137. A Fleeting Victory

"I am very sorry, little Dongxiang, but these are the rules of the match. If a player touches the ball with any part of their body other than the racket, it is counted as a loss of point for that player." Kitau Kaede shook his head.

"In reality, according to the rules of tennis, hitting an opponent's body with the ball is not considered a violation," Inoue Mamoru added regretfully.

"Fuji-kun..." Shiba Saori didn't even want to film anymore; it was clear she was deeply distressed by Fuji's injury.

"Even though this style of play doesn't violate the rules, in practice, everyone treats not targeting the opponent's body as an unwritten rule. To do it intentionally would be seen as disgraceful. That's why we rarely see anyone who specifically targets others' bodies to score points. Kiryu Hiromi must be the exception to that rule," Kitau Sara sighed softly.

"Fuji's condition seems okay; he can still walk normally, so the injury shouldn't be too severe," Kitau Kaede said with a sigh of relief.

"But there's no guarantee he isn't just toughing it out..." Kitau Sara suggested the opposite possibility.

"Whatever the case may be, I don't think Fuji will choose to give up. If they lose this doubles match, it means the pressure on the singles matches will become immense. But if they don't lose, he has to put in even more effort than before, especially in his current physical condition," Inoue Mamoru remarked. For Fuji, there was no turning back now.

Akutsu tossed the ball into the air. Seeing him act with uncharacteristic caution, Inoue Mamoru seemed to notice something. "Akutsu doesn't seem to have his usual momentum. Looking at his serve, it feels a bit soft."

"I think he's probably looking out for Fuji. After all, we don't know the extent of his injury, and if Akutsu plays too intensely, he won't have the energy to help his partner. The current Akutsu is restrained by his concern for his teammate," Kitau Kaede said.

"The power has weakened—is he scared?!"

Taking a powerful swing at the incoming ball, Kiryu felt his blood boil at the dull thud echoing from the strings. Seeing the ball didn't head toward his side, Akutsu was about to assist Fuji in returning it when he saw Fuji dash forward. "Leave it to me!"

Fuji's initial steps were quick, but as he caught up to the ball, he felt a sudden surge of pain in his knee. Though it came and went quickly, Fuji adjusted briefly and prepared to swing, only to be surprised to see the ball rapidly spinning in the opposite direction!

"Don't think you can reach this one!"

Kiryu had intentionally added side spin to the previous shot, causing the ball to veer away from the opponent's dominant hand after crossing the net. Just as everyone thought Fuji wouldn't be able to reach it, he used his uninjured knee to firmly plant his stance and twisted his waist!

*Whack!*

"15-15!"

"What incredible flexibility! He actually turned and hit it with a backhand!" Kitau Kaede exclaimed, stunned.

Fuji's handsome and elegant backhand return shot back to the other side. Caught off guard, Kiryu stood frozen, looking completely dumbfounded.

"Fuji's potential is being gradually unlocked by his opponent's constant provocation. This situation might actually be a great experience for him," Tezuka finally sat down on the bench with peace of mind. He wasn't surprised by Fuji's performance; perhaps these flashes of brilliance were merely the tip of the iceberg of Fuji's true strength.

The match continued as a dazzling singles duel between Fuji and Kiryu, with Akutsu acting purely as a serving machine. Seeing Kiryu hit a lob, Fuji jumped high to smash it, but Kiryu wore a sinister smile.

"Huh?!"

Noticing the discrepancy between the ball's trajectory and where his racket was about to pass, Fuji immediately realized this was another high-difficulty shot with side spin, just like the previous one!

"Oh no, he can't use his waist to adjust his posture in mid-air like he did before!" Inoue Mamoru shouted as he watched the ball fly rapidly toward the area beneath Fuji's left foot.

Kiryu was waiting for Fuji to lose the point, but seeing the latter effortlessly flip his body backward in mid-air to swing without any leverage, he said in disbelief, "He actually performed a mid-air rotation?!"

"That move is the spectacular mid-air twisting volley from the Kisarazu brothers of Rokkaku Middle!" Shishido Ryo said, overlapping the scene he had seen before with the Fuji in front of him.

*Thud!*

"30-15!"

Fuji had used a backward rotation to increase his hitting point for the smash. The elegant posture was even more striking than his previous backhand return. Many of the girls who had been sighing in pity at Fuji's mid-air jump were stirred up again, their cheers echoing throughout the stadium!

"Fuji!"
"Fuji!"
"Fuji!"

Akutsu, having witnessed Fuji's gorgeous yet practical style, had his eyes opened. He never imagined that, besides himself, someone else could play such tennis. He gripped the ball, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly. "Just keep the lead."

Under the "red-eye" state, Kiryu continued to be suppressed by Fuji. Even when he used his greatly increased strength and speed to hit the ball in the opposite direction of Fuji’s movement, it still didn't stump him.

Using his left foot as a pivot, Fuji jumped sideways. As he flipped in the air, his body was almost parallel to the ground. He extended his racket early, and with the help of momentum, his arms spread wide like a giant roc, effortlessly hitting the ball near the baseline of the singles line!

"40-15!"

"Are all the players from Seigaku this terrifying?" Yagyu Hiroshi even began to doubt if Fuji Shusuke had truly been injured by Kiryu. Could what he was doing really be something a normal person could pull off?

"Light as a swallow... it's simply..." Tanaka Kohei felt cold sweat slide down his face.

"It's like he's flying..." Tanaka Yohei added.

"Game, Seigaku! 3-1! Fuji of Seigaku leads!"
"Game, Seigaku! 4-1! Change courts!"

Because Uehara was not in form, his service game was quickly broken by Akutsu. Hanamura Aoi noticed that because Kiryu had lost his cool, their original doubles chemistry had completely vanished. While changing courts, she warned sternly, "Kiryu, calm down. If you keep this up, you'll be cut in two by your opponents. In a singles match, Uehara would be no match for Fuji and Akutsu!"

Kiryu walked past Hanamura Aoi without saying a word. Seeing this, Uehara bowed and said, "Sumimasen, Hanamura-sensei."

"It's fine." Hanamura Aoi didn't blame Kiryu for his arrogance. She looked at Uehara and urged, "You must fully support Kiryu; you cannot let him take all the shots."

"I would love to, Hanamura-sensei, but as you can see, even if I try, Kiryu just rushes over to steal the ball. With that attitude of his, it's really hard to coordinate." Uehara had his own grievances; if he could help, he certainly would, but he really couldn't do anything to assist.

"In any case, do your best." Hanamura Aoi sighed and held her forehead.

"I understand."

It was Fuji's turn to serve. Facing the red-eyed Kiryu, he used an ordinary serve.

"What's going on? Vice-Captain Fuji isn't using that vanishing serve from earlier?" Akazawa Yoshirou suddenly remarked.