Chapter 166 Tennis 54
The state of no self?
Kurikawa Sana has very good hearing. She caught a key word from the people from Seigaku who were watching on the sidelines - the state of no self.
It was one of Echizen Ryoma's signature moves, seemingly an ability he awakened during his battle with Sanada Genichirō in the Kanto Tournament finals. Later, it was said that this "selfless state" was the key to Echizen's victory over Sanada, and it was incredibly powerful.
System: [Oh? You've already noticed it before the fight even started? Sana, could it be that you also possess the same insight as Atobe's "Ice World"?]
Kurikawa Sana: "???"
She couldn't help but grumble, "Huh? Does this even require any insight? He's already glowing all over! Colorfully!"
System: [...That's true.]
Anything that glows is special, especially colorful ones. Just like in the first round of Basketball World, when Aomine Daiki opened the "zone" and his entire body glowed with indigo, he started playing fantasy basketball.
At that time, the light emitted by Aomine's body was only one color and it was already so invincible. Then, wouldn't Echizen be invincible with the colorful light now?
She had already felt that the combat power in the tennis world was even more outrageous than the previous two worlds.
Kurikawa Sana clearly remembers that during the volleyball world summer training, she was overwhelmed in combat because she was possessed by the Lion King "Leon". Her 355cm high jump when spiking the ball shocked the whole audience, and when she jumped to 360cm later, the whole audience was silent.
When her powerful smash bounced the ball to the ceiling, everyone's favorability towards her soared.
However, now, in this fantasy world of tennis, a 360cm reach is nothing. The special shots of Taketo Mukai and Eiji Kikumaru can easily jump to two stories high.
If Mukohi Taketo and Kikumaru Eiji were in the volleyball world, their jumping ability would earn the comment of Ushijima Wakari: "Mukohi/Kikumaru, you should come to Shiratorizawa."
Here, not only is a jump of more than three and a half meters not enough, even super strength is nothing. In this world, Genichirō Sanada's "Invasion Like Fire" and Takashi Kawamura's "Havoc Ball" can penetrate walls.
Kurikawa Sana was thinking seriously. Even O'Neal, Leon and Federer didn't seem to be able to hit the ball through the wall.
My goodness, it can even penetrate walls. Isn’t that a bullet? Or is it a ball?
But in the world of tennis, whether it's jumping two stories high or hitting the ball through a wall, it's as easy as breathing.
Looking back now, Kurikawa Sana even feels that when she challenged the regular players of the tennis club and Atobe at Hyotei Academy, everyone was shocked by her tennis skills and became more fond of her because her fighting power had not yet expanded at that time.
After the Kanto Tournament, especially after the match between Seigaku and Rikkai University, the power of the entire tennis world seemed to have suddenly expanded.
"Demonization", "Wind, Forest, Fire and Mountain", "Tornado Smash", "Ice World"... Various fantastic magic skills emerge in an endless stream. Kurikawa Sana is a little worried now, worried that her "normal" ball skills are not good enough.
Whether it was during the multi-school summer camp in the volleyball world or when Hyotei challenged the tennis club and was watched by onlookers, there were never as many spectators as there are now.
The guests of the Atobe cruise ship, Seigaku, Hyotei, and the regulars of Rikkai University—everyone was watching her, watching her match with Echizen Ryoma.
She wants to fight hard.
Kurikawa Sana gripped her racket tightly, raised her head and looked at the other party, her eyes flashing with determination.
*
"Sana-senpai, I'm coming."
The first game was Echizen Ryoma's serve. After announcing this, the young man began to jump, swing his racket, and raise his arms in a standard manner.
It seemed like an ordinary ball. Kurikawa Sana had clearly seen the path of the ball, but when her racket was about to catch the ball, the little yellow ball disappeared with a "whoosh".
When she looked back, the ball had already landed not far behind her and scored.
"It appeared! An imitation of the selfless state!"
"It's Fuji's 'Disappearing Serve'! By giving the ball a strong spin, it shoots out past the opponent's feet, making it appear as if the ball has vanished!"
