King of Tennis (POT)

The entire court was bathed in a blinding white light. Everyone's vision was overwhelmed by the dazzling radiance, leaving nothing but a sea of silver in their sight. 

"W-what just happened?!" 

This thought flashed through countless minds. 

However, their vision was completely obscured by the overwhelming light, making it impossible to see what was truly happening. 

Only a few, like Yukimura and Tezuka, managed to catch a glimpse of Ishikawa moving in the instant the light flashed. 

Boom! 

Almost simultaneously with the light flooding the court, a loud explosion reached everyone's ears. 

"It's coming!!!" 

On the other side of the court, Echizen braced himself, fully alert. In his state of Perfect Harmony, his mind was razor-sharp. He caught a faint glimmer of light and immediately sprang into action. 

"Ishikawa, you're truly strong!" 

Echizen stepped forward confidently, swinging his racket toward the glimmer of light, preparing to strike. 

Boom! 

But in the next moment, the ground beside him erupted without warning. Under Echizen's shocked gaze, the ground seemed to collapse under some indescribable force, sinking abruptly. 

Crash! 

A terrifying crater appeared before him! 

Thumb-sized cracks spread rapidly, sending chills down Echizen's spine. 

"Did I misjudge?" 

Staring at the massive crater, doubt crept into Echizen's mind. 

Whoosh! 

At the same time, the glimmer of light he had spotted earlier burst into full view. 

In that moment, Echizen realized the truth. 

The tennis ball had been split in two by Ishikawa's shot. 

What had landed was only half of the ball. 

"But…" 

"How is it so fast?" 

"I didn't even notice it?!" 

Everything had happened in the blink of an eye. 

Echizen quickly made a decision. His gaze sharpened, locking onto the ball as he raised his racket to strike. 

He didn't know how the referee would rule this. 

At this point, he couldn't possibly return both halves of the ball. But Echizen wasn't about to give up. 

Even if the referee ultimately called him out, Echizen was determined to return the other half of the ball. 

Swish! 

Immediately, he pushed his Muga no Kyouchi to its limits. The light of Perfect Harmony enveloped the ball as he swung his racket. 

Crack… crack… 

But in the next moment, Echizen's eyes widened in shock as the light of Perfect Harmony began to fracture like a mirror. 

"H-how is this possible?!" 

Echizen's heart raced. 

But his instincts, honed by years of training akin to a professional player, kicked in. He tightened his grip on the racket, determined to return the ball. 

Thud! 

However, Ishikawa's shot was too sharp. 

The moment the ball made contact with the racket, Echizen's spare racket—the one he had switched to multiple times—was sliced clean through. 

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Echizen caught a glimpse of a dangerous, sword-wielding shadow flickering behind Ishikawa. 

"W-what is that?!" 

Whoosh! 

At that moment, the ball shot forward, carrying a fierce whirlwind. A faint breeze brushed past Echizen's hair, causing a strand of his dark green locks to flutter to the ground. 

Boom!!! 

Before Echizen could react, a deafening explosion erupted behind him. 

The solid concrete wall was blown apart by the other half of the ball, leaving a massive hole as rubble cascaded down. 

The shockwave from the explosion sent dust and debris flying toward the stands, causing panic among the spectators. 

"E-Echizen?!" 

As the blinding light began to fade, Momoshiro and the others finally caught sight of the court. Their eyes darted anxiously toward Echizen. 

What they saw was a face once full of confidence and vigor, now drenched in sweat and filled with shock and fear. 

"What on earth happened…?!" 

When the full scene on the court came into view, everyone gasped in disbelief. 

"Gulp." 

On the referee's chair, the young official swallowed hard, staring at the black-haired boy standing calmly at the baseline, racket in hand, as if he were some kind of monster. 

"G-game over," the referee announced, his voice trembling slightly. "Hyotei Academy's Ishikawa Shin wins, 6-0!" 

[Ding!] 

Almost simultaneously, a notification sounded in Ishikawa's mind. 

[Player has defeated Boss-level opponent Echizen Ryoma. 4000 experience points awarded.] 

