The Fantasy Castle

Kite's tone turned very cold upon hearing this.

Both Marui on the field and the junior high school students off the field fell silent.

"It seems that Kimijima had already begun his negotiations before this match even started."

"So his behavior can be considered an unfair competitive tactic. He and Tono Atsukyo are really a good match; no wonder they became partners."

Off the field, Irie immediately grasped the sudden turn of events, while Horio, who understood the situation, made no attempt to hide his disgust.

"In any case, the situation on the field has now changed from two-on-two to one-on-three. That middle school student named Marui is in trouble."

The sudden change in the situation plunged Marui into a predicament he could hardly cope with.

Kite, who had already sided with First String of the two soldiers, sandwiched Marui in the middle.

Poor Marui, after dodging the ball returned by Tono Atsukyo, also had to turn around to avoid Kite's attack.

Even though Marui was very agile, he was struggling to cope when attacked from both sides.

Marui can only last a few rounds with each ball.

After several rounds, he could no longer withstand the continuous attacks from both sides.

"Kite! What exactly do you mean?!"

"It's so noisy, what are you babbling about?"

Marui kept dodging the tennis balls flying in from both sides, while sternly questioning Kite.

However, it seemed that Kite was determined to side with Kimijima Ikuto, and his attacks on Marui were ruthless.

Execution Method Ten: Electric Chair.

At that moment, Tono Atsukyo suddenly launched a sneak attack, unleashing the Execution Method once again.

Marui turned around and saw the tennis ball flying towards him. Before he could even be surprised, he was hit in the abdomen.

A sudden, electric current of pain coursed through his body, causing Marui to stagger backward.

Unable to bear the pain any longer, he dropped his racket.

Marui knelt on the ground, clutching his stomach with both hands.

Bang...

"First String scores, score 2:4"

Despite the betrayal of the Kite, the First String managed to recover another point.

Marui was already covered in injuries, and the middle school students watching from the sidelines were very anxious.

"Just as that guy said, but my goal isn't just a knee."

Behind Marui, Kite completely ignored the fallen Marui.

After glancing at Tono Atsukyo's left knee, he looked at Kimijima Ikuto.

"Damn it... This can't go on like this, we have to deal with one side first."

At this moment, Marui stood up, clutching his stomach, and realized that continuing to be attacked from both sides was not an option.

With that thought in mind, Marui reached the bottom line.

In Kimijima Ikuto's serve, the Kite position has been moved to the frontcourt.

However, it seems that Kite doesn't want to stay put in the frontcourt, so the original front-back formation has become a double backcourt formation of Kite and Marui.

"Are you absolutely determined to do this, Kite...?"

Marui was also quite helpless at this, but he was only worried about the defensive problems in the frontcourt.

Because the two were standing side by side at the baseline, even if Kite wanted to attack, he couldn't.

"Your frontcourt is completely empty, Bunta-kun."

Kimijima Ikuto held a tennis ball in his hand, looking at Marui with a smile in his eyes.

With a gritted-teeth expression, Marui hit the ball.

Marui angrily returned the ball, but Kimijima Ikuto attacked his weak point directly.

Suddenly, the forehand power was released, and a short ball was hit.

"Damn it, have you really given up on even your basic defensive duties?!"

Kite remained unmoved by the short shot hit by Kimijima Ikuto.

Marui, who had still held a sliver of hope for the Kite, finally unleashed his power, moving his legs quickly to catch it just as it bounced off the ground.

"It's your performance time again, Kite."

Marui returned a Lob Shot, and Kimijima Ikuto could have smashed it to score, but he instead hit the ball towards Kite.

"Enough already! Bring it on, Kite!"

Realizing something was wrong Marui immediately turned to face the Kite; he was about to use...

"That Kite is really ruthless; he actually hit every ball at his partner."

However, it seems he's found a way to cope; as long as he faces the attack head-on and maintains a good posture, he can alleviate some of the pressure from being attacked from both sides.

"But some shots can't be predicted just by looking at them head-on, and that's the kind of shot that the Kite happens to be good at."

Marui, Irie the field, turned his body in approval of this approach.

However, Horio, who had fought with Kite before, knew what methods this man known as the assassin possessed. Hearing the hidden meaning in Horio's words, Irie immediately focused her attention.

On the field, the ball has already reached the baseline.

The Kite uses Ground Shrinking Technique to catch up with the ball in time and then swings out with a backhand.

The tennis ball flew towards Marui immediately focused his attention upon seeing it.

But what happened next caused his concentration to waver again.

The tennis ball's trajectory suddenly changed the instant it was launched.

The tennis ball darted erratically through the air, directly disrupting Marui's vision.

