The Possibility of Progress Each Had Seen

"Will it be a protracted war that drains resources?"

"Shiraishi!"

"How much longer is this match going to go?! My skin is about to crack from the sun!" Konjiki Koharu, no longer the coy girl she once was, adjusted her glasses and said very seriously.

"Even Xiaochun felt the unbearable heat, so Shiraishi...?"

"Hey, I'm telling you, you guys should believe in Shiraishi too. No matter how the match turns out, he won't give up."

Former team leader Hara Tetsuya spoke loudly after noticing the team members' negative attitude.

"Hara Tetsu!"

"Senior!"

Hearing the cheers coming from behind, the figures on the referee's stand also had solemn expressions.

"That's amazing!"

"Shiraishi, Atobe Keigo of the Hyotei Academy, is someone whose basic tennis skills are probably no worse than yours, right?" Watanabe Osamu, with a toothpick in his mouth, turned to look at Shiraishi Kuranosuke.

"So, can you handle it?"

During the brief break, Shiraishi sat in the coach's chair, panting heavily.

Under the tutelage of Watanabe Osamu, and especially with constant external stimulation, Shiraishi Kuranosuke continuously honed his basic tennis skills.

To put it bluntly, Shiraishi Kuranosuke's movements are now far more standard than those in tennis textbooks, and his skills are also much stronger.

Especially after finding her own path in tennis.

Although the road is not yet perfect, Watanabe Osamu can see that Shiraishi is making continuous progress.

"Um!"

"Coach Watanabe, in terms of tennis skills alone, Hyotei Academy's captain, Atobe Keigo, is indeed no less skilled than me!" After wiping the sweat from his forehead and neck, Shiraishi Kuranosuke paused for a moment before speaking.

As Atobe of England's elite training camp, Atobe is outstanding in every aspect compared to other junior high school students of the same level.

In particular, compared to Shiraishi's balance, Atobe has an advantage in endurance and spiritual insight.

Aside from physical and mental training, Atobe Keigo also spent the rest of his time honing his basic tennis skills.

This is also the quality that a true tennis player should possess.

The timeout has ended, and the game has resumed.

Footwork, swing, hit the ball...

Shiraishi Kuranosuke, now back on the serve line, understood Atobe's plan, but all he could do was to standardize and simplify his movements as much as possible...

Only in this way can he minimize the consumption of his physical strength and last longer in this protracted battle.

"You really gave me a big surprise, Shiraishi Kuranosuke!"

A hint of admiration flashed in Atobe's eyes. As expected of the head of Shitenhoji, Shiraishi's performance was enough to make him a formidable opponent.

"However, I've completely taken control of the pace of this match!"

Tread...

Facing the ball, Atobe stepped back, pulling himself back half a step.

Bang!

With a slight spin of the racket, a powerful backhand smash was returned.

"Atobe Keigo, he's really strong..."

Seeing Atobe's perfect handling of the situation, Shiraishi felt a chill run down his spine. From the moment he stepped back onto the court, he completely suppressed his anxiety.

A match is a match, Shiraishi will not be swayed by emotions. Although he felt immense pressure facing Atobe.

However, his smile immediately widened.

"Isn't this the kind of match I've been waiting for? And I expected this goal all along!"

Step... step... step...

The rhythmic sound of footsteps echoed across the court as Shiraishi Kuranosuke, with footwork no less Oshitari Kenya than Kenya Oshitari, arrived at the landing spot.

Snap!

With a steady and powerful racket stroke, without a single unnecessary movement, he delivered a standard downward slice.

Swish~

The tennis ball spun slightly in the air and plummeted at great speed down the court.

"15-0, Shitenhoji Shiraishi Kuranosuke scores!"

"Shiraishi Kuranosuke, you're so interesting!"

Seeing Shiraishi score, Atobe showed no anxiety. He pressed his fingers to his eyes, where an icy blue light flickered, and he spoke with great excitement.

With his Insight, he couldn't see any weakness in his opponent, and before the Ice World was fully unleashed, Shiraishi Kuranosuke appeared flawless in his eyes.

This opponent was just like the one he had when he first met Saeki Muneyoshi.

With its strong foundation, Shiraishi's tennis system forms a closed hexagon, making it difficult for opponents to find a starting point.

Such an opponent instilled in Atobe the determination to defeat, and even shatter, the opponent's perfect, rounded state.

Shiraishi Kuranosuke, as Atobe's rival, felt the same way.

Atobe's ability to instantly identify his own shortcomings, even those weaknesses and flaws, is remarkable.

Such insight and dominance were as if he were facing a weakened version of Saeki Muneyoshi.

Shiraishi Kuranosuke was well aware that if he could defeat Atobe Keigo, his tennis career could take another step forward.