"Echizen even managed to learn Fuji's special move! But he entered the state of selflessness right from the start. What if he runs out of energy soon?"
Kurikawa Sana: "..."
She had discovered that in this world, when people played basketball, there would always be an off-court commentary team, just like when she was watching everyone's bumper car showdown before.
No matter how fantastic the skills are, the commentators can always make sense of them and find a seemingly reasonable explanation.
But no matter how scientifically she explained it, it was difficult for her to understand magical skills like "Destroying the Five Senses".
Kurikawa Sana is a little worried now, wondering if Echizen also possesses the same skill as Yukimura that can "destroy the five senses." Even if she were possessed by a Grand Slam player, she would have to stand there in punishment.
System: [Sana, what are you worried about as a contestant holding the "Black Hole of Ashura Shinto"?]
...Huh?
Kurikawa Sana was stunned for a moment.
That’s right! In the first week, in order to escape the kidnapping case with Akashi Seijuro, she exchanged for the “Black Hole”!
It literally means you can create a black hole with a tennis racket!
Kurikawa Sana was a little conflicted: [Do I really need to use such a magical skill? Will it shatter their young hearts...]
System: [Look at the skills they have now. They've destroyed all five senses, and the ball has disappeared. So, creating a black hole with a tennis racket is pretty normal, right?]
Kurikawa Sana was silent for a moment: [It seems so.]
While Kurikawa Sana was distractedly communicating with the system while receiving the serve, Echizen Ryoma, who continued to enter the state of selflessness, had already scored several points in a row with the "disappearing serve" and directly won his first service game.
The referee loudly announced the score of the first round: "GAME EICHIZEN! The score is 1 to 0!"
“……!”
Except for the regular members of the Hyotei Tennis Club who had seen Kurikawa Sana's skills, the others who had never seen her play were thrown into an uproar.
"Wow...is Echizen taking his game a little too seriously? Is he going to shut us out?" Oishi Shuichiro sweatdropped. "This kid is really something. He's not holding back!"
Momoshiro Takeshi fell into deep thought. "That's not right. Earlier, when we were at the street tennis court, Atobe said that Kurikawa-senpai was a very good player, to the point where he could single-handedly challenge all the Hyotei members without a single defeat."
Fuji Shusuke, the only person in Seigaku who had seen Kurikawa Sana play, said calmly, "She just hasn't exerted her strength yet."
"Come to think of it, why doesn't Echizen use his outspin serve?" Kikumaru Eiji tilted his head in confusion.
Inui Sadaharu: "An outspin serve can easily hit the opponent's face if you're not careful. Echizen probably doesn't want to see that happen."
"I see!"
…
There was a lot of noise outside the venue. The first game was like a one-sided match, which made the directors and guests of the "Atobe" on the upper deck seem to feel bored. Some of them were yawning, and some were shaking their heads helplessly.
The girl's beauty is indeed stunning, but the one-sided match is really boring.
But the next second, her performance slapped the faces of those who held these views.
Just when some people were about to leave, there was a loud "bang", like a sonic boom, which made everyone freeze in place, and they almost couldn't hold the champagne and red wine glasses in their hands.
When I turned around, the electronic scoreboard showed that Kurikawa Sana had scored a point.
——It’s Kurikawa Sana’s turn to serve.
She moved again and sent out the second ball.
The girl was dressed in a pink and white tennis dress. Her left arm, raised high, was a pure white, slender yet beautifully muscled. The racket was firmly grasped in her right hand, like a Valkyrie clutching a sword, ready to be unsheathed.
The next moment, she raised her left hand lightly, and the ball flew out of her hand. Almost at the same time, the girl's body suddenly released like a spring compressed to the limit—her knees bent, her center of gravity dropped, and the power in her feet accumulated. Her whole body was like a bow suddenly stretched to its full length.
Kurikawa Sana twisted her waist and shoulders, pressed down her wrist and slammed the ball. The pink racket turned into a pink lightning under the night lights of the cruise ship deck, making a loud "bang"!
