Winning the Championship Early

On the court, Sengoku bounced the ball again and again, finally dropping his casual attitude from the start.

"All right, let's have a proper match now, Momoshiro."

With that, he tossed the ball into the air—much higher than he usually did on a serve. Then he bent his knees and leaped with all his strength.

Sengoku's incredible jumping ability was on full display. At the ball's peak, he arched his body back slightly and swung down, his wrist following the motion of his arm.

The tennis ball shot forward at tremendous speed. Momoshiro had been focused and ready to return it, but before he could react, all he heard was the ball hitting the ground.

"Maximum power. It's a little like Kawamura's lunging Wave Serve, but his body can't quite keep up. Otherwise, it could be a threatening serve."

Seeing Sengoku use the Tiger Cannon so quickly, Horio figured Momoshiro must have woken up by now.

Thwack...

"Sengoku scores. 40–0."

"When Momo's in good form, they throw him off his rhythm, then seize the moment once he loses his cool. Yamabuki's still using the same old tactics."

Having experienced it himself, Oishi watched Momoshiro struggle under Sengoku's pressure and couldn't help disapproving of Yamabuki's strategy.

"All right, time to finish this."

Full of confidence, Sengoku tossed the ball high again, leaped, and struck another Tiger Cannon.

Just as the fast-moving ball was about to hit the ground, Momoshiro suddenly appeared at its landing point.

With both hands on his racket, he hit a Half Volley.

"Momoshiro scores. 15–40."

Everyone on and off the court was stunned to see him return the speeding ball. Even Echizen Nanjirou, hiding in the distance, froze for a moment.

"Our Hot-blooded Monster isn't so easily beaten. A hot-blooded monster with incredible insight... The match is only just beginning."

"Momoshiro's gotten used to holding his racket with both hands now. I should be able to teach him something new."

Watching Momoshiro hit that Half Volley with both hands on his racket, Horio began making plans.

"Hey, Horio, bring me my match racket."

"Senpai, you didn't bring your match racket, so you'll have to make do with a practice racket."

Thwack...

"Momoshiro scores. The score is 3–3."

"He's caught up! Senpai Momo's amazing!"

"Go, Senpai Momo! Beat him!"

Hearing the younger students cheering him on made Momoshiro even more excited.

He rolled his right foot and let a slight smile tug at his lips.

"It's finally starting. I'll show him what a real Vertical Smash looks like."

"With Momoshiro using his right foot, even your excellent dynamic vision won't help you."

Horio glanced at Momoshiro, then at Sengoku, and told everyone he was going to buy drinks and would be back in ten minutes.

The Seigaku team could only shake their heads at Horio, who kept doing things his own way.

Since his independent streak had never caused any problems, they had always put up with it.

"Mr. Nanjiro, what are you doing here? Ryoma's playing First Singles today. He won't get a chance to play."

After buying the drinks, Horio went over to Echizen Nanjirou, who was behind him. Horio had noticed him as soon as he appeared.

"Oh, it's you, young man. This old-timer's just here to meet an old acquaintance. I've got some time, so I'm wandering around. I'm not here to watch my brat's match."

At Echizen Nanjirou's words, Horio glanced toward the Yamabuki coaches' bench.

"Is that so? Well, if you're just wandering around, I won't bother you. My match is up next. If you're interested, you can watch me take out the trash."

"Is that so, young man? Then I'll be sure to watch."

Horio said goodbye to Echizen Nanjirou and figured Momoshiro's match should be over by now.

"Just you wait. I'll crush you."

Watching Horio walk onto the court, Akutsu glared at him with hatred.

"You don't have to stare at me like that. Want revenge? I'll give you your chance."

Horio headed toward Akutsu as he spoke.

"You can have the serve. You'd better use every bit of strength you've got. When you run out of tricks, that's when you'll be going to hell."

As Horio said this, his immense mental power erupted at the same time, pressing down on Akutsu so suddenly that he could barely breathe.

Feeling the terrifying aura Horio gave off only strengthened Akutsu's resolve to finish the match quickly. He fell silent and headed for the baseline.

Horio didn't waste words either and turned toward the baseline.

From beneath a tree not far from the court, Echizen Nanjirou had seen everything. The shock in his eyes had yet to fade.

"Such immense mental power. Does this young man play Mental Tennis? To have the mental strength of a world-class player at his age... Give him another year, and even this old-timer might find him troublesome."

He then looked over at Ryoma again, a knowing smile spreading across his face.

"Ryoma, you have so many interesting friends around you. Just how far will you grow...? I can't wait to see."

On the court

Tap... Tap... Tap...

After bouncing the ball a few times, Akutsu caught it. Then came one fluid motion: toss, jump, swing. Simple and brutal.

The ball seemed to carry tremendous force as it shot away from his racket.

Even that simple serve was beyond what ordinary players could manage. Akutsu had struck it using nothing but his physical ability.

He hadn't applied any technique, yet the serve was even more threatening for it.

Those outside the court who had never seen Akutsu play were impressed. At that moment, there was only one thought in everyone's mind: this was a formidable player.

Horio wasn't surprised as the ball sped toward him.

"So you really are just an amateur who picked this up halfway through. You think talent lets you do whatever you want. Today, I'll teach you what it means to take a wrong turn."