Page 134

"Yes!"

Kamio, who scored with a sharp smash, clenched his fist excitedly and couldn't help but let out a low shout, as if to vent his dissatisfaction.

"Kita."

At this moment, Mizuki on the other side suddenly spoke up: "The situation is unfavorable, we can't hide it anymore, we need to find an opportunity to use that move next."

"clear."

Xizhong nodded repeatedly.

"Humph!"

Kamio scoffed dismissively, "Do you really think I'm stupid? I won't fall for such a simple trick again."

The game continues.

Because it was Yamabuki's service game, they maintained the lead and held a one-point advantage over their opponents.

"Now!"

As the two sides fought fiercely, Guan Yue let out a low shout.

Swish!

Kita suddenly raised his racket.

Kamio was startled, and Ibu also became highly alert. However, Kita didn't actually make a move; he simply hit a regular smash.

But because of their exaggerated reactions, the ball easily tore through their defense.

"game!"

"Yamabuki, 5-5!"

"Damn it! I've been scammed again!!!"

Kamio's expression was extremely grim.

Ibu wasn't much better off; he'd been startled into retreating after the opponent yelled at him. But the guy with the middle-parted hair just hit a regular smash.

They've really embarrassed themselves.

"calm!"

Ju, who was off the field, spoke up immediately: "Don't be misled by what they say. Play seriously, you can win!"

"it is good!!"

The two agreed in unison.

The match entered the crucial eleventh game, and on Fudomine's side, Kamio attacked fiercely. His rhythmic style was very fast, and he had a decent fast attack.

Against a normal opponent, he would have surely torn through their defenses. But his opponent was Yamabuki, and Kamio had been charging too aggressively in the previous match, leaving him with a significant drop in stamina.

For a time, they were unable to break through the opponent's defenses.

"Right now."

Suddenly, Mizuki gave a low shout, and Kita in front of him raised his racket again, ready to make a move.

"Again?"

"Don't panic, it's just a bluff!"

The two, Fudomine and Fudomine, immediately calmed down.

They learned their lesson the hard way and will definitely not fall for the same trick twice.

really.

Kita didn't have any special moves; he simply raised his racket and made a normal smash.

Swish!

But the next moment, everyone was stunned.

Kita swung his racket, but instead of hitting the tennis ball, he made a basic mistake and let the ball pass by.

"Is this guy scared out of his wits?"

"Exactly! How could they make such a basic mistake at such a crucial moment!"

"No, that's not right!"

But just then, someone seemed to notice something, and their pupils quietly contracted.

Swish!

At the baseline, Mizuki suddenly assumed a hitting stance. In the instant the tennis ball passed, she swung her racket rapidly, and with a resounding thud, the ball transformed into a streak of light, precisely striking near Kamio's right foot, which he had just retracted.

"So fast!!"

Kamio's pupils suddenly contracted.

That ball was so fast, he couldn't even react in time.

"I didn't expect that even after the match had gone this far, Yamabuki would still have a trump card up their sleeve."

"That ball is moving too fast!"

"Yeah, even those bullet-shaped serves can't reach this speed."

The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

Meanwhile, on the court, Mizuki wore a smile. His playing style was partly inspired by Shibukawa's fast swings and partly by Kamio's rhythmic and speed-oriented style.

The conversation with Kita just now was merely a deliberate attempt to mislead the opponent. It was meant to draw their attention to Kita, allowing him to calmly gather data and strike at the crucial moment, delivering a fatal psychological blow to his opponent.

"It's almost time."

Guan Yue calculated the time, and her smile deepened.

Fifty minutes have passed in the match, and the opponent's stamina is waning. He had just gathered real data on both opponents, and now he had access to Mizuki's new special move.

This match had essentially become garbage time.

really.

As expected, Yamabuki won the 11th game, taking a 6-5 lead over his opponent.

Kamio and Ibu became even more impatient.

They kept attacking, trying to break their opponent's serve again. But the more they did this, the more obvious their weaknesses became.

Guan Yue naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He seized the moment and struck, each move targeting the vital points of his two opponents.

Bang!

In the blink of an eye.

Mizuki's incredibly fast shot tore through the opponent's defense, and under the incredulous gazes of Kamio and Ibu, it bounced off the baseline.

"The match is over."

"The Yamabuki Junior High School pair of Kanzuki and Kita Kazuma, score 7-5!"

