Chapter 159: Takahashi's Guidance, Kirihara Takes an Open-Book Test

"Bang!"

As Tokugawa ran to the left baseline to return the ball.

Takahashi's voice rang out once again.

"Racket head tilted down 18 degrees, 33 centimeters below the incoming ball, swing the racket from bottom to top for 20 centimeters to return it."

"This is a lob! Smash it directly!"

Kirihara leaped upward with force, and against the incoming ball, he delivered a fierce smash.

Takahashi told Kirihara all the key points of the opponent's ball path and the essentials for the return, just like in an exam where everyone else was taking a closed-book test, while Kirihara was taking an open-book one.

With so much information, how could Kirihara not score?

"Thud!"

Accompanied by the sound of the tennis ball landing heavily, Tokugawa lost a point for the first time in this match.

At this moment, the entire court fell silent instantly.

The crowd, especially the Seigaku members, changed the way they looked at Takahashi.

They had arrived at Court 1 first and had seen the entire scene of Kirihara being brutally crushed by Tokugawa.

Tokugawa and Kirihara were players on completely different levels.

They saw with their own eyes that even after entering Demonization, Kirihara still couldn't react to the balls hit by Tokugawa and lost points one after another.

While sympathizing with Kirihara, they couldn't help but marvel at the strength of the high schoolers.

They put themselves in Kirihara's position and were surprised to find that, facing Tokugawa, they didn't seem capable of doing any better.

It wasn't just the ball speed; the spin, angle, and trajectory of the balls hit by Tokugawa were all far more complex than those hit by middle schoolers.

However, they never expected that just by relying on Takahashi's commentary from the sidelines, Kirihara would be able to successfully take a point from Tokugawa—and the first point since the start of the match at that.

What surprised them even more was that every ball Tokugawa hit seemed to prove that Takahashi's words were correct.

Takahashi, a first-year middle schooler, was actually able to accurately and flawlessly predict the trajectory of the elite high schooler Tokugawa's shots.

Not to mention, Tokugawa was on Court 1 and was a standout in the entire U17 Training Camp.

Did this mean that if it were Takahashi on the court, he might be able to defeat his opponent and win?

Seeing that he, in his normal state and without Demonization, could actually take a point from Tokugawa, Kirihara was extremely excited.

"Senior Sanada, Senior Yukimura, look, I actually scored!"

Yukimura nodded slightly.

Sanada, however, wore a serious expression with a hint of a smile and said, "Kirihara, you're too lax!"

To be honest, when Sanada first entered Court 1 and saw Kirihara with his white hair and his whole body looking as if it were stained with blood, he also felt very shocked.

Had Kirihara evolved his Demonization once again?

When Kirihara was in his first year, he already showed signs of Demonization, but the Kirihara who entered Demonization back then was far stronger than his normal state in both physical fitness and tennis ability.

Therefore, although Yukimura and Sanada felt that Demonization wasn't very good, they didn't strictly forbid it; only Takahashi had explicitly expressed his opposition.

Originally, Sanada hadn't taken it to heart, but seeing Kirihara just now, looking as if he had walked out of hell, Sanada also felt that the development of the situation was beyond his control.

Could a Kirihara evolving toward Demonization like this still retain his original heart? Could he control his own actions?

Fortunately, Takahashi had stepped in.

He proved to Kirihara with practical action that even without relying on Demonization, Kirihara could still achieve victory.

Looking at the black-haired, black-eyed Kirihara with a bright smile in front of him, Sanada smiled with relief.

Kirihara was full of confidence and said loudly, "Master, let's continue, we can definitely win."

Takahashi said, "Alright, Kirihara."

"It's enough that you know you can win without relying on Demonization."

"For this match, just concede directly!"

Upon hearing this, Kirihara was stunned; he had just ignited the hope of victory, so why was his master telling him to concede directly?

"What?"

Takahashi replied, "This is a challenge match, not a coaching session."

"Have you ever seen a challenge match where there is someone coaching on the sidelines?"

"Also, don't underestimate your opponent just because you scored one point."

"What if I told you that Tokugawa hasn't even exerted half of his strength?"

At this, not just Kirihara, but even the surrounding Seigaku and Rikkai members were extremely surprised.

Takahashi continued, "Kirihara, if Tokugawa exerts his true strength, then even if I tell you the trajectory of the tennis ball, you won't be able to catch it, because the gap in basic strength between you and Tokugawa is too vast."

"Instead of studying Demonization, you should think about how to improve your basic strength; that would be more reliable."

Kirihara was greatly struck and exclaimed, "Ah?"

Takahashi ignored Kirihara, turned around, and said to Tokugawa, "Tokugawa, thanks!"

Tokugawa nodded, but his gaze toward Takahashi was somewhat heavy.

Tokugawa knew that if he exerted his full strength, the power and speed of the tennis ball would be even more astonishing; with Kirihara's strength, even if he knew how to return it in his mind, his body and arms wouldn't be able to keep up.

After all, there was a gap of nearly 4 years between Kirihara and Tokugawa.

However, Takahashi's prediction of the tennis ball's trajectory was precise and flawless, without a single error.

If it were someone else with basic strength comparable to Tokugawa—no, even someone slightly worse than Tokugawa—under Takahashi's such accurate commentary, they might not necessarily fail to win against Tokugawa.

Previously, Tokugawa had once had a duel with Takahashi in the U17, but at that time, Tokugawa believed that Takahashi had beaten him because of his exquisite techniques and Takahashi's deeper exploration of the Asura Divine Path than his own.

Now, Tokugawa understood that Takahashi was far superior to him in terms of basic strength, innate talent, Spirit Power, and technical skills.

What was even more fatal was that he was only in his first year of middle school!

……

The next day.

The weather was clear, and the air was fresh.

Early in the morning, all the middle schoolers and high schoolers gathered on the courts.

The voice of Coach Kurobe came through the loudspeaker.

"Attention middle schoolers, congratulations on your successful challenges; all of you have successfully remained in the Training Camp."

"Starting today, your training volume will be the same as the high schoolers'. However, considering your physical development, while the training volume remains unchanged, you will have twice as much time as the high schoolers to complete it."

"Next, all middle schoolers currently distributed across the various courts, please move to Court 16 to complete your training."

Following the call from the loudspeaker, Atobe, Fuji, and the others headed toward Court 16.

Atobe was somewhat dissatisfied and said, "I have already challenged my way up to Court 7; why must I still go to Court 16 for training?"

"16, this number is just too unglamorous!"

"At the very least, we should be going to Court 1!"

Kikumaru chimed in, "Yeah, we were already at Court 9; I really don't know what the Coach is thinking."

Oishi advised, "Let it go, Eiji, just do as the Coach says."

Shiraishi spoke up, looking thoughtful: "Court 16, I remember that the entire Rikkai team is at Court 16!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone else was stunned.

Atobe asked in confusion, "Yesterday, didn't Kirihara from Rikkai and Tokugawa from Court 1 have a match? That match caused quite a stir!"

"How could they all be at Court 16?"

Shiraishi said, "That's true, but in the end, Kirihara lost, and then he was dragged back to Court 16 by Sanada."