Two Consecutive Kanto Tournament Titles
This exchange left Tezuka feeling both apprehensive and reassured.
Or rather, in Tezuka's heart, Muneyoshi was never completely erased from his mind from the very first time they met.
It was probably from that time on that Saeki Muneyoshi became the opponent that Tezuka valued most.
"Good!"
Muneyoshi stood sideways, the tennis ball rising from his fingertips.
Buzz!
Their gazes met in mid-air, and in the dark world, the moonlight and the clear glow of the moon met once more.
"These two people"
Tachibana Kippei's gaze trembled slightly as he stood on the sidelines.
He wasn't some greenhorn who hadn't experienced world championships, and this match was one against most of the opponents he'd faced in the qualifying rounds.
"Is this the clash between the minister and Japan top junior high school students in Japan? I really want to go down and fight them."
In the Seigaku area, Echizen Ryoma's eyes were filled with excitement and fighting spirit, and his hat could not hide his eager expression.
Such a strong competitor has completely exceeded his expectations.
On the field.
Bang!
A beam of moonlight, seemingly slow but actually swift, descended upon the area in front of Tezuka -receiving area.
Boom!
The ball went straight to the right foot of Tezuka, who was supporting his body, and Tezuka over and swung his racket.
The moment he received the ball, Tezuka sensed something was wrong; a tremendous force was coming toward him through his racket.
The immense force caused his racket to be knocked out of his hand by the ball. Tezuka quickly unleashed two Cloudbreak of power to suppress the force.
The clear light emanating from his entire body continuously diminished Muneyoshi's power. As he swung his racket, Tezuka raised his head.
What is that?!
He couldn't see Muneyoshi's figure at all; only a silver-white figure and endless darkness remained on the opposite half of the court.
However, at this moment, Muneyoshi was hidden in the darkness, intently watching the tennis ball.
"He actually caught it? Cherry Blossom Fall!"
Seeing that Tezuka had managed to stay steady despite his sudden, intensified attack, and that Seiki was about to land after his counterattack, Muneyoshi gave a soft shout, drawing everyone's attention.
He stepped forward, his body half-bent over, disappearing into the rolling moonlight.
The racket in his hand was extended forward.
Enveloped in moonlight, the black-gold light cut into the Cloudbreak area like a steel blade, then suddenly slashed upwards.
Bang!
The tennis ball, with intense topspin, flew high over the net.
Suddenly, petals filled the air on the court, and the radiant particles surrounding Tezuka's body were constantly shaken.
Thump!
In a moment of surprise, the mustard-yellow tennis ball forcefully pushed aside the brilliance of the celestial garment, creating a path for it.
"Even the dual brilliance can't restrain Muneyoshi?"
Seeing that Muneyoshi had broken through Tezuka's suppression so easily, Seigaku's Fuji Shusuke and Akutsu were both on edge.
Once the ultimate, Cloudbreak Limit fusion could no longer restrain Muneyoshi, Tezuka would only have one last move left: the Supreme Domain technique.
The game then returned to its original state.
"There's nothing we can do. He's the number one player in the middle school. His strength has probably already surpassed our imagination. Even Tezuka's Cloudbreak brilliance can't continuously affect him."
Seeing the Seigaku members somewhat flustered, Fuji had no choice but to calm them down and spoke with a focused expression.
Meanwhile, Akutsu beside him ignored everyone else, his gaze unwavering, fixed on the duel between the two on the court, muttering to himself:
"Tch, doesn't Tezuka know that it's best not to get bogged down in a war of attrition with Saeki Muneyoshi?"
Although Muneyoshi is not a pure strength athlete, he has mastered all aspects of his physical abilities so perfectly that even Akutsu himself cannot be said to surpass him.
With this advantage, Tezuka was dragged into a war of attrition, and had absolutely no chance of winning.
Bang!
Bang!
The battle for this point was fierce. Muneyoshi and Tezuka exchanged blows for several rounds. With the help of the Supreme Domain, Tezuka was not at a disadvantage for the time being.
