Chapter 48: The Twice-Accelerated Tennis Ball

The many ordinary members of the Tennis Club had already made up their minds.

Takahashi was just playing around!

And what he was playing with wasn't the tennis ball, but their brains, their emotions!

One moment they admired Takahashi for daring to face the challenge head-on, and the next they despised him for intentionally throwing the match.

Their moods fluctuated constantly.

At times they were furious, at times they were incredibly excited!

The match wasn't testing tennis skills, but their hearts' ability to withstand the pressure!

……

The third game.

Yukimura's expression slowly turned gloomy; he was no longer composed.

"Bang!"

Takahashi's expression was similarly somewhat tense.

He stared fixedly at the incoming tennis ball, his eyes not blinking for even a second.

He watched the tennis ball leave a yellow trail in the air, landing steadily behind him.

"15-0!"

"Point for Yukimura!"

……

The discussions continued on the sidelines.

"Why isn't Takahashi returning the ball again?"

"What is he doing! Is he playing around?"

"I could return this ball, why won't he?"

"I really don't understand him!"

"He doesn't return any of the Captain's serves. And the Captain can't return his serves either.

If everyone can win their own service games, wouldn't they play until the end of time without a winner?"

"I really can't understand! I can't understand the world of experts!"

"Isn't this a waste of time?"

……

Among the Regular Members, Kirihara said: "They're right. Takahashi keeps refusing to return the tennis balls the Captain hits, and the Captain is helpless against his serves. If they can both hold their service games, won't it just be a draw?"

Niou spoke up: "Takahashi's expression is very tense. It's not that he won't return this ball, I'm afraid he doesn't dare to!"

"There must be something strange about this!"

Yanagi Renji also said: "The situation is very clear now."

"For some unknown reason, Takahashi is intentionally not returning Yukimura's balls, and Yukimura is unable to return Takahashi's Zero-Style Serve."

"This match has turned into a tug-of-war to see who breaks the other's service game first."

"Whoever does will win the final victory!"

……

On the court.

The corners of Takahashi's mouth, which had been tightly pursed, gradually curled up.

He had seen through that last ball.

This ball could be countered!

"Bang!"

The tennis ball flew toward Takahashi at high speed.

Takahashi stared intently at the tennis ball; it was still wrapped in wisps of faint Spirit Power.

With a determined look, he grabbed his tennis racket, swung it fiercely, and successfully returned it.

On the sidelines.

"Oh my god! He finally returned the ball!"

"He's finally stopped playing around. If he had kept not returning the ball, I would have left. Isn't my time valuable? Letting him waste it like this!"

"That's right, he should have returned it sooner! This ball isn't even hard to return!"

"Takahashi isn't in a hurry, but I'm dying of anxiety just standing here."

"Watching a returnable ball score a point is just too painful!"

……

"Bang!"

Yukimura ran forward two steps and successfully returned it.

……

Watching the incoming tennis ball, Takahashi rotated his wrist, making the ball roll once across the racket!

Then the tennis ball flew back out.

The tennis ball flew through the air at a speed that was not fast.

Suddenly.

The tennis ball began to accelerate.

It shot toward Yukimura's half of the court at bullet-like speed.

"Snap!"

It lands.

It bounces.

"15-15!"

"Did the tennis ball just accelerate in mid-air? How did it suddenly get faster?"

Kirihara asked in astonishment.

The others were also shocked into speechlessness.

Can a tennis ball even perform a Secondary Acceleration in mid-air?

The tennis ball had already left the racket for so long.

Where did the thrust come from?

Kirihara felt his world was about to be overturned.

First, there was the tennis ball that wouldn't bounce after landing.

Then, there was the tennis ball performing a Secondary Acceleration in mid-air!

Does this really exist?

Or is he dreaming!

"Kirihara, calm down!"

"Marui, did you see it clearly?"

Sanada spoke up.

Marui rubbed his eyes and said, "What a complex spin!"

"I didn't see it particularly clearly, but I roughly understand the principle."

"Captain Yukimura hit a topspin shot, and Takahashi applied a completely opposite spin to the tennis ball."

"The tennis ball was subjected to two opposing spins in the air, so its speed wasn't fast. At a certain moment, the two opposing spins reached equilibrium, the tennis ball became a no-spin ball, and it began to accelerate."

"That is what I saw!"

Hearing what Marui said, everyone fell silent.

What immense ball control!

First, hitting it with a completely opposite spin.

Controlling it so it doesn't cancel out at the very moment of the swing!

But rather, delaying it.

Waiting until the tennis ball has flown in the air for a while before the spin disappears!

The principle is easy to state, but doing it is as difficult as ascending to heaven!

First, one must control the spin one applies to the tennis ball.

And one must make this spin completely cancel out the spin hit by the opponent, without a single bit of deviation.

Because once there is even a little bit extra, the tennis ball will not become a no-spin ball.

The most difficult part is that the process of the two spins canceling out must happen in the air, not at the moment Takahashi swings, and not at the moment after the tennis ball lands.

This requires control over timing that is extremely precise!

Yanagi Renji opened his eyes wide.

Because he understood the crux of the matter.

From the moment of applying the opposite spin, it requires a massive amount of data and calculation.

Otherwise, if the angle of the spin deviates even slightly, or if the power is too great, it will destroy the two opposing spins on the tennis ball, making it impossible for them to coexist.

If one cannot control the two opposing spins to coexist well, or if one spin's power is stronger, then the subsequent Secondary Acceleration is out of the question.

Yanagi Renji, who always plays Data Tennis, put himself in Takahashi's position.

Imagining himself hitting the same Secondary Acceleration shot.

Yet he discovered with horror that this amount of calculation...

His brain might not be able to keep up!

He cannot hit such a Secondary Acceleration tennis ball!

The truth is just that cruel!

On the other side of the tennis court.

"My god! It even accelerates in mid-air; is this launching a rocket?"

"Takahashi, how on earth does he hit such counter-intuitive tennis?"

"Since he has such a powerful ultimate move, why didn't he use it earlier? How much time was wasted before."

"Perhaps this is the world of experts! They won't play the game until the very last moment!"

"They won't turn the tables unless they are against the wind!"

"I am deeply shocked, but I don't understand!"

"I don't understand either!"

On the court.

Takahashi, who hit this shot, was full of joy.

His expression was no longer as tense as it was in the first game!

Looking at Yukimura in contrast.

During the first game, a faint smile always appeared at the corner of his mouth.

But now, his lips were pressed tightly together, and his brows were furrowed.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The tennis ball accelerated like a rocket in mid-air, and after landing, it headed straight toward Yukimura.

"Plop!"

Yukimura's jacket fell to the ground.

"15-30!"

"Point for Takahashi!"

Yukimura tilted his head slightly and looked quietly at the jacket on the ground.

"Captain, you should take off your jacket during the match, otherwise it's quite inconvenient!"

Takahashi's voice rang out.

"That was close! That last ball headed toward the Captain's body after it landed; I thought it was going to hit the Captain!"

Kirihara spoke up.

"No, Takahashi must have been in control, making the ball bounce not toward Yukimura, but toward Yukimura's clothes."

Sanada slowly said these words.