Chapter 115: The Opportunity to Break the Situation, Temporary Disorder
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
On the match court, the sound of tennis rallies was endless, and the stream of light flying over the net constantly drew out sounds of breaking through the air.
Outside the court.
Inoue Mamoru watched the fierce confrontation on the court with a serious expression, feeling a bit of sigh in his heart for the two teams currently fighting.
The four teams from Tokyo that made it to Kanto this year could be said to be unlucky.
If it were previous years.
Ice Emperor and Fudomine at least possessed the strength of a national top-four lineup, and even had a not-small chance to impact higher seats.
Even the slightly weaker Seigaku and Yamabuki, I'm afraid some teams in the first or second round of the national tournament might not necessarily be able to win steadily against them.
It's just a pity that this year's Kanto Tournament would be so cruel.
Yamabuki ran into Rikkaidai and retired in a miserable defeat, while Seigaku met Ice Emperor, both schools suffering miserable defeats in the first round of Kanto and retiring early.
Fudomine and Ice Emperor also unexpectedly met in the second round; regardless of who wins or loses, it is destined that one team will lose the opportunity to advance to the Nationals.
"Their aura is different."
At this time, Coach Sakaki of Ice Emperor also finished his guidance for Oshitari Yuushi and Ohtori Chotaro.
This approach is fine, but you ignored one point.
The premise of net-sealing is that when your opponent faces a middle ball, it is difficult to hit a directional angle ball to the sides; only in this way can middle-net sealing bring pressure to the opponent.
And now, Kila Taizo's two simple sentences made Mori Tatsunori's chaotic brain flash with inspiration.
The referee glanced at it, the sound was broadcast, and the four people on the court returned to the rest area on the side of the court.
He lowered his eyes to think, carefully considering the next tactics.
"Temporary paralysis, don't be confined to the effect of paralysis; it also has other uses!"
The coach is right; that guy launches an attack every time I make a move.
"Uchimura, you need to change your offensive habits."
Looking at the Fudomine duo whose aura had clearly risen on the other side of the net, Oshitari frowned slightly, his dark blue hair shaking in front of his lenses.
Although the current situation was not what he wanted, he knew that the next match would be exceptionally fierce.
"... Yes!"
This problem had troubled him for a long time.
Oshitari Yuushi raised his eyebrows slightly, immediately understanding Ohtori Chotaro's plan.
"The players in the Kanto Tournament are no longer at the level you have contacted in the past; put your sights further away."
Boom!
An explosive sound, a white mark suddenly appeared beside Mori Tatsunori, and the tennis ball hit the wire fence behind heavily.
He narrowed his eyes, his peripheral vision sweeping over Kila Taizo.
Pat, pat, pat.
"Oshitari-senior!"
"That guy named Oshitari Yuushi actually captured my movement changes in an instant and hit such a beautiful flat net-smash, accurately hitting my blind spot."
On the baseline, first-year Ohtori Chotaro called out while lightly patting the tennis ball.
Then, Kila Taizo continued to look at Mori Tatsunori, cast his gaze on his right hand holding the racket, looked for a moment, and spoke slowly.
"Ice Emperor is even stronger than imagined..."
However, the Ice Emperor players have clearly overcome this shortcoming; your habit of sealing the net in advance actually exposed your intentions, allowing the opponent to take advantage."
"Switch courts."
"With that, my guidance is finished; I hope you can seize this opportunity."
Hearing this, Mori Tatsunori's pupils suddenly shook.
He knew his strength was not as good as Shinji's, and he couldn't hit more powerful topspin or backspin balls, so the time Mori Tatsunori needed to perform 'temporary paralysis' was longer, and the effect was worse.
The one-and-a-half-minute rest time passed in a flash, and a sound came from the referee's position.
"Actually, temporary paralysis doesn't necessarily have to make the opponent completely paralyzed; for tennis players, the disorder of hand feel might be more fatal."
"Game, Ice Emperor Academy, Oshitari Yuushi, Ohtori Chotaro, 2-1."
