Kunimitsu Tezuka VS Reiji Kamio (Comeback)

Your ultimate technique is quite formidable, but your body has already reached its limit, hasn't it?
Tezuka looked at Reiji Kamishiro and suddenly spoke.
Upon hearing this question, both Reiji Kamishiro and Aoi Wakato showed expressions of shock. The former gradually regained his composure and remained silent.
Starting from the second point, your form distorted just like it did at the very beginning. This technique must place a heavy burden on your body, and by now, you must be feeling your body gradually grow stiff.
Kamishiro did not reply outwardly, but his body trembled imperceptibly. Taking a deep breath to steady his emotions, Kamishiro returned to his normal state.
As Kamishiro served once more, Tezuka noticed that the stiffness in his body had become even more pronounced. He directly moved to the net for an interception, driving a shot straight down the baseline!
Clack!
15-40!
30-40!
This Kunimitsu Tezuka is truly troublesome. He actually figured out the drawback of Kamishiro's Splitting Power Smash and has managed to close the score gap again.
Hiroshi Wakamura laughed with a hint of sarcasm.
Don't sit there making sarcastic remarks. It is precisely because of this that Kamishiro broke the rules.
Kajimoto admonished.
He can't even maintain his Mirage style anymore, and has reverted to the way he was before the teacher arrived—that violent style of play...
Kajimoto thought to himself as he watched Kamishiro running back and forth incessantly.
Lost in memories, Kajimoto Takahisa recalled that when Kamishiro first enrolled, he still had normal ash-blue short hair. At the end of a certain training session, Kajimoto, who was resting next to Kamishiro, heard footsteps outside the gymnasium and turned his gaze toward the entrance.
Students, starting today, this is your new teacher.
The smiling, chubby principal walked in, followed by Aoi Wakamura, who wore a beige trench coat and had beautiful, long red hair. The woman wore a faint, alluring smile at the corners of her lips, nodded slightly, and said softly, My name is Aoi Wakamura. I look up to you all for guidance from now on.
In Kajimoto Takahisa's memory, he had not noticed at the time that Kamishiro had gazed somewhat absentmindedly at Aoi Wakamura and her long red hair. For Reiji Kamishiro himself, he could never have anticipated that from the very moment he met Aoi Wakamura, he was destined to become her most brilliant masterpiece. Every outcome stemmed entirely from his own intense, voluntary will.
Teacher Wakamura witnessed the Splitting Power Smash when Kamishiro was playing a match against a third-year regular club senior...
Kajimoto Takahisa's thoughts continued to drift, and the scenes of that match gradually grew clear in his mind.
Although Senior Kuroda was a non-regular third-year, his strength was no different from that of the regulars; he simply chose not to become a starting regular for personal reasons. Yet the gap in that match was stark. In the end, Senior Kuroda managed to score only a single point off Kamishiro...
After experiencing Kamishiro's Splitting Power Smash, Senior Kuroda developed a deep-seated fear of tennis and gave it up entirely. Originally just wanting to play for fun and unwilling to join the regular lineup, that time he truly never wanted to be a regular again, nor did he ever want to touch a tennis ball for the rest of his life.
Perhaps Kamishiro never realized that his violent tennis style, within the span of a single match, completely destroyed Senior Kuroda's talent. Ever since then, Teacher Wakamura warned Kamishiro never to use the Power Smash again. Miraculously, after just a single conversation, Kamishiro changed completely. Following the training methods provided by Teacher Wakamura, his style underwent a radical transformation. Under the teacher's guidance, he quickly became the team's ace and her most perfect masterpiece.
Kajimoto returned to the present reality, looked at Kamishiro—who had just been brought to a 40-40 tie by Tezuka—and gently closed his eyes.
Kamishiro, the reason I forbade you from using the Splitting Power Smash is not only because it burdens your body, but even more so because I do not want you to ruin other people's tennis careers, nor do I want a single technique to limit the development of your entire life...
Murmuring to himself until the end, Aoi Wakamura lowered her head slightly, bit her lip, and whispered, Reiji... you child...
Reiji Kamishiro continued to use the Splitting Power Smash, but the stiffness and distortion in his body grew increasingly severe. Facing the intensely violent serve, Tezuka seemed to be surrounded by a faint white glow. When his racket made contact with the tennis ball, it swung effortlessly as if striking a soft pillow. Reiji Kamishiro, attempting to return the shot, felt a heaviness akin to a ten-thousand-jin boulder transmit through his racket. With a look of astonishment on his face, his racket was blown straight out of his hand!
