Kunimitsu Tezuka VS Reiji Shinshiro: Crisis

"Still, I have to admit, that shot of his packs quite a punch."

Tezuka took the glasses that Fuji had picked up from the ground, walked over to retrieve his racket, and just as Fuji was about to reason with Kamishiro, Tezuka reached out to press down on his shoulder, shaking his head slightly.

"It really is the Deep Smash. He was forced to unleash Kamishiro's sealed trump card—as expected of Tezuka."

Seeing Kamishiro use the exact move he had anticipated, Kajimoto Takahisa sighed.

"That technique is still as terrifying as ever... the Deep Smash..."

Tanaka Yohei let out a breath, as if he had been right there on the court experiencing it himself.

"Oh dear, if he uses that move, the teacher is probably going to be genuinely angry."

Wakamito Hiroshi popped up from out of nowhere. Huamura-sensei might have tolerated previous losses, but using this move was something she simply couldn't remain calm about.

"Where on earth did you pop up from, Wakamito..."

Tanaka Kohei asked, startled.

Comforted by Tezuka, Fuji returned to the bench in the coaching zone. Once seated, he couldn't help but notice that Huamura Aoi was still standing in place, her glasses beginning to emit a faint white sheen that made it difficult to read the expression in her eyes.

"Reiji... why... didn't we agree that move wouldn't be used..."

Huamura Aoi's voice trembled slightly, filled with incomprehension and disbelief.

Feeling a dull, burning ache from the red graze just beneath his right cheek, Tezuka slowly stepped forward and once again assumed his receiving stance.

"Kamishiro had no choice but to use that move so that we could advance to the national tournament..."

Seeing Kamishiro Reiji cross his hands in front of his chest once more, Kajimoto Takahisa blurted out.

"Isn't it because Tezuka shattered his Mirage..."

Tanaka Yohei held a somewhat different view.

"No matter the reason, with him using that move, it's going to be hard for Tezuka to escape without getting hurt."

Tanaka Kohei shrugged.

"No, he's not doing it to help you guys make it to the nationals, nor is he trying to cover up the flaw of the shattered Mirage. It's... because of love."

Matsubara Meiyou looked at Kamishiro Reiji. The Seishonan regulars had no idea why this guy had really unleashed the Deep Smash. At the same time, the young boy glanced over at Huamura Aoi, who was still standing frozen like a statue.

"Um... Player Tezuka, could you please replace your racket first?"

The referee reminded him upon seeing Tezuka step back onto the court.

"!"

Tezuka lowered his gaze and noticed a hole punched clean through the upper-middle section of his racket strings. He instantly recalled using his racket to block the ball just moments ago. Could it be that what grazed his face wasn't the top frame of the racket, but the tennis ball itself?

Staring at Kamishiro Reiji, Tezuka's gaze narrowed slightly.

"To actually pierce right through Tezuka's racket—what incredible power."

"What an unbelievable guy..."

"This technique... I'm going to have to update my data."

Sadaharu Inui opened his notebook and began to write.

"Technique? Isn't that just a serve that looks like it has a lot of power?"

Shishido Ryo asked.

"No, that's an entirely brand-new posture during the serve, completely different from before. Every single joint in his body is in motion, coupled with peerless ball control. This isn't something that can be achieved through sheer strength alone; it requires precise calculation. It's just that because it's Kamishiro's own body, it saves him much more time compared to us calculating it externally. The moment a single joint falls into place, the other joints will trigger a butterfly effect, just like falling dominoes."

Inui Sadaharu stated calmly.

Taking advantage of the break while Tezuka changed his racket, Huamura Aoi stood with one hand on her hip, looking down somewhat unhappily at Kamishiro Reiji as he drank water. "Didn't we have an agreement? Weren't we not going to use the Deep Smash anymore—a move with such severe side effects on the body—just to defeat Kunimitsu Tezuka?"

"Doesn't the teacher wish to see Tezuka defeated?"

Kamishiro Reiji asked as he drank from his bottle.

"Of course I want him defeated, but not like this. If it means gambling away your future tennis career, I'd rather forfeit this victory."

Huamura Aoi said matter-of-factly.

"That might be true for you, Teacher, but it means something entirely different to me."

Setting his water bottle on the ground, Kamishiro Reiji walked back onto the court.

