The view returned to the court.
While Muneyoshi kept imagining the path that lay ahead, the match between Seigaku and St. Rudolph had already begun.
The situation on the court was changing by the moment.
Kikumaru, who had taken the court as Doubles 2, had first been worn down by Akazawa's Mirage Ball, putting the Golden Pair—still unknown at the time—at a disadvantage.
But with Oishi constantly covering for him and keeping their opponents pinned back with baseline shots, they gradually clawed their way back into the match.
This match also caught the attention of many schools. Seigaku's doubles pair had an incredible rapport, and their coordination brought out tremendous strength.
"Seigaku's doubles pair is pretty interesting..."
Everyone there was a "professional," and quite a few had already figured out what was going on.
"True. Neither of them is particularly outstanding on his own, but their teamwork more than makes up for their shortcomings."
"The red-haired boy with the catlike eyes is nimble. He notices all sorts of little details that others miss, and he can even return tricky shots from difficult angles with his Special Skill Shot."
"And the egghead guarding the backcourt has excellent support skills and court awareness."
"Exactly. Even when things are at their most desperate, he can keep an eye on the whole court from the back, see through the other team's intentions, and make the best possible call. Then he directs his partner to counter accordingly, bringing out the best in him and giving their side the advantage."
"This complementary doubles pair is really good. Seigaku struck gold."
"Don't just talk about Seigaku's doubles. St. Rudolph's first-year pair has something going for them too. They've managed to keep Seigaku on the back foot this whole time."
Many of the schools watching were already eyeing both doubles pairs.
"Match over. The St. Rudolph team of Akazawa and Kaneda wins, seven games to six."
After a grueling battle, Seigaku's Kikumaru and Oishi ultimately lost.
It wasn't that they lacked ability. Once they had adapted to Akazawa's Mirage Ball, they had become stronger than St. Rudolph's pair.
In fact, at the start of the tiebreak, Seigaku's duo had been dominating the match.
But the fact that the match had reached a tiebreak showed just how long it had gone on.
Kikumaru's stamina was becoming an issue. He recovered faster than most people, but he also used up more energy than they did.
His trick shots looked flashy, but they involved highly demanding running and jumping.
Every time he took off, he was using up energy. He simply couldn't recover fast enough.
"Hmph. You've got the skills, but you can't put them to use because you're short on stamina. You're pathetic, cat-eyed brat." Akutsu was unhappy with the result.
"Come on, Jin. I'm sure Eiji will overcome his stamina problem in time."
Tezuka didn't criticize him. Instead, he offered words of reassurance.
Yamato Yūdai, standing nearby, nodded with satisfaction. He was glad to see how comfortable Seigaku's atmosphere had become.
After the Doubles 2 match ended, Kawamura Takashi—playing in his first official match—teamed up with Inui Sadaharu for Doubles 1.
Thanks to their efforts, Seigaku won a game back from St. Rudolph.
Then the Singles 3 match began.
Akutsu Jin took the court for Seigaku, while Mizuki represented St. Rudolph.
"Oh, so my opponent isn't Fuji?"
Mizuki had been looking forward to playing Fuji, who was known as a prodigy. He'd wanted to face him for ages, and he couldn't believe he'd missed his chance.
Akutsu's eyes widened at that, and he grew displeased.
The match that followed showed exactly how he felt. Mizuki won several points by repeatedly sending the ball to spots where it was difficult to return.
But once Akutsu had adapted to the match, he flew into a rage. His Hyper-Offensive, completely unorthodox attacks left Mizuki stunned.
Akutsu hammered away at him, and soon the match was over.
Seigaku also claimed victory in Singles 2.
For Singles 2, Tezuka had chosen Yamato Yūdai, whose arm injury had nearly healed.
This was Yamato Yūdai's final year at Seigaku, so he especially treasured the chance to take the court.
Seigaku was now flourishing, too, and that made the opportunity all the more precious.
St. Rudolph's Singles 2 player was an unknown third-year.
Against Yamato Yūdai, whose injury had nearly healed and who was giving it everything he had, he couldn't fight back at all. Yamato won cleanly, six games to love.
After watching so many matches, the spectators realized that Seigaku hadn't weakened this year. If anything, the new first-years had made the team even stronger.
The teams that made it to the Metropolitan Tournament semifinals had all fought their way through the preliminaries. Some were better than others, but they were still far stronger than ordinary schools.
"Seigaku's really powerful!"
"Yeah. Those first-years are all so strong!"
"Looks like Seigaku has really risen..."
"Damn it, who was it that said Seigaku had suffered a major shake-up, that they'd lost almost all their strength, and that their Tennis Club was a mess?"
As Seigaku's players walked away, many spectators watched them go and voiced their amazement.
They were all first-years, after all. That meant they could keep playing for two more years.
The others could only accept this harsh reality with long faces.
At Hyotei Academy's court, Sakaki Tarou sat in the coaches' seat, dressed in a wine-red suit.
The scoreboard beside him showed the score in bright, unmistakable numbers: the match had reached its deciding game.
Banrō of Yamabuki Middle School had certainly earned the resentment Echizen Nanjirō felt toward him.
Even against Hyotei, his meticulous preparations and predictions had allowed Yamabuki to level the score.
Two games all!
Singles 1 would decide the match.
Footsteps sounded in the ears of the Hyotei players. They turned around and froze for a moment.
"Isn't that Seigaku's team? What are they doing here?"
"Did they already get eliminated?"
"Yeah. St. Rudolph isn't exactly weak."
"Idiot. Do they look like they've been eliminated?"
"Whoa! Does that mean they already beat St. Rudolph? That was fast. Is Seigaku really that strong this year?"
Seigaku's sudden arrival sent a stir through the Hyotei camp.
They'd been dominating the tournament all along, but today Yamabuki had given them trouble.
They'd assumed St. Rudolph was strong and Seigaku's players were all first-years, so Seigaku might not be able to beat them. They hadn't expected Seigaku to have finished its match already.
Hyotei's Singles 1 player was none other than Atobe Keigo, the king of Hyotei Academy's more than two hundred club members.
Atobe walked onto the court with effortless elegance, and the Hyotei cheer squad erupted.
The substitute players and cheerleaders surrounding the entire court began to clap and chant in rhythm.
"Hyotei!" "Hyotei!" "Hyotei!"
"Hyotei..."
"Hyotei will win!"
"Atobe will win!"
"Hyotei will win!"
"Atobe will win!"
Atobe seemed to have completely shaken off Muneyoshi's influence. He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. The court fell silent in an instant.
"The one who'll win is—this great man!"
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