N-M Chapter 188 I don't have time to play house with you
Chapter 188 I don't have time to play house with you
When the referee announced the score, Shishido had already turned around and walked back to his position.
He walked at a moderate pace, his long black hair tied behind his head swaying gently with his movements, without giving the person opposite him any extra glances.
Feng stood to his right rear baseline, slightly adjusting the angle of his grip on the racket. His short, silver-gray hair fluttered in the wind. He pursed his lips, his gaze fixed on the two Seigaku players opposite him, his breathing steady.
"Good shot, Shishido-senpai," Feng said softly.
"Okay." Shishido responded without turning around. "Next ball. Inui will adjust his aim; watch out for him switching to the middle. Keep the formation unchanged."
Feng nodded and took a half step back towards the center.
Qingxue half time.
Qian returned to the baseline, his fingertips gripping the yellow tennis ball. He stood there for two seconds, his mind racing through several alternative plans.
The first ball Shishido's serve landing point was completely outside his data model, but...
His data isn't entirely without solutions.
Stand back on the baseline, adjust your breathing, and toss the second ball.
The "waterfall serve" landed in the inner corner of Shishido's forehand side in the middle, deliberately avoiding the backhand area where the opponent had just successfully attacked.
He wanted to use his high jump to force Shishido to retreat to the baseline to receive the ball, creating an opportunity for Kaido at the net.
But Shishido had already judged the direction of the ball's landing point the instant he hit it. He took two steps to the side, still pressing forward, but this time he didn't try to get to the ball first. Instead, he cut into the lower side of the ball as it bounced up.
The return shot carried a side spin that had been sliced out, and its low arc slid across the net, landing perfectly in the gap between Inui and Kaido's positions.
Kaito quickly moved to the side to cover the net, took a step forward, flipped his wrist, and swept the racket back with a "hiss~".
"Snake ball".
The yellow ball, spinning, traced a strange arc and landed in the right front of Hyotei's half of the court.
No matter how tricky the arc of his shot was, Feng on the opposing team was already covering for him.
His footwork was faster than Kaidou had anticipated. He took two steps forward from his backcourt position, his racket held horizontally, and his volley point was perfectly timed. With a slight flick of his wrist, he sliced the ball into a short shot that grazed the net and landed on Inui's backhand sideline.
Inui paused for a moment because of the sudden ball trajectory, and tried to rush up from the baseline to save the ball, but the distance was too far.
He was still halfway through when the ball hit the ground.
"30-0".
Qian stared at the ball that had rolled out of bounds, his expression unchanged.
He pushed up his glasses and glanced at Kaidou. Kaidou's face had completely darkened, and his brows were tightly furrowed beneath his headscarf.
The third goal.
Inui adjusted his serving strategy, no longer focusing on suppressing Shishido at a single point, but instead using sidespin serves to create angles, attempting to disrupt Hyotei's formation by moving Ootori's position.
The ball landed on the outside corner of Feng's backhand side with a large arc, and the amount of deviation after bouncing was also beyond the norm.
Feng took a step forward to receive the ball, leaned back slightly, and pressed her wrist firmly, returning the ball to the middle.
The landing point was chosen very cleverly.
It landed right in the doubles formation blind spot between Inui and Kaido.
Kaidou took a step forward from the net, and his signature "snake shot" swing reappeared. He swung his wrist in a wide arc, sending the ball flying with strong sidespin towards the right sideline of Hyotei's half of the court.
The ball traced an exaggerated arc in the air, bounced outwards after landing, and the angle was so large that it almost touched the sideline markings.
Shishido was already waiting there.
He kept his center of gravity low, held his racket horizontally in front of him, and met the ball at the highest point of its bounce, using the momentum to slice the ball and change its trajectory.
The ball grazed the racket as it flew into the gap in Seigaku's half of the court, landing with such precision that it looked like an infrared laser had been used to mark a spot.
Kaido lunged to save the ball, but his racket barely touched it, resulting in a terrible return that sailed high towards the opponent's baseline.
Feng had already retreated to the backstage area to wait.
He looks gentle, but his baseline defense is impenetrable. He covers a wide area, his footwork is so steady it's like he's nailed to the ground, and his returns always land in the most difficult positions for the two Seigaku players.
Shishido was equally unyielding at the net. Whenever the return shot was even slightly shallow, he would immediately rush in to intercept.
"40-0".
In the stands, the Hyotei supporters remained silent, but many spectators had begun whispering among themselves. Low gasps and murmurs mingled and spread.
