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

"The third match begins. Yamabuki will play their third singles match, and Seigaku's third singles player will also be on the field."

"Hello, President Kagura."

Seigaku's captain, Yamato Yuta, pushed up his sunglasses, smiled, and extended his right hand, but his eyes were secretly sizing up the first-year new captain in front of him.

The most eye-catching newcomers in this Tokyo tournament were undoubtedly Kagura Ikjin and Hyotei Academy's Atobe Keigo.

These two are far superior to their peers in terms of strength and leadership, and have long been considered formidable rivals by many schools. Even Seigaku has to take them seriously.

"Hello, Minister Yamato."

Kagura Ichijin politely shook hands, his eyes fixed intently on Yamato Yuta.

He still held a certain amount of respect for the current head of Seigaku.

Yamato Yuta is a very responsible person who was even willing to sacrifice his arm for Seigaku.

Unfortunately, the current overall strength of Seigaku is too weak. No matter how hard Yamato Yuta tries, it will be extremely difficult to lead this team, which is in a period of transition, into the national tournament.

"Let's have a great match!"

After letting go of his hand and saying this polite remark with a smile, Yamato Yudai turned and walked towards the baseline.

Although he appeared calm on the surface, he knew in his heart that the current situation was extremely unfavorable for Seigaku.

Having already lost two matches, if he loses this one, Seigaku will have to struggle in the cruel revival match, competing with the other three quarter-final losers for the last spot in the Kanto Tournament.

"One game to decide the winner, Kagura serves."

Kagura Ichijin stood in the service area, took a deep breath, and adjusted his breathing.

"boom!"

The tennis ball was tossed high into the air, and Kagura Ijin propelled himself into the air with the force of his legs. His arm muscles tensed instantly, like a fully drawn bow, and then he swung his racket fiercely!

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

"15-0!"

"Such a fast serve..."

Yamato Yuta frowned as he looked at the still slightly trembling fence behind him, and unconsciously tightened his grip on the racket with his right hand.

Although he had watched videos of Kagura Yiren's matches, personally experiencing this overwhelming sense of pressure still made him feel terrified.

"boom!"

Without pausing, Kagura Ijin continued to toss the ball, jump, and swing his racket, his movements fluid and rhythmic.

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 1-0!"

Kagura Ijin easily held serve, without even letting Yamato Yuta touch the ball.

"Captain Kagura, no wonder no one has ever beaten you. With just that serve, you're already invincible."

During the break between serves, Yamato Yuta said with a face full of admiration.

To be able to serve with such speed and power in first grade, by third grade, he might really be able to challenge the national tournament record.

"Minister Yamato, shouldn't you be taking this a bit more seriously? If things continue to turn out this way, it won't be anything interesting."

Kagura Ikjin did not become complacent because of his opponent's praise. Instead, he looked at Yamato Yuta with a serious expression.

This captain, who once led Seigaku to the Kanto Tournament, should definitely not be this bad.

"That's true. If the competition turns into a one-sided massacre, it really won't be interesting."

Yamato Yuta pushed up his sunglasses, nodded, and the smile on his face gradually faded, replaced by an unusually serious expression.

"Bang!"

In the second game, Yamato Yu served.

He tossed the ball up, swung his racket quickly, and his movements were standard and conventional.

"Bang!"

Kagura Ichijin easily returned the ball, his doubts only growing stronger.

This serve... it looks so ordinary. Is this really all Yamato Yuta is capable of? Or is he faking it?

"what?"

The moment Yamato Yuta's racket touched the return ball, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

A heavy impact traveled through the handle to the arm, and then the racket flew out of the hand.

"0-15!"

"Fast and strong, what a terrifying freshman."

Yamato Yuta picked up the racket, sighing inwardly.

It seems that if we don't use that move soon, we'll probably be swept aside by Kagura Ichijin.

"Bang!"

After serving again, Yamato Yudai's eyes changed; he stared intently at Kagura Ichijin's every subtle movement.

"Bang!"

Kagura Ichijin responded with ease.

"drink!"

Yamato Yuta quickly moved into position, gripped his racket with both hands, gritted his teeth, and headed the ball back.

"A great opportunity!"

Kagura Ijin keenly observed that the ball's landing point was not deep, decisively rushed to the net, jumped high, and delivered a powerful smash!

"15-15!"

"What?"

After landing, Kagura Ichijin looked at the rolling tennis ball next to him with disbelief.

He actually missed a spike? The ball didn't go as expected, but landed directly on the ground.

He looked at his right hand holding the racket with a puzzled expression, then repeated the smash motion, but found nothing wrong.

Then, he looked at Yamato Yuta with a puzzled expression.

"Captain Kagura, I'm going to serve again. Aren't you going back to the receiving area?"

Yamato Yuu looked at Kagura Ichijin with a sly smile, a hint of mischief flashing in his eyes.

He enjoys playing against players who excel at prediction and have superb skills, as this allows his "Dreamlike" ability to reach its full potential.

"That's interesting."

Kagura Ikjin gave Yamato Yuta a deep look, then turned back to the receiving area, his eyes sharp as he carefully observed Yamato Yuta's every move.

"Bang!"

Yamato Yuta serves again.

"Bang!"

Kagura Ijin easily countered, then immediately adopted a defensive stance, ready for battle.

"drink!"

Yamato Yuta, holding the racket with both hands, returned the ball once again.

"what?"

Kagura Ichijin stared at the incoming tennis ball and swung his racket quickly.

At the moment of swing, Kagura Ichijin froze again. That familiar feeling of hitting the ball didn't come; the racket missed its target!

"30-15!"

……

"Didn't you hit it again?"

Watching the tennis ball slowly roll on the ground, Kagura Ichijin fell into deep thought.

Two consecutive bizarre mistakes are no coincidence.

"Captain Kagura, now is not the time to daydream."

Yamato Yuta's voice interrupted Kagura's thoughts.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"drink!"

……

"How is this possible?"

On the next ball, Kagura Ichijin tried to return it with a slice, but the ball strangely passed through his racket and rolled directly to the ground.

This sight prompted Kagura Ichijin to quickly raise his hand and wave it in front of his eyes. After confirming that there was no double vision or vision problem, he then used his left hand to pull the tennis strings to check if the racket was loose.

After confirming that there were no problems, Kagura Ichijin's expression did not become relaxed, but rather more serious.