Vs. Shishido Ryo

"Shishido Ryo~"

Ryo is still incredibly arrogant right now. It's not that his vision is poor; it's just that the environment at Hyotei Elementary School is too lacking. The players he encounters are limited to just a few.

Even against someone his own age like Akutagawa, Ryo could win two or three points with his net play technique. Without experiencing true tennis and understanding the gap between himself and skilled tennis players, he can never become a top-tier master.

"I hope he can give me a good match."

Glancing at Ryo, Kamikawa shook his head inwardly.

"That look in his eyes..."

For some reason, Ryo felt a tightness in his chest. He looked up but didn't notice anything strange; the opponent just seemed like a normal player.

"I'm overthinking it. I'll finish this quickly so I can go watch Mukahi's match."

Ryo's thoughts had already drifted to another court.

He had been playing tennis since childhood. During that time, he had faced many strong opponents; even the second-string junior high players at Hyotei were no match for him.

Kamikawa Mutsu...

A name he'd never even heard of. How strong could he possibly be?!

"Which?"

While contemplating, the two arrived at the net.

Both sides chose their sides, and as the JR Tournament was a formal competition, the service right was determined by a coin toss or by spinning the racket and checking the face. The winner had the priority to choose their court and service right, and the loser would choose after the winner made their selection.

"I'll let you have the service right."

"I'm in a hurry."

Ryo flicked his racket with his fingertips and turned to walk towards the baseline behind him.

"What an arrogant kid."

"Isn't that Hyotei Elementary School's Shishido Ryo?"

"Shishido Ryo? Who's that?!"

"Don't you read tennis magazines? It was published yesterday. They say he's one of the top three tennis players at Hyotei Elementary School, and with his skill, he could be a regular player even in his first year of junior high."

"Really? A grade-schooler can beat junior high students? Their physiques, strength, and all aspects are on completely different levels."

The biggest difference between elementary school students and junior high school students is physical strength. The period from elementary school to the first year of junior high is a developmental stage. Excessive training during this period can lead to stunted growth, accumulated fatigue, reduced secretion of growth hormone, and significantly impact height development.

This is also why Nanjirou didn't undergo much training when Echizen was younger. Gradual growth allows one to reach a higher stage.

Kamikawa stood on the baseline, hearing the rustling chatter around him. He held the ball in his left hand, adjusted his breathing, and focused his gaze forward.

"The match begins, one set to decide the winner."

After both sides were ready, the referee raised his hand and announced loudly, "Kamikawa Mutsu serves, one game!"

Whoosh!

As the words fell.

Bang!!

Kamikawa tossed the ball, raised his hand, and swung his racket in one fluid motion.

The tennis ball flew out, a light yellow trajectory streaking through the air.

Thwack!!

The tennis ball landed on the edge of Ryo's service box.

The ball skimmed the sideline of the service box and bounced outwards.

Ryo's eyes widened, his hands gripping his racket tightly. He heard the sound of the ball landing but couldn't react in time.

"15-0! Ace!"

Ryo turned to look at the landing spot not far in front of him, his pupils contracting slightly.

He couldn't react in that instant. Was this guy's serve speed that fast?

It didn't even give him time to return the serve.

"Do you want me to slow down the ball speed?!"

Kamikawa walked towards the opposite side of the court, holding the tennis ball.

The service box is divided into two halves, the left half and the right half. Each game begins with a serve from the right half. After scoring or losing a point, players switch halves to serve, alternating rotation.

This continues until the service game ends.

"This guy!" Ryo clenched his racket, looking at Kamikawa in front of him again.

With a height of about 1.6 meters, he looked about the same age as Ryo. His face appeared very youthful, lacking any "strong" aura, yet he could deliver such a unique serve.

As a tennis player from Hyotei Elementary School, Ryo had naturally seen Ochi Gekko, the tennis club captain who led Hyotei through the Metropolitan Tournament and all the way to the semifinals of the National Tournament.

But...

Kamikawa clearly didn't have that kind of aura. Even the seniors in the junior high division exuded a stronger presence than him.

"I was careless for a moment. I won't let my guard down again."

With that, Shishido held his racket with both hands, spread his legs, and lowered his center of gravity. Like a Mighty Lion poised to strike, his eyes were focused, showing none of his previous underestimation.

The audience also noticed Shishido's actions.

"An Ace ball right from the start, is that kid really an elementary school student?!"

"Hiss... this elementary school student named Shishido looks like he's getting serious."

"In the last match, he beat his opponent 6-3. His skill is surprisingly strong."

"He was probably just careless and didn't react in time. After all, he's one of the top three from Hyotei Elementary School."

"Yeah..."

"..."

Bang!!

Toss, raise, swing, all in one fluid motion.

This serve was similar to the previous one, a high-threat, fast serve aimed at the edge of the service line.

Bang!!

Shishido lunged towards the edge line, swinging his racket quickly.

The moment he returned the ball, he lowered his body forward, gripped the racket with both hands, and made a net approach.

Bang!!

His foot, which had just stepped forward, stopped as Kamikawa swung, and he quickly retreated.

"Damn it!"

Shishido cursed inwardly. His net approach was instantly interrupted, forcing him to retreat to the baseline.

A serve-and-volley player's worst nightmare is an opponent hitting a cross-court ball in the opposite direction, or a shot aimed at their feet.

This was an angled foot-fault shot.

The angle and speed of the return were both incredibly tricky.

Shishido retreated just in time, swinging his racket at the bouncing tennis ball.

The tennis ball hit the center tape, spun violently, and then slowly dropped.

"Net touch! 30-0, Kamikawa leads!"

"Such strong spin."

He had reacted to this shot, but the incredible spin on the return caught him completely off guard.

If the previous ball was luck, and he, Shishido, had underestimated his opponent and been careless, then this return clearly showed the gap between them.

The speed, reaction, and skill displayed in the return were undoubtedly at a very top-tier level.

Shishido was arrogant, but not stupid. If he still couldn't see the difference between himself and his opponent now, then his years of playing tennis would have been in vain.

Among his peers, besides those two monsters in Kanagawa, could anyone else really do this?!

Bang!!

Bang!!

Having been caught twice, Shishido quickly got into the zone.

But he couldn't find a suitable opening to attack. Kamikawa's shots were almost always placed just within Shishido's reach. Shishido's unyielding nature drove him to scramble desperately across the court, yet he couldn't win a single point against Kamikawa.

"Another cross-court ball!"

"Right on the line, does a kid really have this kind of ball control ability!"

"Holy crap! Another reverse cross-court, this guy's tennis skills are a bit too monstrous!"

"..."

Off the court.

Watching the offense-defense battle between the two players on the court, the audience let out gasps of amazement. It felt like a long time ago, they had seen a similar scene at the JR Tournament elementary division.

That was three years ago, with that elementary school student from Hyotei Elementary School, the boy with white hair.