Chapter 133: Yukimura VS Shiraishi

On the court.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Score 1-0!"

"Point for Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School!"

Shiraishi looked at Yukimura, who was wearing a green headband on the opposite side, beads of sweat the size of peas constantly sliding down his head.

Is this the strength of the former Captain of Rikkai, Yukimura Seiichi?

Shiraishi is loyal to the fundamentals, trains diligently, and strives to play the perfect tennis in his heart, which makes his strength in every dimension very balanced, with no obvious weaknesses.

This is the Bible Tennis in his mind.

He never expected that on the court, he would actually encounter a player who values fundamental strength as much as he does.

Moreover, Shiraishi could feel that the opponent's strength in every aspect was far superior to his own.

This is trouble!

Suddenly, Shiraishi felt his vision go dark.

"Thud!"

The sound of the tennis ball hitting the ground heavily reached his ears.

"15-0!"

"Point for Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School!"

Did he just lose focus?

Shiraishi shook his arm, trying to make himself clear-headed.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"30-0!"

"Bang!"

Shiraishi spotted an opportunity, suddenly leaped up, and delivered a smash at the incoming ball.

"40-0!"

"Point for Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School!"

Listening to the umpire's call, Shiraishi squinted his eyes and was shocked to see a dark ball mark outside Yukimura's baseline.

Was it out?

"Bang!"

The tennis ball went straight toward Shiraishi's left side, and Shiraishi stood in place without moving at all.

"2-0!"

"Point for Yukimura Seiichi of Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School!"

On the sidelines.

"Is this Metsu Gokan?"

Yanagi Renji asked.

"It's a bit like it, but also not quite."

"The ball Shiraishi hit out of bounds looked a bit like his sense of touch had been stripped away, but the errors in the following few balls don't look like the sense of touch had disappeared."

Sanada replied while pondering.

Takahashi, sitting in the coaching seat on the court, listened to the words of the few people behind him and said, "This is Metsu Gokan."

"It's just that Yukimura has made some slight changes to this move."

Kirihara asked in confusion, "What changes?"

Takahashi thought for a moment and said, "He changed the timing of its use; Yukimura should be stripping away the opponent's vision at a certain moment, and then immediately restoring the opponent's vision."

"Then he seizes the opportunity to strip away the opponent's sense of touch, and then immediately restores it."

Yanagi Renji nodded and said, "So that's how it is. No wonder we felt it looked a bit like it, yet also not quite."

Takahashi continued, "It's not stripping away the opponent's Five Senses in order, but rather seizing the moment to strip away the sense the opponent needs most at that time."

"Using Metsu Gokan this way makes it even more imperceptible."

"It seems that even during these days of illness, Yukimura is still constantly improving!"

Sanada looked at Yukimura swinging his racket on the court and said in a deep voice, "Yukimura is just that kind of person. No matter what he encounters, even if he is seriously ill, he can face it calmly, face it with a smile, and never speak of giving up lightly. The strength he possesses is something I can never compare to, no matter what."

Sanada actually understands Yukimura very well.

Yukimura has been a child of heaven since he was young, with almost no defeats in tennis.

The most thrilling time was when Yukimura was ten years old and participated in the Kanagawa Youth Tournament.

At that time, Yukimura was just an elementary school student, competing against the middle school student Mingzhi, and was crushed by Mingzhi the whole way, trailing 0-4 behind the opponent.

That was likely one of the few defeats in Yukimura's career.

But at the end of that match, Yukimura developed Metsu Gokan, beating his middle school opponent into a miserable, battered state.

Since then, Yukimura has even had the nickname "Child of God."

After entering Rikkai, Yukimura had never tasted the flavor of defeat either; whether by a large or small margin, Yukimura had never dropped a single game.

But ever since Takahashi joined the club, everything has undergone a massive change.

Yukimura was actually backlashed by his own Metsu Gokan, losing 1-6 to his opponent.

Although Yukimura did not show any dissatisfaction at the time and instead very magnanimously handed over the position of Captain, Sanada knew that Yukimura's heart had suffered a great blow.

Yukimura's pride did not allow him to reveal this blow, but Sanada, who grew up with him, knew and understood.

Because Sanada had also lost to Takahashi, and lost 0-6 to Takahashi at that.

Empathy!

This was the first time Sanada truly understood the meaning of this word.

So when Sanada went to visit him in the hospital, he saw Yukimura dragging his frail body to continue rehabilitation, never giving up even after repeated failures.

Sanada knew that although Yukimura had lost to Takahashi, his heart had not failed; he was still that strong, powerful Yukimura.

And at the Kanto Tournament Finals, to pay tribute to Yukimura, Takahashi used Yukimura's signature move—Metsu Gokan, but it was broken through by Echizen Ryoma, who was also a first-year, using the limit of Peerless Perfection.

This meant that even if it were Yukimura standing on the court, he could not fully guarantee victory in that match.

Although Yukimura himself did not play and did not personally experience that defeat.

Yet Yukimura still classified it as a failure.

Two consecutive failures combined with a serious illness did not strike Yukimura into a state of collapse.

He began to reflect and seek change, and the improved version of Metsu Gokan now appearing on the court is the answer Yukimura has provided.

……

"Bang!"

"Score 3-0!"

"Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School's Yukimura Seiichi scores!"

……

Watching the determined and powerful gaze revealed by Yukimura, who was gripping his tennis racket tightly on the court, Takahashi smiled slightly and said, "This is also the reason why I admire Yukimura the most."

……

"Bang!"

"4-0!"

"Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School's Yukimura Seiichi scores!"

……

On the other side, the Shitenhoji rest area.

"Are you kidding me? Shiraishi has actually been taken for four games by his opponent."

Kintaro looked at the score on the sidelines, his mouth wide open in a look of disbelief.

"This is the strength of Rikkai's former Captain, Yukimura Seiichi."

"Last year, when we were in the National Tournament Finals, we lost to Rikkai in three matches, and Yukimura Seiichi, as Singles 1, didn't even have a chance to play."

"For us last year, that might have been a lucky thing."

Watanabe Osamu put away the smile on his lips, his expression serious.

Looking at Kintaro's frustrated expression, Watanabe Osamu thought of another possibility.

If the new Captain Takahashi Yanichi placed Yukimura Seiichi in Singles No. 3, then what are the chances he himself will play in Singles No. 2?

This Takahashi, when it comes to his ability to arrange the lineup, is truly not to be underestimated!

The extent of his cunning is not much different from him, Watanabe Osamu.

I can't believe he is only in his first year of middle school this year!

……

The situation on the court continued to be one-sided.

Yukimura would deprive his opponent of one of their Five Senses from time to time and then immediately return it, leaving Shiraishi with no power to fight back.

Soon the match ended.

"Match over, score 6-0!"

"Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School's Yukimura Seiichi wins!"

"Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School score 1-0!"

The referee announced loudly.