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Ichiro Kindaichi stood at the baseline.

He leaned forward, gripped his racket tightly with both hands, stared intently at Kitahara Akira opposite him, and recalled the tactics that Mizuki had taught him.

"The information gathered by Mizuki says that the opponent is a serve-and-volley player who is good at volleying."

"So I need to disrupt his net play when receiving serves. I'll use a backspin slice to receive the serve, cutting the ball to the side of his racket hand and forcing him to bend over and hit a forehand volley."

The volley quality at this angle is usually not high, so I can take the opportunity to hit a cross-court passing shot.

"If the opponent's first serve doesn't pick up speed, I'll hit a topspin bounce shot to their body, aiming for their body or right foot, forcing them to return the ball shallowly. The rhythm is still in my hands..."

Or perhaps—

Bang! !

As Kindaichiro was still pondering how to deal with Kitahara Akira, a thunderous roar suddenly rang in his ears.

His pupils contracted.

A thick beam of golden light suddenly exploded at the outer corner of the T-zone.

"!"

The referee was taken aback; after two days of competition, this was the first time he had ever seen such a high-speed serve.

I checked the ball marks in the service area one more time.

He then raised his hand and shouted, "Kitahara Akira of Yamabuki Junior High scores! 15-0!"

"Wha...what happened?"

Standing at the baseline, preparing to receive the serve, Kindaichiro didn't react in time. "W-no... that cannonball-like thing just now, was it a tennis ball?!"

Kitahara Akira walked to the other side.

He doesn't care what his opponents think; he's promised to show his true skills, so he won't play games.

shuh~

He tossed the tennis ball up, pushed off with his feet, and leaped into the air, forming a perfect arc in the air.

When the tennis ball reaches its highest point.

With legs straight, hips rotated, shoulders internally rotated, and forearms pressed down, a complete "kinetic chain" generates power in sequence, layer by layer, and the power is perfectly transferred to the wrist and applied to the racket.

Kitahara Akira's arm instantly turned into a blur.

then.

Bang! !

With a loud bang, a ring of white air surged out of the air.

235km/h!

(The serve data in this book has been adjusted; this ball speed is comparable to Inui Sadaharu's Waterfall Strike.)

The tennis ball came crashing down from the sky, and Kindaichiro's eyes widened.

But he could only watch helplessly as a beam of light, like a cannonball, slammed into the ground, grazing his body and flying rapidly out of the arena.

It felt like my feet were nailed to the ground, and I couldn't take another step.

Splash!

A commotion arose from the barbed wire fence behind me, along with gasps from the spectators.

"What was with those two serves just now!?"

"Wow...so fast!!"

"This isn't a matter of speed anymore, it's that you can't even see the serve!"

"...Yamabuki Middle School...Kitahara Akira..."

"When did Yamabuki become capable of training heavy gunners of this caliber!?"

The murmurs from the sidelines continued, and Kindaichiro was momentarily flustered.

"This wasn't mentioned in the battle plan!"

"What should we do?"

"How am I supposed to receive this kind of serve?"

He subconsciously looked at Guan Yuechu outside the arena, only to see that the other person also looked surprised and shocked.

"Even watching the moon...?"

He panicked even more.

shuh~

The tennis ball was tossed up again.

The ability to remain focused and unaffected by external factors is a fundamental quality of becoming a qualified heavy hitter.

Bang! !

The golden beam of light crashed down.

"Yamabuki Junior High's Kitahara Akira scores, 40-0!"

......

Bang!

Kindaichiro pinched his thigh and ran out to hit the ball the instant he heard the explosion.

Swish...

Unfortunately, the racket didn't even get a glimpse of the tennis ball.

"Game, Yamabuki Middle School Kitahara Akira, 1-0!"

"Please switch courts."

......

"Mitsuki... what should I do...?"

When the game changed hands, Ichiro Kindaichi passed by Mizuki's position and took the opportunity to quickly whisper for help.

"Don't panic."

Guan Yuechu frowned slightly, and Jin Tian's voice trembled, clearly terrified by the serve just now.

