Muneyoshi vs. Irie

Muneyoshi pulled a pale yellow tennis ball from his pocket and casually patted it twice.

He then squeezed the tennis ball in his hand, glanced at Irie's position, and gently tossed it upwards.

Although he said those nice words, he really didn't want to lose when the competition actually started.

Compared to those he clearly can't beat right now, and those Kaji Fūta who haven't fully reached their peak yet, and Kiriya and the others.

Irie Kanata, whose true strength remains a mystery and shrouded in secrecy in the original work, is more likely to attract his attention.

Moreover, Irie Kanata is also a contestant who has embarked on the Mental Power Path. His powerful spiritual power is such that even Atobe in the future might not be his match.

Therefore, even if Muneyoshi doesn't know how much effort Kanata Irie Kanata, he will still take it seriously when facing him!

The tennis ball wasn't tossed very high; it just flew over his head.

Muneyoshi took a half step back with his right foot, and quickly raised his right arm, twisting and pulling it inwards towards his body.

Bang!

Like drawing a sword in a slash, Muneyoshi unleashed astonishing power with a flick of his wrist, sending the racket flying in an afterimage that was barely visible to the naked eye.

"Boom!"

I haven't thought of a name for this move yet, but if it were used in a formal competition, the enthusiastic audience would probably give it a catchy name.

But now Irie is the second person to face, and there are no spectators around.

This move was inspired by Sanada and draws on the concept of the "invisible swing".

Unlike Sanada's simple speed.

Muneyoshi's speed might be slightly slower, but his strength is much greater.

Call out!

Bang!

With a combination of immense power and speed, a flash of yellow light, and the tennis ball roared past Irie's feet.

Seemingly not expecting Muneyoshi to be so serious from the start, Irie was caught off guard.

By the time he turned around to look back, the tennis ball had already rolled off the wire net behind him.

"What... this is... the Power Force, the Speed Extreme?"

Irie Kanata his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then figured out the secret behind Muneyoshi's shot.

Reaching the other side of the baseline, Irie squatted down, this time appearing much more serious.

"Saeki -kun, that was a great serve, keep it up!"

Muneyoshi, of course, didn't think that such a serve would defeat his opponent, and without much delay, he served again.

Bang!

Another extremely fast swing, accompanied by powerful force.

This time, however, Irie made a move, and in a mere instant, he caught the trajectory of the tennis ball.

"Hmm? This feeling!"

An unusual resistance came from the racket, causing Irie to frown slightly.

He hadn't expected Muneyoshi to be so strong at such a young age, and tennis not only has speed and power, but also a downward spin.

It was this downward spin that affected Irie's counterattack.

"Net touch! Saeki Muneyoshi scores, 30-0."

There were no referees in their match, so they each announced their own scores. Muneyoshi casually announced his score.

Irie's smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression as she looked at Muneyoshi: "I didn't expect you to have such a powerful move! Saeki- kun!"

Then his expression changed again, and he said bitterly with a gloomy face, "It seems your strength has surpassed mine. I'm really going to lose!"

That desperate and helpless look in Muneyoshi's eyes sent chills down Muneyoshi's spine, even though he knew the other person's personality very well.

"Senior, please stop acting! I know this serve is nothing to you!"

Seeing Irie's shocked expression of amazement at his abilities, Muneyoshi was speechless. This Irie had become obsessed with acting.

"Oh dear! You saw right through me Saeki -kun! Looks like my acting skills still need a lot of improvement!"

Irie had been exposed by Muneyoshi, dropped his expression of despair, but he didn't take Muneyoshi's criticism to heart.

"But I'm not lying all of it, you know. It's truly unbelievable that Saeki -kun has such great strength at such a young age! He's really amazing!"

Irie looked somewhat sentimental, but spoke earnestly.

With this mix of truth and falsehood, Muneyoshi couldn't tell for a moment whether Irie was genuinely praising him or just acting.

Meanwhile, in the branches of a tree in the corner of the field, a camera was spinning around.

The surveillance maniacs inside the base have resumed their recording activities.

Kurobe said smugly, "See? I told you we didn't need to stop Muneyoshi's reckless challenges. He'll surprise us."

"That guy Irie has been in the base for over half a year, and we still haven't been able to gather any real data about him. He'll probably be exposed soon!"

Saito Itaru nodded and said:

"That's right, Irie's mental attributes are among the best of everyone, but he hasn't revealed himself yet. Perfect, this is also a good opportunity to see Irie's true strength!"

From the Irie entered the base, his strength remained a mystery.

