The Execution Style
"If the original No. 5 of the First String only has this much speed, then it's too slow."
Muneyoshi moved swiftly, arriving in front of the opponent's tennis ball path in an instant, not forgetting to taunt as he did so.
Suddenly, before he could finish speaking, Muneyoshi caught a glimpse of the tennis ball's trajectory and its irregular spin, and a sense of unease rose within him.
"Ah, so there were other things too..."
Muneyoshi's prediction was correct. After the tennis ball landed, it did not bounce in the usual way, but suddenly changed direction at a sharp angle and flew straight towards Muneyoshi's face.
Looking at this familiar scene, Muneyoshi felt somewhat dazed.
"This is... Twist Serve?"
However, after glancing at Harada Hiroki's cruel smile across the table, Muneyoshi instantly changed his mind. "Although it looks similar, this shouldn't be Nanjirou's signature move, but rather a sidespin change of direction!"
Sidespin serves, while achieving the same effect as Twist Serve, can also be varied in other ways.
Given Harada Hiroki's undisguised malice, Muneyoshi was certain that he was attacking him physically.
However, he had already seen many such methods from Tōno Atsukyō.
This dangerous tennis ball, though it looks terrifying, has an all-too-obvious intent.
Muneyoshi's expression remained unchanged. He simply and nimbly turned and pulled the Muneyoshi ball back with a smash.
Bang!
A muffled thud.
The tennis ball was smashed down heavily, heading straight for Harada Hiroki's feet.
"Heh, you dodged it once, but what about the second and third time?"
Across the court, Harada Hiroki a cold smile.
He wasn't too surprised that Muneyoshi could easily dodge his serve.
After all, he was capable of winning the badge, and his serve wasn't the strongest compared to those with powerful serves; his next move was the attack!
Harada Hiroki raised his racket, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, a cruel smile playing on his lips, "Let your knees shatter!"
Bang!
When Muneyoshi saw the other person's expression, he immediately became wary.
Call out!
As expected, Harada Hiroki's attack was incredibly dangerous; the tennis ball carried a powerful impact, seemingly flying directly towards Muneyoshi's forehead.
Muneyoshi instinctively turned his head to dodge, and a sharp gust of wind whistled past his ear as he stood in the middle of the court, heading straight for his baseline.
But this was not the end. The irregular spin that Harada Hiroki had added to the tennis ball took effect again, suddenly bouncing off in the opposite direction from the bottom corner and bursting with even greater speed as it slammed into Muneyoshi's knee.
Harada Hiroki's original target for this move was Muneyoshi's knee, an attack on the face; if he hadn't dodged, it would have been just a side effect.
That return shot was incredibly fast.
Having experienced the trip to Spain, Muneyoshi was not flustered by such methods.
He paused slightly, took a half step back with his left foot, and instantly threw the racket from his right hand to his left. His left arm tensed up, and he pulled hard!
In an instant, his racket left a blur in the air, striking the tennis ball that was flying towards his knee with a speed that was difficult for ordinary people to see.
Thump!
Pfft!
Muneyoshi's shot was incredibly powerful, sending the tennis ball crashing into the opposite corner of Harada Hiroki. The force of the impact caused the net to tremble violently.
"Game 2, Saeki Muneyoshi scores, 15-0."
"Wow, he's Ambidexterity! What a pity..."
A hint of disappointment flashed in Harada Hiroki's eyes. If his move had worked, then he could have directly started his venting session.
"But the competition has only just begun. For a young genius like you, accumulating more fear will make things even more interesting!"
Harada Hiroki scanned Muneyoshi's body closely, seemingly searching for his next target.
Muneyoshi made no comment on Harada Hiroki's words.
However, deep darkness had formed dark stripes on the whites of his eyes, which continued to spread and eventually filled his entire eye socket.
At this moment, Muneyoshi looked at Harada Hiroki as if he were looking at a dead man.
He didn't dislike the Execution Style fighting tactics similar to those of Tōno Atsukyō; in fact, because of the darkness, he quite enjoyed it.
But that kind of enjoyment comes from inflicting it on others, not from enjoying others' attacks on you!
Come to think of it, Muneyoshi hasn't used violence against anyone for a long time since he returned from Spain...
"Since you enjoy attacking others so much, then it's you... Harada Hiroki..."
