The Clash of Luck and Hot-Blooded Nature

"Hey, hey, hey, what's going on? I just asked if you wanted to go for tea, you don't need to scream like that."

In a certain spot in the venue, Echizen Nanjirou, dressed in monk's robes with his chest exposed, sighed helplessly as he saw the girls screaming and running away from him.

"With how you're dressed and that beard on your face, it's hard for anyone to think you're a good person."

Hearing a voice from behind, Echizen Nanjirou turned his head.

Upon seeing the person, his nonchalant expression immediately turned serious.

"Oh, it's you, Ban-rou. It's been a long time."

"Yes, it has. You're still as good at hitting on people as ever, Echizen Nanjirou."

"Hmph, you too. You're still as annoying as ever, you old geezer."

"Is that so? What, are you here to watch your son's match? But your son is singles one today, so he probably won't get a chance to play."

"Tch, who wants to watch him? I heard from that old hag Ryuzaki that you were still alive, so I came specifically to yell at you."

"Is that so? That's quite something. I never thought I'd face you back then, and now I'm facing your son. It seems I've lived a bit too long, don't you think?"

"You damn old geezer, what are you trying to say?"

"I still vividly remember that match. It's an unforgettable memory in my tennis coaching career. I don't know if your son will play, but I'm still looking forward to seeing what kind of tennis he'll play. Goodbye."

Watching Ban-rou walk away, Echizen Nanjirou seemed lost in thought.

"Sigh, I've been so unlucky lately. I thought I'd get to play Horio Satoshi or Echizen Ryoma by being ranked singles three, but I haven't encountered either of them."

The lazy Sengoku muttered as he took out his racket from his tennis bag and walked towards the net. Momoshiro, who had been waiting at the net, was displeased to see the opponent not even looking at him.

"Ahem, excuse me, I'm not Horio, nor am I Echizen. And someone like you isn't qualified to play against Horio."

"Ah, my apologies. That's not what I meant. You're Momoshiro, right? I heard your jumping smash is amazing. That's great."

"Enough talk, which side?"

Not wanting to waste any more time with Sengoku, Momoshiro stood his racket up, ready to decide the serve.

"The serve? Then I'll decide it."

"You can only decide it after you get the serve. Hurry up and choose."

"I said I'll decide it, so it'll definitely be my serve. I choose tails."

Then, watching the racket spin and slowly fall, with the letter on the end of the racket landing face up, Momoshiro couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

Sengoku's expression, however, remained unchanged. Just then.

The racket that had fallen suddenly snagged on the net and flipped over.

"Tails. Yamabuki's Sengoku will serve."

Seeing the racket that was supposed to land face up snag on the net and flip over, Momoshiro was on the verge of breaking down.

"I told you, the serve is mine. However, Momoshiro, I'll let you have the serve. Northeast is my lucky direction today, so I choose your side of the court."

Seeing Sengoku give up the serve he had just obtained, not only Momoshiro on the court but also the Seigaku members off the court had grim expressions.

Of course, this didn't include the unfazed Horio.

"Lucky Sengoku, heh, how laughable."

"The match begins, Momoshiro of Seigaku serves."

"I will definitely make you regret giving me the serve for this match."

Momoshiro, having adjusted his state, tossed the ball and swung his racket with all his might, unleashing a Bullet Serve.

"Wow, that one was heavy."

"This one isn't light either."

Sengoku, receiving Momoshiro's ball, praised it while defending calmly.

Just as he saw Momoshiro move to the left, Sengoku, who was about to receive the ball, instantly changed the direction of his racket and hit the ball to the right.

Momoshiro, sensing something was wrong, reacted instantly and jumped to the right, hitting the ball back with a flat shot.

Sengoku, not expecting Momoshiro to react so quickly, didn't have time to respond and hastily returned a high ball.

Seeing the ball fly into the sky, Momoshiro wouldn't let this opportunity pass. He pushed off with his left foot.

Leaping into the air, he unleashed a Vertical Smash, scoring a point.

"Do you think it's not time to use your right foot yet... You'll pay for this later."

"Momoshiro scores, 15:0."

"Ah... was that a Vertical Smash just now? Can such a shot really be played? It's too exaggerated."

The Yamabuki Middle School students off the court were clearly shocked by Momoshiro's Vertical Smash. Sengoku's expression also changed slightly.

Seeing that he had gained momentum from the start, Momoshiro continued to win two more points.

On the fourth ball, the two were still exchanging shots.

After Momoshiro returned a shot, he immediately rushed the net.

Seeing this, Sengoku hit a lob shot, forcing Momoshiro, who had rushed to the net, back to the baseline.

Momoshiro, who hurried back to the baseline, received the ball, but he also returned it with a lob shot.

As soon as Momoshiro turned around after hitting the ball, he saw a familiar figure leaping into the air.

He then executed a Vertical Smash, the same one Momoshiro had used on the first ball. That's right, this person was Sengoku.

"Sengoku scores, 15:40."

Seeing his Vertical Smash easily executed by Sengoku, Momoshiro's expression changed.

"That was really well played, hehe, what luck, I didn't expect to pull off such a beautiful shot."

Sengoku, who had landed, turned around and scratched his head, showing a hint of unexpected glee.

"Attacking the opponent's mind first, he's quite clever."

Horio, watching from the sidelines, saw Sengoku's slight smirk and approved of his strategy of attacking the mind first.

"The lob shot at the beginning and the smash just now were both setups Sengoku had planned in advance."

Fuji, now serious, also understood Sengoku's intentions, and Inui Sadaharu beside him agreed.

"Tennis is a sport that is easily influenced mentally. For Momo, having someone score with his own signature Vertical Smash is quite a blow."

"Umpire, please wait a moment."

"Oh dear, it seems my usual practice racket just doesn't have enough pop to get the effect I want."

After speaking, Sengoku went to his tennis bag and took out a new racket, resuming the match.

First, he was scored on with a Vertical Smash, and then Sengoku changed his racket. The successive stimuli clearly agitated Momoshiro.

In the next few balls, Sengoku caught up and reversed the score. The initial 40:15 advantage was completely overturned by Sengoku, and he lost his serve.

"Hot-blooded types are easily impulsive, sigh... but then again, hot-blooded types who calm down are not so easily dealt with."

Watching Momoshiro lose his composure, Horio showed no particular reaction. His ever-smiling face held an expression that suggested he already knew the outcome.