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Upon seeing this, Ishida and Sakurai's expressions changed slightly.

Cipher tactics!

This is Yamabuki Doubles' signature move.

Before the serve, they communicate using pre-prepared coded signals and devise a series of countermeasures after the serve. In a sense, it's about bringing the pre-designed script to life.

The difference is that the code-based tactic is equivalent to preparing many sets of scripts, and which one is used at the last minute is random, and only the two people using the code know it.

Bang!

At this time.

Having deciphered the code from Niito, Dan hit the tennis ball. The ball wasn't fast, and the landing point was barely considered tricky, but for Ishida, with his solid foundation, it was completely ineffective.

Tap tap!

He strode forward, caught up with the tennis ball, and swung his racket to smash it without hesitation.

Swish!

however.

Just as his return shot flew over the blocking net, a figure suddenly appeared—it was Niito Mi, who was prepared all along.

"not good."

Upon seeing this, Sakurai, positioned in the front row, immediately adjusted his position and intercepted the forecourt shot hit by Niito Mi.

Tap tap!

But the next second, a short figure suddenly appeared from behind Shindome; it was Dan, who had foreseen Fudomine's reaction.

Snapped!

He didn't hit any powerful shots or tricky balls; he simply tapped the racket lightly, hitting a short ball that was out of reach of the two players.

Pat-pat...

The tennis ball lands on the ground.

Ishida and Sakurai's expressions changed instantly.

There was no fierce confrontation.

Instead, they planned ahead step by step, as if they had fallen into a spider web woven by Yamabuki, their actions completely within each other's expectations.

The ball landed very lightly, but to Ishida and Sakurai, it sounded like a thunderclap.

"Is this the code-based tactic?"

The two exchanged a glance and both saw the seriousness in each other's eyes.

Seeing something in the materials is one thing, but actually experiencing it firsthand is quite another. Faced with the immense pressure from Yamabuki, neither of them dared to be careless in the slightest.

...

Bang!

boom!

Bang!

boom!

Subsequently, Yamabuki once again employed the coded tactic, leaving Fudomine in a very passive position, completely being led by the nose.

Yamabuki quickly broke the deadlock, taking a 1-0 lead.

"Our opponents are very strong; we can't afford to lose even one game."

Sakurai's expression was very serious.

"Ah."

Ishida nodded emphatically.

Then, the two did not dare to hold back, but directly used the weaknesses of Shinto Mitsukoshi and Dan from the information given by the mysterious person.

While their skills weren't top-tier, their intelligence was incredibly detailed, and their observations of the Yamabuki members' weaknesses were remarkably insightful. After a fierce battle, both Shinto and Dan found themselves on the defensive.

Fudomine also won a game, tying the score at 1-1.

Something's not right.

When it was time to switch serves, Tan frowned: "Fudomine's style of play is different from before. It's as if they knew our weaknesses in advance, and every ball they hit was very tricky."

"Ah."

Niito nodded: "Indeed, several balls were hit in positions I wasn't comfortable with. So, does that mean the opponent also has a player who plays data-driven tennis?"

"uncertain."

Tan shook his head: "But no matter what, our data has definitely been leaked. We can't proceed as planned in the upcoming matches."

"what do you mean?"

"Let's focus on defense first. I'll gather the data. Also..."

"What else?"

Upon hearing Shindo's words, a smile appeared on Tan's handsome face: "It's not easy to find a real combat opponent who knows our weaknesses so well."

"You're too bold, kid!"

Shindo's eyelids twitched.

He hadn't expected that the other team would use this opportunity to hone his skills. But after the initial shock, the third-year regular player laughed.

"No wonder you were able to gain Shibukawa's trust."

Chapter 109 Newcomer Yamabuki first shows his power

"I never expected this kid to be so bold!"

Outside the stadium, seeing Shinto Mitsuki and Dan locked in a stalemate with their opponents, Mitsuki, who was twirling the end of her hair with her left hand, had a faint smile on her face.

"really."

Sengoku nodded in agreement.

This is real combat. You have to understand, even after he became a regular player in his second year and participated in the Metropolitan Tournament, he didn't dare to be careless in the slightest.

As it turns out, this seemingly immature kid actually dared to hone his skills through real combat.

"Confirmed?"

At this moment, Nan, who was standing next to him, frowned and asked.

"Ah."

Mizuki nodded: "Although Fudomine doesn't have any data-driven players on their side, judging from what just happened, the two from Fudomine have clearly obtained information about Shintobe and Dan."

"If it's not Fudomine, then who could it be?"

Dongfang squinted.

