My Prince of Tennis has a high proficiency level.

"Well, I see."

Zhi nodded excitedly.

...

"This year's Yamabuki is pretty strong."

On the other side, Liu, who had watched the entire match, frowned slightly. St. Rudolf was not weak at all, yet they still suffered five consecutive defeats, demonstrating Yamabuki's formidable strength.

More importantly, it was obvious to everyone that Yamabuki had held back in the previous match. Judging from the players who participated, they hadn't even used half their strength.

"To collect their real data, it seems that the only option right now is to stir up the waters."

With that thought in mind, Liu quietly turned and left.

Instead of going anywhere else, he went straight to the park entrance, found the list of Yamabuki's opponents below the posted competition flowchart, and headed towards the stadium where the match was in progress.

"Hojo Middle School? They were in the top eight in the tournament last year, their strength is barely enough, but against Ueyama Fuki... they're still not good enough."

Liu shook his head and continued on to another ongoing match.

"Ok?"

"It's over?"

When Liu arrived at the competition venue, he saw the crowd automatically part to make way. Then, a group of energetic young men in black jackets walked out, led by a handsome young man with a buzz cut.

"This team is... Fudomine?"

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

He had never heard of this team. In his memory, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's top eight teams last year, besides Hyotei, Seigaku, and Yamabuki, were teams like Hojo and Ginka.

Fudomine's reputation is even less than that of Saint Rudolf, who was just defeated by Yamabuki.

"and many more!!"

Suddenly, as if he had noticed something, Liu's gaze instantly locked onto the young man leading the group at Fudomine.

"It's him?"

Liu had only felt that the person looked somewhat familiar, but as the other person brushed past him, a golden shadow subconsciously flashed through his mind.

Then, the two figures overlapped. Apart from their hairstyles, their expressions, demeanor, and eyes were completely identical.

"It was him!!"

Liu was startled.

Even as one of Rikkai's three giants, he dared not be careless in the slightest when facing this person. Last year's national tournament left a deep impression on him, especially on Lion Raku, the ace who played with a fierce and domineering style and whose playing style was extremely visually impactful.

Not long ago, he heard that the two aces of Shishiraku had left, so he began to investigate. Later, he heard that one of the two heroes, Chitose Senri, had gone to Shitenhoji Temple, so Yanagi raised the danger level of this Kansai tycoon.

But there was still no news of the golden lion.

"I never expected him to come to Tokyo. And he quietly built such a remarkable team."

Liu felt a pang of emotion.

The top experts in the country are truly different.

Even if he went to a third-rate or even unranked team, he could still build a team. But in his heart, he still felt sorry for Tachibana.

If the opponent hadn't gone to Fudomine, but instead to a team like Seigaku or Hyotei, their starting point would have been the National Tournament. They might even have had a chance to help those teams reach the semifinals or even challenge Rikkai's first-year students.

Especially given Yukimura's unstable health, the threat he poses to Rikkai University should not be underestimated.

"However, since it's the team he's leading, there's some room for maneuver."

As if remembering something, Liu turned her head to look in the direction where Fudomine had left, and slowly opened her lightly closed eyes.

"Senior Tachibana, what's wrong?"

the other side.

Among the group from Fudomine heading to the rest area, Kamio, with his keen observation skills, noticed the leader's unusual behavior and couldn't help but ask him a question out of curiosity.

"nothing."

Ju shook her head and said softly, "I just ran into someone I know."

"Who?"

They all looked over curiously.

They had absolute trust in Tachibana. But precisely because of this, they were curious how Tachibana, given her personality, could have acquaintances in the tournament.

"Someone who shouldn't be here."

Ju smiled and waved her hand gently, shaking her head. "Don't worry about others. Our goal is the second match this afternoon. The opponent is very strong; we can't afford to be careless!"

"it is good!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Fudomine has made history by rising from obscurity to reach the top 16 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament. The team is united and follows Tachibana's lead, winning match after match.

At this moment, let alone facing Yamabuki, who was a top four team in last year's tournament, or even Hyotei or Rikkai, none of them would feel the slightest bit of fear.

"Ah."

Seeing that morale was good, Ju nodded in satisfaction.

soon.

The lunch break is over.

The first match of the afternoon began, the round of 16, and Fudomine easily defeated last year's quarterfinal team, Hojo Junior High.

"Wow, that's amazing..."

"Where did such a strong team come from?"

"Fudomine! He's absolutely the strongest dark horse in this year's Tokyo tournament, without a doubt!"

The spectators outside the stadium were all stunned to see Fudomine defeat Hojo Junior High School 3-0.

Even Hojo's own players felt a sense of dazed disbelief. Their team's ace, their strongest singles player 2, and their strongest singles player 1 hadn't even shown up, yet they had already lost.

