"Honestly, I was really looking forward to this match," Kamikawa's voice drifted into Mori's ears, a hint of disappointment in his tone.
"Mori-senpai, hailed as a genius, you seem weaker than I imagined."
His mind, technique, and physical prowess were almost completely overwhelmed.
The only thing worth noting was his technique, but Mori didn't have a single outstanding move he could rely on.
Mori was more like an undeveloped Fuji; Fuji, at least in the original story, had Tezuka constantly pushing him to grow. As for Mori's peers, aside from Hara Tetsu, who could barely be called a rival, the rest, whose names weren't even mentioned, were even less of a match for him.
Lost and dejected, Mori picked himself up from the ground and stumbled towards Rikkai Dai's side, looking as if his soul had been drained.
"Mori-senpai..."
Yanagi Renji wanted to say something more, but seeing Mori in such a poor state, the words he wanted to utter got stuck in his throat.
What... what more could he say?
In this match, Yanagi Renji also saw Mori's true level.
Purely from a technical standpoint, he definitely had national-level skill, and his other abilities weren't weak either, reaching Kanto-level. However, the opponent he faced was simply too strong.
Kamikawa Muzuki!
He truly lived up to his reputation as the man who defeated Yukimura half a year ago. That guy was far stronger than Atobe and Oshitari, who had just stepped onto the court.
"Senpai, you lost," Yukimura, standing nearby, mercilessly pricked Mori's ego.
[Remember the fastest novel site on the entire network: 101kan.com]
At that time, he was just like Mori now, confidently believing that he had few rivals nationwide.
However, the cruel reality delivered a resounding slap, making him taste the bitterness of defeat.
Having never experienced failure before, he lost a crucial match.
Similarly, Mori, who had never experienced defeat at Shitenhoji, transferred to Rikkai. Although Rikkai Dai's intense competitive atmosphere motivated many, it failed to ignite Mori's deep-seated desire to become stronger.
For Mori, forced practice was meaningless. Tennis—it was just a simple sport, one where you could achieve great results by just playing casually.
But reality told Mori that tennis was not as simple as he imagined.
At this moment, Mori hung his head, filled with guilt and self-reproach. This match should have been played by Yukimura, who had completed all his warm-ups and was in excellent condition to face the match.
And he—he hadn't even done the most basic warm-up, yet he had volunteered to play an extremely poor match.
"I'm sorry, Yukimura," Mori mumbled, his voice filled with endless regret and apology.
"Next, it's our turn, Yukimura!"
At this moment, Miura and Akiyama, the third-year regulars from Rikkai Dai standing nearby, both looked at Yukimura. Only one doubles match had been played so far, and it was time for them to step onto the court.
Neither of the team captains had played an official match yet, and both were well aware that these two were suited for singles, not doubles.
"Miura-senpai, Akiyama-senpai, you two can't lose again." Yukimura's philosophy, like Sanada's and Yanagi's, was to pursue absolute victory.
Now that Mori had lost one match, there absolutely could be no mistakes in the remaining matches; they had to be won with full concentration!
"Just leave it to us."
"Don't worry, we won't disappoint you."
Miura and Akiyama patted their chests, picked up their rackets, and walked towards the tennis court.
On the other side, Hyotei's doubles pair for this match was Shishido and Mukahi.
Shishido, who hadn't played in a match for a long time, was specially assigned to Hyotei's doubles team this time. After all, Jirou's talent in doubles was simply too poor. Even if his individual skill was slightly stronger than Shishido and Mukahi, Tezuka still didn't let Jirou play in doubles.
"Kamikawa. Your strength is really growing stronger!"
While everyone's attention was on the second doubles match, Atobe proactively approached Kamikawa, who had a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead and was in excellent condition. In his current state, he could probably continue for another best-of-five match.
"The feeling is mutual, Atobe."
Kamikawa smiled slightly, stretching his body. "You've already crossed that threshold, that unparalleled insight. It certainly suits your personality, Atobe."
"Hmph! Of course!"
Atobe snorted lightly. "My eyesight can see through everything. Even the strongest opponents will have blind spots."
"Is that so?"
Kamikawa's tone rose. He agreed with this point, but if the difference in strength was too great, Atobe wouldn't be able to see the opponent's blind spots, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to return the ball in time.
It was just like Atobe's match against Irie. Although Atobe was the one who supposedly saw the blind spots, in reality, it was Atobe who was truly seen through; Irie had already seen through everything about Atobe.
Hearing Kamikawa's disbelieving attitude, Atobe, with an air of certainty, said lightly, "After the Kanto Tournament, you'll play another match with this 'Ore-sama'."
"No thanks."
Kamikawa shook his head, stating, "If you lose another match, Atobe, your pride will be completely shattered. I wouldn't want Hyotei to fall into a slump."
"A slump?!"
Atobe was stunned, then realized something. "Are you looking down on this 'Ore-sama'?"
"Not looking down. It's just that Hyotei needs your support, Atobe Vice-Captain."
"Support? I think you just find it troublesome, that's why you're not Hyotei's Vice-Captain, you damn guy."
"Ah~ what did you say? I can't hear you~"
Kamikawa immediately covered his ears, his eyes as clear as water, looking completely harmless.
"Tch!"
Atobe didn't dwell on the matter and continued, "Kamikawa, honestly, compared to Tezuka, who's stronger now?"
Hearing this, Kamikawa glanced at Tezuka, then smiled slightly. "It should be Tezuka. If I said it was me, Tezuka would definitely get annoyed."
