"So fast at the net! He found his opponent's weakness and attacked quickly."
"I bet for both of them, that first point was just a warm-up, a test."
Shishido couldn't help but give a wry smile. The incredibly high level of play displayed in just that probing rally was something he couldn't even keep up with, which really showed the huge gap between himself and these two.
"Huuuh..."
Yukimura stopped, looking up ahead.
"That kind of net speed..."
Yukimura paused, feeling the heat radiating in his palm, and said, "No wonder he's so confident. This level of skill isn't inferior to Sanada's."
"But, if this is all he's got, then I'll be sorely disappointed."
Yukimura took a deep breath, settling into his stance.
That last shot was just a test. Not just for him, but for Kamigawa as well.
However...
Starting with the next point, Yukimura wouldn't hold back. He could feel that his opponent was strong.
Strong enough to warrant him giving his all.
With that thought.
Yukimura tossed the ball, raised his arm, and swung his racket forcefully.
The next moment, accompanied by a loud bang.
Whack!!
The fluorescent tennis ball soared through the air, smashing into the service box's back corner, precisely landing on the line.
This serve's speed and control were even faster and more powerful than what he'd seen before!
"Tap... tap..."
Kamigawa didn't leave the baseline, moving along it to return the serve with a backhand.
The instant he touched the ball, Kamigawa sensed something was off.
His eyes swept over Yukimura, and he charged forward, returning the serve with a serve-and-volley.
Kamigawa rarely returned serves with a serve-and-volley; it implied an aggressive, proactive attack.
Whack!
With a counter-slice, Yukimura aimed for the diagonal cross-court.
Kamigawa pushed off with one foot, quickly dashing towards the left cross-court corner.
Whack!
As the tennis ball landed and bounced, Yukimura suddenly appeared at the baseline of the left half-court, hitting a powerful backhand slice. The tennis ball shot towards Kamigawa's other half of the court.
Kamigawa's eyes flickered, and he stopped his pursuit of the ball.
The tennis ball, as it landed, carried a fierce spin, bouncing off into the empty left side, then slamming into the back fence. The intense spin twisted the outer fence.
"15-15!!"
"It looked like a flat passing shot, but it was actually a top-spin ball?!"
Shishido's pupils contracted slightly; he hadn't even reacted.
If it were him, or any other player, they would have rushed to return it. After all, a typical flat shot, though fast, still leaves room for a return.
But a top-spin ball, with that angle of bounce, would offer absolutely no chance for a return.
"A counterattack, huh!"
Kamigawa chuckled, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Yukimura at this stage was quite competitive.
Whack!!
Whack!!
Their movements on the court continuously sped up.
Their eyes were completely drawn to the back-and-forth passing shots, both players being pulled wide from side to side, steadily wearing down each other's stamina. Yukimura suddenly turned sideways to hit a shot, slowing down the ball's speed.
Thwack!!
The tennis ball brushed the top of the net, forcefully altering its trajectory.
"Net ball!"
"That was an incredible net ball."
Inoue gripped the fence tightly, his eyes wide with disbelief.
A net ball, while also a high-level tennis technique, demands astonishing ball control from the player. Of course, it also carries a hint of luck; it's incredibly difficult to intentionally hit a net ball with precision.
To manage to hit such an accurate net ball during such an intense rally...
Just how strong is Seiichi Yukimura from Kanagawa Prefecture?!
Kamigawa quickly dashed forward, lowering his body, only able to return with a lob.
Whack!!
The tennis ball flew upwards. The next second, Yukimura appeared mid-air, gripping his racket tightly, and slammed the ball down.
"It's coming!"
Shishido seemed to realize something, unconsciously gripping the fence.
"What's coming, Ryo?!"
Mukahi hadn't caught on yet when an astonishing sight unfolded before him.
Whack!!
The tennis ball plummeted like a smash, carrying incredible power, but it was instantly returned.
Kamigawa, with his back turned and arms spread wide, completely absorbed the power of the smash, bouncing it back over Yukimura Seiichi's head.
It landed squarely inside the court.
15-30!!
"Wha... what was that?!"
Returning a smash in that kind of posture—can an ordinary person really do that?
Shishido noticed Mukahi's shock and couldn't help but say, "Before, when he played against me, he used a similar move."
"At the time, I was just as incredulous as you, especially when that tennis ball flew over my head..."
This bizarre way of returning the ball was indeed something no normal player could pull off.
It required absolute confidence in both the opponent's smash landing point and one's own ball control to execute.
This guy was just that fierce; he did things that ordinary people couldn't.
"A very good move."
After a brief pause, Yukimura smiled and said, "What do you call that move?"
"This move?"
Kamigawa thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Bear Reversal. Pretty interesting, right? I saw it from someone else before."
Someone else?!
Who was he talking about? Was it a teammate who came with him?!
Yukimura was startled. He couldn't believe that move actually belonged to someone else.
If it really was Tezuka, who came with Kamigawa and was now playing in the A-block final, then Sanada would be in trouble.
After all, Sanada's most boasted move was his smash.
But Yukimura's rational intuition told him that the person Kamigawa mentioned wasn't Tezuka.
Then who could it be?!
Kamigawa didn't explain, turning and walking away.
He didn't say who it was. Whether it was the genius Fuji, who hadn't yet made his mark, or the Kansai Wolf from Osaka, they could all use this move, so it wasn't exclusively Fuji's.
He was just giving everyone a sneak peek at the power of this technique ahead of time.
Whack!!
On the adjacent court, the A-block final.
Honestly, Sanada, who had made it to the A-block final, was definitely not weak by any means.
But somehow, this match had turned into a one-sided affair. Tezuka hadn't moved an inch from the baseline since the match began, his eyes unnervingly calm.
No matter what kind of attack Sanada launched, the rhythm of the match remained firmly in Tezuka's control.
Especially that tennis ball, it always seemed to fly unconsciously towards Tezuka's optimal hitting spot.
"That's... impossible!"
Sanada had, after all, joined a tennis club at the age of four, and his experience was far more extensive than that of an average elementary schooler. Through the continuous rallies, he had long sensed something amiss.
It wasn't until now that he finally understood just how strong the boy in front of him was.
This was Tezuka's unique domain technique: Tezuka Zone. It was an exceptionally sophisticated skill, a secret technique that only those with an extremely deep understanding of their own ball control could master.
Forget this JR Tournament's elementary school division; even in the middle school or high school divisions, very few people could master this move. It was a unique talent.
It wasn't a domain technique that could be easily executed just by understanding its principles.
Of course, theoretically, Tezuka hadn't fully mastered this move yet, but through the back-and-forth rallies with Sanada, he was gradually perfecting his own "Aura."
In other words, the Tezuka Zone!