Chapter 25
The top four teams in the Kanto competition, Jili Kaida, have finished their competition and officially entered the battle for the championship and runner-up.
Rikkai University vs. Fudomine, Seigakuen vs. Rokkaku Junior High School, the winners will fight again to decide the champion.
On the way to the competition, the Rikkai University team moved forward slowly with their tennis bags on their backs. Kirihara Akaya was the only one in the team who was extremely excited.
Sanada adjusted the brim of his hat. "Kirihara, don't fall behind."
"Okay! Vice Minister Sanada." Kirihara Akaya responded reflexively, looking forward to the match even more. "Lions, what kind of strength do they have?"
Niou Masaharu rolled his eyes. "Pfft! Ever since the strategist shared information about Tachibana Yoshihei, Akano's been eager for a good fight. Maybe the strategist wants to make an appearance himself?"
"Ahem~ Nioh." Yagyu Hiroshi pushed his glasses to remind him. Yagyu was right in front of him and said that it was okay to not bring a military advisor with him, and he even complained that the training list was not full enough.
Marui Bunta took out some bubble gum. "That's what Akagi should worry about. If he loses, he'll be punished by the Iron Fist anyway."
"Yanagi." Sanada nodded at Yanagi Renji who had returned from collecting information, and took the lead to report to the stadium.
The staff member stumbled through the registration process and breathed a sigh of relief. "This momentum is really scary."
The members of the Fudomine Tennis Club, who arrived earlier than Rikkai University, had already gathered on the court.
"The seeded teams are different. They arrive on time and have high support rates. That sophomore is so lucky that he can even steal the cake from the seniors..." Ibu Shinji complained expressionlessly.
Kamio was annoyed, and with the added pressure of facing the championship team, "So noisy, Shinji."
Ishida Tetsu held the racket nervously, his hands were sweaty, after all, they were the first doubles pair to play.
"Now that everyone is here, let's get ready for the competition." Ju Jiping appeared calm, but in fact he was not very confident.
Rikkai University's arrangements differ from Hyotei's. If their victory over Hyotei in the regional tournament was a strategic move, it was because Hyotei gave them the opportunity. Rikkai University doesn't have a second team participating.
Fudomine's tactic of using strong players in the first three games to win the game had no chance to be used against Rikkai University.
Tachibana Jiping cannot show any of these, as Fudomine's confidence all lies in the captain, so Tachibana Jiping must keep the situation under control.
"Please advise me."
After saluting each other, Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi remained on the field.
Niou Masaharu staggered towards the backcourt. "Let's go, Biru. Let's finish the game and rest early."
The sound can be heard even from the other side of the Immovable Peak.
Sakurai Masaya frowned. "Damn it, the Rikkai University players are so disdainful. Let them see what I'm up to later."
Ishida Tetsu nodded silently, though he wasn't entirely sure. With an older brother who was a regular on the Shitenhoji Tennis Club, Ishida Tetsu was the only one, besides Captain Tachibana Yoshihei, who had the most thorough knowledge of Rikkai University. It was precisely because of this understanding that he realized just how formidable Rikkai University's strength truly was.
Yagyu Hiroshi watched his partner attract hatred, and he knew the key to this game from the players who stayed in the peak field.
"The game begins."
Niou Masaharu's serve was steady and didn't look strong, at least not like Sanada's, whose serve was so impressive that both those inside and outside the court thought it was impressive.
Masaya Sakurai in the frontcourt swung his racket to intercept, and Hiroshi Yagyu naturally used his forte to intercept.
Ishida Tetsu was a step slow in filling the position, but Niou Masaharu was well prepared. Not to mention the information prepared by the military advisor, even the strength of Fudomine's doubles team was not much higher than the average of the regional doubles team.
"Game Tatekai Ohyagi Nio, 15-0!"
Marui Bunta placed his hand in front of Kirihara Akaya. "Don't look at Akaya, your match is still a while away."
"Then Marui-senpai, please finish the game quickly." Kirihara Akaya asked with confidence.
