The Divide-and-Conquer Strategy

The muscular man was clearly confident on the sand court, but how could Kite, nicknamed "Killer," be afraid?

However, the Kite's attitude also piqued the burly man's interest, and he took out a real tennis ball and hit it at the Kite.

Because it was sandy, the friction between the wooden hands and the ground decreased when the Kite were running to catch the ball.

When he returned the ball, his feet were still sliding.

"What's wrong? Your steps are unsteady."

The burly man clearly anticipated this situation, and he was already in front of the net when the Kite hit the ball back.

Then, with a gentle swing of the racket, a short drop shot is produced.

At this moment, the Kite was still on the baseline. The burly man looked confident, believing that the Kite would definitely not be able to return the ball.

However, he didn't know who Kite was. Just as the tennis ball was about to hit the ground, Kite used the Ground Shrinking Technique to instantly appear in front of the net.

The Kite delivered Half Volley aimed at the baseline, and the tennis ball grazed past the burly man's ear, stunning him completely.

"What? You think the sandy ground is your territory? I'm Kite Eishiro from Okinawa."

Seeing the burly man's surprise, Kite maintained his calm tone.

When the burly man looked at Kite, it was as if he saw the sea and beaches of Okinawa.

"I really can't stand it anymore."

At that moment, a voice came from behind the Kite, and a net appeared at the same time.

Another man with a mohawk emerged from behind the Kite.

"Next, we'll play doubles."

"What you're doing is truly despicable. Even I wouldn't go to such lengths."

The two players from Clark Tennis Club ignored what the Kite said and hit the ball at the same time.

At the same time, the ball flying towards him was difficult for the Kite to defend. Just as he hit the ball back, another ball hit him in the back.

Gradually, the rhythm of the Kite, which had been able to return a point, was disrupted, and in the end, it could only be suppressed by the two players from the Clark Tennis Club.

After being hit in the face, back, chest, and abdomen by tennis balls, a horse's neighing sounded from inside the castle.

Then a white horse leaped out from above the suspension bridge, with Fuji carrying a tennis racket on its back.

Seeing this, the two players from Clark Tennis Club quickly served again, but by then Fuji had already landed.

He jumped off the horse in mid-air and landed successfully next to the Kite.

The two exchanged a glance and each returned a ball.

"Leave the backcourt to me."

"What an eye-catching entrance, Fuji, it's so good it's infuriating."

After returning the ball, taking advantage of the moment when the two were still distracted, Fuji and Kite stood back to back and prepared for defense.

"It seems they're planning to play doubles with a front-back formation. Nice to meet you, partner."

Fuji turned to look at Kite and said something, but Kite didn't say anything. However, the slight smile on his lips said it all.

Meanwhile, Tezuka and the others, who had already entered the castle, had arrived at the castle's underground wine cellar.

As soon as they entered the wine cellar, they were stopped.

Let's send two people onto the field.

It was another member of Clark Tennis Club, and without much preamble, the two declared war directly.

"Damn it! Those two guys were the ones from last night..."

Upon seeing the two men on the other side of the court, Kirihara recognized their voices; they were the Kirihara people who had attacked him the previous night.

Upon hearing Kirihara's words, Sanada stepped forward.

"Leave this to us, you can continue on your way."

Before anyone else could step forward, Sanada took on the task himself.

Kirihara, who was standing nearby, understood Sanada's meaning and was very excited Kirihara the thought of being able to take revenge together with Sanada.

"You must hurry, time is of the essence."

Hearing Sanada's urging, Tezuka, Atobe, and Shiraishi ran deeper into the castle.

"Hmph, you'll regret staying."

After Tezuka and the other two left, the man wearing a headscarf from the Clark Tennis Club had just finished speaking when an iron gate suddenly fell down at the net of the court.

The iron gate completely separated the players on both sides, and the only gaps in the gate were irregular enough for tennis balls to pass through.

"Ha, if you want to find your companions, defeat us first. If you win, we'll let you go."

At this moment, another red-haired man spoke up.

Hearing such words, how could Kirihara tolerate someone being even more arrogant than him?

The battle was about to begin. On Clark Tennis Club's side, the red-haired man served from the baseline.

Fortunately, the tennis ball used this time was a regular one.

The tennis ball pierced precisely through the gap in the iron gate and landed in front of Sanada.

Sanada faced the incoming ball without any hesitation despite the iron gate blocking his way, swinging his racket cleanly as if the obstacle were just an ordinary net.

The tennis ball flew with even more force than when it was served, heading straight for the man in the headscarf.

The sudden increase in power of the ball startled the man in the headscarf, leaving him no time to react.

But the tennis ball was blocked by the iron gate, just one or two meters away from him.

The tennis ball left a mark on the iron gate, but even so, Sanada's mistake still surprised Kirihara.

The man in the headscarf was simply relieved that the iron gate had stopped him from getting hurt.

"Haha! That's powerful, but it has to get past the net first."

After escaping unscathed, the turban-wearing man assumed Sanada was merely strong and couldn't help but mock him.

Hearing the mockery from the two people opposite him, Sanada's face turned fierce.

"Settle accounts before playing ball; that's something I learned from someone."

"Honestly, how dare you use my castle so casually? You bunch of ill-mannered bastards!"

Inside the sunken, open-air tennis court, there was just enough space for a tennis ball.

It's a sunken design, meaning it's surrounded by walls on all sides.

As Tezuka and his two companions descended the stairs, they were stopped again.

A man wearing sunglasses was already waiting for the three of them. Because his former castle had been arbitrarily converted into tennis courts by the Clark Tennis Club, Atobe finally couldn't hold back any longer.

He gave Tezuka and Shiraishi a wink, then stayed behind.

You can have the serve.

After saying that, the man in sunglasses tossed the Real Tennis ball to Atobe. Atobe looked at the ball in his hand and smiled disdainfully.

"Did you know that there was once a king who used these balls filled with stones to play real tennis, and it resulted in someone's death?"

So, are you scared?

The man in sunglasses, unaware of Atobe's meaning, continued to provoke him.

"Tch, who do you think you're talking to?"

Seeing that his authority had been challenged, Atobe took off his clothes and hit the ball.

The tennis ball flew out, but the man in sunglasses didn't make a striking motion, letting it land and pass him by.

However, because the edge of the tennis court is a wall, the tennis ball bounces off the wall and then bounces back again.

The man in sunglasses only made a move after the tennis ball bounced off the wall.