After speaking, Kamikawa patted Tezuka's shoulder and said, "Am I right, Tezuka?"
Tezuka's mouth twitched slightly; he rarely refuted anything.
But deep down, Tezuka still believed that Kamikawa was stronger.
His childhood friend's displayed strength was far from what it seemed on the surface.
Thump!
Thump!!
On the court,
Shishido suddenly moved forward.
"As long as I get a chance to attack, just a little, I can turn defense into offense."
Shishido, who had already moved to the service line, suddenly quickened his pace, his entire body poised for a sprint. A cloud of dust rose from the court as Shishido rapidly appeared at the net, then swung his racket fiercely.
"That kid, what kind of stance is that—"
Miura hadn't even reacted when the tennis ball whizzed past him, landing squarely within the service box.
Its speed was so fast that even Akiyama, who was rushing back to the baseline, was still ten centimeters away from the ball when he swung his racket. The ball bounced off, hitting the wall sharply.
Akiyama slowed his steps, his arms hanging down, and he slowly walked over.
"Game, Mukahi, Shishido pair, 3-3!"
"That sudden sprint, does Hyotei have such an excellent first-year student?!"
Hiyoshi's pupils constricted slightly, and he suddenly exerted force with his feet, sprinting with all his might to the net. His movements were swift, and his volley was clean, almost completing the net volley in an instant.
"This is the result of Shishido's training during this period."
Atobe had a knowing look; he had been closely observing Shishido's changes.
Now it seemed Shishido hadn't disappointed him and had indeed grown diligently. It was just that the amount of sweat from these two was more than expected.
Mukahi and Shishido both excelled at net volleys. In doubles, they could utilize a double-front formation to maximize their advantage, but once a double-front formation was established, they needed to end the match quickly.
During this time, Mukahi had been undergoing high-intensity endurance training with Atobe, but his previous foundation was simply too poor.
Even after a period of intensive training, his endurance was still slightly inferior to most players. Shishido was the same; he had strengthened his ball control, but his endurance training hadn't been as extensive as Mukahi's.
Continuous offense took a huge toll on their physical stamina.
In contrast, Rikkai Dai's doubles pair had plenty of stamina and firmly controlled the match's momentum. This was perhaps the kind of performance expected from a doubles pair that had spent three full years at Rikkai Dai and emerged victorious.
"Gakuto, don't worry. No matter what kind of ball it is, I can return it. You just focus on attacking."
The serve was now with Shishido. Standing at the baseline, Shishido shouted to Mukahi at the net.
"Okay!"
Mukahi responded softly and quickly adjusted his state.
Shishido also recognized Mukahi's and his own condition; they had to end the match as soon as possible. If stamina became an issue and the match dragged into a tie-break, then he and Mukahi would definitely lose.
They had to speed up the pace of the match.
Both sides once again engaged in an intense rally.
The match was close, but gradually, Mukahi and Shishido fell into a disadvantage.
Their doubles synergy was already excellent, but unfortunately, their opponents were superior. Even with Mukahi and Shishido attacking with all their might, Miura and Akiyama's pair held their defensive line steadfastly, their defense as solid as a fortress, almost indefinitely prolonging the match.
Completely exhausted, the Mukahi and Shishido pair ultimately lost this match.
The score was 7-5, making it seem like a difficult victory for Rikkai Dai's doubles pair.
In reality, the pace of the match was firmly controlled by those two.
No matter how many matches were played, the score would always settle at 7-5.
"Next, it should be Tezuka's turn."
Mid-match, Tezuka had already taken Kamikawa to an empty court to warm up.
On the other side, Yukimura also took Sanada to an empty court to warm up. These two seemed to have full confidence in this final round.
The last singles match was a battle between the captains.
The overall score was 1 win, 3 losses, and 1 draw. According to normal rules, this singles match would no longer be necessary, but this was a practice match, a practice match where all regulars played.
As the captains of their respective teams, how could they be absent?
!!
The tennis ball landed inbounds.
Kamikawa stopped, making no move to return the ball, and gazed at Tezuka, who had already activated his Tezuka Zone, smiling faintly.
"Tezuka, you're too serious."
Kamikawa retrieved his racket, walked up to Tezuka, and calmly looked at him. "I'm just here to warm up with you. Your opponent isn't me."
"You seem to have seen through my Tezuka Zone!"
Unexpectedly, Tezuka didn't directly answer Kamikawa's words but brought up the warm-up match they just played. "By hitting the ball with varying speeds and rhythms, you reduced the two-fold amplification effect of the Tezuka Zone."
"Instead of deliberately increasing spin, you reduced it. Even when I actively deployed my domain, you easily neutralized it. Kamikawa, how strong are you really?!"
Hearing Tezuka say this, Kamikawa patted Tezuka's shoulder and said, "Just a little stronger than you! Tezuka, your playing style is too formulaic. Sometimes you should think about more varied playing styles."
"More varied playing styles?"
Tezuka was startled, looking at Kamikawa with a hint of confusion.
"Zero-Shiki Drop Shot, that's a great drop shot, but any return can be hit before it lands. Even if you adjust the drop shot's landing point to its extreme, it only lands fifteen centimeters from the center line."
"Since it's a drop shot that doesn't bounce, why not use it as a serve?"
"That way, as long as the serve is perfect, it won't be returned by the opponent."
"That's the truly unsolvable serve!"