A True National-Level Doubles Match

"Don't worry about the Banrō. They rarely use this combination, probably not because they are strong, but because their teamwork isn't good enough."

Standing in front of the coach's bench, Tōhō Masami was certainly familiar with Fudomine's information, but there was very little information on Keith. He patted his partner Minami Kentaro on the shoulder and said confidently:

"Doubles is different from singles. We're confident we can win this match. After all, no other junior high school team can match my partnership with Nan, right, Nan!"

"Yes, Coach, we won't lose."

Compared to Tōhō Masami, Minami Kentaro's eyes were calm, but his tone was confident.

"That's right, that's how competitions are. There's no need to feel pressured. Just play freely, unleash your full potential, and learn from your opponents. Finding your weaknesses and areas for improvement is the most important part of growth."

"Understood, to Banrō."

Minami Kentaro and Tōhō Masami exchanged a glance, then picked up their rackets and walked onto the court.

At last year's National Tournament, Banta had already made the two, who were still first-year students, the absolute main force in doubles.

After more than a year of growth, their strength and even their teamwork have now reached the National Level in doubles.

Even Rikkai Dai's doubles team wouldn't necessarily win easily against them.

Because of their formidable strength and undefeated record, they were dubbed the "Potato Soldiers" duo.

They are also one of the very few truly top-tier doubles teams in the original work.

Along with the future Rikkai Dai pair of Niou, Hyotei Academy's Shishido Ryo Ohtori Choutarou, and Seigaku's Golden Pair, they are known as the four National Level junior high school doubles teams.

The reason it's about the future is because in the current junior high school world, apart from the Rikkai Dai duo of Yanagi Renji and Niou, almost no one can get the better of them.

Whether it's Seigaku or Hyotei Academy, even Marui Bunta and Jack Sanohara from Rikkai Dai are no match for them.

In the future, Yanagi Renji will focus more on individual combat and strategy, which is why Niou will partner with Yanagi. At that time, Marui Bunta has also grown up.

However, it was precisely because of this kind of opponent that Muneyoshi and Hanamura Aoi suggested that Keith and Lin Xiu be the pair.

On the other side, in the Fudomine area, Keith and Lin Xiu stood with Muneyoshi before entering the arena.

"The Yamabuki doubles pair has excellent teamwork and chemistry, which you'll see soon enough. However, I believe no opponent can stop you."

Muneyoshi appeared calm and relaxed, which stemmed from his confidence in the two men's abilities.

"Keith, Lin Xiu, the match is in your hands now!"

Similarly, Hanamura Aoi didn't interfere with the two players much, but let them play on their own and find their old doubles rhythm.

After bowing to Hanamura Aoi, Keith and Lin Xiu also took their rackets and walked onto the court.

Keith and Lin Xiu didn't really care whether it was doubles or singles; in fact, they felt a little happy to be able to team up in doubles again.

Since they were not familiar with each other and none of them were talkative, the two sides came to the net and immediately began to choose their service games.

"Positive or negative."

"Just."

"Looks like we're in luck."

The Yamabuki duo, who had the first serve, started chatting and gave Keith and his partner a slight smile.

Neither Keith nor Lin Xiu spoke; instead, they went straight to the baseline and waited quietly for Yamabuki Middle School to serve.

Once both players were ready, the referee's voice rang out again.

"The doubles match begins. At the end of the first set, the pair of Minami Kentaro and Tōhō Masami from Yamabuki Middle School serve first."

At the Yamabuki half, Minami Kentaro was already waiting at the service line.

He gently tapped the Minami Kentaro ball, then grabbed it and glanced at the positions of Keith and Lin Xiu on the opposite side before tossing it into the air.

Bang!

With a beautiful serve from Minami Kentaro, the tennis ball was instantly pinned down in Fudomine's half of the court.

Keith, in the backcourt, reacted very quickly; he had already anticipated the trajectory of the ball the moment the opponent served.

He took a few quick steps and reached the point where the tennis ball would land.

Raise your hand to prepare for the next shot.