"Another point? Hyotei's two players are working so well together. Neither their serves nor their returns are effective at all."
"Exactly! The timing of the two Hyotei players' volleys was perfect. They've received Inui's serve before, haven't they? And Kaidou's snake shot too, they broke through it immediately."
"They must have practiced specifically for this. Look at their positioning; they're always waiting in the path of Seigaku's return ball."
……
Seigaku's serve was about to be broken.
Momoshiro gripped the railing, his voice tinged with resentment: "We've only got one point left in the service game, are we going to get broken?"
Kikumaru leaned against a large rock, craning his neck to look at his teammates on the court. He lowered his voice and said, "Inui has already lost three points in a row on his serve? Kaidou's snake shot is completely useless. What do we do?"
"Eiji, calm down!"
The bandage on Oishi's right arm was blindingly white. His brows were tightly furrowed, and there was some worry in his voice. "The opponent's net play is too aggressive. They probably anticipated Kaido's snake shot trajectory before pressing forward."
"Predicting a snake shot?"
Momoshiro's eyes widened upon hearing this. "Isn't Viper's 'Snake Ball' trajectory supposed to be difficult to calculate? Even Echizen couldn't..."
"That's why I said their training is very thorough." Fuji opened his eyes, his brown pupils reflecting the figures of the two Hyotei players on the court. His voice was slightly lower. "Hyotei must have been focusing on training specifically against Kaidou's Snake Shot lately."
"Furthermore, Shishido tried several times to rush to the net and prevent Inui from getting the ball to the baseline. He was trying to deprive Kaido of his space to launch his snake shot."
Tezuka didn't speak, but his gaze behind his glasses followed Shishido's movements on the field.
Ryoma Echizen leaned against the railing, fiddling with the tennis ball in his hand, and suddenly remarked, "Hmm~ that guy with the tied hair, he's got something."
The three first-year students from Horio also looked dejected, waving their support flags without any enthusiasm. They comforted each other, muttering, "The upperclassmen still have a trick up their sleeves, they'll definitely catch up."
On the field, the students from the Qingxue school stood by.
He straightened up, brushed the dust off his knees, his face expressionless. He pushed up his glasses, the light reflecting off the lenses obscuring the emotions in his eyes, but his knuckles cracked slightly as he gripped the racket.
The service game, only one point left.
Kaidou stood in front of the net, his eyes reddening.
He listened to his senior, Qian, announcing the landing points behind him, but the fire in his heart burned even brighter. The snake shot was easily countered, he couldn't gain an advantage in a prolonged battle, and he was even about to lose his service game.
The guy opposite him, Shishido Ryo, was completely relaxed, without even a superfluous expression, as if he were playing a practice match.
This disdain hurt him more than the loss.
His lips tightened, and his eyes beneath the headscarf grew even fiercer. Behind him, Inui shouted the command to "hold the line," but Kaidou had already changed his actions on his own.
My mind was completely preoccupied; I had no time to consider the feasibility of my senior's tactics. Only one thought remained...
Play your best shot.
On the fourth point, Inui's serve was once again intercepted by Shishido and returned to the middle. This time, Kaido didn't wait; he stepped back a step in advance, and with a sudden burst of power in his wrist, he swung his racket the moment the ball landed in his half of the court.
The racket brushes against the surface of the ball from bottom to top.
"Spinning Snake Ball!!!"
After the ball left the racket, it suddenly veered sharply to the left, not heading straight for the court, but instead making a large arc around the referee's chair.
With a sharp acceleration, it crashed towards the sideline of Hyotei's half of the court.
Neither Shishido nor Ootori expected the arc to be so exaggerated as to wrap around the net post, and they were a beat too slow.
By the time they realized what was happening...
Feng turned to save the ball, but took a step and then pulled back, because the ball had already landed.
"15-40".
Seigaku scored the first point.
A burst of cheers erupted from the stands' rest area.
Kikumaru was the first to jump up, raising his fist repeatedly, leaning forward with a look of joy on his face. "It's Kaidou's Spinning Serpent Ball! That's amazing!"
Fuji's eyes crinkled, and his smile returned to his face. "This move was indeed unexpected."
Momoshiro also shouted, and even Echizen raised his hat brim to glance at Kaido's figure on the field.
Tezuka raised his eyes and glanced at Atobe and the others in the Hyotei rest area. The other party still had that arrogant look on his face, not even frowning.
The three first-year students in Horio were extremely excited.
