classifiedscript Chapter 191 Yes, just as you thought, they'll target you.
Chapter 191 Yes, just as you thought, they'll target you.
Soon, the referee's voice rang out again.
"Game, Hyotei. 2-0. Halftime."
Before the referee had even finished speaking, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.
The atmosphere among the Seigaku members, surrounded by the cheers of Hyotei's supporters, was not so pleasant.
"Fortunately, Haitang wasn't injured."
Oishi watched as Coach Ryuzaki examined Kaidou, breathed a sigh of relief, his feelings were very complicated, and his voice was a little tense: "Hyotei's Chotaro Ootori, he's only a second-year student, right? The speed and power of that serve, I've never seen many like it in the videos of the professional youth training camp."
"Ah." Tezuka raised his hand slightly to adjust his glasses in response, his gaze behind the lenses falling on Ootori. "That serve...it's already beyond the national level."
"Judging from his method of exertion and the precision of his aim, it's muscle memory built up through repeated training, indicating that he's practiced at least thousands of times."
"And this isn't even his limit yet."
"There's still some room for maneuver in his wrist angle. He can increase the speed if needed in later matches, but he doesn't think it's necessary right now." Fuji turned his head to look at Tezuka and added to what he had said, his half-open eyes squinting slightly in the sunlight for a moment before shifting his gaze back to the court, and then said:
"However, what I'm more concerned about is... Hyotei only needed two games to break Kaidou's mentality. Starting from the second game, Kaidou basically stopped listening to Inui's instructions and relied entirely on instinct to attack."
"Yes! Kaidou is too straightforward and unwilling to admit defeat. This is both a strength and a weakness."
Oishi sighed, rubbing the bandage on his right hand. "In the past, against speed-type players, Kaidou could hold his own with running and stamina. But with a serve like Ootori's... running can't compensate for that."
"The technological gap is too large."
"There's one more thing," Ryoma Echizen said, adjusting his white baseball cap and suddenly adding to his seniors, "That silver-haired guy from Hyotei's serves aren't just about the landing point. The angle and spin of each serve are subtly adjusted. They're testing our limits when it comes to receiving serves."
"Echizen is right." Tezuka glanced down at Echizen Ryoma, then rested his hand lightly on the railing, calmly analyzing, "Hyotei and the others have thoroughly studied Inui and Kaidou's serve receiving habits."
On the other side of the stands, the reactions of the Rikkai University students were even more direct.
Marui leaned against the railing, looking at Kaidou sitting in the Seigaku rest area, and sighed listlessly, "Your hands are shaking like this..."
"Seigaku's data is completely useless." Yanagi's pen hovered over the paper, not falling. He looked at Inui on the field, his voice steady but with a hint of imperceptible heaviness, "Judging from Inui's match data just now, all the data he recorded was from the Hyotei Tournament."
"Their current opponents are completely unfamiliar to them."
"Piyo~ He's finished then." Niou shrugged. "A player who relies on stats, now that the stats are all useless, it's no different from being blind."
Yukimura didn't say anything. After playing with Luna's little tail for a while, he started to dine on its tiny "doritos".
Luna tilted its little head back, its round, heterochromatic eyes looking at him helplessly, as if asking, "Why do you only play with the cat and not watch the game?" Yukimura glanced at it, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly, before raising his gaze back to the field.
Kaito carried his racket to the coach's bench, threw it onto a chair, and the metal struck metal with a crisp sound.
He sat in the chair without saying a word.
Sadaharu Inui sat beside him, his notebook filled with red diagonal lines. Old data was all crossed out, and new data couldn't keep up; the page was a mess, just like his current mood.
Ryuzaki Jin stood beside the two, looked at Kaido, and asked with concern, "Is your hand alright?"
Kaidou shook his head and mumbled, "It's nothing."
"The serve speed is faster than expected, the data model needs to be rebuilt." Qian looked up at her, his voice a little hoarse, but more so with confusion. "It's hard to find a rhythm for receiving serves in a short time."
Long Qijin's shoulder line relaxed for a moment, then quickly tightened again. She knew very well that the gap in hard power had widened.
But the Kanto Tournament must continue; we can't just give up like this.
She lowered her voice and quickly laid out the tactics, telling Inui and Kaido, "We can't return their serve, so don't force it. In the next set, focus on Shishido, keep a close eye on him at the net. He's the core of Hyotei's tactics; wear him down, and their formation will have a gap."
Inui nodded and quickly drew a simulated tactical line on his trouser leg: "Shishido's net coverage area is about two meters. As long as we keep hitting the ball towards his backhand, forcing him to move laterally..."
Kaidou gritted his teeth, listened silently, took the bottled water Inui handed him, weighed it in his hand a couple of times, and nodded firmly.
On the other hand, the rest area at Hyotei was much more relaxed.
Feng took the towel to wipe her sweat, her face slightly flushed. She glanced shyly in the direction of Seigaku and asked Shishido beside her in a low voice.
"Senior, did I use too much force with that shot just now?"