Although he is currently only No. 20 in the First String, many coaches believe that he has the strength to be at least in the top ten of the first First String, or even in the top five.

Muneyoshi's approach to Irie this time made not only Munehiko happy, but also the coaches.

This time, we can not only Irie's hand to test Muneyoshi's hidden strength.

We can also use Muneyoshi to find out Irie's true strength, which is killing two birds with one stone!

"How about another ball, senior!"

Muneyoshi looked at Irie across from him, took out his tennis ball again, and prepared to serve for the third time.

It's still a serve that resembles a sword-wielding strike!

Bang!

Call out!

The tennis ball flew swiftly across the net, causing the net to sway from side to side due to the strong wind from the ball.

Irie Kanata watched the incoming tennis ball, a glint of light flashing in his eyes, his glasses reflecting a gleam in the sunlight.

This time, Irie seemed to have caught up by chance, and even used his slender arms to "do his best" in retaliating.

"Wow! Saeki -kun, you're so strong! But I'll never give up!"

Irie roared exaggeratedly, grabbing his paddle with both hands and charging forward, his arms trembling uncontrollably.

"Aaaaah! Give... me... back!"

Muneyoshi ignored Irie Kanata's shouting.

"Senior, what about this shot?"

Muneyoshi approached the tennis path, slightly bent his knees, and assumed a fighting stance.

Boom!

The powerful smash produced a loud bang, and the tennis ball, carrying a shockwave, crashed towards Irie once more.

Seeing that her continuous performances had failed to convince Muneyoshi, Irie temporarily suppressed her desire to perform.

"I've already figured out this move!"

Irie Kanata suppressed her smile, pushed off with her feet, and quickly moved into the trajectory of the bouncing tennis ball.

With a slight upward lift of the racket, the tennis ball was caught directly by the racket, and with a slight sway of Irie's wrist, the powerful force was neutralized.

Muneyoshi's smash was returned as a simple backspin shot.

Bang!

Muneyoshi was not surprised that Irie could easily return the ball; he glanced at the trajectory of the tennis ball Muneyoshi instantly identified its landing point.

Muneyoshi took a step forward, his leg muscles straining, and his body leaped out quickly, instantly arriving in front of the tennis ball.

Raise your hand, lift your racket, turn your body, and swing it out powerfully.

"Hmm? Topspin!"

The moment the racket intercepted the tennis ball, Muneyoshi also felt a sharp spin, which made him raise an eyebrow.

Irie wasn't just a simple return of his tennis ball; he neutralized its backspin and then applied a powerful topspin.

If he hadn't noticed this, even if he had returned the ball, it probably would have gone out of bounds.

As expected of Irie Kanata.

However, for Muneyoshi, who is also very good at hitting spin shots, this level of ball is not a threat to him as long as he pays attention and is prepared.

Muneyoshi flicked his wrist slightly, found the right hitting position, and the tennis ball was returned to him again.

With his exceptional Insight, Irie naturally noticed all of this as well.

He immediately smiled faintly and said, "As expected of Saeki -kun, you have completely mastered the technique of the optimal hitting point!"

Bang!

Irie at the landing spot of the tennis ball once again and hit it as it bounced up.

Bang!

Bang!

On the court, two figures darted back and forth.

Before they knew it, five minutes had passed and the game was still undecided.

Is this still a test?

Throughout the counterattacks, Muneyoshi observed Irie's movements closely; there were no unnecessary actions, and everything seemed perfectly reasonable.

A smile had returned to Irie's lips; he seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this game where the score was constantly being pulled back and forth for a single point.

Having some understanding of the other person's personality, Muneyoshi was not surprised by his actions.

Launching an attack rashly before fully understanding the opponent's strength will only expose your weaknesses to them.

This is why many masters always strike after the opponent has made a move.

However, Muneyoshi's visit to him wasn't just for a simple sparring session. As someone who, like Atobe Keigo, could Irie Kanata as a teammate and a source of support, it was Munehiko who was there to help him find directions for improvement.

Tap tap tap!

Muneyoshi quickly moved to the side of the tennis ball and raised his racket to counterattack. Irie Kanata, who seemed to be about to move to the net.

The swing motion changed immediately.

He was originally in a right-handed swinging motion when hitting the ball, but he threw the racket directly into his left hand.

"Um?"

A hint of doubt flashed in Irie's eyes as he moved quickly. Switching hands to hit a straight shot?

Irie's smile deepened.

"Finally couldn't resist changing tactics!"

P. S.: Please vote with monthly tickets!