"Is it... my vision this time?"
A pitch-black darkness filled his sight, making Sanada realize that his vision had also been taken away.
At this moment, he no longer held onto any hope. His sense of touch and vision had indeed been stripped away by the person standing across the court.
"So... is this his true ability?"
Feeling the sudden loss of vision and the instinctive fear that followed, Sanada couldn't help but tighten his grip on the racket.
Though, at this point, he had no idea how much strength he was actually using.
"Haah."
After letting out a breath, Sanada inhaled lightly, trying hard to suppress the emotions surging within him. "It's fine. Even like this, I can still rely on my hearing."
For a player like him, using sound to gauge position wasn't a difficult task.
For Sanada, losing to Yukimura was something he could accept, but he absolutely could not accept surrendering before the match was even over!
*Thud!*
With that, Sanada sent the tennis ball flying back once more.
*Tap, tap!*
He then moved toward the center of the court.
"Strange."
Watching Sanada's movements, Kaidoh couldn't help but voice his confusion. "Why does the vice-captain seem a bit off?"
"True."
Jackal nodded in agreement.
Sanada's playing style was quite different from his usual dominant and imposing demeanor. But as for what exactly was wrong or why, Jackal couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"It's his eyes."
At that moment, Yanagi adjusted his glasses, his expression serious. "Look closely. Sanada's eyes have lost their focus."
What?!
Everyone's expressions changed.
Upon closer inspection, they realized that Sanada's eyes were indeed different from a normal person's. His unfocused gaze lacked any spark, resembling that of someone who had gone blind.
"Wait!!"
As if struck by a sudden realization, Kaidoh exclaimed in shock, "D-does that mean... the vice-captain can't see anything right now?"
"Exactly."
Yanagi nodded heavily.
*Gasp!*
Hearing this, the members of the Rikkai team couldn't help but inhale sharply.
Sanada had lost his sight?!
This news was simply too shocking!
They couldn't fathom how he was still able to play as flawlessly as usual, returning the tennis ball without any mistakes, despite being unable to see.
Moreover, what terrified them even more was the question of how Sanada had lost his vision in the first place.
"Could it be..."
At that moment, as if struck by a sudden thought, Marui, Kaidoh, and Jackal all turned their gazes toward Yukimura, swallowing hard.
*Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!*
On the court, Sanada continued to engage in a rapid exchange with Yukimura.
"As expected of you!"
Seeing Sanada's smooth movements and precise shots, Yukimura couldn't help but nod in approval.
Even after losing both his sense of touch and vision, Sanada remained calm and composed, continuing to play as if nothing had happened. In all of Rikkai, only Sanada could pull off such a feat.
"Unfortunately."
Yukimura glanced at Sanada before hitting the ball back. "Your trial has only just begun... Sanada!"
*Whoosh!*
With a sharp whistling sound, the tennis ball landed precisely at the baseline on Sanada's backhand side. Relying on his ability to gauge position through sound, Sanada quickly sprang into action.
Losing his sense of touch had made Sanada's control over the racket even more delicate. Losing his vision had brought him a sense of inner peace, allowing him to see the flaws in his usual temperament.
As the saying goes, "A loss may turn out to be a gain."
At this moment, Sanada understood this truth more clearly than ever.
*Swish!*
Having determined the ball's landing point, Sanada calmly raised his racket, preparing to strike.
"Huh?!"
But in the next instant, his expression changed drastically.
The racket that was about to swing froze mid-air.
He hadn't heard the sound of the ball landing!
That crucial auditory cue seemed to have been erased from reality.
Not only that, but the voices of Kaidoh and the others outside the court, as well as the referee Yanagi's score announcements, had all completely vanished.
At this moment, Sanada felt as if he had been completely cut off from the outside world!
"So... this time, it's my hearing?"
Sanada's heart trembled.
The confidence he had just mustered vanished in an instant as his hearing was taken away.
Touch, vision, hearing—three of the five senses most crucial to a tennis player had been stripped from him.
Surrounded by darkness and unable to hear a single sound, Sanada felt an overwhelming sense of isolation.
In this absolute darkness, where time seemed to stand still, he had no idea how much time had passed.
Was it a second? A day? Or even a year?
Gradually, the fear in Sanada's heart began to grow.
The emotions he had been suppressing started to amplify, and the terrifying darkness seemed to engulf him.
