LRAB Chapter 122 Hyotei, First Defeat!
Chapter 122 Hyotei, First Defeat!
Chapter 122 Hyotei, First Defeat!
"One ball~enters the soul."
After long-term training, Hyotei Mido's powerful serve has become quite impressive, carrying a breathtaking momentum with every shot.
The crowd outside the arena gasped in surprise.
If it were someone else, that ball would definitely have been a goal.
But their opponent is the self-proclaimed number one in Kansai, who embodies the principle of "an eye for an eye."
"Little Jin!"
Chitose Senri remained completely calm, glancing sideways at Kintaro Toyama, and called out.
"Leave it to me, hehehe."
Kintaro Toyama let out a cheerful laugh, picked up his racket, and charged out like a porcupine charging forward.
"Bang!"
The powerful serve, which flashed by, seemed utterly ordinary, but Kintaro Toyama firmly suppressed it on his racket.
Ryo Mido was slightly taken aback. He felt incredulous. His powerful serve was much stronger than it had been in the previous Kanto Tournament, yet the guy from Shitenhoji on the other side received it so easily.
"Hey buddy, your ball is so heavy!"
Kintaro Toyama grinned broadly and exclaimed excitedly, "Here you go!"
After saying that, he suddenly swung his sword.
"Snapped!"
Its power was even greater than before that of Mido Ryo.
But this was no challenge for Ryo Mido. He quickly leaped forward, and with a loud thud, he felt his arm go numb and slightly stinging.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Hehehe~"
Kintaro Toyama ran around the entire venue, extremely excited.
The entire audience was stunned:
Ms. Zhi said, "I haven't seen anyone this excited in a long time."
"Yes." Inoue Mamoru nodded. "Kintaro Toyama of Shitenhoji, according to their president, is a very pure person with extremely high talent."
Yuuta Fuji: "That guy is actually that amazing."
"Yeah," Kanzuki chimed in. "I heard he's a first-year student, just like Echizen from Seigaku."
"First year?" Fuji Yuta's heart skipped a beat.
"That's right." Kanzuki continued, "The super rookie of Shitenhoji, Kintaro Toyama, according to the information, he seems to have always played singles. I don't know why, but he played doubles today. However, you can see that he is as good as the legends say."
"Wow, that's amazing! He caught two balls by himself."
"Who exactly is that guy?"
"Shitenhoji, as expected of the champion team in the Kansai region."
Kintaro Toyama's tennis is completely different from others; it is the purest form of tennis. Kuranosuke Shiraishi said that he is the one with the best chance of touching the door to the state of no-self.
Natsume Tsuki has always agreed with this point.
However, Natsume Tsuki does not agree with Echizen Nanji's statement that achieving the state of selflessness requires purity.
All you need to do is persevere.
If we're talking about purity, then no one in the Prince of Tennis world is purer than Kintaro Toyama. The so-called innocent heart is nothing more than this. Apart from the dog brother that Natsume Tsuki also met, the only person he can think of when it comes to innocent heart is Kintaro Toyama.
Watching Kintaro Toyama play ball gives you a genuine sense of exhilaration from the sport itself, rather than a performance of some kind of showmanship.
That radiant, summer-like smile, that unrestrained movement, that wild playing style—all embody the purest joy of this sport.
If the state of selflessness had to be opened by someone, that person would definitely not be Ryoma Echizen, whose goal is victory, but only Kintaro Toyama.
Natsume Tsuki also always felt that Kintaro Toyama was possessed, and the reason was simple: he didn't fit the protagonist's image—he didn't have a professional athlete father, nor did he have a background as a returned overseas student, etc.
Those who are obsessed with winning and losing will eventually be consumed by it. Everyone follows this law, except for Ryoma Echizen.
However, that's a story for another time.
Now, all we need to do is watch that guy's performance.
"Bang!"
"Fifteen to fifteen!"
After a half-day of continuous play, both sides each scored a point.
This is unacceptable to Hyotei.
A considerable discussion has already arisen within the camp.
Ryo Mido and Chotaro Ootori were also surprised.
Having been in an environment where they absolutely had to defend their own game and prevent their opponents from scoring for so long, they were used to it, which is why they were surprised at this moment.
"Hyotei's doubles team is indeed very strong; they were able to push Kogane to that point."
Yuji Ichiji made a sound that seemed to be praising.
Jinse Koharu chimed in, "That's right, those two are very strong in both speed and power, no wonder they were able to beat Rikkai's doubles team."
Watanabe Osamu listened intently and asked, "If it were you guys, could you shut out Rikkai's doubles team without a score?"
Yuji Ichiji and Haru Kondo, the conjoined twins, were speechless for a moment.
