Page 135

Meanwhile, Liu, hidden among the crowd, slightly opened her eyes: "The third most important person in Yamabuki on the surface? This arrangement... is it confidence or something else?"

He frowned slightly.

Judging from Mizuki's composed strategy in defeating her opponent, Yamabuki's intelligence gathering abilities are definitely not weak. Given this, Yamabuki, as her opponent, should have been aware of Fudomine's unusual situation long ago.

The problem is, if that's the case, Yamabuki will definitely be careful. In particular, they will be wary of the possibility that Fudomine will field their full strength in the first three matches.

But in the match just now, not only was Dan a newcomer, but even the regular doubles pair of Niito and Kita were broken up and reorganized into a new doubles team.

In addition, Sengoku will participate in a singles match.

No matter how you look at it, Yamabuki's strategy seems no different from the previous matches. But Liu's intuition tells him that things are not so simple.

"However... a thousand koku is enough."

Liu's gaze sharpened slightly, and her emotions calmed down.

He faced Sengoku in last year's Kanto Tournament. Sengoku has good talent, but his playing style is rather traditional, and he doesn't have any unique abilities.

After Liu figured out his fighting style, Sengoku was easily defeated.

However, Liu later discovered some information. Sengoku's talent was actually not weak; he just hadn't trained seriously enough, thus wasting his talent.

But rumors circulated that Yamabuki implemented sweeping reforms after the mysterious minister Shibukawa took office. Sengoku's ability to remain suggests that significant changes must have occurred within him as well.

Since Tachibana's mysterious disappearance last year, he has not shown his true strength in public matches. In this match, Sengoku can be used as a stone thrown into the lake to test the strength of that Kyushu lion.

"Please give me more advice."

At the net, Sengoku shook hands with Tachibana and spoke with a serious expression.

"Ah."

Ju nodded, her expression calm, and said, "Please do not hesitate to offer your guidance."

Tachibana responded politely, but Sengoku detected a hint of perfunctoriness in her voice. Clearly, the captain of Fudomine didn't take him seriously.

But Sengoku was not angry.

His experience at Yamabuki over the past six months has taught him a lesson: no matter how much you talk, it's not as good as a real game on the court.

Anyone can make threats.

But if you make a tough statement and then get taught a lesson by your opponent, that's truly embarrassing.

His intuition told him that his opponent was no ordinary person. However, after more than half a year of training, Sengoku Kiyosumi was no longer the mediocre genius he once was.

There were no harsh words exchanged between them.

There was no melodramatic shouting.

After Sengoku and Tachibana completed the distribution of the serve, they turned around and retreated to the baseline position in perfect unison.

"The match begins, one game to decide the winner."

After confirming the two players' conditions, the referee on the high chair looked at Tachibana and said, "Fudomine Tachibana serves, game over."

Snapped!

Snapped!

Snapped!

The words fell.

Ju bent down and gently patted the tennis ball, her face calm and showing no emotional change.

Is it finally coming?

In the crowd, Qian, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and opaque white glasses, subconsciously clenched his fist.

During the regional qualifiers, the captain of Fudomine almost faced off against the captain of Seigaku. Tachibana possessed an extraordinary air, her demeanor composed, subtly displaying the bearing of a formidable master.

Unfortunately, the two never met.

Now, Tachibana is finally about to reveal her true strength. Inui immediately focused intently, not wanting to miss a single detail.

call!

immediately.

Then, Ju tossed the tennis ball into the air, and with a burst of power, the taut muscles in his thighs released a surge of strength. Using this momentum, Ju leaped into the air, skillfully flicking his racket across the net.

boom!

A loud bang.

The tennis ball shot out like a bullet.

"This serve...?"

The sound, like a heavy sniper rifle firing, instantly sent chills down everyone's spines. No one had expected Tachibana to serve so fiercely right from the start.

"wrong."

Soon, someone else noticed Tachibana's subsequent reaction and exclaimed, "He's... serving and volleying?!"

Tap tap!

Everyone looked up and saw Ju lower his body, his shoulders slightly hunched, and rushing towards the net like a cheetah.

It was none other than the most aggressive serve-and-volley in fast-paced tennis!

Anyone who dares to use this move is either reckless or has absolute confidence in their own abilities. Judging from Tachibana's calm face, which shows no emotion whatsoever, the latter is more likely.

"Oh?"

the other side.

Seeing Tachibana unleash her ultimate move right away, a strange glint flashed in Sengoku's eyes. But he was no novice; even though Tachibana's serve was powerful, he decisively stepped forward and swung his racket to smash the tennis ball the moment it bounced.

Bang!

The crisp sound resonated.

The tennis ball, which came on strong, was shot back at an even faster speed!

"Half-hit?"

Inside Fudomo Peak, Kamio, Ibu, and the others' expressions changed.

