"You're amazing!!! Glasses guy! Only a match like this can get me fired up. Next, I'm going to keep coming at you!" Kintarō shouted excitedly, not caring at all about the point he just lost.
He tossed the ball high again, spun in place a few times, and flames suddenly burst from his racket as he smashed the falling ball down hard.
"Watch this! Super Megaton Deluxe Volcano Serve!" Kintarō yelled as he struck the serve.
The ball turned into a blazing mass like molten lava, crashing toward Mitsuya's half. The instant it landed, sparks exploded like a volcanic eruption. But in the next moment, a racket cut it off before it could fly out.
"Launch angle 136.4! As long as I predict this value, everything else is just an illusion. This serve is a bit too flashy, you know~" Mitsuya said gently as he intercepted the ball.
He sent the ball right back. Kintarō ignored Mitsuya's words, rolled, leapt forward, and spun with the momentum to slam the return.
"Crosscourt probability 83%! Your shots are too easy to read, Kintarō~" Mitsuya had already moved to the landing spot in advance. With a backhand slice, he canceled out the power completely, making the ball float lightly toward the net.
Kintarō didn't hesitate. He dashed forward, leapt, and before the ball could drop, he swung his racket down fiercely.
But just as the ball crossed the net, a racket appeared suddenly in its path. The racket tilted slightly, and the ball deflected at a sharp angle, bouncing at Kintarō's feet before shooting out past the sideline.
"0-30!"
"Probability of reaching the spot in advance: 99%. Probability of an unconscious half volley: 91%. Like I said, your shots are too easy to see through!" Mitsuya said calmly after scoring.
"Next time I'll hit back even faster!" Kintarō grinned at Mitsuya, his tone firm. The blue light around him shone brighter.
"Teni Muhō, huh? Funny, I've never run tests against it before~" Mitsuya murmured as he watched the glow radiating from Kintarō.
Kintarō served another Volcano Serve, but Mitsuya had already seen through it. Using data calculations, he countered easily. Kintarō didn't back down, charging into a fierce assault.
The rally heated up, but Kintarō's natural, instinctive movements seemed useless here. Mitsuya predicted every shot in advance, leaving Kintarō reminded of the training matches he'd played against Akashi.
As time passed, Kintarō began to fall behind. No matter what shot he used, Mitsuya dealt with it easily, while any small slip on Kintarō's part was instantly punished for points.
"0-40!"
"Game! Japan Team! 1-0!"
"Impossible! Kintarō's power is way beyond normal, it's not something that can be returned so easily! And why isn't the glow of Ten'i working?" Shiraishi exclaimed from the middle school players' seats, disbelief written all over his face.
"Mitsuya's physical strength may not be below Kintarō's," Akashi said slowly from the coaches' bench.
"To fully support the use of data, you need a strong body! Akuto-nii's physical strength is way above mine!" Yanagi Renji opened his eyes and spoke, his tone carrying respect.
"Yeah, I don't know exactly how Mitsuya-senpai trains, but his physical stats are definitely far above normal!" Inui Sadaharu added in agreement.
On court, Kintarō's face grew more serious. From that one game alone, he understood this glasses-wearing guy wasn't simple at all. This match would let him unleash everything.
"I really like what Renji and Inui just said. The essence of Teni Muhō is entropy reduction. The glow's erosion, as they put it, forces entropy to rise inside the body in a short time, breaking the balance of power and leading to loss of control!"
"And resisting the glow is simple. Just keep your own increase and decrease of entropy balanced. The easiest way is explosive bursts. Ishida Gin and Kirihara Akaya, who just played, should both be able to do that!" Mitsuya explained calmly, smiling as he revealed why he could resist the glow.
"Actually, ever since I learned Tezuka-kun opened Teni Muhō, I've been studying how to deal with it. But until now I didn't have a proper subject to test it on. Tezuka-kun didn't use it back at the camp. Thanks to you showing up today, Kintarō, my theory has finally been proven!" Mitsuya finished explaining and then thanked Kintarō with a smile.