A bubble popped, and Marui Bunta held Kirihara Akaya's head. "Soon, Kuwahara and I will be facing opponents stronger than these two on the field. I didn't expect the difference between a one-two doubles match to become apparent right now. I really shouldn't have agreed to Niou just for two cupcakes. It's a bit of a loss."
Niou Masaharu on the field was not happy. "Bunta, that's not what you said when you were eating it. I spent a whole weekend waiting in line with you to buy this limited edition."
Niou Masaharu, who had sharp ears, returned the ball cleanly and did not lose any time in refuting Marui Bunta.
"Game Tatekai Ohyagi Nio, 2-0!"
Marui Bunta glanced at Sanada without saying anything. He waited for a while before finding an opportunity to continue the conversation with Nioh.
Ishida Tetsu gripped the racket tightly, took a deep breath, and adjusted his mentality.
The players from Rikkai University said something from time to time, but did not give any room for Tetsu Ishida and Masaya Sakurai to counterattack and score.
"Game Tatekai Dai Yagyu Nio, 30-0!" Following the referee's voice, Tatekai Dai scored another point.
Niou Masaharu stood beside Yagyu Hiroshi and summarized. "Nothing noteworthy. While he seems to have improved a bit since his match with Seigaku, the change isn't drastic. Just be careful to avoid that hado ball."
Yagyu Hiroshi nodded and kept pace with Niou.
Ishida Tetsu glanced at Captain Tachibana Yoshihei. Now Fudomine was trailing 0-3, and their chances were slim without any help, so he wanted to use the Hado ball to boost morale.
Tachibana Yoshihei still didn't want Ishida Tetsu to use the Hado Kyuuba trick too many times, so he looked at Sakurai Masaya who was under a lot of pressure on the field and made a gesture.
Ishida Tetsu flexed his arm muscles and struck with all his strength.
Niou Masaharu curled his lips into a wicked smile. Everyone present was a fool. He exchanged a glance with Yagyu Hiroshi and waited for Fudomine to make a move.
"Hyposphere!"
Ishida Tetsu swung his racket hard and hit the tennis ball out.
Hiroshi Yagyu was not prepared to receive the ball, so Masaharu Niou watched helplessly as the ball fell to the ground beside him and scored.
"Game Fudomine, 15-30!"
The Fudomine half cheered, and Mori Tatsutoku pumped his fist. "Ishida scored."
"The counterattack has just begun." Kyosuke Uchimura cheered for his teammates.
Tachibana Yoshihei looked towards the Rikkai University spectator area, which was completely still. The people on the field were unaffected. "We lost this round."
Masaya Sakurai wiped off a sweat as Ishida's wave ball scored.
The two men from Fudomine were preparing to counterattack with the momentum of this goal, but Rikkai University's Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi were already prepared, and this was all within the military advisor's data observation.
Ishida Tetsu has only used Hajime in the competition three times, in the district competition and the match against Seigaku, where Seigaku's player won the doubles match and Kawamura withdrew.
When fighting against the Hyotei Team 2, the opponent was beaten and forfeited by this move.
The most recent occurrence was in the match against Yamabuki. It seemed that Yamabuki's doubles player was not prepared to receive the ball at the beginning. Fudomine's Ishida Tetsu used it a second time. Although the Yamabuki doubles player who received the ball did not give up directly, they were caught up in the second half and lost the game.
"Game Tatekai Oyagyu Nio, 3-0!"
The one point from the Hado ball didn't affect the performance of Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi. Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi returned the ball with ease. Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi were not prepared to try the power of the Hado ball. As long as it was Tetsu Ishida's return, it would be a backcourt counterattack.
Ishida Tetsu adjusted the angle of his grip, preparing to launch a counterattack in the next round.
Niou Masaharu's excellent eyesight noticed Ishida Tetsu's movements and gave a hint. "Hiru."
Yagyu Hiroshi quickly followed up and avoided the ball.
Ju Jiping stood up with a serious expression and asked to give up the competition.
"Puff~ Change people." Niou Masaharu fanned the air with his hands.
Kirihara Akaya blinked, coming to his senses. He couldn't believe that Niou-senpai, who could catch Vice Minister Sanada's aggressive attack, couldn't catch the Hado ball, even if it looked powerful. "Why don't you catch it, Niou-senpai?"
