is bitter, sometimes it is breathtakingly beautiful!" 'Camus' declared elegantly. Phantom petals drifted down, the scene like a stage play.
"You've got to be kidding me… this guy even pulled that off?" Omagari muttered in disbelief. He hadn't reacted in time to Camus's return.
"It's not perfect, but close enough. Looks like we'll have to treat him like the real deal," Tanegashima said gravely, now acknowledging 'Camus's strength.
Ignoring them, 'Camus' returned to the baseline and fired a blistering serve, petals swirling to obscure vision.
But that kind of distraction didn't faze Tanegashima. He shifted and cut it off. Though he erased the spin and power with Void, he didn't use Halt Destruction Nothingness—just a normal return. He knew by now that move wouldn't work against Niō and Fuji.
'Camus' returned it with a dance-like swing, his graceful style making it hard for Omagari to read the ball. None of the U-17 team besides Oni and Duke had ever faced Camus in person.
Even so, Omagari wasn't ordinary. He still managed a return. But that was only because Niō's phantom wasn't flawless—built mostly from World Cup matches two years ago and footage.
Right now, projecting most of first-year Camus's strength was Niō's limit. If it were the real, third-year Camus today, Omagari likely couldn't handle his attacks at all.
The rally intensified. Fuji synced up, letting 'Camus's strength shine fully. And the reason Fuji could adapt so easily to Camus's rhythm was simple—he and Niō were still in Synchronization.
That was Niō's biggest bug in doubles. Even though he had phantomed into 'Camus,' Forced Synchronization was his own ability. No matter who he turned into, he could always stay in sync with his partner.
"What a pain~ Phantom or not, I'll just smack you back to normal! Arashi Tora!" Omagari said irritably.
As his two rackets crossed, the ball split into two under heavy impact, blasting toward 'Camus.' But 'Camus' didn't flinch, charging straight into the twin shots.
"My beloved told me I could return this ball!" 'Camus' even stroked his racket mid-run.
The next instant, Omagari's Arashi Tora was intercepted cleanly, and the return was razor sharp, shooting straight at his right foot. In his current stance, shifting weight quickly would be tough.
Luckily, Tanegashima arrived just in time and lifted it back. But 'Camus' didn't even react. He simply tilted his head aside, letting the ball pass by him as it sailed toward the backcourt.
"Tanegashima-senpai, looks like you forgot to erase the spin with Void~" Fuji suddenly appeared, swinging his racket down in a curved arc.
The ball spun with heavy underspin, dropping fast after clearing the net. Tanegashima cursed inwardly, rushing forward to intercept, but he was still too far. By the time he got there, the ball had already landed and slid forward.
"Phoenix Return!"
"40-15!"
Tanegashima and Omagari were in an awkward spot. They had to focus most of their attention on 'Camus,' since his revolutionary tennis was so advanced that one slip meant losing points. But if they ignored Fuji, the result was the same—more points lost.
They couldn't change that immediately. They had no choice but to try to adapt quickly to 'Camus's revolutionary tennis. But even with Tanegashima defending with full effort, Fuji still found an opening and scored with Hoshi Hanabi.
"Game! Second String Selection! 4-1!"
"Niō's phantom is at least ninety percent of Camus from two years ago. But we still don't know if he can use Camus's hidden trump card," Duke judged after watching closely.
"Is that so? Interesting. I didn't expect a middle schooler like this," Byoudouin muttered, finally looking at Niō with respect. With Niō, it was like having access to most nations' captains—as long as he had the data.
"Yare yare~ Camus was unexpected. But in this case… Shū-kun, how long can you keep hiding?" Irie smiled, eyes glinting as he looked at Tanegashima.
The sixth game was Tanegashima's serve. He walked to the baseline, took a deep breath, and thought hard about what to do. Honestly, he hadn't expected Niō's phantom to be this strong, and now the match was one-sided.
Even as he thought, his hand moved. He served. Fuji received solidly, then once again used both sides of his racket to spin the ball heavily, unleashing Hecatoncheires no Monban since only Omagari was at the net.
"So you're underestimating me, huh~ This is just reverse spin, right? Sōryū Sessa!" Omagari said, annoyed, as both rackets cut across the ball.
The shot went back over smoothly. Fuji's Hecatoncheires no Monban was broken. But 'Camus' was already there. He crouched low, stretched his left leg behind, and twirled his racket constantly in his right hand so no one could read his strike point.
A yellow blur shot past Omagari's eyes. He tried to spin around for a block but was too late. Fortunately, Tanegashima covered and intercepted, though the situation didn't change much.
The game played out like a repeat of the last. Under 'Camus's relentless attack, Omagari and Tanegashima were stuck on defense. Still, they seemed to be slowly adapting to his revolutionary tennis—their movements flowed a little more smoothly.
But adaptation wasn't enough for a counterattack. 'Camus' seemed to truly commune with the ball and racket. He could anticipate every shot and gauge whether he could absorb its power. It left Tanegashima and Omagari helpless, and they dropped the sixth game.
"Game! Second String Selection! 5-1!"
"We can't keep going like this… Sigh, Mitsuya's going to collect all my data again. Such a headache," Tanegashima muttered, glancing at 'Camus' with a wry face.
The seventh game was Fuji's serve. He sent a fastball across. But just after he struck it, he suddenly realized only Omagari was there. Tanegashima had disappeared.
While Fuji and 'Camus' were stunned at his absence, a sharp crack echoed. A ball whizzed past them, slammed the baseline, and bounced out.
"0-15!"
"How will you deal with an opponent you can't see? Well~ my Ultimate Void isn't bad, right?" Tanegashima reappeared in the backcourt, his face smug.