Even though Kintarō didn't understand a single thing the older guy across from him was saying, that didn't stop his excitement from growing. Seeing Kintarō's impatient expression, Mitsuya could only shake his head helplessly and turn toward the baseline.
Just as Mitsuya picked up a ball to serve, a deep brown aura rose again around Kintarō's body. Clearly, he had entered Wild Instinct, relying on sharp intuition to react faster to returns and shots.
"That really brings back memories~" Mitsuya muttered, glancing at Akutsu by the sideline before tossing the ball high.
With the sound of impact, the ball shot over the net at incredible speed, aiming right at Kintarō's left ankle—the spot he hated the most. But in Wild Instinct, Kintarō reacted instantly.
He leapt back, flipped backward, and swung hard as the bounce carried the ball right into his strike zone, blasting it back with force.
"Intuition is a double-edged sword, you know~" Mitsuya slid into place ahead of the ball and flicked it upward. The ball soared high into the air.
Kintarō spun in place instinctively. A towering whirlwind formed in the court, drawing the ball higher and higher. When it reached the top, Kintarō burst out from the whirlwind, racket raised, and smashed down fiercely.
"Try this! Super Ultra Great Delicious Mountain Storm!!!" Kintarō shouted in midair as he struck.
A blazing red light instantly covered the entire court, blocking most of the spectators' vision. No one noticed that Mitsuya had already moved while Kintarō was spinning.
As the red glow faded, all eyes turned to the court. Mitsuya stood at the net, a cloud of dust behind him. A smoking ball rolled slowly off his racket, dropped against the net, and fell to the ground.
"15-0!"
"Intuition can sometimes nullify data. But once you understand its essence, it becomes even easier to predict!" Mitsuya said as he turned back toward the baseline.
"Wha… what? I don't get it at all!" Kikumaru shouted from the stands, looking completely lost.
"So that's it. Intuition lets Kintarō rely on his heightened senses to return shots. But if Mitsuya-senpai back-calculates his own data through deduction, it actually makes Kintarō's actions easier to read—even guide!" Inui explained after hearing Kikumaru's outburst.
"But calculations like that are only possible for us when we synchronize our data! How did Akuto-senpai manage this?!" Yanagi said, shock heavy in his voice.
"Who told you Mitsuya was calculating on the spot?" Akashi spoke up directly. He already had a good idea how Mitsuya was doing it.
The others all looked confused again, but Yanagi and Inui exchanged a stunned glance, as though realizing something.
When it came to Data Tennis, there were many representatives in the original work, but neither Inui nor Yanagi were truly among the top. Even France's Jonathan wasn't. Only three people could really take Data Tennis to its peak.
Mitsuya was one. The other two were Australia's strategist Noah Dorgias and Germany's Q.P. All three had the ability to simulate every possible development of a match before it even began.
The flow of this match between Kintarō and Mitsuya had probably been within Mitsuya's predictions from the start. In other words, Kintarō was already moving within Mitsuya's control.
Just as Akashi expected, even with both Ten'i and Wild Instinct active, Kintarō struggled against Mitsuya, who could anticipate everything and matched his physical abilities.
"30-0!"
"30-15!"
"40-15!"
"Game! Japan Team! 2-0!"
Kintarō quickly lost the second game. Even though he managed to grab one point with a sudden burst, it made no difference. In fact, that point might have been within Mitsuya's expectations too.
"You've played Akashi-kun many times, haven't you?" Mitsuya suddenly asked after taking the game.
"Yeah, I often go to him for practice matches. Why?" Kintarō replied honestly, not understanding why Mitsuya was asking.
"You may not realize it, but because of Akashi-kun's special ability, whenever you're completely under your opponent's control, your body instinctively reacts with negativity," Mitsuya said seriously, his smile gone.