A spin veiled in blinding light—impossible to track with the naked eye.
Watching the ball's straight trajectory, Byoudouin Houou didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, intercepting it with a sharp swing.
Thud!
The sheer force of the Glowing Shot reverberated through his racket, his expression darkening. Though he could return it, the overwhelming power was degrading his shot quality. His usual precision was slipping.
His earlier point had relied on the element of surprise. Continuing like this wouldn't work.
"Then let's try this!"
With a furious grunt, Byoudouin launched the ball high into the air—Birdshot!
By extending the rally, he could set up his next move. A sound strategy.
But the moment the ball crossed the net—
Something changed.
Instead of soaring upward, it plunged straight down, hurtYorug toward Yoru's position. A swirling blue-white vortex erupted on the court—
"Tezuka Zone?!"
QP's eyes widened. "To conceal the Zone's spin beneath a Glowing Shot… His ball control is terrifying."
Even more shocking? Yoru's return wasn't just a standard spinning Glowing Shot—he'd layered it with the Zone's rotation, sacrificing some power for control.
QP had never seen someone their age master both the Glowing Shot and seamlessly integrate fundamental techniques, let alone stack another spin on top.
But this was all thanks to the Supreme Zone.
Since mastering it, Yoru's spin manipulation had reached new heights—making tricks like this effortless.
---
"The Zone, hidden within a Glowing Shot…"
Byoudouin smirked. "Yoru. You never disappoint. You're the one worth fighting."
He was glad he'd chosen Yoru over QP. Battling someone like QP—pure, flawless fundamentals—would've been dull. Just raw power and speed.
But this? A duel of wits and technique? This was what thrilled him.
Yet something felt… off.
QP's voice echoed in his mind, crisp as if standing right beside him. Byoudouin glanced at QP, puzzled—
BANG!
Another spinning Glowing Shot came flying.
Byoudouin countered with the same technique he'd scored with earlier—
But this time, the ball veered wildly and landed out.
"Yoru scores! 30-15!"
"Was that… the Supreme Spin?!" Tezuka gasped.
QP shook his head. "No. Just alternating between the Zone and Anti-Zone. The glow on Yoru's shot was weaker—he hasn't fused compound spins into the Glowing Shot yet."
"Just?"
The surrounding players sweatdropped.
Since when was switching between Zone and Anti-Zone considered easy?!
Most of them couldn't even use the Zone, let alone alternate it like a light switch!
BANG!
Another return from Byoudouin was dragged out of bounds.
"Yoru scores! 40-15!"
---
"This is bad."
From the sidelines, Fuwa Jirou of Rokkaku paled.
Byoudouin's entire playstyle relied on spin. The Zone and Anti-Zone were hard counters—like cutting off his dominant arm.
But Fuwa was worrying too much.
On the court, Byoudouin faced the next spinning Glowing Shot—and did something unthinkable.
He struck the ball with the tip of his racket, shattering the spin and sending it rebounding at a sharp angle.
FLOKITOTO!
Yoru, caught off guard, couldn't react in time.
BANG!
"Byoudouin Houou scores! 30-40!"
"He broke the Anti-Zone?!"
Seigaku's bench erupted.
After Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Byoudouin was the second to crack the Anti-Zone. But while Shiraishi relied on innate talent, Byoudouin's method was brilliant—using the racket's frictionless tip to negate spin.
A stroke of genius.
"So that's the move."
Yoru stared at the ball, impressed. He vaguely recalled it from the original series but couldn't place the name—Byoudouin had too many techniques.
"Bring it, Houou!"
"As you wish!"
Golden light erupted again as Byoudouin unleashed another Glowing Shot.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The match escalated into a full-blown war. Yoru dominated with flawless control, but Byoudouin kept clawing back with unpredictable techniques.
Yoru hadn't used the Supreme Zone yet—he needed more time to analyze Byoudouin's habits.
Despite his advantage, Byoudouin's relentless creativity kept the score tight.
The points flew by in a blur.
BANG!
"Byoudouin Houou scores! 1-0!"
…
BANG!
"Yoru scores! 2-1!"
…
BANG!
"Byoudouin Houou scores! 3-3, tie!"
---
After half an hour of high-intensity play, the score was deadlocked.
"What a match. Even better than my duel with Ralph." Yoru grinned, wiping sweat from his brow.
Facing Ralph Reinhardt had been a clash of fundamentals. But this? A battle of creativity and skill.
Now he understood why QP loved evenly matched fights.
"But…"
Yoru's voice dropped, his tone icy.
"I prefer fishing with dynamite. So forgive me—this ends now."
"What?!"
Byoudouin's eyes sharpened. The air shifted.
A chilling aura spread across the court. The temperature plummeted. Shadows coiled around Yoru as an eerie glow enveloped him.
Shining Experience Mode.
Unlike the Supreme Zone, this state accelerated his dominance—no drawn-out battles.
But it lacked the Supreme Zone's absolute control.
"That form!"
Byoudouin recognized it. During the exhibition matches, he'd seen Yoru wield a state similar to QP's. The semifinals had confirmed it.
Now, facing it head-on, the pressure was suffocating.
A primal fear crept into his instincts.
…Why can I hear Tezuka and the crowd so clearly?
Their voices rang in his ears as if they were whispering directly to him.
Before he could dwell on it—
"Serve."
Yoru's voice was a blade.
The moment those two syllables left his lips, his focus sharpened to a lethal edge.
WHOOSH!
The ball rocketed into the air.
Yoru leaped, racket flashing—
Byoudouin barely registered the serve before—
BLUR.
The ball vanished mid-flight.
THUD-THUD!
Two impacts merged into one.
Byoudouin stood frozen, racket raised defensively. His pupils trembled, lips parting in silent shock.
Yoru was already walking back to position.
The umpire didn't hesitate.
"Yoru scores! 15-0!"
After the semifinals, the officials knew this state defied conventional tracking. So the moment Yoru struck, the umpire's eyes snapped to the ground—
Just in time to see a black afterimage explode at Byoudouin's feet.
A second later, the wall behind him cracked from an unseen impact.
Seigaku's bench erupted in cheers.
Fuwa Jirou's hands clenched. "Is… our captain going to lose?"
---