Chapter 87: The Semi-Finals End, Echizen Makes the Newspaper

Beside the Court.

The Fudomine group.

"The Captain twisted his right foot just now, I'm a bit worried."

Ibu Shinji said.

"But the Captain's movements haven't changed at all, it shouldn't affect the match."

"Besides, the opponent isn't hitting the ball to the Captain's right foot, so it should be fine."

Kamio Akira advised.

It was indeed as Kamio Akira said; the balls Kirihara Akaya hit were all concentrated on Tachibana Kippei's left foot, far away from his injured right foot.

It seemed as though the injury to his right foot was not being aggravated.

However, Ibu Shinji could not shake the trace of unease in his heart.

On the other side, the Rikkai group.

"Kirihara has found the breakthrough point and is turning the tide of defeat."

Sanada said.

"Kirihara is controlling the landing spots of the tennis balls very well; although he isn't directly targeting Tachibana Kippei's right foot, every ball's landing spot forces Tachibana to stride heavily with his right foot in order to successfully receive the ball."

"Tachibana twisted his right foot just now, and now, under Kirihara's deliberate targeting, the burden on Tachibana's body will soon reach its limit."

Yanagi Renji said.

"That is also because Tachibana twisted his right foot first."

"Being able to seize the opponent's loophole and quickly change strategy, Kirihara's on-the-spot performance and psychological quality are quite good."

"But he is waiting for the opponent to reveal a flaw rather than taking the initiative to attack."

"Kirihara's strength is still insufficient."

Listening to the conversation between the two behind him, Takahashi spoke up.

Hearing Takahashi's words, Yagyu on the side pushed up his glasses, and Niou and the others also had serious expressions.

They hadn't expected Captain Takahashi's insight to be so excellent; he not only saw the situation on the court clearly, but even analyzed Kirihara's strengths and weaknesses perfectly.

He could grasp the key points and essentials in an instant.

What terrifying insight and analytical ability!

"Bang!"

"15-0!"

"Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School scores!"

Because Tachibana Kippei accidentally twisted his right ankle, Kirihara deliberately made Tachibana use his injured right foot extensively; Tachibana's right foot could not bear the load, and he began to lose points frequently!

"Bang!"

"2-1!"

"Bang!"

"3-1!"

"Bang!"

"4-1!"

"Bang!"

"6-1!"

"Match over, Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School's Kirihara Akaya wins!"

"Rikkai wins 3-0, winning the match!"

Kanagawa.

Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School.

A few days have passed since the semi-finals with Fudomine.

Inside one of the tennis courts.

Takahashi bounced the tennis ball on the ground a few times, then tossed the ball upward.

Waiting for the tennis ball to fall to the desired position, Takahashi held the tennis racket and swung it with force.

Yanagi Renji, who was watching from the side, praised: "The Captain's Serve posture is truly standard; there isn't a single redundant movement, simple and unadorned, yet the effect is shockingly magnificent."

"Bang!"

Following Yanagi Renji's words, the tennis ball flew toward the opponent's half of the court at an astonishing speed.

"Thud!"

One could only hear the sound of the tennis ball landing, but the tennis ball itself was nowhere to be seen.

Kirihara, standing on the other side of the tennis court, only felt his eyes blur as a yellow streak of light flashed past the corner of his eye.

Kirihara turned his head to look at the wire fence behind him.

Sure enough, the tennis ball was stuck in the wire fence.

Kirihara shifted his gaze again, looking toward the back court, where a dark tennis ball mark appeared prominently on the baseline.

If not for this mark, Kirihara wouldn't have dared to confirm whether the ball was out of bounds.

As for Takahashi's Serve, he couldn't track the tennis ball's trajectory at all.

Sanada, who was watching the match, also spoke up: "Indeed, Captain Takahashi has improved again."

"It was just an ordinary Serve, without using any technique, yet my eyes couldn't even keep up."

Yanagi Renji looked at the speed gun in his hand.

235km/h!

What a terrifying speed!

But looking at Takahashi's serving posture, one would never imagine the ball speed could be so astonishing.

A perfectly ordinary serving posture, yet he hit such an astonishing ball.

This was entirely because Takahashi's fundamental strength was too strong!

"Kirihara, you couldn't even touch the ball for three consecutive serves; you should practice properly!"

Takahashi said.

This was just an ordinary practice match.

Takahashi felt that Kirihara still had a lot of room for improvement after the match against Fudomine that ended a few days ago.

Having nothing better to do, he prepared to give Kirihara a hand.

But he didn't expect that Kirihara wouldn't even be able to touch the ball.

Continuing to play would just be a waste of time.

Takahashi decisively decided to stop, turned and left the court, walked to the side of Sanada and Yanagi who were watching, and picked up a bottle of drink.

"Yes, Master, I will work hard."

Kirihara shouted toward Takahashi, who had already left the court.

He didn't expect the gap between him and Takahashi to be this large; he must practice with all his might.

Takahashi, standing by the court, twisted off the cola bottle cap and tilted his head back to take a big gulp of cola.

"Our opponent for the Kanto Tournament finals is Seigaku."

Yanagi Renji said.

"Seigaku? That's rare!"

Sanada said.

Last year's Kanto Tournament final was between Hyotei and Rikkai; he didn't expect it to be Seigaku this year.

In previous years, Seigaku was a very ordinary team in the Kanto Tournament; their strength couldn't compare to Hyotei at all, and even Yamabuki was stronger than Seigaku.

Takahashi put down the cola in his hand and said: "As expected."

Yanagi Renji continued: "Seigaku's momentum is very strong this year; the one most worth paying attention to is the first-year Echizen Ryoma, whose addition has greatly enhanced Seigaku's singles strength."

"In this year's matches, Seigaku hasn't lost to any school yet, losing at most by one or two points in small scores."

Takahashi said: "Echizen Ryoma is an opponent worth taking seriously."

"But that is all; the championship will always be our Rikkai's."

Sanada said: "Yes, our Rikkai's National Three-peat has no blind spots."

"Captain, there is one more thing."

"Many tennis newspapers and magazines want to interview us."

Takahashi said: "Sanada, you can decide on such trivial matters!"

Tokyo.

Inside the Seigaku Tennis Club activity room.

The red-haired Kikumaru Eiji ran in with a newspaper in a flurry, shouting as he ran: "Little one, you're in the papers!"

"What?" Momoshiro Takeshi didn't believe it and leaned in to look at the content of the newspaper.

The newspaper featured a large portrait of Echizen Ryoma, which was from the period when Seigaku played against Hyotei a while ago.

The text on the side described in detail how Echizen Ryoma, as a first-year rising star in the tennis world, shone brightly in the match against Hyotei and defeated his opponent.

The flowery language of praise made Momoshiro Takeshi very envious and jealous.

"Now, the kid is really showing off."

"These reporters are something else, the wording is too exaggerated!"

Kikumaru handed the newspaper in his hand to the others to see.

Oishi Shuichiro leaned over to look, and the more he looked, the tighter his brows furrowed.

Kikumaru was very puzzled: "Oishi, why do you have that expression?"

"Don't tell me you're jealous that the little one's limelight has surpassed yours!"

Kikumaru teased his partner Oishi, his tone very relaxed.

Oishi sighed helplessly and said: "Eiji, besides Echizen, you should also pay attention to other reports."

Fuji Shusuke, who always wore a smile, pursed his lips tightly at this moment and said: "This report is a bit excessive; the match hasn't even started, yet it states definitively that our Seigaku will lose!"