Thwack!!
"Game, Set, Match! Yamabuki's Sengoku wins 6-0."
"Overall score 3-0, Yamabuki Academy advances to the semifinals!"
Similarly, on the other side, Yamabuki, led by Ban Ta Michiya, absolutely crushed their opponent with overwhelming skill. Even with several first-years on their team, their displayed strength was by no means weaker than last year's.
"Yamabuki is as strong as ever this year," commented Inoue, a reporter for the Tennis Weekly, as he quietly observed the match from the sidelines. "Next, they'll face Ginkaku, who also made it to the semifinals."
"Ban Ta Michiya, a renowned coach who has led Yamabuki Junior High for over twenty years. It's said he once led an unknown school to defeat Seigaku, who at the time had Nanjiroh Echizen."
"That unknown school eventually grew into a regular presence at the Kanto Tournament, and even the National Tournament."
The school Inoue mentioned was Yamabuki itself. Almost every year, Yamabuki achieved some success, but only a little. After advancing to the Nationals, they would be eliminated due to insufficient individual skill.
But this year's Yamabuki was different. With many new faces, and based on their apparent strength, the only team that could stop them was this year's Hyotei.
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"Hyotei defeated Seigaku in the quarterfinals, and with a dominant 3-0 score, at that."
"In their next match, Hyotei will be facing St. Rudolph, won't they?"
Inoue murmured, then headed towards Hyotei's match court with his camera.
The match was already well underway.
"St. Rudolph isn't even as strong as Seigaku," Mukahi said, yawning boredly as he fiddled with his racket on the sidelines.
"How strong can a team that just makes it into the Metropolitan Tournament really be?"
Oshitari pushed up his glasses, stating calmly. He knew in his heart that St. Rudolph just got lucky with the draw. If they had met Hyotei earlier, they would have been eliminated in the quarterfinals long ago.
"Is that guy not here?"
Kamikawa's gaze swept over the St. Rudolph players, then found the familiar figure in the crowd – a guy with curly hair, twirling it around his finger, looking somewhat effeminate.
With his skill, he might be able to defeat one or two regulars, but merely defeat them, without being able to make a true difference. The red-haired boy standing nearby was the same.
"What, Kamikawa? Are you interested in St. Rudolph's first-years too?"
Atobe, standing beside him, followed Kamikawa's gaze.
"A little, but not much. At most, they're Kanto Tournament level. They're still a long way off from Seigaku's Fuji! At least, those guys won't be able to play until next spring."
Kamikawa didn't deny it, smiling slightly.
"Tch! Kanto Tournament level, not Kanto rank. Nothing special."
Atobe's tone held less interest; he only cared about strong opponents.
For example, Seigaku's Fuji, Yamabuki's Akutsu, and the recently renowned Big Three of Rikkai Dai Affiliated Junior High. It had to be said that this year's talented players were far more numerous than expected.
For Atobe, the stronger the opponent, the more it accelerated his evolution. Whether it was Kamikawa, Tezuka, or the top players from other schools, the more of them there were, the more excited he became, and the more he could perfect his Eye. Atobe was now firmly grasping the opportunity to enter the National level.
"You can't say that, Atobe! Don't underestimate others. Just like the seemingly weak Seigaku right now, who knows, they might welcome a new pillar in the future." Kamikawa seemed to think of something amusing and couldn't help but laugh.
The guy who came back from America, the son of Samurai Nanjiroh, despite the system where first-years were only fit for picking up balls, was still promoted by Coach Ryuzaki to the school team's ranking match roster.
This was a stark contrast to how she treated other first-years like Tezuka and Fuji. In a school, the coach's authority was much higher than the captain's.
That old lady demonstrated differential treatment to the fullest.
As the two chatted, Jirou, playing Singles 3, absolutely crushed his opponent with overwhelming skill.
Even St. Rudolph's third-year tennis club captain, facing Jirou's flexible net play, had no answer, losing easily 6-0.
"Shishido and Genko Haru's doubles still need some work," Kamikawa said first. Shishido was lacking in both movement and technique. However, it was clear that he was trying his best to cooperate with Genko Haru. Unfortunately, their compatibility wasn't very high, even worse than when he paired with Mukahi.
But for now, Hyotei could only have these two as a doubles pair.
Jirou was more suited for singles; in doubles, he was even worse than Shishido.
"Shishido has been working hard to get stronger lately, but unfortunately..."
Atobe didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.
Shishido was somewhat lacking in natural talent as a tennis player, and this gap extended to doubles. If Shishido's skill couldn't keep up, he would hinder his partner in doubles, becoming the one targeted by opponents.
"He needs to develop his own unique tennis style," Tezuka said calmly. Lately, Tezuka had adjusted Shishido's training regimen, but the effect was minimal, with not much improvement. On one hand, Shishido wasn't accustomed to that training mode.
On the other hand, perhaps Shishido's talent as a tennis player simply wasn't as good as others!
"Oshitari, have you confirmed which team we'll be playing next?"
Atobe looked at Oshitari, who was walking over from the adjacent court, and asked.
"Do you think it's Rakka Junior High or Yamabuki Academy?"
Oshitari rolled his eyes and retorted.
"Yamabuki..."
Everyone said in unison. Even though Rakka Junior High was strong this year and made it to the Metropolitan Tournament semifinals, their fighting power was still a bit lacking, especially when facing Yamabuki, who also made it to the Nationals last year.
Yamabuki's ace Doubles 1 pair had graduated, but the remaining Doubles 2, now a third-year, inherited the will of their predecessors and became Doubles 1, while Doubles 2 featured a pair of first-year newcomers.
"See, you all guessed it."
"What was Yamabuki's score in that match?"
Tezuka wasn't joking; he calmly looked at Oshitari. What he truly cared about was Yamabuki's final score.
"3-1. Doubles 2 lost, but the subsequent Doubles 1, Singles 3, and Singles 2 all won, and the latter three matches were all 6-0 victories."
After saying that, Oshitari cast a meaningful glance at Kamikawa, then said to everyone, "Singles 2 is Akutsu, the one Kamikawa faced earlier at Yamabuki Junior High."
"That guy took less than ten minutes to make his opponent run until he was exhausted and retired from the match."
Gasp!!
Hearing this, everyone collectively looked at Kamikawa.
Making an opponent run to exhaustion showed this guy's true strength.
In that previous match, the guy named Akutsu, his technique was still very rough; he played tennis relying purely on his physical strength, stamina, and explosiveness.
His playing style had no discernible pattern. This time, he probably used the same approach, forcing his opponent into exhaustion and collapsing on the ground.
Even though their opponent possessed such strength, everyone hadn't lost confidence.
There could only be one winner, and that was them, Hyotei!
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