Prince of Tennis: Shocking! Hyotei's Demon King is a Yukimura fangirl!

Over at the press box, Saori Shiba's camera shutter never stopped clicking. She took over a dozen shots of Tezuka, capturing every single frame from his bending over to straightening up and walking to the sidelines.

She clapped and shouted excitedly, her voice rising and her fingers trembling, "Wow! Inoue-senpai, look! It's Tezuka in singles match two! I knew Seigaku was prepared, no one could have predicted this lineup, it's brilliant! Hyotei's strongest player, Atobe, is just a decoration in singles match one, and Oshitari is in singles match two, Tezuka is definitely going to win! Our Seigaku will advance directly!"

Inoue frowned deeply, flipped through his notebook to review his predicted formation, and glanced at Tezuka on the field, his expression somewhat complicated.

"During the Grand Assembly, Fudomine also used a similar formation." He paused, then didn't continue.

"So what?" Shiba Saori waved her hand dismissively without looking up. "A good tactic is one that wins. Go Tezuka! That's what makes Kawamura-kun's efforts meaningful!"

Inoue sighed, closed his notebook, and said in a low voice, "But this formation... is still a bit too risky. If Kawamura doesn't win the singles match, putting Tezuka in number two won't make a difference."

"Oh, Inoue-senpai, you're overthinking it. Wouldn't it be better to go on the court early and score points?" Shiba Saori excitedly raised her camera and snapped several pictures of Tezuka's face on the court. "Tezuka is the pillar of Seigaku. Beating Oshitari is a piece of cake for him. If we win this game, Seigaku will have a 3-1 victory! High win rate and stable, what a great tactic!"

"Winning percentage is another matter." Inoue turned a page in his notebook, pressing his fingertip to the paper. "Tezuka playing singles match two means he's putting all the pressure on himself for the entire match. If... I mean if... Tezuka loses, then whoever faces Atobe in singles match one after that will be giving away points."

"But how could Tezuka lose?"

"Of course he won't lose."

Inoue paused as he spoke, his gaze falling on Tezuka's calm back, but his brows furrowed even more.

He always felt that things weren't that simple. Hyotei, especially that Mochizuki Ryo, would really just stand by and watch...

In the rest area of ​​Hyotei and Rikkai, the reactions of the crowd were even stronger than those of the audience.

Shishido looked at Tezuka on the field and remembered that Fudomine had made a similar move in the Metropolitan Tournament. His anger flared up and he took a step forward.

"What the hell! Tezuka is playing singles match two?!"

A vein throbbed on his temple. He gritted his teeth, his brows furrowed tightly as he stared intently at Seigaku's direction, as if trying to bore a hole through their backs. His voice was filled with barely suppressed anger, "The captain, a dignified figure, is avoiding battle and playing the second position like a master strategist?! You're addicted to Fudomine's tactics, aren't you! The captain doesn't dare touch the captain, so you only pick on the weak!"

As he spoke, he slapped the railing, the metal making a short, resounding clang that carried far.

Several small animals nearby were startled by the sudden commotion.

Kirimoto was squatting on the steps near Rikkai University, tearing open a snack bag, when he was suddenly jolted awake and dropped the snack on the ground. He exclaimed "Ah!" and frantically picked it up, glancing up at Shishido while muttering, "That scared me to death."

Marui, who was standing not far from Kirihara, was chewing candy when he was startled and bit his tongue, hissing as he gasped. He almost swallowed the candy in his mouth and quickly covered his mouth, coughing twice. He patted his chest, turned to look at Shishido, and muttered, "Why is he even more boisterous than Akaya?"

Jiro, who had been dozing off on the railing, was startled awake by the loud noise. His sleepiness vanished, and his eyes widened as he looked around before finally locking onto Shishido's direction. He asked blankly, "What happened? What happened?" He was completely half-asleep but had been jolted awake by the noise.

Luna's reaction was the most exaggerated.

