Prince of Tennis Fraudster

"Forehead……"

Niou's eye twitched, but he didn't bother arguing with this 5-year-old.

After dinner, Renwang lay down on the bed, preparing to enter the virtual space. Tomorrow was the last day of the school ranking competition, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the spot in the main selection was already his.

But he wanted a complete victory. However, a formidable obstacle stood in his way – the jackal Kuwabara!

This person is not particularly outstanding in the original Rikkai University story.

His presence was primarily meant to highlight Marui's abilities. But Gen knew that this person was no weakling; his basic abilities were even stronger than his own.

He needs training, and it needs to be groundbreaking training, otherwise his chances of winning tomorrow will be pitifully small.

With a thought in mind, Niou opened his backpack.

All the basic skill cards have been used up. All that's left is one Kirihara character card and one promotional serve card marked 'Special'.

Character Card [Kirihara Akaya]: This character is simulated in the virtual space and will compete against the host in a match.

This card is a practice card, meant to help improve match experience and familiarize you with other players' abilities. In other words, Kirihara's character card won't be of much help in tomorrow's match.

External spin serve [Special]: High-level serve practice card.

A single sentence of explanation made Renou frown. Looking again at his serve, which had reached blue level 1, he hesitated.

"Or should we proceed with basic training?"

"Perhaps the host could give it a try!"

At this moment, the system's voice rang out: "Cards marked 'special' are extremely rare and may yield unexpected rewards."

"'Special'..."

After a moment's thought, Niou decided to use the card.

boom!

Suddenly, the scene shifts, and Niou's room transforms into a secluded, dilapidated temple with weathered walls. The Buddha statues and bell towers, though worn, still exude a sense of Buddhist presence.

pat!

Just then, a dark shadow fell from the clock tower and hit him on the head.

"Huh? This is..."

When Niou touched it, he found it was a thin-covered book. He opened it and his lips twitched.

"A limited edition adult photobook?"

In a place steeped in Zen tradition and imbued with solemnity, the presence of such blatantly pornographic publications is utterly incongruous—no, it is downright blasphemous.

"How could this happen... Wait a minute!!"

Buddhist temples, 18+, tennis...

A thought suddenly flashed through Niou's mind. He looked up in horror and saw a middle-aged man in a black monk's robe standing on the bell tower, staring at him.

"Echizen... Nanjiro!"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The True Topspin Serve

Nanjiro's gaze sent chills down Niou's spine. This was the most mysterious and terrifying being in the original work.

Suddenly, he laughed and said, "Kid, you're the one that guy introduced, right?"

That guy? Who is he?

But as soon as these thoughts crossed Niou's mind, he quickly said, "That's right!"

"In that case, let's begin!"

After finishing his sentence, Nanjiro jumped down from above with a whoosh. He took the magazine from Niou's hand, glanced at him a few times, and said, "Your strength is far too weak, but since it's that guy's idea, I'll play along!"

As he spoke, he led Niou to a sports field, the very place where he and Echizen played their match in the original story.

Niou stood solemnly to the side, his gaze turning grave as he looked at Nanjiro. He had a rough idea of ​​who Nanjiro was referring to, but he was equally shocked by the guess.

"System, has someone like Nanjiro, whom you've created, already developed self-awareness? System, system?"

However, no matter how he called out, the system did not respond.

"Kid, are you ready?"

Nanjiro, already in position, chuckled at Niou's state, "Even though I'm just teaching you how to serve, you'd better not get distracted. Uh, let me think..."

He picked his nose, seemingly pondering for a moment, and then said, "Never mind, I'll just add some water."

"He really is capable of independent thinking..."

Nanjiro's form was completely different from that of Kirihara, who taught him the topspin serve. The difference between the two was like the difference between a 20th-century robot and the Terminator.

Snapped!

Snapped!

Across from him, the sound of Nanjiro hitting a tennis ball startled Niou from his confused state. He looked up and saw his opponent tossing the ball, his legs spread wide, and his shoulders slightly tilted.

