When Milky won his service game, the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers. The wave of sound roared through the stadium, and some spectators even began singing Australia's national anthem again. Sanada's chest tightened as the noise filled the arena, his limbs feeling strangely heavy and unresponsive.
Then, a light tap landed on his back—a tennis racket. The touch snapped Sanada out of his stiffness. He turned and saw Ochi standing calmly behind him. Even though Ochi's eyes were hidden beneath his hair, Sanada could still feel the quiet encouragement radiating from his senpai.
"The lion must advance bravely! I'll give it everything I've got, Ochi-senpai!" Sanada said, taking a deep breath and straightening up.
"I know," Ochi replied coolly. "But it's my service game next, so just stand aside for now."
Sanada froze for a second, then flushed red as he realized his mistake. Thankfully, his cap hid the embarrassment. Ochi, unfazed, stepped slowly to the baseline—his entire aura shifting in an instant.
"Mach…" Ochi murmured softly as he tossed the ball. A heartbeat later, a sharp thud echoed from behind Milky and Mac.
"Ace! 15–0!"
The entire venue fell silent. Most of the spectators hadn't even seen what happened—only the umpire's call broke the confusion. On court, Milky and Mac looked equally stunned.
"This… could it be…" Milky muttered, eyes darting back. There, outside the line, a tennis ball lay motionless.
"You've got to be kidding! His serve speed's faster than the Superluminal Particle Serve!" Mac exclaimed, disbelief written all over his face.
Both of them could use the Superluminal Particle Serve, yet Ochi's Mach Serve was on another level entirely. Mac hadn't even realized the serve had been completed—it was over before he could process it.
A sense of absurdity crept over him, soon followed by a quiet, tightening pressure deep within his chest. Ochi, hidden behind his curtain of hair, seemed to sense it and briefly glanced in his direction.
Ochi tossed the next ball. Just like before, Mac only saw the motion of his swing—and then nothing. A second later, the familiar thud came from behind him.
"Ace! 30–0!"
Milky's confident expression had completely vanished. He hadn't expected a Japanese player to hit a serve of such terrifying speed. Based on what he'd seen, it might have already surpassed his own Neutrino Serve.
But Ochi didn't give him time to think. He tossed another ball, swung once more, and before the audience could even blink, he was already walking to retrieve the next one.
"Ace! 40–0!"
Milky managed to catch a faint afterimage this time—but that was all. The ball hit the ground behind him before he could react. His confidence in winning this match was beginning to crumble.
The entire stadium was now wrapped in eerie silence. The once-boisterous crowd held its breath as Ochi tossed the ball for the fourth time.
Two impact sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Milky stood frozen, unable to move, until the umpire's voice finally broke through.
"Game! Japan! 1–1!"
"Looks like Ochi's serve really is faster after all~," Irie said cheerfully from the player hall, eyes still fixed on the screen.
"See? I told you! Tsukimitsu-sensei's serve speed is the fastest!" Mōri nodded emphatically beside him.
The third game began with Mac serving. But just as he stepped to the baseline, Ochi suddenly brushed his bangs aside—revealing his sharp, glowing eyes. The motion immediately drew Mac's full attention.
The next moment, Mac found himself staring into a pair of cold, piercing eyes. His whole body stiffened instinctively, as if frozen in place. Then—nothing. Ochi lowered his bangs again, and everything seemed normal. No one noticed the faint crescent moon shimmering for an instant within Mac's pupils.
Mac tossed the ball quickly and swung down hard. The ball shot forward, leaving a streak of light. Like Milky earlier, he served a Superluminal Particle—but to his shock, the ball slammed straight into the net. His eyes widened. That shouldn't have happened. His motion and timing had been perfect.
"Fault! Second serve!"
Clicking his tongue, Mac tossed the ball again, focusing carefully—but the exact same thing happened. The ball hit the net and rolled down lifelessly. Silence filled his mind.
"Double fault! 0–15!"
"So it's begun already, huh? Looks like Ochi isn't as calm as he looks," Oni murmured from the Japan Team bench.
"Spiritual Assassination... It really is impossible to guard against," Yukimura said quietly, watching Ochi with sharp eyes.
On court, Mac looked completely lost, his rhythm shattered. Every serve went wrong—one fault after another. Even as Milky tried to calm him down again and again, nothing worked. They could only watch as the score kept slipping away.
"Double fault! 0–30!"
"Double fault! 0–40!"
"Game! Japan! 2–1!"
After the changeover, Mac's condition seemed to recover slightly. But now it was Sanada's service game. Three games had passed, and Sanada felt he hadn't had any real part in the match yet. This time, he intended to make his presence known.
Stepping to the baseline, Sanada tossed the ball high and swung with full power. His racket blurred into an afterimage, and the ball turned into a roaring gust that tore toward the opposite court.
"Swift as the storm!"
A cloud of dust exploded as the ball struck Milky's right corner cleanly. Only after it bounced out did Milky react—but it was already too late.
"Ace! 15–0!"
Without pause, Sanada tossed another ball and launched a second Swift as the storm. This time, Milky reacted just in time. As someone who could serve at superluminal speed himself, his reflexes were excellent. He lunged to the left and met the ball cleanly, sending it back across the net.
But before he could exhale in relief, a surge of lightning flashed over Sanada's body. In the next instant, he appeared at the net, both hands gripping his racket as he brought it down with explosive force.
"Move like thunder!"
The ball turned into a bolt of lightning, tracing a warped arc through the air toward the opposite court. Mac, caught off guard but still determined, stepped forward to intercept—but his swing hit nothing but air. The ball zipped past him and out of the court.
"30–0!"
"This is the spirit of Japan! Remember it well!" Sanada said sternly after scoring, his voice like thunder.
Milky and Mac's faces darkened. Earlier, they'd confidently claimed they'd finish the match in ten minutes. Now, it looked like the ones wrapping it up in ten minutes might be their opponents instead.
"It seems the players they sent aren't the ones Noah predicted," Milky said uncertainly, glancing toward Mac.
"Yeah… something's off. Noah said both doubles matches would be handled by third-year middle schoolers," Mac muttered, frowning.
But Sanada wasn't about to give them time to discuss. He returned to the baseline, tossed the ball, and unleashed another Swift as the storm. The hurricane-like serve barreled forward.
Though Sanada's serves were fast, they were still slower than Ochi's Mach Serve—and even a bit behind the Superluminal Particle Serve. That gave Mac just enough time to chase down the ball and return it.
Ochi moved to intercept but stopped abruptly when he saw the black aura surging around Sanada's body. He knew exactly what was coming.
Sanada flashed forward, positioning himself ahead of the ball. The black aura wrapped around the spinning sphere, and as his racket came down, the ball transformed into a streak of shadow streaking toward the other side.
"It's about time we got serious. Black Dragon Double Strike!" Sanada said coldly, his eyes blazing with lightning.