"Hey, hey, what's the big deal? All I did was ask if you wanted to go have some tea. There's no need to scream."
At one spot in the venue, Echizen Nanjirou, dressed in a monk's robe with his chest exposed, watched the girls scream and run away from him. He sighed helplessly.
"With an outfit like that and the mustache on your face, it'd be hard for anyone to think you were a good person."
Hearing a voice behind him, Echizen Nanjirou turned around.
The moment he saw who it was, his carefree expression turned serious.
"Oh, it's you, Banrou. Long time no see."
"Yeah, long time no see. You're still quite the flirt, Echizen Nanjirou."
"Hmph. You're just the same. You're still as unpleasant as ever, you old geezer."
"Is that so? What brings you here? Are you here to watch your son's match? But your son's playing First Singles 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 all this way just to give you a piece of my mind."
"Is that so? Well, isn't this something? I never thought I'd face you back then, then face your son now. I guess I've lived a little too long, huh?"
"You nasty old geezer, what are you getting at?"
"I still remember that match from back then. It's one of the most unforgettable memories of my career as a tennis coach. I don't know if your son will get to play, but I'm still looking forward to seeing what kind of tennis he can play. See you."
Watching Banrou walk away, Echizen Nanjirou seemed lost in thought.
"Man, I've been so unlucky lately. I thought that if they put me in Third Singles, I'd get to play either Horio Satoshi or Echizen Ryoma. But I didn't get either of them."
The languid Sengoku muttered to himself as he took his racket out of his tennis bag and strolled toward the net. Momoshiro, who had been waiting there, was a little annoyed that his opponent was acting as if he didn't matter.
"Ahem. Sorry, I'm not Horio or Echizen. And someone like you isn't qualified to play Horio."
"Oh, sorry, that's not what I meant. You're Momoshiro, right? I heard your jump smash is really impressive. That's great."
"Enough talk. Which side?"
Momoshiro didn't want to waste any more time talking with Sengoku, so he held his racket upright, ready to decide who would serve.
"Want to decide who serves? Then I'll make the call."
"You have to win the serve first. Hurry up and pick."
"I said I'd decide, so of course I get to serve. I choose tails."
As the racket spun in the air and slowly fell, it landed with the face side up. Momoshiro couldn't help looking pleased.
Sengoku's expression didn't change at all. Just then—
The racket, which had started to fall, suddenly caught on the net and flipped over.
"Tails. Yamabuki's Sengoku will serve."
Seeing the racket land face side up, hit the net, and flip to tails, Momoshiro was on the verge of losing it.
"See? I told you I'd serve. But, Momoshiro, I'll let you have the serve. The northeast is my lucky direction today, so I choose your side of the court."
Seeing Sengoku give away the serve he'd won, Momoshiro's expression grew grim. The mood among the Seigaku team members watching from the sidelines also darkened.
Of course, Horio remained completely unruffled.
"Lucky Sengoku, huh? Ha, what a joke."
"The match begins. Seigaku's Momoshiro to serve."
"I'll make you regret letting me serve."
Having regained his focus, Momoshiro tossed the ball up and swung hard, hitting a Bullet Serve.
"Wow, that ball's really heavy."
"This one's no lightweight, either."
Sengoku praised Momoshiro as he returned the ball, defending at an unhurried pace.
When Momoshiro ran to the left, Sengoku was just about to reach the ball. At the last moment, he changed the angle of his racket and sent it to the right.
Sensing something was wrong, Momoshiro reacted instantly and leaped to the right, returning the ball with a flat shot.
Sengoku hadn't expected Momoshiro to react so quickly and couldn't respond in time. He hurriedly returned the ball with a high shot.
Seeing the ball fly into the air, Momoshiro wasn't about to let the opportunity slip by. He pushed off hard with his left foot.
He leaped into the air and unleashed a Vertical Smash, scoring outright.
"Does he think it's not time to use his right foot yet...? He's going to regret it soon."
"Point, Momoshiro. 15–0."
"Ah... Was that a Vertical Smash? Can you really hit a ball like that? That's incredible!"
The Yamabuki Middle School players watching from the sidelines were clearly stunned by Momoshiro's Vertical Smash. Sengoku's expression had also changed.
Seeing that he'd seized the momentum right from the start, Momoshiro pressed on and won the next two points as well.
On the fourth point, the two continued trading shots evenly.
After one of Momoshiro's returns, he rushed straight to the net.
Sengoku responded with a Lob Shot, forcing Momoshiro, who had advanced to the net, all the way back to the baseline.
Momoshiro hurried back and reached the ball, but he returned it with a Lob Shot of his own.
Just after hitting the ball back, Momoshiro turned around—and saw a familiar figure leap into the sky.
The figure then hit the same Vertical Smash Momoshiro had used on the first point. That's right—it was Sengoku.
"Point, Sengoku. 15–40."
Seeing Sengoku perform a Vertical Smash with ease, Momoshiro's expression changed.
"Nice shot, huh? Hehe, I'm really lucky. I never thought I'd hit such a beautiful shot."
After landing, Sengoku turned around and scratched his head, looking delighted at his unexpected success.
"Strike at your opponent's mind before you strike at him. He's got a pretty good head on his shoulders."
Watching Sengoku's somewhat smug reaction, Horio approved of his strategy of attacking the opponent mentally.
"Those opening Lob Shots and that smash just now were all setups Sengoku had planned in advance."
Fuji had clearly figured out Sengoku's purpose now that he'd gotten serious. Inui Sadaharu agreed with him.
"Tennis is a sport that's easily affected by a player's mental state. For Momo, having his signature Vertical Smash score a point for someone else is a considerable blow."
"Referee, wait a moment."
"Aw, as I thought, the racket I usually practice with doesn't have enough spring. It can't give me the effect I want."
After speaking, Sengoku went to his tennis bag and took out a new racket, then resumed the match.
First he lost a point to a Vertical Smash, then Sengoku changed rackets. The repeated provocations had clearly gotten to Momoshiro.
Sengoku won back the next few points, turning Momoshiro's 40–15 lead around and taking the service game.
"Hot-blooded people are so impulsive. Sigh... But then again, once they calm down, they're not so easy to deal with."
Watching Momoshiro lose his composure, Horio didn't react much. His face remained wreathed in a smile, and his expression suggested he already knew how things would end.
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