Round-Robin Battle
Thump!
The tennis ball flew across the half-court like a streak of light, then exploded beside Lin Xiu.
Tread...
With a thud, Lin Xiu leaped up again, aimed at the tennis ball, and unleashed his "Gleam Smash".
Bang!
As the shockwave spread, four or five afterimages appeared instantly after the tennis ball flew off Lin Xiu's racket, each enveloped in a pale yellow aura.
Compared to the phantom balls played by others, Lin Xiu's Gleam Smash created a phantom that was closer to reality.
Then, as the tennis ball flew to the baseline, Rikkai Dai's backcourt, which was in most of the court.
Niou's blue-white hair disappeared again, and white mist rose up once more. His figure changed again, and a blue-white, bespectacled, aloof young man appeared above the baseline.
"Buzz~"
A vortex of airflow appeared in Rikkai Dai, and the tennis ball, which was about to fly out of bounds, seemed to be drawn back towards the center of the baseline.
Tezuka Zone!
Tezuka didn't even glance at the phantoms. Under the influence of Tezuka Zone, the tennis balls that were originally fake disappeared, and only the real one flew to his side.
Niou remained expressionless, his foot slipped, his eyes slightly opened, and he gently slashed at the tennis ball flying in front of him.
Bang!
The tennis ball flew over the net, and a figure appeared in front of the ball in a flash. However, after the tennis ball landed, it continued to rub against the ground.
Without any sign of bouncing, the tennis ball quietly rolled to the net as its kinetic energy dissipated.
"Zero-Shiki Slice!"
"Game 1, Rikkai Dai scores, score 5-4."
"Both sides change sides!"
"Rikkai Dai, Sanada Genichirou! Niou Masaharu!"
Kneaded the tennis ball in his hand a couple of times, then let out a soft Tachibana Kippei. With a leap, he pulled the tennis ball out in a streak of crimson light, sweeping towards Sanada.
"Its speed. Like a storm..."
With a soft murmur, Sanada chased after the tennis ball to its landing point, and in the next instant, his racket disappeared with a lightning-fast swing of his arm.
However, the swirling air currents swept towards the opposite court along with the trajectory of the tennis ball.
Tap tap tap!
At the same time, at the moment of serving, Tachibana Kippei, from the Fudomine area, took a step forward and rushed towards the front court.
He kept walking, and his path blocked Sanada's counterattack.
"Serve and volley, Tachibana-senpai, have you not given up yet?!"
Kamio Akira's eyes lit up. Seeing their duo being so suppressed, he thought Tachibana Kippei would continue to play a defensive counter-attacking style, but he didn't expect him to be so bold.
Tachibana Kippei leaned forward and swung his racket to block Sanada's return tennis ball.
Bang!
The Lion's Roar!
Beast Aura enveloped the tennis ball, and the intense mental pressure made Niou and Sanada feel as if they were carrying a thousand-pound burden on their shoulders.
"Hmph! You think your Beast Aura is everything?"
Boom!
As they ran, Sanada's dark aura reappeared, colliding with Tachibana Kippei's Beast Aura.
A crackling sound came from the court, as if two forces were colliding in the middle of the net.
Seeing Tachibana Kippei's actions, Sanada scoffed inwardly, "Even the strongest lion is nothing more than a wild beast."
"Aggressive as Fire Blaze!"
A sharp glint appeared in Sanada's eyes. After the tennis ball flew back to his court, his raging anger erupted again, and his racket seemed to twist.
Bang!
The Beast Aura that had enveloped the tennis ball was like a volcano, igniting a raging inferno that instantly devoured the black and red aura that Tachibana Kippei was clinging to it.
With a loud bang, the tennis ball flew directly towards the right-hand boundary of Fudomine's half of the court.
"Hey, Rikkai Dai, don't underestimate us!"
Reflecting the blazing fire in his eyes, Lin Xiu's palm suddenly rippled with a pale yellow aura. Under the pressure of Sanada's powerful aura, the aura began to compress.
Lin Xiu let out a roar, his eyes filled with determination, and the pale yellow ball of energy in his hand grew even larger.
"You guys watch closely, Airflow Storm!"
Lin Xiu appeared on the right side of the court with his feet spread apart, rooted to the ground. A cloud of energy began to gather in front of his right chest, and the energy grew larger and larger, spreading from his arm to his racket like water.
Immediately afterwards, the air mass enveloped the incoming tennis ball.
The flames that had burst forth were now like water, constantly being extinguished and colliding with the air masses.
Seeing this, Lin Xiu knew he had reached his limit. He pressed his long, powerful arm down hard, and the tennis ball exploded on the racket, creating a circular shockwave.
