For the third serve, Oshitari didn't use either the Tannhauser Serve or the Disappearing Serve, since he knew those moves were useless against Koharu. Instead, he went with a high-speed diagonal serve.
Koharu chased the ball down and returned it with a drive shot. Mukahi leapt at the net and intercepted it, immediately sending a sharp angle return to the baseline.
The rally kicked into high speed from there. Oshitari quickly noticed that most of the returns were being aimed at Mukahi's side. It was obvious they were trying to wear him out quickly.
Realizing this, Oshitari suddenly rushed the net. Just before Mukahi could intercept the ball that Yūji had returned, Oshitari stepped in and hit a lob with his backhand.
Across the net, Yūji's eyes lit up. Just as Oshitari was preparing to use Brown Bear Drop, Yūji did something that caught both Mukahi and Oshitari completely off guard.
Hitōji Yūji
Midair, Yūji suddenly flipped 180 degrees, mimicking Mukahi's earlier move exactly. Under their stunned gazes, he used Moon Return.
The ball flew past Oshitari's side, smashed into the backcourt, and bounced out of bounds. Even Oshitari couldn't react in time.
"15-30!"
From the sidelines, Zaizen Hikaru smiled. Finally, Yūji had helped him get back at Kabaji for mimicking him earlier. Now it was Hyōtei's turn to experience what it felt like.
The match heated up after that. Even though Hyōtei had the overall edge in strength, Yūji's constant mimicry and Koharu's exaggerated flirting seriously threw off Oshitari and Mukahi's rhythm.
"30-30!"
"30-40!"
"Game! Shitenhōji! 1-0!"
With all their disruptions, Koharu and Yūji took the first game, which made Mukahi furious. But unfortunately, none of what they were doing violated the rules, so Mukahi didn't even have grounds to complain.
Unlike Mukahi's frustration, Oshitari stayed calm. He knew this was clearly the opponent's strategy. And judging by Mukahi's current state, there was no way they could sync up.
To synchronize, both players needed mutual trust and aligned resolve. But Mukahi was clearly too distracted thinking about how to crush Konjiki Koharu. There was no way he'd reach synchro anytime soon.
The real issue was Mukahi's unstable mentality. He couldn't handle even mild provocation. The Mutsu twins, for example, could sync even under these conditions. Sure, being twins helped, but their naturally cold personalities also played a big role.
The second game was Koharu's serve. Right before serving, he looked at Mukahi across the net and said:
"Mukahi Gakuto, third-year student of Hyōtei Academy Middle School. Favorite foods: French fried dishes and natto. Preferred tennis shoe brand: K.SWISS. Racket brand: BRIDGESTONE. Best subjects: chemistry, English, PE. Worst subjects: politics and economics!"
Mukahi froze. The guy was almost spot on. Even Oshitari didn't know about his love for natto, but Koharu had dug it all up.
"What's your point? Just trying to show off your intel-gathering skills?" Mukahi snapped.
"No~ That's just how much I care about my darling!" Koharu replied coyly.
"Thinking about cheating again? You bastard, Koharu!" Yūji chimed in perfectly.
Oshitari felt a sinking dread. Sure enough, Mukahi completely lost it. He started swinging his racket around wildly, ignoring every warning Oshitari shouted at him.
Seeing Mukahi like this, Koharu smirked slyly, tossed the ball, and served. Mukahi didn't think—he leapt straight to the landing point and smashed the ball as hard as he could, venting all his anger into the swing.
With Mukahi out of control, Koharu started dominating. Even when Oshitari tried to step in, Mukahi kept intercepting most of the returns, leaving Oshitari helpless.
Hyōtei slowly started to lose ground. Shitenhōji's duo, with their flawless teamwork and well-timed antics, steadily racked up the score.
"Game! Shitenhōji! 2-0!"
The third game was Mukahi's serve, but nothing changed on court. Koharu was still pulling Mukahi along by the nose, causing Atobe and Sakaki Tarō on the sidelines to frown deeply.