It had just been nestled in Yukimura's arms, its little head resting on the polka-dot fish, fast asleep. When that loud noise came, it meowed, and the cat sprang up like a spring, its four paws simultaneously pushing against the air, sending the fish rolling right onto Yukimura's lap. Then it quickly raised its two front paws defensively to hug its head, its ears pressed flat back, and its tail tucked tightly between its legs. It curled into a dark ball of fur, only its two round, heterochromatic eyes peeking cautiously out.

Yukimura glanced down at it, straightened its bagel with his free hand, and gently rubbed his fingertips against the back of its head: "Don't be afraid, it's alright."

Shishido then realized that he had made too much noise. He looked around, his gaze sweeping over Kirihara, Marui, and Jiro, before finally landing on the trembling black ball of fur in Yukimura's arms.

His lips twitched, a rare look of embarrassment appearing on his face. His voice lowered as he apologized in a strained tone:

"...Ahem. Sorry. I startled you."

Marui took the candy out of his mouth, wrapped it up, and rubbed his cheeks: "It's okay, it's okay, you can continue. I'm thick-skinned anyway."

Kirihara squatted down to pick up the snacks, glanced up at him, muttered "It's nothing, it's nothing," and then looked down to blow the dust off the snack wrappers. Jiro rubbed his eyes, seemingly finally more awake, and smiled at Shishido, saying, "It's good to be awake."

Luna peeked half her face out from Yukimura's arms, stared at Shishido for two seconds, and only after confirming that the danger wasn't coming towards her did she slowly lower her paws, nudged Yukimura's hand with her little nose, and complained to her father, Yukimura.

Yukimura gently pinched its ear with his fingertips to soothe its fur, without saying a word.

Shishido turned back, his gaze refocusing on the court. Tezuka was already near the baseline, doing some simple warm-up swings. That figure cast a long shadow in the sunlight, overlapping with the disheveled image of himself in his memory.

Feng stood beside him, her eyes wide with surprise: "Is this really an unexpected lineup? Tezuka-senpai's strength is already on par with the captain. If Oshitari-senpai were to face him... wouldn't that be too much of a stretch?"

"It's not unexpected." Taki stopped using the small fan in his hand, gripped his tactics notebook, quickly flipped through a couple of pages, and turned to look at Atobe on the coaching bench, his expression grave: "They must have planned this out long ago. When they handed in the roster this morning, Seigaku had already put Kawamura in position three and Tezuka in position two. This means they never intended for Tezuka to play position one from the beginning."

"Didn't they calculate that Kawamura would win?" Jiro was wide awake from what had just happened. He rubbed his eyes, then rubbed them again, making sure he wasn't seeing things. He pouted, leaned against the railing, and muttered, "What if Kawamura loses?"

"Even if they lose, Tezuka still gets this point, making the score 2-2 and forcing a fifth match." Taki glanced at him. "But if Kawamura wins, it's over immediately. That's what Seigaku is betting on."

"Bet..." Jiro blinked, as if processing the word, then lowered his voice, "bet on Kawamura's hand."

Taki didn't answer this question, as it was a somewhat cruel topic for middle school students.

Jiro was clearly avoiding the topic as well, scratching his loose curly hair and sighing, "In that case, Yuushi would be really miserable."

Hiyoshi frowned, his back tense, and he pursed his lips without speaking. His eyes showed a hint of disapproval, and he tightened his grip on his racket: "Overthrowing superiors... isn't done in this way."

Shinobu stood at the very front, his previously smiling face now devoid of any expression. His deep blue hair hung down over his forehead, and a gust of wind blowing in from the other side of the field ruffled his clothes.

He pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose, his fingers lingered on the edge of the frame for a moment, and then he put them down.

His right hand, resting on the railing, unconsciously tightened, his fingertips pressing against the metal surface, leaving shallow marks.

Actually, ever since Kawamura's victory, he had already had a vague premonition. However, that premonition might not have been pleasant, so he chose to put it aside for the time being, thinking, "Maybe Seigaku wouldn't arrange it that way, and that person wouldn't want that kind of arrangement either."

Now that "maybe" has been crushed by the opponent's entry.

Kunimitsu Tezuka.

