Three Types of Return Shots

Feeling the intense impact in his heart, Fuji let out a long breath. The match had only just begun; it wasn't over yet.

Ha...

Suppressing the surging waves within his chest, Fuji regained his composure.

Swoosh!

With another light twist, the same motion repeated, the tennis ball was once again sent flying with his powerful slicing serve, still darting and rising at breakneck speed as before.

"Fuji, I told you, a serve like that won't work..."

His expression turning cold, Saeki Muneyoshi dashed swiftly toward the tennis ball, completely ignoring its erratic, soaring path. He swung his arm fiercely, driving the racket toward the lower right corner.

Thud!

With a dull impact, the irregularly rising tennis ball was once again caught precisely by him.

Whoosh!

This time, the return was even more powerful, the ball even faster.

A pale yellow streak shot toward Fuji's backhand court.

But Fuji, prepared for this, didn't sit idly by. His body lunged forward, cutting directly across the path of Saeki's return, arriving before the ball's landing point.

Before the ball could even hit the ground, Fuji had already reached the spot.

As the ball bounced up from the court, Fuji executed a quick drive.

Bang!

The racket tilted downward, his wrist giving a slight flick.

Smack!

With only a low arc, the ball landed swiftly in Saeki's blind spot.

"Nice shot!"

Seeing Fuji's brilliant counter, not only Kojiro but also the growing crowd around them let out a cheer.

Saeki wasn't surprised that Fuji could counter so quickly.

He felt a slight hint of delight, but a trick like that would only work once.

At the same time, the light screen in his mind automatically split into two sections. One part fixedly displayed Saeki's own stats, while the newly added section showed numbers constantly shifting.

It was the data of his opponent, Fuji Shusuke.

He could only collect the five-dimensional stats of himself and the opponent he was facing.

Saeki was also curious about Fuji's current strength, wondering what the numbers would be. Data collection took time, so he might as well play along with Fuji for now.

Having practiced tennis for several years, Saeki knew well that tennis wasn't just about technique and power.

Sometimes, the slightest advantage could turn into victory in the end.

And those things required constant matches to accumulate experience.

From then on, the two put on a textbook-like offensive and defensive battle.

"30-15"

"40-30"

Their scores rose alternately.

On the final point, Saeki took it with a net approach drop shot.

"Game, Saeki Muneyoshi, 2-0"

After the change of ends, the match continued.

Bang!

Bang!

With a few more service return points, Saeki took another game, making the score 3-0.

As the match progressed, Saeki suddenly realized that playing tennis like this felt really good.

Originally, he liked tennis, but it was more about his fondness for the characters within it. Now, living in this world—

Especially the thrill of facing former characters, the feeling of being immersed in the match, truly captivated him.

At this moment, he genuinely fell in love with tennis.

Feeling this, Saeki sensed a joy from the depths of his heart.

"Come on, come on, your strength can't be just this much, can it?"

"Any other tricks you want to use, Fuji? Go ahead and show them!"

Saeki Muneyoshi stood proudly at the net, fully immersed in the match, the intensity in his eyes formidable.

Feeling a wave of pressure wash over him, Fuji didn't back down this time either. His azure-blue eyes revealed an utterly serious expression, and his tone was firm:

"Very well, then, as you wish, Muneyoshi!"

...The two on the court seemed locked in a rally.

Watching another return from Muneyoshi fly toward him.

Fuji's ice-blue eyes suddenly flashed with a sharp glint.

"Topspin!"

In the next moment, Fuji stepped forward and moved, his arms spreading back like a bird taking flight. Then he pivoted sideways, planted his stance, bent his right knee, and guided his left hand in front of his body.

Behind his splayed fingers, those starry, ice-blue eyes shimmered with radiance.

Twisting his body, he sprang up with force from his right knee.

The raised racket sliced down fiercely toward the incoming tennis ball.

Shrrrk~

In the final follow-through of the swing.

A golden crescent moon arced across the sky.

Whoosh!

"Triple Counter One: Returning Swallow!"

The name of the technique, as beautiful as a cherry blossom painting, slipped softly from Fuji's lips.

The tips of his hair fluttered lightly, his racket-wielding arm shielding his front, leaving only his right eye—brimming with a starry galaxy—visible.

Swoosh!

Amid the sharp whistle of the ball cutting through the air.

The fiercely spinning tennis ball skimmed over the net, hit the ground, and then—

Did not bounce up. Instead, it slid along the court at lightning speed, past the feet of Muneyoshi, who had already set his receiving stance.

At that moment.

Even Saeki Muneyoshi, who had been mentally prepared, felt a stir in his heart.

His gaze followed the ball, stunned.

A burning passion surged in Muneyoshi's heart: "Keep it coming, Fuji!"

"Game, Fuji Shusuke, 1:3"

The match between the two grew white-hot, and Fuji clawed back one game with his dazzling technique.

But as Muneyoshi adjusted his swing to avoid hitting topspin again, Fuji once more fell into a disadvantage.

