The Prince of Tennis, Talent Replication

Chapter 112 Half a Step Without Self?

"Echizen Ryoma, just you wait..."

The ball bounced back and forth between his palm and the ground, and the entire stadium was focused on this American West Coast star.

He suddenly gripped the ball tightly and threw it into the air.

The racket was held diagonally overhead, and with a thud, the ball was launched.

"Snapped!"

The tennis ball that hit Natsume Tsukiya's feet spun violently, making a whooshing sound and a loud thud, before suddenly hurtling towards Natsume Tsukiya's face.

"Spin serve!"

Momoshiro shouted, pointing to the court, "See that? That's Echizen's topspin serve!"

At the entrance, Ryoma Echizen frowned slightly.

"Bang!"

Natsume Tsuki also stepped back slightly, flipped his racket in mid-air, and slammed it down.

"Bang!"

Faced with Natsume Tsukiya's offensive, Kevin Smith was neither flustered nor surprised. Someone who could defeat Echizen Ryoma would naturally not be unable to handle this.

However, after that ball darted into his own field, it sped along the ground like a nimble snake.

The ball drew a circle and disappeared from the field from left to right.

Kevin Smith was like a pioneer who had encountered the lightning serpent, twisting his head, at a loss, his eyes only seeing its mesmerizing trajectory.

"Zero to fifteen!"

The referee announced.

"Oh, what kind of move is that?"

"It's a bit like Fuji Syusuke's 'Flying Swallow Returns to Its Nest'."

"No, it's even more agile than a swallow returning to its nest."

"Bang!"

Kevin Smith continues to serve.

"Bang!"

The two exchanged blows at high speed for several rounds.

Suddenly, Kevin Smith disappeared from sight, having crouched down and slid towards the front of the court.

"It's... the B-shaped smash that Echizen used during his match against Fuji Yuta."

Many people outside the venue recognized him.

Kevin Smith was very pleased with himself. He suddenly jumped up and raised his hand to strike with all his might.

He was quite confident about this shot, believing himself to be even better than Ryoma Echizen!

"However, that move probably won't work on Natsume Tsuki either," Momoshiro Takeshi said.

Guan Yuechu: "I just don't know how that guy will respond."

Natsume Tsukiya smiled slightly, took a step forward, and teleported to the net. Just as the tennis ball hit the ground and he hadn't yet jumped out of his second jump—

Natsume Tsukiya flipped his wrist, slightly shifted his body, and suddenly swung the ball towards the referee's chair, the ball making a horseshoe-shaped loop around the chair.

The referee was so startled that he quickly raised his feet.

"Snapped!"

There was a loud bang.

Kevin Smith was startled.

He was right in front of the net, the two of them very close together.

But the ball was as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, just as Natsume Tsukiya swung his racket, the ball had already hit his feet.

"This is called a C-shaped drive."

Natsume Tsuki pointed at him and asked, "Does he suit your taste?"

"C...C-shaped shot?" Kevin Smith repeated.

"Did you hear that? He said that's called a C-shaped drive." Kikumaru Eiji blinked.

"Great, what an amazing comeback," said Guan Yuechu.

Takeshi Momoshiro: "Hey, Viper, isn't that your Spiral Serpent Ball?"

Kaoru Kaidou was initially stunned, but when Momoshiro Takeshi called on him, his face immediately darkened. You see, the radius of his snake short ball spin is decreasing, but at the net, he can still pull out a U-shape, separated by a blocking net. Kaoru Kaidou knows very well that he could never do that.

Momoshiro Takeshi's words sounded more like a taunt.

"Bang bang bang!"

Kevin Smith continued his fierce offensive, but the moves he copied from Echizen Ryoma were completely ineffective against Natsume Tsuki.

J

Game, Natsume Tsukiya, score 2-0!

Billy Casey: "Kevin's moves had absolutely no effect on that Natsume Tsukiya; he devoured them all."

Mike Lee: "I never expected that there would be someone like this on the Kanto team."

Tom Griffith: "It seems Kevin will have a hard time defeating Natsume Tsukiya using Echizen Ryoma's techniques as he claimed..."

'

Off the court, Minako Takayama's withered brows furrowed as she said to Nakamura, "Mr. Nakamura, this kind of match is hardly satisfactory."

Nakamura chuckled awkwardly, "Kevin hasn't even tried his best yet..."

On the field, Richard Baker said, "Kevin, what are you doing? You haven't scored a single point?"

Kevin Smith just clenched his teeth and remained silent.

He was also very frustrated, feeling like a novice in front of Natsume Tsukiya, with no power to fight back.

His relaxed demeanor, in particular, drove him crazy.

If Ryoma Echizen doesn't play, what's the point if he can't defeat Tsukiya Natsume?

