Prince of Tennis: A new Hextech Crafting System is refreshed every week.

"Ugh!"

Kirihara sprinted forward with long strides, then slid out in a lunge, catching the ball the instant it fell with his racket.

However, the timing of the return shot was too difficult, and the racket angle was also very bad. After the ball crossed the net, it continued to fly outwards.

"Will it...will it go inside the boundary zone?"

Snapped!

Under the watchful eyes of many, the tennis ball eventually landed outside the white boundary line.

"Out of bounds—"

The referee raised his arm, "Deuce!"

In tennis, you need to be two points ahead to win a game.

After the score is tied at 40-40, winning a point is called taking the lead. Only by winning another point can you score a point. If your opponent wins the point when you are in the lead, the score will be tied at 40-40, and the match will start again.

This is why some protracted battles can last for several hours, or even most of the day.

In the famous Wimbledon tournament in Kitahara Akira's previous life, there was an amazing match that lasted 11 hours, spanned three days, and was interrupted twice due to darkness.

"It's a tie again!"

"Wow, they're evenly matched! This is the fourth time they've tied the score!"

Kirihara slowly stood up, breathing heavily.

A few drops of sweat fell down his chin and shattered into pieces on the ground.

He stared intently at the opposite side, completely ignoring the gasps of astonishment from the crowd. He never expected this guy to be able to fight him to this extent.

"Ha, I didn't originally expect to win this competition..."

Kirihara suddenly propped his racket up against his thigh, put his hands on his hips and sighed deeply, then loosened the weight training wristbands on his wrists.

They walked off the field.

The weight training wristbands were carelessly tossed onto the bench where people were resting, making a dull thud.

And seeing this scene.

The audience in the stands were stunned speechless, their eyes filled with shock and horror.

"W-what?!"

"How could you still deliver such a superb performance while wearing something so heavy?"

"Unbelievable!"

Kirihara stretched his wrists and picked up his racket: "That feels much better~"

The linesman tossed two tennis balls, which he easily caught with his racket. He picked one up and held it in his palm, then stuffed the other into his pocket.

He turned around and returned to the baseline to prepare to serve.

Next, he's going to go all out.

At that moment, Kitahara Akira's voice rang out behind him.

"Indeed, they are a real nuisance."

Kirihara turned around.

Kitahara Akira also put down his racket and removed a white wristband from each of his hands. The thinness of the wristband made it seem like it was just for absorbing sweat.

But Kitahara Akira walked to the sidelines and threw the wristband onto the bench.

Bang! Bang!

Two heavy, muffled thuds were heard.

Kitahara Akira returned to the court: "Now we can continue!"

Kirihara was stunned.

This weight... seems to exceed Rikkai University's stipulated load capacity by quite a bit?

His gaze, which had relaxed slightly, sharpened again, and his mouth parted into a grin, revealing a few streaks of scarlet gums.

......

Kirihara stepped on the ground, leaped into the air, and used his arm to forcefully press down with his racket.

Bang!

The tennis ball flew over the net at an extremely high speed, landed precisely on the service line, and bounced off rapidly.

The ball moves quickly and travels sharply.

His serve timing was also very tricky, precisely seizing the moment when Kitahara Akira changed his breathing to hit the tennis ball.

Without removing the Giants wristband, Kitahara Akira's return shot quality wouldn't be very high even if he received the serve. However, after removing the Giants wristband, his body was completely liberated, and his flexibility increased significantly.

With a light tap of the foot, he was in front of the tennis ball in the blink of an eye.

Bang!

A similarly sharp streak of light shot back.

Kirihara quickly changed his footwork, chased the ball, and powerfully returned the tennis ball.

The two people were roughly equal in their ability to take small, quick steps on one foot.

After the weight was removed, the transition between offense and defense became smoother and more natural, and each ball showed more intense spin and power.

"Incredible! The speed and power are far superior to before!"

"No wonder they always wear weights. It's not arrogance or cockiness, but because no one could force them to show their true strength before the finals."

"These two are completely outclassed by a wide margin compared to all other competitors of the same age; only the other... can truly be considered a rival!"

Everyone stared intently, not wanting to miss a single second.

And watching the extremely intense battle on the field.

Kaidou and Momoshiro felt their worldviews being refreshed time and time again. Just when they thought that this was Kitahara Akira's limit, he could easily show an even higher level of strength.

And then there's Kirihara Akaya.

It's amazing that he could fight Kitahara Akira to a standstill.

It's truly unimaginable.

This rookie competition has shown them the power of the outside world. They exchanged a glance and understood what the other was thinking.

"After returning to school, we must undergo hellish training!"

They are both very ambitious people, and they used the age difference as a legitimate reason for losing to Tezuka and Fuji.

But now that they are clearly left far behind their peers, the two obviously cannot accept this reality.

After making the decision, they focused all their attention on the game on the field.

And this time.

However, Kirihara Akaya delivered a swift and powerful volley, leaving Kitahara Akira no time to react. He managed to return the ball with a barely extended racket.

puff~

The tennis ball eventually went into the net.

"Advantage Server!" the referee shouted, giving the serving team the lead.

Kirihara Akaya, slightly out of breath, glanced sideways at Kitahara Akira: "It's amazing you can catch so many balls...!"

The words fell.

He held the tennis ball between his left knuckles and chest, a cold glint in his eyes, and raised his arm, twisting the ball as it rose into the air from the pressure of his knuckles.

Swish!

He then leaped up and swung his racket upwards from behind him with great force.

Bang!

Knuckle serve!

The tennis ball transformed into a violently fluctuating ball of light, instantly flying into Kitahara Akira's half of the court.

"Such a powerful spin!"

Kitahara Akira narrowed his eyes, trying to determine the possible direction of the tennis ball's bounce based on its spin type, but the spin was too irregular to be accurate.

Whoosh—!

Before he could finish thinking, the tennis ball bounced up suddenly, and the golden light instantly magnified rapidly in his eyes.

No need to think about it anymore.

The tennis ball flew straight at his face!

Kitahara Akira's pupils contracted, and he quickly twisted his body, the tennis ball grazing his cheek as it flew out of the court.

"Game, Rikkai University Affiliated High School Kirihara Akaya, 1-0!"

"Exchange courts."

The long first game has finally come to an end.

Jackal Kuwabara stopped the stopwatch in his hand, his eyes filled with disbelief: "It actually took Akaya 19 minutes to finish just the first round."

Kirihara has always been exceptionally persistent in winning quick matches. In a typical one-game match, he can usually defeat his opponent within 15 minutes.

Apart from Yanagi, Kirihara had never fought a duel that lasted this long.

What...you're asking about Sanada and Yukimura?

Kirihara said he couldn't hold on that long.

Sanada, standing to the side, silently watched Kitahara Akira, the sword strike that seemed to cut through anything still replaying in his mind.