Just as Marui's vision could no longer keep up with the trajectory of the tennis ball, the ball suddenly shot out from under his body.

The attack aimed directly at Marui's face, and Marui fell to the ground as if he had been hit by an uppercut.

"That's... Great Fan Shi Qian..."

"That bastard Kite!"

"He actually used that trick to attack his own teammate; he really can't shake his treacherous nature."

Kite unexpectedly unleashed Great Fan Shi Qian, directly enraging some of the junior high school students in the audience.

"Since you're going to do that, then I won't let you catch another ball."

"Kite, you just stay put in the backfield."

Marui picked up his racket and stood up again.

He didn't even glance at it, completely ignoring the Kite.

When Marui said he wouldn't let him catch a single ball, Kite's expression remained normal, but he was secretly looking forward to it.

"Kimijima, your negotiation skills are truly impressive."

Seeing Marui's disheveled appearance, Tono Atsukyo's smile became even more arrogant.

Kimijima Ikuto did not respond to his partner's praise.

After serving again, Marui moved forward a few steps to return the ball and then moved to the frontcourt.

"No! That would make it easier for the Kite to attack you!"

Marui's actions broke the Wolf' guard, while Yukimura, who was not far away, smiled upon seeing this.

"Looks like that move is about to be used."

"That move? Does Marui have some way to deal with the current situation?"

Fuji to the side, was somewhat puzzled when he heard that Yukimura hadn't explained what he meant.

"During this training camp, Marui specifically trained to improve his defense, which is his weakness."

It seems that in addition to maintaining his flexible offense, he has also developed an impenetrable net defense.

As the leader of Court 6, and with Marui being his teammate, Yukimura naturally knew the situation very well.

"Hahaha, you really are pathetic, betrayed by your own companions, like a pitiful wretch."

"You say you'll catch all the balls? Let's see how long you can keep it up."

At this moment, Tono Atsukyo's attack appeared, but this time his attack was not aimed at Marui's body.

Because of what Marui had said earlier, Tono Atsukyo attacked the ball into his open space.

"I've spotted the flaw; that's it. This farce should end now."

Behind Marui, Kite didn't notice the change in Marui's eyes, but instead focused on Tono Atsukyo's knee.

He had already realized that Tono Atsukyo's guard had lowered, so he was ready to begin his own plan.

The reason for doing this is simply because Marui's advantage has become less obvious since he was suppressed by Kimijima Ikuto.

His killer instincts told him he had to end the match as soon as possible.

But he never imagined that what happened next would disrupt his plans.

Originally standing in the backcourt, he saw Tono Atsukyo hit a backcourt ball, Kite used the Ground Shrinking Technique to wait at the ball's landing point.

But then Marui suddenly appeared and blocked the ball solidly.

"I've already told you, I won't let you catch any more balls."

After blocking Tono Atsukyo's attack, Marui switched to defensive mode.

"Fantasy Castle!"

After returning the ball, Marui quickly went back to the center line.

He opened his arms to face the two people opposite him.

"Fantasy Castle? Is that his newly developed ball skill?"

"Could it be that when he said he would catch all the balls, he was referring to this move?"

Even the Wolf, who knew Marui best, was stunned when Marui uttered a name he had never heard before.

"Do you think you can catch all the balls with just this one move?"

But to what extent can you do it?

Kimijima Ikuto and Tono Atsukyo were somewhat dismissive of Marui's use of the Fantasy Castle.

Instead, they intensified their attack, immediately increasing Marui's defensive pressure.

Despite the increased pressure, Marui managed to withstand the attacks of the two high school students.

"Let's end here. Execution Method Eleven..."

"No need for that complicated process, just getting past his defense is enough."

"Kimijima, don't stop me!"

Tono Atsukyo was preparing to use Execution Method to continue his attack on Marui, but Kimijima Ikuto had already returned the ball to him first.

The tennis ball flew high into the sky, Marui tried to intercept it, but his injury prevented him from keeping up.

"Right, you can take the aim then."

Tono Atsukyo, still somewhat displeased that Kimijima Ikuto had returned the ball first, suddenly saw Kite in the backcourt making another move.

His already grim expression turned ferocious once more, while the Kite on the other side began to carry out his plan.

"I have to say, you're really something else. Someone as shrewd as Marui would have been easily fooled by you."

But I am Kite Eishiro, and I will not allow anyone on the court to be more cunning than me.

Using a voice only he could hear, the Kite muttered something to himself before striking out with the Great Fan Shi Qian again.

Marui, who had just failed to defend himself, turned around the moment he landed to prevent Kite from attacking him again.

Even knowing it might not have any effect, what if it does?