The yellow-green ball turned into a meteor and shot out, heading straight for the blind spot outside the serving area, and hit the inside of the sideline hard. The landing point was tricky and the score was perfect.
“Bang”, “Bang”!!!
Without giving him any time to breathe, he served two consecutive aces. The trajectory of the ball after it hit the ground and bounced was so sharp and tricky that it was impossible to defend against, and he scored directly!
The score was tied at 1-1, and both sides won their serve games to show respect.
“………”
The whole place was silent, with only the music playing in the public area of the cruise ship's deck.
The jazz music has a long tune, and the rising ending notes carry a sense of complacency and confidence, as if even the background music is praising the girl's performance.
Echizen Ryoma's amber pupils suddenly shrank. He was still in the process of swinging his racket to touch the opponent's serve, but he didn't even touch the ball.
In the state of selflessness, he couldn't even touch the serve. How is this possible?!
Her serve is not only fast and powerful, but also has a tricky landing point. The speed and angle after the rebound are also quite amazing and completely unpredictable. It is an extremely perfect technique that can almost be described as a show of skill.
There was a dead silence on the sidelines, especially for the guests on the second floor who had originally planned to just watch the excitement. They were particularly shocked.
I had originally just been bored after dinner and watched a tennis match between middle school students, but the level of play on both sides was so high it was hard to describe. If you didn't know better, you'd think you'd stumbled into the Wimbledon final, a venue you'd pay a fortune to watch. How could anyone not be shocked?!
After a long while, someone finally let out a low sigh, as if waking from a dream: "Oh my God... How did you hit that serve?"
Some people walked out from other floors and came to the observation deck with shocked expressions. "Why did I just hear four gunshots? Who was shooting?"
"No one fired a gun! It was just middle school students playing tennis!"
"…What?!"
There were mixed reactions from all around, Keigo Atobe curled up the corners of his mouth and smiled, and the rest of the Hyotei who had seen Kurikawa Sana's strength also smiled, and there was even a sense of pride and relief in their smiles, like a member of their family.
Awesome! This feeling of getting slapped in the face is so good!
Just now, when they heard some guests upstairs booing and jeers in boredom, God knows how tightly they clenched their fists and how their faces changed.
When Kurikawa Sana lost the first game, the Hyotei team wasn't worried. It was clear she was observing Echizen's shots.
Besides, Echizen has already entered the "state of no self". When the opponent is in this state, it is a very reasonable strategy to let him score some points first, consume his physical strength, and conserve his own physical strength.
Although she seemed to be overthinking or even daydreaming when it came to the last two balls, but fortunately she came back to her senses in time when it came to her own serve. The four balls she just hit were even more powerful than the day when she challenged all the members of Hyotei.
However, Echizen is indeed very powerful. He was able to win the first game easily against Sana.
Echizen's concentration is unprecedented, he is concentrating all his energy, and it is clear that he is using the same concentration as when he fought against Genichirō Sanada to fight Sana.
What do those people booing upstairs know?
The people at Hyotei became happier the more they thought about it. Although Sana was not a member of their tennis club, she was also a member of Hyotei Academy.
When she shines, it's Hyotei shining. In short, it's awesome!
…
In the Seigaku spectator booth, Momoshiro Takeshi's mouth opened into an O shape. "No wonder that day at the street tennis court, Atobe said that she challenged almost all of Hyotei's regulars and was undefeated... It turns out Sana-senpai is really that strong!"
Inui Sadaharu was also so excited that he was scribbling something frantically in his notebook. "The serve speed is 260 kilometers per hour, which is close to the human body's limit since data was recorded... The ball hits the ground at an acute angle of 15 degrees, making it almost impossible to catch..."
Kaidou Xun twitched his lips. "Hiss—is there any need to record this data? It's impossible to replicate it!"
Kikumaru Eiji was stunned and confused. "She's really strong... Eh? That's not right. Kurikawa's serve is so strong, so her receiving power and technique shouldn't be bad either. How could she just lose four points and let that little guy take the first game?"
