"Whoosh..."
At this moment, the ball struck by Akutsu was spinning fiercely on Sanada's racket.
Previously, with his skill, Sanada would have easily returned the ball using his technique, *Rin* (Forest). But now, his movements were noticeably slower.
*Thud!*
The ball finally flew back.
Seeing Sanada return the shot, the Rikkai team breathed a sigh of relief.
Kirihara even patted his chest. "I thought something was wrong... huh?"
Suddenly, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Sanada's return wasn't the precise, delicate drop shot they were used to. Instead, it flew over the net like a regular return, curving at an angle before landing perfectly on the baseline.
"Nice shot!"
"As expected of the vice-captain! That was perfect!"
"He definitely aimed for the baseline!"
The Rikkai members cheered enthusiastically.
However, the regulars didn't share their excitement. Yanagi, in particular, had opened his eyes and was now intently watching Sanada.
"Why didn't the vice-captain use *Rin*?" Kirihara frowned.
To him, Sanada's decision felt like retreating on the battlefield. Against an opponent like Akutsu, the strongest techniques were necessary to dominate.
"I don't think he chose not to use it," Yanagi said, shaking his head. "If I'm not mistaken, Sanada's *Rin*... has been countered."
"Countered?" Jackal frowned. "That can't be, right?"
While he also found it strange that Sanada hadn't used *Rin*, he couldn't believe such a powerful technique could be broken so easily.
"Yanagi is right," Yukimura said softly from the bench. "Akutsu's return... isn't as simple as it seems."
As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the tall, aggressive-looking player on Hyotei's side.
*Bang!*
With a sharp crack, Akutsu's racket met the ball. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the ball flying.
*Whoosh!*
The shot was incredibly fast. If one looked closely, they could see the intense spin etched into the ball's trajectory.
"A spin shot?" Shiraishi, Tachibana, and Chitose squinted from the stands.
They hadn't expected Akutsu to change his playing style so abruptly. It seemed he had finally acknowledged the reality of the match.
"But..." Zaizen frowned. "Didn't Chitose-senpai say that pure power or technique would be countered by *Rin*?"
"This isn't just a spin shot," Yushi's voice came from beside them. His sharp eyes were locked on the ball. "The power behind Akutsu's shot... is no joke."
With his exceptional dynamic vision, he could clearly see the subtle changes in the ball's movement.
*Thud!*
Sanada swung his racket, activating *Rin* to neutralize the spin and reduce the power of Akutsu's shot. Normally, with his experience, Sanada would have added just enough force to execute a textbook drop shot.
But this time...
A hidden force erupted from within the ball. The combination of power, spin, and this sudden internal force forced Sanada to adjust his stance.
As a result, the ball soared high into the air.
*Whoosh!*
Seizing the opportunity, Akutsu leaped up and smashed the ball down with a powerful overhead shot.
"Vice-captain's *Rin*... was really countered?" Kirihara's eyes widened in shock. He had never imagined that Akutsu could break through Sanada's defense without using any special abilities.
"Not yet," Yanagi said calmly. "Sanada still has a backup plan."
*Thud!*
Sure enough, a low rumble echoed from Sanada's position as he activated *Mountain*—his ultimate defensive technique.
This was his last line of defense, a move so solid that only Ishikawa and Yukimura had ever broken through it. It was considered impenetrable.
*Crack!*
But in the next moment, to everyone's astonishment, Sanada's racket was knocked out of his hand and fell to the ground.
"0-15!"
*Thud!*
Akutsu landed firmly, his presence dominating the court.
"How is this possible?" Yanagi muttered, his eyes narrowing. "That ironclad defense... was broken?"
"This smash isn't ordinary," Yanagi said, his voice low. "Just like his previous shot, Akutsu's playing style has changed."
On Hyotei's side, the team was both thrilled and shocked by Akutsu's success.
"Sanada's *Mountain*... was broken just like that?" Shishido said, unable to believe what he had just seen.
Many turned to Atobe for an explanation. Before Ishikawa's arrival, *Mountain* had been an insurmountable wall for their captain. But after Ishikawa broke through it, it seemed Sanada's once-impenetrable defense had begun to falter.
"*Mountain* is indeed a powerful defense," Ishikawa said, nodding. "But its strength lies in Sanada's unshakable confidence. Once that confidence is shattered, it's hard to regain."
He paused, then added with a smile, "And Akutsu-senpai's smash isn't as simple as it looks."
"Exactly!" Shishido exclaimed. "His earlier returns were already unusual. He must have realized something—his shots have a different level of power now."
Hiyoshi and Mukahi looked at Ishikawa curiously. "So... what is it?"
Ishikawa smiled and explained, "I haven't experienced this kind of shot myself, so I can't be certain. But if I had to guess, Akutsu-senpai has reached a deeper level of integrating power and spin."
"A deeper level?" Atobe and Oshitari turned to him, intrigued.
"This is my understanding," Ishikawa continued. "The power and spin of a tennis shot exist on two levels. The first is the surface level—what you see and feel. With enough training and match experience, anyone can reach this level. But mastering it is difficult for most."
The team nodded, understanding his point. The "surface" level referred to basic power or spin. While most players could develop decent power or spin, truly excelling required either natural talent, like Shitenhoji's Ishida with his raw strength, or Hyotei's Akutagawa with his innate wrist flexibility.
Ishikawa went on, "The second level is what I call the 'depth' level. In my understanding, this is a higher level of ability that requires a deeper comprehension of a particular skill."
"Take my *Enbu*-style tennis, for example. When I use it, the shot carries an unusual level of power. But if Hiyoshi-senpai were to use it, the effect would be much weaker."
Hiyoshi looked slightly embarrassed, but Ishikawa shook his head. "The truth is, the power and technique I use are only a small part of the equation. The difference is that my power and technique... reach the deeper layers of the tennis ball."
"The deeper layers?" The Hyotei team, and even the Rikkai players, were deep in thought.
"So this is the understanding of Hyotei's strongest player," Yukimura murmured, his gaze fixed on Ishikawa.
"Surface" and "Depth."
Appearance and essence.
Yukimura hadn't expected Ishikawa's understanding of tennis to have reached such a profound level.
"If that's the case," Yanagi said, his eyes narrowing as he watched Akutsu, "then Akutsu's physical天赋 has allowed him to fuse power and spin, reaching the level of deep-level shots."
This explained why Sanada's *Rin* couldn't neutralize Akutsu's shots. In essence, *Rin* was still a surface-level technique. When faced with a deep-level shot, it was powerless against the hidden destructive force.
*Bang!*
Sanada served again.
"Surface and depth, huh?" Sanada's eyes gleamed with determination as he stared at Akutsu. "Let's see if your so-called deep-level power is just a bluff!"
With that, Sanada rushed to the net.
After Akutsu returned the shot, Sanada sent the ball to the side of the court. When Akutsu lobbed it back, Sanada leaped into the air, his racket blazing like fire as he smashed the ball down.
*Boom!*
The fiery smash crashed down with immense force.
"It's here!" Kirihara's eyes flashed with awe. "This is the vice-captain's *Fire* at its strongest!"
Compared to his regular *Fire* shots, this smash was on a completely different level.
"Tch."
But Akutsu merely smirked. He raised his racket and, with a swift motion, struck the ball mid-air.
*Boom!*
The ball shot back with incredible speed, slamming into the ground on Sanada's side.
*Crack!*
The grass court showed visible damage as the ball bounced off and embedded itself into the wall.
"Whoa..."
The crowd gasped in awe.
This... was the power of a deep-level shot!