Semifinals

A short week passed quickly, and time returned to the National Tournament arena.

Early morning.

The tranquility of Muneyoshi's dojo was broken early on by a series of footsteps.

All the official players from Fudomine had finished packing up their belongings.

They arrived in Chiba yesterday, and by now they have already had breakfast, done their stretching, and assembled.

"Set off!"

Once Muneyoshi saw that everyone had arrived and was ready, he waved his hand, and the Fudomine team members jogged towards the competition venue.

The distance is so close that it's perfect for a light warm-up.

As the Fudomine members marched into the park's arena in an orderly fashion, a commotion immediately ensued.

For other schools, Fudomine is undoubtedly a new face in the National Tournament.

But now it seems that this new face really does have a dark and ruthless aura.

After all, both Rikkai Dai and Seigaku have suffered defeats at the hands of Fudomine.

Therefore, many people placed all their hopes on Shitenhoji.

However, Muneyoshi and the others ignored these strange looks. Once they reached the semi-finals, they would definitely be scrutinized by more schools.

This situation was something that the people of Fudomine had almost completely gotten used to.

"Hello, all eight students from Fudomine Junior High are present!"

Upon arriving at the meeting point for the tournament organizers, Muneyoshi handed today's match schedule to the staff at the press office.

After the staff verified the identity of the corresponding player, someone quickly led them to the court where they would be playing that day.

Chiba, Kurikawa Park Garden Stadium.

The August sun is extremely scorching, especially in Chiba. Even though the park is full of greenery, it still can't keep out the heat.

However, even so, the audience's enthusiasm could not be dampened.

The match between Rikkai Dai and Seigaku was held at a different venue; the Semifinals will be held at two different venues.

The two matches were less than half an hour apart, which left many viewers in the Kanto region feeling conflicted.

Should we watch the match between Seigaku and Rikkai Dai, or the match between Fudomine and Shitenhoji?

However, for audiences from Kansai, Shitenhoji was clearly more appealing.

"They're here!"

Amid cheers from the audience, the teams from Fudomine and Shitenhoji entered the stadium, led by staff members.

The two teams lined up in front of the net, Muneyoshi smiled as he scanned the Shitenhoji team.

Please give me your guidance!

Please give me your guidance!

Once both sides were present, at the referee's signal, everyone stood in front of the net and bowed in salute.

Since they were already old acquaintances, there was no need for much small talk or greetings.

The previous training camp had already made them very familiar with each other.

However, upon seeing Muneyoshi again, Shiraishi, with his short, brown hair, a bandage wrapped around his left arm, and Shiraishi confident smile on his face, still showed a strong fighting spirit towards Muneyoshi.

After the referees and on-site staff completed their preparations, a loud horn blared throughout the stadium.

"The next match is the fourth round of the National Tournament."

"A match between Tokyo's Fudomine Junior High and Osaka's Shitenhoji Doubles Team 2."

"The match between Ishida Tetsu and Kamio Akira from Fudomine Junior High and Ishida Gin and Oshitari Kenya from Shitenhoji is now open!"

"Just as I thought!"

Watanabe Osamu nodded slightly.

Although Fudomine's doubles team is constantly changing positions, the pair of Ishida Tetsu and Kamio Akira is almost identical to their own team.

If you seize the opportunity, there will definitely be a chance.

"Ha! They actually caught us!"

Upon hearing the matchup list, Muneyoshi chuckled softly.

Watanabe Osamu, the coach of Shitenhoji, is very good at guessing the opponent's formation and is also very skilled at formation himself.

In particular, having gotten to know each other better beforehand, he had a general idea of the strength of each of Fudomine's fighters.

There will definitely be trade-offs to be made.

With a toothpick dangling from his mouth, Watanabe Osamu said casually, "Gin, Kenji, your opponents have the exact same personality traits as you, and they're quite strong too!"

"Ah Yin, Ah Tie's Wave Shot is already very good, don't let it be defeated by your younger brother!"

"Don't worry, Shu, I know how to deal with Kamio!"

"I will personally teach Wave Shot."

Oshitari Kenya and Ishida Gin stood up, their eyes filled with confidence.

Meanwhile, on the Fudomine coaching bench, Hanamura Aoi was saying something similar to what the other man was saying.

With her eyes lowered, she said softly, "Kamio, Ishida, your opponent is quite strong!"

"Don't worry, Coach, I said yesterday that I would definitely beat Oshitari Kenya!"

Ishida Tetsu didn't speak, but a flame of fighting spirit burned fiercely in his eyes.

Upon reaching the net, neither side exchanged many words.

"For or against!"

Oshitari Kenya stared intently at Kamio Akira. Although he was only a first-year student, through their previous training and exchanges, Oshitari Kenya had to admit that this guy was quite formidable.

"Brother, I won't hold back!"

"Ah Tie, I've also been wanting to see how far your Wave Shot has progressed!"

Ishida Tetsu gripped his racket tightly, then turned and walked towards the baseline.

"The match begins! A decisive set! Fudomine Kamio Akira and Ishida Tetsu serve!"

As the referee's voice faded...

Tap... tap... tap... smack!

On Fudomine's half of the court, Kamio Akira gently patted the tennis ball in his hand, and the crisp sound of the hit echoed throughout the court.

Call!

After slowly exhaling a breath of stale air, Kamio Akira gently tossed the tennis ball into the air.

The tennis ball soars into the air!

Kamio Akira's eyes revealed an unwavering determination.

As long as we win this game.

Fudomine can directly enter the National Tournament finals, so no matter what, Kamio Akira and Ishida Tetsu must give it their all in this match.

Moreover, the opponents they encountered were the very opponents they most wanted to face.

We must win!

With a quick step and a leap, Kamio flexed his arm, tensed all his muscles, and slammed his racket into the falling tennis ball.

Bang!

A crisp sizzle!

The tennis ball flew rapidly across the court, leaving a pale yellow streak before striking Shitenhoji's serve return area.

"What a fast serve!"

"I never expected that Fudomine's weakest member, the first-year student, would improve so quickly!"

The audience immediately started discussing, as this serve moment had captured Fudomine's attention.

Tap tap tap!

Facing Kamio Akira's high-speed serve!

Oshitari Kenya was not surprised at all, and he had prepared in advance. His body instantly created a gust of wind.

At that moment, in the eyes of the audience, it seemed as if several clones of Oshitari Kenya had suddenly appeared on the field.

Osaka's Naniwa Stars unleashed their full speed, moving like lightning, their yellow-green uniforms fluttering wildly in the wind.

"Bring it on!"

Oshitari Kenya, despite being a latecomer, arrived at the landing point of the tennis ball.

Oshitari Kenya lowered his body weight instantly and raised his right racket high behind him!

Bang!

Half Volley!

Just as the tennis ball bounced back, it was violently smashed back by Oshitari Kenya!

The tennis ball left a sharp arc in the air, bounced up directly in Fudomine's half of the court, and flew rapidly towards the edge of the court!

"That guy from Shitenhoji is even faster!"

"How can this guy's speed increase so quickly!"

Even Akira Kamio was taken aback when he saw the speed that Kenya Oshitari unleashed.

However, he didn't stop running. The moment the serve landed, he quickly ran towards the point where the tennis ball had landed.

P. S.: Please vote with monthly tickets~ I updated 10,000 words today, including the extra chapter.