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Outside the stadium.

A boy wearing a white baseball cap and carrying a black tennis bag walked over slowly.

He was wearing a red T-shirt and light yellow athletic shorts, a simple and unpretentious look that exuded sunshine and confidence, giving off a refreshing vibe.

Even those who had never met him couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill and exclaim, "What a fine young man!"

As he approached, some people recognized him and greeted him with smiles.

"It's Kitahara Akira!"

Then he shouted loudly to the people who were inside and hadn't noticed yet.

"Excuse me! We've arrived in Kitahara!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone turned their heads around.

The somewhat crowded crowd suddenly parted to both sides, quickly making way for people to pass.

Thanks!

Kitahara Akio thanked them and then walked towards the stadium.

Several people who had played with him before pointed to the figures on the court, winked at him, and said with bright smiles, "You'll be satisfied with the guy who's here today; he'll definitely give you a blast!"

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Akira's eyes lit up slightly. He had heard that there was a very strong school team regular here who would come over from time to time to practice and play games with others.

However, the other party hasn't come these past few days, so he hasn't had a chance to meet them.

Kitahara Akira's fingers, which were gripping the backpack strap, suddenly tightened, and his eyes became somewhat fiery.

Players who have reached the Grand Prix are a good test of one's own strength!

On the field, a match has just ended.

"Murata, you really didn't hold back at all, you didn't let me get a single point."

One of the players, having lost the game, complained with a look of frustration on his face.

Yukihiro Murata laughed and said, "You're too relaxed. You have to give it your all in a match!"

As he spoke, he casually tucked his racket between his legs, lowered his head, and tied his messy hair into a ponytail with a hair tie at the back of his head. When he looked up again, Kitahara Akira had already come off the court.

Kitahara Akira, like a diligent student, raised his hand and asked, "Can I play against you in the next match?"

He sized up Yukihiro Murata on the field.

His hair was disheveled, he was dressed casually, and there was some stubble on his chin that he hadn't shaved properly, making him look a bit sloppy.

However, he has a broad frame, thick lips, a straight nose, and a pair of resolute and deep eyes, which gives people a sense of uninhibited and boldness.

As Kitahara Akira sized up the other man, Murata Yukihiro was also observing him.

"She's not bad looking!"

Noticing the commotion around the stadium earlier, and the rumors he had heard from others not long ago, he grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

"You must be Kitahara Akira?"

"As soon as I arrived at the stadium today, at least ten people mentioned you to me."

I heard you're a student at Yamabuki Junior High School?

"That's right."

"If you compete against me, I won't hold back. Don't blame me if you lose badly!"

Please give me your guidance!

......

In the world of Prince of Tennis, there's not much reason needed to play a tennis match. The two exchanged only a few words before heading to the court.

Kitahara Akira reminded him, "You just finished a match, don't you need to rest?"

"Haha, I'm not a patient person. When I see someone I'm interested in, I like to immediately challenge them to a match."

Yukihiro Murata laughed.

With a flick of his wrist, he tossed two tennis balls over. Without even looking at them, he extended his racket, blocked one, and sent the balls to rest on his racket.

Kitahara Akira was slightly taken aback.

Yukihiro Murata smiled and extended his racket head over the net: "You're the junior, you serve first!"

Kitahara Akira did not refuse.

That move was truly impressive.

This is a master!

After receiving the ball, Kitahara Akira retreated behind the service line.

Seeing that the other party's expression didn't change much, Murata Yukihiro didn't care, smiled lightly, and returned to his bottom line.

Both sides of the match:

Kitahara Akira, a first-year student at Yamabuki Junior High School, has greatly improved his skills after a week of training with "Oni-Zoku's Frenzied Tennis Racket".

VS

Yukihiro Murata, a third-year student at Katsura Akitai Junior High School, represented the school in the third round of the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament and was among the top 32 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament. He is a key player on the school team.

The game officially begins!

Outside the stadium.

People had already found the best viewing spots and were eagerly waiting for the game to start. After a few rounds of scrambling, the referee's seat was secured by a lucky guy who got there early.

Everyone was incredibly excited and looking forward to this match, which featured "first-year students vs. third-year students," "the prestigious Yamabuki vs. the Tokyo Metropolitan Top 32 Katsura Akidai," and "potential rising stars vs. seasoned veterans." Their eyes were practically glowing with excitement.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for the match to begin.

They wanted to see if Kitahara Akira, this genius boy, could gain Murata Yukihiro's approval.

Of course, not everyone is so friendly. There are always a few people with dark hearts who sneer and laugh at the situation.

