Truth and Lies
At the baseline, Tachibana Kippei took a tennis ball out of his pocket and gently tapped it.
As the vice minister of Fudomine, he knew very well that what he needed to do at this moment was to immediately stop the opponent's momentum just as it was about to gain traction.
Because, in the first game, from serving to receiving, everything was handled by Niou Masaharu alone.
Their other person, Sanada Genichirou, didn't make any move.
This is highly abnormal.
Tachibana Kippei's eyes swept across Rikkai Dai's half of the court, past Niou at the net, and then down to Sanada in the backcourt receiving area.
"Whatever you plan to do, Fudomine's footsteps will not stop here!"
Swish...
Tachibana Kippei flipped her palm, flicked her wrist, and tossed the tennis ball into the air. Then, she bent her knees, leaped up, and swung her racket down forcefully.
Bang!
The tennis ball flew out from behind Lin Xiu at the net and landed directly on the other side.
Upon seeing the incoming ball, Sanada, who was responsible for receiving the serve, stepped forward, slightly arched his body, and leaped forward, quickly arriving in front of the ball. He then aimed at the tennis ball and delivered a powerful smash.
"Its speed. Like the wind!"
Bang!
"A direct attack without any probing?"
Seeing this, Lin Xiu's heart stirred. In the previous matches that Sanada had participated in, he had always been the main attacker in singles matches.
It seems that even in doubles, Sanada's personality will not change, and his playing style will remain the same.
Lin Xiu was only slightly surprised, and then quickly responded.
However, due to the Swift as the Wind of the ball and the invisible swing, he could only roughly sense its location and could not actually see it.
Noticing this, Lin Xiu stopped and began to defend himself.
It would be much easier for him to receive such a ball than for Tachibana Kippei.
The tennis ball pierced through his net defense and landed directly in the center of the court.
Lin Xiu wasn't worried at all, and didn't even turn around, because Tachibana Kippei was in the backcourt.
Tap tap tap!
The sound of hurried footsteps rang out, Tachibana Kippei sprinted forward from the backcourt. Even when partnered with Lin Xiu, the net was still his favorite spot.
Therefore, the double-net tactic is the most suitable tactic for this combination, and it is also the Fudomine offensive.
Bang!
As expected, after receiving the ball at midcourt, Tachibana Kippei pulled his racket out in a semi-circular arc.
The tennis ball avoided Niou Masaharu in the front court and once again engaged in an attacking battle with Sanada.
"Tachibana Kippei, I've been waiting for you for a long time. Take this move, Its speed. Like the wind!"
Sanada's voice rang out, and he drew his sword in a backhand stance, his racket sweeping past his chest.
Bang!
In Lin Xiu's vision, he could only see a bluish-green whirlwind sweep past his eyes, and he could vaguely see green leaves falling but quickly disappearing.
However, just as that image flashed before his eyes, the tennis ball broke through his defense once again.
Tachibana Kippei suddenly burst into Lin Xiu's half of the court, intercepting the falling tennis ball with a quick backhand smash.
"Sanada, when you fought Tezuka, the power of this move was much greater than this. What, am I not worth your full strength?"
"Rampaging Mighty Lion!"
A dark red, Beast Aura swept out, instantly breaking through Sanada's wind formation and quickly landing in Rikkai Dai's half of the court.
"Tachibana Kippei... that's amazing... he turned the tables on Vice-Captain Sanada so easily!"
Little Seaweed looked serious. Although he appeared arrogant and confident, he had witnessed the Kanto Tournament Sanada and Tachibana Kippei.
He already knew that this seemingly calm and serious Vice Minister Fudomine was also a very difficult person to deal with.
"Why are these damned guys so strong? One day I'll defeat them and show them who the real king is!"
Little Seaweed's lofty ambitions did not interfere with the game on the field.
Although neither side was familiar with the other's combination.
But Rikkai University did a lot of research on the Fudomine players.
As for Rikkai Dai, Saeki Muneyoshi analyzed each case individually and introduced the corresponding strategies.
Although Lin Xiu was willing but unable to deal with Sanada.
However, facing Niou Masaharu, whose actual strength was not much stronger than his, Lin Xiu's forte was intercepting at the net, and he would not give Niou any chance to make a move.
However, it seems that the Niou on the other side had exhausted a lot of energy in the first game and needed to rest.
As if guessing his thoughts, she simply stood quietly in the corner of the front field, not taking the initiative to cause trouble for Sanada and Tachibana Kippei.
