"Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!"
Most of the seats around the court were filled with Hyotei students, all there to cheer for their school.
Hyotei sure had a lot of people. With so many of them cheering nearby, the noise was getting annoying.
In the stands, Horio heard the crowd all around him cheering for Hyotei and felt his ears starting to hurt.
"Katsuro, Katsuo, get everyone else to join in too. We can't let our side's atmosphere die down."
Horio turned to Katsuro and the others, urging them to shout along, but it didn't work out very well.
There were too few Seigaku supporters. Their voices were drowned out by Hyotei's before they could even get going.
Horio could only feel speechless. On the court, Momo and Kikumaru also found the incessant noise unpleasant.
"Seriously, this noise is really getting to me."
"Yeah, there are just too many of them."
The two of them complained to each other. Just then, Hyotei's Second Doubles pair, Oshitari Yushi and Mukahi Gakuto, took advantage of their school's cheering section and called out provocatively.
"Hyotei will win!"
"Seigaku will lose!"
Momo and Kikumaru showed little reaction to Hyotei's taunts. They would know the result once the match was over.
"The match begins with Seigaku's Momo serving."
At the baseline on his side of the court, Momo looked at the ball in his hand.
After adjusting his focus, he tossed the ball and struck a Bullet Serve.
"Not a bad serve, but the placement's terrible."
On Hyotei's side, Oshitari watched the ball fly toward him and quickly ran to its landing point, returning it with a forehand.
As soon as he hit the ball, Oshitari saw that Kikumaru had already read its path and moved into the best position. Kikumaru then hit a backhand in the opposite direction.
Everyone had thought the shot would score outright, but all they saw was a figure hanging in the air after a backflip.
"Look! Senpai Mukahi's Moon Surface Flip!"
Suspended in midair, Mukahi returned the ball with astonishing lightness. He landed after sending it back, brimming with confidence.
"Hmph, they really look down on us. Even the old Kikumaru could've returned a ball like that."
Watching the ball land in the opposite direction from Kikumaru, Horio wore a disdainful expression.
Just as Horio had said, Kikumaru leaned slightly backward on the court and swung his right arm behind him.
Mukahi clearly hadn't expected that. He couldn't catch up to the ball, leaving Oshitari to cover for him from the baseline.
Once in position, Oshitari spotted an open stretch of baseline on Seigaku's side and prepared to hit the ball there. But then he saw Momo sprinting toward it.
He had no choice but to change the direction of his swing at the last second, sending a Lob Shot toward the other side of Momo.
Thud...
"Hyotei scores. 15–0."
"I didn't expect him to make a judgment that quickly and hit it into Senpai Kikumaru's blind spot. Hyotei really is impressive."
"Sorry, sorry, Momo. I couldn't reach it."
"It's okay, Senpai Kikumaru. Let them have their fun for now. We'll just warm up first."
"Sounds good to me. We've trained for so long. Let's let them enjoy themselves for a bit, then see how our training paid off."
After that, the two returned to their positions, and Momo hit another Bullet Serve.
Momo and Kikumaru continued playing against Hyotei's pair at the same level they'd shown during the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament.
Hyotei's pair steadily widened their lead, but Momo and Kikumaru clearly weren't in a hurry.
Seigaku's frequent lost points only fueled Hyotei's arrogance.
The cheers from Hyotei's side grew louder and louder, while Mukahi and Oshitari on the court grew increasingly impatient.
"What's going on with Seigaku? Is this all they've got?"
Mukahi was breathing a little heavily, but still sounded smug. He clearly hadn't noticed that he was already running low on stamina.
"Even so, something feels off. Gakuto, there are only two points left. Make sure you manage your stamina."
Oshitari couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He'd also noticed that Mukahi was already getting tired.
"It's fine, Yushi. They don't have a chance to turn this around."
Thwack...
"Hyotei scores. The score is 5–0. The players will change ends."
"Seriously, I didn't think it would be this easy. We didn't even need to play."
Mukahi complained as he and Oshitari walked toward the opposite side of the court. As he passed Momo and Kikumaru, he called out to Kikumaru.
"Hey, Kikumaru! Why don't you keep jumping?"
His voice was full of disdain, his gaze full of provocation.
Kikumaru and Momo saw Mukahi's smug look, but his words didn't affect them.
They only glanced at Mukahi, then turned and walked away.
"Damn it... It's already 5–0, and they're still acting like it's no big deal. Just watch me beat you."
Mukahi, having failed to provoke them, was seething with embarrassment. Oshitari, meanwhile, had finally realized what was wrong.
He and Mukahi had been playing all this time. Their lead had never been in question, but the longer the match went on, the more stamina they used up.
Momo and Kikumaru had maintained the same level of play from beginning to end, and their current condition hadn't changed in the slightest.
"Gakuto, something feels wrong. We have to give everything we've got and win the final game."
"I was thinking the same thing. I'll make sure they don't score a single point."
In the stands, Horio looked ready to enjoy the show. Coming back from 5–0 to win 7–5—who could resist watching that?
"Senpai Kikumaru, here we go."
"No problem, Momo. The real match starts now."
On Hyotei's side of the court, Oshitari frowned as he saw that Momo and Kikumaru were still in top form.
With a hint of unease in his heart, he tossed the ball and served.
"Heh, your serve's too slow."
Seeing Oshitari's serve, Momo finally stopped holding back.
He gripped the racket with both hands and returned the ball with the Center of Gravity Vertical Jump Style.
The tennis ball seemed to catch fire as it flew toward Oshitari. At the net, Mukahi suddenly jumped to intercept it.
He performed another Moon Surface Flip, but the moment his racket touched the ball—
He suddenly felt its heavy force. Mukahi, whose game relied on agility, had his racket knocked away, and he fell to the ground as he lost his balance.
"You're pretty confident, aren't you? You actually dared to return my Jack Knife."
Seeing Mukahi's racket fly away and Mukahi himself hit the ground, Momo finally found his voice.
"How did his strength suddenly increase so much? Could it be that they weren't even trying during those last few games?"
At courtside, Atobe was also surprised. Sakaki Taro, Hyotei's coach, sat in the coaches' seats, his calm eyes tinged with astonishment.
"So they're only showing their true strength now? Not even being able to see your opponent's true abilities—how pathetic."
"Gakuto, are you okay? I'll take Momo's shots from now on. Focus on dealing with Kikumaru."
"Damn it, those two were hiding their strength. They played us for fools."
"I only realized it just now too. Maybe we really did miscalculate."
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