"Hmph, what a fool! Daring to challenge Boss Murata. This brat's just waiting to make a fool of himself!"

They've disliked Kitahara Akira for a long time.

He's just a first-year student, but he uses his reputation as a pro and his tiny bit of tennis skills to show off. He's always looking for matches to play against people, and he doesn't understand any rules at all, making them lose so badly in front of everyone.

Tap...tap...tap...

The tennis ball bounced repeatedly between his palm and the ground, the sound of it landing rhythmic and regular until Kitahara Akira's mind calmed down and the sound stopped.

With a flick of his wrist, the tennis ball was caught in his palm.

He took a deep breath.

boom!

A flat serve at 173km/h is used as a probing attack.

(P.S.: The serve data has been modified. Please refer to Chapter 7, Author's Note, for details.)

Facing Yukihiro Murata, a well-known regular on the school team, Akira Kitahara didn't dare to be too aggressive and chose to hit an outside shot to test his opponent's forehand first.

"Trying to test me?"

Seeing the ball's impending landing point, Yukihiro Murata smiled slightly.

He then instantly turned to the side and used the force of the opponent's push to hit the ball with his forehand. His racket face control was very stable, and he sent the tennis ball directly back to Kitahara Akira's backhand deep area.

As the saying goes, a true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

With just one serve return, Kitahara Akira could tell that Murata Yukihiro was extraordinary: "His forehand is very strong. I won't rush to use my power. I'll see how he handles his backhand first."

As the tennis ball spun towards him, his mind raced.

boom!

Kitahara Akira gripped his racket with both hands, his eyes fixed on Murata Yukihiro's backhand area, and launched a double backhand cross-court attack.

This shot didn't focus too much on the angle, but rather prioritized ensuring the depth of the return, controlling the landing point to be about 30cm from the baseline, testing whether the opponent could continue to hit a powerful backhand like a forehand under certain pressure.

If Yukihiro Murata shows even the slightest weakness, Akira Kitahara will definitely launch a relentless and fierce attack on his backhand side for the rest of the match.

Yukihiro Murata seemed to have figured out his thoughts as well.

boom!

He unleashed a fearless backhand smash, responding boldly to Kitahara Akira's probing attack, and simultaneously attacked the opponent's backhand side.

Both of them were testing the waters.

......

boom!

"Kitahara Akira scores, 15-0!"

.....

boom!

"Kitahara Akira scores, 30-0!"

......

boom!

"Yukihiro Murata scores, 15-30!"

......

boom!

"Yukihiro Murata scores, 40-40!"

......

boom!

"Game, Kitahara Akira, 1-0!"

"The two sides will switch venues."

In the first game alone, the two players played for nearly ten minutes, and Kitahara Akira finally won the first game by taking advantage of his serve.

Both sides are in a probing phase and neither has started to exert its full strength.

But that's all.

This already left the spectators around them stunned.

"That shot!"

"That stride!"

The crowd gasped in amazement, praising the two players on the field. They were even more shocked to see Kitahara Akira keep up with Murata's pace and even score first.

The second game, Yukihiro Murata's serve.

Yukihiro Murata held the tennis ball in his hand, glanced at Akira Kitahara, and thought to himself, "This kid plays really steadily, unlike those guys who get all hot-blooded while playing."

"But it's still really embarrassing that they got the first point."

He shook his head and tossed the tennis ball into the air.

boom!

The tennis ball spun powerfully in the air, fell in a very strong arc, and then flew straight up to Kitahara Akira's shoulder height.

"The momentum is fierce!"

Kitahara Akira's steps faltered.

......

Six minutes later.

boom!

Facing Kitahara Akira's barely passable return, Murata Yukihiro unleashed a powerful smash, tearing a wide corner of the field.

Kitahara Akira was unable to intercept him.

"Game, Yukihiro Murata, 1-1!"

Yukihiro Murata also won his service game, bringing both players back to level terms.

The serve once again came into Kitahara Akira's hands.

At this moment, Kitahara Akira looked at Murata Yukihiro on the other side of the net with a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Why is it this kind of playing style again?"

After two rounds of probing.

Kitahara Akira also had a fairly good understanding of Murata Yukihiro's playing style.

This is another player who likes to hit topspin shots from the baseline to move his opponents around.

Like Morimura, Yukihiro Murata also likes to alternate between hitting the ball on both sides of the baseline, waiting for the opponent to show a weakness before delivering a fatal blow.

Kitahara Akira was somewhat helpless.

Actually, he wanted to see more different playing styles.

