Locked Down

"Great, Fuji- Senpai caught up with you so easily."

"No, Arnold has memorized Fuji's movements and the ball very clearly; perhaps it should be said that he is analyzing Fuji."

"Oh no! Doesn't that mean things are really bad for you, Senpai?"

"No... don't worry, it seems Fuji already knew that when he made his move."

Seeing Fuji a point with his Brown Bear Drop and Swallow Returns to Nest, Momoshiro cheered excitedly.

However, what Gan, sitting behind him, saw was Arnold's observation and analytical abilities, which were somewhat similar to his Information Tennis.

"Your trick is the same as before; it won't work on me anymore."

On the field, Arnold stared at Fuji on the opposite side, his mind replaying the image of Fuji using the Swallow Returns to Nest Fuji.

After a brief analysis, a solution was found.

It seemed the advantage had shifted back to Arnold, and Fuji was once again in a predicament.

And the weather at this moment seemed to be foreshadowing something; it had been an unbearably sunny day before.

Suddenly, dark clouds gathered, shrouding the stadium.

"The weather can change so quickly; it was sunny just a moment ago."

"That's good, though. If the match had been interrupted because of the weather, I don't think you, Fuji- Senpai, would have been satisfied."

Looking at the closed stadium overhead, Horio spoke to Fuji, who was resting beside him.

"Yeah, I still really want to finish the match with Arnold."

Fuji clearly acknowledged Arnold's ability and didn't want the match to end so abruptly.

"The Swallow Returns to Nest is no longer working. What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?"

After a short break, the third set began, and it was Arnold's turn to serve again.

Fuji hit a curveball, felt the spin of the ball, and then returned it.

Then he immediately struck a pose Swallow Returns to Nest, which Arnold saw in Fuji's posture.

Realizing that Fuji wanted to use the Swallow Returns to Nest again, Arnold made a slight adjustment to his original swing.

The ball was hit just like a curveball, but it lacked that spin.

Sure enough, after the tennis ball flew over the net, it bounced off the ground and had almost no spin.

However, Fuji still managed to hit Swallow Returns to Nest, but the tennis ball did not glide close to the ground after landing.

Bang...

"West Coast team scores, 15:0"

Facing a low-spin, ineffective Swallow Returns to Nest, Arnold scored directly with a return ball.

"Ah... why? Fuji just executed Swallow Returns to Nest, so why is the ball still bouncing?"

"Because Arnold just hit a shot without spin."

"Fuji's Swallow Returns to Nest is a technique that uses the spin of the opponent's smash to return the ball. If the ball doesn't have enough spin, it's just an ordinary shot."

At the players' tunnel, Kikumaru and Ryoma explained to Sengoku, who was somewhat confused.

"So, according to you, Arnold has already deciphered the Swallow Returns to Nest's technique?"

"Although that's how it seems from that last shot, I'm sure Fuji has some other way."

"As expected of Tennis Machine, he broke through his opponent's ultimate move with just a few balls."

"Hmph, once we break those few moves, Fuji Syusuke will have no choice but to surrender obediently."

The West Coast team on the other side also acknowledged Arnold's abilities after seeing his performance.

"Is that all you've got? Looks like you're not under enough pressure."

So far, Arnold's ability has not yet reached a level that satisfies Horio; someone who can be called Tennis Machine should have more ability than this.

At this moment, Fuji on the field had no intention of using any other methods to deal with Arnold, even though his Swallow Returns to Nest was blocked by him.

Fuji decided to use his own method to make Arnold nervous, so after Arnold served the second ball...

Fuji did not use the Swallow Returns to Nest again, but instead continued to fight Arnold.

Watching the back-and-forth sparring, Coach Horio on the bench also noticed something amiss.

"Constantly using a backhand to keep the ball low, making it lower and lower as it goes back and forth, until it eventually becomes a net touch, is indeed a good method."

As Horio predicted, the ball, which was going lower and lower, actually touched the net after one of Arnold's returns.

Fuji"Swallow Returns to Nest" pose reappeared, but this time his racket was held vertically.

Bang...

"Kanto team scores, 15-15"

"What! He actually used Swallow Returns to Nest..."

As the ball slid behind him without bouncing, Arnold's expression changed.

"Why... why was he able to pull off that move..."

On the baseline, Arnold dribbled the ball, his mind filled with questions.

"Since we don't understand, we'll just have to play another ball to confirm."

No matter how hard he tried, Arnold served the same ball as before.

Just like the previous point, the two players started rallies again.

This time, however, Arnold was extremely focused, carefully observing every exchange of Arnold.

Finally, through a series of returns, Arnold discovered the problem, until the Net Cord Shot reappeared.

"Ah... Net Cord Shot..."

Bang...

"Kanto team scores, 30:15"

"Hey, what just happened?"

"Arnold played perfectly..."

"Didn't he completely block Fuji's Swallow Returns to Nest? Arnold doesn't seem to have made a mistake..."

The West Coast team members also failed to identify the problem and were puzzled by Arnold's two consecutive losses.

Bang...

"Kanto team scores, 40:15"

"It's Net Cord Shot!"

Mike Lee also noticed something was wrong this time, and after Mike Lee pointed it out, the rest of the West Coast team also took notice.

"Net Cord Shot... If this wasn't a coincidence, then he must have deliberately made me Net Cord Shot. But now that I've figured it out, I won't fall for it."

After Arnold confirmed it again, he realized that Fuji had done it intentionally and became vigilant once more.

After Arnold served again, during the back-and-forth rally, Fuji noticed that the tennis ball was no longer going down.

Even knowing what Arnold had discovered, Fuji did not change his strategy.

"That shot really took a long time."

"Fuji- Senpai hit the ball extremely low in order to achieve a Net Cord Shot, while Arnold hit the ball extremely high in order to counter."

The back-and-forth continued, with Fuji constantly pushing the tennis ball towards the net, while Arnold kept the ball away from the net.

The two of them were like they were in a rally race, with me pulling a few centimeters closer and you pulling a few centimeters further away.

"They're fighting so closely, only a few centimeters apart. How long are you going to keep this up? Do you really want to push Arnold to the brink before you get serious?"