Chapter 131 Tennis 19

"The winner is Atobe! The winner is Atobe! The winner is Atobe!——"

In the huge Hyotei Tennis Court, the cheers of the Hyotei men's tennis club members continued to echo. The three syllables of Atobe's surname were like a magic sound that pierced their ears and was a brainwashing sound.

But soon, the clear and sweet voices unique to girls were heard.

"The winner is Sana! The winner is Sana! The winner is Sana--"

This spontaneous cry of support came from members of the Hyotei Women's Tennis Club and the Kurikawa Supporters, as well as from the audience who had watched the excitement from the sidelines from the beginning and were completely captivated by the end. The girls' voices were sweet, yet sonorous and powerful, coalescing into a force that rivaled the other, resounding throughout the court.

"Oh? Very good." Atobe Keigo raised his eyebrows. This was the first time he saw someone with support that was equal to his.

Kurikawa Sana smiled and got into position to return the ball. "Thank you for the compliment. Now, please make your move."

The first game was Keigo Atobe's serve.

From the moment Keigo Atobe served the first ball, Kurikawa Sana understood why he was admired and trusted by so many people from the bottom of their hearts, and why he could dominate the 200-member men's tennis club and the entire Hyotei Academy.

Because he is indeed strong.

Atobe Keigo's serve was incredibly fast and tricky, imbuing the ball with powerful spin, sending it ricocheting in unexpected directions. Any other student in the school would have struggled to catch it.

At the same time, he seemed to have accurately calculated Kurikawa Sana's height and arm length. The ball bounced very quickly. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for her to catch up with it given her height. Even if she tried hard to catch up, it would consume her physical strength. Just one ball was enough to kill two birds with one stone.

It can be seen from the first ball alone that Keigo Atobe is a player who possesses skills, brains and strategy, which perfectly corresponds to the phrase "all-round player" in his attribute column.

But Kurikawa Federer Sana is different, she has a cheat.

With a single sliding step, she made up for her lack of arm length. The girl's limber legs tensed as she pressed down, her return gracefully and beautifully, a delight to the eye like a dance.

The sound of her return ball landing on the boy's court was the perfect accompaniment to the dance.

“15-0!”

[Atobe Keigo, Favorability +1. ]

“……!”

Kurikawa Sana took a deep breath.

Thank you, Mr. Federer.

Atobe Keigo held the racket and suddenly asked her, "Do you have any dancing skills?"

Huh? That's obvious? Just like the skill description in his stats, his insight is quite impressive.

"I study ballet." Kurikawa Sana nodded.

[Atobe Keigo, Favorability +2. ]

Quite gorgeous.

Atobe Keigo curled the corners of his mouth and swung his racket to lead to the second serve.

Kurikawa Sana still received this serve steadily, and Atobe Keigo was able to return her ball. For a moment, the court fell silent, and everyone was stunned. Only the rapid and fierce "bang bang" of the two players' hitting the ball could be heard.

The two players' movements towards the ball were crisp and neat, as standard as a textbook, and so fast that it was hard to keep up.

"What a high-level duel, both of them are so strong..."

"Is this really a game that a middle school student can play?"

"It turns out that only Captain Atobe can fight Kurikawa!"

After hearing these comments from the members, the four regular players who had just been defeated by Kurikawa Sana did not feel offended.

Hiyoshi Wakaba and Hou Chotaro, who are one grade lower than him, don't think they can defeat Atobe now, while Mukai Taketo and Shishido Ryo were defeated by Atobe on the day they first met him.

This is Keigo Atobe, the true "king" who stands above all the Hyotei people.

“40-15!”

When Keigo Atobe's ball landed in his own court and scored, and the referee announced the score "40-15", Sana Kurikawa also opened her eyes wide in surprise.

The crowd outside the stadium suddenly became excited.

"Captain Atobe scored again! Three points in a row!"

"As expected of Atobe! No one has ever been able to take the lead before her!"

"One more ball—"

The system's voice rang in her mind: [Sana, are you letting me win? ]

Kurikawa Sana: [I didn't! He's really strong!]

She was not sure when she was scored the first time. But when Atobe Keigo scored the third time with a high-speed super topspin ball, Kurikawa Sana was finally sure - Atobe Keigo had discovered her weakness.

No, to be precise, it is Federer's weakness.