Shishido wiped the back of her neck with a towel, glanced at him speechlessly, and snorted, "In competitive sports, strength is a skill. Are you expecting us to always give in to them? Chotaro, do you really think this is child's play?!"
Feng smiled shyly and didn't reply.
Mochizuki Ryo leaned back in the coach's chair, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest. Her gaze swept over the figures huddled together talking in the Seigaku rest area, and the corners of her mouth deepened slightly.
He turned his head and handed two bottles of water to Shishido and Ootori, his voice neither too loud nor too soft: "Seigaku will serve in the third set, and they will adjust their tactics. Remember to be flexible."
Shishido was drinking water when he heard this, and paused for a moment. He quickly looked at him with a knowing look, but didn't say anything.
"That's right, just like you think, they'll target you."
Mochizuki Ryou stroked her chin, chuckled, and teased him, "They realized they couldn't return Chotaro's serve, so they can only find a breakthrough point here. They'll keep attacking your net position, forcing you to make mistakes or retreating."
Shishido raised an eyebrow, his words brimming with undisguised confidence: "Then let them keep an eye on us."
"Smart." Wang Yueling smiled, then added, "That's why I told you to be flexible and not let them steal the rhythm."
After saying that, he raised his hand and made a secret gesture: "bringing his index and middle fingers together and lightly tapping his wrist."
"Understood."
Shishido understood instantly, put down his water bottle, and returned to the court. Ootori, listening nearby, nodded and followed him to the baseline.
If you look closely, you'll notice that the distance between the two players has increased considerably compared to the first game.
After the two entered the arena, Mochizuki Ryo sat back down. He turned his head and glanced in the direction of Rikkai University. Luna was dozing off on Yukimura's lap, with Koyuki's head being used as a pillow under her chin, bobbing up and down.
He smiled and looked away.
On the court, the whistle for the third set has already blown.
The serve of the Seigaku team.
Qian stood at the baseline, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to secure the serve. He held the ball for even longer than before, remaining silent.
He now needs to calm Kaido down and create opportunities to disrupt Hyotei's rhythm.
The prerequisite is... Haitang's cooperation.
Qian frowned slightly, tossed the ball, and served.
"Waterfall serve".
The ball speed was faster than in the first game, the angle was more difficult, and the power was greater. According to the tactical arrangement, the ball was placed on Shishido's backhand side, trying to force Shishido to retreat to the baseline to receive the ball.
As he wished, Shishido returned the ball to Kaido's corner.
After a few rallies, Seigaku's intentions became increasingly clear. Every return was aimed towards Shishido... Whether it was Inui or Kaido, they were sending the ball near Shishido's position. Some shots were to his forehand, some to his backhand, some were shallow shots forcing him to the net, and some were deep shots forcing him to retreat.
"..."
Wang Yueling watched the situation from the coach's bench, her expression remaining largely unchanged.
Sure enough.
On the court, Shishido watched the ball fly towards him again without moving. Instead, Ootori, who was at the baseline, quickly moved forward a few steps to catch the ball and returned a flat shot. The ball landed low and flat at Kaido's feet.
Seeing a large open space in the opponent's backcourt, Kaidou excitedly swung his racket to return the ball, which landed behind Feng's baseline.
But Feng had already returned to the bottom line and steadily circled back.
Inui's next shot was still aimed at Shishido. According to the data from the first game, this position should be within Shishido's receiving range.
But this time, the one who received the ball was still Feng in the backcourt.
Feng shifted to the side, gripped the racket with both hands, and returned the ball to Qian's backhand. The ball was fast and landed deep. Qian was forced to take half a step back to receive it, and the power of his return shot decreased.
Shishido seized the opportunity at the net, delivering a sharp volley to Kaido's open space at the net.
Kaido lunged to save the ball, managing to touch it with his racket, but the return shot went out of bounds.
"15-0."
Qian stood still, his grip on the racket tightening.
The prediction failed again.
Shishido and Ootori's positions are dynamically complementary, and all the data he collected in the first two rounds was reset again in this round.
Inui composed himself, adjusted his stance, and gestured to Kaido, indicating that he should continue to attack Shishido's position with the next ball.
Kaido did not respond.
His gaze was fixed on the opposite side, on Shishido's position, and there was a fire burning in his eyes.
Before Seigaku's tactics could show any effect, Hyotei's formation changed.
The distance between the two players was no longer fixed. Shishido would suddenly drop back to the midcourt to receive the ball, while Ootori would simultaneously move forward to cover the net. Their movements seemed pre-planned; no matter where the ball went, one of them would always be positioned in the path of the ball.
The tactical plan in Qian's mind suddenly stalled.
All his data processing was based on Shishido's solution, but now Shishido has left, and Phoenix has taken over.
How is Feng's net play?
He simply doesn't have enough data.
"Keep hitting Shishido!" Inui gritted his teeth and shouted forward.
He didn't believe that Hyotei could keep changing their formation; there would always be times when they made mistakes in coordination.