Uchimura Kyosuke nodded solemnly, turning his head to look at Oshitari Yuushi in the Ice Emperor direction.
Thinking of this, Inoue Mamoru felt a burst of regret, but his spirit became more focused on the match between the two teams.
"The match continues, Ohtori Chotaro of Ice Emperor Academy to serve!"
"When Mori Tatsunori serves, in order to facilitate the subsequent net-rushing, seal the middle net in advance, block the opponent's return route, and speed up the return rhythm.
Although he believed in Oshitari's strength, facing this former professional player who was once known as the second samurai, he had to raise his vigilance to the highest level.
In front of the coach's chair on the side of the court, Kila Taizo pointed out the problems that appeared in the match between the two simply and directly.
Seeing this, Kila Taizo nodded slightly.
"It looks like Chotaro can't wait."
Looking at the ball mark on the ground, his eyes shrank, and his heart tightened suddenly.
Kila Taizo paused, his deep eyes looking at Uchimura Kyosuke, his right hand's two fingers tapping his head lightly.
However, it was also time to expose that move...
Oshitari Yuushi's sharp gaze swept over the Fudomine duo, the corners of his mouth hooked into a cold smile, his left hand reaching behind his back to secretly make a gesture.
"Chotaro, go ahead and hit it boldly; use your serve to completely crush their will to win!"
Pat!
The moment he saw Oshitari Yuushi pass the signal, Ohtori Chotaro's eyes lit up, his left hand suddenly grabbed the bouncing tennis ball, his slightly shy expression instantly dissipated, and a sharp gaze exploded from his eyes.
Swish!
Only to see his body's center of gravity squatting, his left hand raised, the tennis ball following the momentum leaving Ohtori Chotaro's palm, rising into the high sky.
"This guy's toss is so high!"
Uchimura Kyosuke raised his head, the dazzling sunlight making him squint his eyes, his right hand subconsciously tightening the racket in his hand, his footsteps moving back behind the baseline again.
He had a bad premonition...
Tap, tap!
"One ball... Soul-entering!!"
Ohtori Chotaro stepped with both feet, his body stretched into a full bow in mid-air, the corners of his gray-white team uniform fluttering, and the moment the tennis ball rose to the high point, his arm dragged the racket and whistled down.
Boom!
A dull sound of hitting the ball rang out over the baseline, and in the surging white air waves, the tennis ball rolled up a golden flash, bombing straight down on the opposite court.
"What?!"
Mori Tatsunori's face changed suddenly; before his racket had time to raise, the tennis ball had already flashed and disappeared in his eyes.
Thud!
The tennis ball bounced off Mori Tatsunori's side, and the instrument testing the ball speed on the side of the court showed 196 kilometers per hour.
"15-0!"
"So, so fast...!"
A trace of cold sweat slid down his forehead, and Mori Tatsunori and Uchimura Kyosuke's hearts sank instantly.
"This is bad, the opponent can actually hit this level of serve!"
Tachibana An almost bit her tongue.
In the Ice Emperor combination, Oshitari Yuushi alone had already made Uchimura and Mori suffer enough, and now Ohtori Chotaro, a heavy-artillery server, had emerged.
For Fudomine, the current situation could be described as precarious.
"Such a serve is still too much for Uchimura and the others."
Tachibana Jipei's tone was slightly condensed, and his eyes under his thick eyebrows were shining brightly.
Hearing this, Yuuki Satoru shook his head, his gaze sweeping over Ohtori Chotaro who was changing positions.
"Actually, wanting to break the serve is not entirely impossible."
The power of this heavy-artillery serve is indeed not bad; at the Kanto level, not everyone can receive it.
However, in the serve just now, Ohtori Chotaro also exposed many problems.
The slight turning of his feet when his left foot jumped, the unsmooth way of exerting force when swinging the racket, and the angle of his wrist rotation at the moment of hitting the ball were all too large...
These subtle unnaturalities would affect the high-speed serve and reduce the success rate of the first serve.