He played very cautiously and his defense was excellent, not giving Muneyoshi much room to maneuver.
Realizing this, Muneyoshi took a half-step back as he moved his left foot, sidestepping to make room for Munehiko.
Muneyoshi loosely clenched his left hand, and dark Light Ball appeared in the surrounding Darkness Domain.
Bang!
With a dazzling golden light in his palm and a twist of his ankle, he raised his right hand and pulled the tennis ball flying horizontally away with a flat hit.
"Light Darkness Combination - Ghostly Fluorescent Dance!"
Boom!
With a resounding crash, the court was rocked by a violent shockwave, and gravel and pebbles flew up as the tennis ball was launched.
The countless spheres of light concealed the true Light Ball, Tezuka sensed an unparalleled crisis at that moment.
The power of this shot is very close to the level he displayed when he first faced Echizen Ryoga.
Seeing this, Tezuka was not alarmed; on the contrary, he was quite pleased.
Call...
Instead of retreating, Tezuka advanced, taking a sudden step forward and leaping over the craters left in the ground.
The azure light and silver particles that slowly floated around his body became increasingly dazzling, almost bathing Tezuka in light, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.
"How dare you! You actually want to confront me head-on?"
Muneyoshi snorted inwardly. He wasn't surprised that Tezuka, who had mastered two Heavenly Garments, would come up with such an idea.
However, this caused Muneyoshi's entire face to turn completely cold.
A hissing sound echoed across the court as the swirling vortex once again drew the tennis ball towards the enormous ball of light moving across the court.
Supreme Domain!
A powerful attraction pulled the hidden Light Ball out.
Bang!
A beam of ultra-fast white light, giving Muneyoshi no time to react, attempted to launch him off the edge of his other half of the field.
"Want to score? That's a dead end!"
Just when everyone thought Tezuka was about to Tezuka, a loud shout suddenly rang out from the other side of the court.
A beam of moon-white light flashed, and during the match against Tezuka, Geppu was used for the first time.
Muneyoshi arrived at the landing point of the tennis ball almost instantly.
He simply stepped on one foot, slung the racket over his waist, and then swept the racket out like a horizontal smash.
The silver-white shadow behind him was making the same movements as Muneyoshi.
Shadow Three Severing Slashes!
Bang!
Three beams of light pierced through the middle net, and after landing, they plowed three deep tracks across the court.
The light once again tore through the Cloudbreak defense, sending Tezuka's racket flying high into the air.
Thump!
The already dilapidated wall developed another large hole, with rubble constantly falling down.
"Fudomine Muneyoshi, 40-0!"
Glug...
In the stands, many people swallowed hard, then subconsciously moved away from Muneyoshi's front. Such power, if it hit, would probably really kill someone.
Tezuka conceded another point, glanced deeply at Muneyoshi at the net, and then walked to the backcourt with little expression on his face.
Swish!
Muneyoshi serves again, tosses the ball with his hand, and draws back his racket with an arched arm.
It was in that very instant.
Muneyoshi's aura became even heavier, and a magnificent and vast aura suddenly surged from his body.
Kneel down and push off the ground, straighten your back and raise your head.
Bang!
The net strings on the racket were stretched into a full arc by the tennis ball, and then all the power that Muneyoshi had attached to them was unleashed at once.
The tennis ball weaves through the air like silver threads, its speed almost outrageous.
Tezuka dared not be careless in the slightest, keeping a close eye on the thread that was like a blade of light piercing towards him.
Surrounded by surging light, Tezuka's feet had already moved in a certain direction, following his body's instincts.
Swish!
The racket extends out.
The radiant glow of their Cloudbreak fusion severed the silk threads in mid-air!
Buzz!
Cloudbreak radiance shone forth, unceremoniously sweeping towards Muneyoshi.
Bang!
At the moment Tezuka swung his racket to hit the ball, two intersecting and twisting whirlwinds spread outwards from around his body.
He once again imbued the tennis ball with the special spin of the Supreme Domain.
