"This atmosphere…"
As the sharp aura radiating from Ishikawa spread, the surrounding spectators clearly felt a heavy sense of oppression.
"Ishikawa, he's…?"
The Hyotei team members' eyelids twitched.
At this moment, they couldn't shake the feeling that the Ishikawa standing before them had become somewhat unfamiliar.
"Is that guy actually pissed off?"
The Higa Chuu players whispered among themselves.
Kai, looking rather surprised, remarked, "Looks like… Eishirou pulled it off?"
"Interesting."
Saotome, sitting on the bench, flashed a playful smirk. "At the end of the day, he's just a first-year rookie. A little provocation, and he's already rattled?"
As he spoke, he tapped his fingers on the bench, glancing at Kite.
"Hm?"
But when Saotome's gaze landed on his team's captain, his expression froze. "What's wrong with Kite?"
He'd been about to toss out a compliment or two, but then he noticed Kite's trembling.
"What's there to be scared of?"
Saotome frowned, clearly displeased. "If you don't even have this much guts, Kite, you're falling way short!"
**BAM!**
Moments later.
The fifth game.
Kite's fourth serve went out.
**BANG!**
But no one expected what came next.
Ishikawa's return was lightning-fast. Before Kite could even react, the tennis ball had already hit the ground, bounced, and slammed into the wall with a *thud*, spinning relentlessly.
"This…"
The referee was stunned, staring at the second ball that Hyotei's player had smashed into the wall, practically impossible to retrieve.
"Game!"
But he quickly nodded and announced, "Hyotei's Ishikawa, 5-0. Change courts!"
Afterward, the players switched sides.
The serve now belonged to Ishikawa.
"Phew…"
Kite, who'd been holding it in for so long, let out a heavy breath.
The atmosphere was suffocating.
No one could imagine the pressure he'd been under. That last return? He only realized what had happened *after* the ball hit the wall.
"No, I can't psych myself out."
Kite looked at the boy across the net, took a deep breath, and his gaze gradually hardened. "At the end of the day, this guy's just a first-year. No matter how strong he is, he doesn't play dirty like I do."
At that moment, Kite actually felt a twisted sense of relief, grateful that his opponent's moral compass seemed higher than his own.
**BAM!**
Just then, Ishikawa sent the ball over.
"Oh?"
Sensing the ball's slower speed, Kite blinked, then chuckled to himself. "As expected, he's just a kid. Doesn't even dare use the ball as a weapon… Too naive!"
Snapping out of it, Kite rallied, returning the ball with focus.
**SWISH!**
On the other side, Ishikawa chased down the ball. To everyone's shock, he flipped his racket upside down, gripping it in reverse. Then, aiming at the ball, he swung with a fierce snap.
**BAM!**
A crisp sound rang out.
The ball carved a vicious arc, landing on Kite's backhand side.
"Pirate's Horn?!"
Kite was stunned. He hadn't expected Ishikawa to replicate this shot just by watching Kai's match and figuring it out on his own.
"Too bad…"
A cold glint flashed in Kite's eyes. With a quick step, he darted to the ball's landing spot in an instant.
"Pirate's Horn doesn't work on me—huh?!"
Suddenly, the ball sped up.
After hitting the ground, it abruptly shot in the opposite direction. Under Kite's horrified gaze, it *pfft*—messed up his hairstyle.
**BAM!**
The ball slammed into the wall, spinning with a *whirr*.
"15-0!"
"ARGH!!!"
With his hairstyle ruined, Kite went berserk. "You little punk, you're DONE!!!"
The Higa Chuu players held their breath.
They all knew Kite spent nearly two hours perfecting his hair before every match. His hair was practically his second life.
Now, with it ruined, how could Kite *not* lose it?
"Is this his revenge?"
Kai took a deep breath, eyeing the calm Ishikawa with narrowed eyes. "If so, he's definitely succeeded. But… something feels off."
His gut told him things weren't that simple.
**BAM!**
At that moment, Ishikawa served again.
The frenzied Kite exploded into action, chasing the ball down. With a violent swing, he unleashed a ferocious *Big Viper* shot.
**WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!**
The ball zigzagged through the air, its next turn impossible to predict.
**SWISH!**
Yet Ishikawa didn't even glance at it. He raised his racket and, with a *BAM*, sent the ball flying back.
**WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!**
Shockingly, Ishikawa's return was also a *Big Viper*—and its spin was even sharper than Kite's.
"This guy…"
Sweat beaded on Kite's forehead as the ball closed in. His eyes darted, trying to track its landing spot.
**PFFT!**
Suddenly, the ball accelerated.
It hit the ground, bounced, and with a *CRACK*, shattered one side of Kite's glasses before ricocheting into the wall, spinning wildly.
"30-0!"
The referee called out, and the crowd was stunned.
Many realized Ishikawa was humiliating Kite. Looking at Kite—half his glasses broken, roaring like a madman—only confirmed it.
