Talk was cheap—reality was far more brutal.
The louder the battle cry, the harder the fall, especially when there was a clear gap in skill.
With his teammate's encouragement, Shishido Ryo mustered his confidence.
But it didn't matter.
Oishi and Kikumaru remained unfazed.
Under Yoru's influence, Seigaku's tennis club had developed an unshakable mentality. They wouldn't show mercy just for the sake of sentimentality.
BANG—!
"Seigaku scores! 30-0!"
...
BANG—!
"Hyotei scores! 15-40!"
...
BANG—!
"Seigaku scores! 1-0!"
Three sharp net intercepts later, Oishi and Kikumaru effortlessly broke their opponents' serve.
Kikumaru's interception range was far wider than Hyotei had anticipated.
After four probing shots, they'd finally gauged his limits—they could aim for the backcourt.
Too bad Oishi wasn't an easy target either.
The spin on his shots crippled Shishido's returns, setting up Kikumaru for the perfect intercept.
"Oishi, let's try that formation!"
"Now?"
The two exchanged a grin, as if sharing a secret.
"What formation?" Kaidoh asked, puzzled.
Inui adjusted his glasses. "They've been practicing a new doubles setup lately. I didn't bother collecting data on it."
BANG—!
The tennis ball shot forward like a bullet, streaking toward Shishido.
At the same time, Mukahi at the net noticed something strange.
The moment Oishi served, he dashed into alignment with Kikumaru—forming a straight line.
Kikumaru blocked Oishi from view.
"Ryo, watch out—something's off!" Mukahi warned.
But it was too late.
Shishido had already swung, sending the ball toward an open spot.
Kikumaru lunged sideways—but didn't intercept.
He let the ball fly past him.
SWOOSH—!
Just as Hyotei's pair froze in confusion, the ball suddenly reversed course, landing in an unreachable corner!
"Seigaku scores! 15-0!"
Shishido and Mukahi were stunned.
They hadn't even seen Oishi's return.
"The Australian Formation."
QP's calm voice cut through the murmurs.
The younger players looked lost. Yamato pretended to understand—for the sake of his senior dignity.
QP explained: "In the Australian Formation, both players align almost straight during serves. They must predict the ball's trajectory instantly—one retrieves, the other covers the open court. Mastery turns it into a 'no-blind-spot' system."
He turned to Yoru. "That tape you gave them—was it an Australian Formation tutorial?"
Yoru smirked. "Obviously."
BANG—!
"Seigaku scores! 30-0!"
The match raged on.
With the Australian Formation's dominance, Oishi and Kikumaru racked up points effortlessly.
QP frowned. "For their level, they should focus on basic formations and synergy first. The Australian Formation is too advanced."
"Oh?"
Yoru blinked, then grinned. "No worries. You can supervise their doubles training."
"Sigh…" Yamato exhaled deeply.
"Yamato, why the sigh?"
"Indigestion."
"Liar. Lift your shirt—I'll check!"
"Not appropriate."
"Why not? I'm not 'Jay'."
"Who's Jay?"
"A guy who likes taking off his glasses before talking."
...
BANG! BANG! BANG!
As the match intensified, the scoreboard blurred with rapid updates.
BANG—!
"Seigaku leads! 3-0!"
...
BANG—!
"Hyotei scores! 1-4!"
...
BANG—!
"Seigaku dominates! 5-1!"
Twenty minutes later, Oishi and Kikumaru held an insurmountable lead.
After the sixth game, both teams retreated for a break.
"Huh?"
Kikumaru picked up his water bottle—empty.
"Oishi, got any water left?"
Oishi shook his own bottle. "Just finished mine too. One more game—we'll treat you to drinks after."
"Kikumaru! Catch!"
A voice called from the bench.
Kikumaru looked up just as a water bottle sailed toward him.
Fuji smiled. "Drink mine. I always bring two."
"Thanks, Fuji~"
"…Hm?"
Fuji blinked. Both his bottles were still beside him.
"Oh no." Inui jolted up in horror. "Kikumaru, DON'T DRINK THAT—!"
Too late.
Kikumaru took a huge gulp—then let out a strangled yowl before collapsing face-first.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
Yoru's eye twitched.
He'd just remembered one of Inui's most terrifying traits.
The Inui Juice.
A biohazardous concoction of blended vegetables, fruits, insects, turtle extract, vinegar, and other unidentifiable horrors.
In the original timeline, Horio once saw Inui digging for bugs to toss into his mixer.
The later the series progressed, the more lethal Inui Juice became—capable of wiping out entire teams with a single sip.
Its taste was so abominable that victims typically screamed, convulsed, or passed out instantly, leading to the infamous "Inui Juice Effect."
Though Inui claimed it was "health-boosting," nobody believed him.
Once, even he drank a failed batch and spent the next hour praying to the porcelain god, admitting the 99.7% chance of bodily harm.
By the end, some variants were too extreme for even Inui to stomach.
"KIKUMARU!"
Kaidoh and the others rushed onto the court.
Yamato glared at Inui. "What the hell was in that bottle?!"
"A… functional beverage prototype. I hadn't tested it yet…" Inui admitted sheepishly.
Tezuka's voice turned arctic. "Do NOT bring hazardous materials to matches."
"Referee, medical timeout!"
QP called for a pause as Hyotei's team stared in shock.
"Relax, he's just unconscious."
Yoru pulled up Kikumaru's status screen—"ASLEEP" with no critical risks. Oddly, some stats had slightly improved.
The team sighed in relief.
Then Fuji picked up the bottle, eyeing the murky green liquid with curiosity.
"I'll try it~"
"WAIT, DON'T—!"
Inui's warning came too late.
Fuji chugged a mouthful—then let out a soft "Ah…" as he wiped his lips.
"Delicious. Complex flavor."
Then he toppled over, still wearing his gentle smile—truly the Prince of Poise, even in defeat.
"Wait… wasn't Fuji the ONLY one in Seigaku immune to Inui Juice?!"