My Prince of Tennis has a high proficiency level

Chapter 95 Visiting Yamabuki, Rivals Meet

"Huff...huff huff..."

'

on the field.

Echizen, supporting himself on his knees with both hands, gasped for breath.

His body wasn't reacting this strongly during the match. Now that the match is over, the pent-up fatigue is suddenly exploding from all parts of his body.

At this moment, Echizen felt that even moving a finger was difficult, and when he tried to lift his head, his neck seemed to be petrified, so stiff that he could not move.

"Are these the top two players in Seigaku?"

Echizen took a deep breath. Even though he had lost the match, his damned pride wouldn't let him back down. He stiffened his neck and forced himself to walk to the net.

"You did a great job. You're even better than I was two years ago."

Grabbing the outstretched hand, Fuji smiled and spoke.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior."

Echizen had recovered somewhat; although his face was still a little pale, he was clearly more energetic.

"We'll have another chance to play."

"it is good."

The two looked at each other and nodded.

It's just the outcome of one match; it doesn't really matter. Even though Echizen lost, his importance in other people's hearts only increased.

Even Arai and the others, who had always disliked him, had to admit that this newcomer was too strong. If it were them, they probably wouldn't have lasted even 10 minutes without a second-hand match.

"Well played, Echizen."

On the other side, as soon as Echizen left the court, Momoshiro walked up to him with a smile and greeted him.

"Senior Momoshiro, please don't make fun of me."

Echizen pouted, looking as if he was afraid the other person would get close.

The two had a good relationship. Within the team, Echizen was the only one who might joke around with Momoshiro. The latter also liked this new junior, who seemed arrogant but was essentially a rookie, and Momoshiro enjoyed teasing him.

"I meant it."

Momoshiro shook his head and said, "You think losing to Fuji-senpai is something shameful? Heh, let me tell you, nowadays..."

The second senior has probably already reached the national level.

"National level?"

Echizen's heart stirred slightly.

Having grown up in North America and honed his tennis skills there, Echizen had little concept of the so-called skill ranking system. However, Momoshiro's words after losing to Fuji piqued his interest.

"Yes, none of the players who can reach the national level are simple people."

Momoshiro explained, "There are only 32 spots available for the national tournament each year. But do you know how many teams actually qualify for the regional preliminaries?"

"How many?"

Echizen squinted.

Momoshiro said with a serious expression, "In Tokyo alone, there are over 600 teams!!"

600?

The color of his face changed slightly.

This is no small amount.

More importantly, this is only the number of teams within the Tokyo metropolitan area. There are still two tournaments to go, the Kanto Tournament and the National Tournament, and none of the teams that emerge victorious from these competitions will be easy opponents.

From this perspective, the national-level standard is indeed quite formidable.

"What a pity."

Seeing Echizen's expression, Momoshiro said mysteriously, "You're late, kid. If you had met Fuji-senpai four months ago, you probably wouldn't have lost so badly."

Why?

Echizen raised his eyebrows slightly.

Momoshiro's expression was smug, but the information he revealed intrigued Echizen. Echizen was eager to know what had happened to Fuji, who had defeated him.

"I've only heard about it."

Momoshiro lowered his voice and whispered in Echizen's ear, "Four months ago, Fuji-senpai participated in a national youth selection tournament. After that, he seemed like a different person; he trained more aggressively, and the way he looked at people became frightening."

"National...qualifiers?"

Echizen's heart stirred slightly.

Judging from this, Fuji probably encountered some strong opponents from other regions during that match. The clashes with those experts significantly improved Fuji's strength.

The problem is, Echizen hasn't been without progress in those four months. Moreover, he's certain that his progress is no slower than Fuji's, and if the two of them were to return to where they were four months ago, he might not be confident of defeating the other.

"Actually... there's another explanation."

Just as Echizen was deep in thought, Momoshiro glanced around and, finding no one paying attention to them, immediately lowered his voice and said, "As far as I know, Fuji-senpai secretly went to Yamabuki before participating in the national selection tournament. He only agreed to go to the selection tournament because he lost to their captain."

"Yamabuki?"

Echizen asked instinctively, "Is it very strong?"

"This... is alright, I guess."

Momoshiro scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Actually, they lost to us in last year's tournament. However, this Captain Yamabuki is a bit mysterious; I heard he defeated Fuji-senpai by a huge margin."

