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

"Out!"

……

"0-15!"

……

"Out!"

……

"0-30!"

……

"Out!"

……

"0-40!"

"..."

Faced with Kagura Yiren's repeated service errors, Saeki Kojiro on the other side was not relieved at all. Instead, he became more and more alarmed, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

Kagura Ichijin... is imitating his serve!

Compared to the soft serves of the previous games, Kagura Ichijin's serve, though still a bit clumsy, now boasts a ball speed of at least 130 km/h!

Although its accuracy is terrible and its power is not as good as the original, its speed of evolution is simply outrageous.

"15-40!"

When the referee announced the score, Saeki Kojiro belatedly realized that Kagura Ichijin had scored directly with his serve—an ace that landed right on the line.

"Out!"

……

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 3-1!"

"..."

With Kagura Ijijin making another service error, Saeki Kojiro won the game without much trouble, but he was far from happy.

Anyone with eyes could see that if Kagura Yiren stopped imitating and returned to his uncanny ability to predict the future, his chances of winning this game would definitely be greater than his.

"Heavy artillery!"

When it was his turn to serve, Kojiro Saeki gave it his all, setting a new record for serve speed.

"Saeki-kun, that kind of serve doesn't work on me anymore."

Kagura Ijin had already positioned himself in the best position to receive the serve, and then hit the ball back with both hands.

Just as he was about to run to the next ball's landing point as usual, the system did not provide a specific location.

This startled Kagura Ichijin, who then saw that the ball he had just hit had landed exactly in a spot marked by the system.

"hateful!"

Saeki Kojiro made a desperate save, but the tennis ball still grazed the edge of his racket.

"0-15!"

"..."

Seeing Saeki Kojiro panting heavily, Kagura Ichijin suddenly realized what was going on.

It turns out that the positions marked by the system on the opposite side of the field were all blind spots and dead zones for Saeki Kojiro. As long as he could hit them accurately, his opponent would have no chance to retaliate!

"Heavy artillery!"

Saeki Kojiro gritted his teeth and served again. This time, after serving, he chose to actively volley at the net.

Since we can be seen through, we might as well shorten our reaction time!

"Bang!"

Seeing the tennis ball soaring high overhead, Saeki Kojiro, who was halfway through his run, froze on the spot.

"0-30!"

……

"0-40!"

……

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 3-2!"

"..."

Saeki Kojiro was truly dumbfounded. Kagura Ichijin originally wanted to score from him, which would have taken at least a dozen rounds.

However, as he tried to change his tactics, Kagura Ichijin became more and more relaxed, hitting a counter shot every time he changed his moves.

"Out!"

……

"0-15!"

……

"Out!"

……

"0-30!"

……

"Out!"

……

"0-40!"

……

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 4-2!"

……

Kagura Ijin continued to practice his extremely fast serve, even going so far as to give Saeki Kojiro a game for it.

But it's like a countdown; every time it goes out of bounds, it corrects the trajectory.

"Bang!"

When it was his turn to serve again, Saeki Kojiro abandoned his powerful serve and instead served a regular flat serve.

With tactics failing, the only hope is to use physical advantages to fight a protracted battle against Kagura Ichijin, who doesn't look particularly strong.

"Saeki-kun, it's so great to be able to play ball with you."

Kagura Ijin, holding the racket in one hand, smoothly returned the ball.

He found himself adapted to this high-intensity competition.

Saeki Kojiro was an excellent sparring partner. He not only taught him how to serve at high speed, but also rapidly improved his ball control accuracy.

"What do you mean by that?"

Saeki Kojiro's face turned ashen upon hearing this.

As he watched Kagura Ichijin's increasingly standard hitting posture, his unease reached its peak.

You'll find out soon enough.

Kagura Ichijin smiled slightly, his eyes revealing confidence.

This time, he gripped his racket tightly, and the power of his return shot increased once again!

"0-15!"

When the ball reached the fifteenth point, Saeki Kojiro lost the ball because his stamina was waning and his steps were a half beat slower.

"0-30!"

……

"0-40!"

"..."

Saeki Kojiro was dismayed to find that he was losing the ball faster and faster, from fifteen at the beginning to thirteen and then eleven.

You think you can fight a protracted war like this? What a joke!

By this time, the game had progressed to the seventh round, and Kagura Yijin only had a layer of sweat on his forehead, and his breathing was not even disordered!

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 4-3!"

After winning the point with just nine balls, Kagura Ichijin took a quick look at his five stats during the break between serves.

Kagura Ichijin (Sixth Grade)

Speed: 1.5

Power: 1.5

Stamina: 1.5

Spirit: 10

Technology: 1

Total: 15.5

Technique: Flat serve (speed 138km/h—145km/h)

"It's definitely different now."

After seeing his skill level increase by 0.5, Kagura Ijin knew it was time to end the game.

"Saeki-kun, are you ready? I'm going to serve."

Kagura Ijin tossed the ball high into the air and swung his racket rapidly.

"boom!"

A deafening bang, even louder than Saeki Kojiro's serve, exploded out!

The tennis ball hit Saeki Kojiro's backhand corner in an instant!

"15-0!"

"How is this possible?"

Upon seeing the charred ball mark, Saeki Kojiro's pupils dilated in shock, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

This serve speed is no slower than his.

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 4-4!"

……

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 4-5!"

……

"Game, Torajiro Saeki, 4-6!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 1-0!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 6-0!"

……

"Match ended, 6-4, 6-0, Kagura Ikjin wins!"

With the referee announcing the result, the second match of Group A came to a successful close.

"..."

Kagura Ichijin ignored the shouts of the surrounding audience and did not look at Saeki Kojiro, who was still unable to recover from the shock.

He calmly walked back to the bench, put his racket into his bag, zipped it up, and slung the bag over his shoulder as he headed off the court.

"Wait! Kagura-kun!"

I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

Kagura Ikjin stopped and turned around to see Saeki Kojiro catching up, panting heavily, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Saeki-kun, is something the matter?"

Kagura Ichijin spoke in a flat tone.

"In the first game... were you deliberately messing with me?"

Saeki Kojiro clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms, his voice low and trembling.

He can accept failure, but he cannot accept being made a fool of like a monkey.

"No, I really can't catch your ball until I have enough data."

Looking at the boy in front of him who could explode at any moment, Kagura Ichijin shook his head seriously with a solemn expression.

He then turned and walked off the field without giving the other party a chance to ask further questions.

"Next time... I'll definitely beat you next time!"

Saeki Kojiro looked at that figure and shouted loudly, his voice filled with the stubbornness of a young boy.

"..."

Kagura Ichijin didn't turn around, but simply waved his hand casually behind him as a response.