The Rise of Seigaku and Atobe's Confidence

The gaze returned to the court.

Just as Muneyoshi was contemplating his future path, the match between Seigaku and St. Rudolph had already begun.

The situation on the court at this moment was highly unpredictable.

First, Kikumaru, who went on court as the second doubles pair, had his stamina severely depleted by Akazawa's Mirage Ball, putting the Golden Pair, not yet famous, at a disadvantage.

However, with Oishi's constant support and pressure from the baseline shots, they gradually clawed their way back into the match.

This match also drew the attention of many schools to Seigaku's doubles pair; their incredible coordination and synergy allowed them to unleash powerful plays.

"Seigaku's doubles pair is quite interesting..."

The spectators were all "professionals," and many saw through the strategy.

"Indeed, their individual strengths aren't particularly outstanding, but the two have perfect chemistry, which greatly compensates for their lack of individual skill."

"That red-haired, cat-eyed boy is agile and can notice subtle details that others miss. He can receive some tricky, angled shots with a Special Skill Shot."

"And the egg-headed player guarding the backcourt has excellent support ability and court vision."

"That's right. Even in the most critical moments, he can always survey the entire situation from the back, discern the opponent's intentions, make the most advantageous judgments, and instruct his teammates to counterattack accordingly, maximizing his partner's strengths and thereby helping their side establish an advantage."

"This complementary doubles pair is truly excellent. Seigaku has struck gold."

"Don't just talk about Seigaku's doubles; St. Rudolph's first-year doubles pair is also quite something. They're actually managing to suppress Seigaku."

Many of the watching schools were coveting both doubles pairs currently playing.

"Match end. Akazawa and Kaneda of St. Rudolph win, with a score of seven to six."

After a hard-fought battle, Seigaku's Kikumaru and Oishi ultimately lost.

It wasn't that their skills were lacking; after adapting to Akazawa's Mirage Ball, their abilities had completely surpassed St. Rudolph's.

In fact, at the start of the tie-breaker, it could be said that Seigaku's doubles pair was dominating St. Rudolph.

But a match going to a tie-breaker meant it had truly been a long one.

Kikumaru's stamina issues began to show. Although his recovery speed was faster than average, his consumption was also greater than others'.

Special Skill Shots looked flashy, but they involved extremely difficult running and jumping movements.

Every start-up motion was constantly draining his stamina, and his recovery couldn't keep up with the consumption.

"Hmph, all that skill, but you can't use it because of insufficient stamina. Cat-eyed kid, you're really pathetic." Akutsu was dissatisfied with the outcome.

"Alright, Akutsu, regarding stamina issues, I believe Eiji will overcome them in the future."

Tezuka didn't criticize him but offered words of comfort.

Yamato Yūdai, standing nearby, nodded in approval, feeling comfortable with the current atmosphere at Seigaku.

After the second doubles match concluded, the first doubles match featured Kawamura Takashi, playing in his first official match, paired with Inui Sadaharu.

Through their efforts, Seigaku managed to win one game back from St. Rudolph.

Following that, the third singles match began.

Seigaku's representative was Akutsu Jin, while St. Rudolph's was Mizuki.

"Oh, so my opponent isn't Fuji?"

Mizuki had been looking forward to playing against Fuji, known as the genius, and had wanted to compete with him for a long time. He hadn't expected to miss out.

Hearing this, Akutsu's eyes widened, and he felt displeased.

The subsequent match completely reflected his mood. After Mizuki scored a few points by hitting balls to Akutsu's difficult receiving positions, Akutsu, who had adapted to the match, was completely enraged. His Hyper-Offensive, unorganized attack completely stunned Mizuki.

With a flurry of blows, Akutsu directly took the match.

Afterward, the victory for the second singles match was also secured by Seigaku.

For the second singles match, Tezuka had arranged for Yamato Yūdai, whose hand injury had largely healed.

This was Yamato Yūdai's last year at Seigaku, so he cherished every opportunity to play.

Especially now that Seigaku was developing in a flourishing direction.

St. Rudolph's second singles player was an unknown third-year student.

Facing Yamato Yūdai, whose hand injury had mostly healed and was playing at full power, the opponent had no chance to fight back, being cleanly defeated six-love.

After watching so many matches, the onlookers realized that Seigaku hadn't weakened this year; instead, with the addition of the first-years, they had become even stronger.

The teams that reached the semi-finals of the prefectural tournament had all fought their way through the elimination rounds. While there were differences in skill levels, they were still far superior to ordinary schools.

"Seigaku is truly formidable!"

"Yeah, these first-years, their skills are so strong!"

"It looks like Seigaku is truly rising..."

"Damn it, who was it that said Seigaku suffered a major setback, their strength reduced to less than a tenth, and the atmosphere in the tennis club was disharmonious!"

As the Seigaku team walked away, many onlookers sighed with emotion.

After all, everyone on Seigaku was only in their first year, meaning they could compete for another two years.

Faced with this reality, they could only wear grim expressions and accept the cruel truth.

At the Hyotei Academy match venue, Sakaki Tarou sat in the coach's seat, dressed in a wine-red suit.

On the scoreboard beside him, the glaring score indicated that the match had entered its decisive set.

Banrō of Yamabuki Junior High truly lived up to his reputation as a coach who could instill immense resentment in Echizen Nanjirō.

Even when facing Hyotei, he had successfully managed to tie the score through his formidable pre-match strategies and predictions.

Two to two!

The deciding match was Singles 1.

Tap, tap, tap!

Footsteps echoed in the ears of the Hyotei members. They turned around and were stunned.

"Isn't that the Seigaku team? What are they doing here?"

"Could it be that they've already been eliminated?"

"That's right, St. Rudolph isn't a weak opponent."

"Idiot, do they look like they've been eliminated?"

"Hiss! Don't tell me they've already defeated St. Rudolph? That quickly? Is Seigaku really this strong this year!"

The sudden arrival of Seigaku caused a stir in the Hyotei camp.

They had maintained a dominant presence throughout the tournament, but today they had stumbled against Yamabuki.

They had assumed that St. Rudolph was not weak, and with Seigaku being all first-years, they might not even win. They hadn't expected Seigaku to finish their match so soon.

Hyotei's Singles 1 player was none other than Atobe Keigo, the king of Hyotei Academy, boasting over two hundred members.

Atobe walked onto the court with his signature elegance, and the Hyotei cheerleaders erupted in cheers.

The reserve members and cheerleaders, who surrounded the entire court, began to clap and chant rhythmically.

"Hyotei!" "Hyotei!" "Hyotei!"

"Hyotei..."

"The winners will be Hyotei!"

"The winners will be Atobe!"

"Hyotei wins!"

"Atobe wins!"

Atobe seemed to have completely shed the influence of Muneyoshi. He snapped his right fingers, and the entire venue fell silent instantly.

"The winner will be—myself!"

Thank you all for your support! I don't think I'll have to work overtime tonight. I'll see if I can write another chapter when I get home, but I'll do my best. My work has been really busy in the latter half of the year~

Also, please vote for the monthly tickets~