Thunderclap Eight Trigrams

In an open-air tennis court in Nagoya.

Kannagi Shinichi and Ochi Moonlight stood facing each other.

"You serve first." Ochi Moonlight was confident—no one had ever returned his Mach Serve on first encounter.

So he let Kannagi Shinichi serve first.

"Alright."

Kannagi Shinichi didn't stand on ceremony. Since he knew the other's specialty was his serve, and the man was willing to yield the first move, he naturally had to seize the opportunity. Otherwise, if Sakaki Taro thought the money had gone to waste and wanted it back, that would be awkward.

Kannagi Shinichi lightly patted the tennis ball. He had already sensed a disturbance in his spirit—during that brief exchange with Ochi Moonlight earlier, the man had performed a Mental Assassination on him.

"If you used your Mach Serve, I wouldn't stand a chance on this ball. But if you think Mental Assassination can beat me, Ochi Moonlight, you're overthinking it."

Kannagi Shinichi silently badmouthed Ochi Moonlight in his mind, then his gaze sharpened. His arm swung, the tennis ball arced high, and his body moved in natural response.

Bend the knees, rise on the toes, jump, swing.

The entire serving motion was extremely simple and fluid. He simply used his Strength stat of 5 to swing with full force. The serve was straight, fast, and heavy.

Even Kannagi Shinichi hadn't expected that under Ochi Moonlight's Mental Assassination, he could produce an even better serve than usual.

Maybe this was the power of money.

"That serve speed is definitely 200 kilometers per hour—a national-level serve." Sakaki Taro was quite satisfied with Kannagi Shinichi's serve. After all, a twelve-year-old boy capable of a national-level serve was already extremely rare.

What Sakaki Taro didn't know was that this was Kannagi Shinichi exceeding his usual performance. Normally, his serve wasn't this fast—at most 195 kilometers per hour.

"The important thing isn't the speed, but the weight of the ball. Kannagi's strength is formidable, even surpassing the level of a middle school student." Nagoya Seidoku's coach, Dai Weisi, spoke up from the side.

"Not enough. Ochi can return this ball."

Just as Sakaki Taro said, Ochi easily sent Kannagi Shinichi's serve back.

Perhaps because of the ball's weight, Ochi Moonlight's return wasn't as fast as Kannagi Shinichi had imagined.

In that case, seize the opportunity and go straight for a big move. He had no intention of testing his opponent's strength, especially in a single-ball match.

"Ochi Moonlight, don't get hurt on this one." Kannagi Shinichi shouted loudly at Ochi Moonlight, then concentrated all his power into his right hand, followed by another long cry: "Hah... Thun... der... Eight... Tri... gram..."

Kannagi Shinichi's shout echoed across the entire court.

Zzzz~

At that moment, Kannagi Shinichi's right hand was wreathed in countless bolts of lightning. The racket crackled with thunder, its aura terrifying beyond measure.

"What is this..." Dai Weisi was so shocked he couldn't even form words.

"How can he be this strong, how can he..." Seeing that ball, Kiyota Yosuke deeply regretted not raising his bid earlier. If he could have brought Kannagi Shinichi to the school, the boy would surely lead Nagoya Seidoku to the top of the National Tournament one day.

"This is Kannagi Shinichi..." Sakaki Taro's eyes widened, his breathing turned heavy, his gaze locked onto Kannagi Shinichi on the court. His heart was pounding with excitement, so much so that he wanted to roar.

He had known Kannagi Shinichi was strong before, but this move surpassed every middle school student, even high school students. Sakaki Taro stared at Kannagi Shinichi with fervent eyes and murmured: "Kannagi Shinichi, truly worthy of being called the Second Legendary Man."

Inside the court.

Boom!

The sound of the racket striking the ball rang out like thunder exploding in the ears. The few watching couldn't help covering their ears with their hands.

Only Ochi Moonlight focused his concentration, trying to return the ball.

Thud...

The tennis ball hit the ground. Ochi Moonlight didn't swing—because he knew he couldn't return this one.

When the others saw what lay behind Ochi Moonlight, each of them wore expressions of shock. A massive hole had been blasted through the court wall by the tennis ball, cracks spreading outward like a spiderweb.