Therefore, as long as Ohtori Chotaro's first serve fails, in order to ensure the serve doesn't fail, he will inevitably reduce the power of the second serve.
Uchimura and Mori Tatsunori would have a certain opportunity to return it and drag out the match, thereby continuing to look for ways to break the situation.
It's just that...
Even a second serve with weaker power is not so simple to return.
Yuuki Satoru looked gloomily at the two who were waiting in full battle array, and a faint light-red ring faded in his eyes.
"One ball... Soul-entering!!"
Boom!
Ohtori Chotaro jumped up, swung his side arm, and the tennis ball immediately brought out a terrifying afterimage, flying rapidly toward Uchimura Kyosuke.
"30-0!"
"One ball... Soul-entering!!"
Boom!
"40-0!"
"Chotaro's hand feel is quite good today!"
A white light flashed across Oshitari Yuushi's lenses; as long as there was one more ball, this game would end.
However...
Pfft!
The tennis ball hit the net in the middle fiercely, bringing up a surge of green net lines.
"Serve fault!"
"Uchimura!"
Seeing the opponent's first serve fault, Mori Tatsunori reminded him loudly.
An echo from Uchimura Kyosuke immediately came from behind him.
"Understood!"
Must seize the opportunity of the second serve!
Uchimura Kyosuke tightened his racket, his body crouching lower, his eyes staring fixedly at Ohtori Chotaro's movements.
He also knew very well that this was their only chance.
Swish!
"One ball... Soul-entering!!"
Boom!
The racket swung down whistling, an afterimage flashed across the court, and the speed of the tennis ball was still astonishing.
However.
"Although it's still fast, I can clearly see the shadow of the tennis ball!"
Tap, tap!
Uchimura Kyosuke moved!
He ran rapidly toward the landing spot of the tennis ball, and the moment the tennis ball touched the ground and bounced, his racket intercepted in front.
Pat!
The tennis ball was scooped by him gritting his teeth, instantly flying back in the opposite direction to the gap in the middle of the Ice Emperor duo.
"Not that simple!"
A figure flashed, Oshitari Yuushi quickly sealed the middle net, his racket reversed, backhand volleying, and the tennis ball was pulled back diagonally.
Its trajectory pointed straight to the small diagonal angle of the front court; the angle was tricky and sharp, looking like he wanted to take the point directly.
"Don't even think about it!"
Before the tennis ball landed, a sharp voice suddenly rang out. Mori Tatsunori didn't know when he had intercepted in front of the tennis ball, his eyes exceptionally serious, and a strong desire to win appeared on his face.
Bang!
No different from an ordinary shot, the tennis ball crossed the net, rapidly falling toward Ohtori Chotaro's half.
"This is... temporary paralysis?"
The moment Mori Tatsunori hit the ball, Ibu Shinji keenly noticed a subtle abnormality; that ordinary shot contained a way of exerting force that was similar to but different from temporary paralysis.
If it weren't for someone familiar enough with temporary paralysis, it would be absolutely difficult to discover the special spin carried by the tennis ball.
Mori Tatsunori appeared all over the court, silently calculating the number of times the opponent received the ball, the spin angle of the previous ball, and the position he should run to next...
And every ball was hit toward Ohtori Chotaro's position.
Bang!
Bang!
"Just guarding this ball, we still have no chance; Ice Emperor can still hit a high-speed serve to end the score."
Mori Tatsunori sprinted to the net rapidly, thoughts flashing through his mind.
"So, not only must I take this point, I must also destroy Ohtori Chotaro's serve!"
He stared tightly at Ohtori Chotaro's movements, his racket covering from top to bottom, and the moment he touched the tennis ball, his wrist moved lightly, adding a weak spin opposite to the previous ball in silence.
This was no longer temporary paralysis; more accurately, this should be called...
Temporary Disorder!
Hiding the opposite and staggered special spin in the complex ball path; because the spin is extremely weak, it looks no different from an ordinary shot and is not easy to detect.
