It seemed the goddess of Fate had finally smiled on Saeki Muneyoshi. After a long streak of bad luck, he was having a good day.
He had won the right to serve first.
As they took their positions at opposite ends of the court, Muneyoshi's smile faded. The atmosphere turned tense, and a fierce match was about to begin.
Saeki Muneyoshi and Echizen Ryoga both unleashed their full auras.
At the same time, once the referee saw that both players were ready, he announced:
"Let the match begin. Japan Team will serve first."
As the referee's words fell, the spectators fell silent, every eye fixed on the two players on the court.
Whoosh~
At the baseline, Saeki Muneyoshi acted decisively. He didn't bounce the ball or make any adjustments. After glancing at Echizen Ryoga's position, he tossed the ball straight into the air.
But Muneyoshi didn't use any special serving technique.
He simply raised his racket-holding right hand high. As the ball dropped in front of him, his racket slammed into it like a bolt of lightning.
Although he hadn't used any special technique, Muneyoshi's powerful physique now revealed astonishing strength.
The instant the ball left the strings, it became a streak of golden light, as if an illusory god had thrown back his head and roared. The ball shot toward the opposite side of the court.
This serve was even faster than his usual ones.
Boom!
Only then did the sound of racket meeting ball finally arrive.
A sharp crack rang out in the spectators' ears. The ball became a blur, carrying the roar of wind behind a wall of air as it flew straight toward the other half of the court.
Tap, tap, tap...
Echizen Ryoga reacted quickly too. He had already used the Single-Footed Split Step.
In