Chapter 73: Mutual Scheming

"Bang!"

It was still Atobe's Serve.

The tennis ball came toward Takahashi with very ordinary power and speed.

Takahashi did not add any power or speed to the tennis ball either.

Lifting his eyes, he saw Atobe had already arrived at the net.

This is.

Is he going to change his method of attack?

Takahashi thought to himself.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Standing at the net, Atobe hit a Short Ball.

Takahashi also hurried forward and gave his racket a light swing toward the right.

Seeing this, Atobe quickly moved his feet.

However.

The tennis ball was aimed at the iron pillar on the far right of the net.

It struck it.

It spun around and around.

Subsequently,

it fell down along the iron pillar.

"0-1!"

"Point for Takahashi!"

This shot did not just startle Atobe.

Even Mukahi, who was watching from the side, was shocked to the point of being dumbfounded.

This shot.

It was even more acrobatic than the Acrobatic Play he prided himself on.

Takahashi could not only hit a tennis ball that rolled straight along the top of the net, but he could also make the tennis ball hit the iron pillar.

This level of ball control made him feel inferior.

But, since he had such strong ball control and such exquisite techniques.

Why didn't he use them in the previous game?

Was he looking down on him, Mukahi Gakuto?

Mukahi felt once again that he had been greatly insulted.

Looking at Atobe's stunned expression, Takahashi seemed to understand all at once.

He understood Atobe's intention in hitting the Short Ball.

He wanted to make him hit a lob.

He hadn't expected that he would also hit a Short Ball.

And a Short Ball that hit the iron pillar at that.

Takahashi understood that this Short Ball was his own mistake.

He hadn't coordinated well with Atobe.

The second game was Takahashi's Serve.

"Bang!"

Takahashi did not choose a high-difficulty Serve either.

It was just an unremarkable, ordinary Serve.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Sitting in the umpire's chair, Oshitari was having trouble understanding the situation.

In the previous game, the two of them had traded blows back and forth.

Tennis balls with tricky angles and powerful force.

They had emerged one after another.

It was a rare, high-level match.

How come, now that it was Takahashi's service game,

the level had suddenly dropped?

This Serve, let alone Atobe, even he, Oshitari, could return it with his eyes closed.

And there were the two skills Takahashi had just displayed, Tightrope Walking and Hitting the Iron Pillar.

What, not using them at all?

Even with National Level strength, Atobe cannot return these two moves immediately.

It also takes a period of proper adjustment to successfully Return.

Moves that could clearly score points, Takahashi is not using.

Instead, he chooses the most ordinary, most plain Serve.

Why?

Could it really be as Takahashi said before the match?

Tired? Need a rest?

But looking at Takahashi's calm appearance, with no flushed face and no panting.

Who could associate the word "exhausted" with him?

This is a joke, isn't it!

Then, why is Takahashi doing this?

Also, Atobe has left Oshitari unable to understand.

Atobe possesses extremely strong insight and can hit the tennis ball toward the dead angle where the opponent is least skilled at returning.

However, the current Atobe is also lowering the power on the tennis ball, choosing an ordinary angle.

What are these two people doing?

If one says the previous game was evenly matched and extremely brilliant.

Then these two in this game.

Using "lying flat" or "slacking off" to describe it would be most appropriate.

Could it be that Atobe is doing this on purpose to delay the match time?

To exhaust Takahashi's stamina.

But once this thought appeared, even Oshitari himself did not believe it.

……

"Bang!"

……

"Bang!"

Takahashi accidentally hit a lob.

A look of surprise flashed across Atobe's face.

Immediately following, he leaped high, his body in mid-air.

His right hand pulled back with force, and using the inertia of the impact, he fiercely executed a Smash at the tennis ball.

"Good!"

Oshitari was very excited.

So it turns out Atobe was intentional just now, in order to lower Takahashi's guard, with the goal of baiting Takahashi into hitting a lob.

This way, he could use Atobe's famous signature move, "Waltz to Metsu."

Although it is still unclear why Takahashi started slacking off in the second game, Oshitari can be certain of one point: facing this move, Takahashi is bound to lose.

Standing in front of the net, Takahashi will face the power of the Smash head-on.

The closer the distance, the greater the power of the Smash.

Oshitari's eyes narrowed, casting an expectant gaze toward the court.

He saw Takahashi still standing in place, his right hand holding the racket moving down slightly.

Do not underestimate this tiny bit of movement.

It was precisely this small action that successfully caused Atobe, still in mid-air, to change his expression.

This move of Atobe's, Waltz to Metsu, is aimed first at the opponent's hand; the first strike knocks the opponent's tennis racket to the ground, and the second strike is the one truly used to score.

But Takahashi moved his right hand down a little bit.

This caused the ball, which was originally aimed at Takahashi's wrist, to now be aimed at the face of the tennis racket.

It could not knock the tennis racket out of Takahashi's hand.

In other words, the Waltz failed.

Since developing this move, Atobe had never failed before, had he?

Every opponent who encountered the Waltz, which one of them didn't watch in terrified eyes as their own tennis racket was knocked to the ground?

Atobe had never imagined someone would crack it like this.

Moving the hand down a little.

Only a tiny bit of distance.

Was enough to make the tennis ball aim at the tennis racket.

And successfully cracked his Waltz.

Is it really that simple?

"Bang!"

Although the tennis ball did not knock Takahashi's tennis racket away, Takahashi's slight movement of his hand position meant the Return was still a lob.

Atobe stared intently at the tennis ball and still chose to continue the Smash.

Although the first step did not successfully knock away Takahashi's tennis racket, his own Smash.

Takahashi might not be able to successfully catch it.

However.

The next moment, he was stunned.

Takahashi was seen standing in place.

One foot in front, one foot behind.

Both arms were spread out like a roc spreading its wings.

It was exactly the posture Oshitari had just used for the Brown Bear Drop.

"Bang!"

Atobe watched helplessly as the tennis ball suddenly began to rise, passed over him, and landed directly in his backcourt.

Then it bounced up.

"15-0!"

"Takahashi scores!"

While announcing the score, Oshitari's eyes also widened.

Wasn't this the move he had just used?

Could Takahashi really use it after watching it just a few times?

The Brown Bear Drop wasn't just about striking that pose.

How to neutralize the power of a Smash and completely dissipate it—this was the most important part of the Brown Bear Drop technique.

How to find the right angle for the shot, and how to utilize the body's centrifugal force.

This required a massive amount of practice and experience.

It was certainly not something that could be pulled off overnight.

Yet, Takahashi was able to successfully execute it shortly after watching Oshitari's move.

Moreover, Oshitari knew very well the power of Atobe's Smash.

Trying to use the Brown Bear Drop to neutralize Atobe's Smash.

The difficulty was even greater!

The requirements were even higher!

Yet Takahashi was able to score with this move.

How could this not make Oshitari feel astonished?

No, it was more than just astonishment.

It was simply inconceivable.

This was a move that only a tennis genius could master.

Both mental capacity and physical strength were indispensable.

Was Takahashi, someone who hung around the Street Tennis Court, also a genius?