The Match Begins

In the original world, Atobe Keigo was supposed to defeat all the original regular members of the tennis club first, then defeat Shishido Ryo and Mukahi Gakuto working together, and only then would he face Oshitari Yuushi.

But the appearance of Kannagi Shinichi changed all of that.

"We'll decide the serve with a racket flip. That way, the loser won't have any excuses."

At this moment, Kannagi Shinichi had already taken off his jacket and approached the net. He placed his racket on the ground, waiting for Atobe Keigo, who stood before him, to respond.

"Just as I wish," Atobe Keigo's tone was as confident as ever. He looked at the standing racket. "I choose the front."

As soon as Atobe Keigo finished speaking, Kannagi Shinichi began to spin the racket.

A moment later, Atobe Keigo proudly raised his head and spoke with extreme narcissism, "It seems Lady Luck is on my side today. I've already won this match, this great me."

Atobe Keigo's confidence was not blind. Having grown up in England, he had received the highest level of tennis training and witnessed many young geniuses active in European tennis.

It was precisely because of this that he knew how vast the gap was between Japanese tennis and European tennis.

And Atobe Keigo, an outstanding talent who had been active in the European junior tennis world, had even conquered the junior tennis scene in Britain, one of the four Grand Slam venues.

He could sense that Kannagi Shinichi was strong; the aura emanating from him was undeniable. However, Atobe Keigo still believed that he, who had conquered the British junior tennis world, could also conquer the Japanese junior tennis world.

It was for this very reason that the arrogant Atobe Keigo knew nothing about the current state of Japanese junior tennis and never paid attention to any information about the Japanese tennis world.

After all, in the current world tennis scene, apart from Echizen Nanjirou from more than a decade ago, whose legend circulated in Europe, Japan had not produced a single professional player in the past decade.

Although Atobe Keigo had only just arrived at Hyotei and was challenging the tennis club's captain, for most Japanese people, this was unacceptable.

But Atobe Keigo didn't care. In his life's creed, strength was king.

The two had already taken their positions at the baseline, and Atobe Keigo was ready to serve.

Just then, a gentle male voice sounded from the side of the court, "It seems you need a referee!"

A blue-haired teenager wearing glasses put down his backpack, slowly sat on the referee's chair, and looked at the two with a smile, "You don't mind, do you?"

Kannagi Shinichi recognized the teenager at a glance. It was Oshitari Yuushi, known as the "Kansai Wolf," and a future genius of the Hyotei tennis club.

He sized up Oshitari Yuushi and then nodded calmly, "It's good to have a referee. The loser will have nothing more to say."

Although Kannagi Shinichi's words were the truth, to Atobe Keigo's ears, it sounded as if the winner of this match was destined to be him.

This made the arrogant Atobe feel provoked, so he decided to retaliate verbally.

He casually brushed his bangs aside and said narcissistically to Oshitari Yuushi, "I don't mind either. It's good to have an extra person to witness the glorious victory of this great me."

Watching the two exchange sharp words, Oshitari Yuushi's lips curved slightly. He naturally recognized Kannagi Shinichi, who was known as "the strongest of the new era." Moreover, the recent Tennis Weekly was filled with news featuring him as the protagonist.

As for the other ash-haired teenager, although he didn't recognize him, in Oshitari Yuushi's mind, anyone who dared to challenge Kannagi Shinichi was definitely no ordinary person.

Oshitari Yuushi felt that his future campus life at Hyotei would definitely not be boring.

Recalling himself, Oshitari Yuushi wanted to be a perfect referee at this moment and observe the two on the court.

However, when he was about to announce the start of the match, he remembered that he didn't know Atobe's name, so he asked, "Excuse me, classmate, what is your name?"

"This great me is Atobe Keigo."

After speaking, Atobe once again narcissistically brushed his hair. This scene made Oshitari Yuushi's mouth twitch slightly. This guy was a bit chuunibyou.

"Atobe Keigo, huh?" Oshitari Yuushi murmured, not dwelling on it too much. Then, he announced the start of the match:

"Atobe Keigo vs. Kannagi Shinichi. One set, with Atobe Keigo serving."

Kannagi Shinichi was not surprised that Oshitari Yuushi recognized him. After all, he was now a household name in the Japanese junior tennis scene, especially among junior tennis players, most of whom had seen his photos in Tennis Weekly.

Bang...

At this moment, Atobe Keigo served. The speed of this ball was extremely fast, making Oshitari Yuushi, sitting on the referee's chair, secretly exclaim, "As expected, this young man is no ordinary person."

This shot would be difficult for most tennis players to return, but for Kannagi Shinichi, who possessed explosive power, it was nothing.

In an instant, Kannagi Shinichi was at the ball. He didn't control his strength but swung his racket with all his might.

If he wanted to subdue Atobe Keigo, he could only use overwhelming strength. Otherwise, Atobe Keigo might "rebel" every other day in the future.

The tennis ball whistled through the air, turning into a beam of light and heading towards Atobe's side of the court.

Thump...

The tennis ball landed, kicking up a cloud of dust, and then bounced back at an even faster speed, like a giant dragon roaring past Atobe Keigo.

"How is this possible..."

Atobe's face was filled with shock and disbelief. The speed of this return was even faster than his own serve just now.

After the initial shock, his reaction was swift. He quickly ran to the tennis ball that had already flown far away and unleashed all his strength, swinging his racket.

However, Kannagi Shinichi's power was too immense. When Atobe Keigo's racket touched the tennis ball, he felt a tremendous force surge towards his wrist.

A moment later, a racket lay on the ground, and the tennis ball bounced off the court fence, embedding itself within it.

"What incredible power, he's a monster." Oshitari Yuushi looked at Kannagi Shinichi with awe before announcing the score:

"0:15, Kannagi Shinichi scores."

Because the ceremony had ended, a large crowd had already gathered outside the tennis court. Everyone had witnessed that shot.

"Just as expected from the club president, he scored directly on the return!" Shishido Ryo, squeezed at the front of the crowd by the court, shouted happily to his side.

"Let that guy be arrogant, he got taught a lesson by the Minister this time!" Mukahi Gakuto chimed in from the side.

Meanwhile, Akutsu, standing behind Kannagi Shinichi, wore a confused expression. "Did he go all out from the start?"

Many members of the tennis club on the court were jeering at Atobe Keigo, which made the girls who were previously infatuated with Atobe's appearance and aura glare angrily.

Many people shut up sheepishly because of this, but a few mocking voices still occasionally broke through.

At this moment on the court, Atobe Keigo was staring blankly at his right hand, then burst into laughter. "Hahaha..., interesting, very interesting. I didn't expect there to be another expert like you in Japan."

After laughing, Atobe picked up the racket that had fallen to the ground and resumed serving.

Bang...

"So fast, I could barely see it."

Watching Atobe Keigo's serve, even Shishido Ryo, who had been mocking him earlier, had eyes full of surprise.

The crowd outside the tennis court fell silent upon seeing this serve.

Although Atobe Keigo's serve was very fast, Kannagi Shinichi still managed to return it. The tennis ball, with a whistling sound as before, flew towards Atobe's half of the court.

Relying on his perfect insight, Atobe Keigo saw the trajectory of the tennis ball at the first moment, predicted the landing spot in advance, and his legs moved rapidly.

At this moment, he gripped his racket tightly with both hands and swung fiercely at the tennis ball that was about to bounce, shouting, "One hand's strength isn't enough, so I'll use both hands to return it! I, the great me, absolutely refuse to be defeated by the same move twice!"