The Prince of Tennis, Talent Replication

Chapter 76

Ju Juping could only swallow a mouthful of saliva.

"Hello, I'm Inoue from the Junior Professional Tennis Monthly."

Inoue Mamoru entered the arena and was the first to show his identification.

The supervisor was just wondering how to be more persuasive when Inoue Mamoru arrived at the perfect time, and the supervisor immediately became enthusiastic.

Kirihara Akaya chuckled: "Mr. Inoue, what do you think? Should Hyotei's qualification be revoked?"

Inoue Mamoru diligently made trips to Rikkai University, hoping, like other media outlets across the country, to find usable material at the popular Rikkai.

This eagerness was seen by the inexperienced Kirihara Akaya as a sign of getting close to Rikkai University, so he sought Inoue Mamoru's opinion, naturally expecting that Inoue Mamoru would side with him.

Inoue Mamoru said, "No, no, Kirihara-kun, you misunderstood. I'm here to serve as a witness. As for the competition, it should be left to the professionals."

It's a professional monthly magazine, nothing special. There are countless organizations that are much larger and stronger than it.

Inoue Mamoru was not very popular. For example, when he went to Seigaku, he made inquiries and learned that Germany might have sent an invitation to Tei Kunimitsu. So he rushed to Seigaku to find out the situation. However, Ryuzaki Sumire was always wary of him and gave vague answers about the matter.

If Ryuzaki Sumire hadn't been busy and Inoue Mamoru hadn't seen the evidence on his desk, he would never have gotten this information.

Inoue Mamoru's closeness to Seigaku is largely due to the fact that Seigaku is less aloof and, compared to the cold shoulder he received at other schools, Seigaku seems less distant.

But Natsume Tsuki is different.

Inoue Mamoru truly reaped the benefits.

Thanks to all the sensational news stories Natsume Tsukiya has created, Inoue Mamoru has had a much easier time.

As for Inoue Mamoru, he didn't need to think about it anymore.

"...That's settled then. Let's put that last ball aside for now. If no problems are found later, we'll add that last ball back in, okay?"

The manager explained, "Essentially, there's no change. It's just that Natsume's skills are too good, and the stadium officials lacked consideration, so we had to resort to this tactic. We hope Natsume will forgive our mistake, and we also ask Natsume to be lenient with our referees."

After speaking, the supervisor bowed humbly as always, and everyone who made a mistake had to sincerely apologize for it.

Although this gentleman was a supervisor, he only saw himself as a service provider. He did not give orders in an arrogant manner, nor did he act indifferent or domineering. On the contrary, he spoke in a humble tone and was sincere in his attitude.

Natsume Tsuki, who prided himself on not being afraid of trouble and not being one to cause trouble, said, "Of course we can. One more or one less goal won't affect Hyotei's chances of winning the game. As for whether we can go easy on them, that's hard to say."

"Thanks!"

The supervisor bowed and then asked Kirihara Akaya, "Kirihara-kun, what do you think?"

Kirihara Akaya gritted his teeth and had no choice but to agree.

"Hmph~"

Natsume Tsukiya snorted softly and turned to walk towards his half of the court.

"Do you want me to let you win?"

Immediately afterwards, Natsume Tsuki glanced at the referee and then shouted at Kirihara Akaya.

"Oh, Kirihara must be furious!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, it really is true."

Jackal Kuwabara: "This is completely unacceptable to Kirihara, isn't it?"

Renji Yanagi: "That's right. To say that would be to say that Akaya is a complete disapproval of his strength."

Niou Masaharu: "This is even more painful than defeating him. That guy from Hyotei, he's really good at this kind of thing, continuing from what the supervisor said..."

Kirihara Akaya was furious.

Natsume Tsukiya ignored him and calmly continued bouncing the ball.

The ball was thrown up and went into the air. Everyone's eyes shifted from the ball and they saw Natsume Tsuki reach out, grab a handful of air, and throw it into the air.

"They're here!"

Everyone was focused intently on the rolling texture of the tennis ball.

He swung the racket, "Thump!"

Atobe Keigo's Perspective:

The racket's mesh detached from the faint air film, seemingly due to centrifugal force. The tennis ball flew out, and with a whoosh, a mouth appeared out of thin air, instantly and silkily swallowing the ball, leaving no trace of its trajectory in front of it...

Atobe Keigo's pupils suddenly dilated.

Suddenly, he turned to Natsume Tsukiya.

How exactly did they do it?

This is the biggest question in his mind right now.

