74. Breaking the Telepathy of Data and Information

With ninety percent of his strength behind a blistering serve, Sadaharu Inui left Saten Mikami rooted to the spot, unable to even react as the score widened once more.

“Forty to love!”

“Who would’ve thought Inui from Evergreen could overwhelm Senior Mikami so thoroughly...” Off the court, Ayami Higashi gripped the wire fence in astonishment.

“Inui’s serve is incredibly fast—must be at least 160 or 170 kilometers per hour,” said Kiyosumi Sengoku, his eyes narrowing as he spoke in a low voice.

“What? Is it really that fast? Isn’t he just a first-year student?” Ryuishi Takahashi, a third-year with a brash air, was left dumbfounded.

“Yeah, a typical first-year would serve at about 140 to 150, but this Inui is clearly no ordinary first-year,” Sengoku replied, offering an example.

“This is the final point. If Inui wins it, he’ll have securely held his service game,” Saori Shiba subconsciously clenched her fists.

With a resounding crack, Inui unleashed his fastest serve yet, pouring in his full strength. Everyone expected the Mikami brothers to concede the game without resistance. Yet, just as Saten Mikami missed the ball, he suddenly shifted aside, opening up space.

“What?!”

The crowd watched, stunned, as Uten Mikami, standing behind Saten, intercepted Inui’s serve in his place.

“Hey!” Without much effort, Uten returned the ball. Both Inui and Renji Yanagi were caught off guard as the tennis ball traced a sharp V across the air.

“Fifteen to forty!”

“Was Saten feinting, letting Uten, hidden behind him, take the shot instead...?” Inui watched the brothers across the net with growing seriousness.

“Sadaharu, I think those two are able to synchronize like this because of that so-called telepathy,” Yanagi analyzed.

“Yeah, even though we were somewhat prepared, seeing such uncanny coordination is still astonishing,” Inui nodded.

“How is this even possible?”

Fuyuka Oda and Yuuna Iwamura, also watching from outside, stood beside Narue Matsubara, the former looking incredulous.

“I suppose it’s because Saten and Uten are blood brothers. It’s a bond of understanding and trust that comes from being family. That’s how they can sense each other’s state and take over when needed,” Matsubara explained in a measured tone. It seemed, then, that the rumors were true: the Mikami brothers could indeed play tennis by relying on a mysterious telepathic bond.

She was surprised, but for Matsubara, it wasn’t beyond belief. After all, in both the Prince of Tennis and its sequel, there were even more outrageous synchronization skills, like the Synchro Resonance between Kikumaru and Oishi, where two players could move as one without exchanging a word—almost like a fusion technique from Dragon Ball.

Though the Mikami brothers’ telepathy resembled Synchro, it was more akin to the Mirage Overlap performed by Shishido and Ohtori, where two players moved so closely together they appeared as a single person. To the casual observer, only one would be visible at the net, but in truth, both were there; the forward could strike or feint, leaving the rear guard to handle the ball.

“One to zero!”

Inui increased the force behind his serve to one hundred and twenty percent. With such overwhelming speed and power, the Mikami brothers’ synchronization failed them; Saten, unable to withstand the impact, could only watch as the ball crashed through his defense.

“Phew...”

“Are you alright, Sadaharu?” Yanagi noticed Inui’s slightly heavy breathing and asked.

“I’m fine. We had to win that point—if we let them regain their footing, we might lose the initiative,” Inui replied, shaking his head.

“True, but we’re not unprepared either,” Yanagi smiled faintly. Inui, hearing this, returned a small smile as well.

“Those two... They’re so pleased over taking just one game. Brother, let’s show them our true strength!” Uten Mikami protested indignantly.

“Of course. Let’s show them the power of our brotherly teamwork,” Saten replied, pulling a tennis ball from his pocket and tossing it high.

With a sharp crack, the serve was delivered, and a fierce rally ensued between Saten and Inui. Then, spotting an opening on the right, Saten pointed his racquet decisively.

“What?!” Yanagi, anticipating the move, suddenly appeared on the right as if he had foreseen it. A wide gap opened between the Mikami brothers, and Yanagi aimed the ball straight between them.

“Fifteen to love!”

“Brother, it’s as if they can see through our moves. That last shot...” Uten’s heart pounded with unease.

“Data tennis, is it? There’s no such thing as predicting reality through data—it was just a lucky guess. Let’s keep using our strategy,” Saten said stubbornly.

“Understood,” Uten replied.

On the second serve, another rally played out between Inui and Saten. This time, Inui drove the ball into an open space on the left, and Yanagi, once again anticipating perfectly, intercepted and sent it back. Yet his attempt at the baseline didn’t score; Uten, already in position, returned it with ease.

“Fifteen all!”

“Was that a prediction?” Matsubara watched the Mikami brothers score, her expression growing tense. Before Yanagi hit the ball, Uten had already been running for the baseline. There was no way he could have analyzed Yanagi’s intentions that quickly from the back court; it must have been Saten’s judgment, indirectly guiding his brother.

“This telepathy is almost like the Rinnegan’s shared vision in Naruto...” Matsubara couldn’t help but comment. Fuyuka Oda, standing nearby, seemed to overhear and asked, “Shared vision?”

Yanagi was momentarily at a loss for words. For an instant, he felt the data was slipping from his grasp—the Mikami brothers wielded their telepathy with such skill that they could even disrupt the patterns calculated from data.

“Thirty to fifteen!”

“Forty to fifteen!”

“One all!”

Using their telepathic connection, the Mikami brothers countered Inui and Yanagi’s data-driven play and surged ahead, stringing together four consecutive points to tie the score.

“The Mikami brothers’ telepathy isn’t something ordinary players can handle. Their silent communication, without even a glance, makes it impossible for the opponent to predict their next move. All the data in the world is useless if you can’t anticipate what your enemy will do—the information just becomes a stumbling block,” said Kentaro Minami, captain of the Yamabuki Tennis Club, clearly confident in the Mikami brothers.

“Using synchronization to play beyond the data, is it?” Inui thought, pulling a tennis ball from his pocket. The two brothers divided their roles—one forward, one back—and their positions were anything but conventional: Saten took the net, while Uten stationed himself almost beyond the baseline.

In this way, their formation had no weaknesses in the front or back. As for the open left and right sides, they relied on their so-called telepathy to indirectly convey each other’s analysis. This allowed Uten to anticipate and appear at the ball’s likely location, ready to strike.

Zibi Literature