Chapter 111 Singles Match 3, Sengoku vs. Tachibana

"We lost again?!"

Outside the court, Kyosuke Uchimura and Tatsutoku Mori, who were assigned to singles 2 and singles 1 respectively, were completely stunned.

They are the two weakest members of Fudomine.

They usually play in doubles, but today is a special case. Under Tachibana's arrangement, their positions are basically just there to fill in, not even considered cannon fodder.

Originally, with the Ishida-Sakurai pair losing, the pressure was entirely on Uchimura, the second singles player. Now, with the doubles first player also losing, the pressure is directly overwhelming Mori Tatsutoku, the first singles player.

The fig leaf that had left a sliver of hope was completely torn away by the defeat in doubles match 1.

"Yamabuki...that's amazing!"

Among Fudomine's team, Tachibana An, dressed in a sailor uniform, was prominently featured. She had originally hoped to see Fudomine humiliate everyone else and fight their way to the top of the tournament.

Now, their place in the quarterfinals is about to end.

The speed was so fast that Ju Xing felt a little dazed. After regaining her senses, she couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Anzu Tachibana originally thought that the only teams that could truly put pressure on Fudomine in this tournament were Hyotei and Seigaku. The former was ranked similarly to Shishigaku and was very strong.

The latter had given Fudomine a hard time in the regional qualifiers not long ago. Even though Tachibana An had a lot of confidence in her brother, she didn't dare to say she would win easily.

To everyone's surprise, before the two teams even met, they were easily crushed by Yamabuki.

That's right, it's 'easily'!

Although Tachibana An is somewhat arrogant because of her older brother, she has a high level of insight. Judging from the actual combat situation, Yamabuki and Fudomine are not evenly matched.

In the first two matches, Yamabuki adopted a defensive counter-attacking style, giving the lead before scoring. Whether it's the inexperienced first-year student, Tan Taichi, or the seemingly elegant Mizuki Hajime, both are masters of this tactic.

In both matches, there were no coincidences or surprises; the opponents defeated Fudomine head-on. Their loss was well-deserved!

"I'm sorry, Tachibana-senpai..."

After losing the game, Kamio and Ibu left the stadium, looking dejected, and approached Tachibana, bowing their heads to admit their mistakes.

Do you know where you went wrong?

Ju looked up and glanced at the two of them sideways, her eyes conveying a calm yet undeniably authoritative presence.

"We underestimated our enemy."

"If we had gone all out from the start, we might have had a chance to win..."

Kamio and Ibu spoke one after the other.

"Good, that's a very good summary."

Ju nodded slightly, her gaze falling on the two of them: "The key to your loss wasn't anything else, it was simply that you weren't strong enough. Now that you're back, do you know what to do?"

"understood!"

The two nodded emphatically.

Seeing their solemn expressions, Ju nodded inwardly. Losing wasn't terrible; in fact, it might even be a good thing for the two of them.

The pressure from strong opponents can, in turn, help them become stronger. The desire for honor and the will to win—the true driving force for becoming stronger often comes from within.

With Kamio and Ibu's talents, given time they may well break through that barrier and become pillars of Fudomine.

"Now."

After the two left, Tachibana picked up the racket next to the chair and stood up, looking at the team members behind him like a lion surveying its territory: "Mori will be the coach, Uchimura, go warm up."

"Yes."

The two nodded in agreement.

Tachibana walked to the sidelines, calmly looking towards Yamabuki. Fudomine could lose, but not be defeated without dignity.

What he needed to do was demonstrate for the team members behind him. At the same time, he wanted to show everyone the true strength of Fudomine!

"Next, we will be having the singles match 3."

At that moment, the routine announcement for the match rang out: "Kiyosumi Sengoku of Yamabuki Junior High School vs. Kippei Tachibana of Fudomine Junior High School."

"Both teams, please get ready."

The words fell.

A tall, orange-haired figure stepped out from the Yamabuki side; it was Sengoku.

"Is it Orange's turn this time?"

Outside the court, Shiba, the editor of Tennis Monthly, had excitement in his eyes: "Inoue-senpai, he must be very strong, right?"

"Ah."

Inoue nodded and said, "He is definitely not simple, being able to pull Kamio and Ibu out of that quagmire and build Fudomine from scratch!"

There was something he didn't say.

Inoue always felt a sense of familiarity with this Department Head Fudomine. But he just couldn't quite place it.

"Thousand Stones?"