At this moment, his entire body was at its peak, and the five dimensions that sustained his strength were constantly fluctuating.

This caused Shiraishi's originally calm heart to become fiery, and his attacks became increasingly fierce.

"Here comes Atobe Keigo!"

Bang!

The tennis ball flew through the air again.

Shiraishi smiled, his sharp eyes filled with a spirit of continuous striving.

"Tennis is nothing more than the simplest return; your fancy moves are nothing compared to mine!"

Seeing Atobe add two extra little tricks to his shots in pursuit of flashy moves once again, Shiraishi chuckled inwardly.

"Defeat me in your brilliance! I've got this ball!"

Bang!

Shiraishi paused, then powerfully stomped his foot backward, his racket flashing precisely across the tennis ball.

Call out!

A yellow arrow pierced through the entire field, grazing the baseline and bouncing out.

"Game, Shitenhoji Shiraishi Kuranosuke, score 5-5."

"Mmm~, this kind of match is absolutely exhilarating!"

Shiraishi Kuranosuke his head back slightly, thoroughly enjoying himself!

"You actually dare to say that my magnificence is useless to you, Shiraishi Kuranosuke..."

A cold glint flashed in Atobe's eyes.

Atobe, who is extremely enamored with and confident in his own playing style, can't stand it when others deny it.

"And your style of tennis, where you defeat others without using any specific moves, is far inferior to that other person's..."

Atobe thought of Saeki Muneyoshi, and he saw the shadow of tennis in Muneyoshi's playing style.

"But... how dare you say that my grandpa's splendor is useless! That's absolutely unacceptable."

"Shiraishi Kuranosuke, just keep reveling in my magnificent skills!"

A chill ran through his eyes as Atobe unleashed his attack, his Ice World fully expanded.

Swish!

The tennis ball was tossed high into the Atobe.

The next moment, he bent his body backward dramatically, raised his right hand quickly, and with the explosive force generated by his whole body, twisted his wrist and slammed the tennis ball down.

Bang!

With a loud bang, the tennis ball sped away, carrying a powerful gust of air.

"Very explosive, yet... useless!"

Shiraishi's expression remained unchanged as he took a step forward to give chase. However, the next moment, he suddenly felt a slight discomfort in his ankle, causing his steps to falter.

He was frozen in place, watching helplessly as icicles covered his entire half of the court, and then there was a loud "bang".

The icicle in front of him suddenly exploded, and Atobe scored directly with his serve.

"This is..."

Seeing Shiraishi's constantly shifting gaze, Atobe a haughty snort, said nothing, and then went to the left service area.

It was the same action as before.

Seeing this, Shiraishi's expression remained unchanged. This time, he adjusted his body and, with agile steps, arrived at the landing point of the tennis ball.

"As long as you pay attention to that icy feeling beforehand, this weakness can be overcome. Hmm? Is that a high-pressure shot? No, that's not right, it's a strong backspin!"

With his control over his body, as well as his already considerable mental strength and excellent eyesight, Shiraishi broke through the first obstacle set up by Atobe and arrived at the landing point of the tennis ball.

However, he suddenly realized that Atobe's serve seemed a little off.

Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...

The tennis ball landed, and Shiraishi, who had already prepared to return it, did not see the ball bounce as he had imagined.

The tennis ball, trailing a cloud of dust, flew right past his feet.

"Hyotei Academy's Atobe Keigo scores, making the score 30-0!"

"This... this is Hyotei Academy Atobe that doesn't bounce..."

Chitose Senri and Hara Tetsuya were deeply shocked.

"Even though I'd seen it on video, seeing that serve that didn't bounce up live was still terrifying!"

The other members of Shitenhoji all changed their expressions. If the tennis ball didn't bounce, then there was no way to return it; this kind of serve was unsolvable.

Because in tennis rules, you cannot receive the first ball before it lands.

"So it turns out that the captain of the Hyotei Academy isn't just good at farting!"

"Hehe... How about it, Shiraishi Kuranosuke? Was my fancy serve effective? Are you satisfied with this fancy Theirs Serve?"

Atobe's gaze held a hint of provocation as he watched Shiraishi's expression change and chuckled.

"Theirs Serve! Nice name."

Shiraishi lightly flicked the net with his fingers and glanced at Atobe.

Defeating such an opponent is an opportunity for self-improvement!

At this moment, Atobe, as Shiraishi's opponent, could easily see the burning fighting spirit that Shiraishi could no longer suppress in his eyes.

P. S.: "I think Shiraishi is the coolest in Prince of Tennis. It's a duel between two handsome guys. I took a break today to relax a bit~ Please vote for me!"

It's almost the end of the month, the 28th is already here! I'm asking for votes, if any of you have any, could you give them to me...?