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

Chapter 7 Kagura VS Ishimaru

"I'll serve."

Kagura Ijin turned and walked towards the baseline service area.

He took a deep breath, tossed the ball high into the air with his left hand, his body like a fully drawn bow, his legs slightly bent to gather strength, and then suddenly burst into the air!

His arm muscles were taut, and he swung down with all his might, making a whooshing sound!

"Bang!"

"15-0!"

"How...how is this possible?"

Ishimaru Kanto suddenly turned around, his pupils contracting sharply as he looked at the still-smoking ball-shaped mark behind him.

He didn't even see the ball's trajectory; he only heard a loud bang before the ball had already flown past the baseline.

That ball speed...it's definitely over 200km/h!

This terrifying serve instantly reminded him of someone—Echi Tsukiko, the captain of Hyotei Academy.

Last year, it was precisely with this almost unbeatable serve that Yueguang led Hyotei to the top eight in the national competition.

"Bang!"

"30-0!"

……

"Out!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Out!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 1-0!"

The first game ended quickly, but Kagura Yijin didn't show much joy.

He gently rotated his right wrist, his brows slightly furrowed.

"The burden is indeed very heavy."

There is no such thing as a free lunch. This kind of high-speed flat serve, which relies on explosive power, puts a great strain on the wrist and shoulder joints.

Moreover, as demonstrated by those two "Out" serves, while incredibly powerful, is not very accurate and can easily turn into double faults that give away points.

"Tornado!"

Ishimaru Kanto stood on the service line, his eyes turning gloomy.

He gave a low shout, and the instant he tossed the ball, his wrist flicked rapidly, applying an extremely strong topspin to the tennis ball.

"what?"

Kagura Ijin quickly ran to the landing point, ready to swing his racket, but was surprised to find that the ball's trajectory changed strangely the moment it bounced after landing, and it flew in the opposite direction.

He was startled, but relying on his excellent physical condition, he forcibly twisted his waist and abdomen, awkwardly swinging out a racket.

"You think that's all?"

Ishimaru Kanjin had anticipated this scene and quickly rushed to the net.

He sneered, and with a deft push of his racket, sent the ball to the opposite corner from where Kagura Ichijin was.

"15-0!"

"That's interesting."

A flicker of excitement flashed in Kagura Ichijin's eyes as he watched the tennis ball roll out of bounds.

As expected of a seasoned third-year regular, his control over the spin and his grasp of the situation are indeed far superior.

"Tornado!"

Ishimaru Kanto served again, this time his eyes were fixed on Kagura Ichijin's movements, ready to intercept at any moment.

"Bang!"

Kagura Ijin ran to the ball's landing point, but he didn't rush to swing his racket.

When the ball deviated again, Kagura Ijin stepped forward with his right foot, found a new hitting point, and swung his racket!

"Bang!"

Ishimaru quickly moved into position and decisively swung his racket to counterattack.

"Even the shot has spin..."

Kagura Ijin ran to the landing point and got into his hitting position in advance.

However, just as the racket was about to touch the ball, the ball's spin changed its trajectory again, forcing him to awkwardly adjust his posture.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

After several rounds of back-and-forth, Ishimaru Kanto once again seized on Kagura Ikjin's weakness, rushing to the net and delivering a clean and decisive smash to score.

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

"..."

After being scored on consecutively, Kagura Ichijin did not panic. He began to imitate Ishimaru Mikito's return shot on the court.

He had already discovered the key to the problem: every return shot by Ishimaru Kanjin had a strong spin, causing the ball to drift unpredictably after landing.

In order to cope with this change, he often fails to exert full force, and his returns become weak and powerless, giving the opponent an opportunity to take advantage.

"Tornado!"

When Ishimaru Kanto served again, he saw that Kagura Ichijin on the other side was swinging his racket at thin air, making a strange movement.

"What is this guy doing?"

Ishimaru Kanto was stunned, a hint of doubt unconsciously appearing in his eyes.

"Bang!"

Kagura Ichijin received the serve, mimicking Ishimaru's earlier wrist movement to add spin to the ball.

"what?"

At the moment Ishimaru watched the man swing his racket, he clearly felt the ball deviate.

Although the deviation wasn't significant, it still made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"The rotational force isn't as strong anymore."

After successfully catching the ball again, Kagura Ichijin's eyes lit up.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"A great opportunity!"

Finally, Kagura Ichijin caught Ishimaru Kanto's mistake of not spinning the ball enough on a return. Instead of imitating him, he swung his racket with all his might!

"Snapped!"

The immense impact traveled along the racket to Ishimaru Kanto's arm, making him feel numb. The racket then slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

"40-15!"

"This kid..."

Ishimaru Kanto picked up the racket, his expression serious.

Kagura Ijin's learning ability is terrifying. He not only adapted to his serve, but even started to learn and apply his spin techniques in matches.

