Chapter 37
"Rikkai University High School Doubles Team 2, Niou Yagyu, versus Seishun Gakuen Doubles Team 2, Oishi Kikumaru. Both teams get ready."
Yukimura Seiichi, sitting in the coaching booth, tilted his head and asked, "Sanada, is your knee okay?"
"It's okay." Sanada replied briefly and walked to the sidelines to watch the next doubles match.
At this time, Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi had already walked to the center of the court, and Oishi Shuichiro and Kikumaru Eiji were also ready.
Niou Masaharu raised his eyebrows slightly and looked back at Yagyu Hiroshi. "Is it okay, Hiroshi?"
Yagyu Hiroshi pushed up his glasses. "Of course, Nioh. As long as you don't let me down."
"Don't worry, I don't want to experience Sanada's iron fist punishment in the last match." Niou Masaharu's eyes swept over the key figure of the game - Kikumaru Eiji.
The match was served by Shuichiro Oishi.
After serving, Oishi Shuichiro and his partner lined up at the center line, ready to counterattack. Although the Australian formation was broken in the Hyotei match, it might have different effects against different doubles combinations.
Niou Masaharu swung the ball sideways and sent it steadily back to the opponent's court.
Kikumaru Eiji quickly followed up and intercepted the ball at the net.
This is what Niou Masaharu was waiting for.
Seigaku's golden combination lost in the doubles match against St. Rudolph at the Metropolitan Tournament. The problem was Kikumaru Eiji's physical strength and eyesight.
Later, in the national competition, he used synchronization in the doubles match with Hyotei, but forfeited in the final round.
Looking through so many game materials and videos, Niou Masaharu discovered a small movement that even Kikumaru Eiji himself might not have noticed. After all, practice makes perfect.
That was a tendency that the golden combination of Seigaku had when they were defeated by the Yamabuki combination in their early days. Perhaps because there was no doubles combination to target them, Kikumaru Eiji still has this little trick when playing.
Kikumaru Eiji's return shot landed in the left corner of the court just as Niou Masaharu had predicted.
"Game Aogaku Oishi Kikumaru, 15-0!"
Niou Masaharu was actually pleased with the opponent's first point, and gave Yagyu Hiroshi a look. "According to the plan."
Yagyu Hiroshi understood what he meant and moved to the sideline.
In Seigaku's half, Kikumaru Eiji twirled his racket. "Looks like the formation is useless against Kaidai's doubles, Oishi."
"Then just play at the net normally." Oishi Shuichiro responded to his partner, his eyes following the movements of Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi.
Niou Masaharu retreated to the same position as Yagyu Hiroshi, each occupying half the field.
"What kind of position is that?!" Kawamura Takashi shouted in surprise.
Horio, a freshman and the star cheerleader on the Seigaku cheerleading team, was still wearing Ryoma Echizen's uniform. "The Rikkai University doubles team is standing so far away."
"Aren't you afraid of hitting the ball to the front court?" Momoshiro Takeshi wondered.
On the court, Oishi Shuichiro quickly analyzed the situation. "With everyone in the backcourt, the probability of scoring with a short ball is very low."
Niou Masaharu had calculated the probability of receiving a short ball by daring to stand like that. He had plenty of time to sprint forward from the backcourt, or else Oishi Shuichiro's speed would suddenly evolve to that of Hyotei's Hochotaro, or he could hit a Tezuka-style Zero serve, making ordinary short balls completely safe.
Oishi Shuichiro serves again.
"My side." Yagyu Hiroshi stepped forward to fight back, hitting the opponent's front court.
The tennis ball flew past Kikumaru Eiji's eyes.
Kikumaru Eiji reacted quickly and dived to the opposite corner to catch the ball.
Masaharu Nioh jumped up and smashed the ball, and the tennis ball hit the defensive gap between Shuichiro Oishi and Eiji Kikumaru.
"Game Tatekai Dainin Wang Yagyu, 15-15!"
Kikumaru Eiji stood up. "That's really annoying, but it's a waste of effort to try to drain my energy."
"It's just one point that the opponent scored. Don't worry about it, Eiji." Oishi Shuichiro comforted.
This goal was just the beginning. Niou Masaharu curled his lips and watched the prey walk towards the trap.