Clack!
5-4! Seishun leads! Side change!
Did Captain Tezuka... emit some kind of aura just now?
Ryo Shishido stepped closer, looked closely at Tezuka, and blurted out.
It seemed like some strange energy was generated around him. The power of Tezuka's return just now must have been at least twice that of the Splitting Power Smash.
Sadaharu Inui pushed up his glasses, sharing the exact same feeling as Shishido.
More than twice... Captain Tezuka possesses such strength as well...
Yoshiro Akazawa wore a startled expression.
Tezuka...
Fuji watched as Tezuka's arm slowly lowered, and spoke softly.
That is the power of the Selfish State emitting a white glow. Furthermore, this is the pinnacle of supreme hard work, one of the three inner gates of the Selfish State. I actually thought the captain would use the Zero-Shikis or the Tezuka Zone for his counterattack.
Naruyasu Matsubara smiled and explained.
The Selfish State... What is that?
Hearing Matsubara's words, the group looked at one another in bewilderment, clearly having no idea what the boy was talking about.
The Selfish State...
Kajimoto Takahisa looked at Naruyasu Matsubara and spoke softly.
One of the three inner gates deep within...
Kohei Tanaka said.
The pinnacle of supreme hard work...
Yohei Tanaka chimed in.
The pinnacle of supreme hard work within the Selfish State. I heard Renji mention this technique when I was in elementary school, but this is the first time I've witnessed it. To think Tezuka has already mastered it?
Sadaharu Inui rubbed his chin as he reminisced.
Senior Inoue... What on earth is this state they are talking about?
Saori Shiba asked.
The Selfish State is also known as the Realm of Selflessness. It is one of the two states a tennis player will encounter during their career. Of course, to touch this state, one must be utterly single-minded and free of distractions, while also possessing a wealth of tennis experience. The state opposite to this is called the Asura Path—very few professional players can even use that state, and I don't know much about it...
Inoue Shu shook his head at the end. However, compared to the Asura Path, quite a few professional players can use the Selfish State. It's just that because this technique has severe side effects—providing the player with immense strength while also imposing a heavy load—most professionals who know how to use it choose not to.
Is it because this technique places a massive burden on the player's body just like Kamishiro's?
Duka Oda asked softly, thoroughly captivated.
To be precise, compared to Kamishiro's physical burden, the Selfish State merely consumes a tremendous amount of the player's stamina. Because the player acts without thinking, executing unconscious counterattacks based on actual physical experience, the techniques utilized during these counters are the ultimate moves of other tennis players they have previously witnessed. That is why it consumes so much stamina. It is also a state that can only be reached by breaking through one's own limits.
To be able to counterattack without even thinking...
Duka Oda felt it sounded somewhat mystical, but seeing that Inoue Shu didn't seem to be joking, she chose to believe it. She looked at Kunimitsu Tezuka on the court, who appeared to be enveloped in a white glow—was he... truly operating without consciousness, relying purely on subconscious control to play tennis now?
The Splitting Power Smash isn't working anymore...
Kohei Tanaka remarked.
It's not that the Splitting Power Smash has failed; rather, the burden on Kamishiro's body is simply growing too great.
Kajimoto Takahisa said, watching Reiji Kamishiro's somewhat weakened state.
The white glow radiating from that guy... What on earth is going on?
Yohei Tanaka asked.
The Selfish State, an extremely elevated realm in a tennis player's career. To think Tezuka has managed to reach it...
Kajimoto Takahisa explained to the former.
The pinnacle of supreme hard work, also known as the pinnacle of self-motivated mastery. If the Realm of Selflessness is compared to a silent flame, then supreme hard work is like magma with greater power and higher temperature. Tezuka can now concentrate his entire body's strength onto a single point to double his power, and he can also return the opponent's incoming ball with doubled trajectory, destructive force, spin, and everything else multiplied.
Inoue Shu stated.
Coupled with the fact that Kamishiro's body has already reached its limit, and Tezuka is returning the shots with doubled force, the outcome of this match is already decided.
Listening to Inoue Shu's explanation, Saori Shiba removed her gaze from her camera and said with a hint of regret, It would be great if the white glow emanating from Tezuka were real. Then I could have captured it with my camera.