Hmm, the odds of winning... are a bit low.

I've been learning a lot of new things with Wang Yueling lately, and I've gotten quite good at the half-arc short shot and tidal volley, and I'm improving quickly. But the time has been too short, only a few weeks at most.

If you really encounter an opponent of Tezuka Kunimitsu's caliber, your chances of winning are indeed not high.

A low win rate doesn't mean you should give up.

Shinobu took a deep breath, released his grip on the railing, took a half step forward, pushed up his glasses, and a cold glint flashed in the lenses.

A nonchalant smile returned to his lips, as effortless as ever. His voice returned to its usual casual tone, but was softer than usual. "If we run into each other, we'll fight. We can't just give up because the opponent is Tezuka. You guys really think I, Yuushi Oshitari, am a pushover."

Shishido paused for a moment, wanting to say something more, but looking at Shinobu's taut shoulders, he changed the subject: "...That new move you've been practicing lately, will you be able to use it?"

"I don't know." Shinobu finally turned his head to look at him, a slight, self-deprecating smile playing on his lips. "I've never faced someone of Tezuka's caliber before. I'll only know once I try."

Shishido didn't ask any more questions.

When Shinobu turned around, what he saw was...

Feng's eyes were filled with worry, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something but then he swallowed it back. Taki's expression was calm, but that calmness seemed more like a restraint to avoid adding pressure to him. Hiyoshi stood a little further away, arms crossed, looking at him with a silent "good luck" in his eyes.

Cilang stood to the side, unusually lucid, with an indescribable "sympathy" in his eyes, as if watching someone embark on a path of no return.

On Rikkai University's side, Kirihara also came over, still clutching the bag of snacks in his hand. The emotion in his eyes was similar to Jiro's—"heartache," and also a feeling of "he's so pitiful."

Marui slowed down his rubbing of his face, and his gaze towards him carried a hint of "take care, brother."

Luna perched on Yukimura's arm, tilted her little head and glanced at Oshitari, then tilted her head, placed her little paws on the edge of the bagel, and let out a soft meow, as if sighing.

That little expression was exactly like, "You poor two-legged creature."

Shinobu's expression froze for a moment, his temple twitched, and he pushed up his glasses with an annoyance, his voice tinged with helplessness: "What kind of looks are those?"

"What kind of look is that?"

"You're all looking at me like I'm going to the guillotine." Shinobu turned his gaze back to the field, his tone slightly mocking. "I haven't even stepped onto the field yet, and you're already making these faces. Are you going to cry when I actually hit you?"

"We definitely won't," Marui mumbled, covering his face. "Tezuka is terrifying. His Tezuka Zone... ugh... why am I even saying this? Um... good luck, Oshitari! You can do it! We all believe in you!"

The tone was as if he were sending off a brave warrior to war.

Jiro blinked, feeling awkward under Shinobu's gaze, and touched his nose, looking away. "N-nothing. I just felt sorry for you, seeing how hard you've worked."

"That's right." Kirihara nodded in agreement, his voice sincere. "Good luck, Oshitari-senpai, don't get shaved..." He was only halfway through his sentence when Kuwahara covered his mouth and dragged him away, making a whimpering sound.

Feng opened her mouth, wanting to say something in her defense, but then felt that nothing she said would be right, so she kept her mouth shut.

Shishido clicked his tongue. "Who's looking at you? We're looking at Tezuka."

"Oh. Is that so?" Shinobu looked at them for a few seconds, then responded with a drawn-out "Oh," clearly disbelieving. Too lazy to argue, he turned his back to them and prepared to grab his racket, but the tips of his ears turned slightly red.

Actually, he wasn't entirely without a chance of winning. Mochizuki Ryo had developed a special training program for left-handed players, and he had practiced it for quite a while.

It's just that I haven't tried it in an official match yet.

Even if you're a pushover... I'm still a "little steel ball"...

Oshitari cleared his throat, his voice carrying a hint of elusive laughter: "Alright, alright, everyone back to your seats. Keep your eyes peeled and wait to see my special move; you won't be disappointed."