Learning from Experience

On the court, Kabaji unleashed Waterfall Pouring Down, and after several rounds, Kabaji maintained his strength.

The power of the Waterfall Pouring Down was no less than before, which was exactly what Horio wanted to see.

Facing a powerful, undiminished Waterfall Pouring Down, it proves that Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired return shot is even more powerful.

As expected, Kabaji saw that Horio had activated his Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired again, and his arm, having had a rest, synchronized with Horio once more.

The sound of the ball being struck rang out, and the tennis ball, enveloped in a purple aura, flew towards Kabaji.

Before the tennis ball even reached Kabaji's hitting area, Kabaji let out a loud shout, as if to encourage himself.

Then, after the tennis ball bounces, swing the racket at the target.

Perhaps the shout he gave him earlier really empowered him, Kabaji's counterattack this time took significantly less time than before.

The purple aura on the tennis ball was quickly neutralized by the white light, and after Kabaji increased the power of his return shot, the returned ball was even more powerful than it had been four times.

"You still have the strength to increase your power? It seems I underestimated you."

As the match progressed, Horio increasingly felt that Kabaji was extraordinary.

So far, among all the opponents Horio has faced, only Akutsu and Kabaji have made Horio feel this way.

He inwardly praised it, his pupils lit up with a purple-gold light, and he swung his racket at the rebounding ball.

After repeatedly eliminating spin, the tennis ball becomes ordinary again.

But this time was different from before. Horio had already put away his Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired, but Kabaji had not.

"Not satisfied? Then try this one."

Seeing that Kabaji hadn't retracted his Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired, Horio waited for his counterattack.

"Kabaji hasn't sheathed his Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired yet! But that brat just eliminated all the ball's spin; even a double counterattack won't have much power."

Kikumaru, sitting on the sidelines, was puzzled by Kabaji's behavior, but Kabaji, already in a state of Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired, returned the ball to the net.

Facing this very ordinary ball, Horio didn't make any preparatory stance for the ball; he simply hit it like he was practicing a swing.

"Isn't he planning to do anything?"

The Hyotei fans watching from the sidelines, seeing that Horio had only made a standard response, had already begun to have doubts.

On the court, Horio had already made a counterattack; the tennis ball didn't change much, and even the spin weakened.

But in reality, it only appeared weaker; Kabaji's arm on the other side was still covered in white light.

It wasn't that Kabaji didn't want to retract his Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired, but rather that his intuition told him this shot was no ordinary one.

Kabaji then faced Horio's return shot and swung his arm again.

Bang...

"Seigaku Horio scores, 15:0"

"Damn it, how could I miss such a simple Kabaji!"

"But if this is considered a mistake, then given Kabaji's skill level, it simply doesn't make sense."

"But that ball clearly missed the net because Kabaji made a mistake."

"Idiot, can you hit a drop shot with that angle? That's not a mistake at all."

After Kabaji swung his racket to return the ball, the referee ultimately awarded the point to Horio.

The members of Hyotei were all offering conflicting accounts of Kabaji's "mistake," but Atobe spoke up to stop them.

"That ball just now started to drop almost the instant Kabaji hit it. Even if Hundred Refinements Self-Acquired incredibly skilled, you can only double the spin of the ball; it's impossible to achieve that level of spin."

"Atobe, are you saying that ball was because of Horio?"

"Hmph, that must be the Weak Water he used during his match against Sanada in the Kanto Tournament finals. Back then, he at least had to prepare his stance beforehand, but this move is much harder to defend against now."

Atobe still vividly remembers the iconic drop of a tennis ball after it's been returned.

"Has Horio's Weak Water become this adept at handling things now!?"

"It's just like a normal swing; it's impossible to defend against."

"I wonder if Kabaji can replicate this move..."

The Seigaku members were also surprised by Horio's Weak Water, and then Oishi started to worry again.

Oishi's worries were no different from those of the other Seigaku, after all, their opponent was Kabaji.

This kind of opponent, who gets stronger when facing stronger opponents, would be troublesome for anyone, let alone the unfathomably powerful Horio.

On the field, the light on Kabaji's arm had disappeared.

Moreover, he didn't intend to use the Waterfall Pouring Down again when he was about to serve again. He had been tricked twice by Horio in the same way. Even if he was naive, he knew that he should learn from his mistakes.

Kabaji tossed the ball into the air and simply swung a regular racket.

"It seems you've not only learned the skills, but also the lessons. Let me help you a bit more then."

Seeing that Kabaji only hit a very ordinary serve, Horio smiled.

Then, tilting the racket at a slight angle, I hit a relatively strong topspin shot.

"That kid hit a topspin ball!"

"Honestly, knowing full well that the other party might use Weak Water, they still went out of their way to help him."

"We've been fighting this long Horio is still testing Kabaji. He's not worried, but we're about to lose it."

The moment Horio hit the ball, Kikumaru keenly noticed its spin.

Horio's intentions were clear, and his teammates on the sidelines were on edge again.

On the court, Kabaji, standing on the other side of Horio, moved his right hand, gripping his racket.

Bang...

The sound of a tennis ball hitting a racket drew everyone's attention.

"That's too obvious; that's not how you fight with the Weak Water."

As Kabaji, Horio clearly saw the amplitude of the racket's vibration.

However, despite the obvious amplitude of the racket movement, it still produced some effect.

Seeing this, Horio also wanted to personally experience the power of Kabaji's pseudo- Weak Water shot, so he immediately rushed to the net.

Horio, positioned himself well at the net, and the moment the tennis ball flew over the net, he hit a Slice Shot with his backhand at a downward angle.

The topspin that Kabaji had initially amplified gradually weakened, but the ball still retained some spin at the moment it was returned.

Therefore, after the tennis ball was hit by Horio's backhand, it fell prematurely, even though it should have continued to fly for a while under normal circumstances.

Furthermore, the tennis ball slid forward another ten centimeters after landing, thanks to the remaining spin on the ball.

Bang...

"Seigaku Horio scored, 30:0"

"It was copied after all. We underestimated Kabaji's talent."

"But it doesn't seem to be a perfect representation like before. The details of the swing and the spin of the ball are probably not even half of what Weak Water is normally at."

"That's why Horio noticed something amiss with the shot the moment Kabaji hit it, which is why he went to the net to volley it."