According to the tactical arrangement, Yagyu Hiroshi hit the ball into Kikumaru Eiji's defensive range.
Niou Masaharu's positioning is also the key to ensuring the implementation of tactics. He can not only limit Kikumaru Eiji's range of movement, but also be ready to intercept the return ball from the backcourt at any time.
In doubles, as the counterattacking party, Niou Masaharu must ensure that Oishi Shuichiro does not participate in the attack at the net. If Oishi goes to the net, it is time for Yagyu Hiroshi to play a role.
So no matter who of the two receives the ball, Niou Masaharu will definitely go to the net to fight with Kikumaru Eiji, and then pass the information to Yagyu Hiroshi.
Kikumaru Eiji saves the ball in front of the net.
Masaharu Niou was already waiting in front of the net. He flicked the racket lightly and hit the ball to the other corner.
Kikumaru Eiji turned around and fought back, saving the ball with his agile movements.
Niou Masaharu's eyes were fixed on the movements of Kikumaru Eiji's racket. "The racket has moved down, to the right."
Know the direction and approximate landing point of the ball in advance so that you can catch the ball faster than others.
Facing Niou Masaharu's counterattack, Kikumaru Eiji was exhausted and often had to deal with the next ball immediately after the fight, without a chance to breathe.
"Game Tatekai Dainin Wang Yagyu, 2-0!"
Niou Masaharu's advantageous observation put Seigaku's doubles team in trouble.
"No matter where I hit the ball, he will be waiting there first." Kikumaru Eiji clenched his racket.
Oishi Shuichirou pondered. "They'll definitely get ahead. Perhaps their path has been detected. Eiji, try a different formation."
"OK!" Kikumaru Eiji made a gesture of agreement.
Rikkai University served, and Seigaku's golden combination of Oishi Shuichiro chose a double net front formation, two-top.
Masaharu Niou had a clear goal of looking for Kikumaru Eiji, and with both players at the net, the backcourt was empty. He could chase the ball in his own backcourt, but the backcourt on the opposite corner was not so easy to chase. Besides, Hiroshi Yagyu on the Rikkai University side was not just watching, he would also go up if he had the chance.
"Game Tatekai Dainin Wang Yagyu, 15-0!"
Kikumaru Eiji stood with his hands on his hips, feeling a bit irritated. His technique was fine in a head-on duel, and his coordination was also acceptable, but somehow Rikkai University's Niou Masaharu had been able to predict and anticipate the ball's trajectory. "Here we go again!"
It’s not about predicting data tennis. The difficulty of predicting doubles is much higher than that of singles.
"Eiji, calm down." Oishi Hideichiro patted Kikumaru Eiji's shoulder, indicating that they should switch.
There must be a reason why Rikkai University's doubles team deliberately hit the ball towards Eiji.
If you really want to predict the ball path or see through the signals, both players should be able to do it in doubles, instead of just chasing one person to return the ball.
Oishi, who was originally responsible for the backcourt defense, moved to the front of the net, and Kikumaru Eiji, who was originally in the frontcourt, defended in the backcourt.
"Wow! The positions have changed." Horio looked at the changes on the court in confusion.
Inui Sadaharu recorded the data. "As expected of Oishi, he's already figured out a solution."
Seeing the Seigaku doubles team switch positions, Yagyu Hiroshi's glasses reflected a cold light. "Even if I had the eyesight to see the flaw, the opponent has already retreated."
Niou Masaharu winked slyly. "Pfft, then fight normally. We can win with our strength, but it will be easier now."
Shuichiro Oishi judged the opponent's situation at the net and conveyed instructions to Eiji in the backcourt through hand gestures.
Although he couldn't unleash the power of Eiji's dancing shot, Rikkai's accurate prediction was also eliminated.
"Moon climbing interception!" Oishi Shuichiro slowed down the pace and intercepted Yagyu Hiroshi's shot.
"Game Aogaku Oishi Kikumaru, 1-4!"
Niou Masaharu tilted his head. "Trouble is, we've already recovered one point, but we can't score any more. At least we can't lose more points than Sanada. Biruk~"
"Whatever." Yagyu Hiroshi found it a little funny that Niou Masaharu had to report his show of skill.
