Waltz Towards Destruction

Bang!

Bang!

The duel between the two continues on the court.

The tennis ball bounced back and forth between Atobe and Shiraishi, and even in the most intense tug-of-war, various subtle techniques and tricks continued to emerge.

This was a real treat for the other contestants from various schools present.

"Chitose, have you noticed that Shiraishi's performance has declined a bit...?"

Hara Tetsuya sensed something was wrong and asked, rubbing his chin.

"Hmm... Shiraishi should have sensed how formidable his opponent is. Atobe of the Hyotei Academy is truly impressive..."

Chitose Senri's eyes shone brightly; he had already realized that even though Shiraishi's performance was constantly improving, the match was gradually falling into the opponent's hands.

"Coach Watanabe, it seems that if Shitenhoji wants to win the National Tournament this year, we will have to overcome even more difficulties..." Chitose Senri said leisurely.

This year and next year will be the most intense period of competition for Shitenhoji, as well as for Fudomine, Hyotei Academy, Seigaku, and Rikkai Dai.

However, unlike Fudomine, Shitenhoji is like any other school, with no new recruits besides Zaizen Hikaru.

Fudomine hand, consists almost entirely of second-year students. Once all of their Regular players enter high school, Shitenhoji's strength will undoubtedly suffer a significant weakening.

It's not just Shitenhoji.

Hyotei Academy, Rikkai Dai, and Seigaku are all facing this situation.

This is a situation that no team can avoid.

Just like the former champion Makino Fuji Academy.

After the generation of Phoenix of Byōdōin Hōō, Makino Fuji's strength declined rapidly, and they even withdrew from the ranks of teams competing for the National Tournament last year.

"Um."

"Saeki Muneyoshi and Coach Hanamura have really given us a tough opponent," Watanabe Osamu said in a deep voice, scratching his cheek.

The situation described by Chitose Senri was not unknown to Watanabe Osamu and the other teams.

Compared to teams like Hyotei Academy, Rikkai Dai, Shitenhoji, and Seigaku, Fudomine's team does seem too young overall.

Ibu Shinji, Kamio Akira, Ishida Tetsu... and reserve players Mori Tatsunori, Sakurai Masaya, Kyosuke Uchimura Kyosuke, and Makihara Shuichi.

These players, who could be considered the main force of Fudomine, will only be second-year players next year.

We'll wait until the National Tournament the year after next.

Fudomine has managed to retain almost its current, nearly complete main roster.

It's not just Shitenhoji.

Teams like Rikkai Dai, Seigaku, and Hyotei Academy, who have been familiar with the development of the Fudomine players and have even watched Fudomine matches multiple times, are well aware of this.

Second and third grade.

This was their best, and last, chance to win the National Tournament.

On the field.

The game continues...

As the match progressed, Shiraishi Kuranosuke gradually increased his offensive pace, no longer relying on simple defensive counter-attacking tennis techniques to entangle with Atobe Keigo.

Faced with Atobe Keigo's stamina, which showed almost no signs of weakening.

Shiraishi Kuranosuke understood that if he didn't take the initiative and speed up the pace, he would probably be dragged out and killed by Atobe Keigo.

"Chance ball!"

Upon seeing Atobe Keigo unleash a Lob, Shiraishi Kuranosuke quickened his pace.

"Tiger's smash!"

Tap tap!

Shiraishi Kuranosuke stomped heavily on the court, then raised his racket high and smashed it fiercely against the tennis ball.

At this moment, he was using the same technique as Hara Tetsuya.

Boom!

With the collision of the racket and the tennis ball.

The tennis ball exploded like a ball of fire, hurtling fiercely towards Atobe Keigo.

However, this was before the tennis ball even landed on Atobe's court.

A cold glint flashed in Atobe Keigo's eyes, and deep blue icicles appeared in various locations on the court.

As he swung his racket, a chill filled the entire court!

Before Shiraishi Kuranosuke could even land, a streak of pale yellow light shot up from the Hyotei Academy's half of the court, grazing past him.

"Hyotei Academy's Atobe scores, the score is 40-40!"

"How is that possible!"

Feeling Atobe Keigo's still incredibly cold and sharp counterattack, Shiraishi Kuranosuke's face showed an expression of disbelief.

