So-Called One Point of Strength
Bang!
After entering a state of Synchronization, Park Yong-gyu's serve power increased further, even reaching a new level.
However, compared to Irie Kanata, she was still too inexperienced.
Irie Kanata moved swiftly to the landing point of the tennis ball, and as the ball bounced to its highest point, she flicked her wrist, gripped the racket horizontally, and pushed it forward.
All the force that Park Yong-gyu had applied to the tennis ball vanished, was deflected by Irie, and was countered against his weak points and blind spots.
Tap tap tap!
On the other side, Lee Gwan-hyeon started running quickly.
Compared to Tanegashima Shūji's counterattack, Irie Kanata's return shot seemed less powerful. Once they fully adapted to this type of attack, it would be time for them to counterattack.
Snap!
With a crisp sound, the tennis ball landed on the upper part of his racket.
With his eyes narrowed, Lee Gwan-hyeon's abilities were significantly enhanced in the state of Synchronization.
As he returned the ball, he instantly observed the positions of Tanegashima Shūji and Irie Kanata, unleashing all his power to further enhance his interception ability.
His high-intensity running and hitting style of play would expose his defensive range, but with the help of Synchronization, his teammates would perfectly cover up this gap for him.
Swish!
Lee Gwan-hyeon's gaze sharpened, and with a sudden flick of his arm, he hit the tennis ball towards the left sideline, the furthest point from Tanegashima Shūji.
"Oh my, so Synchronization actually improves your judgment? Too bad, you can't escape it, it's useless!"
The next moment, Tanegashima Shūji's figure disappeared from Lee Gwan-hyeon's sight. When his figure reappeared, the sound of a racket hitting a tennis ball rang out on the court.
Tanegashima's body left a trail of afterimages as he ran horizontally, making his running rhythm appear remarkably smooth.
A white vortex of waves rippled across the racket face.
Oni's Annihilation!
The tennis ball wobbled and disappeared from Lee Gwan-hyeon and Park Yong-gyu's sight.
When it reappeared, it had landed in a blind spot within the two defenders' defensive zone.
This is the true form of Tanegashima Shūji unleashing his Oni's Annihilation.
In addition to being able to catch any special move and attack, and nullify the power, spin, and penetrating force contained within them.
They can even hit targets that are out of their reach, scoring directly.
Bang!
"Tanegashima Shūji and Irie Kanata score, making the score 15-0."
The attacking return was hit back again.
Tanegashima chuckled, took a step forward, raised his arm and swung it forward. The white vortex reappeared on the racket face, and the return shot scored directly.
The score is 30-0.
Seeing that Tanegashima was not easy to deal with, the two, who were of one mind, decided without exchanging any words and simultaneously turned their attack on Irie Kanata.
Patriot Missile!
In Synchronization mode, Park Yong-gyu unleashed Lee Gwan-hyeon's signature move, and it wasn't just a simple imitation.
The missile flew out of its barrel and accurately struck a spot no more than three centimeters behind the service line.
Seeing this, Tanegashima Shūji didn't hesitate at all and sprinted forward quickly.
This level of restraint is nothing more than a piece of cake for him.
As the racket dips in and flicks upwards, sending the ball flying, the unique ripples of airflow that Already Extinguished Nothing on the racket face reappear.
"Tanegashima Shūji and Irie Kanata score, making the score 40-0."
Bang!
"Game Tanegashima Shūji Irie Kanata, score 3-0."
No matter how much the two South Korea struggled, or what attacks and methods they used, they could not break through Tanegashima's defenses unless they could overcome Tanegashima's Oni's Annihilation.
The Japan Team's score also began to rise steadily.
"How is this possible! What methods did that white-haired guy from the Japan Team use?"
"It can actually neutralize all ultimate techniques, this..."
"Even if Yong-gyu and Kwan-hyun use Synchronization, they still can't contend with these two?"
"Damn it! How could the Japan Team have someone like this?!"
The South Korea U17 team players were clearly finding this hard to accept.
As the duo who developed the Miracle Power Synchronization for doubles, they had immense trust in each other.
The idea is to let them take the lead by leveraging their Synchronization state and win the first round.
In retrospect, this idea has clearly failed.
The serve changes hands.
