Unlike Fudomine's brutal match, on the court where Rikkai was playing against Shishigaku, the Singles Three match had already ended, and a glaring 6-1 score hung on the scoreboard, making Fuwa Tetsuhito's face look awful.
Even though the opponent's regulars were all first-years except for Mōri, their strength was completely unmatched for their age. His own Singles Three player was a half-step national-level expert, but the entire match he'd been completely suppressed by Rikkai's first-year vice-captain.
On the court, the Doubles Two match looked like Shishigaku had the upper hand, but Fuwa Tetsuhito knew the two across the net weren't going all out at all; it was like they were deliberately dragging the match out. Though he didn't know why they'd do that, he had a bad feeling in his heart.
"Game! Shishigaku! 2-0!"
The umpire's voice snapped Fuwa Tetsuhito out of his thoughts. He looked up at the two Rikkai players and saw there wasn't a hint of panic on their faces, like everything was under their control.
"Pu-ri~ the data should be almost complete, right?" Niō said with a grin to Yanagi Renji.
"It's 96.3% done. But it's more than enough—our probability of winning this match is 99%," Yanagi said calmly.
Sure enough, the match situation flipped completely afterward. Shishigaku's two players found that no matter where they hit the ball, their opponents were already waiting there. At the same time, the returns were incredibly difficult to handle.
Niō also had excellent data collection skills, so he didn't need Yanagi to give detailed commands; he could cooperate perfectly. Their flawless coordination plus Yanagi's data made Shishigaku's players start losing points rapidly.
"Game! Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku! 2-1! Switch courts!"
"Game! Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku! 2-2!"
"Game! Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku! 3-2!"
On the sidelines, Fuwa Tetsuhito's face had turned completely dark. He finally realized what the opponents were doing: data tennis. He never thought anyone besides Mitsuya would play that kind of tennis.
Outside the court, the Mitsuya he was thinking of was watching the match. Irie Kanata smiled beside him and asked, "This kid called Yanagi Renji… did you teach him that data tennis, Mitsuya-kun?"
"Yes, Irie-senpai. But I didn't expect that after just half a year, his skills would grow this much," Mitsuya said with a hint of admiration.
"This year's first-year middle schoolers are ridiculous. Let's not even talk about Akashi-kun—several other schools in your Kanto region have first-years at the national level too," Irie said in disbelief. What he was really thinking, though, no one could tell.
"That's good for U-17. The senpai don't have to worry about the next generation anymore," Mitsuya said with a smile.
"True~ But I heard something crazy happened with Akashi-kun's match just now. Aren't you interested in checking it out, Mitsuya-kun?" Irie said teasingly.
"No need. Fudomine's probability of winning is 100%," Mitsuya answered confidently.
"Is that so? By the way, I heard Makinofuji's match isn't going well either. I'd love to see Byoudouin's face when he finds out," Irie laughed.
"Compared to Makinofuji, your Maikozaka has already been eliminated, senpai~" Mitsuya replied with a playful smirk.
Irie immediately fell silent, sighing and shaking his head helplessly. Ever since he and Tanegashima graduated, Maikozaka's strength had plummeted, and now they couldn't even make the top eight nationally.
Meanwhile, at the court where Hyōtei was playing Makinofuji, the Singles Three match ended with Hyōtei crushing Makinofuji 6-0. The players were Akutagawa Jirō and Kadokai Satoru, both first-years, but their strength was worlds apart.
In the Doubles Two match on court, Makinofuji's situation was also desperate. Hiyoshi Wakashi and Oshitari Yūshi had no intention of holding back—Hyōtei planned to end it within the first three matches.
"The winner is Hyōtei, the loser is Makinofuji!"
"The winner is Hyōtei, the loser is Makinofuji!"
Kitahara Ryōta listened to the deafening cheers all around, feeling more and more agitated. He'd never seen a cheering squad this big. This was nothing like last year's Hyōtei.
And in terms of strength, compared to last year, this year's Hyōtei was just as strong, if not even stronger. That made Kitahara feel even worse, because this year's Makinofuji was far weaker than last year's.
Honestly, Kitahara was just unlucky—he ran into a world-altering troublemaker like Akashi. In the original timeline, Makinofuji lost to Rikkai but still took second place. Now, they probably wouldn't even make the semifinals.
After Akashi and the others finished their match, they didn't pay any attention to the foreign players from Nagoya. They packed their things and left the court, heading straight for the match between Seigaku and Shitenhōji to watch.
Ryūzaki Sumire and Watanabe Osamu noticed Fudomine's arrival. They were surprised Fudomine had finished so quickly, but it obviously wasn't the right time to ask about it.