Satoshi Horio gripped the railing, his voice suddenly rising: "Did you see that! Did you see that! It's the Spinning Snake Shot! Kaidou-senpai's signature move, the Spinning Snake Shot! Those two guys from Hyotei can't catch it at all!"
Katsuro Kato also shouted, "Go, Kaidou-senpai!"
Katsuo Mizuno pumped his fist, his mouth agape: "That was amazing! That shot was incredibly curved!"
Ryuzaki Sakuno clutched the hem of her clothes, her eyes sparkling, and a smile finally appeared on her lips.
In the press box, Saori Shiba was so excited, she almost jumped up, snapping several photos. When she put the camera down, a wide smile spread across her face: "I knew it! Kaidou's snake shot is just as powerful in doubles! Hyotei couldn't react at all!"
She paused, pumped her fist, and shouted "That's awesome!" her eyes sparkling. "Let's keep using this move and beat them all!"
Inoue sat up straighter and nodded with a smile: "The trajectory of a snake shot is inherently difficult to predict, let alone an upgraded version like the spin snake shot. As long as Kaidou can get the ball, that's their scoring opportunity."
The city is located on the outskirts of the field, in the southern part of Hunan.
Ruo Renhong whistled: "Wow, that's a pretty tricky angle. Using this in doubles makes things easier for the teammate."
"But look at that guy with the long hair at Hyotei," Kajimoto said, smoothing his wind-blown bangs. "He's watching where the ball will land. He should have memorized the trajectory of the last ball."
"But... remembering doesn't mean you can catch it," Ruoren added.
"We can catch it," Yohei and Kohei said at the same time, then looked at each other.
Kajimoto listened to their conversation without commenting, and his gaze returned to Shishido in Hyotei's half of the court.
On Rikkai's side, Marui stared at the field for a couple more seconds: "Oh! That's a snake shot? It's curved quite nicely."
"Based on the data, the ball's arc radius is about 1.2 meters, and the bounce angle is about 75 degrees. It's faster, more powerful, and has a better angle than his previous standard version." Liu's pen flew across the paper as he recited the data. "The landing point estimation is unstable. In singles, this ball would be completely out of bounds, but in doubles..."
"Double teams have a wider range of receiving opportunities," Niou said, stroking his chin and twirling his braid with his fingertips. "But those two from Hyotei aren't blind."
Sanada stood up, walked to the front, and said in a deep voice, "Whether it's a snake shot or a spin snake shot, the essence is still a curveball. If the rules of spin are figured out, the power will drop sharply... It's not a long-term solution."
Yukimura observed Luna in his arms with great interest. The little one was scratching at the polka dots on the fish with her paws, her round head turning back and forth with the sound of the ball being hit from the court, completely absorbed in the game.
He chuckled softly, without looking up, his voice so soft it was almost a soliloquy: "Hmm... it won't work for the next ball."
In the Hyotei rest area, Atobe didn't even lift his eyelids, casually flipping through two pages of the tactics book, as if that one point was completely insignificant.
Feng, who was on the field, came to her senses and looked at Shishido, who was turning his head back, with a questioning look in her eyes.
Shishido frowned, stared at the ball mark on the ground for two seconds, and then his brows quickly relaxed.
Mochizuki Ryo raised his eyes slightly and tapped his fingertips lightly on the armrest twice. He didn't get up or offer any instructions, but simply watched Shishido's back on the field with a calm expression.
Hyotei has practiced this type of curveball countless times. No matter how large the arc, it's still essentially a spin ball. Once you understand the spin pattern, it's not difficult to return.
After Haitang scored that point on the court, his entire demeanor changed noticeably.
He gripped his racket, hissing repeatedly, his gaze fixed on Shishido across from him, a hint of provocation in his eyes.
But Shishido didn't look at him.
He simply stood there, bent over, and rubbed the ground with the sole of his shoe, as if feeling the friction coefficient of the rubber. Then he straightened up, patted the strings of his racket, and exchanged a glance with Feng.
Feng nodded slightly.
On the fifth ball, Inui tried the same trick again, serving down the middle to look for another opportunity. His opponents did as they hoped, and Kaidou immediately launched his second topspin shot. His wrist flicked, the racket face grazing the ball…
Same movement, same arc.
But this time, before the ball even hit the ground, Shishido had already made his move.
Instead of standing still and waiting for the ball to finish its curve, he took a step to the side in advance, landing precisely at the point where the ball would land after its curve.
As soon as the ball bounced off the ground, his racket met it, the racket face precisely striking the ball's axis of rotation.
"boom!"
