Buzz—
The racket in Kannagi Shinichi's right hand seemed to gather a thousand black bolts of lightning. A flash of lightning seemed to glimmer across its strings as an utterly terrifying force swept over the entire court. The immense gust of pressure kicked up a fierce wind, sending Kannagi Shinichi's clothes fluttering.
"Haah..."
"Thunder... clap... Eight... Trigrams..."
A thunderous roar echoed through the heavens. The spectators' stands had fallen utterly silent, and everyone stared at Kannagi Shinichi swinging his racket with looks of sheer terror.
Everyone could feel how dangerous that shot was. If they hadn't still had their reason to control them, many might have followed their instincts and fled the court.
"How can... How can he... be this strong..."
Yukimura Seiichi's voice was hoarse. They were the same age, so how could Kannagi Shinichi be so strong that it left him feeling utterly hopeless?
Rumble—
The tremendous noise seemed as if it would shatter the entire court. The tennis ball grew larger and larger in Yukimura Seiichi's eyes, and then he could see nothing at all.
This was tennis from another dimension entirely.
Bang... rumble... rumble...
A figure flew backward out of the black lightning, and dust billowed across the entire court.
It took a long while for the dust to settle.
"Cough, cough..."
Yukimura Seiichi lay on the ground. Behind him, a yellow tennis ball was lodged in a huge crater in a low wall, while bricks around the ball clattered down to the ground.
"Yukimura!" Sanada Genichiro hurried to his side, trying to help him up.
"Cough, cough... Genichiro, I'm fine. I just fell." Yukimura Seiichi coughed twice, then got to his feet and brushed the dust off himself. He looked across the court with a bitter smile.
Kannagi Shinichi had aimed that shot away from Yukimura Seiichi. It was the gust of pressure carried by the ball itself that had sent Yukimura Seiichi flying.
Fortunately, he had only fallen and wasn't seriously hurt. But Yukimura was filled with helplessness and despair.
The spectators had recovered from the shocking scene, and the entire court erupted.
"Is that even tennis? That was a cannonball..."
"If that shot had hit someone, they'd be dead. They'd definitely be dead..."
"Was that what Kannagi Shinichi was talking about? That's terrifying..."
The spectators cried out one after another. The coaches from the various schools' tennis clubs stared at Kannagi Shinichi, their mouths hanging open.
"He's stronger than Nanjirou was at the same age." Ryuzaki Sumire spoke bitterly. People had called Kannagi Shinichi "Japan's second legend," and said he would one day surpass Echizen Nanjirou. She had never believed them.
But now, after seeing Kannagi Shinichi hit that shot, she realized that there really was someone in the world who was stronger than Nanjirou at the same age.
And the boy known as "the second legend" was now the captain of Hyotei's tennis club.
Coach Bandou of Yamabuki Middle School looked at Kannagi Shinichi with a complicated expression. He really had been naive back then, thinking that if Akutsu Jin trained hard at tennis, he could have a future as bright as Kannagi Shinichi's.
Now it seemed he was getting old and had been overthinking things. If Akutsu Jin was a once-in-a-decade prodigy, Kannagi Shinichi was a legend who appeared once in a century.
The three Hyotei players swallowed nervously, their eyes filled not only with fervor, but also with a hint of fear.
They had known their future captain was strong, but they hadn't imagined he could be this strong. If he pulled something like that on them during an interschool match, what would they do?
Mouri Jusaburou, standing beside the three of them, could only smile wryly. He'd thought the gap between him and Kannagi Shinichi wasn't that large, but seeing that shot made him realize how naive he'd been.
"Tono Atsukyo of Makino Fuji and Ochi Moonlight of Hyotei must have both lost to that move."
After Kannagi Shinichi's shot, many players standing around the court wore expressions of gloom and despair.
Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri, Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Sengoku Kiyosumi...
Even Sanada Genichiro, who had just helped Yukimura Seiichi up and had been thinking of getting his revenge someday, began to doubt himself.
Could he really get revenge on Kannagi Shinichi?
But as he recalled the shot Kannagi Shinichi had just hit, Sanada Genichiro shook his head bitterly.
He couldn't do it.
Nearby, Inoue Mamoru and Sakaki Taro also looked toward Kannagi Shinichi. They shared the same thought: "Kannagi Shinichi has gotten even stronger."
On the court, Kannagi Shinichi hadn't expected that completing Thunderclap Eight Trigrams would make it a full 0.0001% stronger—and that it would become this powerful.
He hadn't used the complete Thunderclap Eight Trigrams since his one-point showdown with Ochi Moonlight. Now that he'd used it again, its power was beyond anything it had been before.
Kannagi Shinichi was still a little afraid. If that shot had actually hit Yukimura Seiichi, would it have killed him?
Kannagi Shinichi was troubled. He really didn't want to play murderous tennis.
If he accidentally hit someone, or if someone was as reckless as Tono Atsukyo, he might cripple them with one shot. Kannagi Shinichi knew he'd feel terribly guilty.
He walked up to Yukimura Seiichi with his racket in hand. The arrogance and defiance were gone from his face; he looked concerned as he asked, "You're not hurt, are you?"
Yukimura Seiichi looked up at Kannagi Shinichi and gave a bitter smile, shaking his head.
If the gap between them hadn't been too great, Yukimura Seiichi might still have wanted to compete with him. But if they were worlds apart, what was the point of comparing themselves?
That shot had made Yukimura realize just how far behind Kannagi Shinichi he was.
"Do you want to keep playing?" Kannagi Shinichi asked, his voice calm and his expression no longer cold.
Seeing the concern on Kannagi Shinichi's face, Yukimura Seiichi gave him a warm smile again. "Of course. I'm not going to run away."
Kannagi Shinichi held out his hand and smiled too. "I won't go easy on you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" By the time Yukimura Seiichi finished speaking, they had shaken hands again.
Seeing the two of them smiling as they shook hands on the court, many female fans screamed from the crowd, their voices even drowning out the cheers of Hyotei's players.
Kannagi Shinichi was very dissatisfied with that. Once the new school year began, the tennis club would have to recruit more members.
"Final-set tiebreak. Score: 2–0, Kannagi Shinichi leads. The match will continue, with Yukimura Seiichi serving."
The match resumed.
Thwack!
Yukimura Seiichi served.
"Haah... Thunder... clap... Eight... Trigrams..."
"Final-set tiebreak. Score: 3–0, Kannagi Shinichi leads."
"Dragon's Roar..."
Bang...
Thwack... This time, Yukimura Seiichi returned Dragon's Roar.
"Dou... ble... Thunder... clap... Eight... Trigrams..."
Bang...
"Final-set tiebreak. Score: 4–0, Kannagi Shinichi leads."
"Final-set tiebreak. Score: 5–0, Kannagi Shinichi leads."
"Final-set tiebreak. Score: 6–0, Kannagi Shinichi leads."
"Match over. Tiebreak score: 7–0. Final score: 7–6. Kannagi Shinichi wins."
When the referee announced the end of the match, the two of them came to the net and shook hands again. Yukimura Seiichi spoke first. "Congratulations, Kannagi."
Yukimura Seiichi was still smiling, but Kannagi Shinichi could hear a hint of bitterness in his voice.
"You're very strong too." Kannagi Shinichi let go of his hand, then continued, "You're the third person who's made me use the complete Thunderclap Eight Trigrams."
Yukimura Seiichi just smiled, then turned and walked away. But as he turned, he thought bitterly, I may be strong, but the strongest of this era is you, Kannagi Shinichi...
Before you continue