Chapter 30
"Let's go, Jackals. It's our turn. In the end, the tough ones will be left to us." Marui Bunta stood in the coach's seat.
Jackal Kuwabara followed his partner, accustomed to Marui Bunta's casual complaints. "Yukimura is still watching, Bunta. It's time to line up."
"That's right, let's go." Marui Bunta heard this and then noticed that Yukimura Seiichi was still staring at them.
The two walked side by side to the center of the court, passing by Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi who had just finished the game.
Marui really values the national-level Seigaku doubles, but of course he doesn't show it on his face.
On the Seigaku side, Oishi Shuichiro was in a heavy mood. It was because of the finals itself, and the pressure of representing the team before the game... Oishi Shuichiro was not in good shape.
Kikumaru Eiji was full of energy and ready for the challenge. Although he was quite nervous before the game, his focus was on the game once he entered the arena.
"Be a little more serious and let them know that there are differences across the country." Marui Bunta tilted his head and looked at the Jackal Kuwabara.
Jackal Sanghara nodded. "I'll do as you say."
Rikkai University's two doubles teams actually only had Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwahara in the team at the beginning. They had been aiming for the doubles position since they joined the team. Yagyu, who has never lost in the main competition until now, joined the pair of Roshi and Niou Masaharu a year and a half later.
Initially, there was no plan to show off their strength in the Kanto finals, as the national finals were more important. But now that Yukimura has been discharged from the hospital and wants to celebrate, the situation has changed.
"It seems like Bunta wants to end the game early." Niou Masaharu returned to the rest area and found his seat.
Yagyu Hiroshi sat down next to Niou Masaharu and put away his racket. "Marui's fighting spirit is very high. After all, this is Yukimura's first match since returning to the team."
The match was served by Rikkai University Jackal Kuwahara.
The tennis ball landed safely in the corner of the Seigaku court. Oishi Shuichiro reacted quickly, working in perfect harmony with his partner Kikumaru Eiji to return the ball.
Marui Bunta jumped lightly, and the racket drew a sharp arc in the air, smashing the ball back hard.
Kikumaru Eiji was not willing to be outdone. He rushed to the landing point of the ball, picked up the ball and sent it back to the opponent's court.
Jackal Kuwahara aimed at the abnormal state of Oishi Shuichiro, seized the opportunity, and made a precise interception in the backcourt.
"Game Tatekai Daimarui Jackal, 15-0!"
Beads of sweat formed on Oishi Shuichiro's forehead. "Oops, I was a step too slow. Don't let your mind wander during the game."
"Good job, Jackal. Keep up the good work and widen the gap." Marui Bunta gave Jackal Kuwahara a look and continued.
Hideichiro Oishi is being targeted and needs to adjust.
Kikumaru Eiji was always the one being taken care of in doubles matches, but in this match, the situation was reversed, and the more stable player panicked and needed time to calm down. Realizing this, Kikumaru Eiji decided to shoulder the responsibility of the team.
Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwahara seemed to be at ease both in attack and defense.
Noticing Kikumaru Eiji's movements, Marui Bunta blinked and charged directly. Although the military advisor's intelligence had revealed Kikumaru Eiji's weaknesses—one was physical strength, the other was vision—these had both been proven true in the match against St. Rudolph. With the advantage, Marui Bunta felt he could win without specifically targeting him.
"Game Tatekai Daimarui Jackal, 2-1!"
Although Kikumaru Eiji wanted to change the situation, he still seemed to be struggling in the face of Marui Bunta's flexible and changeable style of play.
Seeing this, Oishi Hideichiro was anxious. "If this continues, it will be difficult for Seigaku to recover from the defeat."
"Secret technique - iron pillar collision." Marui Bunta placed his racket diagonally on his chest in front of the net, and used the collision of the tennis ball to hit the blind spot of Kikumaru Eiji's defense.
"Game Tatekai Daimarui Jackal, 3-1!"