"We'll have to play for a few more rounds. If we finish early, Aka will be able to play against Fudomine's captain sooner." Niou Masaharu lied without hesitation.
Yagyu Hiroshi watched Kirihara Akagi being led astray by Niou Masaharu and continued to stare at Tachibana Yoshihei.
After Niou Masaharu fooled Kirihara Akaya, he snatched Marui Bunta's bubble gum as the price for changing his mind. Of course, changing his mind and trying to change positions was useless.
Marui Bunta came on stage with a huff. "Let's go, Kuwabara."
Jackal Kuwabara handed the racket to Bunta.
Soon, Fudomine's Ibu Shinji and Kamio Akira also stood on the field.
"The match begins, Fudomine Kamio serves."
Akira Kamio served the ball like a bullet, and the ball went straight to the backcourt at an extremely fast speed.
Jackal Kuwabara reacted quickly and swung his racket to meet the attack.
The ball drew a sharp arc in the air and headed straight for the blind corner of the court. Ibu Shinji chased after the ball and intercepted it.
"The reaction is not bad." Marui Bunta glanced at the Jackal Kuwabara.
Jackal Sawahara returned a short ball in the backfield.
Without Wen Tai saying too much, Jackal Sangyuan knew what Wen Tai wanted to test.
Jackal Kuwahara's ball landed precisely, and Kamio ran after it.
"Gap." Marui Bunta spun his racket and swung.
"Game Tatekai Daimarui Jackal, 15-0!"
Akira Kamio and Shinji Ibu are both capable, but their weakness is that some of their singles players have recently transitioned to doubles. In terms of chemistry, they lack the chemistry of long-term doubles partners.
Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwahara took advantage of their opponents' lack of tacit understanding, scored consecutively, and gradually took control of the rhythm of the game.
Ibu Shinji's side spin serve was continuously returned by the Jackal Kuwabara. Doubles is not like singles. For an excellent doubles player, having an extra partner will always be more powerful.
In singles, if you fail to respond to a sidespin serve in time, you will lose points. In doubles, there is enough time to react in the backcourt.
Kamio Akira's advantage is simple and clear. His speed is so fast that the opponent cannot react, but this speed is not so fatal to Rikkai University.
The advantage of the speed players was put into action. If it was a long-term combination, it would be fine, as Ibu Shinji could cooperate with the tactics immediately. Unfortunately, the two had different singles styles. Once Kamio Akira entered his own rhythm, the problems of the temporarily formed doubles team became apparent.
Rikkai University's Marui Bunta and this pair did not give their opponents much chance to adjust and continued to exert pressure.
"Game Tatekai Daimarui Jackal, 4-1!"
The tacit cooperation between Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwahara gradually tilted the balance of the game towards Rikkai University.
After a serve, Ibu Shinji tried to break Rikkai University's offensive by changing the ball path, temporarily paralyzing him and focusing on one person.
Marui Bunta felt his hand go numb, and the tennis ball fell on Rikkai University's half of the court.
Jackal Kuwahara knew that Marui Bunta wouldn't let the ball go for no reason.
"It's okay, Kuwabara." Marui Fumita shook his hands. "It's okay, quite interesting."
Marui Bunta, who likes technical moves, quickly matched Ibu Shinji's moves with Yanagi's information. In the district competition, Ibu Shinji of Fudomine faced off against the first-year players of Seigaku. In the second half of the game, the first-year players of Seigaku used a dual-sword style of play.
If you don't know how to use dual swords, you still have Kuwabara.
"Rikkai University Marui Jackals, 5-2!" As the scores continued to update, Rikkai University's advantage became increasingly apparent. Although Akira Kamio and Shinji Ibu tried hard to catch up, they were constantly being led by their opponents' strategies.
The Jackal Kuwahara's defense was like a fortress, rendering every attack from his opponent futile. Marui Bunta faked a spike, but was actually attacking the Jackal Kuwahara in the backcourt.
"Game set, won by Rikkai Omaruui Jackal!" The doubles match ended with the Jackal Kuwabara's ultimate move.
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