After carefully observing Amadeus's Dark Side, Akutsu became increasingly certain of his thoughts. Without saying a word, he moved swiftly to the baseline. Leaning back slightly, he prepared to deliver his fifth serve.
Unlike before, this time Akutsu didn't use the dazzling Glowing Shot, nor did he unleash the fierce power of Howling Moon. It was just a simple, high-speed diagonal serve—ordinary in appearance, yet sharp in intent.
Amadeus had been ready to counter a Glowing Shot, so Akutsu's sudden change of pace caught him off guard. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, but as a professional, his movements showed not the slightest hesitation.
He took several quick strides, positioning himself perfectly for the return. With a clean swing, Amadeus struck out a Dark Side. The moment his racket connected, the entire court was swallowed by darkness once again.
Yet Akutsu's face remained calm. Watching the faint movements of the shadows beneath his feet, he relied on experience built through countless matches. Reading the angle and rhythm of the spin, he moved swiftly a few steps to his right, stopping exactly where he predicted the ball would be.
The instant the ball reached him, Akutsu swung his racket. The moment of contact split the darkness apart as if torn by invisible force, revealing the spinning tennis ball wreathed in golden light. In the next second, that light burst outward, completely banishing the surrounding blackness.
A massive golden ball reappeared on the court, rocketing toward Amadeus with explosive power. The spectators, who had just regained their vision, tensed again in alarm. They knew this kind of shot wasn't something to take lightly.
Amadeus frowned deeply. He hadn't expected Akutsu to return his Dark Side so effortlessly—it was as though the boy knew every aspect of its movement. But this was no time to wonder why.
He quickly adjusted his stance, preparing to counter using his Super Sweetspot technique. As someone well-versed in the Dark Side, Amadeus was naturally familiar with how to harness the Super Sweetspot to reduce damage.
However, the instant the Glowing Shot collided with his racket, an immense tearing force shot through his arm. Even with the Super Sweetspot, he couldn't fully absorb the impact. The strings trembled violently, straining as if on the verge of ripping apart.
Amadeus's heart skipped a beat—he hadn't expected Akutsu's light ball to carry such terrifying power. If he didn't adapt soon, the same thing that happened before—a hole straight through his racket—would happen again. He clenched his jaw and decided to fight light with darkness, striking another Dark Side to counter.
But this time, the darkness barely lasted a moment before being shredded by the sheer force of Akutsu's return. Amadeus's racket flew high into the air as the ball blasted past him, landing deep in the baseline before bouncing violently off the wall. The echo thundered across the court.
"40–30!"
As Amadeus retrieved his racket, Akutsu didn't pause for even a second. He tossed up the next ball and served again. Both players, abandoning their previous powerful techniques, launched into an intense high-speed rally.
After nearly ten rapid exchanges, Amadeus's eyes narrowed sharply. He had spotted something. With a powerful step, he unleashed another Dark Side, the darkness surging around him as he glared at Akutsu as though seeing through his every move.
Akutsu smirked and countered with a regular Glowing Shot. Without activating any dimensional power, the Claw Rend's strength wasn't at its peak—but he figured Amadeus already understood how to handle it by now.
As expected, Amadeus didn't hesitate. He moved in and used the Super Sweetspot again, dissolving the power and spin from the Glowing Shot. Immediately, a wave of black aura rose around him. With his left hand gripping the racket, he swung upward, sending the ball flying high into the air.
"Whale!"
As the ball soared, the entire court was plunged into darkness once more. Kite, watching from the sidelines, widened his eyes in shock—Amadeus had merged the Dark Side's properties into another shot entirely. Even Kite himself hadn't managed that yet.
"I've already seen your weakness. You've got impressive burst power and great side-to-side movement—but your forward and backward footwork is slower. You won't reach this topspin lob!" Amadeus's voice cut through the darkness, filled with fierce confidence.
"Hah? For a shot like that, I don't need to move back or forth at all!" came Akutsu's voice from somewhere above.
Amadeus's pupils shrank in disbelief. As the darkness shattered, he saw Akutsu in midair, body twisted in an almost impossible position. With his right hand, he swung full-force, intercepting the ball and driving it like a beam of light straight toward the right baseline of the Swiss court.
