On the other side, the match between Seigaku and Shishigaku was about to enter the singles two round. Seigaku had already won the singles three and doubles two matches.
Fuji Shūsuke was up for singles two, so Seigaku reaching the semifinals was basically guaranteed. They had concentrated their firepower in the first three matches to take down Shishigaku in one go.
As for the match between Rikkai and Yamabuki, there wasn't much suspense. Sengoku ran into Sanada in singles three, and no matter how hard Sengoku tried, he still lost. In doubles one, Tsuchidō and his partner were initially on equal footing with Marui and Jackal.
But once Marui and Jackal activated Synchronization, Tsuchidō was clearly overwhelmed. The situation looked bad. Although Minami and Higashikata were giving it their all, the outcome didn't seem promising.
In the Hyōtei vs. Shitenhōji match, Zaizen Hikaru was crushed by Ishida Gin in singles three. Honestly, unless your five attributes vastly outclass Ishida Gin's or you pull off something from another dimension, you're more likely to lose.
In fact, one person in Shitenhōji was especially suited to deal with Ishida Gin—that was Oshitari Kenya. Unfortunately, he was currently playing doubles with Ishida Gin against Shishido Ryō and Ōtori Chōtarō.
Right now, the score was tied at 2-2, but what surprised the Hyōtei players was that Oshitari Kenya could actually return Ōtori Chōtarō's new heavy cannon serve.
In game five, Ishida Gin was serving. His power stat was already over 6.5, reaching national-level peak strength. Unfortunately, like Ishida Tetsu, his speed lagged behind at only 2, with average technique and stamina.
He was paired with Kenya to compensate for that lack of speed. Having him play singles two like in the original setup would be a joke. The most ridiculous part was him losing in power to Kawamura Takashi.
Standing on the baseline, Ishida Gin tossed the ball high. The muscles in his arm bulged as he smashed the ball with a Hadoukyu Serve. The ball turned into a shockwave of kinetic energy and blasted toward the opponent's side.
The Ishida brothers had a strong bond now and improved together by sharing techniques. Of course, Ishida Tetsu never taught him the Beast Aura, since that was Tachibana Kippei's signature move. He only passed it on to Ishida Tetsu out of respect for Fudomine.
Still, Ishida Gin had more talent than his younger brother. The Hadoukyu Serve barely burdened his arm. He could use it throughout the entire match with no problem. Its power was on par with the Level Twenty Hadoukyu.
Ōtori Chōtarō dashed to the landing spot and held his racket with both hands to meet the incoming ball. The moment the ball made contact, he felt like his racket was about to fly out of his hands.
Gritting his teeth, Ōtori tried to hold on, but the power of Ishida Gin's Hadoukyu Serve was just too much. In the end, he failed to return it. Though the racket stayed in his hands, the ball didn't make it over the net.
"15-0!"
Atobe frowned from the sidelines. Despite the tied score, it was clear that Shishido Ryō and Ōtori had no answers for Ishida Gin's Hadoukyu Serve. Plus, Kenya's defensive coverage was far beyond what they expected before the match.
"30-0!"
"40-0!"
"Game! Shitenhōji! 3-2!"
With three consecutive Hadoukyu Serves, Shitenhōji held their service game. Ōtori's arms were nearly numb—the power was beyond his limit.
Game six was Shishido Ryō's service game. Right now, he was troubled. He and Ōtori had focused too much on Ishida Gin's Hadoukyu Serve and had overlooked Oshitari Kenya's movements.
In terms of speed alone, Kenya had completely surpassed Shishido, and he was even faster than Kamio Akira. That expanded his coverage in doubles significantly and made it easier to set up shots for Ishida Gin's Hadoukyu Serve.
Shishido served right away. While Ishida Gin wasn't quick, he could still reach serves like this. He moved to the landing spot and launched a powerful return. The ball blasted across the net, cutting through the air like a shockwave.
