A Rival Match
After the change of ends, the match continued, and it was Akutsu's turn to serve.
Bang!
The two seemed to have returned to the cycle of the previous game, after a brief back-and-forth.
Swish!
Tachibana Kippei seized the opening in Akutsu's attack, swung his racket forward, and Explosive Ball Wild Dance.
Akutsu, still near the baseline, could only watch helplessly as the tennis ball flew out of the edge of the frontcourt once again.
"Fudomine is leading, 40-30."
Bang!
"Game score: Fudomine Tachibana Kippei, 1-1."
"Draw!"
Once again, they faced off at the net, but this time Akutsu's outburst was suppressed by the even more powerful Tachibana Kippei then reversed the situation and successfully broke serve.
"Shinji, I'm so nervous watching this."
After wiping his hands on his clothes, Kamio finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just now, when Tachibana Kippei was broken by Akutsu, Kamio felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.
The match between these two was truly amazing; it had only been two games, yet it had given him goosebumps.
"Their cultivation levels far surpass ours..."
Ibu Shinji's eyes were somewhat gloomy. After a brief silence, he looked into Kamio Akira's eyes and said, word by word:
"Kamio, the captain and the others are way behind us, we... can't afford to hold them back any longer!"
"Minister, Deputy Minister..."
Upon hearing Shinji's words, Akira Kamio Akira turned his gaze to the department head Saeki Muneyoshi, who also appeared grave.
Fudomine lost both doubles sets, putting them at a significant disadvantage.
Thinking of this, Kamio Akira seemed to recall the guidance he had received from Tachibana Kippei and Muneyoshi. His eyes reddened, and he said firmly, "Shinji, let's practice more when we get back!"
Muneyoshi was unaware of the disadvantages in this match, and how much impact Tachibana Kippei's fighting spirit on the court had on the first-year students of Fudomine.
He was indeed in a very bad mood at that moment.
Because he had already seen that the situation was indeed developing in a direction unfavorable to Fudomine.
He was now fighting against two people he knew very well.
At this moment, both sides have demonstrated a will that is worthy of his serious attention.
Akutsu is a true athletic genius, one of the very few middle school students in the later stages of the Prince of Tennis world who were able to reach the world level.
He can be considered one of the fastest evolving humans.
And Tachibana Kippei is, of course, also a tennis prodigy, a strong player.
In the history of Japan tennis, those who, during their junior high school years, were able to cross the national threshold through their own willpower and spirit are extremely rare.
This shows that as long as Tachibana Kippei grows naturally, it has a great chance to enter a new world in the future.
Muneyoshi, who had spent so much time with Tachibana Kippei, was well aware of this.
Unlike the original work where he and Chitose Senri were abandoned by the author, the real Tachibana Kippei is definitely a very trustworthy player.
Before the match, Muneyoshi did not lie.
After Akutsu also set foot in the national arena, the clash between the two of them has indeed made it impossible for Muneyoshi to predict the final outcome.
Currently, their strengths are similar. In the end, besides their respective learning and growth abilities, it will probably come down to their ultimate will and their persistence in the pursuit of victory.
On the coach's bench, Coach Hanamura Aoi looked at Akutsu Jin with great admiration. This Seigaku boy was displaying admirable tennis qualities in front of her.
And the physical qualities she values most.
In the past, she would probably have been so smitten that she would have invited him to join the club right after the event.
However, Hanamura Aoi is not yet at that level; their Fudomine also possesses geniuses capable of rivaling him.
"Although Seigaku exploited our weakness, it seems the match was well-planned."
Coach Hanamura Aoi glanced at Akutsu on the opposite court and secretly made plans.
The team has already entered the Kanto Tournament, and there is still the National Tournament and other strong schools to come.
Fudomine's weaknesses can certainly not be exploited by Seigaku alone, so the next step is for Tachibana Kippei, Lin Xiu, and Keith to grow rapidly in the coming period.
First-year students also need to solidify their foundation as soon as possible. In the first year, which is filled with numerous competitions, it is the perfect time for students to turn their training into real skills.