Thwack!

Another special Cut Serve was delivered.

At the same time, Fuji's eyes quickly swept over Saeki Muneyoshi's movements.

"Coming to the net!"

Skrr...

His feet pivoted rapidly, and Fuji's whole body dashed forward to the net.

At the last possible moment, he hit a Lob to receive the ball.

"That's a mistake!"

"A perfect chance for a smash!"

"Smash!"

More and more spectators gathered at the sidelines. Seeing this opportunity ball from Fuji, even though they knew it might be part of his plan, Muneyoshi didn't let it slip.

He leaped up with explosive force, towering high, and smashed down fiercely toward the space behind Fuji.

Thwack!

The powerful smash made the tennis ball look like a bullet fired from a barrel, unstoppable and devastating.

But just then.

Still descending, Muneyoshi suddenly saw Fuji lunge forward rapidly, appearing at the landing point of the smash.

Facing the court with his back to the sky, Fuji held the racket with one hand and sliced forward, intercepting the smash!

The immense force of the kill shot made the ball spin violently against the racket face. Fuji swung upward sharply.

The ball arced across the sky in a huge curve, slammed into the baseline behind Muneyoshi, then ricocheted off and crashed into the chain-link fence.

At that moment, Saeki had only just landed!

"One of the Three Types of Return Shots—Brown Bear Drop!"

Saeki Muneyoshi looked at the mark on the baseline and couldn't help but praise, "Truly a genius idea, Fuji!"

The two returned to their respective baselines.

The match began again.

Meanwhile, the surrounding spectators and Kojiro on the referee's bench were once again stunned by Fuji's skill.

"What did that kid just do? He returned a smash that easily—that's incredible."

"Does a kid like that really exist?"

"Is this a joke? If there's a kid like that, what are we even worth?"

"Brown Bear Drop?"

"Game, score 3-2."

Bang!

The two on the court started rallying again. After a few shots, Fuji put up another setup ball.

"Fuji, is this your tennis? I see it. Since you want to defend and counter, then try to counter this!"

He leaped up once more, using his forward momentum to tower overhead and slammed down hard toward Fuji's rear.

Smack!

Another smash!

"Here it comes, Brown Bear Drop!" Kojiro knew it well.

Fuji chased down the smash again.

But this time, the return wasn't as easy as before—even just the speed of the return was straining him.

"And... this force!"

Fuji's heart shook as he felt his wrist trembling continuously.

So this is Saeki's true strength?!

"Hah!"

With a sharp yell, Fuji pressed his left hand onto the racket handle and forcibly twisted into a return stance.

Bang!

The angle of the tennis ball was wide, arcing upward diagonally.

"Fuji, I've seen your special move—now take a look at mine!"

"Scorching Sun Burn!"

Fuji felt an overwhelming force and mental pressure bearing down on him.

His mind went blank for an instant, a blinding flash of scorching sun searing through his vision, and a faint burning smell rose in the air.

Along with a slight stinging heat on his skin, the tennis ball had already shot past his feet.

"Game, Saeki Muneyoshi, 4-2."

"What is this?"

Watching Saeki Muneyoshi walk back to the baseline and pull out another ball, a flicker of confusion passed through Fuji's eyes.

This feeling of creating an opportunity for the opponent, only to have it turned against him, was unpleasant.

Bang!

Another blinding flash of scorching sun. Fuji gripped his racket tightly, feeling a bitterness rise in his heart—he hadn't even had the chance to use Brown Bear Drop that time.

Not only that, but because it was an indoor court, there was no wind blowing across the court. One of his Three Types of Return Shots, the White Whale, was completely sealed off.

And as the match progressed, Fuji realized that Saeki seemed to know him very well. Aside from the very first shot, every return afterward carried no spin at all, rendering another of his spin-based returns useless.

The only one he could use was Brown Bear Drop—and now...

"Fuji, you who only know defense and counterattack—facing me, who surpasses you in every aspect, don't you feel powerless?"

With a deep look at Fuji Shusuke standing frozen in place, Saeki Muneyoshi continued, "With your returns directly sealed off, is this all you can manage? Fuji."

Saeki knew Fuji's strength very well, especially the Returning Swallow technique—he still had no way to counter it.

If he didn't use some tricks, he might have ended up in a stalemate.

Now, with two techniques broken and one unusable due to the court, Fuji had no chance left to win.

"Game, Saeki Muneyoshi, 6-2."

"That was a good match, Fuji!"

"But now that your Three Types of Return Shots have been cracked, what do you have left? I suggest you try changing your tennis style—you might find a different world..."

With that, the group walked through the crowd and headed out of the venue.

PS: Danyang is an honest person and didn't want to pad the word count by splitting chapters, so I just cut six or seven hundred words, then tweaked the match venue and setup, and merged it into one chapter. Otherwise, with the Three Types of Return Shots, I could have easily stretched it into three chapters!!!