On the court, Shitenhōji had just won the Singles Three match 6-0. The players were Shiraishi Kuranosuke and Yamato Yūdai. If Akashi's guess was right, their semifinal opponent would be Shitenhōji.
Originally, Yamato wouldn't have lost so badly—his Gen'u Yume Utsutsu was still impressive—but he faced Bible Shiraishi. Even though the current Shiraishi was far from his peak in the original story, his playstyle that stuck perfectly to the basics completely nullified Yamato's Gen'u Yume Utsutsu.
Akashi watched Shiraishi, who was sitting on the bench with bandages on his left hand, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. 'Did he already start wearing the golden wristband now? Watanabe-sensei is really generous—no wonder he's become so stingy~'
Right now, the Doubles Two match was underway. Seigaku sent Kikumaru and Oishi, while Shitenhōji had Hara Tetsuya and Koishikawa Kenjirō. But what left Akashi speechless was how Hara's chatter far outdid Kikumaru's—every time he hit the ball, he made a comment.
"A crosscourt shot? But that's useless on me~"
"Australian Formation is pretty nice, but your time playing together is still way too short!"
"Oh-ho~ a lob? Don't you know my favorite thing is a smash? Moukohan!"
As for Koishikawa, Akashi had basically no impression of him. In the original story, he didn't even appear at Nationals, though he was the vice-captain of Shitenhōji at the time.
Oishi and Kikumaru had improved a lot, but facing Hara was still tough. Plus, Koishikawa specialized in counter tennis, defending the back court so well that Hara could attack freely at the net.
In the end, Seigaku lost the Doubles Two match with a score of 7-5. It was clear Kikumaru and Oishi gave it their all, but they were still a bit lacking.
For Singles Two, Shitenhōji sent their captain Taira Yoshiyuki, and Seigaku sent Fuji Shūsuke. It looked like both sides were putting their strongest player in the middle match.
"So you're Seigaku's ace, Fuji Shūsuke? I heard you're a genius?" Taira's terrifying expression locked on Fuji.
"Senpai gives me too much credit. I'm no genius—just an ordinary player~" Fuji smiled calmly, unfazed by Taira's look.
"Oh? So you're just an ordinary player? Looks like I was wrong, hahaha~" Taira's expression shifted suddenly as he burst into laughter.
"Idiot! He's lying to you!" Hara on the sidelines couldn't help but shout at Taira.
"What? You dared lie to me?! …But, I forgive you~" Taira nodded at Fuji.
Even Fuji was caught off guard by Taira's bizarre behavior. He'd thought the guy was picking a fight, but now it didn't seem that way.
The umpire began urging them to decide the server. Fuji got lucky and won the right to serve. The match officially began as the umpire announced it.
Fuji started with his disappearing serve. Taira was surprised and didn't react in time, letting Fuji score three points straight. Only on the last ball did Taira manage to return the serve.
Still, Fuji closed the game with a Tsubame Gaeshi to hold his serve. Taira's expression turned serious—this first-year opponent was definitely no ordinary player.
In the second game, Taira stopped testing and used Bakyuun right away. The tennis ball instantly shattered Fuji's racket. He truly deserved his title as Shitenhōji's comedy sniper.
After having two rackets broken in a row, Fuji pulled out his last spare while thinking of ways to counter Bakyuun. He tried using Kagerō Zutsumi to weaken the impact, and though the racket didn't break, it still flew from his hand.
"Game! Shitenhōji! 1-1!"
Relying on Bakyuun, Taira also held his serve. The Shitenhōji players on the sidelines cheered wildly, shouting for the comedy sniper.
"Who are you calling the comedy sniper? That's right! It's me!" Taira shouted dramatically on court.
Akashi watched Fuji closely and was sure now—Fuji had broken into national level. But against a seasoned national-level player like Taira, one slip and Fuji could get crushed.
As the match went on, Fuji started hitting a variety of tricky shots, preventing Taira from easily firing Bakyuun. His evolved Triple Counters came out one after another, catching Taira off guard.
"Game! Seishun Academy! 2-1! Switch courts!"
"Game! Shitenhōji! 2-2!"
"Game! Seishun Academy! 3-2!"
"Game! Shitenhōji! 3-3! Switch courts!"
Their battle grew more intense. Taira seized every chance to use Bakyuun, while Fuji launched all kinds of counters until he finally unleashed Hecatoncheires no Monban, shifting the match firmly in his favor.