The problem was that if Fubufeng had fielded their strongest team in the first three matches, that would have been one thing. But the reality was that the opposing team's captain remained seated in the coaching position throughout the entire game, without even flinching.

This composure is hardly what you'd expect from a new team emerging from a small town. Even the captains of teams like Hojo and Ginka don't possess this calm confidence.

"We've finally made it to the quarterfinals!"

After the match, in the rest area of ​​Fudomine, the boy Ishida Tetsuya, with a white headscarf wrapped around his head, excitedly exclaimed, "This really made history!"

"We can't be happy yet."

With long, deep red hair and bangs covering half of his eyes, Kamio frowned and said, "Our next match is against Yamabuki. They were one of the top four teams last year, not a team like Hojo."

"We've won all the quarterfinals, so reaching the semifinals shouldn't be a problem."

Ishida crossed his arms over his chest, speaking with an air of confidence.

Kamio was about to say something when he heard Tachibana coldly say, "Ishida, if you really think that way, then you don't need to play in this afternoon's match."

"what?"

Ishida's expression changed upon hearing this, and he quickly explained, "Tachibana-senpai, I...I didn't mean that, I..."

"Never underestimate any opponent."

Tachibana gave him a serious look, then looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice, "Any team that can make it to the quarterfinals of the tournament is not simple. Especially a team like Yamabuki, we can't underestimate them at all, we have to go all out."

"at last."

After a pause, Ju's eyes became even more serious, and her overall aura of pressure intensified: "Remember this, no matter what ranking we achieve in the future, never forget where we came from."

Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted, and the various changes that had occurred at Fudomine over the past six months flashed through their minds. In particular, they recalled the miserable situation they had been subjected to bullying by the senior students, with the coach even condoning it, leaving them with no one to turn to for help.

Click.

Click click.

A group of second-grade students clenched their fists.

The humiliation of the past was deeply etched in their hearts. Now that it was brought up again, each of them felt an uncontrollable anger rising in their chests.

"Senior Tachibana, I know I was wrong."

Ishida took a deep breath, bowed his head, and admitted his mistake: "But please, you must let me play in this afternoon's match. I promise..."

"I never ask for any guarantees here."

Tachibana interrupted him, shaking her head and saying, "Yamabuki is very strong, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just focus on the game."

"Ok, I know."

With his participation in the match guaranteed, Ishida breathed a sigh of relief.

Ju, standing beside him, felt a sense of helplessness.

Fudomine's foundation is still too weak. Even if he really wanted to punish Ishida with a suspension, he simply couldn't do it.

The team only has a few people.

Forget about school-wide selection trials; just getting enough participants is already a blessing. Besides, Yamabuki is indeed very strong, and Tachibana isn't very confident.

For him, the next quarterfinal match is a do-or-die situation. Fudomine can only bet all his chips on the first three matches to fight his way out of this desperate situation.

"Tachibana-senpai!!!"

Just then, a short figure suddenly ran over from a distance. A boy wearing a baseball cap, holding several bottles of water, rushed excitedly towards them.

"What's wrong, Uchimura? Didn't I tell you to go buy water?"

"Sen, senior."

The boy named Uchimura handed the water to Ishida next to him and then took out several sheets of white paper covered with writing from his pocket.

"This is?"

Ju took it and glanced at it; a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.

Then, he looked at the breathless boy and asked, "Who gave it to you?"

"No, I don't know."

Uchimura shook his head repeatedly, and after catching his breath, he continued, "I just bought water from the vending machine, and when I got the water, I found these papers at the dispensing spout."

Kamio, Ishida, and the others looked over with curiosity: "Tachibana-senpai, what is this?"

"Information about Yamabuki."

Tachibana handed several sheets of paper to everyone, which contained detailed data on the Yamabuki team. This included their playing styles, habits, and skills, all presented in great detail.

"Gudu."

After reading it, Kamio couldn't help but swallow hard.

"S-Senior, this thing is too..."

The note listed the Yamabuki players' strengths and weaknesses. They only needed to follow this information to plan their tactics, which would undoubtedly greatly reduce the difficulty of the upcoming match.

"It's not that simple."

At this moment, Shinji Ibu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "The authenticity of these few sheets of paper is questionable. If the data is wrong, we might fall into a trap."

Swish!

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression instantly changed.

They were all so excited that they forgot about the crucial accuracy of this data. If there's a problem with this, the rest of the competition won't be easier, it will be incredibly difficult!

"no problem."

To everyone's surprise, Tachibana calmly said, "The data is real. You guys can take a look at the information on Yamabuki and the others. You have about 30 minutes of rest time, so take a look at as much as you can."

"Really, really?"

The group looked completely bewildered.

But since it was Tachibana who said this, they were only briefly shocked before recovering and excitedly picking up the note to read it.

"I didn't expect him to actually make a move."

In Ju's mind, the image of the boy in the white shirt she had just encountered appeared.