Those who had personally experienced how fast Ju's serve was knew all too well. As a result, not only was it returned, but it was also a half-volley.

"Super bounce?"

While browsing the internet, Tachibana caught a glimpse of Sengoku's actions out of the corner of her eye, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes.

This is an incredibly impressive reaction ability.

Those who can achieve this level are either exceptionally talented or have put in tremendous effort, practicing repeatedly until the movements become muscle memory.

Regardless of the type of opponent, it proves that they are not a simple character.

"I underestimated you."

Tachibana had also seen the information provided by the mysterious person. The opponent's data was based on Sengoku's performance in the last few matches. But the opponent's strength was simply too weak; Sengoku's performance wasn't even a warm-up.

Therefore, in that intelligence report, Sengoku's threat level was far less than that of Akutsu and Shibukawa.

Now, Sengoku's counterattack has undoubtedly put Tachibana on alert.

However, his internet speed didn't slow down much. Ju paused for a moment, then quickly exerted force after his left foot landed, and after a brief pause, he turned to meet Sengoku's counterattack.

With a bang.

The tennis ball was intercepted, pressing towards Sengoku's backhand position. Tachibana paused slightly, then stepped forward with her right foot, resuming her net-rushing motion almost without delay.

"how is this possible?"

On the Yamabuki side, Yuta, Muromachi, and the others stared wide-eyed in shock.

Both players, in particular, are fast-paced attackers. They are well aware that once their serve-and-volley strategy is figured out, they are very vulnerable to interference.

The half-volley that Sengoku just hit was undoubtedly a strong counter to serve-and-volley. Yet, Tachibana's response was so perfect that, without looking at the entire sequence of events and only observing the opponent's movements, it was impossible to tell that he had returned the half-volley midway through the serve.

"This is a master!"

Guan Yue's expression immediately turned serious.

Compared to reaction abilities like 'super jump,' serving and net play is much more difficult to train. But the orange player in front of him seemed to have practiced it countless times, so skillfully that he couldn't find a single problem.

"This person... is definitely not a simple character!"

His gaze was fixed on Tachibana; the strength of this Fudomine captain was even greater than he had known.

boom!

At this time.

Sengoku returned the tennis ball to the net again, but Tachibana was already close to the net and had a significant advantage.

With a swift flick of his racket, the tennis ball landed precisely on the sideline with a crisp thud.

Even with Sengoku's speed, he could only stop and shake his head, watching the tennis ball bounce away.

"15-0!"

"Wow, that's amazing."

Outside the stadium, the team members who came to watch the game all looked at Ju with awe.

This serve-and-volley technique alone is enough for them to study for a lifetime.

Some even shook their heads in self-deprecation.

They couldn't even hold out until the opponent came to the net. They couldn't block that serve, which was even more powerful than a regular bullet serve, and they couldn't even react to it.

"Jujuping?"

Someone frowned: "Where did this person come from?"

"He looks incredibly strong; even Sengoku is being suppressed."

"But it's alright. Yamabuki has already won two matches in a row, so the outcome of this singles match 3 isn't that important."

Is it unimportant?

Sengoku frowned slightly.

Judging from the current situation, Yamabuki has indeed secured victory. Even with Fudomine fielding its full elite forces, Yamabuki could still win against Muromachi and Yuta in singles matches 2 and 1 respectively.

But what a joke!

This was Sengoku Kiyosumi's first real appearance in the tournament. Moreover, after all the hardships he had endured over the past six months, how could he possibly be willing to lose to someone else?

Immediately.

Sengoku rallied his spirits and engaged in a fierce battle with Tachibana. However, Tachibana's speed and power were both top-notch, and given that it was Tachibana's serve, Sengoku was actually suppressed.

boom!

In the blink of an eye, Ju unleashed a powerful spike, breaking through Sengoku's defense.

"game!"

"Fudomine Tachibana, 1-0, switch positions!"

The referee on the high chair spoke, and the surrounding audience gasped. No one had expected that Sengoku Yamabuki would be suppressed to such an extent.

Meanwhile, on Fudomine's side, Kamio, Ibu, and the others clenched their fists in excitement. This was Fudomine's true strength; once their Tachibana-senpai got serious, no one could stand against him.

What "Lucky Thousand Stones"? That's nothing compared to what's to come by.

"Sengoku, you've had enough fun."

Just then, a clear, cold voice came from the direction of Yamabuki. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that Yamabuki Department Head Shibukawa was giving Sengoku a dismissive glance.

"Or do you really think that wearing that thing will allow you to defeat this guy in front of you?"

Swish!

The words fell.

Everyone turned to look at Qian Shi.

"Ah, this...this..."

The latter felt uneasy under Shibukawa's gaze and could only scratch his head with a dry laugh. Then, under the puzzled gazes of those around him, he slowly removed the wrist guard from his right hand, and then bent down to take out the lead plate cover from his ankle.