My Prince of Tennis has a high proficiency level.

"As far as I know, Fuji-senpai secretly went to Yamabuki before participating in the national selection tournament. He only agreed to participate in the selection tournament because he lost to the opposing captain."

"Yamabuki?"

Echizen instinctively asked, "Is it very strong?"

"This... is alright."

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 members of the Yamabuki crew 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 that I told you. Bye."

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

"Yamabuki?"

"The 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 about 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 foundation is very solid, and he has a lot 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 receive it 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 is probably beyond 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 have been as meticulous in his training as he is now."

"Ah."

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 once 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: "I didn't expect that old guy, 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, teenager, why are you looking so dejected?"

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 match to 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."

"It seems that Seigaku's tennis club has some skilled 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 the operation, "Don't rush, take your time. Hold the tennis ball like you're holding a cup of water to ensure that the ball is 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 the serve 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 the two national-level pairs from the original manga.

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 is none other than the "Australian Formation" that shone brightly in the hands of the Seigaku golden duo, Oishi and Kikumaru, in the original work.

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!"

"It's 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 train like this, he would find it difficult to gain any real experience beyond the risk of injury.

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. As a result, 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 man would disappear during training time.

"Isn't he afraid of getting into trouble if he goes to Sichuan?"

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.