"Hyotei will win!"
"Our captain is unbeatable!"
"Hyotei will win!"
"Our captain is unbeatable!"
Behind Kannagi Shinichi, dozens of members of the Hyotei tennis club stood in neat formation, shouting in unison. Their cheers seemed out of place on the court, yet they were also somewhat stirring.
"Seriously? Kannagi Shinichi is the captain of the Hyotei tennis club?"
"He became captain in his first year? Has Hyotei staked its entire future on him?"
"I'm so jealous. He hasn't even started school yet, and he's already become captain."
"If you were as good as Kannagi Shinichi, you could be captain too."
The spectators outside the court buzzed with discussion. On the court, Kannagi Shinichi and Tachibana Kippei had clasped hands.
"Kannagi Shinichi."
"Tachibana Kippei."
"Now, in the quarterfinals of the National Elementary School Tennis Tournament, Tachibana Kippei versus Kannagi Shinichi. Tachibana Kippei will serve first."
"Whew." Tachibana Kippei gazed at Kannagi Shinichi across the court and let out a long breath.
Only when they were standing face-to-face did Tachibana Kippei realize just how powerful Kannagi Shinichi's presence was. It put him under immense pressure.
But at the same time, he was excited. Tennis was fun precisely because opponents like this existed.
Once he had calmed himself, Tachibana Kippei tossed the ball high into the air and swung his racket down.
Thwack!
The ball became a streak of yellow light, flying toward Kannagi Shinichi's side like a cannonball. It was incredibly fast and powerful.
Its speed exceeded 190 kilometers per hour.
Tap!
Kannagi Shinichi faced the incoming ball with a calm expression. Tachibana Kippei's serve was top-notch, but its speed and power were both far below Kannagi Shinichi's own serve.
With a flash of movement, he appeared in front of the ball. His strength, far beyond that of anyone his age, had given him tremendous explosiveness and incredible short-distance speed.
He swung his racket with all his might.
Bang!
The return shot was even faster than Tachibana Kippei's serve. With a mighty roar, it flew toward the opposite side of the court.
Tachibana Kippei braced himself against Kannagi Shinichi's return. He could feel its power, so he gripped his racket with both hands and put all his strength into sending the ball back.
Perhaps Kannagi's return had been too fast, or perhaps the ball had been too powerful. Either way, Tachibana Kippei's return lacked quality.
That gave Kannagi Shinichi the chance to unleash his Two-Handed Thunder Rumbling Eight Trigrams.
He stepped back, gripped his racket in both hands, and took up a stance. The muscles hidden beneath his clothes instantly rippled.
Before this match, Kannagi Shinichi had never used a single special move against his opponents. His physical strength alone had been enough to crush them. But against Tachibana Kippei, Kannagi Shinichi used a special move for the first time in the tournament.
"Two... Handed... Thunder... Rumbling... Eight... Trigrams...!"
Kannagi Shinichi swung his racket so fast that it became a blur. The ball roared like thunder as it shot straight ahead.
A visible ripple in the air spread outward along the ball's path. Only then came a thunderous crash that shook the entire court. The roar was so loud that many spectators' ears rang for a moment.
When the thunderous roar finally faded, Tachibana Kippei had been blasted off the court, his whole body in a sorry state.
He hadn't returned the shot. The reason he had been sent flying was entirely the powerful gust of air carried by the ball.
Tachibana Kippei's eyes were bloodshot, and he felt utterly dejected. The difference between them was simply too great. Was this the man people called "The Second Legendary Man"?
Tachibana Kippei stood up with a bitter smile. He couldn't even return the other man's shots. How ignorant had he been to think he could have a proper match against the man at the pinnacle of this new era of tennis?
Though he knew he had no chance of winning, Tachibana Kippei would never give up. If he did, that would mean giving up on the possibility of continuing to grow.
"0–15. K-Kannagi Shinichi scores." The referee had been so startled by the shot that his voice trembled as he called the score.
"Hyotei, victory! Captain, victory!"