……
"They keep changing their formation." Kikumaru leaned over the fence, staring intently. "That Phoenix's moved to the net... Shishido's position just moved from the net to midfield? Is that even possible?"
"Is this... a combination of the I formation, the Australian formation, and their tiered formation?!"
Fuji's eyes were wide open, his brown pupils reflecting the two players moving on the court. "Their positioning isn't a fixed division of labor at the net and baseline, but rather it's adjusted in real time based on where the ball lands. This style of play demands an extremely high level of teamwork."
"But they did it." Tezuka's voice was deep and heavy, like a layer of ice pressing down on it. "And very smoothly."
"They anticipated our tactics and strategies for the third game by the end of the second game and prepared a countermeasure in advance."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the Hyotei coaching bench. Mochizuki Ryo was looking down, earnestly folding a towel into a "little bear."
The opposing team seemed completely unconcerned about the game, their leisurely demeanor quite astonishing.
Tezuka withdrew his gaze, tightened his grip on the railing, and spoke in a voice so low that only he could hear, "This guy treats match tactics like a game of chess. He can anticipate ten moves ahead of his opponent, considering every aspect meticulously, each move potentially fatal..."
The situation on the field remained unchanged.
It even completely shattered Inui Sadaharu's previous illusions.
Wherever Seigaku's ball went, Hyotei's formation changed accordingly. Sometimes Shishido was in front, sometimes Ootori was in front, the two switching positions so smoothly that there wasn't even the slightest lag.
The perfectly integrated formation dynamically adjusts forward and backward, like a net that is both tight and loose, so that every ball that goes in doesn't even cause a splash.
Half of Seigaku's shots "targeting Shishido in the attacking third" fell within Ootori's coverage area.
On the field, the two worked together seamlessly, like interlocking gears, filling in wherever needed. They even completely countered their "targeted tactics," relentlessly targeting a certain venomous snake whose mentality had already crumbled.
Kaidou was stuck in a stalemate, becoming increasingly anxious. Unfortunately, his various snake-ball techniques were deliberately suppressed by his opponent, leaving him with absolutely no room to maneuver.
Whenever he tries to initiate a wrist flick, either Ootori or Shishido's ball will be aimed at his forehand, forcing him to return a flat shot. His snake shot requires lateral movement to create space, but Hyotei's returns always land precisely at his feet, leaving him no opportunity to retreat.
Qian's data is completely messed up.
He kept calling out the landing points and calculating the positioning, but Hyotei's formation changed too quickly, and his predictions were always a step behind. All the landing points he called out were wrong, and Kaidou's runs repeatedly missed, leaving him exhausted and sweating profusely, unable to score a single point.
"left!"
Kaidou ran to the left, but the ball landed on the right.
"The bottom line!"
Kaido stepped back, but the ball dangled in front of the net.
After several attempts, Kaido's temper hadn't subsided. He turned around and shouted loudly, his tone full of impatience.
"Is your data even accurate?!"
Qian pushed up his glasses, his face grim, and remained silent.
In the midst of their argument, Hyotei scored another point.
"Game, Hyotei. 3-0."
This game lasted a full fifteen minutes, longer than the previous two games combined.
However, the score column for Seigaku remained at zero.
The atmosphere in the Seigaku rest area completely sank to rock bottom.
The veins on the back of Daishi's hand, resting on the railing, were bulging. Kikumaru squatted beside him, hugging his knees, saying nothing. Momoshiro stood behind him, his fists clenched tightly, his lips bitten until they turned white.
Ryoma Echizen leaned back in his chair, his hat pulled low, obscuring his expression. But his hand no longer twirled the tennis ball.
Fuji's face was devoid of any smile, and his voice was somewhat hoarse, "Hyotei's doubles team... is not a temporary combination."
Tezuka looked at the field but didn't say anything.
Ryuzaki Jin sat on the coach's bench, her tactical board covered with arrows and markings, but none of them were usable. She stared at the two players from Hyotei changing positions on the court, her gaze lingering on the blond boy on the Hyotei coach's bench.
The other person, with a smile on their face, held up a "towel bear" and playfully performed some kind of silent play towards the rest areas of Rikkai and Hyotei behind them.
The scene looked very lively.
Atobe of Hyotei University, his face flushed, pointed at the boy and cursed, "Too unglamorous..."; Sanada of Rikkai University, his face dark, also said, "Too lax!"; Yukimura Seiichi of Rikkai University stood between the two, holding a sleeping kitten, trying to mediate.
The rest of the other players on both teams were just watching from the sidelines, seemingly completely uninterested in the game.
Ryo Mochizuki was still causing trouble when she received a glare from Yukimura, and somewhat embarrassedly put the teddy bear away. Just then, she noticed the scrutinizing gaze and glanced sideways towards the Seigaku coaching bench.
He then smiled politely and gestured to Long Qijin with his hand, as if indicating that she should continue.
Long Qijin gripped the edge of the tactical board tightly and turned his gaze to the field.