Atobe's Elegant Tennis

Bang!

"Ace, 30-0."

Bang!

"Ace, 40-0."

"Saeki Muneyoshi wins this game, score is 1-0."

With four consecutive ace serves, Muneyoshi easily took his service game.

"Four consecutive ACES, is this guy a monster?"

Some of the regulars, who had secretly returned at some point, watched as Atobe's service game was taken so easily. Mukahi exclaimed in surprise:

"Were the serves that fast just now? Hey, Oginosuke, what was the speed of the opponent's serve?"

Oginosuke glanced at the speed gun in his hand and swallowed hard. "The speeds were 197, 196, 198, and 199 kilometers per hour!"

"It looks like he was just serving casually, but the speed is still that fast? Amazing!"

Anahira Ryo was incredibly shocked. Being very observant, he also noticed that all four of Muneyoshi's serves landed in the center of the court, very close to the baseline of the service box.

This was theoretically the perfect serving zone.

However, just one or two centimeters more would result in a fault, yet this first-year kid, the same age as him, had succeeded with all of them.

"No, if it were just about fast serves, it wouldn't be much. And with that kind of speed, Atobe should have been able to return it without any problem!"

Oshitari Yushi adjusted his glasses, his eyes filled with coldness. "But Atobe couldn't even move to return the opponent's serve. There must be another reason!"

Oshitari Yushi, who had already played against Muneyoshi, was very sure of this.

Although the opponent hadn't gone all out when he played him, his instincts were never wrong.

The opponent's strength had completely surpassed their level!

Hearing Oshitari's words, Mukahi Gakuto and Anahira Ryo exchanged glances, and Mukahi trembled, "What kind of freak appeared out of nowhere? Yushi, is it possible that Atobe is going to lose?"

To this, Oshitari had no words.

Atobe on the court was also under immense pressure. He couldn't even move to return the opponent's four serves, let alone receive them. This gap made him feel a great sense of crisis.

However, Atobe was Atobe after all. Under the pressure of this immense gap, the bottleneck that had been confining him finally showed a slight crack.

But Atobe didn't notice this. The opponent had already made a move; if he didn't retaliate, wouldn't he be looked down upon by the opponent!

He, Atobe-sama, was never one to just take hits without fighting back.

"Hoo~~~"

Atobe's sharp eyes stared intently at Muneyoshi's body. Taking deep breaths calmed his mind instantly.

"I can't let the opponent look down on me."

Swish!

He bent his knees, rotated his elbow lightly, and tossed the tennis ball straight up. Then, Atobe's entire body tensed, and his beautiful muscle lines subtly appeared beneath his clothes.

The tennis ball flew high into the air!

As it reached its apex, Atobe, who had jumped up in sync, swung his racket in a perfect arc and smashed it down with great force.

Bang!

Accompanied by a powerful crisp sound.

The tennis ball, imbued with immense impact, turned into a yellow streak of light and shot directly towards the inverted triangle outside the right half of the service box.

A diagonal serve with a wide arm stretch.

The tennis ball drew a curved banana trajectory in the air, heading towards the back corner of Muneyoshi's receiving area with a tricky angle.

Watching the ball's curve, Muneyoshi's eyebrows twitched slightly.

This advanced technique of a curved serve was rarely seen. It was usually used by players in international tournaments in Britain.

However, considering that Atobe had originally trained in Britain, and that he probably hadn't thought of developing Theirs Serve yet, this was likely his most flashy serve.

"But it is indeed a flashy technique."

Giving Atobe's serve affirmation in his heart, Muneyoshi quickly moved his feet, running towards the direction of the ball's curve.

"Heh, Atobe's going to score on the first point."

Oshitari, who was very familiar with Atobe, glanced at him with some surprise. They hadn't expected Saeki Muneyoshi to put so much pressure on him that he'd use his full strength on the first point. He murmured softly.

"What! Is there something about this serve from Atobe that we don't know?"

Oshitari's words surprised Mukahi and Shishido, who asked in confusion.

"You guys just watch closely!"

Shaking his head, Oshitari didn't explain but instead played coy.

On the court, Muneyoshi's footwork was incredibly fast. He wasn't surprised that he could return this serve, but as he chased the ball, he seemed to suddenly realize something, and his body abruptly accelerated forward.

However...

Whoosh!

Thwack!

After tracing a complete curve, the tennis ball actually accelerated a second time, dropping at an extremely high speed before quickly sliding to the corner.

"Ace, Atobe Keigo scores, 15-0."

"What the—!"

Muneyoshi was a bit surprised. He knew that the Theirs Serve was a technique Atobe had begun developing in his second and third years, so he shouldn't be able to pull it off yet.

But he hadn't expected that even before the Theirs Serve, Atobe already possessed such a flashy serving technique.

This was probably the precursor to the Theirs Serve!

Muneyoshi subconsciously glanced at Atobe, whose expression was calm and whose eyes shone incredibly brightly.

As expected of the future King Atobe, even now he's already this elegant...

"As expected of you, Atobe!"

He flicked his drifting hair back with one hand, the racket in his hand constantly spinning on his wrist. Muneyoshi looked at Atobe, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"The surprise you've given me is quite good, but you shouldn't only have this much skill, right? Come on, only more flamboyant techniques befit my status."

Atobe's face showed no hint of pleasure at Muneyoshi's praise. Instead, he continued to provoke Muneyoshi with extreme arrogance, hoping he would reveal his true strength.

Thwack!

Following a proud voice, Atobe stretched his arm, unleashing another incredibly flashy, high-speed curved serve.

The tennis ball traced a perfect pale yellow arc across the court before rapidly descending again.

Stomp, stomp!

Muneyoshi paid it no mind, just like before. His legs moved, his body rushing towards the tennis ball even faster.

"The same move won't work on me!"

A smirk touched Muneyoshi's lips, his hazel eyes constantly scanning the continually changing curveball.

Whoosh! Just before the ball landed, it unexpectedly accelerated a second time.

"Hmph, right here!"

Muneyoshi snorted inwardly. His already fast footsteps took a step down ahead of time, his entire body sliding a large step to the right. He shifted his body and swung his racket down at his feet.

Thwack!

The pale yellow tennis ball landed in his racket. Muneyoshi applied force to his wrist, twisting the muscles in his arm, and pulled straight up.

After a short friction on the racket face, the pale yellow tennis ball was imbued with a significant backspin. The arc it took over the net was extremely low.

And after crossing the net, it also rapidly descended.

"A very beautiful chop volley."

Oshitari, watching from the sidelines, his eyes moved slightly. He silently noted the key points of Muneyoshi's swing and footwork from that shot.

With training, and given his talent, he could easily integrate such a net-play move into his tactical system.

Muneyoshi's ball speed was fast, his power was sufficient, and the trajectory's landing point was quite precise.

Since the first game, Atobe had elevated Muneyoshi's threat level and would not underestimate him. Thus, as soon as he served, he was already preparing to serve and rush the net.

After landing and making a slight adjustment, Atobe pushed off with both feet, using his forward momentum to charge straight towards the net.

He had received British tennis training from a young age. Besides exceptional stamina, his training had also emphasized highly aggressive tennis.

And the serve-and-volley tactic, though common, was also one that posed a significant threat to opponents.

"Saeki, I've seen through your ball trajectory, Your Lordship has!"