With his flexible body and excellent reaction, Eiji Kikumaru saved the ball time and time again from danger.
However, the doubles team had to hold on in the face of the tacit combination, and the score became wider and wider after the difference in individual strength.
"Game Rikkai University Marui Jackals, 40-15!" The referee's voice sounded, and Rikkai University's doubles advantage became more and more obvious.
In the rest area, Niou Masaharu put his arm around Yagyu Hiroshi's shoulder and pouted. "Pfft! If I had known that Seigaku's golden duo would play like this, we could have switched positions."
Yagyu Hiroshi took off Niou Masaharu's claws and watched the game quietly.
"What?! They're shouting so loudly outside the Seigaku match, but they don't actually have any real ability." The opponent's weak strength made Kirihara Akari, who was watching the match, feel better.
Yanagi Renji flipped through his notes and made a note under Oishi Shuichiro's data. "Attitude has a huge impact."
Sanada no longer used his match performance to prove his point with his deeply buried memories. Although he didn't understand why the difference was so huge, he just waited quietly for his own match to come.
Yukimura Seiichi folded his hands on his knees, his gaze fixed on the court, feeling the reunion with tennis. As for the competition, Rikkai University's main draw before the nationals had hardly given Yukimura much worry.
"Game Tatekai Daimarui Jackal, 4-1!"
Kikumaru Eiji was not specifically targeted, so he consumed a lot of physical energy.
Seigaku's situation was already precarious. At the crucial moment, Oishi Shuichiro arrived, giving the nearly-ended match a glimmer of hope. "Moon Climbing Intercept!"
Oishi Hideichiro's shot hit Marui Bunta's defense directly. Marui Bunta didn't expect Oishi Hideichiro to burst out such a powerful force at the end of the game.
"Game Aogaku Oishi Kikumaru, 40-40!"
Kikumaru Eiji saw Oishi Shuichiro recover and shouted, "Oishi!"
"Thank you for your hard work, Eiji. I'll let you carry the game alone, let's start the counterattack!" Oishi Hideichiro actively participated in the offense and defense to share the pressure on Kikumaru Eiji.
Kikumaru Eiji sensed the change in Oishi Shuichiro, and his fighting spirit was ignited. It was as if at this moment, all the fatigue he had experienced before had disappeared without a trace.
Kikumaru Eiji at the net moved more briskly, launching a fierce counterattack with dancing shots.
The tennis ball flew towards Marui Bunta's backhand like an arrow. Marui Bunta reacted quickly, but unfortunately the distance was not enough and the ball hit the net and landed out of bounds.
Qingxue recovered one point.
Seeing the counterattack momentum of the Seigaku combination, Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwahara continued to fight steadily.
Oishi Shuichiro exerted his strength. Jackal Kuwabara, unable to bear the pressure of Bunta being suppressed by the two, quickly moved to the front of the net, trying to intercept Oishi Shuichiro's attack. "Fire Rat Volley Cannon!"
When it comes to intercepting in the backcourt, Jackal Kuwabara is also a good player, and the Fire Rat Interceptor is more aggressive.
In the early stages, Jackal Kuwahara and Marui Bunta constantly created trouble for Seigaku's doubles combination. It was Oishi Shuichiro who couldn't withstand the pressure and disrupted the rhythm.
In terms of tacit cooperation, no doubles team would give up easily. The game was just a one-sided suppression of strength, and entered the normal doubles tug-of-war.
When facing the interception from the jackal Kuwabara, Kikumaru Eiji did not retreat but instead advanced and took the initiative to fight back.
Hideichiro Oishi understood what he meant and immediately rushed forward from the backcourt.
Marui Bunta turned his body to the side, deliberately revealing a flaw.
A powerful smash hit Marui Bunta's open space, but the jackal Kuwahara reacted quickly and blocked the ball. The ball landed right in front of Kikumaru Eiji, who didn't wait for the ball to hit the ground before volleying it back to Rikkai University's backcourt.
