The Prince of Tennis, Talent Replication

"The final match of the Kanto Tournament loser's bracket revival tournament, between Hyotei Academy and St. Rudolf Academy, is about to begin. Regardless of the score, both teams will play a full five games. Players, please prepare yourselves!"

The loud broadcast made everyone look up.

"Has it finally arrived?"

Who will be the last recipient this time?

"Is that even a question, Hyotei?"

"I said it was St. Rudolf Academy. Hyotei is too arrogant. How could they lose to a team like Fudomine?"

"....."

The argument went on and on.

Inoue Mamoru then started taking pictures of Natsume Tsuki. Looking at the boy in the camera who kept striking various cool poses for him, Inoue Mamoru had a strange feeling. How could he be the captain of Hyotei?

On the other hand, a week before the main tournament, Ryoma Echizen swept through the entire Yinhua Middle School.

As a result, the entire Green Silver Flower team suffered from stomach aches whenever they saw Seigaku on the day of the finals, and Silver Flower forfeited the first match.

During the match between Fudomine and Yamabuki Junior High, a key member of Fudomine was involved in a car accident while riding in a taxi and played with injuries. After the captain, Tachibana Kippei, discovered this, the team forfeited the match.

Yamabuki advanced to the finals.

Because Fudomine forfeited, Yinhua Middle School won without a fight and directly secured third place in the competition.

The finals on both sides were held almost simultaneously.

Seigaku plays against Yamabuki Middle School.

Hyotei vs. St. Rudolph.

"St. Rudolph vs. Hyotei, the doubles match 2 is about to begin. Players, please enter the arena."

Go!

Shintaro pointed two fingers toward the center of the arena.

He had absolutely no objection to Natsume Tsukiya's arrangements.

Inoue Mamoru glanced at the list in his hand and, as expected, it included the formidable Kabaji Takahiro and the genius player Mukahi Gakuto, who was skilled in special hitting techniques.

On the St. Rudolf side, the following players will be featured:

Kisarazu Jun and Yanagisawa Shinya.

They are equally formidable.

"A decisive set, St. Rudolf serves!"

The referee pointed in the direction of St. Rudolph.

Kisarazu Jun held the ball and glanced at his teammate Yanagisawa Shinya. St. Rudolph lost to Seigaku, so they came to play in this cruel loser's bracket revival. Those winners will never understand the feelings of losers. Aren't losers human too?

We absolutely cannot lose this competition; we must defeat Hyotei and secure the last ticket to the next round.

"call out!"

He bent down and tossed the tennis ball into the air, the red ribbon tied around his head fluttering slightly in the breeze. With a thud, Kisarazu Jun turned his head and said:

"I'm going to fuck Shinya!"

"bring it on!"

Shinya Yanagisawa gripped his racket tightly.

"What do you think of this match, Natsume-kun?" Inoue Mamoru reached out to Natsume Tsukiya.

The cheerful girl named Niizuma Bokan blushed and fell silent.

"Look at it this way." Natsume Tsuki also cupped his hands together and used them as binoculars in front of his eyes.

"Uh~~"

Inoue Mamoru was a little taken aback. This Natsume was different from the others. Among so many middle school students, everyone had that steely backbone and a kind of drive.

But Natsume Tsukiya seems more like a big tree that can sway in the wind, with softness, and a bit as relaxed as his idol, Echizen Nanjiro.

This made the rigid Inoue Mamoru feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"I remember Mr. Inoue had a special fondness for Seigaku. Seigaku should be in the finals now, right? Won't Mr. Inoue go and watch?"

Natsume Tsuki also scanned the entire room with his eyes, showing no sign of formality whatsoever.

Inoue Mamoru was taken aback. What he was saying...

He pondered for a moment, and it seemed that he wasn't wrong. Perhaps it was because his idol, Echizen Nanjiro, came from Seigaku, and his son, Echizen Ryoma, was now Seigaku's strongest rookie. Therefore, he paid extra attention to Seigaku. Even last week, he went to Seigaku instead of Hyotei for the school's internal selection.

"Because I care a lot about Hyotei."

Inoue Mamoru scratched his head, smiled, and said:

"This is Hyotei's only chance to qualify for the National Tournament."

This reporter is very secretive and always sides with Seigaku throughout the entire anime. He feels sad for Seigaku when they lose and happy for them when they win. Natsume Tsuki doesn't seem to have any affinity for him either.

"Is Mr. Inoue here to laugh at Hyotei?"

"Well!"

Inoue Mamoru vaguely sensed a resistance, but couldn't understand where this strange feeling came from. Although Natsume Tsuki was also smiling, Inoue Mamoru quickly explained:

"Of course not. I think that under Natsume's leadership, Hyotei might be able to reach a new level."

"Oh, Mr. Inoue, have you obtained some secret information this time?"

Natsume Tsuki remained nonchalant.

"There's no secret information, but I'm really curious about the details of that day's match."

Inoue Mamoru was very curious about that match and couldn't help but feel regretful, just like how someone from Seigaku defeated Tezuka Kunimitsu.

"A match?" Natsume Tsuki didn't even think about the Hyotei captain's match; instead, the Hyotei vs. Fudomine match came to mind, and she asked in confusion:

"What competition?"

"It's about the competition for the Hyotei Academy's internal rankings and the captaincy," Inoue Mamoru stated clearly.

"Oh, you mean that one?"

Natsume Tsuki lowered his hands, his face darkening. He let out a heavy sigh, gripped the railing, and gazed into the distance, saying:

"That's a long story."

Seeing his sudden change in expression, Inoue Mamoru became nervous and stammered, unsure of what to do.

"Hehehe, you can go interview Atobe."

Natsume Tsukiya suddenly chuckled again, completely abandoning his previous demeanor.

"Atobe-kun?" Inoue Mamoru asked in surprise.

"Yes, I believe he must have a lot to say to you." Natsume Tsuki nodded repeatedly.

When Ryo Mido, who was passing by, heard this, he suddenly felt ashamed. What nonsense! How could Atobe possibly have anything to talk about with reporters? At most, he would snort and then laugh, saying something like, "I will definitely be back."

Natsume is a devil; how could he think of having a reporter interview Atobe?

On the field of the competition.

"Match over! Hyotei wins, score 6-2!"

Kisarazu Jun glared angrily at Kabaji Takahiro's wooden block. This guy had just completely copied his special move, spinning in mid-air. With such a heavy weight, how could he do such a move? Was he a devil?

Guan Yuechu, her fingers twirling her bangs, comforted herself:

"It's okay, it's okay, it's just the first game, St. Rudolf will win."

Inoue Mamoru snapped photos of the court, remarking, "Hyotei won the match without any pressure."

Immediately afterwards, the doubles match began.

Inoue Mamoru did not obtain any important information from Natsume Tsukiya.

Natsume Tsuki wasn't exactly stingy, but he could understand that this reporter liked to tell Seigaku information about their rivals, but he couldn't agree to it.