The sight made Chotaro and Shishido, standing nearby, feel a chill run down their backs.
"They're nothing but a bunch of worthless scoundrels who think their age gives them the right to bully others," Chiba Yun Chuan said coolly.
Across the court, after seeing Oshitari's serve, Tachibana Kippei looked astonished, with a trace of delight in his eyes.
"This! This is an Outer Spin Serve! I can't believe that Hyotei player named Oshitari can hit an Outer Spin Serve!
He's really good!"
"Great shot! Beat those jerks up! Teach them a lesson for bullying my brother all the time!" Tachibana An raised her fist and cheered.
"Captain, what's an Outer Spin Serve?" Kamio, standing behind them, immediately asked after hearing Tachibana Kippei mention it.
"An Outer Spin Serve is..."
As Tachibana Kippei explained it to Kamio and the others, the match continued!
Thwack!
"Ahhh!"
Hyotei scored. The score was 30–0!
Thwack!
"Ahhh!"
"Point to Hyotei. The score is 1–0!"
Only when the umpire announced the score did Fudomine's players' nightmare finally come to an end!
Watching the Fudomine players on the court get battered by the tennis balls, the spectators around them began discussing the match animatedly.
"What did Fudomine do to Hyotei to deserve this?"
"That's awful. They're getting hit right in the face with the ball."
"Isn't this going too far? Who plays tennis like that?"
Fudomine forfeited, and Hyotei won the match!
Hearing the umpire's announcement, Chiba Yun Chuan felt it was a shame.
He'd wanted to teach them a few more lessons, but he hadn't expected them to give up so soon.
Still, judging by how battered Tanin and Yamagoe looked, they clearly couldn't go on.
It was only a matter of time before they lost!
"Fudomine actually forfeited. That's unbelievable."
"Hyotei would've won even if they kept playing."
"Go, Hyotei!"
Twenty minutes later,
Hyotei won the doubles match, 6–0!
Another twenty minutes later,
Hyotei's Akutagawa Jirou won, 6–0!
Hyotei defeated Fudomine with a score of 3–0!
Every Fudomine player who'd taken the court was covered in bruises. Hyotei had given them special treatment!
"Wow, just how strong is Hyotei?"
"Another 3–0! Hyotei hasn't lost a single match so far!"
"Hyotei has qualified for the Kanto Tournament!"
At that moment, spectators outside the court were abuzz with talk of Hyotei qualifying for the Kanto Tournament.
Watching Chiba Yun Chuan sitting on the coach's bench, Tachibana An slowly walked out of the court with Tachibana Kippei. Today's matches were over, and they had to head back to school!
As they left, Tachibana An kept glancing back toward Chiba Yun Chuan, until he was no longer in sight!
"An, what are you looking at?"
Kamio, walking ahead, noticed that Tachibana An was acting strangely. He slowed down and walked alongside her as he asked.
"Huh? Nothing."
After answering, she quickened her pace to catch up with Tachibana Kippei.
Chiba Yun Chuan had no idea that a girl named Tachibana An had begun quietly paying attention to him!
With the match over, Hyotei had advanced to the semifinals the following day!
It also meant that Hyotei had already secured a place in the Kanto Tournament!
The next day would determine their final ranking. In the eyes of Hyotei's regulars, there was no doubt they'd qualify for the Kanto Tournament as the top team!
The next day,
At the Metropolitan Tournament semifinal venue!
Just as expected, the semifinal was Hyotei versus Seigaku!
The other semifinal was Yamabuki Middle School versus Ginka Middle School!
A large crowd had already gathered at the venue. Although Hyotei and Seigaku were only facing each other in the semifinals, most people felt the match was worthy of a final!
They'd arrived early so they wouldn't miss a thrilling showdown!
Seigaku had arrived and was standing together, waiting for Hyotei.
"Tezuka, we can definitely win!" Oishi said firmly beside Tezuka.
They'd had a match the day before, too, and Hyotei's had ended much earlier, so they hadn't been there to watch them play!
They'd only heard rumors that Hyotei was very strong.
The main reason was that Hyotei hadn't faced any particularly strong schools yet. Otherwise, their opponents might have been able to gauge their strength!
"No matter how strong our opponent is, we have to give it our all."
Tezuka's expression was grave as he spoke. Even though they'd already qualified for the Kanto Tournament, they still had to face the challenges ahead!
No one wanted to lose.
Tezuka was no different!
It was a shame that some of Seigaku's first-years couldn't play yet. Otherwise, the team would have been even stronger!
Watching Coach Ryuzaki sitting with her eyes closed, Tezuka felt deeply unsettled.
"Oishi, don't worry. Eiji and I have been practicing together for ages! We can definitely win!" Kikumaru Eiji came up behind Oishi with a smile, draped an arm over his shoulder, and grinned as he spoke.
Hearing Kikumaru say that, Oishi answered with equal conviction, "Eiji, we can definitely win!"
"Oishi, what's wrong with you? Seigaku is really good, you know!" Eiji felt that Oishi was acting strangely today.
After all, Seigaku hadn't dropped a single set from the qualifiers through the Metropolitan Tournament. That was one reason they were strong contenders for the Metropolitan Tournament championship!
This had also made Seigaku's players feel their opponents weren't all that strong. But was that really true?
Just then, the spectators began to stir.
"Hyotei's here!"
"It really is Hyotei! They've arrived!"
"Yagami and Atobe look so cool!"
The spectators were saying the same things, and some were even shouting loudly.
"Senior Inoue, Hyotei's here!" Shiba Saori had arrived at the Metropolitan Tournament venue with Inoue Mamoru.
"Yeah, they're here." Inoue Mamoru watched Chiba Yun Chuan walking at the front and fell into thought.
Chiba Yun Chuan would probably play against Seigaku, wouldn't he?
Inoue Mamoru really wanted to know which singles position he'd play.
Inoue Mamoru didn't yet know that Tezuka's arm injury had healed. If he did, he would surely have thought Chiba Yun Chuan would face Tezuka!
The schools Hyotei had faced so far had been far too weak. Three of Hyotei's players—Chiba Yun Chuan, Atobe Keigo, and Akutsu—hadn't played at all!
Akutsu wasn't famous, but even so, the fact that Atobe and Chiba Yun Chuan hadn't played was shocking enough!
After all, they were Hyotei's strongest players!
Hyotei had reached the Metropolitan Tournament semifinals without dropping a single set, even though those two hadn't played!
That alone showed just how strong they were!
Hearing the commotion, Seigaku's players immediately turned to look in the direction Hyotei was coming from!
Sure enough, Hyotei was slowly making its way over, led by Chiba Yun Chuan.
There were ten of them in all!
"They're intimidating!"
Kikumaru swallowed nervously.
"Yeah, that's Hyotei!" Oishi stood beside Kikumaru, his expression grave.
"Hyotei... What kind of team are they? Tezuka, can we win?" Even Fuji opened his eyes and looked toward Tezuka!
They hadn't even played each other yet, but Fuji could already feel the pressure!
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