Overcome by intense fear, Sanada began to swing his racket wildly, slashing at the darkness around him as if trying to tear it apart.
In reality, everyone was first stunned by Sanada's sudden halt.
Then, they watched in shock as he began to swing his racket frantically, as if he had gone mad.
"Is it his hearing this time?"
Having already realized that Yukimura had the ability to剥夺五感 (deprive the five senses), everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
"In other words," Yanagi said, his expression grave as he watched Sanada's frantic and狼狈 (disheveled) movements, "Yukimura has some kind of special ability that uses the opponent's negative emotions to影响 (affect) their senses?"
The thought was terrifying!
After all, the five senses were crucial to any player. If all five senses were stripped away, not only would it be impossible to play, but even normal life would become a question mark.
Being deprived of the five senses meant being completely cut off from the outside world, as if one had lost their body and was left with only their soul—a soul trapped in its own isolated world.
One could only imagine that such a person would eventually go mad from the overwhelming sense of loneliness and despair.
Thinking this, Yanagi's gaze toward Sanada turned sympathetic.
But the other members of Rikkai didn't have the same depth of thought. They simply found Sanada's behavior too疯狂 (crazy), completely unlike his usual威严 (dignified) self, and utterly狼狈 (pitiful).
"Sanada."
Yukimura narrowed his eyes as he watched Sanada's frantic state.
Just as Sanada had sealed away his "雷" (Thunder) and "阴" (Shadow) techniques, Yukimura had also sealed away his "灭五感" (Destroy the Five Senses) ability after discovering it during a match.
The reason was simple: the "灭五感" ability was too恐怖 (terrifying).
He still remembered the state of his opponent after that match—trembling, as if they had been locked in a dark room for days, afraid of light, afraid of people, and filled with fear toward everything around them.
However, after watching the录像 (recording) of Rikkai's match against Hyotei in the Kanto Tournament provided by Yanagi, Yukimura realized that with Rikkai's current lineup, they might not be able to defeat their opponents.
Sanada was strong, but Hyotei's other two singles players were also at a national-level strength.
Out of the three singles matches, aside from the first singles, Yukimura couldn't guarantee two wins.
And if they lost in doubles as well, Rikkai would be at risk of being defeated.
As the captain of Rikkai, Yukimura felt it was necessary to seal away even the last of his team's weaknesses.
Thus, he chose to play this match against Sanada.
As Sanada's friend, Yukimura knew full well that Sanada had yet to unleash his true potential!
The Kanto Finals had made Sanada taste the bitterness of defeat.
And in this match, Yukimura intended to use the pressure of "灭五感" to further draw out Sanada's hidden potential.
"Now... just one last step!"
With that thought, Yukimura ignored the gazes of those around him and, despite it not being his serve, tossed the ball into the air and sent it toward Sanada.
*Thud!*
The ball landed, but Sanada, still swinging wildly, hit it out of bounds.
*Whoosh!*
The ball shot like a bullet toward the spectators, causing them to panic and scramble out of the way.
"Captain Yukimura?!"
After dodging Sanada's attack, everyone turned to Yukimura in confusion, completely unable to understand why he was doing this.
*Whoosh!*
But Yukimura offered no explanation, simply tossing the ball up again.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
Yukimura served again and again, while Sanada continued to hit the ball out of bounds. Several times, he didn't even make contact with the ball.
"What is Yukimura (the captain) doing?"
Jackal and Kaidoh exchanged puzzled looks.
"Hmm."
Yanagi stroked his chin, deep in thought. He glanced at Yukimura, then at the frantic Sanada, and suddenly froze.
"Sanada's aura... hmm!"
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
As Yukimura continued to serve, Sanada seemed to be stimulated, his aura growing stronger and stronger.
That gloomy and terrifying presence continued to gather, like a balloon about to burst.
*Buzz!*
Suddenly, a dark aura erupted violently.
*Whoosh!*
At that moment, Yukimura's serve once again reached Sanada's side.
*Bang!*
With a loud crash, a streak of ink-like darkness shot out from the black aura.
*Thud!*
To the shock of everyone and the satisfaction of Yukimura, the ball landed precisely on the baseline.
*Rustle, rustle!*
Then, the black aura surged upward, revealing Sanada's true form.
"This aura?!"
Feeling the overwhelming,oppressive presence emanating from Sanada, everyone's expressions changed drastically!
**(End of Chapter)**