"He... he saw through my Bear Hug?"
Fuji snapped his head up, staring at Kamikawa on the opposite side of the court. He'd never shown this technique in an official match before. Both his earlier Swallow Return and now the Bear Hug were things he'd discovered and honed bit by bit. But now, his Bear Hug had been seen through by his opponent. And what's more, it was seen through before he'd even demonstrated it!
"Phew..." Fuji shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts swirling in his mind. No matter what, he had to win this match. This wasn't just about his personal victory; it carried the dignity of the entire Seigaku Tennis Club. No matter who his opponent was, he absolutely had to win.
Thump!
Clearing his thoughts, Fuji served again. This ball had the same quality as before, hugging the sideline—an extremely dangerous, fast serve.
"Step... step-step..."
But this time, it was different. Fuji, who usually defended from the baseline, now actively moved forward. Kamikawa noticed Fuji's movement and simply ripped a forehand.
At this moment, Fuji was already at the net, moving quickly. The instant the ball cleared the net, he swiftly swung his racket. The advantage at the net was clear; a player at the net naturally held absolute attacking power. Even if Kamikawa returned the ball, Fuji could still attack first from the net. And Kamikawa's return angles were locked to the front-left and front-right sides of the net. Furthermore, Kamikawa was firmly pinned to the baseline, running left and right, desperately trying to return the ball.
Under this continuous offense, Fuji could use Kamikawa's movement to judge the most advantageous attack point. With this kind of pressure, Kamikawa would eventually make a mistake due to exhaustion.
Whap!
Sure enough, after continuous attacks, Kamikawa suddenly lobbed the ball high. Fuji wouldn't let this chance slip by. He leaped into the air, slamming down a powerful smash towards the front of the court.
Boom!!
Step... step-step...
Kamikawa stepped forward. The instant the ball landed and bounced, he quickly hit a half-volley from a perfect angle.
Whoosh~
Fuji had just landed when the bright yellow ball whizzed past him. It landed precisely within the baseline, bouncing up.
"15-30!"
His movements...
...got faster!
Fuji's pupils constricted. He hadn't seen that instant return clearly.
"Just now, that guy, Kamikawa, suddenly sped up his movements." Kikumaru, with his excellent dynamic vision, barely managed to catch that momentary movement. He clearly saw that Kamikawa's movements had accelerated significantly in that instant.
Inui watched Kamikawa on the court with a grim expression. "Perhaps those previous returns were just Kamikawa testing the waters. Now, Kamikawa is going to show his true skill."
"Are they... are they really first-year freshmen like us?" Oishi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, but his body involuntarily trembled. He had never imagined that a tennis player his age could possess skills surpassing those of second and third-year seniors.
"He's strong." Yamato had approached at some point, his eyes subtly gleaming. It was hard to believe that one Hyotei Tennis Club could simultaneously have two incredibly talented first-year middle schoolers.
No... it wasn't just that. Yamato suddenly looked towards the Hyotei regulars, his gaze falling on Atobe, who was seated in the center of the group. From what he knew, this guy was the vice-captain of the Hyotei Tennis Club. That meant Atobe's skill was even greater than Kamikawa's on the court?!
As Seigaku's captain, his judgment of people was very accurate. He could also sense an extraordinary aura about Atobe, an aura very similar to the one emanating from Tezuka, whom he had just played against. Seigaku was currently in a transitional period. If they could recruit these three, they might genuinely make it to nationals. Unfortunately, they belonged to Hyotei.
"Coach Ryuzaki, regardless of who wins or loses this match, I want him to become a regular for the tennis club." This time, Yamato said to Coach Ryuzaki with great sincerity, "I see Seigaku's future!"
"Mm." Coach Ryuzaki uncharacteristically didn't object. Perhaps she also realized Seigaku's decay. There was a time when she, like Yamato, firmly believed that as long as the tennis club's strength remained, they would eventually stand on the national stage again. But now... Coach Ryuzaki realized she was wrong, terribly wrong. How could a group of timid, lazy training slackers carry the banner of Seigaku?
Whap!
Whap!!
On the court, Kamikawa's movements sped up. Fuji gradually couldn't keep up with Kamikawa's pace. Even when Fuji used his intuition to pinpoint the ball's landing spot, his body couldn't catch up to the tennis ball.
Boom!!
Kamikawa hit a simple flat shot, a cross-court return. Fuji quickly chased after it, but the ball was still two meters away. The ball had already landed and bounced off, hitting the back wall with a heavy thud.
"Game, Kamikawa, 1-0."
Right from the start, Fuji's service game was broken. During the changeover, Kamikawa paused and said, "Fuji-kun, honestly, with your skill, aren't you much stronger than those useless seniors who just played?"
"With such skill, you should have stepped up and brought about a revolution throughout the entire Seigaku Tennis Club."
"But, you didn't step up."
"What exactly is tennis to you?"
"Tell me that answer at the next prefectural tournament match."
After speaking, Kamikawa took the tennis ball handed to him by a ball boy and walked towards the service line.
Shuusuke Fuji, you truly are a genius in name and deed.
But the tennis that belongs to a genius, merely what you have at this stage, is far from enough.
Kamikawa held the tennis ball, gently tapping it twice on the ground, his gaze fixed on Fuji on the opposite court.
Right now, at best, you're at the level of Sanada during the JR tournament.
If a person doesn't actively move forward, they'll forever remain stagnant.
With that thought, Kamikawa tossed the tennis ball high, took a deep breath, bent his knees, pushed off with his legs, and leaped into the air. The instant the ball hadn't begun to drop, he slammed it down.
Boom!!
A sharp crack echoed. The bright yellow tennis ball transformed into a streak of light, whizzing past Fuji in an instant. Fuji held his racket with both hands, a drop of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. He didn't even have time to react.
"15-0!"
It was just a simple flat serve, and the angle wasn't particularly tricky. Even so, Fuji couldn't react. His body couldn't move an inch in that moment.
"That wasn't Snake just now, was it?" Shishido broke the silence.
"Did you see that exaggerated twist?" Atobe narrowed his eyes, saying calmly, "It was just a very ordinary flat serve."
Upon hearing this, Shishido's mouth twitched slightly.
Ordinary?
I don't think so. That serve, if it were him, he'd be just like Fuji now, frozen in place, unable to move. Probably only you, Atobe-sama, and Tezuka-buchou from the entire Hyotei Tennis Club would dare to call it 'ordinary.'
"It was indeed a common flat serve." Oshitari nodded, then added, "Although common, the speed of that serve was truly astonishing."
"It was like... a serve stripped of all its fancy adornments, purely pursuing absolute speed." A faint gleam flickered across Oshitari's round-rimmed glasses.
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