"I'll handle him."

Kevin Smith gritted his teeth and replied angrily.

Richard Baker: "You better not let me down, or we're all doomed."

"Kevin, you can do it!"

Billy Casey said with a determined look in his eyes, "You still have that trick up your sleeve. Let that guy see that he can't shut you out."

"That move?"

The others on the team turned their heads, their eyes filled with surprise.

Billy Casey nodded confidently, "That's right, that move."

"Will that guy use that serve again?"

Kevin Smith lowered his body and got into a ready state, still somewhat wary of Natsume Tsukiya's super-fast serve.

Kunimitsu glanced at Ryoma Echizen. If things continued like this, Ryoma would definitely have no chance to play.

Natsume Tsuki also raised his racket—

L6

Game, Natsume Tsukiya, score 3-0!

"Four aces!" Katsuro Kato exclaimed. "The opponent had absolutely no chance to react."

Satoshi Horio: "That's normal."

Takeshi Momoshiro: "That guy's skill level is still as high as ever..."

'

"If that guy continues to perform at this level in the national tournament..."

All the middle school students who still have a chance to participate in the national competition are secretly worried.

"The team needs to intensify its training."

'

'

"Great! We've already taken the lead with three points."

"That's amazing."

"That's absolutely terrifying."

"Damn it, there's just no way to deal with him."

Kevin Smith gripped the ball tighter and tighter. "I can't lose, I absolutely can't lose."

"Snapped!"

He suddenly raised his hand and threw a ball.

"Bang!"

"Ah~~"

Kevin Smith yelled, gripped his racket with both hands, raised it above his head, exuding a terrifying aura, and slammed it down on the ball with the edge of his racket.

"Open your eyes wide and see clearly." Billy Keith's eyes were filled with the light of victory.

"Bang!"

When the sphere is completely deformed, the force is compressed instantaneously and transformed into F=MV. With a fixed mass, the greater the force, the faster the speed.

With a sudden thud, the ball, compressed to its maximum, shot out.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~"

The ball exploded and ricocheted wildly in the air, instantly stunning everyone.

Takeshi Momoshiro: "What are those? How come there are six balls?"

Kaoru Kaidou: "There are eight, I guess."

Genichiro Sanada: "Three balls?"

Atobe Keigo: "That guy actually has such a special move."

Akutsu: "That guy's pretty impressive, but does he think he can decide the game with just this one shot?!"

Satoshi Horio: "Is everything alright?"

Billy Casey was very confident: "Very good, very good, you scored."

Tom Griffith was stunned: "That's Kevin's special move?"

Billy Casey: "That's right, that's right, that's the special move I secretly trained with Kevin, the Illusion Ball."

Mike Lee: "Those kinds of shots, you can't get them back, they're dazzling to watch..."

'

Thousands of eyes, filled with a hint of expectation, all turned to Natsume Tsukiya.

"Very good, very good." Hanamura Aoi smiled instead of worrying, thinking to herself, "It seems everyone thinks you can't handle it, so let them see your true strength. Actually, I'm looking forward to it too."

Amidst everyone's attention, Natsume Tsuki slightly raised his racket, smiled, and thud!

His eyes were fixed on Kevin Smith, the ball already nestled in the net on his racket. "How...how is this possible?"

Kevin Smith felt a chill run down his spine, and was instantly shocked. He shook his head violently, saying, "Impossible! How could he have broken through my illusion ball with a single shot?"

The audience gasped in surprise.

Richard Baker's smile gradually froze. He stood up abruptly, gritting his teeth and thinking, "It's one thing that the techniques of the Echizen Ryoma you admire are completely useless, but does that mean your own special move is useless too, you idiot..."

The US West Coast team was even more astonished.

Billy Kessie: "This, how is this possible?"

Tom Griffith: "That dazzling ball, he caught it all in one go..."

"

Satoshi Horio shrugged and said, "Looks like Kevin's so-called illusion ball wasn't all that great after all. It was caught as soon as it was hit."

"That's not how it works."

Fuji Syusuke explained, "That shot was amazing. If it were any other player, they probably would have already scored by now."

Everyone exclaimed "Oh!" and gave the ball a few more glances.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

The tennis ball spun rapidly on the racket.

"Bang!"

Natsume Tsukiya also swung his ball suddenly, and the ball flew wildly, creating an amazing afterimage.

"What?"

Kevin Smith's eyes widened as three, no, five, seven... were flying towards him.

"Damn it, that guy actually used my own moves against me! Are you kidding me?!"

Kevin Smith was furious.

Knowing that he could only hit that kind of ball using the edge of the racket, Natsume Tsukiya was shocked that he could hit it with the racket face as well. He absolutely did not believe that the ball could compare to his illusion ball.

