Targeted

Bang!

Whoosh!

The tennis ball shot rapidly upward, tracing a steep arc as it burst free of the swirling currents.

It flew past Keith's neck, the force of the wind stinging his cheek.

How would Keith handle this shot?

Tachibana stared intently at Keith, trying to anticipate his next move.

Suddenly,

a faint smile appeared at the corner of Keith's mouth. His right hand curled into a loose fist. In Tachibana Kippei's vision, the air currents sweeping around them grew more and more violent.

"Tachibana, I'm taking this point!"

"What!"

Tachibana's heart jolted, and a sense of foreboding washed over him.

Sure enough, the next second, Keith raised his left arm, and another enormous mass of air crashed down with his racket.

A blue streak of light flashed past Tachibana. It broke through the black-and-red aura once more, and the wind pressure cut across his face like a blade, leaving it stinging.

"Game, America Team scores. The score is 1–1."

The serve changed hands, and it was Keith's turn to serve.

Watching Keith prepare to serve from the baseline, Tachibana lowered his eyes and pondered.

After two games of probing, he had become certain that Keith's tennis was now every bit as good as his own—perhaps even better.

But this was doubles...

And Keith's weaknesses were perfectly clear to him.

Stamina and strength!

Keith wasn't weak in strength, either, but Tachibana was stronger. He could handle that.

Meanwhile, Keith's partner, Mark Will, wasn't very comfortable playing at the net.

His net play might even be worse than Keith's, which was why Keith had taken the lead himself.

That meant Keith, who was used to overpowering opponents from the back of the court with his strength and technique, had suddenly lost his most important advantage.

His threat to Tachibana was greatly