Four months have passed, and the matter is no longer a secret. After all, so many Yamabuki members were present at the time, and Shibukawa didn't issue a gag order. Those people would inevitably brag about it to their friends when they got back.

"A huge score? A crushing defeat?"

Echizen's expression changed completely.

No one knew better than him how strong Fuji was. With an endless stream of special moves and top-notch improvisation skills, how could such a master be so easily suppressed by a large margin?

If the person speaking to him wasn't Momoshiro, Echizen would even think the other person was deliberately lying.

"Shhh."

Seeing Echizen's strong reaction, Momoshiro was startled and quickly made a shushing gesture, lowering his voice to say, "Keep your voice down. Also, don't tell anyone I told you. Bye."

After saying that, he slipped away and ran to the other side.

"Yamabuki?"

"A mysterious minister?"

Echizen, however, developed a strong interest in Yamabuki, who was also a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan team.

He really wanted to know what kind of person could defeat a master like Fuji.

"How is it?"

On the other side, after Fuji left the stage, he walked to Tezuka's side, and the latter asked a question.

"Very strong."

Fuji smiled and said, "His fundamentals are very solid, and he has a wealth of match experience. He doesn't seem like a newcomer at all. In addition, his tennis is very special. It seems that no matter how much pressure is applied, he can always return the ball and even counterattack."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Ryuzaki feigned surprise and said, "I didn't expect you to have such a high opinion of me."

I'm not exaggerating.

Fuji said seriously, "I even have a feeling that this is not Echizen's limit. His true potential probably exceeds everyone's imagination."

At this point, he couldn't help but smile and look at Tezuka beside him: "Would you be interested in giving it a try?"

"no."

Tezuka answered expressionlessly.

Although he was also very interested in Echizen, he knew the principle of moderation. This match against Fuji was enough for the newcomer to absorb for a while.

"That's all for now, I'm going to train."

Fuji smiled and left, walking to a corner to begin practicing his swing.

"He has really changed a lot."

Ryuzaki remarked with emotion, "It's hard to imagine that Fuji four months ago would be as meticulous in training as he is now."

"Um."

Tezuka nodded slightly: "As far as I know, that Yamabuki guy trains very hard in Shibukawa."

"I see."

Ryuzaki feigned surprise, then looked at Tezuka beside her with interest: "I heard that Yamabuki played a practice match at the Seishundai Club. You were there around that time, so, did you see that person?"

"Yes, a very special person."

Tezuka didn't say much, but the information he revealed allowed Ryuzaki, who was standing next to him, to grasp something.

The two had met.

Judging from Tezuka's reaction, it's possible that the two even played a match.

"interesting."

Ryuzaki couldn't help but picture Banta's smiling, round face in his mind: "I didn't expect that old guy, who's almost retired, could still find such an outstanding disciple. But..."

'

Ryuzaki paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to Echizen, who was also practicing his swing after recovering his strength, in the corner.

A sharp glint flashed in Ryuzaki's eyes: "This year's Seigaku is no match for last year!"

evening.

Echizen returned home.

"Hey, kid, why are you looking so downcast?"

At the top of the steps, a middle-aged man dressed in a black monk's robe, looking up and winking, said, "Want to have a fight and relax?"

"No."

To the middle-aged man's surprise, his son, who usually got angry at the slightest provocation, waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh?"

As the other person dragged their tired body into the room, the middle-aged man couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

"That's interesting."

"Looks like Seigaku's tennis club has some good players."

His eyesight was incredibly sharp; although the boy before him was exhausted, his spirit was stronger than usual. Within those eyes, a faint golden flame burned.

Obviously.

The other party is getting closer and closer to taking that step.

In the blink of an eye.

It's Friday.

The new starting lineup for Yamabuki was determined two days ago.

Shibukawa, Akutsu, Sengoku, Kangetsu, Minami, Dongfang, Shintomi, Kita.

The first three are basically confirmed as the main players in singles matches.

The last five can be combined in specific ways depending on the situation, to deal with different opponents.

Additionally, it's worth mentioning that Tan has considerable talent. After joining the tennis club, his positive performance led to his promotion to assistant manager by Shibukawa.

My usual job is to do odd jobs for Guanyue and fill in any gaps in her knowledge.

Of course, being in a good position, both Kanzuki and Shechuan took good care of the newcomer, often giving him extra help.

at this time.

