The Prince of Tennis: From Data-Driven Tennis to the Pinnacle of His Career

Chapter 29 Advancing to the Top 8

"The fourth match begins. Please welcome Yamabuki and Ginka as the second singles players."

"Hey, you're the captain of Yamabuki, right?"

Domoto, gripping his racket tightly, strode over with excitement on his face.

His eyes gleamed with a thirst for battle, and his hand holding the racket trembled slightly with excitement.

To make a name for oneself on the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament stage, besides leading the team to victory, the easiest way is undoubtedly to defeat those well-known players.

Kagura Ijin, a boy who became the captain of Yamabuki in his first year and performed amazingly in the regional preliminaries, is obviously the best "stepping stone" in his eyes.

"That's right."

Kagura Ichijin remained calm, his gaze as still as water.

In this year's Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament, only he and Keigo Atobe of Hyotei served as captains as first-year students, which naturally made them the target of everyone's criticism.

Many ambitious freshmen are eager to climb to the top by stepping on their shoulders, and Domoto is clearly a vanguard in this wave.

"It's so great to run into you."

Domoto grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, and gave Kagura Ichijin a challenging smile before turning around abruptly and striding towards the service area.

"A single game to decide the winner, Domoto serves."

Domoto stood in the service area, took a deep breath, and fixed his gaze on Kagura Ichijin on the other side.

"drink!"

With a powerful roar, Domoto tossed the tennis ball high into the air.

Immediately afterwards, he exerted force with both legs, his whole body like a fully drawn bow, leaping into the air, using the weight and momentum of his body to swing the racket down hard!

"Bang!"

The tennis ball, accompanied by a whistling sound, slammed heavily into Kagura Ichijin's half of the court.

Kagura Ijin, on the other hand, only swung his racket quickly the moment the ball bounced off the ground.

The moment the racket makes contact with the ball, a heavy impact is transmitted through the handle to the arm.

"That's interesting."

Kagura Ichijin's eyes lit up; this kind of pure power serve was rare among first-year students.

With a sudden burst of power from his arm muscles, he then swung his hand back, sending the ball back at an even faster speed.

"0-15!"

The tennis ball landed behind Domoto, kicking up a fine cloud of dust.

"My powerful serve... just like that, it got returned?"

Domoto stood there, stunned, looking back at the rolling tennis ball, his face full of disbelief.

He put all his effort into that shot, hoping to give Kagura Ichijin a hard time, but to his surprise, the opponent not only didn't look flustered at all, but also scored the point effortlessly.

"Good serve, you know how to use your physical advantages."

Kagura Ichijin gently waved his racket, his tone tinged with admiration, but then he changed the subject.

"Unfortunately, your strength is not enough."

After saying that, he stopped talking, turned around and walked back to the receiving area, and resumed his defensive stance.

It was quite unexpected that Domoto, a first-year student, could hit such a powerful serve.

If an average player were to receive this ball, even if they managed to catch it, their racket would be knocked away.

But for him, who had undergone rigorous training, that was all.

"I'm not strong? Are you kidding me?"

Domoto was thoroughly enraged by these words, and his face turned bright red.

He angrily tossed the ball high into the air again, his muscles tense, trying to prove himself with even greater force.

"drink!"

Another powerful serve.

"Bang!"

However, the result remained unchanged.

Kagura Ijin caught the ball steadily and then scored again with a precise return shot.

"0-30!"

Kagura Ichijin didn't even look back.

People who haven't received professional training ultimately have limited strength.

Even someone with excellent physical abilities like Akutsu Jin was only slightly stronger than the average player when they first met him; there wasn't a significant gap between them.

"Damn it! I don't believe it!"

Domoto gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with fury.

He tossed the ball again, repeating the same motion.

"drink!"

"0-40!"

"drink!"

"Game, Domoto, 0-1!"

Kagura Ijin easily countered and scored on four consecutive powerful serves.

"Now, do you believe me?"

Kagura Ichijin looked at Domoto, whose face was full of resentment, and shook his head helplessly.

Domoto relies too much on a single technique and doesn't know how to adapt when it doesn't work; he just gets stuck on a single, ineffective method.

This behavior is utterly foolish.

Playing tennis requires physical strength and technique, but even more so, it requires intelligence. Those who don't know how to adapt flexibly are destined not to go far.

"How...how is this possible?"

Domoto slumped down, his arms hanging limply, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

His most prized trump card failed him, and even his most confident strength seemed insignificant in front of Kagura Gojin.

"Now, it's my turn."

Kagura Ichijin tossed the tennis ball high into the air, then leaped into the air, stretching his body to its limit, before swinging his racket down hard.

"boom!"

With a loud bang, the tennis ball instantly traveled across the entire court.

"15-0!"

"..."

Looking at the still-smoking ball mark behind him, Domoto fell completely silent.

Too fast! He didn't even see the ball's trajectory clearly, and his body didn't have time to react at all.

"boom!"

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Domoto, 0-2!"

After successfully holding his serve, Kagura Ichijin silently recited the system's commands.

Domoto (1st year of junior high school)

Speed: 1.5

Power: 2.5

Stamina: 1.5

Spirit: 2

Technology: 2.5

Total: 10

"As expected, even a first-year student is not weak when they can play singles in the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament."

Looking at Domoto's five dimensions, Kagura Ichijin sighed inwardly.

Domoto is already considered one of the best among the first-year students. With a little more refinement, he will definitely become a pillar of Yinhua.

Unfortunately, Domoto is still lacking in skill at this stage.

"Bang!"

When it was his turn to serve again, Domoto stopped using his powerful serve and could only hit a regular high-speed ball. He then stared intently at Kagura Ichijin, trying to find an opportunity.

"Bang!"

With a casual flick of his wrist, Kagura Ikjin sent the tennis ball flying at an astonishing speed toward another corner.

Domoto ran desperately toward the ball's landing point, but he was too slow, and the ball had already flown away before he even got there.

"0-15!"

"Such powerful return shot..."

Domoto's face turned extremely ugly. Kagura Ichijin's return shot was not only fast but also powerful, leaving him struggling to keep up.

The following matches became a complete personal showcase for Kagura Ichijin.

"Bang!"

……

"0-30!"

……

"0-40!"