"Hey!"

Nanjiro smiled, and as he raised his racket, he winked at Niou: "Kid, I won't be responsible for the consequences if you're careless!"

After saying that, he hit the tennis ball with his racket, and it struck the tennis ball with a thud.

Ding!

But in Niou's eyes, he only saw a flash of cold light, and an extremely dangerous aura rushed towards him. His brain went numb, and he didn't even give the command to dodge.

"Oops!"

He was startled and looked down to see the tennis ball had already landed and was spinning rapidly. A small tornado was faintly forming on the ground, leaving Renwang stunned.

With a whoosh, the tennis ball bounced up!

Swish!

At the critical moment, his adrenaline surged, and his body instinctively dodged. At the same time, a fierce gust of wind blew by, stinging his cheek and making it impossible for him to open his eyes.

Pat-pat...

As the tennis ball landed, he opened his eyes and looked at Nanjiro across from him with a smile on his face. Niou felt a mix of emotions.

Shock, terror, bitterness...

"Is this the legend, the true strength of Echizen Nanjiro? No..." He immediately dismissed his own thoughts, judging from the other party's expression, he was clearly not serious.

Niou guessed that Nanjiro probably hadn't even used half of his power.

"not bad."

Nanjiro picked his nose and commented, "Your physical strength isn't very strong, but you can still dodge tennis balls, which is commendable."

a bit?

Niou thought for a moment and smiled helplessly. Indeed, compared to Echizen Ryoma, his talent was far inferior.

but……

Nanjiro's simulation was indeed very realistic, even throwing him off balance for a moment, but he hadn't forgotten what his purpose was.

His gaze sharpened, he spread his feet apart, slightly arched his body, and adopted a serious competitive stance.

"This is just a virtual space; my purpose here is to learn the topspin serve!"

"Nice eyes!"

Seeing Niou's reaction, Nanjiro smiled slightly, gently tossed the tennis ball in his hand, shifted his body, and swung his racket smoothly and naturally.

"Kid, slow down your movements a bit this time."

boom!

The tennis ball was hit, and its speed was indeed a bit slower than before. However, Niou dared not be careless. Seeing the tennis ball land, he quickly turned his body to the side, trying to use the method of breaking Kirihara's topspin to return the ball.

Whoosh!

However, before he could even swing his racket, the tennis ball had already passed by his face, and the wind that followed hit his face, causing him considerable pain.

"hiss……"

He touched his burning left cheek and glanced at Nanjiro across from him with lingering fear. The other man chuckled, "Kid, judging from your movements, you seem to have some experience countering external spin attacks."

"However, true masters can control the timing and angle of the tennis ball's bounce."

The implication was that Niou's response had gone wrong. His expression turned serious, and he once again assumed a stance to return the ball.

boom!

Nanjiro hit the ball again, and this time, Niou didn't make the first move. Instead, he stared intently at the tennis ball spinning on the ground. However, the tennis ball was spinning too fast, and he could only see a fleeting glimpse of it.

"Weakness identified!"

Without hesitation, Niou's eyes widened as he used Weakness Insight on the spinning tennis ball. Instantly, he felt as if everything within his field of vision suddenly slowed down.

However, he still couldn't fully see the spin on the tennis ball.

"Let's give it our all!"

Gritting his teeth, he used Weakness Insight repeatedly. The blood vessels in the corners of his eyes spread out like a spider web.

"Oh?"

On the other side, seeing Niou's condition, Nanjiro was somewhat surprised.

"Nice eyes, but your eyes can't take it if you keep this up..."

In his view, Niou was being a bit impatient.

Whoa!

However, just as the tennis ball bounced up, Niou suddenly raised his racket and stopped the ball with a half-volley.

boom!

But his racket was also bounced away the moment it touched the ground.

"Hiss... That was a lot of force!"

Clutching his numb left hand, his eyes dry, Niou dazedly looked at Nanjiro opposite him. After a moment of silence, his vision returned to normal, and he picked up his racket, once again assuming a hitting stance.