Though the magazines had already published photos of Kannagi Shinichi defeating Tono Atsukyo, with the wall blasted open by a tennis ball.

Seeing it in person today was far more striking than any magazine photo.

Ochi Moonlight took a deep breath. His heart was equally shaken. A twelve-year-old boy possessing such terrifying shots and such power was simply unbelievable.

He had seen a ball with this kind of force before—at this year's National Tournament, from that man named Byodoin.

He too had blasted a massive hole in the wall with a tennis ball, except his ball glowed.

Now Kannagi Shinichi and Ochi Moonlight had put away their rackets and walked to the center of the net, shaking hands.

"You're strong. I lost this time." Ochi Moonlight was straightforward—a loss was a loss, a win was a win. He didn't dwell on losing to an elementary schooler, especially since Tono Atsukyo had already done so.

"If you had served, I would have lost."

Though the two were vastly different in height, Kannagi Shinichi's presence was in no way inferior to Ochi Moonlight's.

"I hope you lead Hyotei to the national championship."

"Of course. I'll lead Hyotei to three consecutive national titles."

Hearing this, Ochi Moonlight's face showed a rare smile.

The single-ball match ended quickly. Kannagi Shinichi had won, but Sakaki Taro and Dai Weisi had seen not only the boy's terrifying strength but also the limitless potential his body granted. After all, Kannagi Shinichi was only twelve years old.

The two walked over to Sakaki Taro, who gazed at Kannagi Shinichi with burning eyes: "Kannagi, welcome again to Hyotei."

"Thank you, Advisor Sakaki. I will definitely lead Hyotei to the top of the nation." Listening to Sakaki Taro's words, Kannagi Shinichi knew this was his acknowledgment of his strength.

"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt. I'm Inoue Mamoru, a reporter from Tennis Monthly. I was wondering if I could have a moment to interview Kannagi-kun?" At that moment, a tennis magazine reporter carrying a camera walked over.

Inoue Mamoru had watched the entire match just now. That boy had struck a ball of terrifying power, leaving him shaken and awestruck. At the same time, he marveled inwardly: Even Echizen Nanjirou at this age probably wasn't as good as this boy.

Kannagi Shinichi glanced at Sakaki Taro, who gave him a slight nod.

Seeing this, Kannagi Shinichi nodded to Inoue. "Go ahead."

"I'd like to ask Kannagi-kun, which middle school will you attend? Will it be Hyotei?"

He had just seen the interaction between Kannagi Shinichi and Sakaki Taro, and after the match ended, Kannagi had also come to stand beside Sakaki alongside Ochi Moonlight, so he had his guess.

"Yes. For middle school, I'll choose Hyotei."

Kannagi Shinichi's tone was cold when he spoke, but Inoue Mamoru found it natural. This was a man who, at a single glance, seemed very strong and very lonely—perhaps the loneliness of having no rivals among his peers.

"May I ask why Kannagi-kun chose Hyotei? After all, Hyotei is in Tokyo."

Why go to Hyotei? Because of the money, of course. But Kannagi Shinichi couldn't say that.

"Hyotei's sincerity. Their sincerity made me feel valued."

As if sensing Kannagi Shinichi's impatience with the question, Sakaki Taro spoke up from the side: "Mr. Inoue, we still have other matters to attend to, so we'll be taking our leave now."

With that, Sakaki Taro prepared to lead Ochi Moonlight and Kannagi Shinichi off the court.

"Please wait. I have one last question for Kannagi-kun."

"Ask."

"After entering middle school, does Kannagi-kun have any goals?" Seeing Kannagi Shinichi stop, Inoue Mamoru breathed a sigh of relief.

"Goals?" In truth, Kannagi Shinichi didn't really have any goals. He only wanted to unlock his template progress and then make money.

But that answer couldn't be said either. Kannagi Shinichi looked at Sakaki Taro and Ochi Moonlight, who were both watching him, then raised his right hand high and said coldly, "Next year, I will lead Hyotei to dominate the nation and create an era that belongs to me."

The next day, Tennis Monthly released its latest issue.

Tennis Tyrant to Arrive in Tokyo

Declaration: The Future Is the Tyrant's Era