Judging from the current situation, if Yamabuki makes it to the semifinals, it will face both Seigaku and Hyotei. Based on the theory that whoever benefits is the most suspicious, Seigaku and Hyotei are the most likely to secretly leak information about Yamabuki to Fudomine.

"I never expected that the two strongest teams in Tokyo would do something like this."

Muromachi crossed his arms and sneered repeatedly.

After the preliminary rounds in the Yuta region, he encountered Atobe causing trouble. Although they won the match, he still felt resentful and disliked Hyotei.

"It might not be them."

However, while everyone was discussing, Shibukawa shook his head and said, "There are more people than just those from these two teams who can gather information about Yamabuki. Besides, even so, it won't affect the outcome of the game."

"not to mention......"

At this point, he looked at Tan, whose face was full of fighting spirit on the field, and couldn't help but smile, "Our deputy manager is really looking forward to it!"

"Ha ha!!"

Everyone laughed upon hearing this.

Ban Tian, ​​sitting in the coach's seat, was struck by what he heard. He slightly opened his eyes, looked around, and then fixed his gaze on a brown mushroom-headed boy in the crowd.

Unlike others, the other person watched the game with their eyes closed, which was quite unusual and was immediately noticed by Banta.

"It's him?"

At a glance, Banta recognized the other person's identity.

But this only deepened his doubts: "I never expected that the intelligence chief of this superpower would care so much about the metropolitan tournament. If I remember correctly, the Kanagawa prefectural tournament is also today, right?"

Bantian shook his head.

In reality, neither he nor Shibukawa had concrete intelligence to prove that the other side was responsible. Moreover, as Shibukawa said, for Yamabuki, the current situation was not about anger, but about how to use the sudden change to turn the pressure from the opponent into motivation for the Yamabuki members to improve their strength.

Bang!

boom!

Bang!

boom!

On the field, the four players from both sides engaged in a fierce battle.

Ishida and Sakurai attacked aggressively, and having mastered their opponents' playing style, they hit many shots that struck vital points. Even the experienced Niito Miki struggled to cope for a while.

On the contrary, Tan, because he hadn't been seriously learning tennis for very long and his style wasn't yet fully developed, struggled to overcome his weaknesses after being targeted by his opponent, even though he didn't possess the kind of bug-level ability that Shibukawa had with [weakness correction].

However, Tan overcame some of his weaknesses in a very short time, making his playing style more fluid.

Because they were on the defensive, Yamabuki's side faced numerous dangers, but their defenses were never breached.

no way.

Ishida and Sakurai had no choice but to settle for second best, ensuring they could score in their own service games while trying to break through their opponents' serves as much as possible.

In the blink of an eye, the score was tied at 3-3.

In the seventh game, Niito served.

Tan, playing as a forward, placed his right hand behind his back at the net, constantly changing the direction of his fingers to arrange secret signals.

"This kid is getting better and better."

Dongfang couldn't help but sigh, "It hasn't been long, and he's already memorized all of Xin Dumi's secret codes."

"Yes, Tan really works hard."

Next to him, Kita Kazuma, with his middle-parted hair, nodded in agreement: "Don't be fooled by how skillfully he uses it now; it's the result of countless private practice sessions."

Dan wasn't stupid, and with the guidance of Shibukawa and Mizuki, he avoided many potential mistakes. In addition, he was hardworking, putting in more effort than any other first-year Yamabuki student during training. Therefore, in just two months, he showed significant improvement.

Although he was no match for either Ishida or Sakurai in terms of physical ability, this was doubles, and doubles matches aren't about brute force, but about using your brain.

"Damn it, why is this kid so difficult to deal with?"

Ishida became increasingly frustrated as the fight progressed.

From the beginning, his opponent was consciously on guard against him. The balls they hit were all aimed at a position less than 20 centimeters in front of him, and the tennis balls bounced at a very low angle, forcing him to bend his knees to receive the balls.

Clearly, this is to prevent him from swinging the racket too much, giving him time to build up his power.

Several times, Ishida had to turn the tide in crucial points, using his signature move, the "Wave Ball," to seal the victory. The ball that his opponent hit would leave him feeling extremely frustrated.

"Stay calm, don't lose your judgment."

Sakurai promptly reminded them, "The opponent obviously knows our playing style and special moves as well. As Tachibana-senpai just said, don't blindly rely on your skills."

"I know."

"Ishida said unwillingly."

Tachibana had indeed warned them beforehand not to blindly believe that one or two balls could determine the course of the game. And that wasn't wrong; after all, with Ishida's current strength, he could only manage two powerful swings before his arm was ruined, making it difficult to continue.

"Ok?"

At that moment, Sakurai seemed to notice something and suddenly spoke up: "Why do I feel like the opponent's resistance has weakened?"

"It really is true!"