"Forty–Love!"
"This game goes to Seiya Narumi! Match over! Final score: six to one!"
When Ishida, who was serving as referee, announced the final result, everyone present froze in disbelief.
Spectators outside the court stared at Seiya, who stood calmly with his racket lowered, not even slightly out of breath. Their faces were full of shock.
As for his opponent, Kamio Akira—he lay flat on the ground, limbs spread in the shape of a big "大," gasping for air like a fish out of water.
"No way! Akira actually lost to Seiya with such a ridiculous gap—six to one!?"
"And didn't you notice? Except for the first game he lost and a few points dropped early in the second, from that point on Seiya didn't lose a single point.
Even when Akira had already found his rhythm, Seiya completely dominated by scoring directly off his serves several times!"
"Was Seiya always this strong? Don't tell me… he's been hiding his true strength all this time?"
"Holy crap, Seiya's too good! If it hadn't been Akira on court but me instead… Why didn't I challenge him first? Today's supposed to be my turn to train with him!"
Everyone ignored Shindō's grumbling. They were all too stunned by the level of power Seiya had just displayed.
They had all risen through the ranks together from their first year—each knew exactly how strong the others were.
Sure, Seiya had always been a bit stronger than Shindō and Kamio, but only slightly.
In previous practice matches, the scores were usually something like 7–5 or 6–4.
And with both Shindō and Kamio improving rapidly, they'd even started winning against Seiya from time to time.
None of them could've imagined that today would turn out like this.
"Seiya's movements today are completely different from before," one player muttered, "but at the same time, they look so natural—like the product of endless, disciplined repetition.
That means… he must've been hiding his skills all along! But what could've made him suddenly decide to stop hiding them?"
Watching Seiya's decisive 6–1 victory, the captain of the Fudomine tennis club, Tachibana Kippei, looked at his back with a serious expression.
Unlike the others, he firmly believed Seiya had been hiding his strength rather than suddenly improving.
Because no matter how talented someone was, it was impossible to grow this much in such a short period.
And Seiya's movements just now—his serves, his returns—there wasn't even a hint of awkwardness.
That could only mean these were techniques he had already mastered long ago, simply choosing not to use them until now.
Why he chose to conceal them, Tachibana didn't know. Everyone had their secrets, after all. Even as one of the "Twin Dragons of Kyushu," he too carried his own.
But as for why Seiya decided to reveal his true power today…
When Tachibana glanced at his younger sister, An, cheering enthusiastically nearby, a rather suspicious thought crossed his mind.
Originally, Seiya's sparring partner for today was supposed to be Shindō.
But when An had grabbed Seiya by the arm and dragged him onto the court, Kamio had immediately jumped in to challenge him instead—clearly jealous.
And now… well, here they were.
Tachibana sighed deeply. To him, both Seiya and Kamio were talented juniors. He honestly didn't know which one to support.
"If only I had another sister…" he thought helplessly.
Meanwhile, if Seiya had known what was going through Tachibana's head right now, he would've shouted his innocence to the heavens.
He had only planned to go home and test out ways to integrate swordsmanship into tennis.
But before he knew it, An had dragged him to the court, and Kamio—apparently jealous—had demanded a "man-to-man" match.
Well, since he was already there, Seiya figured a match was a match.
At first, he lost a game while adjusting to the difference between swinging a racket and a sword.
But once he got used to the motion, and combined that with his enhanced physique and reflexes, Kamio was utterly overwhelmed.
Tachibana assuming he'd been "hiding his strength" wasn't surprising. After all, ever since sharing power with his sword-wielding counterpart, all of Seiya's sword techniques and battle instincts felt like they had always been his own.
So naturally, there was no awkwardness—he was simply using what he already knew.
And to make it even crueler for Kamio—after adapting to his own power, Seiya hadn't even used thirty percent of his true strength… and Kamio was already flat on the ground.
Looking at his fallen opponent, Seiya stuffed his hands into his pockets and casually walked out of the court. A certain pretentious quote from his previous life suddenly came to mind:
"Back then, with my hands in my pockets, I knew no opponents. The moment I made a move, I already understood the limits of this entire rank."
"Seiya! Hurry up and explain—what kind of special training did you do to become this strong!?"
Seeing Kamio completely crushed, An finally snapped out of her dazed astonishment and rushed into the court, eyes shining with excitement.
"I told you before, didn't I?" Seiya replied calmly. "I've been playing a game lately—and trying to apply some of the techniques from it into tennis.
Before, my fundamentals were solid, but I didn't have a personal style.
Now, though, I think I've found a playstyle that truly suits me."
Everyone, including An, was dumbfounded.
Wait.
Did he just say playing games made him stronger!?
Who in the world would believe that? Even he couldn't possibly believe that himself!
"What's the name of that game you're talking about?" Tachibana finally asked, voicing everyone's curiosity.
"Uh… I couldn't really read the name—it's a foreign title. But it's a battle–adventure type game.
All the moves I used just now were based on sword techniques from that game. Turns out, I have quite a knack for it."
Sword techniques, huh?
At that, Tachibana suddenly realized why Seiya's movements had felt so oddly familiar earlier.
He wasn't the first person to blend martial arts into tennis.
There were others—players like Sanada from Rikkai and a second-year from Hyotei—who also practiced similar hybrid styles.
But as for learning that through a video game? Tachibana simply couldn't believe it.
Those smooth, precise swings and returns… there was no way those came from gaming alone.
No, if anything, Tachibana was convinced Seiya must have real-life sword training—his muscle memory was far too perfect otherwise.
(End of Chapter)
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