Oishi Shuichiro was stunned for a moment, "Could it be that she is giving in to Echizen?"
"No." Fuji Shusuke said calmly: "She was just observing Echizen's ball path."
Unlike everyone else who was shocked at this moment, Fuji Shusuke seemed the calmest among all.
The reason was simple, it was just that before today, he had already seen how good she was at tennis.
On the day of the match between Seigaku and St. Rudolph's College, Fuji Shusuke witnessed with his own eyes the scene where Kurikawa challenged Kanzuki to a duel to help Yuta vent his anger.
The power she displayed that day was already formidable, having defeated her opponent 6-0. However, it now appeared that she had concealed her true strength that day, displaying less than 40% of her true power.
Now she is giving her all and firing on all cylinders.
Fuji Shusuke felt a slight tremor in his fingertips. After realizing this, even he was stunned for a moment.
He thought he was the calmest person in the room, but the calmness only existed on his expression. His fingertips were actually trembling.
…was it excitement?
Fuji Shusuke's ice-blue pupils contracted for a moment. He raised his hand, pressed the tip of his index finger, and looked at the black-haired girl in the center of the court.
…
*
The whole Rikkai University was in shock. Kirihara Akaya looked at his captain in astonishment, "Captain Yukimura, is Kurikawa-senpai such a good basketball player?!"
Kuwahara Jack glanced at the timer in disbelief. "Unbelievable... Her serve just now completely broke the top speed of this tournament, didn't it?"
The green bubbles Marui Bunta blew popped. Possessing the unique skill of "tightrope walking," he placed greater emphasis on technique. "Compared to speed, the technique and control of those four serves were the most astounding aspects. They couldn't be described simply as perfect."
Yanagi Renji was silent for a moment, then he opened his eyes again. He had almost lost count of how many times he had opened his eyes because of the shock Kurikawa Sana brought him. "No, this speed and power are still worth noting. It's unbelievable that such a slender figure and arms can actually hit such a serve."
The key point is that he, Seiichi and Niou know about Kurikawa Sana's physical condition.
Even with such a serious heart disease, he could still deliver such a powerful serve... For a moment, Yanagi Renji was also deeply shocked.
Sanada Genichirō crossed his arms and whispered, "When we get back, double the amount of regular season practice! A seemingly fragile girl can serve with such power. Even the king of Rikkai can't fall behind!"
Kirihara Akaya quickly stood at attention: "Yes! Vice Minister Sanada!"
Niou Masaharu remained silent, his narrow green eyes fixed on the girl's expression, afraid that she would have a heart attack.
After observing her for a while, and making sure she showed no signs of discomfort, Niou Masaharu frowned and asked Yukimura Seiichi, "So, this is also the first day you found out she can play tennis?"
The one who answered him was Yukimura Seiichi with a low "hmm".
Yukimura Seiichi's expression was very calm, and his face was so beautiful that it was hard to describe, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
His deep blue eyes were almost the same color as the blue sky above the sea, reflecting an indifferent look.
In the banquet hall, when he saw Ryoma Echizen asking Kurikawa Sana to fulfill his promise in front of everyone, Yukimura Seiichi was already a little surprised.
It turned out that in addition to making an appointment with him to play a game of ball, she also had the same appointment with the first-year student at Qingxue.
When she came to Kanagawa to see him, they had already agreed to play a game of tennis together. However, on the day of the appointment, he suddenly suffered an acute radiculitis attack and was admitted to the hospital, so he missed the game.
And now, Ryoma Echizen took the lead in realizing this wish and played a game of ball with her.
Yukimura Seiichi slowly lowered his eyes, and the color in his eyes was a little cold.
Never mind, it’s just a game. Let Echizen take the lead. It’s not like there will be no chance to play in the future.
It's just a matter of order. The other party is just a first-year student, so it's not a big problem.
As for her ball skills...
It's not that Yukimura Seiichi hadn't thought that she would be very good at tennis, after all, he had seen her play basketball.
