My Prince of Tennis has a high proficiency level.

But I love the exhilarating feeling of sweeping through everything and being looked up to with awe by others.

As for the powerful teams in the vicinity, not to mention that those people are unlikely to appear in such a place, even if they did, he, as a regular player for Hino Fifth Middle School, would not be afraid in the slightest.

tread!

At this time.

A figure with orange hair walked onto the court. Without even looking closely, he casually waved his hand and said, "Serve."

For him, an opponent of this caliber was someone he could crush even with his eyes closed. After all, all he wanted when he was frying fish was the sheer thrill of it.

boom!

But the next moment.

With a loud bang, the tennis ball exploded in front of him without warning. He instinctively looked down and saw the mark on the service line where the ball had landed; his pupils constricted involuntarily.

Who?

He suddenly looked up. He saw a handsome young man with orange hair looking at him indifferently.

"Thousands of stones?!"

Upon seeing the person's face clearly, he shuddered violently.

"roll."

Sengoku spoke calmly.

"asshole."

Ruri, who was initially somewhat wary of Sengoku's strength, was immediately enraged by the other party's words and wanted to say something more.

boom!

But he couldn't even see the trajectory of Sengoku's serve. The tennis ball exploded in front of him again, but this time it landed on the left side, perfectly symmetrical to the previous serve.

"Gudu."

He subconsciously swallowed.

Then, without saying a word, he picked it up and fled the stadium without hesitation.

"hiss!"

Seeing that Sengoku had scared the previously arrogant Irulai into fleeing in panic with just two serves, everyone couldn't help but gasp.

Swish!

Just as they were wondering why such a powerful person would appear here, Sengoku, who had been expressionless, seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up at the steps opposite him.

There.

A handsome young man with long black bangs covering his eyes and carrying a tennis bag was walking slowly toward them.

Chapter 45 Shibukawa vs Sengoku (4000 words)

"Who is this person?"

"I don't know him, but judging from Sengoku's expression, he's obviously waiting for him."

"But no matter how I look at him, he seems ordinary and unremarkable."

The crowd around the stadium whispered among themselves.

Seeing this, Sengoku frowned, somewhat displeased. He had originally chosen this court because he thought it was usually deserted, and playing here would prevent anyone from seeing him.

I didn't expect there to be so many people on the weekend.

He had considered going back to Yamabuki for the match, as the situation there was definitely much quieter than here. However, considering the agreement he had made with Shibukawa, changing his mind at the last minute would mean that Sengoku had broken his promise if Shibukawa couldn't find a court. So, he had no choice but to settle for this place.

After a pause, Sengoku cleared his mind of distractions and fixed his gaze on Shibukawa.

at this time.

The opposing team also walked down the steps and entered the stadium.

"Shall we start now?"

Shibukawa said with a smile.

He didn't care about the many people around him at all. His duel with Sengoku wasn't anything shameful.

The only thing that concerned him was that these people's presence shouldn't affect the other party's mentality. Otherwise, defeating a Sengoku who wasn't at his peak wouldn't give him any sense of accomplishment.

"Ah."

Sengoku nodded upon hearing this.

He was a seasoned veteran, and this unexpected situation did not affect his mindset.

"Since it's a competition..."

As Shibukawa spoke, his gaze swept around, finally settling on a figure hiding as far away as possible: "Friend, could you be the referee for our match?"

"I?"

Yusuke Iriki paused for a moment, then pointed to himself with a somewhat uncertain finger.

"Yes."

Shibukawa smiled and nodded, then looked at Sengoku opposite him: "Sengoku, you don't have any objections, do you?"

"I don't care."

Sengoku spoke calmly.

He naturally understood that the other person was asking for his opinion. After all, just now, Sengoku had driven away that guy from Hino Fifth Junior High School with two serves.

Generally speaking, even in street tennis, which is not considered a formal competition, efforts are made to avoid such off-court factors.

No one can guarantee that Iri, who was previously taught a lesson by Sengoku, will not hold a grudge and make an unfair judgment.

But Sengoku didn't care at all.

He is very confident in his abilities, and he also trusts his opponents. This young man, who trains diligently every day regardless of the weather, would not do anything that disrespects the rules of the competition.

"Okay, okay."