"You've got to be kidding!!! No way I'm letting you take the whole game that easily!" Amadeus roared, his eyes blazing. In an instant, power exploded from his legs, leaving a faint shadow trail behind him as he sprinted after the ball at incredible speed.
Reaching the right baseline, Amadeus leapt lightly into the air. His waist and abdomen tensed like a coiled spring as he swung his racket in a sharp backhand, sending the ball screaming toward Japan's court.
But before the ball could even bounce twice, Akutsu's figure flashed into view at the net. His right arm pulled back to its limit, his entire body stretched taut as he prepared for a full-power shot. Seeing that, Amadeus immediately began reading the ball's direction.
Yet the next instant, as Akutsu swung, he suddenly withdrew most of his strength. Anyone else would have risked a pulled muscle from stopping mid-swing like that—but Akutsu's flexibility far exceeded human norms. Instead of a heavy strike, he returned a soft, short shot.
By the time Amadeus realized what had happened, it was already too late. He instinctively took a step forward with his right foot but stopped immediately, watching helplessly as the ball dropped gently onto the court just beyond his reach.
"Game! Japan! 1–0!"
The referee's announcement echoed across the stadium. Amadeus's expression darkened; losing even a single game to a middle schooler was humiliation enough. The earlier lost points had already stung—now this felt like a wound to his pride.
"Byoudouin… looks like you've trained quite the successor," Amadeus muttered, exhaling slowly. His tone carried reluctant admiration as he steadied his emotions within seconds.
Though Amadeus wasn't among the very top of professional players, his mental control perfectly fit the standard of a pro. No matter what situation you faced—once you lost composure, the match was half over already.
The second game began with Amadeus serving. Standing at the baseline, he drew in a deep breath before tossing the ball and unleashing an ultra-fast serve with a sharp angle. Concentration surged through him as his focus sharpened to a razor's edge.
Akutsu crouched low like a hunting wolf and darted to the landing point. As the ball rose, he swung hard, his motion showing every sign of a straight shot.
Amadeus didn't hesitate—he bolted right, preparing to intercept. But the sound of impact betrayed him—the ball shot diagonally to his left instead. Akutsu had hit a crosscourt ball while posing for a straight shot.
Amadeus didn't panic. He slammed his heel down, stopping his forward momentum in an instant, then pivoted sharply on his left foot, spinning a full 180 degrees before dashing after the ball again.
Reaching it, he used the momentum from his sprint to whip his racket upward, striking through the top of the net's height. The ball cut across the air with vicious spin, speeding toward the center of Japan's half.
But Akutsu's body twisted midair in a bizarre position, flipping horizontally. Using rotational force and centrifugal motion, he struck the ball downward with a powerful smash.
The tennis ball turned into a yellow blur, slamming into the front court before ricocheting sharply toward the left sideline. Just as it was about to fly out, the sound of shoes scraping against the court rang out—Amadeus had reached it at the last possible second.
The next moment, the ball flew back into Japan's court once again, darkness following in its wake. It was clear that Amadeus's mastery over "darkness" had already evolved beyond a mere Dark Side.
Akutsu didn't fear the darkness, but the brief loss of vision caused a subtle unease. Still, he was fully prepared. Reading the trajectory, he returned the ball smoothly with perfect timing.
Yet the shadows didn't fade with his counter. Amadeus chased after the ball again—this time aiming directly at Akutsu's feet. Through earlier observation, he'd realized that Akutsu rarely used half-volleys, and when dealing with low shots, his movements sometimes stiffened slightly.
In the darkness, the ball sped straight toward Akutsu's left side. Frowning, Akutsu shifted suddenly, performing an almost impossible movement to return the shot cleanly.
Only then did the black veil dissolve completely. But by that point, Amadeus's goal was already achieved. A sharp strike followed—and something whooshed past Akutsu's side before he could react. When he turned, the ball had already bounced out of bounds.
"15–0!"
"Finally going all out, huh?" Byoudouin murmured from Japan's bench, his tone calm but eyes sharp as he watched the match unfold. "This version of Amadeus won't be easy to handle. Let's see how much you've grown since that fight with Duke, Akutsu."