Her basketball skills were so good that she could compete with NBA stars like Hanamichi Sakuragi, Rukawa Kaede, and Eiji Sawakita. So even when she said she was only "a little bit good" at tennis, he guessed she was just being modest.
But I still didn't expect that her tennis skills would be so good.
It’s beyond words to describe.
It is complete and total, dominating in strength, speed and technique, pure and powerful.
Yukimura Seiichi raised his head again, and there was even a hint of "confusion" in his eyes when he looked at the black-haired girl.
Kurikawa Sana...
How many more surprises do you want to give everyone?
…
On the other side, on the court.
"Wow." Echizen Ryoma looked at the girl on the other side of the net, the light in his amber cat eyes becoming more and more excited. "The King of Monkey Mountain is right, Sana-senpai, you are really strong."
Kurikawa Sana touched the back of her head sheepishly, "Well, no problem, no problem..."
The reason why everyone's reaction this time was so exaggerated was because she used at least three times the force in her four serves compared to when she challenged for the main draw at Hyotei Academy.
If her estimation was correct, those four serves she had just made were probably close to the limits of the human body.
If I had to describe it, she almost used up three times the strength of "Shaquille O'Neal" + "Lion King" Leon + Federer in her body. Now her arms are a little sore.
Now whenever she looked up, no matter if it was the people from Seigaku, Hyotei, or Rikkai University standing on the sidelines, or the guests standing on the high stands on the second floor, everyone had a look of shock on their faces.
Correspondingly, Kurikawa Sana also heard many voices of increased favorability, especially Echizen Ryoma's increased the most.
Looking at the excited eyes of the dark green-haired boy on the other side of the net, and the obvious, almost overflowing love for tennis in his eyes, Kurikawa Sana was even a little dazed for a moment.
It seems so.
Echizen is really similar to Kageyama Tobio from the volleyball world in the previous round.
Both Echizen and Kageyama had an unparalleled love for tennis/volleyball, and both asked her directly in front of everyone - "Senior, it's time to fulfill your promise to play a game with me."
They have the strongest passion, and they also add the most favorability.
It's as if they are the protagonists of the story.
The system reminded her in her mind: [Sana, take it easy. Don't get carried away and act too much.]
"Remember the lesson from the volleyball world training camp? You overexerted yourself that time, and after the match, you collapsed to your knees. You also developed a high fever that lowered your health."
Kurikawa Sana: [...! 】
[I understand, system...]
“You still have lots more to work on——”
Ryoma Echizen grew up in the United States. After entering the state of selflessness, his catchphrase also became the English version of his native language.
The boy's excited voice brought her back to her senses, "Keep going, Sana-senpai!"
As soon as she finished speaking, a powerful outspin serve came at her. Kurikawa Sana smiled and swung her racket back, "Why don't you speak English for this sentence, Echizen-kun?"
Echizen Ryoma was stunned for a moment. After a brief pause, he smiled and jumped high again. With one jump, he reached the height of two floors.
While performing his new special move, the "Tornado Smash," he said with a smile, "You want to hear more from me? Fine! Listen up—"
With a "bang", the smash landed! Echizen Ryoma and the ball landed at the same time, and his voice continued to be heard from the other side of the net -
“I fall for you.”
A double entendre.
Ryoma Echizen's voice changed a little. The clear boy's voice had a different meaning, a barely noticeable hoarseness.
The abnormal light on his body also disappeared, as if he had taken the initiative to temporarily release the state of selflessness.
This means that these are the words he said on his own initiative when he was in complete self-control.
[Echizen Ryoma, Favorability +10. ]
Kurikawa Sana slowly opened her eyes and didn't even react when the ball fell to the ground and bounced back.
I fall for you.
(I'm in love with you)
But as the boy jumped high and smashed the ball before landing, it seemed to have another meaning.
(I landed for you)
“……!”
Kurikawa Sana felt as if her heart was electrocuted, and she almost couldn't help but cover her mouth.
Help……
How could he be so good? !
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