Seeing this, Lin Xiu had no choice but to stand there with Niou, watching his every move.
At this point, the match had completely devolved into a duel between Sanada and Tachibana Kippei.
Sanada quickly rushed to the midfield, spun around, and raised his back leg high.
"Since the wind won't work, let's try this next tactic— Aggressive as Fire!"
A raging inferno erupted from Sanada's racket, making the tennis ball seem to burst into flames. Under the onslaught of the flames, the already hot court instantly rose several degrees in temperature.
However, despite the incredible power of the ball, it wasn't difficult for Tachibana Kippei to receive it.
Bathed in flames, the tennis ball hurtled towards Tachibana Kippei like a meteorite Tachibana Kippei's expression remained unchanged as he took a step forward, assuming a forward-leaning hitting stance.
The racket straightened, and the handle struck the tennis ball heavily.
"Explosive Ball Wild Dance!"
In an instant, it seemed as if a dozen tennis balls appeared on the court. Tachibana Kippei's return shot was not only incredibly powerful, but also extremely tricky in its placement.
If your eyesight isn't good enough, even identifying which one is the real tennis ball might be a problem.
"Tachibana Kippei! I've seen through your move. You won't be able to beat me this time!"
Sanada roared, like a bolt from the blue, and lightning flashed across the stadium as his figure vanished from the spot.
Sizzle!
With a flash of lightning, before the silvery light had even faded, Sanada instantly appeared at the other end of the court.
He held the racket upright with both hands as if holding a sword, then raised the racket high above his head, held it vertically, and slammed the frame down as if holding a samurai sword.
The slash landed, lightning flashed, the phantom of the tennis ball disappeared, and the racket slammed heavily onto the real tennis ball.
Bang!
A dazzling flash of lightning illuminated the scene, and then the tennis ball transformed into a bolt of lightning, shooting from Sanada's racket towards Tachibana Kippei on the opposite side.
Compared to when Tachibana first encountered this move, Sanada's move became even more powerful after his defeat.
The ball, with a right-angle bend like lightning, bounced directly off the baseline.
"Rikkai Dai's Sanada Genichirou scores, 15-0."
"This victory will belong to Rikkai Dai!"
"Sanada, don't you think it's too early to say things like this now?" Tachibana Kippei's eyes were fixed on Sanada and Niou across from him.
Seeing Tachibana Kippei's cold expression, Niou Masaharu's lips curled up slightly.
"The competition has only just begun! We've been preparing for this match for a long time!"
Swish!
After a short rest, a faint current of energy began to flow through Niou Masaharu's body.
Niou Masaharu activated his illusion once again, and this time the object of his illusion was Sanada Genichirou!
The real Sanada and the phantom Sanada appeared on the field at the same time.
On the field.
A cold glint flashed in Niou Masaharu's eyes. The person behind the illusion had the same demeanor as the real Sanada, as they continued to exchange forms.
For a moment, no one could tell which one was the real Sanada.
The invisible swing of the racket Its speed. Like the wind!
Bang!
Niou Masaharu's arm created a gust of wind pressure, and the tennis ball was already hitting Fudomine's half of the court.
He was faced with a phantom that he couldn't tell if it was the real Sanada or Niou Masaharu.
Tachibana Kippei and Lin Xiu's expressions remained unchanged.
The illusion of Niou was exactly what Hanamura Aoi had anticipated.
Even the phantoms of Niou Masaharu, Sanada Genichirou, Tezuka Kunimitsu, and even Saeki Muneyoshi, have all been hypothesized and corresponding tactics have been devised.
However, what they didn't expect was that Rikkai Dai would actually send Sanada Genichirou and Niou onto the field together.
This combination of truth and falsehood made Fudomine very uncomfortable.
However, there are no other good options at this point; the only way is to rely on sheer strength to defeat them head-on.
Tap tap tap...
Tachibana Kippei took another step and arrived at the spot where the tennis ball had landed.
Tachibana Kippei had no difficulty dealing with Sanada's move.
As the tennis ball landed, Tachibana Kippei's arm propelled his racket, unleashing a backhand slice against the ball.
Bang!
With the collision of the racket and the tennis ball, the tennis ball underwent violent deformation due to Tachibana Kippei's powerful force.
The dark red Beast Aura continued to expand, causing both of them to feel a heavy pressure.