Actually, it wouldn't have been a big deal to keep hiding it, but since Sanada had already unleashed his sealed moves, Niou Masaharu unilaterally didn't want Sanada to get the upper hand, and also wanted to end the match quickly. Who knew what would happen if they synchronized their moves? "Meteor Hammer Attack!"
Intercepting Oishi Shuichiro's return, Nioh Masaharu hit the ball hard into the air, using the forward friction between the net and the tennis ball to add spin.
The return ball flew towards the backcourt, but Kikumaru Eiji's racket missed the target, and the tennis ball bounced off the ground and rolled out of bounds.
"What kind of move is this?" Gan Zhenzhi kept taking notes and looking for comparisons in the database.
Yanagi Renji also picked up a pen. Halfway across the field, the two data experts moved in unison. "It seems Sanada is the one who can unleash Niou's potential."
"What is this move? Marui-senpai, do you know?" Kirihara Akaya asked Marui Bunta, who had a good relationship with Niou Masaharu.
Marui Fumita rubbed his chin. "I've never seen Niou's move before, but he still had some tricks up his sleeve against Sanada. But Niou, huh~"
Sanada watched the game expressionlessly. Putting aside personal emotions, no one except Yukimura could move Sanada based on his basketball skills.
"Game Tatekai Dainin Wang Yagyu, 5-1!"
Niou Masaharu grabbed the net twice and challenged the Seigaku doubles team, who had come up with a plan. "If you don't use Synchronize anymore, the game's over~ Phew."
This also shows that Qingxue's double synchronization was used by chance and is not a skilled skill.
Now that they were behind in the score, the situation was not optimistic, but Shuichiro Oishi and Eiji Kikumaru never gave up hope of victory.
"Oishi." "Eiji."
Yagyu Hiroshi watched as the laser beam, which was about to land and score, was saved by Oishi Shuichiro at an incredible angle, a dance move by Kikumaru Eiji. "Nioh!"
Niou Masaharu put his hand to his forehead, avoiding his partner's deadly gaze. "I didn't expect them to get into shape so quickly."
Oishi Shuichiro and Kikumaru Eiji are in tune with each other, and an invisible aura emanates from their bodies.
There is no need for gestures or secret signals. Both parties can make appropriate backup defenses based on their partner's actions and thoughts, understand their partner's intentions, and maximize their tacit understanding.
"Game Aogaku Oishi Kikumaru, 40-15!"
Yagyu Hiroshi looked serious. After fighting to this point, he couldn't let the other party make a comeback. "Niou."
Niou Masaharu responded to Yagyu Hiroshi. "I understand. It's time to end it."
In the blink of an eye, two identical Yagyu Hiroshi appeared on the field.
"Two Yagyū?" Kikumaru Eiji couldn't believe it.
Oishi Shuichiro was wary. He couldn't tell the difference between the two Yagyu Hiroshi. "Is this Niou's move?"
The strength of Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi in the synchronized state has undoubtedly reached a new level.
One-way connection is compatible, synchronization is to turn two people into one, so phantom is also possible. If it is the same person, the thoughts and actions are also the same.
Both sides are in sync, and the competition is about ball skills.
The changes on the field caused an uproar in the audience, and many people rubbed their eyes.
The tennis ball flew back and forth in the center of the court, the scores alternated, and the match point was reached.
"Niou, on your side!" Yagyu Hiroshi created an opportunity - a short ball.
In front of the net, Eiji Kikumaru chased the ball.
Niou Masaharu, who understood Kikumaru's intention, also rushed to the net.
Kikumaru Eiji swung his racket and hit the ball, and Niou Masaharu counterattacked with a slice.
The ball fell in front of the net, and Kikumaru Eiji watched helplessly as the ball rolled in the opposite direction after hitting the ground without even waiting for it to bounce.
"Zero-style slice?!" The result froze as the Qingxue doubles players were stunned.
Niou Masaharu's mouth curled up, and the phantom image changed from Yagyu Hiroshi to Tezuka Kunimitsu, the president of Qingxue. After a flash, the phantom disappeared. "Surprise~"
"Game Rikkai Daininou Yagyu, 6-1! Game over."
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