The opening match would be Singles 3, with neither Yamabuki nor Shitenhouji knowing their opponent's lineup in advance.
Coach Banji had predicted that Shitenhouji would likely field Chitose Senri for this position. After all, Chitose had once been half of the legendary "Kyushu Duo," the ace doubles team from Shitenhouji before transferring schools. Though he'd switched to singles after joining Shitenhouji, intelligence suggested his current strength ranked second only to captain Shiraishi Kuranosuke. Placing their second-strongest player in the third singles slot would be a strategically sound decision.
On Shitenhouji's side, coach Watanabe Osamu expected Yamabuki to deploy Sengoku Kiyosumi. The "lucky" player had consistently occupied the third singles position throughout the national tournament. Yamabuki had maintained their batting order without variation since the competition began, essentially playing with their cards face-up for all opponents to see. Yet despite this transparency, no school had managed to defeat Yamabuki when they knew exactly what was coming.
Therefore, when the public address system announced "Fuji Shusuke versus Shiraishi Kuranosuke," both coaches registered genuine surprise. Coach Banji quickly masked his reaction - having Fuji face Shiraishi wasn't necessarily disadvantageous.
"It seems this fateful confrontation was inevitable," Gustave murmured from the stands, his eyes narrowing as he watched both players take the court. He vividly remembered that in the original timeline, Fuji's only official tournament loss had come against Shiraishi. The question now was whether this significantly stronger version of Fuji would suffer the same fate.
"Fuji, you've got this! Crush your opponent!" In Yamabuki's rest area, Eiji was cheering with the enthusiasm of a professional cheerleader, pumping his fists and practically bouncing in place.
Seeing such aggressive support from the Yamabuki camp, Shitenhouji's players responded with equally vocal encouragement for their captain. Before the match had even officially begun, both teams were engaged in a spirited battle of morale and momentum.
"Shiraishi Kuranosuke," the Shitenhouji captain introduced himself calmly.
"Fuji Shusuke," came the equally composed reply.
In stark contrast to the heated atmosphere surrounding them, both players maintained perfect composure. They shook hands with mutual respect, their professionalism evident despite the high stakes.
"Heads or tails?" the referee asked.
"Tails," Fuji responded.
"Understood."
The coin spun high into the air, catching the arena lights as both players watched its rotation intently. When it landed, Fuji had guessed correctly - perhaps benefiting from some of Sengoku's legendary luck.
"Looks like fortune favors me today," Fuji said with a gentle smile.
"Then make the most of it!" Shiraishi replied with equal warmth.
Both players moved to the baseline, and their previously friendly expressions transformed into masks of intense concentration. Even before the first serve, spectators could feel the tremendous pressure radiating from the court.
"Why does that Shitenhouji player have such thick bandaging on his left arm? Is he injured?" Luffy asked, pointing curiously at Shiraishi's wrapped forearm.
"Probably not an injury," Conan answered thoughtfully from the adjacent seat. "If he were hurt, I doubt Shitenhouji's coach would risk fielding him. Arm injuries can be career-ending for athletes, especially tennis players."
"Kudo, didn't you notice that the bandage has a bulge in the middle compared to the edges?" Ai's sharp observation skills had caught an important detail.
"It looks like there's some kind of brace or guard underneath the wrapping?" After Ai's prompting, Conan also spotted the irregularity, though he couldn't understand why a wrist guard would be so long and positioned on the forearm rather than the wrist itself.
Before Conan could analyze further, the match began.
Fuji bounced the tennis ball several times, adjusting his grip and timing before tossing it skyward.
"Hah!" The serve flew directly toward Shiraishi, who positioned himself to return it. But after completing his swing, he discovered he'd hit nothing but air.
"The Disappearing Serve!" Eiji shouted excitedly, naming the technique for the crowd.
"A disappearing serve - how intriguing. It creates visual deception for the opponent?" Shiraishi remained completely unfazed by missing the ball. Instead, a faint smile played across his features. Before the match, he'd studied detailed analyses of all three Yamabuki singles players. While Tezuka presented genuine challenges, Shiraishi felt confident against the others.
He returned to the baseline and waited calmly for Fuji's second serve.
If a technique was effective, why not continue using it? Fuji prepared to deliver another Disappearing Serve.
Despite being considered underdogs against Yamabuki, any school reaching the national semifinals possessed exceptional strength. Shitenhouji dominated the Kansai region, and Shiraishi hadn't even been seriously challenged until this point in the tournament.
Consequently, Inui's data collection on Shiraishi was frustratingly incomplete. Beyond knowing his reputation as the "Bible of Tennis" with comprehensive fundamental skills, they had almost no specific intelligence.
Facing such an enigmatic opponent, Fuji needed to secure the opening game as quickly as possible. He had to conserve energy for what would likely become a grueling, extended battle.
The second serve was identical - another Disappearing Serve.
The moment Fuji made contact with the ball, Shiraishi was already moving, sprinting toward the left corner with absolute certainty.
"Why is Shiraishi running that direction? The ball is clearly going to..." Hitouji's commentary was cut short as Shiraishi's racket connected cleanly, sending the return flying back across the net.
"Fuji's Disappearing Serve was broken that easily?" Oishi stared in disbelief. Apart from Tezuka, this was the first time anyone had countered Fuji's signature technique so quickly. Even during their battle with Rikkaidai, Sanada hadn't demonstrated such rapid adaptation.
Seeing his move neutralized so swiftly, Fuji's characteristic crescent-shaped squinting eyes slowly opened wider. He'd expected eventual adaptation, but not at this speed.
The scoreboard showed 15-15 - temporarily tied.
For the third serve, with his Disappearing Serve compromised, Fuji relied on placement and spin rather than visual trickery. Though the serve was well-executed and cleverly angled, it lacked the supernatural deception of his specialty technique.
Shiraishi moved with fluid efficiency, his return stroke showing no hesitation whatsoever. Fuji's serve came back with added pace and precision.
This time Fuji was prepared, meeting the ball cleanly and sending his own powerful return.
But Shiraishi had seemingly anticipated this exchange perfectly. He rushed the net with perfect timing, catching Fuji off-guard with a delicate drop shot that barely cleared the tape.
At this moment, Fuji couldn't help but fully open his eyes. Shiraishi's ability was exceeding all expectations.
"Excellent!" Shiraishi's smile conveyed genuine satisfaction with his tactical execution.
"Our opponent is actually showing dominance in the opening game?" Minami Kentaro couldn't believe what he was witnessing. Fuji, who held the firm number two position at Yamabuki, suddenly looked genuinely pressured.
"He's flawless. His playing style contains no unnecessary movements whatsoever - he's fighting Fuji using nothing but fundamental tennis at its highest level," Tezuka observed with characteristic calm, though his voice carried a note of admiration.
Unlike his nervous teammates, Tezuka not only maintained his composure but actually respected Shiraishi's approach. He'd always appreciated this type of complete, fundamentally sound player - after all, he was one himself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~