Fuji's Stalemate

"But... why Fuji Senpai so obsessed with the Swallow Returns to Nest technique? Even if he can't use the Brown Bear Drop, doesn't he still have the White Whale?"

The ongoing rallies on the court were making the spectators in the stands a bit restless.

The Seigaku members were getting anxious, and Katsuro and Katsuo were even more confused as to why Fuji insisted on this.

"No, Fuji couldn't possibly have summoned the White Whale."

Gan firmly denied their guesses in response to their questions.

"Because it just rained, the stadium is completely closed. In this enclosed space, Fuji can't use his White Whale attack that utilizes wind power."

"Does that mean Fuji- Senpai's triple counterattack is useless now...?"

While everyone was worried about Fuji, the match on the court continued.

"Damn it, I absolutely cannot lose. I've endured this long just to escape that hellish life."

Fuji intense pressure from Fuji, Arnold once again recalled his past life and the reason why he persisted in tennis.

"I've endured such grueling training; I absolutely cannot lose like this."

In order to embrace a better life, Arnold rallied his spirits once again and resumed his tug-of-war with Fuji.

"To change your destiny and live a better life through tennis, while it's good not to succumb to fate, if you only treat tennis as a tool, your destiny won't be changed."

Seeing Arnold's determined expression, Horio felt somewhat uncertain about his opinion of the man.

The game then began to become rather dull, with both sides trading baskets until the score reached 5-4.

"What are you doing, Arnold? You can't let your opponent affect you. The purpose of training you to be a machine is to ensure you remain calm at all times."

"Yes, boss."

"You not only have a wonderful and varied serve, but also a powerful Smash Shot. You should play to your strengths in tennis."

"Yes, boss."

"When it comes to precise tennis, no one can beat you, the so-called Tennis Machine. You're going to take victory for yourself."

"Yes, boss."

On the Coach bench, Coach Baker was getting a little anxious as he watched Arnold and Fuji go through a tug-of-war.

Seeing that Arnold was quite exhausted, Coach Baker spoke up to remind him.

"It's come to this point and you're still not going to get serious? Is there anything left for you to look forward to about Arnold?"

Horio handed Fuji a bottle of water.

"My gut feeling tells me that the guy hasn't gone all out yet, so I want to fight him a little longer."

"Alright, then play however you want, as long as you win the match in the end."

Hearing Fuji say this, Horio said nothing more, and believed that Fuji had his own plans.

On the court, the tenth frame begins.

Using the Fuji standard serve, Bu Er continuously lowers the tennis ball.

"What a troublesome guy."

Seeing that Fuji still hadn't changed his tactics after seven games, Arnold's previously calmed-down mood became a little irritated again.

Sometimes even the smallest change can have a huge impact, because of the slight negative emotions that Arnold had just developed.

This resulted in his return shot successfully touching the net, Fuji Swallow Returns to Nest.

Bang...

"Kanto team scores, 15:0"

Arnold stared blankly at the ball behind him.

"Fuji is really amazing. Even if I look closely, I can't be completely sure whether that was Net Cord Shot."

"Yes, that shows how small the distance the ball touched the net was."

At the players' tunnel entrance, even Sengoku, who possesses superior dynamic vision, couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

"That was just a mistake. I'm a Tennis Machine; I'll never let you play so well... Oh no..."

After the second goal, Arnold was still bothered by his mistake in the previous goal.

But that's how people are; the more they care about something, the more mistakes they make in that area.

So in the rally that began after the second point, Arnold made another mistake, Net Cord Shot.

Bang...

"Kanto team scores, 30:0"

"To make mistakes one after another at a time like this, it seems the pressure of this battle of wits is greater than we imagined."

On the Coach bench, Horio seemed somewhat surprised by Arnold's series of mistakes.

It's astonishing that a well-trained Tennis Machine could be pushed to this extent by the pressure of winning and losing; it seems that Fuji, Arnold's opponent, is not having an easy Fuji either.

Bang...

"Kanto team scores, 40:0"

Another mistake, another Swallow Returns to Nest; the tenth game has reached game point.

"Damn it, if this keeps up, I'll have to go back to that hellish life..."

At this point, Arnold had lost his initial rationality, and his panic was becoming increasingly apparent.

On the baseline, Fuji was about to serve again, but suddenly his gaze fell on Coach Baker.

"Fuji, please recall Arnold's tragic fate."

Seeing Fuji frowning at him, Coach Baker smiled slightly and shook his head at Fuji.

Horio, sensing Fuji was off about Fuji, followed Fuji's gaze.

Upon seeing Coach Baker's sinister smile, Horio instantly realized that Coach Baker was preparing to play the victim.

Horio had been tolerating this foreigner who used tennis to gain fame and fortune.

Now that they're actually trying to win the game by exploiting other people's sympathy—such a despicable tactic— Horio can no longer tolerate it.

The psychological attack was delivered to Coach Baker again, and Coach Baker, who had been looking at Fuji smile, once again clutched his head and screamed in pain.

Coach Baker's change of direction interrupted Fuji, Fuji turned to look at Horio.

Horio shook his head at Fuji, and Fuji understood what Horio meant.

Actually, it wasn't that Fuji was overly compassionate; rather, it was because Arnold had turned himself into a machine in order to escape his dark past.

So he wanted to push Arnold and inspire him to play in a way that fueled his passion for tennis.

This is why he was engaged in a protracted battle with Arnold; if it weren't for this, he could have ended the match much earlier.

"Referee, I request a pause in the game. One of our players is feeling unwell and needs immediate attention."

At this moment, Horio spoke up. Hearing Horio's request, and seeing Coach Baker lying on the ground crying and wailing, the referee agreed without much thought.

After the referee called a timeout, Fuji and Arnold left the court.

"What's wrong, Horio? Do you want to tell me something, or is there something else?"