"So that's the shadow I saw last night! He can actually change his Dimension!" Kaji muttered from the stands.
"Looks like Oni has broken through that barrier~" Irie narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying something strange.
"What's going on?! Why did Oni's Dimension change so drastically?" Tōno frowned, unable to understand.
"All so-called Dimensions are the manifestation of a player's will fused with mental power. But once a player develops it on a deeper level, the Dimension will shift with their will and stop being limited to just affecting the mind. That's the Second Stage Dimension." Mitsuya slowly explained.
In the original history, only Byoudouin had pushed his Dimension to that level. In his match against Volk, he even awakened the Third Stage Dimension—Pirate—and pushed the power of Eight Consciousness to its limit, winning the match at the cost of heavy injuries.
"Second Stage Dimension, huh? Where do you even get this kind of strange information?" Kimijima asked, curious, glancing at Mitsuya.
"That's thanks to Akashi-kun," Mitsuya replied with a smile.
"I knew it~ That's why Akashi-chan's Dimension always looked a little different each time. So he's already developed his Dimension to this level too~" Tanegashima said, suddenly enlightened.
Hearing the chatter behind him, Byoudouin's gaze instinctively shifted toward Akashi on the other side. His eyes flashed with danger and excitement. This return to the training camp had thrown him many surprises, but also delivered plenty of thrills.
On court, Yukimura's face turned solemn. He wasn't shocked by Oni's Dimension change—after all, in last night's practice match, Akashi had already warned him to watch out for Oni's Dimension.
What exceeded his expectations was just how overwhelming Oni's Golden Great Broadsword had become after the change. Even Mirage Mirror couldn't block it. That was far from good.
'Good thing I held back one last card in the previous set. But I need to find a way to trigger it soon! Without letting him notice…?' Yukimura thought as he picked up his racket, recalling Akashi's words.
He stepped to the baseline, tossed the ball without a word, and fired a blazing serve, showing no concern for Oni's Second Stage Dimension. The two plunged into another fierce rally.
But with the boost of his Second Stage Dimension, Oni's attacks grew terrifyingly strong. Even the Black Battle Axe made Yukimura's arms tremble, let alone the Golden Great Broadsword, which was even more powerful.
In the mental world, Morpheus had almost no way to resist the Second Stage Demon God. He was pushed into complete disadvantage, with signs of being utterly crushed. His robes were already torn to shreds.
"0-30!"
"0-40!"
"Game! Japan Team! 3-1!"
Though Yukimura held out for a long time with superior technique, he couldn't stop the empowered Golden Great Broadsword. On the final ball, his numbed wrist failed to counter even the Black Battle Axe, and the ball slammed into the net.
"This is the end, Yukimura-kid. With your current state, there's no way you can last to the end of this match!" Oni said, watching Yukimura flex his wrist.
"That's not something Oni-senpai needs to worry about. I won't give up this match!" Yukimura's expression looked calm, but his mind was constantly calculating the time.
"Hmph, stubborn fool. If that's how it is, I won't hold back anymore!" Oni frowned at his response, then steeled himself. He had to finish this quickly, before Yukimura really got hurt.
Without another word, Oni tossed the ball and smashed a heavy serve across. Behind him, the Demon God's shadow mercilessly raised its enormous blade against Morpheus.
Yukimura still fought back with all his strength, but pain was already stabbing through both wrists. Repeatedly taking Oni's Golden Great Broadsword head-on had pushed them past their limit.
Seeing Yukimura's struggles, Oni felt a twinge of pity, but his strikes didn't soften in the slightest. Bit by bit, all the chaotic thoughts clouding his mind faded away.
"Game! Japan Team! 3-2!"
With the overwhelming Second Stage Demon God, Oni seized the fifth game with his unstoppable Golden Great Broadsword. He almost told Yukimura to give up—his opponent was clutching his wrist in pain—but when he remembered Yukimura's unshakable expression, the words stuck in his throat and never came out.