"Look, the ball! The ball is at Kirihara Akaya's feet!"

The sharp signs outside the perimeter fence drew all eyes to them.

"What?"

Kirihara Akaya, whose pupils had turned crimson, was startled awake by this clear shout.

The red in my eyes, like the crimson tide rising above the moon, slowly faded away.

Kirihara Akaya looked down and saw a tennis ball at his feet.

"Knock knock knock!"

From his high chair, the referee jogged up the steps to Kirihara Akaya's court, bent down to pick up the green tennis ball, examined it closely, held it high, and shouted, "Confirmed! It was served by Natsume Tsukiya! Fifteen to zero!"

"oh?!"

A murmur of amazement rippled through the audience.

They whispered among themselves, discussing the missing ball once again.

"Oh, so you made marks on the tennis ball."

I had a sudden realization at the beginning of the month.

"In that case, it won't be so easy for Kirihara to renege on his debt," Fuji Yuta chimed in.

Inoue Mamoru and Shiba Saori snapped photos.

In the past, aside from taking some nice photos, all I did after the competition was write a summary, which wasn't anything special.

But this year is different.

For example, there's so much to write about today.

Mamoru Inoue is very busy!

"Ah Qian, can you hear me?"

Beside him, Fuji Syusuke turned his head and asked Inui Sadaharu.

"What did you hear?"

Eiji Kikumaru leaned over, blinking in confusion. "Fuji, what are you talking about?"

"Oh, it's a sound."

Inui Sadaharu looked up and explained, "There's no mistake, Natsume Tsukiya's shot just now definitely produced two different sounds, like hitting two balls."

"What?" Satoshi Horio exclaimed loudly, "Two balls were hit?"

Fuji Syusuke said with a smile, "It's very subtle. You won't hear it if you don't listen carefully."

After a moment of contemplation, Inui Sadaharu said, "Rather than saying they were two balls, it's more accurate to say they were hit on the same beat. The first sound was masked by the second, and this time it was much softer than before."

"Why didn't we hear anything?" Momoshiro Takeshi asked.

Fuji Syusuke: "Don't look, listen, or your attention will be drawn away by him."

"Hey, Echizen, did you hear me?" Horio Satoshi asked.

Ryoma Echizen, though his expression was serious, remained arrogant and didn't utter a word.

Satoshi Horio made a fool of himself.

For Rikkai, a somber atmosphere permeated the atmosphere of this match.

How could Rikkai University not hear the differences that everyone else could hear?

However, for others, this match was quite exciting.

It was absolutely noisy! "Wonderful, wonderful, absolutely wonderful!"

"So such things really do exist."

"Showing off? What's with the 'showing off' if you can't even catch it?"

"I want to be silly too."

"How can you catch the ball if you can't even see it?"

The noise from outside the stadium had already seeped into the stadium.

Kirihara Akaya had no choice but to look towards the coaching bench on the sidelines.

Genichiro Sanada appeared to be asleep, his arms crossed, but his face still showed a serious expression.

"Tap tap tap~"

He blocked out the noise of the entire arena, only the sound of Natsume Tsukiya bouncing the ball could be heard.

"call out!"

It was the sound of a ball being thrown; Sanada Genichiro's ears twitched twice.

During the brief pause, he imagined Natsume Tsukiya grabbing at the air.

"Bang!!"

Two sounds confirmed it was correct.

Genichiro Sanada, the vice-captain of Rikkai University, suddenly frowned and twitched his ears, straining to listen.

A silence.

A moment of silence?

He suddenly opened his eyes and looked at the court. At Kirihara Akaya's feet, the green tennis ball with yellow tinges had just settled.

The deputy minister suddenly turned his head to look at Natsume Tsukiya, his heart filled with shock. Why?

Why is there no sound?

Apart from that one blow, all other sounds vanished into thin air.

That's not right. According to the experience of this Rikkai University vice minister, as long as the ball speed exceeds Kirihara Akaya's receiving range, it proves to be an ultra-high-speed serve.

When serving at extremely high speed, the ball will inevitably generate friction with the air. Others cannot hear this friction sound, but for experts, it is absolutely possible to detect it even with their eyes closed.

But he couldn't hear anything.

How could I not have doubts?

The referee jumped down from his chair, picked up the ball, and announced loudly, "Confirmed, 30 to 0!"

"In order to convince everyone, they even made the referee mark it."

Inoue Mamoru was deeply shocked: "Natsume Tsukiya... just how far has his skill reached...?"