"Hyotei, victory! Captain, victory!"
After seeing that shot, the Hyotei club members were flushed with excitement, shouting at the top of their lungs. This was their new captain, Kannagi Shinichi—the man who stood on the court like a god.
The spectators stared in disbelief at the figure standing on the court, discussing him nonstop.
"Hey, hey, that's terrifying. No one could return that shot."
"A monster. Kannagi Shinichi is a monster."
"If that hit someone, they'd definitely die, right?"
Shishido Ryo and Mukahi Gakuto had seen the shot from the stands, too.
They were stunned. At that moment, their minds were filled with nothing but shock.
Kannagi Shinichi was so strong that it was hard to believe. Their eyes were already burning with excitement.
"Shishido, let's join the Hyotei tennis club together when we enter middle school," Mukahi Gakuto said. Though he was speaking to Shishido Ryo, his eyes were fixed on Kannagi Shinichi on the court nearby. He didn't even look at his friend, Akutagawa Jirou.
"Sure." Shishido Ryo nodded coolly, but his eyes burned as he watched Kannagi Shinichi.
Sitting by the sidelines, Sakaki Taro paid no attention to the spectators' chatter about Kannagi Shinichi. He was just as unfazed by the strength of Kannagi Shinichi's move.
That was because he had seen Kannagi Shinichi's true special technique—the one that was like something out of a god or demon.
He was very pleased with Kannagi Shinichi, and at the same time, he felt lucky to have brought him to Hyotei.
The commotion outside the court continued, but the match on the court resumed. The ball flew back and forth across the court.
"0–30. Kannagi Shinichi scores!"
"0–40. Kannagi Shinichi scores!"
"Game, 1–0. Kannagi Shinichi leads."
Bang!
Another Two-Handed Thunder Rumbling Eight Trigrams.
"Game, 4–0. Kannagi Shinichi leads."
Bang!
"Game, 5–0. Kannagi Shinichi leads."
"Match over. 6–0. Kannagi Shinichi wins."
Tachibana Kippei was strong, just one step away from reaching the national level. But he had come up against Kannagi Shinichi.
The result was never in doubt. Kannagi Shinichi hadn't lost a single point throughout the match, sweeping Tachibana Kippei aside 6–0.
Ever since his five-dimensional stats had broken through 7, Kannagi Shinichi had known he was invincible among his peers.
"Damn, I never thought Tachibana Kippei, who hadn't lost a single point in his previous matches, wouldn't score even once in this one."
"I thought this would be an even match. I didn't expect it to end in a sweep."
"It's not that Tachibana Kippei isn't strong. Kannagi Shinichi is just too strong. I doubt anyone his age can beat him." From the stands, Coach Bandou of Yamabuki Middle School looked at Kannagi Shinichi with admiration.
Beside him, Ryuzaki Sumire, the Seigaku coach, gazed at Kannagi Shinichi on the court with mixed feelings. She couldn't help murmuring, "If only he'd join Seigaku."
After saying that, she looked over at Sakaki Taro by the sidelines, dressed in a reddish-brown suit. Her eyes were filled with envy.
On the court, Kannagi Shinichi walked up to the net with his racket and held out his hand. "I won, but you played really well."
"Did I?" Tachibana Kippei gave a bitter smile and extended his hand. His eyes were a little dim.
Ever since he'd started playing tennis, he had never imagined there could be such a huge gap between him and another player.
"Don't feel bad about losing. There's nothing shameful about losing to me. Besides, I used my signature special move out of respect for you. You should know that you're the first person in this tournament who made me use one of my special moves."
"Then I guess I should feel honored." The gloom had left Tachibana Kippei's face, replaced by a faint smile. He clasped hands with Kannagi Shinichi.
They exchanged smiles, then left the court.
The match had taken very little time, only ten minutes. Kannagi Shinichi had thought his match was short enough, but someone else had finished even sooner.
That person wasn't Sanada Genichiro or Yukimura Seiichi.
It was Sengoku Kiyosumi, who kept saying, "Lucky."
Before you continue