[Player has obtained Echizen Ryoma's special ability: Perfect Harmony of the Three Realms (Light of Restraint · Radiance of Fortitude).] 

"Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!" 

In the next moment, the equally stunned Hyotei team erupted into cheers. "The winner is Hyotei! The victor is Ishikawa! The winner is Hyotei! The victor is Ishikawa!" 

What started as a chant from two hundred people quickly grew as the crowd, equally awed by Ishikawa's display of power, joined in, shouting his name. 

"It's over…" 

On the Seigaku side, the team hung their heads. 

Though they had known this outcome was likely, facing it head-on was still hard to accept. 

"6-0…" 

Inui and Fuji exchanged bitter smiles. 

Even the power of Perfect Harmony hadn't been enough to turn the tide. 

"That guy is too strong!" 

"His tennis has surpassed all other middle schoolers… maybe even reached a professional level!" 

"Professional?" 

"No way, right?" 

Representatives from various schools murmured among themselves. 

Opinions varied, but one thing was clear: everyone was in awe of Ishikawa's overwhelming strength. 

On the tennis court, strength reigns supreme, and the victor is king! 

And Ishikawa, who led Hyotei to claim this year's national championship, was undoubtedly the strongest middle schooler of them all! 

"It's over." 

On the Rikkai side, Yukimura adjusted the jacket draped over his shoulders and turned to leave with his team. 

As he left, he glanced at Ishikawa, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and admiration. 

The old era, centered around him, had ended. Now, a new era, centered around Ishikawa, was beginning. 

Tezuka, Shiraishi, Chitose, and Tachibana all shared similar thoughts. 

Unfortunately, they wouldn't be part of this new era. 

Whether that was a blessing or a curse, they couldn't say. 

"The match is over." 

"Hyotei Academy wins three matches to two, claiming the national championship." 

With that, the referee announced the final result. 

The entire arena was once again filled with the cheers of Hyotei supporters. 

The Hyotei regulars were ecstatic. 

Even the usually composed captain, Atobe, and Coach Tachibana couldn't help but smile. 

They had won! 

From this day forward, the title of national champion no longer belonged to Rikkai, who had achieved back-to-back victories. It belonged to Hyotei! 

And everyone believed that under Ishikawa's leadership, Hyotei would achieve an unprecedented three-peat! 

"What an incredible match." 

Watching the two boys retreat to their respective teams, Inui couldn't help but marvel. "As someone once said, the old era of Atobe and Tezuka has ended. The future belongs to Ishikawa and Echizen!" 

He couldn't wait to see how these two would clash in the years to come. 

Hyotei, Seigaku, Rikkai, Shitenhoji, and the rising powerhouse Fudomine—the national tournaments over the next year or two promised to be thrilling. 

Just thinking about it filled him with excitement. 

"The old era has ended?" 

Hearing Inui's words, Saeki raised an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips. 

As a coach for the U-17 team, he knew better. 

For these middle schoolers, the so-called "old era" wasn't truly over. In fact, they hadn't even touched the higher levels of tennis that represented the world stage. 

But Saeki saw no need to explain this here. 

Instead, he made a mental note to carefully study how to select middle schoolers for the U-17 team. 

Players like Ishikawa, Echizen, and Tezuka wereabsolutely cannot be missed. 

With that, he turned to the middle-aged man in the black robe beside him. "Mr. Nanjiro, it was a pleasure watching this match with you. And Mr. Inui, Ms. Aoi, goodbye!" 

With that, he left. 

His steps were quick and purposeful, as if he were in a hurry. 

"Huh? What's with him?" 

Aoi watched him leave, puzzled. 

Nanjiro chuckled. "I'd guess he has something important to attend to." 

"But…" 

Aoi frowned. "If it was that important, why would he spend over two hours watching the match?" 

"Who knows?" 

Nanjiro shrugged. "Maybe it's something related to tennis, right?" 

With that, he smiled meaningfully, his gaze settling on Ishikawa, Akutsu, and the others on the court. 

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