"puff!"

He swung the ball out.

They missed their target.

"Snapped!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

The ball slammed into the field behind him with a sharp sound, then suddenly curved in an arc and dodged away.

Kevin Smith was dumbfounded and incredulous.

At that moment, Fuji Syusuke said to Horio Satoshi, "If Kevin hadn't caught that ball, it probably would have ended up like this."

"Th-th-th-this~" Horio Satoshi stammered, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Eiji Kikumaru: "Doesn't that prove that Tsuki Natsume is also very skilled?"

Seigaku remained silent for a while.

"Zero to fifteen!"

"Bang!"

I don't believe it.

Kevin Smith continued hitting illusion shots while shouting, "Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!!"

"Zero to thirty"

"Zero to forty"

66

Game, Natsume Tsukiya, score 4-0!

The entire room fell silent.

Those who had high hopes for Kevin Smith muttered to themselves, "How could this happen?"

Kevin Smith gritted his teeth and returned to the coaching seat.

"What are you doing?"

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound rang out.

Richard was furious and slapped Kevin Smith across the face.

He misappropriated funds from the tennis association; if he can't sign a contract immediately, he's doomed.

So when Richard saw Kevin Smith lose four games in a row without scoring a single point, looking like a complete waste, he was furious. He realized that if he couldn't sign him, he wouldn't be able to make up for the money he had misappropriated.

He took his anger out on Kevin Smith.

A blush crept onto Kevin Smith's face.

"Hey, how could you do this?"

"Exactly, you can't resort to violence just because you've lost."

"I actually think he deserved it."

"What are you talking about? Hitting someone after losing a game, that's not right."

"What do you mean, right or wrong? He can use tennis to beat us, but just because he lost a match doesn't mean he can be beaten?"

"Was that to provoke Ryoma Echizen?"

"To provoke Ryoma Echizen? You certainly know how to come up with excuses. Does that coach also have a compelling reason to win?"

The area outside was noisy and chaotic.

On the field, Kevin Smith bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry, Boss!"

Back on the court, Kevin Smith unleashed his "Reminiscence in the Wind" technique, reflecting on the hardships and perseverance he had endured along the way.

"Don't joke around, I absolutely cannot let someone shut out me!"

He shouted.

Instantly, a thin halo began to envelop him.

"Bang!"

"Super high-speed serve, he received it!"

There was a great stir of surprise among the spectators.

A glimmer of hope returned to Richard's eyes.

"A state of near-selflessness?"

Natsume Tsukiya smiled.

"Bang!"

Kevin Smith unleashed an invisible swing.

"It's an invisible swing!!" Fuji Syusuke exclaimed.

"Can you receive it?" Momoshiro Takeshi asked.

Eiji Kikumaru: "Natsume Tsukiya and Sanada never fought, right?"

"I probably won't be able to receive it," Katsuro Kato said.

Inui Sadaharu: "It should be possible."

"Snapped!"

Natsume Tsuki retaliated.

"Bang!"

"It is Atobe Keigo's waltz toward destruction."

"6

'

"That guy is amazing."

Niou Masaharu turned his head: "He can actually use other people's moves at will."

"Is that the legendary state of no-self?" Sanada Genichiro asked.

"The realm of no-self?" Everyone was puzzled, and even Echizen Ryoma's eyes lit up.

Genichiro Sanada's explanation shocked everyone.

"The swallows return to their nests!"

"Wave Ball!"

"Spinning Snake Ball".

"Did Kevin watch all the previous game replays?"

"No, I only watched part of it during my break."

"That's amazing, the state of 'no self'," Ryo Mido said enviously.

"No!" Tezuka Kunimitsu said, "It shouldn't have reached that point yet."

"Bang!"

"Look, Natsume Tsuki is using the same technique as Kevin."

Everyone who looked over was instantly astonished.

"Fifteen to zero!"

"Thirty to zero!"

"40 to 0!"

"Using the same moves, how come he's stronger than Kevin?" Sanada Genichiro wondered.

"This should be the complete form..."

"

Tezuka Kunimitsu paused, then said seriously, "The state of 'no-self'!"

"What?"

Everyone was shocked.

"Natsume Tsuki has also entered the state of 'no-self'?" Many people began to get excited.

Game, Natsume Tsukiya, score 5-0!

"Bang! Bang!"

The entire audience was stunned.

Kevin Smith was even more astonished, "That guy, how could there be someone like that?"

"Bang!"

"Zero to fifteen".

"Zero to thirty!"

With each ball bounced and the referee's call echoed, "Match over! Kanto team's Natsume Tsukiya wins, score 6-0!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but their wildly beating hearts still hadn't calmed down.