"Losing to that kind of guy isn't shameful."

Kanzuki always seems to have something inexplicable to say. After finishing the first half of his sentence, he paused for a moment, and only after Fuji Yuuta was taken aback did he turn his gaze to Sengoku Kiyosumi: "You agree, right, Sengoku?"

"Um?"

Sengoku Kiyosumi was taken aback. How did things suddenly turn around and focus on him?

"He did indeed have a backup plan."

Sengoku Kiyosumi was not so quick to admit it, after all, he was not a weak person, but he still acknowledged in his words that the other party had not gone all out.

"Natsume Tsuki is this good too, what are we going to do with Seigaku?"

Ryuki Sakuno finally dared to speak, looking at Echizen Ryoma. As soon as everyone's gaze shifted, her face immediately turned as red as an apple.

"Then leave it to me."

Momoshiro Takeshi stared intently at the arena, clenching his fist and declaring, "I'm not afraid to lose!"

Ryoma Echizen: "Momo-senpai, it's not your turn."

"What did you say, Echizen?" Momoshiro Takeshi retorted, unwilling to back down.

"Tap tap tap!"

On the field, Natsume Tsukiya stylishly caught the ball that bounced into his palm.

"Here it comes!"

All eyes were on them from the sidelines.

"Bang!"

As always, the air was like cherry blossoms in March, the breeze caressing the window screen.

This time, Kirihara Akaya stared blankly as the tennis ball inexplicably landed at his feet.

"Confirmed..."

The referee's voice rang out: "Does Rikkai University have any objections to this game?"

silence-

What objections can be raised?

You've marked them all.

"No objection."

Genichiro Sanada spoke up.

"Vice Minister?" someone called out.

Sanada glanced at it but ignored it.

"good!"

The referee loudly proclaimed: "Rikkai has no objection. Hyotei Natsume wins this match, the score is 2-1!!"

"On what grounds?"

Kirihara Akaya retorted angrily, "One point short!"

The referee didn't argue, but instead looked at Genichiro Sanada on the sidelines, who was the real leader of Rikkai.

"Akaiya!"

The deputy minister seemed to have realized the situation and simply shouted calmly.

"Vice Minister!" Kirihara Akaya could only struggle to shout.

The referee said, "As agreed, if there are no problems in the subsequent matches, one point will be automatically returned to Natsume."

"Look, we missed another point."

Natsume Tsukiya shrugged.

"I see?"

"With this, Natsume Tsuki has scored two points first, and he can continue to win."

"come on!"

"hateful!"

This match tormented Kirihara Akaya to a pulp, and inexplicably, the anger in his heart seemed to be suppressed by something.

Only the Red-Eyed mode is usable; Demonic Mode remains unavailable.

In short, it's like hitting cotton; there's absolutely no interaction.

"It's Rikkai Daikirihara's turn to serve."

"That guy hasn't used his special move yet, has he?"

"Also, so far, he hasn't made a move against Natsume Tsuki either."

"Yes, Natsume Tsuki also injured his ankle, so that's why he used that technique?"

The subtle discussion reached Kirihara Akaya's ears.

He smiled wickedly, suddenly realizing the trick the other party was playing.

Hehehe!

"call out!"

Suddenly, he threw the ball up and hit it fiercely towards Natsume Tsukiya.

"The second goal!"

Kirihara Akaya had already decided that if he could return the second ball, he would completely cripple Natsume Tsukiya.

"Bang!!"

This time it was clean and efficient.

No longer are the window curtains fluttering.

"Zero to fifteen!"

The referee's decision was also swift and decisive.

Kirihara Akaya was helpless.

"Bang!"

Hit the ball even harder.

"Zero to thirty!"

"!"

"Zero to forty!"

Jackal Kuwabara: "Even if Kirihara wants to make a move against the other party, it will be of no use if the other party doesn't give him the opportunity."

Niou Masaharu: "This must be the most painful thing for him."

It's incredibly frustrating to be unable to play ball or fight people.

Game: Hyotei Natsume, score 3-0!

"Damn it!"

The racket slammed out and shattered with a crack.

Kirihara Akaya stood there in a fit of rage, completely disregarding the fact that they were still in a match.

"Rikkai players, return to the field immediately!"

A short while later, the referee issued a warning.

"Akaiya!"

The only one who could keep Kirihara Akaya in check was Sanada Genichiro.

Kirihara Akaya changed his racket and returned to the court.

"If you're so capable, then stop using underhanded tactics."