This shot was a rare straight shot from Tezuka.
Seeing this, Muneyoshi did not hesitate. His gaze swept indifferently over Tezuka, only lingering on the fused Radiance for a second, and his tone was very calm.
"Tezuka, your technique is superb, even perfect. I really can't completely eliminate the double spin... However, there are some tennis balls that, even if you can return them, you simply can't!"
Muneyoshi's tone turned stern. Looking at the incoming tennis ball, he paused for a second before coldly shouting:
"Asura Path - Light Darkness Absolute Slash!"
Sizzle~
A heart-stirring sound rang out.
A heavy, oppressive feeling that sent chills down one's spine suddenly spread from Muneyoshi's half of the field outwards.
Muneyoshi's eyes were calm and cold, but a terrifying golden light shone in his palm.
He reached out and ran his hand across the racket, and the figure behind him also swept a golden light across the katana, turning the jet-black blade into a bright color.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment. In the Different Dimension field, the rolling moonlight shone down, and "Saeki Muneyoshi's" figure grew to a gigantic size.
It seemed that no one in the entire stadium had clearly seen how Muneyoshi moved.
Boom!
A deafening roar rang in everyone's ears.
When he came to his senses again, the tennis ball crashed down, tearing a huge hole in the ground at Tezuka's feet.
When their expressions changed and they hurriedly looked down at the field, they saw sand and gravel flying everywhere, and Tezuka's figure was sent flying heavily through the air.
At this moment, the Cloudbreak radiance emanating from Tezuka was once again extinguished, just as it had at the beginning...
The entire stadium fell silent for a moment.
Only the rustling sound of the breeze remained.
The Seigaku team members stood on the sidelines, mouths slightly agape. "Captain Tezuka..."
The shock in the eyes of the other spectators was hard to conceal.
Tezuka's body crashed heavily to the ground, and the dust Tezuka up stained his blue and white team uniform with a grayish tinge.
The Seigaku team members shouted in panic from the sidelines. Only then did the referee react and announce the final result.
"Game, Fudomine Saeki Muneyoshi wins, score 6-4."
" In the Kanto Tournament finals, Fudomine Junior High emerged victorious with a record of three wins and two losses!"
As the referee announced the final result, everyone from Fudomine and Seigaku rushed over. The Seigaku members helped Tezuka up, Fudomine members surrounded Muneyoshi.
Ignoring the dejected Seigaku, everyone inside and outside the arena began to cheer.
"Fudomine!"
Two-time champions!
"Muneyoshi, we've achieved a two-peat in the Kanto Tournament!"
Tachibana Kippei hugged Muneyoshi tightly, overwhelmed with emotion.
Upon hearing this, Muneyoshi also toned down his imposing manner and chuckled lightly, "Yes, Tachibana, the Kanto Tournament is over, it's time for us to aim for a second consecutive national championship!"
"That's right, we will definitely succeed!"
The thunderous cheers carried far and wide.
Echizen Ryoma was walking off the court with the Seigaku team, paused.
He turned around and looked through the crowd at the Fudomine players cheering and jumping for joy on the court.
For some reason, he felt a pang of sadness; he might not even have the chance to play in today's match.
"Echizen, let's go."
Tezuka looked somewhat disheveled and was lagging behind, leaned closer, his body blocking Echizen's view. "Next time, do you want to be at the very top?"
"Um."
He pulled Echizen his hat brim, lowered his head, and gave a cool reply.
"Then we can't stop!"
P. S.: 3400 words, all long chapters today, a little burst of excitement, please vote with monthly tickets!
Actually, I initially wanted it to end quickly, but after thinking about it, I realized this was the last match between the protagonist and Tezuka, and there wouldn't be any more. So, I decided to give Tezuka a perfect ending at this stage, leaving no regrets.
In my design, Tezuka will leave after the National Tournament and will no longer go to the training camp. The protagonist will also not go to the training camp in the early stages of the middle school training. I have already written the basic plot before, so I will skip it and will not write it again.