Not only did he block it, but he also added a bit of sidespin, returning a short, curved ball with a very small arc that grazed the net and landed near Kaido's feet.
The ball bounced very low; Kaidou lunged forward but couldn't reach it.
"Game, Hyotei. 1-0, switch sides."
After the referee announced the score, the entire stadium fell silent for a moment.
Then, the Hyotei cheering squad erupted in a unified shout, the sound waves crashing down from the sky.
Shishido stood at the net, racket across his shoulder, glancing at the two players on the opposite side of the Seigaku half of the court.
He raised his chin, his voice not loud, but carried clearly on the wind to the other side and to the ears of the audience in the front row: "Spinning Snake Shot... I thought it was something special, but it's just a curveball, as if nobody can't do it."
"They even named it 'Snake Ball,' they're quite good at patting themselves on the back."
He twirled the racket in his hand, his tone laced with undisguised sarcasm, "Hmph, this kind of half-finished technique is only watchable in doubles. In a singles match, it would have been out of bounds and a loss long ago."
"We're not like those two playful guys from the last game. We don't have time to play house with you. Let's finish this early and go back to your school to continue practicing."
After saying that, he turned around and walked back to his position, his back ramrod straight.
Feng followed behind him, giving a slight nod to the person opposite as a gesture of greeting, gentle as it was, but without any intention of yielding.
Kaidou's face had turned completely dark.
The veins on his forehead bulged, and he gripped his racket, ready to charge forward, hissing and panting like an enraged snake. Inui Sadaharu quickly reached out and grabbed him, whispering, "Calm down, don't fall for my tricks."
"Calm down my ass!" Kaidou shook off his hand, his voice low but filled with anger. "He's completely out of line!"
During the brief moments of their argument and tug-of-war, a murmur of discussion arose from the stands.
"They broke serve! Hyotei's doubles team is too ruthless, the shots are ruthless, and the words are even ruthless."
"Yeah, yeah! Hyotei's doubles team was really strong today. Seigaku Inui's stat-based tennis didn't seem to have any effect at all."
"And this is only the first game, and those two are already fighting amongst themselves."
"I thought the snake shot was a killer move, but they caught it on the second shot and even taunted me back."
"That Shishido guy, I remember he was a singles player during the Metropolitan Tournament, right? And he suffered a crushing defeat against Tachibana Yoshihira of Fudomine, didn't he? He switched to doubles, and their teamwork doesn't seem like they just started playing together."
"Look at Hyotei's positioning; their coverage is always incredibly timely. They can even anticipate those big, unpredictable shots like the 'Snake Shot.' How many times have they practiced that?"
……
In the press box, Saori Shiba, who was holding a camera, forgot to press the shutter button. She stared blankly for several seconds before turning her head to look at Mamoru Inoue.
"Inoue-senpai! This...this...how could Hyotei be so mean? Saying something like that...sigh...Inui's serve should be pretty solid, right?"
Inoue paused, his pen in hand, and his gaze fell on the two players from Hyotei on the court. He frowned slightly and said, "Hyotei's serve reception has improved so much. Just now, when they received the serve, their hitting speed was much faster than during the Metropolitan Tournament."
"This requires a very large amount of specialized training to achieve."
"Then Seigaku..." Shiba Saori became anxious upon hearing him say that, and her voice rose slightly.
"It's not time to draw conclusions yet," Inoue interrupted her, but his tone wasn't exactly calm. "Inui's data tennis needs to continuously adjust its model during matches; its adaptability later on is key. But..."
He paused, tapping the tip of his pen on the notebook: "The Hyotei doubles team is much stronger than we anticipated before the match."
Shiba Saori bit her lip, raised her camera again, and took a few pictures of Seigaku's half of the court, muttering to herself, "Go Inui... Go Kaidou... It's only the first set, we can definitely catch up."
In the viewing area of Rikkai University, a few people were also discussing in hushed tones.
"Damn, the people from Hyotei are all so sharp-tongued. Last time it was Mukahi, this time it's Shishido..."
Marui laughed so hard he slapped the railing. After calming down, he blew a bubble from his chewing gum and then sucked it back in with a "pop": "However, Shishido and Ootori's teamwork has improved a lot since the last training camp."
"Of course! They are one of the regular doubles teams trained by our Hyotei Academy, how could they not be strong!!!" Jiro leaned on the fence, his reddish-brown curly hair was messed up by the wind, and his tone was full of pride.
"Ling devised a doubles training program for them, and they practiced until very late every day. Sometimes I was so tired that I would wake up from a nap and still hear the sound of the ball being hit on the court."