The Prince of Tennis: My tennis skills come from Naruto

Chapter 216 The Best Matchup Arrangement

Now that it's confirmed that Hyotei's captain will be in the singles third position, shouldn't we use a strategy similar to the story of Tian Ji's horse racing?

You should understand what I mean, Teya. Your win rate against Kamiya is only fifty percent. And if you, as the team leader, lose right from the start, the blow to the team's morale will be enormous.

Kunimitsu Teiya did understand what Sadaharu Inui meant, but he still firmly shook his head.

"Alright then." Inui Sadaharu pushed up his glasses, then sighed inwardly.

Meanwhile, Kunimitsu Tei's hand holding the tennis bag tightened slightly. He understood the principle that all's fair in war. Although he had accepted the challenge from the captain of Hyotei, he could back out as long as he overcame his psychological discomfort and the constraints of his personal tennis honor.

After all, the overall glory of the tennis club is above personal honor and loss! This is a responsibility he has shouldered since the moment he became the club's captain!

However, Tezuka Kunimitsu expressed his frustration, saying that the gap between his Yamabuki and Hyotei was simply too great.

Their strongest doubles team, Yamabuki, couldn't even beat the weakest of the three doubles teams Hyotei would use in tournaments: Kikumaru and Oishi.

In singles, Hyotei has three national-level players, and apart from him, no one from Yamabuki is confident they can win a single match against Hyotei, including Fuji. (The above information comes from Inui's records and analysis of the training camp incident.)

Although he found that Fuji had inexplicably become more determined after he returned, he was still only at the Kanto level.

The gap between the Kanto-level and the national level is simply too large.

In other words, if Yamabuki were to face Hyotei, due to the difference in their raw strength, no matter what formation or strategy they employed, they would have absolutely no chance of winning.

Therefore, since the glory of the tennis club was 100% impossible to achieve, he had no reason to break his promise.

Moreover, he was actually looking forward to playing against Hyotei's captain, Kamiya You, a player who had risen like a comet in Japan since the Jr. Tournament, sweeping away all opponents and achieving a perfect record of 6-0 shutouts in every match, or defeating opponents who were rendered unable to fight. He was hailed by the media as the "Son of Legends" and "the rising second future legend."

Flames flickered in Shoujia Guoguang's pupils.

The national competition progressed like a finely tuned gear, clattering forward.

With all the Round of 16 matches now finalized, the latest bracket has been released.

Hyotei's opponent in the third round was also revealed: Shishiraku Junior High School from Kyushu.

"Hiss—what kind of luck is this?" Saito Shu rubbed the acupoints on the sides of his eyes, looking at the tournament schedule posted on the Hyotei bulletin board in disbelief.

"First, they faced last year's defending champion, Makino Fuji, in the second round, and now they're going to play last year's runner-up, Shishira, in the quarterfinals? Is this a preemptive cleanup of all the top teams in the national tournament?"

'

"Emmm," Sengoku Kiyosumi touched his nose, feeling slightly embarrassed, since he was the one who drew the lot, which led to this result.

To be honest, if this matchup hadn't been arranged by the event organizers, he would have suspected that Muzhiteng was rigging the game.

He was eliminated in the round of 16, so he wanted to drag his old rival down with him. (Smirking)

Meanwhile, in the tennis club president's office, Kamiya You himself was lounging back in his leather chair, holding a similar match schedule in his hand. He leisurely scanned the match information on the schedule, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

Well, in his opinion, this matchup list is actually quite good. First, the second round is against Makino Fuji. Although this opponent is very weak, and those players don't have much presence in the main storyline of Prince of Tennis, so he doesn't even have the interest to play against them, Makino Fuji can be said to be the perfect stepping stone for Hyotei to reach the top of the national tournament. After all, Makino Fuji has a history of winning the national tournament twice in a row. And their third round matchup against Kyushu is also good. As for Kyushu, he is still interested in them.

He might be able to fight against the guy with the Mirror Eye, Tetsujin, if the opponent is in a one-on-two situation.

Furthermore, Shiki's first-year doubles pair this year could help Hyotei take their doubles team to the next level.

So, it's actually a pretty good arrangement. Kamiya You tapped the armrest of his chair and then turned his gaze to the other end of the schedule. Yamabuki's next opponent is Kuroshio Academy. They're really lucky. Although there are no weak teams in the National Tournament, that strength is only relative. Kuroshio Academy's average team strength this year is only at the regional high level. Therefore, Yamabuki will definitely win against them.

However, this is also good. A glint flashed in Kamiya You's eyes. After Yamabuki defeats Kuroshio, he will become their opponent in the semi-finals of Hyotei.

This also conveniently allows him to fulfill his agreement with the man in the Shou family!

The group of students from Shishiraku Middle School were staying at the Sakura Inn, a guesthouse located 5km from the Tennis Forest Park and next to a street tennis court. In room 307 on the third floor, Tetsujin Fuwa sat at his desk, looking at the message from the tournament organizers with a worried expression. "This is a huge problem! We're facing Hyotei in the quarterfinals! What kind of schedule is this?!"

"This time it was a truly genuine draw! Makino Fuji, our Shishiraku, and Hyotei, these three national tournament seeds, are actually going to face off in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals respectively —"

"The group of death, huh? —"

"Sigh," sighed Tetsujin Fuwa. "I was just laughing at Makino Fuji for falling straight to the round of 16, and now our Lion's Club is about to follow in Makino Fuji's footsteps?!"

-

Tetsujin scratched his braid. "Oh no, does that mean he's going to end up like his cousin's cousin, creating the worst record in Shishiraku history?!" Oh no, it should be said, a continuation, since he's not the first. (Just kidding.)

Tetsujin Fuwa rationally recognized that they couldn't beat Hyotei. After all, although Tachibana and Chitose's doubles were strong, and he was also very strong, the rest of Shishiraku weren't strong enough.

At most, they can get 3-2. Well, they'll only get 2, and that's only if he and Tachibana face Hyotei's weakest singles and doubles players respectively.

That night, a full moon hung high in the dark sky, and below it was the Hyotei Tennis Club's main tennis court, brightly lit as day. "Tap tap tap—"

The sound of hurried and rapid footsteps echoed across the hard court.

-

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The crisp, powerful sounds of hitting the ball rose and fell, and the yellow tennis balls transformed into streaks of light, weaving back and forth on both sides of the net with unpredictable speeds and increasingly tricky angles.

The two teams, four figures, are engaged in a high-intensity battle, and this match will determine which team will qualify for the next major tournament.