Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

Chapter 493: Chapter 172: Ochi Acting Out of Character

After entering the meditation state, Mōri’s five-dimensional attributes were almost the same as when he was asleep. At the same time, he could keep a clear mind and no longer rely on instinct to act. This undoubtedly made Mōri’s choices much more flexible.

Right after that, Mōri tossed the tennis ball straight up. The fluctuations of Ability Synchronization instantly erupted, and the tennis ball suddenly vanished from everyone’s sight. Just as Bertie and Dankmar tried to lock onto it with Satellite Perspective, the ball had already appeared outside the baseline behind them.

”Ability Synchronization—Teleport Serve!”

”ACE! 15–0!”

”His serve speed actually went up... Did that mean he wasn’t going all out before? But Ochi Tsukimitsu’s Mach Serve should be even more compatible with their Ability Synchronization...” Bertie muttered softly as he looked at the ball outside the court.

However, Mōri had already tossed the ball again. In the next instant, the tennis ball appeared outside Germany Team’s baseline once more. The umpire was about to call the score when he suddenly saw Bertie’s figure appear right in front of the ball at the same time.

Bertie gripped the racket with both hands and smashed it with full force. The ball screamed through the air as it flew toward Japan Team’s half. Ochi immediately slid sideways to intercept it, returning the ball while just about to cross paths with Mōri, completing a position swap.

Yet at that very moment, Bertie inexplicably appeared at the net. This clearly wasn’t speed he should have been able to reach. Before Mōri and Ochi could figure out what was happening, the ball slammed down by their feet and shot out past the sideline.

”15–15!”

”Dankmar actually threw Bertie to the net...” Krauser widened his eyes on the Japan Team bench, barely believing what he had just seen.

”I didn’t expect their coordination to reach the point where it’s second nature. Is this the true strength of professional doubles players?” Kite said, equally shocked. Even with his training in ancient martial arts, he couldn’t guarantee that kind of precise control of strength in that situation.

Akashi Seijurō didn’t dwell on what the others were discussing. Under the observation of his Emperor Eye, he noticed that both Ochi and Mōri had already suffered significant stamina loss. This was clearly very bad for them.

’Looks like Ability Synchronization drains stamina a lot too. If they can’t finish the match in this set, things will get dangerous,’ Akashi thought, his gaze sharpening slightly.

When Mōri fired his third Teleport Serve, Dankmar directly blocked the suddenly appearing ball with his massive racket. After experiencing Ochi’s serve earlier, Dankmar had already gotten somewhat used to this kind of speed. And even though Mōri’s five dimensions had improved, he still couldn’t reach Ochi’s level.

Seeing the ball rebound high into the air, Ochi didn’t hesitate. He leapt up at once, his right arm driving the racket down in a brutal smash. The Mach Smash exploded at full power, slamming into Germany Team’s backcourt at a speed no slower than teleportation.

But in the next instant, the rebounding ball smashed straight into Bertie’s racket. It turned out that the moment Ochi jumped, Bertie had already analyzed the landing point of the smash and rushed there in advance, waiting for the ball to drop.

Bertie then twisted his right wrist slightly. The ball traced a perfectly straight line through the air, flying straight at the charging Mōri. Seeing the ball coming right at his face, Mōri immediately lowered his center of gravity, crouched slightly, and snapped a backhand with his right hand.

The ball flew back toward Germany Team’s half, but before it could even reach the center line, Dankmar’s huge frame had already appeared in front of it. Holding the racket with both hands, he swung without hesitation. A massive white pillar of light blasted straight toward Mōri and Ochi.

Amid a thunderous impact, both rackets spun high into the air. As the smoke on court slowly cleared, Mōri and Ochi were both clutching their right hands, staring at Dankmar with ugly expressions.

”15–30!”

”First, he uses Bertie to pin the two of them down, giving Dankmar time to charge up, then finishes with a lethal blow... Bertie has completely taken control of the match tempo!” Kimijima frowned at the sidelines, speaking with clear concern.