Boom!
Most of the flames around the tennis ball that was caught in the air mass were extinguished, and the remaining flames were also thrown towards Rikkai Dai's half of the court by Lin Xiu in the air tornado.
Target: Niou Masaharu!
"Oh dear, you actually used me as a weak point!"
The Niou phantom, which had maintained Tezuka's appearance and had reached the State of Selflessness, was torn apart by this airflow, and Niou returned to his original form with a lazy smile on his face.
The next moment, his blue and white hair flew back, and another tall figure appeared on the court.
It was another player from Rikkai Dai, Mori Juzaburo.
The Mouri form that Niou had conjured had a solemn expression. He was very familiar with the move that Lin Xiu had just unleashed; it was a technique used by another member of Fudomine.
This tactic carried a powerful mental pressure, making him feel uncomfortable for a moment, but it was just that—uncomfortable.
This is why Niou instantly transformed into Mouri.
Many people think that Mouri's greatest strength is speed and his dislocation fighting style, but that's not the case. Mouri's strongest attribute among his five attributes is his mental strength.
Sizzle!
His powerful mental strength made him virtually immune to most overwhelming forms of mental pressure.
Hey, I saw it!
The phantom form of Niou, disguised as Mouri, instantly broke free from the attack and quickly ran towards the landing point of the tennis ball.
Bang!
The tennis ball vibrated and whistled against Niou's racket, and the force of the impact, like a hurricane tornado, almost made Niou lose his grip on his racket.
"Hey, these young people these days are really scary!"
The familiar tone and vocabulary came from the "Mouri".
He gripped the racket with both hands, gritted his teeth, and hurled the ball toward Fudomine's left half of the court.
Hiss...
The tennis ball left trails of afterimages as it flew back into Fudomine's half of the court.
Seeing this, Lin Xiu's right foot slipped rapidly on the ground, and after stopping the powerful inertia of his body, he ran towards the left boundary again.
Running left and right is Lin Xiu's forte; he swings his arms and stretches them, his left hand clenching forward loosely.
The yellow cloud of energy reappeared and struck Niou in retaliation!
It is still Airflow Storm.
Boom!
However, the next moment...
The figure shifted again, and "Tezuka" reappeared on the court, slicing the incoming tennis ball once more.
"Pfft~ This guy's really tough, Fudomine..."
The strong airflow kept Niou's phantom shattered, but he still managed to return the ball.
"Still want to use Zero? Dream on!"
Lin Xiu's ability to move laterally was on full display at this moment. He twisted his right ankle and flew straight out, leaping towards the Zero-Shiki Slice that had just crossed the net.
Air Shock Slice!
His body had completely lost its balance, but Lin Xiu still managed to aim at Rikkai Dai's blind spot and unleash his signature move before the ball even hit the ground.
"Chance!!"
"Score!"
"Senior Lin Xiu is amazing!"
The audience was completely captivated by the exciting back-and-forth between the two players, and even the first-year students from Fudomine thought that Lin Xiu had already solved the problem.
But the next moment...
A crimson light rose in Rikkai Dai, and Niou, who had previously lost his illusion, once again appeared as Tezuka.
Thump!
A gust of wind swept past Tezuka's side, and the tennis ball slammed heavily against the guardrail behind him, making a dull thud as it hit the court.
"Out of bounds, Rikkai Dai scores, 40-40."
The intense, head-to-head confrontation had the audience holding their breath, barely daring to make a sound, for fear of missing a single detail.
It wasn't until this moment that many people came to their senses.
What happened?
Ibu Shinji looked puzzled. Lin Xiu's retort had actually gone out of bounds?
How is that possible!
Among the members of Fudomine, Lin Xiu's strength may not be comparable to Muneyoshi, Tachibana Kippei, and Keith, but he is definitely the most popular person.
Because he was the senior who had been teaching them, the first-year students, how to practice techniques.
Moreover, they were well aware that with Lin Xiu's strength, it was impossible for him to make such a basic mistake.
"It's Tezuka Phantom!"
Muneyoshi then lowered his clasped hands and said coldly.
The spin that Niou hit wasn't the Zero-Shiki Slice at all; it was a stronger spin from Tezuka Phantom.
The reason why Niou automatically exited the state of Tezuka Phantom was not due to Lin Xiu's airflow, but because the pressure of Tezuka Phantom on his elbow was too great.
Niou must have felt uncomfortable during his initial attempt, which is why he proactively canceled it.
He hadn't expected that just over a week after Tezuka unleashed that move, Niou would already be able to imitate it so well.
Tezuka truly is the perfect match for Niou's phantom!
"No!"