The tennis ball had barely bounced when he steadily returned it to Yamabuki's boundary line.

"That Fudomine player is incredibly fast!"

"And his movements were so simple and fluid, like a completely casual strike. Was he not using his full strength at all?"

The spectators were all people with basic knowledge of tennis, so they could all see what Keith had just done.

Banda Kenya looked at Keith and the other man thoughtfully.

"What an amazing junior!"

During the training camp following the Metropolitan Tournament, Keith and Tachibana Kippei both used the same rackets that Muneyoshi used. After getting used to them, this training significantly improved Keith's power and swing speed.

Especially the burst of power.

"It's so heavy!"

Tōhō Masami caught up with the tennis ball in an instant, but just as he was about to return the shot, the powerful force transmitted through the racket made Tōhō Masami frown slightly.

With such force, it seemed as if the racket would be knocked away at any moment, forcing Tōhō Masami to switch to a two-handed grip.

With the support of his hands, he was finally able to steady himself. Then, by flipping his wrist, Tōhō Masami dissipated most of the force of the tennis ball and still managed to forcefully return the ball.

After retaliating, Tōhō Masami hid her hands behind her back and made a gesture towards Minami Kentaro.

Minami Kentaro changed his formation instantly, with Tōhō Masami retreating to the backfield and Minami Kentaro taking over the front.

"What amazing teamwork!"

The two changed formation almost instantly. Although he had seen it on videotape, Lin Xiu in the front line couldn't help but sigh when he saw it in person.

This is the most powerful Code Tactics of the Potato Soldiers combination.

They used their own set of secret codes, combined with their tacit understanding, to constantly change their formation.

They then target the opponent's strengths and weaknesses, causing the opponent to lose their composure and ultimately leading the opponent's shot completely into their trap.

Bang!

Bang!

Thanks to the excellent execution of the Code Tactics, Minami Kentaro and his partner worked together seamlessly and won their service game.

This performance also drew the attention of the audience.

"So strong!"

"Truly a doubles team that Yamabuki is so proud of!"

During the intermission, Muneyoshi noticed the gleam in Keith's eyes and knew that he was truly interested.

Seeing this, Muneyoshi smiled and asked, "Keith, how are you feeling?"

Upon hearing Muneyoshi's question, Keith nodded very seriously and said, "You're right, these two are indeed quite good."

"In that case, give it your all!"

"Don't worry, the real competition is about to begin."

Standing in his half of the court, Lin Xiu glanced at Keith on the service line.

"Keith, I'm starting too!"

The two exchanged a glance, Keith began to serve. He didn't use any special skills; it was just a simple flat shot, but that was enough.

The tennis ball hurtled toward Tōhō Masami at incredible speed.

He couldn't even react before Keith scored directly.

Bang!

"Game, Fudomine, 1-1."

This road is blocked!

Lin Xiu, positioned at the net, saw that the opponent intended to score with a short ball in the frontcourt and quickly followed up.

He leaped lightly into the air.

"We've won this point!"

Bang!

"Game, Fudomine, 2-1."

Bang!

"Game, Fudomine, 4-1."

"Change of scene!"

"Wow, amazing! This doubles pair from Fudomine is actually able to suppress Potato Soldiers."

"Exactly! Such a formidable doubles team, Fudomine has been keeping it hidden all along. Everyone else has been completely fooled by them."

Minami Kentaro and Tōhō Masami sat in the rest area, gulping down their drinks, only to spit them all out.

The Banrō smiled and handed her a towel, asking, "How are you feeling?"

"They're amazing at Banrō..."

The intense physical exertion had left both of them panting heavily, and Tōhō Masami answered with difficulty.

Seeing that the two had not lost faith, the Banrō nodded in satisfaction and began to offer guidance.

However, no matter how much guidance or on-the-spot tactical adjustments are made, they are all in vain in the face of absolute superior strength.

With the combined efforts of Keith and Lin Xiu, they won the doubles match without much effort.

"Match ended! The team of Fudomine Keith and Lin Xiu won this round, with a score of 6:1."

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