**BAM!**
Ishikawa shifted his serving position and fired off another ball. When Kite returned it, Ishikawa, with a backhand swing, unleashed yet another viciously spinning *Big Viper*.
**CRACK!**
This time, the other side of Kite's glasses shattered.
**WHIRR**
The ball hit the wall, spinning endlessly.
"40-0!"
"ISHIKAWA SHIN!!!"
Kite was beyond enraged, bellowing like he wanted to tear Ishikawa apart.
**WHOOSH!**
But Ishikawa ignored him, tossing the ball high once more.
**SWISH!**
He leaped into the air.
Raising his racket, he smashed the ball down.
**BANG!**
A thunderous sound echoed.
The ball plummeted like a cannonball.
"Big Bang!!!"
The name of this ferocious serve flashed through the minds of both Hyotei and Higa Chuu players.
**THUD!**
The ball hit the ground.
Then, it rocketed straight toward Kite.
"He added topspin?!"
Kai's eyes widened. "His serving skills are *that* terrifying?!"
On the court, Kite's face paled as he felt the ball hurtling toward him. He knew if that *Big Bang* hit him, the consequences would be brutal.
There was no time to dodge.
With no other choice, Kite swung his racket up, shielding himself.
**CRACK!**
The next second, a sickening snap of breaking bone rang out. Kite's face twisted in agony.
"My… my bone… it's broken?!"
With both sides of his glasses shattered, Kite couldn't even see his opponent clearly. Yet, deep down, a strange sense of relief washed over him.
It was finally over.
Never before had this Higa Chuu captain felt such relief from losing a match—and being utterly shut out.
"It's not over yet!"
But then, Hirakoba's voice sent a chill down Kite's spine.
**WHOOSH!**
The ball, which had struck Kite's racket, bounced into the air.
Chinen gasped in disbelief. "E-Eishirou hit it back?"
"No, that's not it!"
Kai stared in awe at the figure leaping into the air, his voice trembling. "He… did it on purpose!"
Not only had Ishikawa applied intense topspin to the ball, but he'd also calculated Kite's reaction, ensuring the ball would rebound off Kite's racket to the perfect height for a smash.
"Ishikawa Shin…"
Kai and Hirakoba now looked at the boy raising his racket for a smash with a mix of awe and fear.
Before, they'd thought he was some harmless, goody-two-shoes kid. Now, they realized how wrong they'd been.
**BANG!**
Suddenly, Ishikawa's racket came down.
The ball rocketed to the ground like a missile, then shot upward with a *THUD*.
"This is…"
Blinded by his broken glasses, Kite vaguely sensed something hurtling toward him after hearing the ferocious smash. A primal sense of danger surged within him.
"Referee—"
Kite's face twisted as he opened his mouth to forfeit. But before he could finish, the ball *BAM*—slammed into his abdomen. The terrifying force sent him flying.
**BOOM!**
Like a kite with its strings cut, Kite crashed into the wall.
Above his head, on both sides, and below his legs, tennis balls were lodged like nails, pinning him in place.
"Could it be…?"
The crowd snapped out of their shock, hearts pounding.
"I see."
Nio, observing Kite's predicament and the five balls pinning him like a wooden cross, took a deep breath. "Those earlier shots… they were Ishikawa setting up his cross!"
**THUD**
The ball that had struck Kite's abdomen fell, rolling to a stop at the feet of Higa Chuu's coach, Saotome.
"H-How could this…?"
The once-menacing, ruthless middle-aged man now shrank back like a terrified quail, trembling uncontrollably.
*Gulp.*
Every Higa Chuu player instinctively swallowed hard.
Too brutal!
Too terrifying!
Even Kai, Hirakoba, and Chinen now looked at Ishikawa with eyes full of fear, as if he were a *maou*—a demon king.
"The match is over."
The referee, also swallowing hard, took a deep breath and shouted, "Hyotei Academy's Ishikawa Shin wins, 6-0!"
Silence fell over the court.
Neither Higa Chuu's players nor the random spectators dared utter a word, their hearts heavy with dread.
Even Hyotei's team held back their usual cheers, afraid of provoking the fearsome figure on the court.
"Remember this."
In the suffocating silence, Ishikawa turned his head, staring coldly at Kite, who hung limply on the wall, unconscious. "This is just your first lesson. Cross me again, and it won't be this easy."
"And…"
He glanced at Kai and the others, who looked anxious but too scared to speak. "I held back. He's not dead."
With that, he turned and walked off the court, leaving the crowd in awe.
"This… concludes the match."
The referee, still shaken, glanced at the coaches and players from both teams and announced, "Hyotei Academy wins all five matches and advances to the next round!"
Even so, Hyotei's cheering squad didn't erupt into their usual fervor. Everyone's emotions were still trapped in that moment when Ishikawa had pinned Kite to the wall.
Even when Ishikawa returned to the Hyotei bench, the looks from Sakaki Tarou and Atobe had changed.
In that moment, he had undeniably become Hyotei's true core.
**(Chapter End)**