"So that's why you arranged for Kim to play singles, Ash."
Yuji Ichiji knew very well that they had a chance of winning against Rikkai, but it wasn't very high, let alone shutting out Rikkai. He instantly sensed Watanabe Osamu's thoughts.
The people of Shitenhoji Temple remained silent for a moment.
Watanabe said, "If we win this match, we still have three more to play. If we lose this match, according to the usual arrangement, we will most likely be shut out."
He picked at his ear, seemingly nonchalant, but the people at Shitenhoji Temple were startled.
Kuranosuke Shiraishi glanced at Hyotei and thought to himself, "Chitose and Kogane are the two strongest players on our team. The fact that they're playing shows that the two opponents are exceptionally strong... Don't be fooled by the fact that Kogane and Chitose seem to be dominating the game. In reality, the opponents are not weak. It's just that Kogane is too arrogant, giving people a false impression. However, we shouldn't lose this game."
Shiraishi Kuranosuke thought to himself that Watanabe Osamu's decision was truly a stroke of genius.
"duce, forty to forty."
"Shitenhoji Temple is in the lead."
Hyotei is in the lead.
"6
Hyotei, score 1-0!
After a fierce battle, the Hyotei players finally managed to win the point, managing to hold onto their serve.
"Senior Meido."
Chotaro looked towards the opposite court, where the first-year kid, Kintaro Toyama, had his hands behind his head, holding a racket, and was talking to Chitose Senri with a grin on his face, seemingly unaffected: "It seems like he hasn't used his full strength yet."
Ryo Mido turned his head and said, "We should intensify our attack."
"Um!"
'
Ootori Chōtarō nodded.
"A thousand-mile serve!"
After the two sides switched sides, Chitose Senri held the ball, glanced in Natsume Tsukiya's direction, and threw the ball high.
"Bang!"
The ball spun rapidly and suddenly disappeared from the Hyotei duo's sight.
"Fifteen to zero."
"Wow, Chitose really is something, using the Divine Concealment technique right from the start."
Ryo Mido and Chotaro Ootori were completely helpless against this.
As is customary, before the match, the club president, Natsume Tsuki, would also find someone to train with individually, and this would be useful during the match.
But this match was completely different from the previous training sessions.
"They've really disappeared without a trace," Tachibana An exclaimed. "Isn't this a bit too early?"
Kanzuki glanced at Hyotei and said, "It's too early. If you don't use your special move beforehand when fighting Hyotei, there's a high chance you won't have another chance to use it later. That's always been the case in previous matches."
"!"
"Thirty to zero."
"!"
"Forty to zero."
Golden Spring: "The thousand-year-old spirit seems to be even more powerful than before."
Ishida Gin: "It seems so. Is he also constantly evolving?"
On the last ball, Chitose Senri looked up at the opponent and thought to herself, "The opponent should have already seen through the ordinary Divine Concealment. Hyotei is indeed very powerful, forcing me to use the evolved version of Divine Concealment. I thought I could use it to deal with Natsume, but I didn't expect it could only be used to deal with these two. It seems that my skills are still a bit lacking."
He tossed the ball into the air, finished his sentence, and suddenly swung it. With a thud, the ball disappeared.
When they heard it again, the ball had already hit Ryo Mido's feet.
Ryo Mido was already prepared to retaliate, but he discovered that the ball was actually rolling back along the ground.
"This?" Ryo Mido was taken aback. The opponent's technique was truly...
"Kokoro Game, Shitenhoji Temple, the score is 1 to 1!"
The scene became lively.
It's unbelievable that Hyotei could concede a point; even the Hyotei team members find it hard to believe.
Watanabe Osamu was very pleased with himself. If you have a treasure in your hand but only use it at the end, is it still a treasure?
"Go Hyotei!"
"Hyotei! Hyotei!"
Hyotei cheered loudly, and Shitenhoji was equally enthusiastic, cheering for Chitose and Kintaro Toyama.
"Chōtarō, use your special move!"
Chotaro Ootori's powerful serve was faster and more powerful than Ryo Mido's, and Mido wanted him to use this move to hold his serve.
"it is good."
Ootori Chōtarō nodded.
"Tap tap tap~"
Many people are watching him.
Ootori Chotaro gripped the tennis ball and chanted, "One ball...into the soul!"
A white aura enveloped his arms.
Across from her, Chitose Senri narrowed her eyes, noticing this.
However, he is not yet ready to take action and wants to wait and see.
"Snapped!"
"Fifteen to zero."
Kintaro Toyama didn't even have time to react; instead, he exclaimed, "Wow, this guy's ball is so fast!"
