52. The Schemes of Sadaharu Kaneda

"Thirty-love!"

Seizing the moment when his opponents were unable to retaliate, Fuji scored the second point.

"Fuji's Grizzly Drop was triggered by capitalizing on the opportunity for a smash; if you had gone for the smash just now, Eiji, you would have fallen right into the trap," Oishi said with a sigh of relief, offering advice.

"Thanks, Oishi," Eiji said, grateful as he finally realized the danger.

"By the way, Eiji, you can pick up the pace a bit. The longer this drags on, the worse it'll be for us," Oishi warned, still wary of Sadaharu Inui. Although Inui hadn't participated in any Seigaku practice matches or even private doubles training in over a month, his grasp of data was meticulous. If he continued to collect information on Eiji and himself, things could turn for the worse.

"No problem, Oishi," Eiji immediately understood. Even as Fuji was becoming more and more difficult to handle, if he unleashed his full power, they might still reclaim the advantage. But if Inui got involved, the situation would only grow more dire.

"Hey!" Eiji served, Fuji returned swiftly, but from the second rally onward, Eiji's movements became noticeably faster and his receiving positions increasingly unconventional.

"He-ya!"

"Ha!"

Watching Eiji dance across the court, Masuhara felt as if he were watching a performance rather than a tennis match, with a background tune echoing in his mind—Eiji's style matched the music perfectly.

"I am Black Tiger, Big Cat Afu—Eiji Kikumaru! Are you ready to meet your fate!" Eiji's exceptional athleticism allowed him to respond to Fuji's returns with a variety of moves, which though flashy, enabled him to intercept at the net with astonishing speed.

His most iconic moves included the no-look side-body return, a backhand behind the head, scooping the ball between his legs, a fierce pouncing cat-style dive, and several gravity-defying single-handed jumping spins. With Eiji elevating his dance-like shots to the extreme, Fuji soon found the score reversed.

"Thirty-fifteen!"

"Thirty-all!"

"Forty-thirty!"

"Two-one! Seigaku leads!"

"Just with his dance-like shots, Eiji Kikumaru has left Fuji powerless—his athletic prowess is simply terrifying!" Inoue gushed with praise.

"Seigaku's Eiji... is he really that strong?" Winter Oda and Yuna Iwamura approached Inoue, listening in disbelief as he explained. The former couldn't believe that Fuji, whose dazzling style had once inspired cheers from everyone, was now flustered by someone performing acrobatics.

"Eiji's flexibility gives him the edge to execute high-difficulty moves. Coupled with his dynamic strength and reflexes, even if Fuji hits tricky shots, Eiji can seize the opportunity to counter even faster. Plus, even if Eiji is beaten, Oishi is there to cover him," Inoue agreed, nodding.

"Huff... huff..."

Fuji gradually weakened. Despite his superior ball control and technique, he couldn't keep up with Eiji's high-difficulty shots, often finding himself outmaneuvered every time he prepared to strike—the ball would already be out of reach.

"I need to conserve my stamina..." Fuji realized that if he kept dueling with Eiji, he'd soon collapse from exhaustion, leaving Inui without updated data—dangerous!

A warm touch on his shoulder made Fuji turn. Inui smiled confidently at him. After a moment's pause, Fuji smiled back, "Have you updated the data?"

"Yes, though it took two games, I've finally devised a plan to counter them," Inui said, adjusting his glasses and sharing the plan with Fuji.

"Damn... We didn't make it in time?" Eiji's heart sank, his brows furrowing.

"Don't worry, Eiji. Even if they've come up with an effective strategy, we're not just going to stand there like targets," Oishi reassured him.

"Is that so? It really is a bold plan," Fuji smiled after listening carefully. Inui pushed his glasses up and said with a grin, "All that's left is for you to put it into action."

"I'd like to try it myself," Fuji said, then tossed the ball up.

"It's not the disappearing serve!" Inoue quickly commented as he saw Fuji's motion.

"Whack!"

Eiji received the ball, but when it reached Fuji, he simply stepped aside.

Inui swung his racket, sending the tennis ball past Eiji toward the baseline. Seeing this, Eiji called out loudly, "Great chance, Oishi!"

Oishi shared Eiji's thought—dragging his racket along the ground for a brief slide, then quickly striking the ball with the sweet spot of the racket.

"Here it comes, it's the Moon Volley!" Shisaori exclaimed.

"Fuji's gone?!" Winter Oda noticed something was off. Inoue and Shisaori caught onto it as well, but the voices from the crowd directed their attention to Fuji's new position.

"Shusuke Fuji and Sadaharu Inui have switched places!"