"Calm down, Kaneda!"

"Your opponent just has an extra high-speed serve. You just need to hold your serve and try to drag the match into the later stages."

"That guy's stamina and mental strength can't stay at this level forever. Once his touch cools down, that's your chance to counterattack. Remember to play to your strengths and don't give him a chance to intercept. Also, watch out for his topspin shots."

"As long as you do these things, you can still achieve final victory!"

After calmly analyzing the current situation, Kaneshiro said before Kindaichi went on stage, "Don't forget why we, St. Rudolph, came together in the first place?"

"......yes."

Kindaichiro was silent for a moment, then clenched his fist to encourage himself, "I won't let you down, Mizuki!"

However, watching Kaneda regain his composure and walk to the baseline to serve was quite a sight.

Guan Yuechu's expression was indifferent.

To be honest, he didn't have much confidence in Kinda, and he only said that to avoid losing too badly.

"They actually had this trick up their sleeve..."

Kanzuki took a deep look at Kitahara Akira on the field, and his desire to recruit potential players to join St. Rudolph grew even stronger.

Not long ago, he had already found two of the most suitable candidates.

Fuji Yuta and Kizarazu Jun.

They are the younger brothers of Seigaku's genius Fuji and Rokkaku Middle School's interceptor Ryo Kisarazu.

These two grew up in the shadow of their genius older brother and were extremely eager to prove themselves.

"These kinds of guys are usually pretty simple-minded..."

Guan Yuechu's lips curled slightly, believing that as long as she showed them certain approval, they would obediently join St. Rudolph.

(Fuji Yuuta received the invitation in the fall, and by then he was no longer at Seigaku.)

on the field.

Ichiro Kindaichi was unaware of what Mizuki was thinking. After several attempts to mentally prepare himself, he finally rallied.

Swish!

He tossed the tennis ball up, his eyes sweeping over Kitahara Akira on the other side.

"bring it on!"

Bang!

A yellow light flashed across the net, and Kindaichiro immediately moved to the net.

According to the battle plan devised by Guan Yue, he should go online first and use interception to catch the opponent off guard.

Then defend your serve—

Bang!

A straight golden line shot out from under Ichiro Kindaichi's feet, so fast that the tennis ball was barely visible to the naked eye.

"W-what!?"

Ichiro Kindaichi stood frozen in place.

The return shot was even faster than my serve!?

He couldn't understand, and looked up at Kitahara Akira, asking, "You...aren't you the type to volley at the net? Why...why?"

"Internet interception?"

Upon hearing this, Kitahara Akira glanced at the devastated Kindaichiro, then turned to see Mizuki Hajime, whose expression was contorted from another misjudgment of the information.

He smiled.

"So that's what you all think?"

"Network interception is actually the fighting style I'm least good at."

Kindaichiro was stunned.

"What I'm least good at...?"

......

Under Kitahara Akira's relentless bombardment, Kindaichiro completely lost the ability to resist and became a lamb to the slaughter.

Less than fifteen minutes.

Bang!

"Game, Yamabuki Middle School Kitahara Akira, 6-0!"

Kitahara Akira walked off the court, smiled, and waved towards the direction of Yamabuki's team. Morimura Yaya cheered and came to greet him.

"That's amazing, Kitahara!"

"Absolutely unbeatable!"

Kentaro Minami happily added, "With this, four of our Yamabuki members will advance to the final day of the competition."

He was already very satisfied with this result in a competition where all participants competed in singles.

Now it remains to be seen how far Kitahara Akira, Muromachi Juji, and Kita Kazuma can go.

Kitahara Akira is definitely going to make it to the round of 16 and advance to the Kanto tournament. Muromachi should also be able to do so if nothing unexpected happens. It all depends on Kazuma.

Kentaro Minami secretly analyzed in his mind.

......

The next day, the third day of the competition had just begun.

With the help of certain people with ulterior motives, the news that Yamabuki had produced a super heavy gunner spread throughout various schools, and a highly targeted intelligence document was also leaked.

I don't know who did it...

But Kitahara Akira's opponents all had a copy.