Yukimura's Pride
"Yukimura, don't underestimate your opponent; he is a man of unfathomable depth."
Just as Yukimura was about to go on stage, Sanada's words stopped him.
"Sanada, it seems like it's been a long time since we've had a match."
Yukimura did not give a direct response to Sanada's words.
Sanada looked puzzled upon hearing Yukimura's somewhat cryptic words.
"We haven't had a competition since first grade."
Later, as everyone's skills improved, I gradually stopped needing to play in matches.
Even if you encounter a tougher opponent, you can successfully defeat them.
So I know your strength very well, but do you really know mine?
Yukimura stood with his back to the Rikkai Dai, still wearing his uniform jacket draped over his shoulders.
Yukimura's words left Sanada feeling uneasy. Ever since his first year, Sanada's only ambitions, besides achieving a three-peat, were to defeat Tezuka.
Even after losing to Yukimura, he never made defeating Yukimura his goal, so he really didn't have a clear understanding of Yukimura's strength.
Now that Yukimura Sanada this, he can't accept it.
However, he didn't say anything more. In the current situation, the stronger Yukimura, the more beneficial it is for Rikkai Dai consecutive championships.
After saying these words to Sanada, Yukimura put on his coat, picked up his racket, and went onto the court.
"The upcoming First Singles match between Seishun Rikkai Dai Fuzoku Junior High Seigaku Academy will feature Horio against Rikkai Seigaku Rikkai Dai Fuzoku Junior High's Yukimura."
"I've finally met the legendary Captain of Rikkai Dai. I hope you can make my time with me."
"Little brother, I'm different from others. If you're this arrogant, you'll get into big trouble."
While Yukimura was cautious about Horio's words, he was mostly dismissive.
"We'll only know who's at fault after the competition."
Horio didn't pay much attention to Yukimura's attitude.
Looking at the gentle-looking Yukimura in front of him, Horio smiled and turned to leave.
"The match begins, with Horio from Seigaku serving."
"Hey, wearing a jacket during the game, don't you find that inconvenient?"
"I think it's pretty good. If you find it troublesome, you can try to get rid of it."
At the bottom line, Horio found the jacket on Yukimura's shoulder particularly irritating.
Yukimura's expression remained calm; his absolute confidence prevented him from easily showing any emotional change.
"Is this the confidence of the Child of God? But unfortunately, today the Child of God will face his first defeat."
Horio understood Yukimura's confidence to some extent.
Because among junior high school students, and even some high school students, he definitely has the right to be proud.
But Horio just loves to push these geniuses to their limits and then defeat them with absolute suppression.
In order to meet Yukimura's request, Horio did not choose a ball that would be impossible for the opponent to catch, such as Complete Imprisonment or Limitless Scattered Flowers.
He patted the ball on the ground and then tossed it into the air.
After delivering a simple serve with just a bit more power, Yukimura calmly moved a few steps and arrived at the ball's landing point.
With a calm and collected swing of his racket, Horio's serve, delivered with only 60% power, was returned by Yukimura.
"Truly worthy of being called the Child of God."
Based solely on Yukimura's handling of his serve, Horio could tell that Yukimura had a more solid foundation than Shiraishi, who was known as the "bible of tennis."
In addition to his basic skills, Yukimura also possessed a stronger mental fortitude than others.
These two factors combined gave Yukimura his exceptional strength.
Among junior high school students, if anyone were to encounter an opponent like Yukimura, they would almost certainly end up losing.
Unfortunately, he encountered Horio, a person with even stronger mental strength than Yukimura.
In response to Yukimura's return shot, Horio immediately countered with Phoenix's Return to Nest.
Horio believed that Yukimura had the ability to make a Phoenix's Return to Nest, so after the tennis ball flew out, Yukimura reappeared on the ball's trajectory in the simplest way.
Even though the Phoenix's Return to Nest descends at incredible speed, Yukimura still managed to return the ball.
"No matter how special your skills are, it's just tennis. Once you understand its essence, there's no way you can't win it back."
Yukimura moved along while talking.
As soon as he finished speaking, the tennis ball had already flown back to Seigaku's half of the court.
Just as Yukimura was basking in the glory of his words, Horio's figure suddenly appeared in Yukimura field of vision.
Bang!
"Seigaku Horio scores, 15:0"
Yukimura returned the Phoenix's Return to Nest, Horio jumped into the air and countered with a smash.
The tennis ball flew past Yukimura's ear, the wind it created ruffling his hair.
Startled by the sudden ball, Yukimura took a few steps back, and the jacket on his shoulder fell off.
"Your coat fell off, would you like to put it back on?"
Yukimura, who had been lost in thought, was pulled back to reality by Horio's voice. When he turned to look at Horio, he saw his provocative smile.
"These young boys nowadays are really something, but having such a big temper isn't good."
Yukimura Horio had already knocked his jacket off, Yukimura simply tossed it to Kirihara on the sidelines.
"You have really good eyesight."
Yukimura, who had returned to the court, suddenly spoke to Horio, who was preparing to serve, Horio paused for a moment.
Horio immediately felt a peculiar power approaching him, and after realizing it, a smile appeared on Horio lips.
"I thought you'd wait a bit longer before using this, I didn't expect you to use it so soon."
Horio did not stop that force from eroding him, and continued to serve as if he did not know.
This time, Horio unleashed Divine Concealment Chitose, vanishing the moment the tennis ball left the racket.
"Little brother, tennis will never disappear."
Faced with an empty space, Yukimura remained calm.
With eyes constantly focused, the racket is swung after moving to a specific spot on the court.
The missing tennis ball was hit by Yukimura, and at the same time, the tennis ball reappeared.
Then Yukimura hit the ball at the simplest yet most tricky angle towards Horio's open space, but this method is definitely not effective for creating a distance difference.
"Really? Since tennis balls won't disappear, how about this one?"
With Inch Step movement, Horio instantly appeared at the ball's landing point.
Grip the racket firmly and swing it upwards.
A Lob Shot appears, but the tennis ball flies very fast into the sky.
Yukimura's gaze followed the trajectory of the tennis ball, and everyone in the audience, whether from Seigaku, Rikkai Dai, or other schools, had their eyes fixed on the ball.
Even so, the tennis ball suddenly disappeared from their sight.
Yukimura, who could even see through the Divine Concealment, finally showed a change in expression. Just as he frowned and pondered what was going on...
Suddenly, another light source appeared in the previously clear sky, and then, centered on this light source, many beams of light shot towards the ground.