The tennis ball flew from the orange racket in an instant, a streak of pale yellow light, sweeping back towards Rikkai Dai's half of the court.
Gentle as the Forest!
Sanada stepped forward. With such a powerful and intensely spinning tennis ball, Gentle as the Forest was the most suitable person to deal with it.
On the other side, seeing the tennis ball fly back to the baseline again, Lin Xiu bent over and retreated from the front court.
As the tennis ball landed, he moved to its side and immediately launched a diagonal attack towards an empty spot in the backcourt.
In this match, Lin Xiu was restricted and unable to fully unleash his full potential.
However, as the competition progressed, he gradually began to adapt.
His keen sense of smell allowed him to seize the opportunity instantly.
"Tachibana Kippei! Lin Xiu! Prepare for defeat!"
With a flash of lightning, Sanada appeared at the landing point of the tennis ball, and silver light once again burst forth from his racket.
Moving like Thunder!
This Sanada is real!
Ju and Lin Xiu were startled, their gazes fixed on the figure, because they knew that Niou's illusion seemed completely unable to use the Moving like Thunder technique.
Then this one must be fake!
With a Tachibana Kippei's muscles began to twitch, gathering power as he appeared behind the tennis ball, unleashing all his strength onto it.
"Beast Aura —condense! Mighty Lion Chokehold!"
Then, as Tachibana Kippei fought back with all his might, preparing to attack the fake Sanada he had imagined.
Sanada, who had just hit the thunderbolt, suddenly became unsteady on his feet, as if he had exhausted himself. He stumbled, the illusion that enveloped him disappeared, and blue and white hair appeared on the court.
"What!"
"This is actually Niou, then..."
As if responding to everyone's speculations, Sanada's cool figure echoed across the court, "Tachibana Kippei, I've been waiting for this move for a long time!"
Sanada, who had been slightly hunched over and had a very low profile, was now enveloped in a thick black aura when he raised his head again.
It was the Difficult to know like the shade, dark aura that shielded his state and blocked Tachibana Kippei's spiritual perception.
Seeing this move, the one that had knocked him down in the Kanto Tournament, Sanada's entire body swelled with black energy, and the next second, the black energy enveloped the racket.
The tennis ball was whipped into a twisted and deformed shape, and in the blink of an eye, it was in front of Sanada.
The gust of air that rushed towards him made Sanada's clothes rustle. Tachibana Kippei's extremely fierce move was terrifying, and Sanada was well aware of the power it contained.
But he didn't flinch; his eyes were filled with intense longing.
Sanada raised his eyes slightly, sensing the blood-red and black aura intertwined on the tennis ball. He felt a blockage in his body, which was due to the suppression of Tachibana Kippei's aura.
"Well done! I've been waiting for this moment for so long!"
With a light exhale, Sanada stomped his foot, heading straight for the impact of the tennis ball.
The black aura continued to expand, intertwining with Tachibana Kippei's Beast Aura.
"Its slowness is like a forest— its Aggressive as Fire!"
Large swaths of forest shadows appeared along the path of the Tachibana Kippei ball, and the tangible Beast Aura was gradually weakened, until it weakened to the extreme.
The pent-up raging fire erupted like a volcano.
A dark aura swept through the air as Sanada raised his racket and swung it.
Tachibana Kippei's strongest move was caught by Sanada, who swept the tennis ball back from below with his racket.
Bang!
"That's impressive, Sanada. He's actually made it this far."
Standing in the contestant area, Muneyoshi watched as Sanada truly evolved his Wind Forest Fire Mountain and made full use of his Difficult to know like the shade, dark aura, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
Tachibana Kippei's progress is rapid, Sanada's evolution as a master of involution has not stopped, and they also have the naturally versatile doubles partner Niou to cooperate with.
Rikkai Dai's ability to execute this mix of real and feigned doubles tactics is remarkable. Even if Keith and Lin Xiu teamed up, they would likely face a very difficult situation against Rikkai Dai's well-prepared team...
Of course, Tachibana Kippei and Lin Xiu will not give up so easily; it's too early to say who will win in the end.
The specific outcome depends on how far they can go...
Subsequently, having revealed his strength, Sanada no longer concealed his identity and launched a fierce and relentless attack.
"Tachibana Kippei, your trick is no longer effective against me!"
Bang!
"Game, Rikkai Dai, the score is 2-1."
P. S.: "My current word count is the same as three or four chapters I used to update, it's not less, please vote with your monthly tickets~"