Marui Fumita had been waiting for a long time to fight back on the tennis court.
Kikumaru Eiji used his backhand to fight back, but Marui Bunta's ball was too tricky and he could only watch the ball fly past him and land in bounds.
"Game Tatekai Daimarui Jackal, 6-2!"
With both doubles matches won, the rest area of Seigaku fell silent. They only had one chance to play, and if they lost, the game would be over.
"Damn, is that okay? We have to let the game continue." Fuji Shusuke opened his eyes and said solemnly.
Inui Sadaharu closed his notebook and responded, "Of course."
The atmosphere in the Rikkai University rest area was lively, and everyone thought they had won. The next person to appear was Yanagi Renji, one of the three giants of Rikkai University.
Yanagi Renji looked at the score at 2-0 and went on the court with a relaxed look. "Just as planned."
No one knew that Yanagi Renji, standing on the field, made a surprising decision.
"Long time no see, Sadaharu."
"It's four years, three months and seven days, Renji."
Kirihara Akaya looked up after hearing the pre-match conversation. "Ryanagiri-senpai knows someone from Seigaku!?"
"You must be scared, Akaye. If you say that, Qingxue should be careful and double your training." Although Niou Masaharu didn't know the relationship between the military advisor and him, it didn't stop him from scaring his junior.
"No, Ryu-senpai isn't that kind of person. But what if we know each other? It might be a good match..." Kirihara Akaya's face showed what was going on in his head, something that even his Rikkai University teammates could understand.
Sanada's face darkened and his eyes moved back and forth between Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu, as if he was weighing something.
The match began with a data tennis presentation by Inui Sadaharu.
He started with a high-speed serve, and the tennis ball had a special spin, so Yanagi Renji's return did not cross the net.
"The chance of hitting the left side is 81 percent." Inui Sadaharu reached the ball's landing point one step ahead of the other.
Yanagi Renji went to the net, and Inui Sadaharu made his judgment. "It's a short lob slightly to the lower left corner, at an angle of about 45 degrees. I can catch it."
"Game Qingxuegan, 1-0!"
Seigaku was leading in the score, but Rikkai University was not affected at all.
Yanagi Renji had experienced this too much. He first lost and then caught up. The players from Rikkai University did not pay attention to the score. Even if they were five points behind, Yanagi Renji could catch up with his strength.
On the court, Inui Sadaharu was still using low balls to control the ball path, not wanting Yanagi Renji to use his forte of slice shots.
Yanagi Renji responded calmly, seemingly easily deciphering Sadaharu Inui's carefully prepared data tennis. His returns were perfectly timed, neither too strong nor too slow. "Sadaharu, do you think lowering your return posture will stop my slice?"
Breaking through Sadaharu Inui's low ball blockade, Renji Yanagi scored with a slice.
"Game Li Hai Daliu, 1-1!"
Data tennis is a long-lasting tug-of-war. Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu have played against each other many times, but the score is still tied.
Sanada, who is familiar with Yanagi Renji, already knows that Renji still intends to prioritize understanding the grudges from their early years this time.
Inui Sadaharu keeps a close eye on the trajectory of the tennis ball, and every shot is accompanied by precise data analysis.
"Game Qingxuegan, 3-2!"
Inui Sadaharu took the lead again and tried to use data to suppress Yanagi Renji's rhythm.
Yanagi Renji smiled faintly, unconcerned about the temporary deficit. "Sadaji, what if the intelligence you collected is no longer effective? Sometimes intelligence just doesn't work."
"Damn it! How can we get back at this? The data clearly shows that Renji's left and right movement at the net is slow." Anxiety welled up in Inui Sadaharu as he watched Yanagi Renji easily overturn the previous data. 'I was tricked by Renji.'
"Game Tatehai Daliu, 3-3! Change of field!"
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