Fuji lived up to his genius reputation. He cleverly combined Kagerō Zutsumi's weakening effect so that just as the ball's power dropped, he immediately followed with Hecatoncheires no Monban, not only adding insane spin but also neutralizing Bakyuun's impact.
Taira was shocked to find his shots couldn't get past the net no matter what, even lobs were useless. No matter how powerful Bakyuun was, it couldn't pierce the net.
"Game! Seishun Academy! 4-3!"
"Game! Seishun Academy! 5-3!"
Relying on Hecatoncheires no Monban, Fuji won two straight games, forcing Taira to the edge of defeat. But Taira wasn't an ordinary player—his returns were getting closer and closer to the net's top. He had clearly seen through the principle behind Hecatoncheires no Monban.
Meanwhile, over on the court for Hyōtei versus Makinofuji, Kitahara stood frozen with a devastated face. The scoreboard beside him showed 6-0, and across from him, Atobe stood with eyes closed, basking in the cheers.
"Didn't expect you to have some skill—took ore-sama more than twenty minutes to beat you!" Atobe said irritably after admiring himself for a moment.
A week ago at the draw ceremony, Atobe had boasted he'd finish Kitahara within fifteen minutes, so taking over twenty minutes bothered his pride.
With Atobe's victory, Hyōtei won 3-0, eliminating Makinofuji completely. Hardly anyone had predicted that Makinofuji, the absolute champions with two consecutive national titles, wouldn't even make the semifinals this year.
Elsewhere, Fuwa Tetsuhito and Mōri were locked in an intense clash. Facing a player like Mōri left Fuwa frustrated, because his prized Mirror Eye was practically useless.
Mirror Eye could reflect any move, but only if the opponent used a technique. Yet Mōri was the type who used no techniques at all, relying purely on basic tennis.
With Mōri entering his sleep mode, his overall ability got a slight boost, making it even harder for Fuwa to handle. Unknowingly, their match had turned from a skills contest into a battle of stamina.
Back to the Seigaku versus Shitenhōji match, Fuji had reached match point—just one more point and he'd win. But he knew his Hecatoncheires no Monban had been cracked by Taira.
Standing at the baseline, Fuji tossed the ball high and served a high-quality crosscourt shot. Taira wasted no time, moving quickly to the landing spot and countering with Bakyuun.
Fuji used Kagerō Zutsumi to absorb part of the shot's force, then instantly followed up with Hecatoncheires no Monban. But Taira didn't wait for the ball to bounce—he smashed it right back, sending it low over the net, dropping fast.
This time, the ball didn't dip much; it barely cleared the net, shooting into Fuji's court. Hecatoncheires no Monban had finally been directly overcome.
Fuji watched the incoming ball, felt the spin, and smiled. He darted forward, swung his racket upward from below, launching the ball high into the sky, where it vanished from sight.
"Sixth Counter, Hoshi Hanabi!"
Taira looked up but saw only brilliant fireworks instead of the ball. While he stood stunned, the ball dropped softly behind him, landing right on the baseline and stopping dead.
"Game! 6-3! Match over! Winner, Seishun Academy!"
Fuji's victory kept Seigaku from getting swept, but the situation wasn't really better—everyone on Seigaku knew they'd basically already lost.
For Doubles One, Seigaku sent Inui Sadaharu and Kawamura Takashi, while Shitenhōji had Konjiki Koharu and Hitōji Yūji. Seeing the two walk arm-in-arm onto the court, Akashi felt the urge to cover his face—it looked like Watanabe-sensei was already forcing them into this whole 'gay couple' act.
Konjiki looked bashful as he gazed at the fired-up Kawamura. "That guy across the net has such manly charm… it's irresistible~"
"Ko-chan, cheating again?! You wanna die?!" Hitōji yelled furiously at Konjiki.
Inui stared at them, a chill shooting up his spine, and took a few steps back unconsciously. Even Kawamura shuffled sideways—apparently not even racquet-wielding Kawamura could handle this.
The match started quickly. Thanks to Konjiki and Hitōji's antics beforehand, Inui couldn't concentrate on gathering data. Just seeing their faces made him feel sick.
After three games, Inui barely collected some data, but Konjiki's data collection was far superior—his IQ 200 brain made most of Inui's data useless.
Hitōji also kept mimicking Inui's voice to throw off Kawamura, completely ruining Seigaku's coordination. They lost Doubles One 6-1.
By then, Rikkai had also finished their match and arrived courtside. Mōri managed to win in a tiebreak, beating Fuwa 7-6!
So this year's national top four schools were set: Fudomine, Rikkai, Hyōtei, and Shitenhōji!