My Prince of Tennis has a high proficiency level

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 simply 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 players: "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?"

"knew!"

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 his teammates. He also wanted to show everyone Fudomine's true strength. "Next, we will begin 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 Tachibana'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?"

"Um."

Inoue nodded and said, "He's definitely no ordinary person; he was 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.

"Sengoku?"

Meanwhile, Liu, hidden among the crowd, slightly opened her eyes: "Yamabuki's publicly acknowledged third-in-command? 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, lacking 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 your guidance.

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

"Um."

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.

Over the past six months, his experience at Yamabuki has taught him a valuable lesson: no matter how eloquently you talk, it's no match for a real match 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 dramatic or sensational clamor.

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 temperament, calm demeanor, and the subtle air of a 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, exclaiming, "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-volley?"

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 such 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 his body completed the turn after a period of cushioning, rushing towards 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 that 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.

"Tachibana Kippei?"

Someone frowned: "Just who is this person?"

"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 you can beat this guy while wearing that thing?"

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.

"Wait, wait a minute..."

"This is...carrying weight?!"

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