"Judging from this, it seems that Niou has been learning this move since his match against me and is preparing to imitate it."
"However, he didn't fully understand this move at the time, until the match between Tezuka and Sanada."
Looking at the ball mark not far from the baseline and the unfamiliarity with Niou's move, Muneyoshi truly felt that this was a tricky situation.
"Niou can even use Tezuka Phantom..."
Is he a monster?
The members of Fudomine were completely shocked by Niou, who had been constantly changing the targets of his phantoms during their recent exchange.
Although each duration couldn't be too long, the longest lasted was Tezuka's, nearly five innings, while the shortest was Mouri's, who only received one ball.
But these constant illusions made it seem as if he were fighting Tachibana Kippei and Lin Xiu all by himself.
However, the next moment, Niou once again exited the Tezuka Phantom state.
His left arm was red at this moment, a result of using too much spinning and the strain of constantly phantom-like movements against other competitors, making him seem unsteady on his feet.
"Niou!"
Upon seeing this, Sanada was immediately startled and hurriedly stepped forward.
"Stop! Sanada, don't come any closer! The match isn't over yet, let's all focus on attacking!"
Wow~
His mental energy fluctuated once more, and the figure that had vanished reappeared. Sanada heard those familiar words again, and his expression became somewhat dazed.
His eyes were slightly moist, but the next second, they became incredibly firm.
"Niou, wait a moment, I'll cover your actions!"
"???"
Tezuka looked puzzled. Cover his actions? How could Sanada cover him?
"Its speed. Like a storm!"
A fierce wind raged, and the tennis ball disappeared once again.
This was a move that Lin Xiu couldn't withstand.
However, he was accompanied by Tachibana Kippei, who quickly ran in one direction, his entire body exuding Beast Aura that turned blood red.
"Sanada, you won't get this point! Mighty Lion Chokehold!"
Tachibana Kippei leaped into the air, his silver-black racket leaving an indistinct afterimage in mid-air.
With a resounding swing that sounded like an explosion, the Beast Aura that had been suppressed within Tachibana Kippei was released.
In an instant, two tennis balls, primarily blood-red with hints of black, hurtled toward Tezuka.
"Niou, let me do it!"
"Difficult to know like the shade, Immovable as the Mountain, yet moving... Moving like Thunder!"
With a flash of lightning, Sanada's roar resounded as he raised his racket high above his head. His black aura swept across the court like a tornado, constantly counteracting Tachibana Kippei's aura.
Finally, a mountain-like black shadow formed behind Sanada. Under the onslaught of the blood-red, Beast Aura, even the black mountain could not withstand the pressure and began to crack.
However, Sanada's blocking was not in vain. Just as the lightning was about to disappear, he still managed to hit the tennis ball towards Lin Xiu.
Seeing that this attack was truly a desperate counterattack, Lin Xiu sensed another opportunity.
Tachibana Kippei had exhausted himself from using this move multiple times, Sanada had reached his limit in order to keep counterattacking, and Niou had also run out of stamina from continuously imitating it.
Without any hesitation, Lin Xiu's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he slashed heavily at the incoming tennis ball.
However, when the opportunity arises, both parties take advantage of it equally.
What Lin Xiu believed was exactly what Sanada was waiting for...
"Now! Niou!"
Sanada roared, and seeing the black mist rising into the sky in front of him, Niou immediately understood.
Tezuka's phantom disappeared, and a figure in black with silver hair reappeared on the court.
Bang!
A streak of purplish-black Glowing Flame shot out from the mountain range formed by the black aura and flew towards Tachibana Kippei's flank.
Although the purplish-black fluorescent Flame Light was rather dim, it was filled with an unimaginable psychological pressure.
Like fireworks, it exploded instantly after flying to the halfway point of Fudomine and landing at the feet of Tachibana Kippei.
It transformed into eight shattered flames, which landed in various directions across the half of the Fudomine.
Glowing Flame --Fireworks!
After unleashing this move, Niou instantly exhausted all his strength. He could no longer stand and collapsed onto the court.
At the same time, the tennis ball flew past Tachibana Kippei's racket and disappeared instantly, while the real tennis ball had already flown out of bounds.
Tap tap tap...
"Game 1, Rikkai's Masaharu Nioh scores, score 6:4."
"The first doubles match of the National Tournament Finals has concluded, with Rikkai Dai emerging victorious, taking a 1-0 lead in the overall score."
P. S.: "Please vote with monthly tickets!"
I cut some parts from the second part of the doubles, but the two chapters still add up to 8,000 words. Originally, it was 10,000 words, but I still streamlined it a bit.
I finished writing one chapter of the doubles game.