"This is… Hyaku Ren Jitoku no Kiwami? That Echizen brat! He's way too careless!" Sanada frowned deeply on the sidelines. He knew well that Ryōma could open Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, but against a player like Tokugawa, who had already mastered alternate dimension techniques, daring to act so arrogant was reckless.
"Heh~ that little punk's bad habit is acting up again!" Atobe said dismissively, though Oshitari glanced at him with a strange expression.
"We've only had Akashi-kun and Tokugawa-senpai face off with him. Do you think Echizen can win?" Yukimura suddenly turned to ask Akashi in the coach's seat.
"From their exchanges just now, it won't be hard for Echizen to win—if Tokugawa is still the same Tokugawa from two days ago," Akashi replied calmly, though it seemed he also leaned toward Ryōma's victory.
While they discussed, Ryōma once again sent out a Twist Serve. Tokugawa leaned back slightly, his left hand whipping the racket forward, blasting the ball as a yellow beam. Its speed and power were clearly far beyond before.
Seeing that, Ryōma instantly directed his Muga no Kyōchi aura to his legs, sprinting to the drop point so fast that afterimages trailed behind him. His left hand, wrapped in aura, struck the ball hard as it bounced.
The ball's power, speed, and spin all doubled back at Tokugawa, but a ghostly violet glow flashed over Tokugawa's body, and before Ryōma could even see it clearly, the ball was already sent back.
The next second, the seven-colored radiance surrounding Ryōma shattered. A ball streaked past his side, slammed onto the baseline, and bounced out of court. Only then did Ryōma realize what happened, his eyes widening as he turned to see the ball still rolling outside the court.
"0-30!"
"This level of Muga technique won't work on me. Did you really think you could challenge the world with just that strength?" Tokugawa said coldly after scoring.
"Hehh~ so it still doesn't work? Since senpai says so, then let's really enjoy the fun of tennis!" Ryōma replied confidently.
As his words fell, dazzling azure light burst from his body. His hair flowed freely as he entered Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, countless blue particles swirling around him.
"You've got to be kidding me! Another first-year middle schooler who can open Ten'i Muhō? Give me a break already!" Omagari held his forehead, looking pained.
"Ten'i Muhō doesn't matter much to you anyway. You're just too lazy to deal with it, Ryūji," Tanegashima teased with a smile.
"I only have endless stamina, that's all. Ten'i Muhō is supposed to be a legendary technique!" Omagari ignored him, still pretending to look troubled.
"Tch~ what a load of crap about Ten'i Muhō. All these brats need to experience my punishment first, that's the only way to make them behave!" Tōno scoffed disdainfully.
Kunimitsu glanced at the arrogant Tōno but, unusually, said nothing. Still, his eyes carried a hint of danger as his gaze brushed over Tachibana Kippei and Chitose Senri.
"So this is your confidence, Echizen Ryōma?" Tokugawa looked calmly at Ryōma, who had entered Ten'i Muhō.
"Ne~ senpai, isn't it about time you used your Black Hole?" Ryōma asked proudly, resting his racket on his shoulder.
"Black Hole? I don't need that against you," Tokugawa answered flatly. Then suddenly, a layer of violet light surged from him, a vicious aura spreading outward.
"Divine Path of the Asura!"
"Oh? That guy Tokugawa actually entered through that gate too? Hahahaha! This is way too interesting!" Byoudouin burst out laughing when he saw Tokugawa awaken Divine Path of the Asura.
The reason Tokugawa, Kite, Krauser, and Sanada could so smoothly enter Divine Path of the Asura was actually thanks to Byoudouin. Two years ago, after losing to Oni, Byoudouin went through hellish training under Mifune.
Then, under Mifune's guidance, he sought out his own teacher—Rokkaku's Ojii. At that time, in order to grow stronger, Byoudouin humbly asked Ojii to teach him about Divine Path of the Asura.
Originally, Byoudouin wasn't suited to enter Divine Path of the Asura because his will was too unshakable. Neither the frustration of losing nor the joy of winning could easily sway him. In other words, he lacked the obsessive attachment Divine Path of the Asura demanded.
But precisely because of this overwhelming willpower, Ojii chose another path, teaching Byoudouin a different way to step onto Divine Path of the Asura. After long periods of meditation training, Byoudouin finally reached the cavern of Asura no Shindō.
When he reached the end of the cavern, a massive door blocked his path. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't open it, so he could only continue tempering his mind before the door.