Seeing that Sengoku did not object, Iri thought for a moment and said nervously, "But let me make it clear beforehand that if I am not good enough to judge correctly, please don't mind."

Shechuan smiled and said, "Don't worry, just do your best."

Sengoku remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement.

He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly jogged down the steps, climbing up to the referee's high chair.

"Cough, cough, cough."

He cleared his throat, about to say something, when suddenly, as if remembering something, he quickly said, "By the way, I still don't know your name."

"Shanbuki, Shibukawa Shin."

"Okay, I got it... Wait, you're also from Yamabuki?"

Ru Lai looked at the boy in front of him with some surprise.

He then gave Sengoku another serious look, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Aren't these two guys from Yamabuki? Why are they competing outside? Oh well, it's none of my business."

He shook his head inwardly, no longer dwelling on the issue.

On the contrary, he was more curious about what was so special about this man named Shibukawa that made Sengoku treat him with such care.

He knew the latter's strength very well, not to mention those two terrifying serves just now. In this year's tournament, Hino Fifth Middle School happened to face Yamabuki, and their captain was crushed by this guy with a score of 6-0.

In the words of their minister, Sengoku Yamabuki is definitely a top-tier fighter in the Kanto region.

From this perspective, the current 'Yamabuki civil war' is clearly very interesting.

After gathering his thoughts, he entered seriously and asked the two to guess who should take priority.

After a while.

Then Shibukawa spun his racket, and Sengoku, standing opposite him, thought for a moment and chose the reverse side.

pat.

The racket fell.

The letters, however, are facing down.

"Oh? It seems I'm luckier."

Shechuan smiled and bent down to pick up the racket.

Sengoku frowned slightly.

This is the second time this has happened to him this year. In the past, when guessing who would serve, he was always able to accurately guess the direction the letters would be facing after the racket fell to the ground.

He earned the nickname "Lucky Thousand Stones" because he could guess almost every time.

But this incredible luck came to an end at this year's tournament. And the one who stopped him from setting a record was none other than Tezuka, the vice-captain of Seigaku.

And now.

He encountered this situation again.

"A coincidence...or..."

Sengoku's composure wavered slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. Despite being called "Lucky Sengoku," his true strength never lay in his luck.

"Congratulations to Shibukawa for winning the serve..."

"Wait a moment."

Just as Iri was about to announce who would start, Shibukawa raised his hand to stop him, saying, "I think this spot suits me better, so I'll choose this side of the field."

Uh?

Upon hearing this...

Everyone around, including the referee, was stunned. It was the first time they had ever seen a situation where someone would choose the court instead of having the right to serve.

But then, he frowned again as he entered.

"That's strange. If he really wants to choose this position, even if he wins the serve, Sengoku wouldn't ask to change positions, right?"

In his view, this was clearly an unspoken rule in tennis. This person named Shibukawa's actions were quite unusual and alarming.

"Oh."

Sengoku, who had the right to serve, simply smiled faintly and turned to walk towards the baseline on his side.

Others might not know Shechuan's purpose, but how could he not? The reason the opponent gave him the serve was simply to let him use his "tiger cannon" (a powerful shot).

Generally speaking, whether you serve first or second in a tennis match doesn't have a significant impact.

but.

For Sengoku, who possesses a heavy weapon like the Tiger Cannon, it's a different story. In regular matches, as long as he uses the Tiger Cannon to pave the way and wins the first round, overwhelming his opponent with momentum, the rest of the match is as swift and decisive as autumn leaves being swept away by the wind.

in other words.

Only by gaining the first serve can he unleash his best performance. And that's clearly the opponent's goal as well.

"Since you want to see a real Tiger Cannon, I will not disappoint you!"

Thinking this, Sengoku took out a tennis ball from his pocket and gently began to bounce it.

From his high chair, after observing the situation of the two, he announced, "The match begins, one set to decide the winner. Sengoku serves, game over!"

call!

The words fell.

To the astonishment of onlookers, Sengoku tossed the tennis ball high into the air. Then, he pushed off the ground with both legs, leaping off like an eagle.

"Wow! What kind of jumping ability is that?!"

"Is this for real? Can someone really jump that high?"

"My God, this is the first time I've ever seen someone jump such an exaggerated height when serving on a tennis court!!"

A chorus of gasps of surprise rose from the crowd around them.

"Humph."