The I Formation

"Game score: Fudomine leads, score 1-0."

Kikumaru Eiji arrived at the right service court, frowning as he looked towards Fudomine's half of the court, his bright eyes wide as saucers.

"Kikumaru rocket, launch!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Kikumaru Eiji leaped high into the air and swung his arms.

The tennis ball shot out like a rocket, and after flying at high speed, it came to rest in the angle of the receiving area.

"Hmph! Time to pick up the pace!"

Kamio was not careless at all; his broad field of vision took in everything in front of him.

Bang!

He slammed the tennis ball into the unclaimed area on the left side of Seigaku's half of the court.

"Too naive, don't even think about scoring!"

After serving from the baseline, Kikumaru Eiji quickly sprinted towards the frontcourt, blocking the trajectory of the tennis ball.

The racket was raised, and a powerful volley sent the ball crashing back into Fudomine's court.

"Your pace is too slow!"

He made full use of Kamio's speed.

Just as the tennis ball flew over the net, he appeared in front of the net, swinging his racket to intercept the ball.

The battle against Rikkai Dai made Kamio pay great attention to protecting Ishida.

Everyone knows that Ishida Tetsu's Wave Shot is not unlimited, as he needs to avoid being surrounded by Ishida.

Seeing that the Seigaku duo was also following the trend of Rikkai Dai, Kamio Akira certainly wouldn't make the same mistake again. At this moment, he decided to intercept all the tennis balls at the net!

Unbeknownst to him, his actions had fallen right into a trap set by the Seigaku duo.

Compared to the Marui Bunta pairing from Rikkai Dai, Kikumaru and Oishi have a clear difference.

That is, they didn't have anyone who could truly withstand Ishida's Teppei Wave Ball.

However, just now, Oishi used a trick to return the Wave Shot, making them subconsciously believe that the opponent could return it.

This is why such a misjudgment occurred.

In reality, after Ishida scored several consecutive points, Seigaku immediately changed their target and focused their attack on Kamio Akira.

"Watch this! Kikumaru Beam!"

Kikumaru held the racket horizontally in front of him with one hand, and leaped into the air at an angle like a spinning top.

After several 360-degree spins in the air, Kikumaru suddenly slammed his racket, sending the ball into the gap left by Kamio Akira who was covering for the ball.

"I told you! Your pace is too slow!"

Kamio Akira sneered, the air currents generated by his dash causing his clothes to flutter loudly.

"Sonic Interception!"

Boom!

A perfect display of speed tennis; this is Kamio Akira's evolved, ultra-fast volley.

Faced with such a response, Kikumaru felt a chill run down his spine. As the number of matches increased, Kamio also became more experienced.

During a match, he can quickly find his opponent's landing point. He struck this move precisely when Kikumaru hadn't yet regained his footing, leaving him no time to react.

However, in doubles, the Seigaku duo is second to none in terms of teamwork.

"Leave it to me, Eiji!"

Oishi quickly filled in and cut into Kamio and Ishida's line of sight.

The racket rested on the court, and the Oishi dragged the racket, kicking up specks of dust.

He then met Kamio's interception with a whip-like smash, sending the ball high towards Fudomine's baseline.

"Moon Intercept!"

"Seigaku's doubles team is getting better and better!"

Yamabuki Middle School's Tōhō Masami Higashikata couldn't help but gasp. Compared to the previous doubles match 2, this doubles match 1 clearly resonated more with him, a traditional doubles player.

"Nan, who do you think is better?"

Sengoku Kiyosumi watched the two players battling it out in the arena, rubbed his chin, and suddenly looked at the doubles expert beside him, asking with some curiosity.

"In terms of teamwork, Seigaku is definitely the best, but Fudomine's first-year team is also strong, and they have unique techniques, which gives them an advantage over Seigaku."

Minami Kentaro kept his eyes glued to the field and said calmly.

"The first-year doubles team at Fudomine has improved too fast, Atobe!"