"How can this be happening! Am I dreaming?" Kikumaru stared at the court in disbelief.
"No, Eiji! I saw it too… I didn't think Yukimura would actually…" Oishi beside him spoke with the same shock.
"Yukimura!!!" Sanada clenched his fists, his face tense as he fixed his eyes on Yukimura.
"Looks like I'll have to update my data again, for both Oni-senpai and Yukimura," Yanagi Renji said quietly, eyes open for once.
Akashi sat on the coaches' bench, watching the situation on court. He had expected both Oni's display of strength and Yukimura's response, but not that it would happen this quickly.
The match, already tilting one-sided, continued. Yukimura's Dimension—Morpheus—had been crushed back until it barely surrounded him, his body covered in wounds. He was clearly overwhelmed.
Yet Yukimura refused to give in, trying everything he could to resist. But soon even his Zone state collapsed, the lightning in his eyes fading, sweat pouring down his face.
When Oni unleashed another Golden Great Broadsword, Yukimura's body was thrown along with his racket, crashing outside the court and tumbling twice before he hit the ground.
"Game! Japan Team! 3-3!"
"You still won't give up? Are you really willing to risk your career for an internal shuffle match?" Oni frowned, staring at Yukimura as he struggled to his feet.
Yukimura gave no reply. He staggered to the baseline, grabbed a ball, and prepared to serve. Behind him, Morpheus's Dimension had already begun to fade, and soon would vanish completely.
Seeing the weak serve Yukimura produced, Oni fell silent. The power and speed were far below before. Yukimura was clearly at his limit, yet he refused to yield. Oni could only keep playing.
As he expected, within just a few rallies, Yukimura's Dimension disappeared completely. Oni no longer even needed the Golden Great Broadsword to score against him.
"Oni-oniisan! Wake up! Don't forget, you're going to be Japan's number one tennis player!" Suddenly, childish voices echoed in Oni's mind, making him freeze.
"Why am I hearing those kids' voices?" Oni muttered, lowering his return stroke in confusion.
While Oni stood stunned, cracks split open in the air before him. The entire space shattered like glass, collapsing into fragments.
"Game! Second String Selection! 5-1!"
The umpire's voice snapped Oni back to himself. He realized then—besides Five-Sense Nullification, Yukimura had another signature power. Even under the boost of Shura's Path, he had still been caught.
"A dream, huh? Ridiculous… to think I let myself be dragged into your trick again. I really was careless," Oni muttered with bitter self-mockery, lifting his gaze toward Yukimura's calm figure.
"Oni's movements stopped… looks like he's woken up," Omagari adjusted his headband, speaking first.
"Seems Oni has broken free from Yukimura's dream," Irie exhaled in relief.
"To be caught in your opponent's trick like that… pathetic, Oni," Byoudouin sneered.
Meanwhile, the junior players cheered wildly for Yukimura. Under the dream's effect, Oni had been swinging aimlessly at the air, throwing away two games. Now Yukimura needed only one more game to end the match.
"So you figured out the meaning behind my hint that quickly. As expected of you, Yukimura," Akashi's eyes showed approval from the coaches' bench.
"But why didn't Yukimura's dream affect us this time?" Marui asked curiously.
"I didn't notice until you said it… This is the first time I've ever watched Yukimura's dream from a third-person view," Jackal said, realizing the same, sounding intrigued.
"I think it's because Yukimura no longer has the energy to drag us in," Fuji said, eyes sharp.
"True. Oni-senpai's Shura's Path massively boosts mental power. Even for Yukimura, weaving such a convincing dream is no simple feat," Krauser said calmly, also a wielder of Shura's Path.
On court, watching Oni who had regained his focus, Yukimura sighed inwardly. He had hoped to win outright, but now that seemed impossible. What he couldn't understand was why Oni had woken up early.
"Looks like Oni-senpai had himself a nice dream~" Yukimura muttered, masking his thoughts with unshaken composure.