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

"Ishimaru, is this what you meant by 'opportunity'?"

Watching from the sidelines, Tani Yoshiki Shin looked at Ishimaru Kanto beside him with a puzzled expression.

No matter how you look at it, Akutsu Jin was completely suppressed by Kagura Yijin, and there was no hope of winning at all.

Although Akutsu Jin's strength has indeed increased, there is still a clear gap between him and Kagura Ichijin.

Given the current situation, it would be a miracle if Jin Akutsu even managed to win one game.

"How could this happen..."

Ishimaru Kanto was also stunned, his mouth slightly open, his face full of disbelief.

Akutsu Jin's performance was far worse than he had expected.

According to his calculations, given Akutsu Jin's current physical attributes, he should be able to suppress Kagura Yijin in terms of strength and speed.

However, in the current situation, Kagura Ichijin, with his rich experience, has completely suppressed Akutsu Jin.

"Aren't you overestimating Akutsu?"

Gu Jimin said in a deep voice, his tone tinged with doubt.

He hadn't doubted Ishimaru's judgment of people, but the facts were clear: Akutsu Jin was no match for Kagura Yijin.

"No, I've fought Akutsu myself, and that sense of oppression is undeniable."

Ishimaru Kanto shook his head; he still trusted his own judgment.

There must be a reason why this situation has occurred.

Either Akutsu Jin didn't unleash his full potential due to his mindset or other reasons, or Kagura Yi Jin has become stronger.

"Bang!"

When he served again, Jin Akutsu's face turned extremely pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He clearly gave it his all, playing every ball with all his might, so why couldn't he even win a single game?

His performance was even worse than it was a month ago!

Although his strength was not as good as it is now, he could at least snatch a few games from Kagura Ikjin back then.

But now, even though he has become stronger, his performance has become worse. He can't even receive Kagura Ijin's serve, and he can't even hold his own serve.

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

……

"15-0!"

……

"15-15!"

……

"30-15!"

……

"30-30!"

……

"40-30!"

……

"40-40!"

……

"AD-40!"

……

"40-40!"

……

"40—AD!"

……

"Game, Jin Akutsu, 0-5!"

"How could this happen..."

After losing his serve again, Jin Akutsu's eyes were somewhat unfocused, and he was filled with a sense of defeat.

It's always the same; it's always just a little bit off. This isn't a coincidence anymore; it's inevitable.

In crucial moments, he always loses inexplicably.

Kagura Ijin didn't use any particularly fancy moves; he just returned the ball with ordinary shots, but Kagura Ijin just couldn't catch it.

"Akuzu, stop daydreaming, I'm about to serve."

After reminding Akutsu Jin, Kagura Ichijin served again.

"Bang!"

……

"15-0!"

……

"30-0!"

……

"40-0!"

After scoring three consecutive aces, Kagura Ichijin looked at Akutsu Jin, who was still somewhat distracted, and sighed inwardly before serving again.

"Bang!"

……

"15-40!"

……

"what?"

Looking at the tennis ball rolling behind him, Kagura Ichijin was slightly taken aback, and then his expression became extremely serious.

He didn't expect that, in this desperate situation, Akutsu Jin would actually return the ball, and that he would do so almost before he could even react.

"Bang!"

After serving again, Kagura Ijin stared intently at Akutsu Jin, wanting to know what had just happened.

"30-40!"

"Wow, that's fast! Is he playing by instinct?"

Kagura Ichijin was startled as he watched the tennis ball roll behind him again.

Jin Akutsu's return shot was so fast that he could only catch a glimpse of the ball's afterimage.

Before he could even reach the ball's landing spot, it had already flown off the field.

I never expected Akutsu Jin to become so terrifying. It seems he needs to end the match quickly, or he might really suffer a defeat.

"Bang!"

After serving again, Kagura Ichijin did not hesitate. He ran to the ball's landing point in advance according to the return route provided by the system and assumed a return stance.

"Bang!"

Akutsu Jin's instinctive swing was caught by Kagura Yijin, who was prepared.

"Bang!"

With a flick of his wrist, Kagura Ichijin accurately hit the ball into Akutsu Jin's corner.

"Game, Jin Akutsu, 0-6!"

……

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

"Did we still lose?"

Akutsu Jin looked back at the rolling tennis ball behind him, a bitter smile appearing on his lips.

He finally found a glimmer of hope to defeat Kagura Yiren in his desperate situation. The thrill of swinging the racket based on his instinct made him think he could win, but he didn't expect that Kagura Yiren would extinguish it in the end.

On the final ball, Kagura Ichijin not only anticipated the position of his return shot, but also hit a return shot that Kagura couldn't reach.

Even in that state, he couldn't catch that ball, which is simply unbelievable.

"Akuzu, you've really gotten stronger. If it weren't for my recent improvement in physical fitness, I might have lost this match to you."

Kagura Ichijin walked to the net, looking at Akutsu Jin with admiration.

In the end, Jin Akutsu's performance surprised even himself. If his return speed had been a little slower, Jin Akutsu might have actually been able to return the ball.

Jin Akutsu, who plays by instinct, has an astonishingly fast reaction speed that even he finds difficult to handle.

"Your physical fitness has improved? Like me?"

Akutsu Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized.

No wonder he always felt something was off, now I know why!

When both sides are physically similar, the competition comes down to technique, experience, and mentality.

In these aspects, he is clearly not as good as Kagura Ichijin now.

"Of course, after all, I've been training for so long, I can't have made no progress at all, right?"

Kagura Ichijin smiled slightly and said it as a matter of course.

He didn't stop training because of the school holiday; rather, he had reached a bottleneck and it would be difficult to improve through training in a short period of time, so he took care of his personal matters and relaxed a bit.

"How could I be so unlucky?"

Akutsu Jin was even more frustrated. If he had known it would turn out this way, he should have challenged them a few days after the Kanto Tournament ended.

Kagura Ichijin wasn't as strong back then as he is now, so his chances of winning would have been much higher.

Even if we still can't win in the end, it shouldn't be like this, where we can't win a single game.

"You're just lucky. If I hadn't become stronger and pushed you to the brink, you probably wouldn't have grasped the knack of playing by intuition."

Kagura Ichijin rolled his eyes and said irritably.

This competition was fruitless for him; he was merely a sparring partner. Akutsu Jin, on the other hand, took a giant leap forward.

He walked to the bench, put his racket into his tennis bag, then waved to Akutsu Jin, who was still sulking there, and headed straight for the Yamabuki team watching from the sidelines.

"snort!"

Akutsu Jin pursed his lips, feeling displeased but knowing that Kagura Ichijin was right.

He walked to the bench, stuffed his racket into his tennis bag, slung it over his shoulder, and quickly caught up with Kagura Ichijin.