More and more people gathered around the stadium; after all, this was a battle for a top-ten spot in the First String, attracting a lot of attention.
Snap, snap, snap!
After gently tapping the tennis ball a few times, Harada Hiroki clenched it in his left palm, glanced at the growing crowd around him, and laughed arrogantly.
"Ha!"
"Kid, this stage is the best it can be for you to take your final bow!" Harada Hiroki yelled after tossing the ball.
Bang!
A loud explosion.
The tennis ball slammed down at Muneyoshi's feet.
The spin of this ball became even more intense!
However, Muneyoshi's eyes narrowed, his sharp gaze fixed on Harada Hiroki. Seeing the other's increasingly arrogant expression, Muneyoshi sneered.
"I hope you can still smile later!"
Snap!
Muneyoshi twisted his body, and the racket in his hand rippled with a layer of purplish-black light. Regardless of the spin of the tennis ball or where it would attack him, he cut into the ball from the lower left.
"You want to break my knees? I'll show you what real knee-breaking is!"
Muneyoshi stomped his right foot hard, and a force was transmitted from his legs to his arms.
At this moment, Muneyoshi's eyes were quite ruthless.
Bang!
He twisted his arm and pulled hard.
The tennis ball traced five different arcs, all flying towards Harada Hiroki's limbs and head simultaneously.
This is a study of Tōno Atsukyō's dismemberment technique.
His practice sessions over the past few days were not in vain. Although he wasn't playing five-ball anymore, the most realistic tennis ball was aimed precisely at his opponent's knee.
Many people think that Tōno Atsukyō only plays tennis to intentionally hurt people, but they are wrong about him. His tennis can not only hurt people, but also kill them.
His Execution Ball weren't something just anyone could do; each Execution Method was a highly difficult variation.
To be able to do that requires Tōno Atsukyō's skill; he has reached a remarkably high level.
He follows a path of Technique Form world-class development.
As Byōdōin's teammate, the main reason he was able to embark on this path so quickly was because of Byōdōin's guidance and training.
The Execution Ball performs differently in the hands of different people; Tōno Atsukyō exemplifies the extreme variation.
Then Saeki Muneyoshi represents utter ruthlessness and destruction.
Since Muneyoshi has already decided to do it, he's going to see it through to the end.
However, playing five balls is no challenge for Harada Hiroki.
Five balls streaked across the half-court, Harada Hiroki immediately recognized which one was the real tennis ball.
He ignored the other fake tennis balls, his eyes fixed on the real one.
The tennis ball, like a sharp knife, flashed through the air before hurtling towards Harada Hiroki's bent knee.
Harada Hiroki's gaze darkened, and anger surged within him. He hadn't expected Saeki Muneyoshi to dare to retaliate against him using the same methods.
"Harada, get out of the way!!!"
Suddenly, Katsumura Yota had been eliminated by Saeki Muneyoshi earlier, came to the sidelines. Upon seeing this scene, knowing Muneyoshi's true personality and how terrifying he was, he immediately shouted loudly.
Harada Hiroki, who originally intended to take the shot head-on, heard the sound, but it was too late to dodge. At the last second, he forcefully pulled his arm down and blocked the racket at his right knee.
With the racket blocking the way, the feet gained some space to move, but this opportunity was very short.
"Bang..."
A firm, slapping sound rang out, and in an instant, Harada Hiroki's entire forehead was covered in a fine layer of cold sweat.
It felt as if a sharp drill had struck his knee; a searing pain shot straight to his brain.
Even with the elasticity of the racket and net acting as a barrier, the ball still pierced through the racket, and the tennis ball grazed past the knee joint.
A piece of skin was directly rubbed off due to the intense friction.
Snap!
The tennis ball, carrying a splash of blood, rolled back to his feet.
At that moment, Harada Hiroki truly felt the power of the Execution Ball.
P. S.: This is the protagonist's first time playing the Execution Ball. I don't know if everyone can accept it. If you don't like it, you don't have to play it again later~ Please vote with your monthly tickets!
The foreshadowing of the Execution Ball was already laid when Tōno Atsukyō. I don't know how everyone feels about it. If you don't like it, you don't have to play it in the future.
However, I don't think there's any harm in learning a little; it can be quite effective against certain types of people.
You don't have to use it, but you can't be ignorant of it...
Please vote for me!