Oshitari kept trying to intercept, but Mukahi was too fired up. He ignored everything and just kept hammering the ball across the net.
"Game! Shitenhōji! 3-0! Change court!"
As a result, Shitenhōji won another game. The scale of victory had completely tipped in their favor, but luckily, the match entered a break.
As Mukahi and Oshitari walked off court, Kabaji came up behind Mukahi and dumped a bottle of ice water straight onto his head, making him jump up with a start.
"So cold! What the hell, Kabaji!" Mukahi snapped, irritated.
"Have you calmed down now? That match just now was terrible, Gakuto!" Atobe said coldly.
"Ato… Atobe! I…" Mukahi was left speechless when he saw Atobe's expression.
"Get your head back in the game! You were completely unflamboyant just now! Right, Kabaji?" Atobe said flatly, eyes locked on him.
"Fsshh!" Kabaji responded with his usual deadpan tone.
"Tch~ fine, I got it!" Mukahi had already cooled down by this point. Thinking back to how he acted earlier, he realized he really did lose control.
Meanwhile, Sakaki Tarō was on the side quietly offering Oshitari his opinion and some useful strategies. Oshitari listened silently, nodding from time to time.
The break was over quickly. After switching sides, the match resumed. Koharu and Yūji remained just as clingy as before, completely ignoring the awkward glances from everyone around them.
The fourth game was Yūji's serve. But just as he was about to serve, a milky-white aura suddenly rose from Oshitari and Mukahi, connecting the two of them. Their pupils both turned a faint gold.
"Synchro!"
Koharu and Yūji exchanged a tense look, but quickly reverted to their usual careless expressions. Yūji served the ball, and Oshitari rushed to the landing point, returning it with a powerful Jack Knife.
Koharu dashed in to intercept. Though he used his technique to reduce the ball's force, his hands still went numb from the shock. The ball floated high into the air.
Oshitari stepped up to the net. Mukahi moved aside just in time, giving him space. Oshitari leapt high and smashed the ball down hard. It slammed into the handle of Yūji's racket, knocking it out of his hand and bouncing back into the air.
By then, Oshitari had already jumped again. He hit the ball with another powerful smash, and it shot past Koharu and Yūji, landing in the backcourt and bouncing out. Koharu was still numb and couldn't recover in time.
"Rondo Towards Destruction!"
"0-15!"
Oshitari and Mukahi, now fully synchronized, played with flawless coordination. Koharu couldn't provoke Mukahi anymore, and Yūji's mimicry had no effect—Oshitari and Mukahi didn't need to speak to communicate anymore.
"Game! Hyōtei Academy! 3-1!"
Oshitari and Mukahi quickly took the fourth game. On the sidelines, Atobe was smiling again. Once these two got into form, Hyōtei's chances of winning shot up.
Koharu and Yūji realized they needed a new tactic. In the fifth game, they started getting intimately coordinated—literally. They kept touching each other, constantly bumping and brushing, making Oshitari and Mukahi visibly uncomfortable.
And because Synchro allowed them to share what they saw, both took double the mental damage. Even Oshitari started to crack. Koharu and Yūji took advantage and scored several points.
"Game! Shitenhōji! 4-1!"
But then Oshitari activated Closed Eyes. He shut down all emotional fluctuation. Mukahi closed his eyes completely, entrusting everything to Oshitari's lead.
That made Koharu and Yūji's comic antics useless. With the difference in strength, not even Koharu's high IQ could turn the match around.
"Game! 6-4! Match over! Winner: Hyōtei Academy!"
In the end, Oshitari and Mukahi won the doubles match. Mukahi didn't collapse from exhaustion either, a sign of real improvement in his stamina.
The players from Shitenhōji all sighed inwardly. They had no chance of winning now. The final singles match would clearly feature Atobe.
And sure enough, the singles match was Atobe vs. Koishikawa Kenjirō. The outcome shocked no one—Atobe crushed him 6-0.
With that, the quarterfinals of this year's national tournament came to an end. The final four schools were all from the Kanto region, once again proving Kanto's overwhelming dominance.