”Tch~ power hitters really are a pain. Still, with that kind of massive body, maybe he can withstand even more execution techniques,” Toono said maliciously as he looked at Dankmar on the court.

Before long, Mōri sent out his fourth serve. This time, he didn’t use Ability Synchronization at all—just a normal high-speed serve. It was obvious that Mōri wasn’t planning to waste stamina anymore, since his Teleport Serve simply couldn’t threaten Bertie and Dankmar.

After that, the two sides launched into an intense exchange. With a clear mind and boosted five-dimensional attributes, Mōri showed much stronger net interception ability. Unfortunately, Bertie’s Data Tennis stayed rock solid, always sending the ball to the spots Mōri found the hardest to handle.

As for Ochi, no one knew what he was thinking. He only quietly covered Mōri’s position and showed no intention of attacking at all. He had already voluntarily canceled his ZONE state back in the previous game.

After all, maintaining both ZONE and Ability Synchronization at the same time was too heavy a burden on Ochi’s stamina. Still, watching from the sidelines, Akashi and Yukimura both sharply noticed the special mental-force fluctuations coming from Ochi.

”15–40!”

”GAME! Germany leads! 2–5!”

”It feels like all my actions are completely seen through by them... this is a real headache~” Mōri said with a troubled look as he returned to the bench and replenished his fluids.

”It’s not just you. I’ve already been seen through as well. They’re just focusing on you right now,” Ochi replied calmly from the side.

”Then how about trying to return with teleportation?” Mōri suggested, sounding unsure.

”With our current stamina reserves, there’s a good chance we won’t last until the end of the match. Even if we take one or two points, it won’t mean much,” Ochi thought briefly, then immediately rejected Mōri’s suggestion.

”Alright~ then we can only take it one step at a time~” Mōri sighed, stood up, and walked back onto the court together with Ochi.

Coach Mifune watched their backs in silence. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give advice. It was because only by figuring things out themselves could Mōri and Ochi truly grow as a doubles pair.

The eighth game was Dankmar’s service game. Mōri stood outside the baseline with a serious expression, his eyes locked tightly on that massive figure across the net, clearly ready to receive.

With a dull, heavy impact sound, the oversized tennis ball blasted straight toward Japan Team’s half. After smashing hard into the court, it bounced rapidly toward the baseline. At that moment, Mōri, standing near the back fence, immediately rushed in with both hands on his racket.

Using the buffering advantage of distance and his improved five dimensions, the ball didn’t blow Mōri’s racket away this time. Still, judging by his expression, blocking it was clearly very hard.

Fortunately, after grinding against the strings for a brief moment, Mōri managed to send the ball back. However, the return looked light and powerless. Bertie smoothly dropped a short ball at the net.

In the next instant, Ochi arrived with his long strides. He didn’t lift the ball for a lob. Instead, he simply slid his racket under it and flicked upward slightly with his right hand, returning another short ball.

Bertie didn’t quite understand what Ochi was trying to do, but he reacted fast, driving the ball toward Ochi’s open left side. What he didn’t expect was Ochi’s legs exploding with power as he spun and chased the ball down again.

The two somehow ended up in a high-speed net exchange. For a moment, neither Mōri nor Dankmar could really get involved. Even though Bertie could always analyze Ochi’s shot paths a step ahead, Ochi’s long reach gave him solid net interception ability, and he didn’t fall behind at all in the short term.

In the end, though, Ochi still couldn’t fully suppress Bertie and let him fire off a passing shot. Thankfully, Mōri covered in time, but in the very next second, Dankmar’s powerful drive arrived and blasted Ochi’s racket straight out of his hand.

”15–0!”

In the following points, Ochi continued acting out of character, repeatedly engaging Bertie in fierce net battles. It was as if he and Mōri had completely swapped roles. Most of Japan Team couldn’t understand what was going on. Only Akashi and Yukimura vaguely guessed what Ochi was doing.

”GAME! 2–6! The second set is over! Winner, Germany Team! Overall score 1–1!”

”It’s about time to let the full moon descend...” Ochi murmured softly as he watched Bertie and Dankmar walk back toward the bench.