The Prince of Tennis: My tennis skills come from Naruto

Chapter 235 The Restrained Swiftness

One spectator tapped his head and said, "If I remember correctly, the last time it was Sanada and another guy from Rikkai, not the guy in the arena right now, who won the only game against Hyotei! Hyotei won 3-1 that time."

"And if I remember correctly, among all the schools, only Rikkai University has ever won a plate from Hyotei University."

Nearby, another spectator who only watched the finals concluded, "So that means all the other schools were swept in three straight games?!"

"Yes, and some unlucky guys got shut out in five games. (The unlucky ones who faced Hyotei in the first round. Funny.jpg)"

"Well, it seems this match is really hard to predict. But you also mentioned that Sanada-kun changed partners. Will he be weaker than his previous partner?"

"Hmm, well, now that you mention it, it does seem a bit hard to say, tsk."

Meanwhile, Sadaharu Inui of Yamabuki flipped through his notebook to the page containing Masaharu Niou's data. Looking at the description of Niou's ability to synchronize with anyone, he adjusted his glasses again. Although Niou was a top-tier Kanto-level fighter a week ago (under his ultimate attack), a week was unlikely to bring about a qualitative change (except for the captain of Hyotei, who couldn't be judged by conventional standards; and frankly, Inui always felt that this guy's foundation was inexplicably getting thicker).

In short, if there is a 99.9% probability that Niou can synchronize with Sanada, then he and Sanada can be considered as a doubles team composed of two national-level players.

Therefore, it's really questionable whether Hyotei can win this time.

After all, Akutsu and Sengoku are only Kanto-level (the former is high-level and the latter is mid-to-high-level).

Um--

Inui Sadaharu's eyes darkened; at least a week ago, they had only displayed strength that was not at the national level.

Inside the court, the four players from both sides had already completed the coin toss. Although the referee gave them a chance this time, Sengoku Kiyosumi very unusually guessed wrong, thus giving Rikkai's second player the right to serve.

Soon, all four players were in position, and Shiori Ohno announced loudly, "I declare the match open!"

"This match features the duo of Jin Akutsu and Kiyosumi Sengoku from Hyotei Gakuen versus the duo of Genichiro Sanada and Masaharu Niou from Rikkai University Affiliated Junior High School. End of set!"

"First up is the service game for Sanada Genichiro & Niou Masaharu, with Sanada Genichiro serving first!"

Sanada serves first. Sengoku Kiyosumi grips his racket tightly, knowing his opponent might use a lightning-fast attack.

We must concentrate!

Over there, Genichiro Sanada didn't hesitate at all. His gaze was as cold and hard as iron, and as sharp as a knife. After catching the tennis ball thrown by the caddie, he simply tossed it into the air with a "whoosh."

The tennis ball soared into the sky like a rocket, and then, Genichiro Sanada swiftly executed a two-handed backhand backhand motion. Next, he took a deep, heavy breath, as if trying to inhale all the surrounding air into his lungs.

His eyes were fixed straight ahead, completely focused, engaging every muscle, and then, he pulled the racket!

His arm shot forward like an arrow, his racket drawing a perfect arc behind him, leaving a blurry afterimage in the air.

"Bang!"

This strike had no fancy techniques, no complicated feints, only the purest "drawing sword technique" that brought about the disappearance of the swing and absolute speed!

A few leaves drifted through the air, but the tennis ball, due to its high speed, left only a fleeting afterimage in the eyes of ordinary viewers before seemingly disappearing into the air without a trace.

"Its speed is like the wind."

Genichiro Sanada put down his racket, said something casually, and immediately prepared for defense. After all, the opponent was Hyotei, and Hyotei's strongest doubles pair, which was not to be underestimated. On the other side, Kiyosumi Sengoku's eyes also began to show orange ripples. As the ripples floated, the area in front of him began to play in slow motion. Soon, a beam of light fell there, and that was a tennis ball.

The tennis ball beam that disappeared in the eyes of ordinary viewers was transformed by Sengoku's dynamic vision from extreme speed to slowing down layer by layer, as if a slow motion button had been pressed for a long time, until it became so clear that even the shape of the ball could be seen. Sengoku quickly predicted the landing point and trajectory, took a few steps, and then swung his racket!

"Bang!"

The tennis ball transformed into a beam of yellow light and shot straight towards the center of the left half of the court.

Well, Sengoku Kiyosumi knew that it would be difficult for him to score with a single shot, so he chose to hit a shot down the middle that would limit his opponent's angle of choice to the greatest extent.

But before Sengoku could retaliate, the moment he moved into position, Sanada Genichiro and Niou Masaharu had already activated their synchronized state.

The solid, flowing silver-white coating was thus applied to the two of them.

!!!

"It's here!"

"Synchronization!! It's Rikkai University's synchronization!"

"Hmm, if I remember correctly, the last time we were in synchronized training was with Niou and Yanagi. So, Niou and Sanada actually have such a deep bond?!"

One of the older men was actually quite moved as he watched, though he felt mostly envious. If he had had such a bond with his doubles partner during his student days, he might have gone much further on his tennis journey.

Hyotei's supporters, however, said, "It's just synchronization, what's so special about it? Hyotei does it too."

"Although it wasn't this group, it was Oishi's group—" the person's voice trailed off, "but that doesn't matter, I think Hyotei will win anyway."

"Yeah, even if we lose, it'll only be this one game at most," the voice rose, then became extremely confident, "That's right, Hyotei will definitely win in the end!"

Over there, inside the arena, Niou Masaharu, shrouded in silver-white light, took a large step back to the right.

That's right, it's not about intercepting forward, but retreating backward.

Then, Sengoku Kiyosumi's return shot flew exactly half a meter in front of Niou Masaharu's original position.

In other words, if Renou hadn't retreated, the ball would have grazed past him and flown straight to his own half.

But now, by retreating, he has put himself in the best position to intercept.

Furthermore, as Niou Masaharu retreated, Sanada Genichiro silently and swiftly moved forward to fill the gap.

The two moved with perfect coordination, as if they had rehearsed it a thousand times. Their movements, whether advancing or retreating, were seamless, without any verbal communication or eye contact, yet they perfectly covered all the gaps in the defense.

"Wow! As expected of a synchronized movement! It's such a beautiful sight to watch!" Saori Shiba exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.