As Tachibana Kippei prepare to serve again, Akutsu lowered his eyelids, lost in thought.
After two games of probing, he was quite certain that Tachibana Kippei had superior tennis skills compared to him.
But...
Tachibana Kippei shortcomings were also exposed in his eyes.
Physical strength and power!
Strength is actually Tachibana Kippei's strength, but Akutsu's strength is no weaker than Tachibana Kippei's, and he can handle it perfectly well.
As a result, Tachibana Kippei, who was used to using his strength and technique to defeat his opponents at the net, instantly lost his most important breakthrough point.
The threat posed by Akutsu would be greatly reduced.
After such an intense exchange, both of them had exhausted a lot of their energy.
However, compared to Akutsu's naturally abundant physical strength, Tachibana Kippei is somewhat weaker.
This can be clearly seen from the amount of sweat they were sweating.
If the match continues to drag on, Akutsu will gradually gain the upper hand.
"Let me use my body to completely crush you!"
Tachibana Kippei was also pondering this, and he had also noticed Akutsu's advantage in stamina. Therefore, he decided to finish the battle quickly.
Swish!
He tossed the tennis ball behind and above his head, twisted Tachibana Kippei muscular waist, and swung his arm with the force of the twist, the racket face brushing the upper middle part of the tennis ball to the upper left.
Bang!
He hit a powerful spin serve.
Sizzle...
The tennis ball traced a winding curve, crashing onto Akutsu's half of the court, making rapid friction with the ground before flying out again.
Whoosh~ thud!
The tennis ball grazed right past Akutsu's body.
Tachibana Kippei scored directly from his serve.
"Was this the perfect situation with that spin shot in the first game?"
Akutsu realized what was happening, but he had only seen this kind of serve once before, so he was prepared to deal with it.
Bang!
Tachibana Kippei didn't hold back and hit another spin serve.
A sharp, spinning wind, accompanied by a trembling sound, swept towards Akutsu.
Upon seeing this, Akutsu's pupils contracted. He leaped forward, pulled his body to the side in advance, and swung his racket horizontally in a backhand motion, striking the tennis ball that was about to fly out of his backhand.
Bang!
Akutsu's muscles twitched, and he applied tremendous force to this swing.
The tennis ball, pressing down on the net in the middle, fell towards Tachibana Kippei's front court.
Tap tap tap...
The sound of hurried footsteps rang out again, Tachibana Kippei served and volleyed once more.
As the Lion King, having decided to end the battle quickly, he would not back down.
Akutsu grinned at this, his speed was equally impressive, and as Akutsu continued to rush forward, the gray-white aura around him increased with each step.
Soon, this terrifying grayish-white aura completely enveloped the entire area.
Upon seeing this, a red glint flashed in Tachibana Kippei's eyes, and he made no attempt to conceal his aura.
At the same time, he also stirred up the Beast Aura, which began to gather as he swung his racket.
As Akutsu ran, he suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis approaching him.
It was as if he were being targeted by some ferocious beast; his sharp mind sent shivers down his spine.
Bang!
At this moment, Tachibana Kippei, who had arrived at the net, leaped forward, his black and red Beast Aura exploding violently after gathering.
Under his mental control, it seemed to truly transform into a lion and pounce on Akutsu.
"Rampaging Mighty Lion!!"
Before Akutsu's eyes appeared countless tennis ball shadows...
P. S.: "Please vote with monthly tickets! Actually, September was quite busy with work, with a lot of overtime, but I'll still be able to manage two or three updates a day."
Although I'm quite busy with work, I'll still add extra chapters whenever possible. The monthly votes are almost at 1000 again, and the extra chapters will remain the same as before. Also, let me talk about the plot again. It definitely won't be a continuous smooth ride; there will be low points in the competition. Let's be realistic. Second-year students need to experience a few failures and undergo some transformations to beat Rikkai Dai. So, some readers might think the protagonist and his team will lose. Let me assure you, at least the logic is sound. Please be gentle with your criticism then!