"Tornado!"

Ishimaru Kanto served again, then stared intently at Kagura Ichijin.

"That trick doesn't work on me anymore."

Kagura Ijin easily returned the ball and resumed his defensive stance.

"Really? How about this then?"

Ishimaru's eyes turned cold, and with a flick of his wrist, he hit a sidespin shot.

He had already realized that although Kagura Ichijin had excellent physical attributes, his tennis technique was not actually refined, especially when dealing with spin balls that required a delicate touch.

Sure enough, when Kagura Ijin swung his racket, the ball bounced outwards in a strange way.

This forced Kagura Ichijin to barely manage to save the ball using the frame of his racket.

"boom!"

Ishimaru showed no mercy to his opponent, scoring with a smash after going online.

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 1-1!"

"..."

Although he held his serve, Ishimaru Kanto did not feel relieved.

Kagura Ijin is like a sponge, frantically absorbing everything in the game.

"Not only does it move very fast, but it also has a different way of rotating."

Seeing Ishimaru Kanto win a game against him, Kagura Ichijin had to admit that Ishimaru Kanto was indeed quite skilled.

So, during the break between serves, he silently recited the system's commands.

Ishimaru Kanto (Junior Year 3)

Speed: 4

Power: 2

Stamina: 3

Spirit: 2

Technology: 3.5

Total: 14.5

Technique: Tornado (Topspin Serve)

"How could this happen?"

Kagura Ichijin looked at the five dimensions, which were less than 15, with some surprise.

A national-level doubles player, how can his five dimensions be so low?

"What are you standing there for? If you don't want to fight, just admit defeat!"

An impatient roar came from the other side.

"Since you're in such a hurry, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Kagura Ichijin snapped out of his daze, his eyes narrowed, and after tossing the ball high into the air, he leaped up and swung his racket with all his might.

"boom!"

"15-0!"

"..."

As the tennis ball reappeared behind him, Kanto Ishimaru's hand holding the racket trembled.

Kagura Ijin's serving style has changed. Although the serving speed is a bit slower, the power is much stronger.

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"boom!"

"Go back!"

Ishimaru Kanto ran with all his might to the spot where the ball landed and caught it with both hands.

"Snapped!"

However, the immense impact once again mercilessly knocked his racket away.

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 2-1!"

The rest of the match became a stalemate.

Ishimaru Kanto tried to disrupt Kagura's rhythm by using two types of spinning balls, while Kagura Ikijin kept trying to break through his opponent's spinning balls with each counterattack.

"15-0!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 2-2!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 3-2!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 3-3!"

"boom!"

After serving again, Kagura Ichijin swung his racket at the air once more, mimicking Ishimaru Kanto's return shot.

"Go back!"

Enraged by this dismissive attitude, Ishimaru Kanto ran to the landing point and caught the ball with both hands.

The result was exactly the same: his arm trembled, and the racket flew out of his hand.

"15-0!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 4-3!"

"Tornado!"

When it was his turn to serve again, Ishimaru Kanto continued with his original serve.

"Bang!"

After returning the ball with spin, Kagura Ichijin knew that the next shot would be crucial.

If he can break Ishimaru Kanto's sidespin, he will have the upper hand in the match.

"Bang!"

After hitting the ball back with a side spin, Ishimaru Kanto tried again to find a weakness in Kagura Ichijin in an attempt to tie the score.

"Bang!"

After running to the ball's landing point, Kagura Ichijin used his newly learned sidespin to return the ball.

"They actually mastered it."

Faced with a ball that suddenly changes direction, Ishimaru Kanto can only adjust his posture on the spot.

"A good opportunity."

After noticing that the ball's spin had weakened considerably, Kagura Ijin decisively swung his racket with all his might.

"0-15!"

"..."

This one point of loss became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Kanto Ishimaru realized that the two rotations alone were no longer enough to suppress this terrifying newborn.

"0-30!"

……

"0-40!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 5-3!"

After successfully breaking Ishimaru Kanto's serve, Kagura Ichijin silently recited the system's commands.

Kagura I-Jen (Grade 1, Junior High)

Speed: 3

Power: 3

Stamina: 3

Spirit: 10

Technology: 2.5

Total: 21.5

Technique: Flat serve (speed 205km/h—210km/h)

Technique: Jump serve (speed 185km/h-195km/h)

After discovering that his skill level had increased by 0.5, Kagura Yijin was in high spirits. Real-world practice is indeed the best teacher. However, it was time to end the game.

"boom!"

"15-0!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

……

"Game, Kagura Ikjin, 6-3!"

……

"Match ended, 6-3, Kagura Ikjin wins!"

"Kid, don't get cocky! You won't stay in this position forever! Someone else will come and take care of you!"

Ishimaru Kanto angrily picked up his racket and pointed it at Kagura Ichijin, yelling.