Bang!!
A loud bang rang out.
Another serve landed right on the edge of the service line.
And this time...
Yukimura rushed forward. A milky-white vortex silently added a little more power to his movement. He reached the ball, stopped, and swung his racket with a backhand.
"That was..."
Sanada couldn't help stepping forward and gripping the net in front of him.
That stance was exactly the same as the one Kamikawa had used for his slice earlier.
Bang!!
At that moment, the tennis ball skimmed over the net, just like a maple leaf.
Then it plunged rapidly toward the ground.
Just then, an invisible force enveloped the ball. As everyone watched, it flew toward Kamikawa.
Boom!!
Yukimura's pupils narrowed to pinpoints. He seemed to realize something, but the ball had already sailed past him and landed on the baseline.
With a slap, Yukimura's racket fell to the ground. He suddenly felt weak all over, and his body went limp.
His stamina had reached its limit long ago. He'd only managed to hold on this long by sheer willpower.
"The match is over."
The referee, seated high above the court, announced loudly, "The winner is player number 26, Kamikawa Mutsu, from Tokyo Metropolis!!"
It had been a high-level match. Though it was only a semifinal, it had given everyone a glimpse of what a National Tournament singles match at the junior-high level might look like. The two players were far ahead of their peers.
"Yukimura, are you all right?"
Kamikawa hurried to Yukimura's side. Seeing how exhausted he looked, Kamikawa couldn't help asking with concern.
He hadn't just used Annihilation of the Five Senses; he'd also used Muga no Kyochi. Both techniques drained stamina and mental strength, and Kamikawa didn't want anything to happen to the future Child of God.
"Yukimura!"
Sakata and Sanada ran over too, afraid something might have happened to him.
"I'm fine. He's just exhausted. He'll be all right after resting for a while."
Kamikawa could hear Yukimura's labored breathing. He'd overused his mental strength and briefly lost consciousness, but fortunately, it wasn't serious. A little rest would help him recover.
Sanada looked at Kamikawa with mixed feelings, then nodded and took Yukimura from his arms.
He and Yukimura had both lost to these two tennis players from Tokyo Metropolis.
"Is it over?"
As they walked out of the tennis court, they saw Tezuka holding two cans of soda.
"Yeah."
Kamikawa nodded and took one of the cans from Tezuka without hesitation. Then he asked, "How did your match go?"
"6–0. My opponent was decent."
Tezuka nodded, offering a brief assessment of Sanada's ability.
Though he'd won 6–0 without mercy, Sanada had put up decent pressure. In the end, he'd even come close to breaking free of Tezuka's Domain Technique with Muga no Kyochi.
"All right. Then the final will be between you and me."
"Yeah."
"Just so we're clear, I won't go easy on you."
"Neither will I."
Only after Kamikawa and Tezuka had left did Yukimura come to and open his eyes.
His eyes were filled with dejection. This was the first time he'd ever lost to someone his own age.
But this was tennis!
The winner took all; the loser had nothing.
"Yukimura, I lost too."
Perhaps wanting to comfort his friend, Sanada fell silent for a moment before admitting that he'd lost as well.
"Sanada, I want to go to Rikkai Dai Fuzhong."
Yukimura suddenly turned to Sanada and said it.
Sanada looked at his friend in surprise. "Are you sure? You really want to join Rikkai Dai Fuzhong?"
"I'm sure."
Yukimura nodded, his eyes growing more resolute. "We'll meet again at the junior-high tennis tournaments. I want to lead Rikkai Dai Fuzhong to three consecutive National Tournament titles. Will you help me, Sanada?!"
"Of course!"
Sanada could feel Yukimura's resolve. "Didn't we promise to play tennis together for the rest of our lives? I'll help you win three consecutive National Tournament titles."
Sanada had his own pride and self-respect. He would stand at the top of the nation alongside Yukimura, then defeat those two tennis players from Tokyo Metropolis.
"Yeah. We'll win three consecutive National Tournament titles!"
Yukimura clenched his fist.
This loss would only make him and Sanada stronger.
As soon as the match ended, the two of them went to a shady spot to relax.
From the look of Tezuka, it was clear that he'd won his match easily. Maybe, at this stage, he was already above everyone else.
Thinking about that, Kamikawa couldn't help recalling what Tezuka would face in the future at Seigaku.
"Hey, Tezuka."
Kamikawa stopped and called out to him.
"What is it?"
Tezuka stopped too, looking at Kamikawa with a puzzled expression.
"About what I mentioned before."
Kamikawa looked at Tezuka. "Have you made up your mind? Are you coming with me to Hyotei?"
"Hyotei..."
Tezuka fell unusually silent. It was clear he'd been thinking about this for a long time. "I think I'd rather go to Seigaku."
For some reason, Tezuka felt that Seigaku was where he belonged.
But faced with his friend's invitation, he couldn't find a reason to turn him down.
"Have you really thought it through?"
Kamikawa sighed inwardly. If Tezuka insisted on going there, Seigaku as it was now would eventually ruin him.
The problem with Seigaku wasn't just its players; it was also the coach's failure to do her job.
For all these years, apart from Echizen Nanjirou, that old woman hadn't developed a single outstanding tennis player. In the Kanto region, Rikkai Dai Fuzhong from Kanagawa Prefecture had consistently dominated the Kanto Tournament.
As for Seigaku, it was a team that struggled just to get by in the Metropolitan Tournament.
Of course, that didn't mean Seigaku was no good. In fact, the main players who would later win the National Tournament joined Seigaku in April of this year.
But Seigaku had still managed to waste an entire year of those promising players' first year.
Among them was Fuji Shusuke, known as a prodigy.
Only Tezuka and Oishi, both first-years, were eligible to take part in practice matches.
That's right, practice matches—not official ones.
Even so, only those two had been selected.
Oishi was exceptionally talented at doubles, and as a first-year, he had taken part in practice matches—training matches—many times. After Tezuka injured his elbow, even though he'd shown astonishing talent, he too had only been allowed to participate in practice matches.
Of course, there was no way to confirm whether he'd ever played an official match as a first-year.
Still, in the first year Tezuka joined, they did earn a strong result by reaching the Kanto semifinals. They did the same the following year.
"The Seigaku tennis club..."
Kamikawa gazed at Tezuka. After a long pause, he finally said, "To you, Seigaku is nothing but a grave. You could spend all three years there without making any progress."
"I..."
It was the first time Tezuka had heard his childhood friend say something like that.
And his intuition told him that Kamikawa was right.
In all the years he'd known him, Tezuka had never seen such a grave expression on Kamikawa's face. It was as if he could see Tezuka's future.
It was hard to believe, and yet Tezuka felt that Kamikawa was telling the truth.
"If you're determined to go to Seigaku, then beat me in the final."
Kamikawa's grave expression suddenly changed. He smiled and said, "We're tennis players. Let the outcome decide everything. What do you say?"
"All right!"
This time, Tezuka didn't refuse. He lifted his head, and the determination in his eyes made his resolve clear. He hadn't paid much attention to the junior-high tennis clubs, but he knew perfectly well that Seigaku's recent results weren't just worse than Hyotei's—they were worse than Yamabuki's too.
A prestigious tennis school that had been struggling just to get by in the Metropolitan Tournament.
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