Federer's tennis skills are almost flawless, especially his impeccable forehand return, which is called "the hand of God" by fans and media. But if you insist on saying that Federer still has any weaknesses, his backhand is relatively passive when facing topspin high balls.

The three points that Keigo Atobe scored were all from topspin high balls she hit with her backhand grip. Faced with the weak points, Kurikawa Sana was unable to react for a moment.

Rather than being scored three points in a row, Kurikawa Sana was more surprised by Atobe Keigo's amazing insight.

It only took Atobe a few balls to see through Federer's few weaknesses.

Federer has won 20 Grand Slams in his career and has been ranked number one in the world men's singles rankings for 237 consecutive weeks. He has reached unrivaled heights, his tennis technique has reached perfection, and he is undisputedly recognized as the world's number one tennis player.

Such a legendary and powerful figure, yet it only took Atobe Keigo such a short time to see through his few weaknesses?!

What does this mean? A middle school student, using only a few balls, discerned the weaknesses of the world's strongest professional tennis player and quickly applied them in real-world combat.

...So strong.

The only complaint is that for some reason, when Atobe uses his god-level insight, he always puts his hand on the bridge of his nose between his eyes, which is a bit childish.

Sometimes while playing ball, Tezuka would suddenly pull out one hand and make this gesture, as if he would not be able to see through the opponent without doing so.

system:【………】

If Atobe could hear her inner complaints, he would probably be so angry that he laughed.

System: [Sanae, don't you have the most advanced god-level skill in the tennis world, Black Hole? Why don't you use it?]

Kurikawa Sana shook her head inwardly: "Look at everyone's love for tennis. How could I bear to shatter their understanding with a black hole... I won't use it now. I'll only consider using it when I see this amazing skill everywhere."

System: [Understood.]

Indeed, if she were to use a pink tennis racket to create a black hole in front of everyone right now, even the members of her fan club would probably faint from fear.

With a "bang"!

"GAME AOTOBE! The score is 1-0!"

"Captain Atobe won the first game! As expected of him, the King of Hyotei!"

"This is the first time someone has managed to win a game against Kurikawa..."

"Don't get too excited yet, it's Kurikawa-san's turn to serve next!"

Kurikawa Sana continued to toss the ball upwards and hit 4 serves.

“15-0!”

“30-0!”

“40-0!”

When the last ball was served, Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a moment, and the muscles in her arm stiffened unnaturally for a moment.

...Is it an illusion?

Her arms seemed to be a little out of control, and she felt her muscles starting to stiffen and weaken, just like the last time she had used all her strength to play a practice match with them at the Volleyball World Training Camp.

She has challenged too many people in a row. If she continues to fight at such a high intensity, it may cause the same high fever and decreased health value. She doesn't want to do that for the time being.

Their favorability towards her is not very high at the moment. If she falls seriously ill, it may not necessarily arouse sympathy. Instead, it may delay precious time and progress of the strategy.

"GAME KURIKAWA! The score is 1 to 1!"

The crowd was boiling again.

"Another four consecutive points from serves!"

"Sure enough, Kurikawa's serve is too strong. Even President Atobe can't break it?!"

"After all, that was a serve at 200 kilometers per hour!"

"Maybe Captain Atobe is observing her ball movement? Just like when Oshitari-senpai and Captain Atobe fought!"

Ignoring the noise of the crowd, Atobe Keigo stared at her closely, "Are you tired? Your movements just now were very unnatural."

Kurikawa Sana immediately stood up straight and denied it, "No, no, I can still fight!"

After a match, she heard the sound of [Atobe Keigo Favorability +1+1+1+1] ringing non-stop. How could she stop? She had to at least finish this round.

"Don't be so stubborn. Nothing can be hidden from my eyes."

She had already challenged all the main players in the women's tennis and four main players in the men's tennis in succession, which consumed a lot of physical energy. How could she not be tired?

"But I want to fight you."

The girl's voice was soft and sweet, yet revealed an inexplicable stubbornness.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and a thin layer of mist covered her beautiful blue eyes. No one could block her gaze.

“……!”

Atobe Keigo's deep blue-black pupils shrank slightly.

[Atobe Keigo, Favorability +6. ]

"OK."

The boy with short purple-gray hair curled his lips, bent down, and assumed a standard attacking stance. His face was filled with unprecedented joy. "Then go all out and charge at me, Kurikawa Sana."