However, Shiraishi instantly turned around upon landing and caught up with the tennis ball just as it was about to bounce a second time.

"This match is over, Shiraishi Kuranosuke!"

Atobe Keigo's cool voice rang in Shiraishi Kuranosuke's ears.

Atobe leaped high, smashing the tennis ball down with a terrifying force.

Bang!

With a loud bang, the tennis ball crashed down onto Shiraishi's handle.

Waltz Towards Destruction!

"Ha, Atobe's trick has finally come out!"

Faced with the move that Atobe had demonstrated in the video, Shiraishi's lips curled into a smile, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes.

This combination of attacks from the opponent gave him just the right amount of time to adjust his strategy.

Tread...

The terrifying reaction speed caused Shiraishi to step back, tilt his upper body to the right, and pull his left racket down by half a racket length.

Snap!

The tennis ball bounced back from the racket face, but the angle and height of the rebound were still within Atobe's smash range.

"Useless!"

Atobe snorted coldly, and the second smash of the Shattered Waltz arrived as expected.

"That's not necessarily true, Atobe- kun!"

Shiraishi dashed forward, his foot stomping the ground, his hair fluttering, his terrifying speed creating a swirling whirlwind.

"Drink it!"

At this moment, Shiraishi was almost at the limit of his physical strength. His arms trembled slightly as he held the racket with both hands, but he still intercepted the tennis ball after it hit the ground, and he calmly neutralized the huge smash force.

Bang!

"Game 6-6, Shitenhoji scores."

After another difficult round, and having broken one of Atobe's signature moves, Shiraishi's stamina was finally pushed to its limit.

Whew...

"This guy still has so much stamina?"

Shiraishi was panting heavily. Seeing that Atobe Keigo showed no signs of fatigue and that his special move had been broken, he showed no worry whatsoever. Instead, he smiled.

Shiraishi immediately sensed something was wrong, realizing he had completely fallen into the other party's trap.

Just as he had used his last bit of strength to break through his opponent's ultimate move, he had already become a complete prey in Atobe Keigo's hands.

Hehehe!

"Finally figured it out? Too bad it's too late! Next up is my favorite part: the tiebreaker."

Atobe watched Shiraishi's retreating figure and said with a soft laugh.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Saeki Muneyoshi was saying something similar to the Fudomine fans.

"Atobe has now exhausted Shiraishi's physical and mental strength to the extreme!"

"So, the next round, the tiebreaker, will be Atobe's favorite stage!"

Muneyoshi, who knew Atobe's preferences very well, was not surprised by Atobe's choice, but he still showed a hint of satisfaction at the competitive strength displayed by the two on the field.

Both Atobe Keigo and Shiraishi Kuranosuke were forced to upgrade their playing styles ahead of time due to various pressures and competitions, which will be of great help to them going forward.

Although Atobe nowadays leans more towards a physical endurance-based style and a playstyle that focuses on finding weaknesses.

However, Atobe still harbored a strong aggressive streak.

Judging from his performance just now, if Atobe continues to dodge Shiraishi, he will also be able to defeat Shiraishi.

However, Atobe still chose to take the initiative and attack!

Atobe's current tennis style is not entirely about simply overpowering his opponent physically, or about blindly trusting himself and exploiting his opponent's weaknesses.

Instead, it incorporated elements of his previous style.

It broadened their path, making future possibilities and choices more extensive.

"Ju, it seems our rivals are all improving too!"

Muneyoshi remarked with feeling that these already formidable geniuses seemed to have become even more difficult to deal with in the current competitive environment.

"Don't worry, Muneyoshi. They're making progress, and we at Fudomine aren't standing still either."

Ju's face was also very solemn, but thinking of the strength of his teammates, he was still very confident.

"Hmph, Muneyoshi, you left early without knowing that Shiraishi, after entering the Loser's Bracket during the previous training camp, kept challenging Keith and Tachibana!"

Lin Xiu, who was standing to the side, picked up where Tachibana Kippei and added some details about the training camp a month or so ago to Muneyoshi.

"After falling into the Loser's Bracket again, he clearly had many opportunities to enter the winner's bracket, but he just wouldn't. Every time he chose an opponent, it was either Keith or Tachibana. He's really stubborn, Shiraishi Kuranosuke..."

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