Shishido reacted instantly, flashing to the ball's location. Holding the racket with both hands, he swung at the ball just as it bounced, preventing it from unleashing its full power.
"Super High-Speed Half Volley!"
Unfortunately, Kenya's reaction speed was freakishly fast. His movement left trailing afterimages as he zipped to the ball before it even hit the ground and returned it cleanly.
After that, Shishido Ryō and Kenya battled it out at the net, both sides exchanging blow for blow without backing down. But just as Shishido hit a down-the-line shot, Kenya suddenly flashed aside. Behind him, Ishida Gin was already in position for a Hadoukyu.
Facing the incoming ball, Ishida Gin's muscles swelled, and his right arm expanded dramatically. With a booming swing, he smashed his racket into the ball. With a thunderous sound, the tennis ball turned into a violent wave of kinetic force and blasted forward.
"Seventieth Form: Hadoukyu!"
Ōtori Chōtarō and Shishido Ryō exchanged a quick glance, then tacitly chose not to go for the return. They knew full well they couldn't return a shot like that with their current strength. Trying to force it would only risk injury.
"0-15!"
Ishida Gin didn't mind their choice at all. In fact, this was part of their match strategy: once Ishida Gin unleashed a Hadoukyu, the opponent would only have two options—either give up the point or risk taking damage. Either way, Shitenhōji had the upper hand.
For the record, Ishida Gin had now developed over two hundred forms of the Hadoukyu. Anything below Form One Hundred posed no burden to him at all. If he went up against Kawamura Takashi now, even Kawamura's tenacity wouldn't give him a shot at victory.
The match continued. Because of their fear of Ishida Gin's Hadoukyu, Shishido and Ōtori played stiffly, unwilling to take risks on many opportunity shots. While the score wasn't one-sided, the overall momentum clearly favored Shitenhōji.
"0-30!"
"15-30!"
"15-40!"
"30-40!"
"Game! Shitenhōji! 4-2! Switch courts!"
After a brief break, both teams switched sides. Game seven was Oshitari Kenya's service game. But just before the match resumed, the two from Shitenhōji delivered a heavy blow to Hyōtei.
Kenya crouched down and slowly removed the ankle weights from his legs, tossing them aside. Ishida Gin took off his shirt and detached the weighted gear strapped to his torso.
It turned out they'd been wearing weights the whole match. Shishido's expression darkened instantly, and even Ōtori grew visibly tense and serious.
After removing the weights, Kenya bounced lightly on the spot, feeling much lighter. Ishida Gin also loosened up his neck and shoulders, adjusting to the unburdened state.
As the umpire began urging them to start, Kenya finally pulled out a tennis ball. In the next second, his figure split into three—center, left, and right—all simultaneously mimicking the same service motion.
Though each shadow moved identically, it completely disrupted Shishido's ability to judge the serve's path. Even the umpire was stunned, blinking several times to confirm he wasn't seeing things.
When Kenya finally served, the center and left shadows vanished. The ball shot out at blazing speed toward the back right corner of the opposite court.
Luckily, Shishido reacted immediately, sprinting full tilt to his right. He barely intercepted the ball before it bounced out of bounds and followed up with a sharp return, unleashing the full power of his half volley.
Seeing the ball fly his way, Ishida Gin dashed at top speed toward the landing spot. He only just arrived after the bounce.
Shishido and Ōtori both sighed in relief. In that position, Ishida Gin shouldn't be able to hit a Hadoukyu. But the next instant, he swung—and the ball blasted across the court in a glowing wave.
"Hadoukyu!"
Without the weights, Ishida Gin no longer needed to charge up his shots. He could now launch Hadoukyus in almost any stance. Caught completely unprepared, Ōtori's racket was struck clean out of his hands.
"15-0!"
Actually, Ōtori could normally return a standard Hadoukyu. But this time, Ishida Gin caught him so off guard that he didn't even have time to react—costing them the point outright.