The two had completely swapped their doubles formation—Inui now guarded the net, while Fuji handled the backcourt. As Oishi's Moon Volley shot toward the baseline, Fuji was already waiting.

As the ball spun rapidly at the baseline and bounced up, Fuji's smiling eyes suddenly opened wide, his grin vanishing as his fingers quietly spread toward the incoming tennis ball.

"Just as Inui predicted," Fuji's messy hair fluttered, his shirt billowing without wind. As his right hand raised the racket, his blue eyes narrowed, the black pupils contracting sharply.

Twisting his racket face diagonally downward for a slicing motion, his arm then swung upward.

"Whack!"

The tennis ball shot down like lightning behind Eiji, spinning in place for a few seconds before skimming along the court at high speed.

"Swish, swish!"

"Fifteen-love!"

"It didn't bounce..." Eiji said in disbelief.

"What was that... Not only did he return my Moon Volley, but the ball seemed to glide along the ground," Oishi said nothing, but his stunned expression revealed he was completely taken aback by Fuji's shot.

Fuji maintained his upward swing, his right arm and wind-swept bangs fully obscuring the left side of his face. Only one eye was visible, like a silent assassin unleashing a deadly blow after an eternity of calm—scoring with precision.

"Incredible—he actually made the ball glide right along the ground..." Inoue's mouth hung open.

"Along with the earlier dazzling Grizzly Drop, this move is the first of Fuji's Triple Counter techniques, developed during the school ranking matches—the Swallow Return," Winter Oda explained.

"Swallow Return?" Shisaori and Inoue echoed.

"It's said to use the opponent's topspin, doubling the outward rotation so that after landing, the ball doesn't bounce but instead skims quickly along the ground," Yuna Iwamura recalled, tapping her chin.

"So that's how it works..." Inoue mused. Like the Grizzly Drop, the Swallow Return also relies on borrowing the opponent's power—using their force to counterattack. The stronger the opponent's shot, the stronger Fuji's return. Because Oishi's Moon Volley was a powerful topspin volley, Fuji's Swallow Return was its perfect counter.

On the court, Fuji and Inui walked together and exchanged a high five. Fuji smiled, eyes narrowed, "It's very effective. Oishi's Moon Volley is a strong topspin volley."

"It's all thanks to you for developing the first Triple Counter during the school ranking matches. If it weren't a move that perfectly counters topspin and makes it impossible for the opponent to return, running to the backcourt to intercept would be foolish. But now, the Moon Volley is useless," Inui said, his glasses reflecting a bright light as he smiled at the opposition.

"The first of the Triple Counter..." Oishi heard the term Swallow Return and remembered Fuji had said Grizzly Drop was also one of them. He returned to his position smiling, "So it's a move designed to counter the Moon Volley. If possible, I'd really like to see your third counter technique."

"You won't see it today," Fuji replied, standing at the backcourt and bouncing the tennis ball on the ground with a slight smile.

Fuji deliberately served within Eiji's reach, then Inui engaged in close rallies. Soon, Inui calculated the exact moment when neither Eiji nor Oishi could return, sending the ball to the right midline for a point.

"Thirty-love!"

In the next two rallies, Fuji again had Inui duel Eiji. As expected, Inui exploited gaps in their reactions to score repeatedly.

"Forty-love!"

"Two-all!"

Oishi and Eiji couldn't make sense of what was happening—their rhythm was completely disrupted. Even when it was their turn to serve, Inui easily manipulated the flow.

"Three-two! Evergreen leads!"

Sensing something, Oishi quickly had Eiji position parallel to him during the match. But during a run, Eiji slipped and fell, and Fuji, with precise control, sent the ball to Oishi's favorite backcourt spot for a point.

"Fifteen-love!"

"Are you okay, Eiji?" Oishi pulled him up.

"I'm fine..." Eiji replied, head down.

"Eiji, they're acting strangely..." Oishi wiped the sweat from his chin, but before he could finish, he heard ragged breathing beside him.

Turning abruptly to Eiji, Oishi saw him drenched in sweat, clutching his knees and panting heavily, struggling to speak, "Eiji... is it...?"

Looking at the opposing Inui and Fuji, who were still in good condition, Oishi felt a sudden chill and muttered, "Could it be... Inui targeted Eiji's stamina from the moment Fuji switched to the backcourt, not just to restrict me?"

"So you finally noticed. But Oishi, you got one thing wrong. Having Fuji in the backcourt wasn't just to restrict you—it was also to exhaust Eiji's stamina as much as possible," Inui said, his glasses reflecting a blinding light, his voice calm.