Saori Shiba stood at the edge of the court, snapping photos with her camera, her face filled with worry. "Senpai, Seigaku has already lost two doubles matches. If they lose this Singles 3 match, Fudomine will win the tournament."
Having a better rapport with the Seigaku players, Saori was rooting for them. But she could see the reality of the situation: Seigaku was backed into a corner.
"I didn't expect the Golden Pair to lose. Fudomine is a lot stronger than I thought. And they seem to understand the Seigaku players' styles very well," Inoue said, completely shocked. He had expected Fudomine to be an even match for Seigaku at most, but it was turning into a one-sided defeat.
He wondered what would happen if the Singles 3 player from Fudomine was Wenren Seiya.
"The next match is Singles 3. Fudomine's Akira Kamio versus Seigaku's Ryoma Echizen."
As the referee announced the players' names, both teams began cheering for their players.
"Akira, your opponent is just a first-year. If you win, we'll be the champions of the regional tournament!"
"Ryoma, you can't lose! We can't afford to lose another match!"
"Go, Ryoma! X5"
Ryoma looked calm as he walked onto the court, ignoring the cheers from Momoshiro and the other first-years.
"I can't believe Seigaku is putting their faith in a first-year kid to win the last match," Kamio said, his arrogance showing. He looked at his short, first-year opponent with disdain.
But there was someone even more arrogant than him on the court.
"I'd rather be playing against that guy named Wenren over there. As for you, you're still a long way from being good enough."
Seiya had already given Kamio the information on Ryoma, and at first, Kamio used his rhythmic playstyle to win the first game. But unlike Momoshiro, Ryoma, being a protagonist, was an all-rounder with no obvious weaknesses. So, after an hour-long battle, Kamio eventually fell to the power of the main character.
With Seigaku winning the Singles 3 match, the score became 2-1. Ryoma's victory lifted the spirits of the entire Seigaku team.
"Yes! Ryoma won! And Fudomine's ace already played doubles. Fuji-senpai and our captain can't possibly lose the next two singles matches," Momoshiro cheered with the other first-years. He had felt guilty about the doubles loss, but now the tide was turning. He knew how strong Fuji and Tezuka were; there was no way they would lose.
Even Coach Ryuzaki let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Aren't you celebrating a little too early, Momoshiro?"
"You're that girl who was with Wenren Seiya. Kippei Tachibana's sister..."
"My name is An Tachibana! I'm a second-year at Fudomine. I'm not Kippei's sister or the girl who was with Seiya. It doesn't matter, though. What matters is that Seigaku is about to lose this match."
An's words drew angry looks from the Seigaku team. Kaido, who was naturally intimidating, glared at her and said, "What did you say?! Say that again!"
An didn't back down. She crossed her arms and said, "It's true that Seigaku won one match, but Fudomine still has the match point. Fuji Shuusuke and Kunimitsu Tezuka are both amazing players, but our next player is Seiya. No matter who he plays, he will not lose!"
An's confidence in Seiya wasn't blind. While she may have been seeing him through the rose-colored glasses of a girl in love, she had witnessed Seiya's true strength with her own eyes. After they went home from the street court, she and her brother went to Seiya's house and played a match on his private court. In that match, Kippei seemed to have made a decision and used his full strength as one of the "Two Kings of Kyushu." But the match ended with a crushing 6-1 score. It was on that night that Kippei and An truly understood Seiya's terrifying power. Kippei's full strength was at a national level, and he was easily one of the top 10 players in middle school. But he was completely defenseless against Seiya.
Honestly, with Fudomine already having two wins and Seiya still on the sidelines, An didn't think they could lose.
"Now starting, the Singles 2 match between Fudomine and Seigaku. Fudomine's Wenren Seiya to serve."
As the referee announced the start of the match, everyone's eyes were on the court. The moment Seiya tossed the ball into the air, Ryoma and Momoshiro's eyes became sharp. "It's coming. That serve!"
"Wenren Style, First Form: Tempest Fang!"
A powerful gust of wind blew across the court as the ball, moving at an incredible speed, let out a sonic boom. The moment people heard the sound of the racket hitting the ball, the ball was already rolling behind Fuji.
"15-0..."
Not just the crowd but even the referee was startled by Seiya's serve.
"What the heck?! Did you see that serve?!"
"I knew he was strong, but I didn't think he was this strong."
"No way, I couldn't even see the ball in broad daylight. It wasn't the lighting from last night after all."