If a certain amount of rally time can be maintained, Mori Tatsunori has great confidence in making the opponent's hand feel disordered.
And once the heavy-artillery server's hand feel has a problem, then his serve will no longer be a threat!
Bang!
"What is this guy planning?"
Oshitari Yuushi was suspicious, but no change could be seen on his face.
Swish!
The tennis ball just crossed the net, and his body moved decisively to the right, instantly blocking the ball path that should have been received by Ohtori Chotaro.
He didn't know the opponent's plan, but his intuition told him that there was something tricky about this.
Bang!
Oshitari Yuushi pulled backhand upward, and the tennis ball was picked out with an upward-curving arc, crossing over Mori Tatsunori's head and flying back inverted.
"Bad!"
Mori Tatsunori's face changed greatly, retreating rapidly to the backcourt; the thing he worried about most still happened, Oshitari Yuushi was indeed his biggest obstacle.
"Mori, leave the back to me!"
Just when Mori Tatsunori thought temporary disorder was about to be interrupted, a figure shouted and greeted him from the baseline.
Swish!
Uchimura Kyosuke changed his previous style, his racket angle slightly tilted, slicing the tennis ball out.
Bang!
The tennis ball pulled out a fairly clever curve on the court, flying straight to Ohtori Chotaro's backcourt.
"In the past, it was you standing behind me; this match..."
"I will be the one to escort you!"
As a teammate, he had seen the temporary paralysis style too many times; although he couldn't perfectly replicate it, he only needed to patch the leaks and make up for the single spin intercepted by Oshitari Yuushi.
Bang!
Bang!
Figures crossed on the court; after match after match, Uchimura Kyosuke and Mori Tatsunori had cultivated deep tacit understanding. The two had no verbal communication, but were very clear about what the other was thinking, cooperating seamlessly.
Mori Tatsunori led the rhythm of the offense, constantly exerting special spin in the returns, focusing on Ohtori Chotaro.
And whenever a ball path was cut off by Oshitari Yuushi, Uchimura Kyosuke would quickly fill the position, helping Mori Tatsunori add this missing ball.
The two of them were like a spider hiding behind lush branches, weaving a giant net on the court, and Ohtori Chotaro, this lost little bug, was flying toward the net line that was flashing with cold light.
"Exposed a flaw!"
Joy appeared on his face, Ohtori Chotaro's eyes swept rapidly, and he immediately captured the blind spot of the opponent's standing position.
"Let me end this ball!"
He took a side-step, very confidently smashing at the bouncing tennis ball.
Bang!
The tennis ball pulled out an afterimage, flying toward the blind spot of the middle line.
However.
Pfft!
"Hit the net, 40-15!"
Ohtori Chotaro looked at this ball with some surprise, a bit of doubt appearing in his heart; the angle just now shouldn't have had any problems.
"Sorry, Oshitari-senior!"
Oshitari Yuushi didn't respond immediately; he glanced down, noticing an unusual meaning in this very ordinary mistake.
"Don't take it to heart, use your serve to take the score!"
He quietly suppressed that strange sense of incongruity, changed his standing position, and organized the formation for the serve.
"Understood!"
Ohtori Chotaro held his breath, the tennis ball pressing lightly on the ground.
"I want to take the score in one go."
Swish!
The tennis ball was thrown into the high sky by him cleanly, and at the same time, his body sank slightly.
"It's coming!"
Mori Tatsunori on the opposite side took a deep breath, letting himself calm down; the next ball almost decided the fate of the entire match.
"One ball... Soul-entering!!"
Ohtori Chotaro arched his back like a crescent moon, the fully drawn bowstring exploding in an instant.
Boom!
A violent yellow afterimage shot out, suddenly rolling up a wave of air.
However.
Under countless gazes, this tennis ball, which was too fast to capture, hit the net.
Pfft—
The strong force caused the net to flip.
"Serve fault!"
Again!
Boom!
"Double fault, 40-30!" ===== CHAPTER 116 =====
End of Chapter