Irie Kanata stood on the baseline, her baby face full of smiles. She easily tossed the ball, her slender arm rotating inward, and then twisted her body to dunk it forward.
Power is indeed not Irie's strong suit, so he cannot hit the kind of lightning-fast flat serve that Tanegashima, Oni Jūjirō, and Saeki Muneyoshi can.
However, his ability to spin the ball and exploit weaknesses makes his strength unpredictable.
The tennis ball seemed to float lightly in an arc, landing at Park Yong-gyu's feet.
Park Yong-gyu lowered his body and scooped up his racket, trying to break the spin applied by Irie by hitting a topspin shot.
The idea was good, but the moment the racket made contact with the tennis ball, the mental energy that Irie to the tennis ball was instantly transmitted to his brain like sharp thorns.
If it weren't for the Synchronization state which increased his five dimensions, this attack would have likely caused him immense damage.
Despite the excruciating pain, he managed to lift the ball.
But before the tennis ball even crossed the net, Irie's figure had already appeared in front of the net and leaped high into the air.
The tennis ball flew perfectly onto his racket.
Irie's smile widened, his deep gaze sweeping across the entire arena, his precise smash piercing through the blind spots of the two players.
Bang!
"Game, Tanegashima Shūji, Irie Kanata scores, score 6-0."
After a short break, the second set of the match began.
Tap tap tap!
The same scenario Irie started positioning himself before his opponent even swung his racket.
Everything seemed to be proceeding according to his script, without any need to consider whether the other party might change their mind at the last minute.
Everything was under his control.
Once again at the net, Irie lowered his body, the racket spinning and swinging in his hand like a toy, the height of the tennis ball bouncing perfectly matching the height of his swing.
The low-angle, Half Volley transformed into a sharp, cold light, slicing past Lee Gwan-hyeon, curving before bouncing out of bounds.
"Ha! Irie is such a master of disguise; his tennis style is still so annoying."
Watching Irie's every move, Tanegashima smoothed his white hair and muttered to himself.
Even as a close friend, Tanegashima Shūji never truly understood Irie Kanata.
To give a simple example, according to the scientific calculations of the three coaches of the Kurobe, Irie's strength value is only 1 point and his stamina value is only 2 points.
Such numerical performance cannot be described as bad; it is downright terrible.
However, excluding these two items, the combined score of the other three criteria for Irie is as high as 19 points.
However, with only a little strength and a little stamina, Irie is one of the few who can easily return the Shining Shot, and even most of Oni Jūjirō's special moves.
He could fight a true stamina Atobe, pushing Atobe to his physical limits, and even then, he would only be slightly sweaty and looking "miserable."
Therefore, Tanegashima, Muneyoshi, and even Oni are all very clear that Irie Kanata's seemingly irritating strength and stamina are merely what he wants you to see.
Whether this is really the case or not, even Tanegashima Shūji, who spent three years of middle school with his classmate at Maikosaka Middle School, doesn't know.
He could only roughly judge whether Irie had used his full strength based on his feelings and experience.
Even during her match against Muneyoshi, because they didn't play a full game, Muneyoshi's cheat code didn't fully reveal Irie's true five dimensions.
It can be said that this is a character completely hidden in the fog and behind a mask.
The tennis court is his stage.
Bang!
"Game, Tanegashima Shūji and Irie Kanata score, score 3-0."
Bang!
"Game, Tanegashima Shūji and Irie Kanata win, score 6-0."
"In the first match of the points-based tournament between the South Korea and Japan national teams, the doubles Japan Team 2 won with a score of 6-0, 6-0, achieving a perfect record of 2 wins and 0 losses, bringing the overall score to 1-0."
When the referee announced the end of the match, it was as if the strings holding the puppets in a stage play had been removed. The South Korea duo on the other side could no longer hold on and collapsed straight onto the field.
"Hmph! Those two damned pieces of trash, I'll make sure they're thoroughly dealt with when we get back!"
Park Guk-chang, the captain of the South Korea U17 team, slammed his fist on the railing. He was extremely disappointed with the performance of the two players who collapsed on the field.
What I thought was a sure victory turned out to be a humiliating defeat, and they were utterly outmatched.
P. S.: "Only three chapters left. It's almost 1 a. m. by the time I finished writing. It's cold outside and I can't get up in the morning. I used to get up early to write, but now I just want to sleep."