When teaching newcomers basic skills, Guan Yue uses the altar as an example to demonstrate these skills.

"Serving is one of the most difficult techniques in tennis."

In front of everyone, Kanzuki said to Tan, who was the object of his manipulation, "Don't rush, take your time. Hold the tennis ball like you're holding a glass of water to ensure it's stable and has no spin."

As he spoke, he took Tan's hand and demonstrated. After personally experiencing it, Tan gained a deeper understanding of serving and benefited greatly.

Not far away.

Shibukawa was instructing the Minami and Toho, and the Niitobe and Kita doubles teams in their practice. These two doubles teams were two national-level combinations from the original Nakayama Fuki team.

They already had a good foundation, and after more than half a year of training, their foundation has become even more solid. At the same time, training and competitions have also accumulated a lot of potential for development.

Shibukawa had promised before that he would provide special guidance to the new starters. Taking this opportunity, he began to intensify the training for both doubles teams.

now.

On one side of the court, the South and East duo stood in a straight line. One player was crouching low, while the other was preparing to serve.

It's none other than the "Australian Formation," which shone brightly in the hands of Seigaku's golden duo, Oishi and Kikumaru, in the original story.

o

Although the effectiveness of this formation diminishes as opponents become stronger in the later stages of the original story's prologue, as a doubles team, mastering more formations leads to greater overall strength.

In addition, knowing yourself and your enemy will lead to victory in every battle.

Knowing that the opponent might use this formation in the future, it was necessary for Shechuan to let the players adapt in advance.

not only that.

He also added the [Phantom Mirage] formation to the Nitobe and Kita combination.

Based on the principle of spiraling improvement in the Prince of Tennis world, where strength increases by stepping on one's own feet, as long as there are sufficiently strong opponents to hone one's skills and exert pressure on each other, both sides can continuously improve their strength.

To further enhance their teamwork, Shechuan even added small games like three-legged race and charades to improve their rapport.

Once you reach a point of perfect understanding, it's not impossible to awaken the legendary doubles miracle.

boom!

boom!

boom!

A corner of the stadium.

Sengoku kept hitting the wall, feeling the force of the wall's rebound, and his gaze became increasingly intense.

"not enough!"

"not enough!"

"Still not enough!"

He was trying to combine boxing and tennis, and at that moment he imagined himself facing a top boxer. His punches were getting faster and faster, forcing him to play tennis with a boxing mindset.

boom!

Suddenly.

Sengoku smashed the tennis ball against the wall, sending it rebounding violently. The speed was so fast that even he couldn't react in time, barely managing to turn his head.

Even so, the rapidly flying tennis ball still grazed his cheek. The strong airflow felt like a blade, making Sengoku's cheek sting.

"hateful."

Sengoku clenched his fist.

Despite his efforts to improve his concentration, the tennis balls bouncing off the wall were still too fast and too powerful. Continuing to practice like this, he would likely only risk injury and wouldn't gain any real experience.

He needs real-world experience.

An opponent who can put enough pressure on him.

Among the team members, Mizuki is strong, but he can't put too much pressure on Sengoku. Shibukawa is putting enough pressure on him, but Sengoku just suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of his opponent and hasn't recovered yet, so he doesn't want to suffer any more pain.

After counting and calculating, there's only one person left.

Swish!

The thought crossed my mind.

Sengoku turned his head and looked in a certain direction of the court. However, the wild boy who usually stood there leaning against the wire fence with his eyes closed was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did that guy go?"

Sengoku frowned.

He knew Akutsu was a lone wolf, always preferring to work alone. But he never expected that the other party would disappear during training time.

"Isn't he afraid of getting into trouble with Kawakami?"

Sengoku squinted.

He picked up his racket, grabbed a few tennis balls, and put them in his pocket. He was going to find Akutsu and exchange tennis tips with him.

the other side.

Akutsu, feeling a bit bored in the tennis club, left to get some fresh air. However, just as he arrived near the school gate, at the platform, a figure wearing a red and white short-sleeved shirt and a tennis cap approached Yamabuki with a very clear purpose.

"Feed".

As they approached, the boy carrying the tennis bag adjusted the brim of his hat with his right hand, glancing sideways at Akutsu: "Do you know where the Yamabuki Tennis Club is?"

Ok?

Akutsu looked up.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

In an instant.

A crackling sound, like an electrical short circuit, filled the air, followed by a strong smell of gunpowder.