…

The subsequent competition between the two reached a level that no one else could touch.

Just watching the game was mesmerizing and captivating. And the two players on the court, through each attack and defense, seemed to be engaging in a deeper communication of another kind.

"Take that!" Atobe Keigo jumped high, and the arrogant smile on his face became even bigger.

“……!”

Kurikawa Sana was also fully focused, staring at the direction of the opponent's hit with full attention.

Is it coming? One of the special moves in Atobe's attribute panel!

The next second, there was a "bang!" She felt a slight numbness in her wrist, and the racket fell to the ground with a "snap" sound, flying a considerable distance.

Atobe seemed to have reduced his strength a little, and it did not cause her any pain. Instead, he hit the tendon in her wrist with incredible precision, causing her to involuntarily let go of the racket.

The ball bounced back to Keigo Atobe's court, and the boy jumped high again, smashing it for the second time. "Waltz towards destruction!"

So that's it, this is one of his special skills.

By knocking the opponent's racket off with the first smash, the second smash can be scored in one go, which requires very precise ball control skills.

As for the opponent, he even lost his racket, so naturally he lost points.

If it were someone else, they would have already been scored by now.

But Kurikawa Sana is different, she has a cheat.

Kurikawa Sana quickly redeemed and purchased a very cheap item in the system mall—

A strong racket

Just like the [hard basketball] she bought when she and Akashi Seijuro were kidnapped in the first world.

She once complained that rackets and balls can be bought in stores, so why bother buying them in the system mall?

Now she understands, and it smells really good.

In an instant, a tennis racket appeared out of thin air in her hand.

With a "bang"!

Before Keigo Atobe's jump landed, Sana Kurikawa scored with a fierce return shot!

Atobe Keigo: “……?”

Where did she get the racket?

Atobe Keigo's gaze first focused on the racket lying on the ground, then shifted to the racket in her hand, and began to recall when this racket in her hand appeared.

But he didn't believe it. With a low roar, Keigo Atobe jumped high and smashed the ball again, knocking the new racket out of her hand.

"Waltz Toward Destruction!"

Kurikawa Sana didn't believe it either, so she changed into another pair of rackets and then returned the ball with lightning speed and a "bang" to score.

Atobe Keigo: “…”

“………………………………………………………”

The whole place was silent, with only Kurikawa Sana and Atobe Keigo staring at each other.

Two identical pairs of pink tennis rackets lay quietly on the ground, as if saying they were going to sleep first and not to be disturbed.

After a long while, the referee came back to his senses as if from another world and announced the score.

"GAME KURIKAWA! The score is 3 to 2!"

After a long silence, the noise and discussion began to rise again.

"No, no way... Captain Atobe is ahead!"

"Are my eyes blurry? Why do I see three pairs of rackets? Where did the last two pairs come from?"

"As expected of Ms. Sana, she even has more rackets than others!"

"...Isn't the filter of you guys at the Kurikawa fan club a little too thick? So where did that come from?!"

As for the Ice Emperor standing in the center of the court, after a brief moment of surprise, he began to laugh loudly towards the sky.

“Hahahaha…hahahahahahahaha!”

Kurikawa Sana was also stunned.

Oh no, could it be that she played too much and got hurt, wuwuwu.

After laughing for quite a while, Atobe Keigo finally stopped, but the smile on his lips remained. The boy stared at her with his sharp eyes, "You are quite funny."

[Atobe Keigo, Favorability +10. ]

Kurikawa Sana: "!!!"

Huh? Huh? Huh?

Kurikawa Sana was also completely stunned. After today's whole day and this match... the harvest was too rich, right?!

——Atobe’s favorability level has reached 50.

An indescribable ecstasy surged in her heart, and the soreness in her muscles after challenging so many people in succession became more and more obvious.

Kurikawa Sana was almost crying with joy. She didn't even want to hit the ball anymore. She was afraid that she would lose control if she continued playing, so she picked up the three rackets on the ground and ran away.

"Thank you, Atobe-kun. It was fun playing with you! I'm a little tired, so I'll be leaving now!"

Atobe Keigo: “?”

Looking at the black-haired girl's back as she skipped away happily, Atobe Keigo fell into silence.

Huh? You're running away now?!

They haven't decided the winner yet!!!