At that moment, Atobe landed and stood at the net, looking at the empty-handed Fuji across from him,
with a smile on his face.
"Hey, Seigaku! Did my skills scare you? I won't go easy on you!
Pick up your racket and serve already. I'm in a hurry!"
Atobe was acting more arrogant than ever!
Fuji slowly picked up his racket, searching for a way to win. His serve had already been broken, so serving again seemed pointless!
Actually, Fuji had another kind of serve. The odds weren't great, but he still wanted to give it a try!
Fuji was still far weaker than he would be a year later. In Chiba Yun Chuan's eyes, at least, neither his returns nor his serves came close to that level!
Fuji bounced the ball, his gaze sharpening.
Then he caught the ball in his hand and spun it hard. It dropped, spinning, toward the ground!
With his right hand in an awkward position, Fuji swung his racket at the spinning ball in front of him with incredible speed.
Bang!
The ball flew toward Atobe, spinning at high speed.
As it flew, it split into three! That was right: Fuji's irregular serve could now make the ball spin fast enough to create the illusion that it had split into three!
In reality, there was only one ball.
Atobe's eyes narrowed as he watched the three balls fly toward him.
"Interesting. Three balls? Let's see the real one!" Atobe's pupils contracted, and the three balls slowly merged into one in his eyes.
"I can see it now!"
With that, Atobe suddenly exerted himself and vanished from where he stood.
When he appeared again, he was already in front of the ball's flight path. He came to a sudden stop and waited for it to arrive.
Bang!
The spectators watched as the ball bounced, then flew off in three different directions.
"Fuji, I've seen through you again!"
As he spoke, Atobe swung his racket and found the real ball!
To be precise, all three balls were fake. The real one hadn't appeared at all—it had turned invisible.
After Atobe struck it with his racket, the ball shot toward the dead corner on Fuji's side, passing through the crystalline image in Atobe's eyes before bouncing on the court!
Thwack!
Then it flew straight out of the court!
"Hyotei scores. The score is 30–15."
As the umpire's voice rang out,
Fuji lost another point!
Neither of Fuji's two serves was any use against Atobe.
"It's over. There's no doubt Atobe will take this game!"
Hearing Chiba Yun Chuan say that, Ryuzaki Sumire retorted,
"The match isn't over yet. We can't say how it'll end!" Though she said so, she had no confidence at all!
Atobe had already shown tremendous strength, and he might not even have revealed everything!
Fuji, meanwhile, was being completely suppressed!
And yet!
Looking at Chiba Yun Chuan before her, Ryuzaki Sumire felt as if she were looking at Echizen Nanjirou!
The same confidence, the same air of a strong player!
Most of all, Ryuzaki Sumire saw in Chiba Yun Chuan's eyes a confidence that said he could never lose, that no one could compare to him!
She hadn't seen a look like that in a long time.
Only Nanjirou had that look in his eyes. Now she was seeing it in a first-year middle schooler's eyes, and she was astonished!
Back on the court,
it was still Fuji's service game!
Even though his serve had been broken, Fuji still wasn't willing to give up!
He gave the ball in his hand a gentle spin. It dropped, spinning, and when it reached his knee, Fuji slammed his racket into it. The ball shot toward Atobe again, spinning fiercely!
It kept spinning as it flew, then vanished!
"I told you, that move won't work on me!" Atobe was already standing where the ball would land. When it came flying toward him,
he read the dead corner on Fuji's side and swung hard, sending the ball back!
The ball shattered the crystalline image in Atobe's eyes once more.
Bang!
To Fuji's shock, the ball flew out of the court again.
"Hyotei scores. The score is 40–15!"
"Fuji may be known as Seigaku's prodigy, but he still falls short of Atobe. Give him another year and he might be able to challenge Atobe. But for now, Hyotei will take this match." Chiba Yun Chuan watched the triumphant Atobe and spoke softly.
"Atobe is indeed very strong. But if Fuji is called a prodigy, there must be a reason for it!"
Ryuzaki Sumire had already seen how things were going, but she didn't want to concede.
She still believed Fuji could win.
Chiba Yun Chuan didn't argue with her. He would let the result show her just how strong Hyotei was!
"I feel as if Fuji's being seen through from every angle. I hate this feeling!
"Atobe has already seen through Fuji. Every one of his returns goes toward Fuji's dead corners or weaknesses!
"I only found all of Fuji's dead corners and weaknesses after gathering information for a long time!
"If Atobe didn't gather information beforehand, then his observation and insight are just too good."
Inui watched Atobe smiling on the court, his voice growing even more grave.
"As the player who won four consecutive matches at the junior selection tournament, Atobe is practically an all-around player. But his eyesight is even more frightening!
"Fuji, are you really out of options?" Tezuka watched Fuji, who had been playing tennis with him since their first year, and wondered whether he could win if he were the one on court now.
A thoughtful look crossed Tezuka's eyes.
Fuji stood at the baseline, looking at Atobe across the court with a grave expression. He was the strongest middle schooler Fuji had faced apart from Tezuka!
Of course, he hadn't played against Chiba Yun Chuan. Otherwise, he wouldn't have thought that!
Then Chiba Yun Chuan would have been the strongest, without question.
The ball in Fuji's hand rose into the air again.
Bang!
Atobe took the final point of the game in the second rally after Fuji's serve!
"Hyotei scores. The score is 2–0!"
At the umpire's announcement, Fuji lost his service game!
"What do we do? Fuji's serve got broken! How is that possible?" Kikumaru looked at Atobe and Fuji on the court, unable to believe it.
"Fuji's a prodigy! And he's lost two games in a row!"
"Atobe has extraordinary eyesight and top-notch technique. It's no surprise he took two games. Now we'll see how Fuji responds.
"I hope he can hold on a little longer. That way, I can gather more complete data," Inui said as he wrote in his notebook.
"What's that supposed to mean, Inui? You really don't believe in Fuji? Fuji can definitely win! He's so strong!" Kikumaru sounded angry. He still believed Fuji could win!
"Senior Fuji can definitely win! He's amazing!" Momoshiro also believed Fuji could turn the match around!
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