Clack, clack.

Accepting the new racket handed to him by Fuji, Tezuka tested the strings with his fingers. Sensing no issues, he walked back onto the court as well.

"Be careful, Tezuka."

Fuji muttered to himself.

Shifting the perspective back to the tennis court, the referee called out, "Match resumes! Seishonan, Kamishiro to serve!"

"That posture again!"

Shishido Ryo said.

"It feels like his entire body is radiating dark blue energy..."

Shibayama Kumakiri blinked, looking sweating and astounded.

"Uwaaah!"

Seeing Kamishiro Reiji toss the ball, Tezuka's eyes abruptly narrowed.

The tennis ball slammed into the ground like a brilliant sphere of concentrated light, then hurtled straight toward Tezuka's face!

"!"

Reacting with lightning speed, Tezuka sidestepped to dodge it!

"30-0!"

Seeing that Tezuka had actually managed to dodge his shot, a trace of mockery flashed across Kamishiro Reiji's face. He muttered in a voice only he could hear, "Coward."

"How does that serve even curve like that..."

"That's practically metaphysical tennis..."

"Because it's triggered by mobilizing all the joints in the body, the rotational force is even more ferocious than Tezuka's serve, which naturally results in a trajectory that defies conventional judgment."

Inui Sadaharu said, staring at the two sets of data analyzed in his notebook.

"That bastard..."

Shishido Ryo felt a strong impulse to rush over and punch Kamishiro Reiji.

"Because of what Tezuka said earlier, he's deliberately aiming for Tezuka's face with the ball from now on."

Fuji opened his eyes and murmured to himself.

"Hey Kajimoto, what is that serve of Kamishiro's? It looks insanely strong."

A Seishonan student asked.

"Weren't you listening just now? It's a move called the Deep Smash."

Kiryu Hiromi turned his head to say.

"Ah... is that so? My mind wandered and I wasn't paying attention. But if Kamishiro has a move this powerful, why didn't he use it sooner? This has got to be stronger than the Mirage, right?"

The student asked again.

"It's not that Kamishiro didn't want to use it from the start. Back when he first joined the tennis club, he made a name for himself precisely because of this move. It's just that after Huamura-sensei arrived, she strictly forbade him from using it."

Kajimoto replied.

"What I didn't expect, though, was that even with an explicit ban, he was still practicing it in secret behind our backs..."

This came as a surprise to Kajimoto, because judging by the Deep Smash before them, it was clearly several times more powerful than the one Kamishiro used when he first entered school.

"If Kamishiro's move didn't take such a heavy toll on the body, I would have chosen to copy it long ago."

Wakamito Hiroshi spread his hands. As he spoke, he mimicked Kamishiro's crossed-arm stance, making grunting noises. Seeing this, the Tanaka brothers cast puzzled looks his way—had Wakamito-kun lost his mind from losing to Matsubara Meiyou?

Yet, even though Wakamito's imitation and sound effects looked utterly foolish, it still caused quite a few female students from opposing schools to get hearts in their eyes, chiming in together: "So handsome... Wakamito-kun..."

"Wakamito is right. The Deep Smash deals considerable damage to the user's own body, but the reason it has such side effects is because the move itself was designed to injure the opponent. Even if it's a thousand self-inflicted losses to inflict eight hundred on the enemy, the sheer threat it poses to opponents makes Kamishiro disregard the consequences."

"40-0!"

Kiryu Hiromi noticed that instead of serving with the Deep Smash, Kamishiro was now using it for a return shot, and his expression froze slightly.

"The Deep Smash isn't just for serves; it can be used for returns as well. That's what makes Kamishiro formidable. His level of free control over his body goes far beyond what Huamura-sensei realizes. Only by manipulating the joints of every single part of his body with absolute flexibility can he execute the Deep Smash on a return stroke as well."

Kajimoto explained.

"Normally, whether serving or returning, we try to create trouble for our opponent to expose their weaknesses and score points. But Kamishiro is different. He uses the Deep Smash to slowly torture his opponent, making them gradually lose their fighting spirit amidst injuries. Even though Tezuka's reaction speed is fast enough to avoid taking hits to the face, over time, he won't be able to adapt to this kind of intensity and will inevitably get hurt."

Kajimoto added.