Hyotei Academy's doubles player Mukahi Gakuto, also frowned slightly. The two players on the court knew very well that their opponent hadn't been this strong during their last match.

But unexpectedly...

"Hmph! Yue Ren, you haven't been training enough. From now on, double your training volume!"

Atobe, of course, also noticed the growth of the Fudomine duo, and therefore felt even more urgent about improving the strength of the Hyotei Academy team members.

"Muneyoshi, Kamio and Ishida's teamwork is getting better and better. It seems their doubles team will catch up quickly, which will put our minds at ease!"

Watching the team on the field improve as their coordination got better and better despite some flaws, Tachibana Kippei was quite pleased.

"Yes, their teamwork is gradually improving, and it should improve further by the National Tournament. Doubles is finally no longer our weakness..."

Having just finished praising him, Muneyoshi felt a jolt in his temple as he watched Kamio disregard his own stamina to help Ishida catch the ball, and his smile vanished.

"Tachibana, it seems we were too optimistic. With Kamio's approach of focusing on the immediate problems while neglecting the bigger picture, they haven't improved at all. Go back and have them do extra training!"

"Yes..."

Tachibana Kippei was also speechless. The praise he had just uttered had already backfired.

In front of the net.

Kikumaru Eiji and Kamio Akira engaged in a fierce battle, their dazzling shots eliciting gasps of amazement from the spectators!

When Kamio Akira hit a backspin shot.

A glint flashed in Kikumaru Eiji's eyes. He tilted his racket, and just when Kamio thought it was a normal shot, Kikumaru suddenly stopped and turned around on the spot!

Using the force of the spin, the tennis ball makes contact with the racket again!

"Special Skill Shot!"

Kikumaru, positioned extremely low, raised his racket high and smashed the tennis ball down with tremendous force. The ball flew out in an exaggerated arc and landed in Fudomine's half of the court.

Thump~

Kikumaru then fell heavily to the ground.

"Score!"

Bang!

"Game score: Seigaku, score 6-6."

"This guy Kikumaru, can do this much!"

Kamio Akira stared at Kikumaru Eiji, who was displaying amazing skills through speed and flexibility, and felt a jolt in his heart.

The speed that Kamio Akira just unleashed was something no one could afford to ignore, but even with that speed, Kikumaru neutralized it with his flexibility and skill in the net battle.

"Another skill-based player like Mukahi Gakuto and Rikkai Dai Marui Bunta of the Hyotei Academy..."

Recalling his previous encounters, Kamio Akira's gaze suddenly turned sharp.

Seeing Kamio Akira lost in self-doubt, Kikumaru Eiji's eyes gleamed, and a sly smile appeared on his lips.

"It's time to reap the rewards!"

Kikumaru and Oishi exchanged a glance, and then they both understood what the other was thinking.

Next, the Seigaku duo set up a peculiar vertical line formation.

"Australian Formation!"

The match came to Ishida Tetsu's serve again, and he snorted coldly when he saw the Seigaku doubles set up their Regular.

I don't care what your formation is, I'll tear you apart!

However...

As he served, the two players, who had been standing in a 1/4-shaped formation, quickly separated.

At the same time.

Tap tap!

A series of footsteps sounded, and Oishi Shuichiro appeared like a ghost below the landing point of the Cannon Serve.

Clatter

A crisp sound of hitting the ball rang out. Oishi lightly raised his racket, swung it horizontally, and chopped the tennis ball. The ball flew back quickly and bounced off Ishida Tetsu's feet.

"Seigaku scores, score 1-0."

"What!?"

Ishida Tetsu looked on in surprise as he watched the tennis ball land at his feet.

"This guy wasn't bluffing in the first round; he really could fight back?!"

"So they pretended they couldn't handle the other rounds, just waiting for this moment?"

Damn it!

Bang!

"Game over. The Seigaku Oishi Shuichiro and Kikumaru Eiji have won, with a score of 7-6."

P. S.: "Please vote with monthly tickets! This game went to a tiebreaker, does that mean we can win next time?"