Chitose Senri stood calmly in place.
"What kind of serve is that?"
The people at Shitenhoji Temple were immediately astonished: "That was way too fast!"
"In the recording of the Kanto Tournament, Hyotei's Hou has already exceeded 200 kilometers per hour, and it will only go higher now."
"Can Xiao Jin and Qian Sui handle it?"
"It's too fast, even Xiao Jin is having a hard time."
"Well done, Chotaro, one more ball!" said Ryo Mido.
"One ball~enters the soul."
Chotaro Ootori tossed the ball up again.
Ootori Chotaro suddenly launched the ball.
In an instant, a faint aura rose from beneath Qian Sui Qian Li's feet, and his figure swept past like the wind.
"Bang!"
"Snapped!"
Two blows rang out almost simultaneously.
"Fifteen to fifteen!"
A moment later, the referee announced the score in surprise.
"What?"
"How is that possible?"
"Chōtarō's powerful serve has actually been broken."
"Is this for real? That was a super-fast serve of over 200 kilometers per hour, and it was returned at an even faster speed."
Everyone was surprised, and Kintaro Toyama looked at Chitose Senri with excitement in his eyes.
"Xiao Jin, pay attention to your feelings."
Since obtaining the ultimate tempering technique from Natsume Tsukiya, Chitose Senri has grasped a special aura and gained a deeper understanding of the state of selflessness. He then wanted to pass on this excess power to the number one position in the team.
"Chitose, what's that?" Kintaro Toyama asked back.
"The state of selflessness."
Chisui Chisato calmly said, "The limit of tempering and refining."
When Chitose Senri uttered the phrase "the limit of countless trials and tribulations," the audience was mostly filled with doubt: "The limit of countless trials and tribulations—what is that?"
"I don't know, it must be some kind of secret technique."
"The ultimate level of refinement, one of the three gates to the legendary state of selflessness."
Kuranosuke Shiraishi, no longer in the mood for that, stared at him with envy and awe, saying, "To be able to concentrate all your strength and return the ball to your opponent twice as powerful!"
"So, does that mean the other side definitely won't be able to return that ball?" Ken'ya Oshitari's pupils trembled slightly.
Golden Spring: "My counterattack is twice as strong as the opponent's. The stronger the opponent, the stronger Chitose will become."
Watanabe Osamu: "Theoretically speaking, as long as the opponent also possesses the state of egolessness, they can contend with Chitose."
Watanabe Osamu sighed in bewilderment, "But when did that guy reach the pinnacle of mastery through countless trials?"
A smile gradually appeared on Watanabe Osamu's face as he said, "Our Shitenhoji Temple will finally stop being shut out by our opponents."
"Ash, you really underestimate Shitenhoji Temple."
Zaizen Hikaru seems to be in a good mood.
"snort."
Watanabe Osamu laughed and said, "Maybe we'll be the only team that doesn't get shut out."
"No way," said Konjiro Koharu, "Rikkai didn't get shut out either."
"I'm referring to the national tournament," said Shudo Watanabe.
'
Everyone was stunned for a moment.
But something still feels off.
It took me a moment to realize what was happening.
In the field—
"Senior Meido?"
"Hmm, it seems the opponent is using their true power." Ryo Mido remained calm and said, "Let's continue."
"!"
"Snapped!"
"Zero to thirty"
"Zero to forty"
"There's absolutely no way to return the ball; no matter how you try, the opponent will hit it back twice as hard."
73
"That guy, if he's so good, why is he in doubles? I wish the captain was playing."
'
Game: Shitenhoji Temple, score: 2 to 1!
"6
'
"It's my turn."
Kintaro Toyama's laughter echoed throughout the entire venue, he chuckled and tumbled through the air: "Super Invincible Delicious Ooyama Arashi!!"
"beside!!!!"
The entire stadium was shrouded in a cloud of white mist.
"What is that thing?"
"Hey, that's fake, isn't it?"
"Is he really a first-year middle school student?"
A chorus of astonished gasps rang out from outside.
"Those two on the other side should be alright, right?"
The people of Shitenhoji were worried about Ryo Mido and Chotaro Ootori of Hyotei.
"6
'
The fog has lifted.
The two of them stood there dumbfounded.
Just like when they raided Rikkai University, the two were also stunned by Kintaro Toyama's sudden attack.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
'
The score at Shitenhoji Temple was 5 to 1.
"A doubles team composed of a master of selflessness and a wildly talented player will only get stronger against stronger opponents. The outcome of this match is already decided," Watanabe Osamu said.
"Match ended! Shitenhoji Chitose Senri and Toyama Kintaro are victorious, score 6-1!"
Hyotei, first defeat!