In the end, Byoudouin used sheer, unyielding willpower to force the door open. But what he found beyond surprised him—countless branching paths, with no way to know where they led.
After thinking it over, Byoudouin picked up a stone and jammed the Divine Path of the Asura door shut completely, then casually chose a path to walk down. He did this so that those who came after could enter Divine Path of the Asura more easily.
Though in the end Byoudouin chose a dead-end path, when Ojii's spirit appeared as he reached the end, it told him that this road had no future. But Byoudouin didn't care—because he had already gained power that surpassed his limits.
It was also because Byoudouin opened a path for those who came later that Ojii so readily shared Divine Path of the Asura training methods with Akashi, since he knew the hardest barrier had already been cleared by Byoudouin.
There was one detail even Akashi didn't know. When Byoudouin forced open the gate of Divine Path of the Asura, that was exactly when the system granted Akashi the Divine Path of the Asura training method. Whether this was coincidence or fate, no one could say.
Now, on the court, the two who had opened their states were once again locked in a fierce rally. With the blessing of Ten'i Muhō, Ryōma's abilities had all improved noticeably, while Tokugawa's Divine Path of the Asura also boosted him and made him immune to Ten'i's radiance.
Dust swirled all around the court as their exchange reached a fever pitch. But with Emperor Eye, Akashi had already seen that Ryōma was slowly being pushed onto the back foot.
"0-40!"
"Game! Japan Team! 1-1!"
As expected, after a stretch of rallies, Tokugawa took the second game. Ryōma's expression turned increasingly serious—Tokugawa's strength was far beyond what he had expected.
The third game was Tokugawa's service game. Seeing the shift in Ryōma's face, Tokugawa had already decided to end it quickly. Ryōma's skill was already impressive in his eyes, but after his crushing defeat days earlier, Tokugawa had undergone a complete evolution—something no one else knew.
Tokugawa leaned back slightly, the violet glow in his left hand shining brighter, while his right hand tossed up the ball. With a sharp strike, the tennis ball streaked across with a trail of rainbow fire toward Ryōma's half.
"Rainbow Serve!"
Just as Ryōma tried to return it, hazy beams of rainbow light suddenly danced before his eyes, throwing off his movements. The ball slammed onto the baseline and bounced out of court.
"Ace! 15-0!"
"This is the real Rainbow Serve! Echizen Ryōma, you have no chance of winning this match!" Tokugawa said coldly.
"Oh? Interesting! But I'll break it on the next shot, senpai!" Ryōma shot back without backing down.
Ignoring him, Tokugawa swiftly unleashed a second Rainbow Serve. The rainbow-tailed ball shot straight at Ryōma, and once again the dazzling light warped his vision after it crossed the net.
But to Tokugawa's surprise, Ryōma suddenly closed his eyes, relying purely on sound and his own feel for the ball. He rushed to the drop point and, as it bounced, swung his racket cleanly, cracking the Rainbow Serve.
"So it's not that hard to break after all~ looks like you've still got a long way to go, senpai!" Ryōma said playfully as he opened his eyes.
Tokugawa's gaze sharpened, and with a powerful swing he drove the ball to Ryōma's backhand corner. But Ryōma charged straight at it, golden light blazing in his right hand.
"Now it's my turn to say hello to senpai!" Ryōma shouted as he swung his racket with his left hand at the incoming ball.
The instant the racket connected, blinding golden radiance burst outward. The ball transformed into a massive orb of light, blasting toward Tokugawa.
"Glowing Shot!"
Byoudouin was already numb to it. He never expected so many middle schoolers to master his techniques. That brat Akashi especially—his last strike's power wasn't any weaker than Byoudouin's own Destruction, maybe even beyond it.
"I'm no longer fixated on Glowing Shot. But if you think you can score with it, you're still too green, Echizen Ryōma!" Tokugawa said coldly as he faced the golden light-ball.
At once, golden light surged in his right hand, and his left swung the racket into the glowing orb. The light-ball clashed fiercely, but was soon wrapped by Tokugawa's radiance and blasted back toward Ryōma's side.
Without thinking, Ryōma gripped his racket with both hands and swung into it. But the next instant, his racket was sent flying, strings shredded and frame wrecked.
The ball thundered into the wall behind him, leaving a deep crater. The high schoolers watching all instinctively stepped back again.
"30-0!"
"Glowing Shot's power may be huge, but a racket can only take so much force," Tokugawa said slowly after scoring.