A short while later, Shishido and the others, who had been following them, arrived at Yamabuki's tennis club.
The whole tennis club had already disbanded, and there were only people on the court in front of them, one of whom was Kamikawa, the guy they'd been trailing.
Seeing Kamikawa step onto the court, Mukahi excitedly pointed and exclaimed, "Look, look... I told you, that guy's definitely here to challenge them!"
"Mukahi, don't you think something's off?" Shishido sighed, gesturing to their surroundings. Mukahi snapped back to reality. "Wait, where is everyone? How is it just one guy and an old man?!"
"That old man... he seems to be the coach from Yamabuki Junior High," Oshitari paused, looking at the elderly man acting as the referee on the court. "I saw him in a tennis magazine once. He's considered a legendary coach in the tennis world."
"Huh..." Atobe looked at Ban-chan with suspicion. "That old man, a legendary coach, really?"
"Absolutely! I couldn't be mistaken. They say he was even a coach when the Legendary Samurai was still a student, and he supposedly led his team to defeat Seigaku back then." Oshitari nodded thoughtfully. He'd heard these stories from his previous tennis coach in Osaka. Speaking of which, Yamabuki making it to the Nationals every year probably had a lot to do with this legendary coach.
Hearing that, Tezuka's gaze also fell on Ban-chan. He really respected the Legendary Samurai, who was said to have opened the gate of Emptiness with his own hands. Tezuka had even learned the Realm skills from watching those matches. When the Samurai, Nanjiro, left Japan for North America, he never used his Realm skills again. Or maybe, his opponents weren't even worthy of him using them. That's just how outrageous he was back then!
"The Legendary Samurai, huh?" Atobe raised an eyebrow. Even he, who had grown up in England, had heard of a figure like that.
"Now's not the time to talk about that," Shishido suddenly cut in. "Look, the match is about to start!"
Everyone put their thoughts aside and turned to watch the impending match on the court.
On the court.
Thump... thump...
Kamikawa bounced the tennis ball a few times, then looked up at Akutsu. "Are you ready?"
"Don't bother with the small talk. Just play," Akutsu replied coolly, tightening his grip on his racket. His eyes were like those of a hungry wolf, fixed on the tennis ball. Deep down, he wanted to see how strong his opponent really was, how much he needed to be wary.
"Alright!" Kamikawa didn't say anything more. He lifted his hand, tossed the ball, and bent his knees slightly.
The next second, Smack!
With a crisp sound, Kamikawa swung his racket powerfully. The bright yellow tennis ball instantly appeared beside Akutsu.
Zzzzzz~
The tennis ball rubbed fiercely against the ground, tracing a bizarre arc as it zipped past Akutsu's feet, then slammed into the wall. The intense spin made the ball rebound upwards with all its might.
Akutsu looked down, staring at the burnt black mark left on the ground by his feet, his pupils shrinking. "What... what was that?!"
Outside the court, Shishido and the others, who were still enjoying the spectacle, almost widened their eyes. Especially Oshitari and Atobe. Shishido and Mukahi had at least seen that serve before. But seeing it again still left them stunned.
Terrifying! Eerie! Beautiful!
A mix of emotions surged in their hearts, and for a moment, they were speechless.
"Fifteen-love!"
As Ban-chan's aged voice announced the score, everyone slowly came to.
"What's wrong, Akutsu?" Kamikawa raised an eyebrow, picking up another tennis ball from the side and walking to the other half of the court. That astonished expression actually appeared on Akutsu's face. How rare!
"Damn it," Akutsu swung his racket, his mind still replaying that serve. His dynamic vision was just as amazing; he clearly saw the trajectory of that serve, but in that moment, his body couldn't react at all.
Kamikawa suddenly remembered something, tapping his head slightly with his racket. He smiled faintly and said, "Oh, right, I almost forgot. You haven't touched a tennis ball in a long time, have you?"
Then, he tossed the ball and raised his hand. Another Golden Snake Dance.
Whump!
The tennis ball quickly hit the ground again, traveling across the court at a strange angle. Its speed was slightly reduced, but its exaggerated swinging motion made it impossible to return normally. Akutsu's eyes followed the ball, he lowered his body and swung his racket towards the landing spot in front of him.
Whoosh~
A whistling sound echoed as his tennis racket was lifted into the air. But the tennis ball had already zipped past his feet, hitting the wall again and rebounding with a loud thud.
Ban-chan's eyes gleamed, his astonishment clear. He had never imagined a first-year junior high student could hit such a bizarre serve. A serve that bounced at an angle almost parallel to the ground was already incredibly difficult to return. Not to mention, that serve swung wildly from side to side with an exaggerated range, and if you weren't careful, the ball would just slip right past you. It was unimaginable that at his age, he would still see a tennis player with such terrifying talent.
"Thirty-love!"
"What in the world is that serve?!" Outside the court, having witnessed the bizarre serve again, Atobe couldn't help but ask.
"That's the Golden Snake Dance," Tezuka said calmly. "That's the name of that serve..."
At his words, everyone turned to look at Tezuka. Right, Tezuka and Kamikawa had been together, so he would naturally know more.
"I don't really understand the principle of the serve, but I can confirm that a specific spin is applied at the moment of impact, causing it to rebound a second time when it hits the wall." Tezuka indeed didn't know much about the serve's principle, but he could tell that it required a specific spin, similar to the principle of his Zero Shiki Serve. The only difference was that this serve's speed was equally astonishing.
"That guy didn't use this move when he played against me before," a hint of defeat flashed in Oshitari's eyes. He hadn't expected that in their previous match, where he had given his all, his opponent hadn't even used seventy percent, no, not even fifty percent of his strength. A serve of that caliber was probably something no one in junior high could replicate.
"That kind of serve must have a limitation, right?" Atobe placed his right palm on his face, watching Kamikawa on the court through the gaps in his fingers. Four consecutive aces. A terrifying serve like that definitely had some kind of restriction. Even if there was a restriction, this serve could still be used as a trump card in the latter half of a match. You see, in tennis, especially in singles, the most crucial part is holding your own service game. And that outstanding serve would definitely allow Kamikawa to secure his own service game firmly. Just based on that, he was unbeatable in the singles arena.
"I never thought that guy's strength could be this immense..." A hint of frustration welled up in Atobe's heart, but it was quickly swallowed by an endless surge of fighting spirit. He wasn't like others; when faced with an insurmountable opponent, others might feel fear or dread. But Atobe was different; he would face fear head-on and conquer it.