However, given this style of play, he already knew which tactics to use.

I didn't think much of it.

Kitahara Akira decisively tossed the tennis ball into the air, adding an extra bit of spin to the racket as he struck it.

boom!

A side-spin serve from the outside corner of Zone 1 was aimed at Yukihiro Murata's forehand. Since the opponent's forehand and backhand were both strong, Akira Kitahara no longer needed to worry.

"Pull him away to the outside corner, then hit a powerful forehand shot. If he returns it, continue to repeat the same shot placement and sweep down the line. If he can hold on, then look for an opportunity to move to the net and attack his backhand deep area."

The moment he served, Kitahara Akira's mind raced through the tactical sequence of events.

As he finished thinking, the tennis ball landed in the outer corner of Murata's first court, bouncing off to the side.

tread!

At that moment, Yukihiro Murata appeared in front of the trajectory of the ball after it had deflected.

He seemed to have anticipated this, taking a step to the right and choosing to slice the ball with his forehand instead of forcing a shot to complete the return.

Swipe~

The racket cuts down, drawing a low, flat diagonal line across the net.

Upon witnessing this scene.

Kitahara Akira, who was rushing forward, was taken aback. He was preparing to continue his powerful forehand down the line, but this slice shot directly interrupted his rhythm of connecting with his forehand.

The ball traveled deep and low, with backspin, and was pulled to my backhand position.

Kitahara Akira was too late.

He could only resort to a backhand to block the shot, barely managing to return the tennis ball to the middle.

Yukihiro Murata naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip by.

He laughed heartily, immediately turned sideways and hit an inside-out shot with his forehand, the ball landing directly at Kitahara Akira's forehand corner.

"Oh no!"

Kitahara Akira sensed something was wrong and hurriedly reached for the ball with his forehand. Although he successfully saved it, he had already lost his balance. He had no choice but to throw a high ball to buy himself some time to recover.

And at this time—

"I'll take it without hesitation!"

Yukihiro Murata leaped up suddenly, and with a loud bang, scored with a high-pressure smash.

"Yukihiro Murata scores, 0-15!"

......

"It was predicted."

Looking back at the less than one-minute exchange, Kitahara Akira quickly realized the problem: his tactics seemed to have been anticipated.

From that disruptive slice on the return of serve, I fell into Yukihiro Murata's rhythm.

Kitahara Akira frowned slightly.

They immediately decided to change tactics.

The tennis ball is tossed into the air.

boom!

This time, attack the inside corner of zone 2 to pressure his backhand!

......

boom!

"Game, Yukihiro Murata, 2-1!"

"The two sides switch sides!"

......

"As expected, this guy is no ordinary person..."

Kitahara Akira frowned, his eyes fixed on the figure opposite him. The opponent was at the level of a professional player from his previous life.

Extremely stable, maintaining a very low unforced error rate in long rallies; precise placement, rarely hitting the ball out of plan; no absolute weaknesses, strong in both forehand and backhand, unlike Morimura Ya whose backhand is much weaker than his forehand.

The transition between the previous and next beats was perfect, and the ability to anticipate was also very accurate.

In a short time.

Kitahara Akira felt like he didn't know where to start.

......

boom!

"Game, Yukihiro Murata, 3-1!"

After breaking serve, Yukihiro Murata quickly won his own service game, taking three consecutive games in a row and giving Akira Kitahara no chance to catch his breath.

The referee announced the score from his high chair.

His expression was complicated.

He admired Murata's strength, but also felt sorry for his new friend.

"Although Kitahara is very talented, he is still too young. Compared with a tournament-level expert like Murata, the gap is very obvious."

At that moment, a few discordant voices came from the crowd.

"As expected of Murata, he won three games with ease!"

"Weren't you so arrogant before? Turns out, this is all you're capable of?"

"To be honest, compared to third graders, first graders are definitely not up to par!"

Several people lowered their voices and sneered in a disdainful tone.

At first, when they saw Kitahara Akira score the first point, the group was quite alarmed, worried that even Murata, the leader, would lose to this kid. It wasn't until Murata Yukihiro confirmed his advantage and scored three points in a row that they finally relaxed.

Before the game was even over, he couldn't help but burst into laughter. His contemptuous laughter sounded particularly jarring in the quiet stadium.

I heard the noise from outside the venue.

Kitahara Akira's expression also turned colder.

He couldn't understand why there were such people in this world who always liked to cause trouble even though they hadn't provoked them.

"Hello!......"

Just as Kitahara Akira was about to speak, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the other end of the court.

"You lot, either get out of here! Or shut up!"