There were two reasons why Yanagi Renji hadn't appeared in the Kanto Tournament and had served as a substitute instead.
The first reason was that Rikkaidai hadn't anticipated Yamabuki's rapid improvement and thought they could win with their regular lineup.
The second reason was strategic positioning. Yamabuki's two doubles pairs had excellent chemistry. In singles, there was no need to mention Sanada and Yukimura's dominance. As a senior, Mori Jusaburo might usually look sleepy, but his strength was unquestionable.
So Yanagi Renji had voluntarily applied to be a substitute. After all, as a data tennis master, he could better collect opponent information to serve his teammates from the bench.
But facing Yamabuki again in this national final, everyone at Rikkaidai knew they had to give one hundred percent and couldn't hide anything.
While Yanagi Renji was among the top three singles players, he wasn't irreplaceable in that position. In terms of raw power, though Yanagi was strong, he still fell slightly behind the true singles specialists.
In doubles, although Niō Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi hadn't been partnered for long, they were Rikkaidai's real ace doubles team. Even separated, both were extremely powerful. To ensure victory over Yamabuki, this combination couldn't be broken up.
That left only one pairing that could be restructured: Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwabara. While both were very strong, when viewed individually, their strength was considered among the weaker members of Rikkaidai's roster. Jackal especially, who played primarily defensive tennis, had the team's weakest offensive capability.
So after discussion, Yukimura decided to break up Marui and Jackal's partnership. Jackal would serve as substitute while Yanagi took his place alongside Marui.
As a data tennis master, Yanagi was comprehensive in both offense and defense. He could maintain defensive stability after Jackal's departure. As for team chemistry, the data of every Rikkaidai member was deeply embedded in Yanagi's mind - he knew exactly how to coordinate with Marui.
"Renji, go get them!"
Before taking the court, Jackal Kuwabara offered this encouragement to Yanagi.
"Don't worry. I'll bring victory back to Rikkaidai."
Yanagi made this promise to Jackal.
"Players, please take the court!"
As the announcement sounded, the pairs of Eiji and Oishi, and Yanagi and Marui came to the net to shake hands and determine the serve through coin toss.
Yamabuki had made it from regional qualifiers all the way to the national finals this year without losing a single coin toss. Sengoku's incredible luck didn't just work on himself - it extended to his teammates as well. Without any surprise, Eiji and Oishi won the serve.
"Renji, everything alright?"
Marui actually felt somewhat uncomfortable about Yukimura separating him and Jackal. After all, they'd known each other since elementary school and had worked together for years - this was their first time being split up.
But it was an undeniable fact that they'd lost to Eiji and Oishi last time, and there was nothing Marui could do about it. For Rikkaidai to defend their title, someone had to make sacrifices.
So before the match began, Marui asked Yanagi this question.
"Bunta, trust your teammates."
Yanagi had the same squinting eyes as Fuji. Hearing Marui's question, he opened his eyes and looked directly at his partner.
"Got it. I understand."
Marui realized this was the best answer he could expect.
At the match's start, Yamabuki's positioning had Eiji in front and Oishi in back, while Rikkaidai positioned Marui in front with Yanagi behind.
Oishi bounced the tennis ball twice, then tossed it up and served. The ball went straight down the middle. Yanagi moved quickly, swung his racket, and returned it, aiming precisely at the junction between Oishi and Eiji.
The weakness of targeting the junction in doubles was that teams with poor chemistry would either collide trying to reach the ball, or both assume their partner would handle it and let it drop.
But this was the national tournament final. Which team that had made it this far had poor chemistry?
"Too easy!"
Eiji simply bent backward and returned the shot.
"Whoa!"
The audience seeing Eiji's playing style for the first time gasped in amazement at his incredible core strength.
Anya was especially shocked seeing Eiji's movement. Wasn't that something only gymnasts on TV could do? If not for the venue, Anya would have already started trying to bend like Eiji.
"Tsk, Eiji's acrobatic tennis is really just showing off!"
Conan snorted, seemingly disdainful of Eiji's acrobatic style.
"Well, some people's bodies are extremely stiff and they'll never be able to perform such movements in their entire lives."
Ai saw through Conan's jealousy and responded mercilessly.
"Hmph!"
Conan crossed his arms. He wouldn't pay attention to this superficial woman. Real men relied on their brains!
Acrobatic tennis players like Eiji were rare, but it happened that Marui's playing style was very similar. Though not technically an acrobatic player, his flexibility and skills allowed him to execute various beautiful stunt shots.
The ball Eiji had just returned with his backward bend went to an extremely difficult position, practically hugging the net. This type of shot was very hard to handle because any carelessness would result in hitting the net.
"I've been waiting for this!"
When Eiji made his return, Yanagi had already predicted his next move based on previously collected data and informed Marui.
Marui smiled confidently, and with a light flick of his racket, he lifted the ball from its tricky landing spot.
"Perfect chance!"
The ball flew high and slow, creating an ideal smashing opportunity for Eiji. Seeing the tennis ball arc up, Eiji leaped high and delivered a blazing smash.
But this shot was also within Yanagi's calculations. He'd already moved to intercept Eiji's smash route and, before the ball could land, returned it with an exceptionally beautiful slice.
On the other side, Oishi immediately filled the gap, his racket sliding quickly along the ground before executing a beautiful upward strike that sent the ball in a perfect arc toward the baseline.
This was one of Oishi's signature moves - the Moon Volley!
Yanagi rushed back on defense but came up just short, allowing Oishi to score.
"Five degrees off from my original calculation?"
Though Yanagi had calculated that Oishi would use his Moon Volley, this time Oishi hadn't followed the predictions perfectly, resulting in about a five-degree deviation.
"Bunta, I need to readjust the data on the Eiji and Oishi combination."
Yanagi approached Marui and reminded him quietly.
"Don't worry, Renji! I'll hold them off until you finish recollecting data!"
Since he was on court, he had to trust his teammates unconditionally. Marui resolutely shouldered this responsibility.
In the first and second games, because Yanagi needed to recalibrate his data on Eiji and Oishi, Marui carried the heavy burden alone. Though he managed to win several points against the pair, facing two players of similar skill level by himself put tremendous pressure on Marui. In the end, he still lost both games.