"I never expected my opponent would be the genius Fuji Shusuke. How lucky!"
During the pre-match handshake, Mori Jusaburo opened his sleepy eyes and spoke with genuine excitement.
"I'm equally fortunate. I didn't expect to face you, Mori-senpai!"
Fuji maintained his characteristic smile as a gentle breeze swept across the entire venue.
Compared to the tense doubles match, the atmosphere for this singles encounter felt remarkably relaxed. Watching from the stands, spectators might think they were witnessing a friendly exhibition rather than a championship-deciding battle.
"These two are way too chill about this!"
Seeing the scene unfold, Gustave couldn't help but comment. This was clearly a match that would determine the national champion, yet neither Mori nor Fuji showed any signs of tension whatsoever.
"Brother Gustave, I think this is wonderful! Isn't it better when everyone plays tennis together happily?"
Yang Chan looked up at Gustave with her big, sparkling eyes and spoke in her adorably earnest voice.
"You're absolutely right, Yang Chan. Everyone should play tennis with joy!"
Gustave smiled warmly and patted Yang Chan's head affectionately.
Next to Gustave, occupying seats that Shanks and his crew had "generously" provided so Gustave could make a small profit from scalpers, Atobe was glaring daggers at Mori Jusaburo.
"Atobe, you're not still bitter about losing that previous match, are you?"
Seeing Atobe grinding his teeth, Oshitari Yuushi couldn't resist some gentle teasing.
"Tch! As if I'd be upset over one little setback! What kind of petty person do you take me for?"
Despite his protests, Atobe's obviously defensive reaction completely betrayed his true feelings.
The reason for Atobe's current state could be traced back to the other semifinal match several days earlier, when Rikkaidai's opponent had been Hyotei.
Thanks to the national-level doubles pair of Maeda and Takamiya carried over from the previous tournament, Hyotei might not have been as dominant as Rikkaidai or Yamabuki, but they possessed outstanding talent in both singles and doubles. Though their path had been rocky, Hyotei had still managed to stumble their way into the national top four, matching the best result from the previous captain Ochi Gekko's tenure.
Of the tournament's final four teams, three hailed from the Kanto region. If not for Kansai's Shitenhoji representing the fourth spot, the other regions would have been completely embarrassed.
However, even during Byodoin Hoo's era when he led Makinotou to consecutive championships, both Rikkaidai and Hyotei had managed semifinal appearances. The Kanto region's strength was traditional - a tradition that had only grown stronger after Tezuka and his teammates joined Yamabuki.
Therefore, Atobe, who had led his team into the national semifinals for the first time, had been fired up with ambition, determined to guide Hyotei to unprecedented glory.
Objectively speaking, Hyotei was probably the weakest among the final four, but when had Atobe ever backed down from a challenge?
Facing the powerhouse Rikkaidai, Atobe had positioned himself in singles two while assigning Oshitari to singles one. In his own words:
"This ensures Hyotei can defeat Rikkaidai as quickly as possible, allowing us to advance to the finals and face Yamabuki once again!"
So the supremely confident Atobe had encountered Mori Jusaburo, this sleepy-looking guy who appeared completely harmless, in their singles match.
No matter how much Atobe had tried to provoke him, Mori had simply done his own thing, which had thoroughly irritated the Hyotei captain.
Using his Ice World ability, Atobe had sailed through the first two games, consistently finding and exploiting Mori's apparent weaknesses.
But starting with the third game, Atobe's nightmare had begun. Mori had simply closed his eyes and fallen asleep, which had initially made Atobe laugh. Had Mori really just given up because he couldn't win?
In Atobe's Ice World, the sleeping Mori had seemed to have weaknesses everywhere - surely victory was guaranteed no matter where he aimed.
However, before Atobe could celebrate, reality had delivered a crushing blow. No matter which of Mori's "weaknesses" he targeted with his shots, the sleeping player had returned every single ball.
After winning those first two games, Atobe had been defeated by Mori in six straight games, completely shattering his composure. How could his Ice World, which revealed every opponent's weakness, prove utterly useless? Atobe had begun questioning his very existence. Was it actually Mori who was sleeping, or was he trapped in some nightmare?
After the match, Atobe had pinched himself hard. The intense pain had confirmed he was wide awake, not dreaming. He'd genuinely been destroyed by a sleeping Mori Jusaburo.
While ordinary people might have wallowed in such a defeat for weeks, was Atobe ordinary? His boundless self-confidence simply couldn't be shaken by normal standards. In less than a single night, he'd already reclaimed his former swagger.
But now, seeing Mori again in another singles two match, that thorn in Atobe's heart ached slightly as unpleasant memories resurfaced.
Adding insult to injury, the tournament organizers hadn't even given him proper seating, forcing him to buy tickets from scalpers. Atobe's accumulated frustration finally erupted.
"Hey, Fuji from Yamabuki! Teach that sleeping guy from Rikkaidai a proper lesson!"
Atobe shot to his feet, shouting loudly enough for half the stadium to hear.
Hearing this outburst, Oshitari immediately lowered his head, acting like he'd never seen this person before in his life.
Atobe's voice attracted considerable attention from the surrounding crowd, including Gustave.
"What's gotten into him? Why the sudden meltdown?"
Gustave looked puzzled. Throughout the previous matches, Atobe had remained perfectly quiet, so what had triggered this explosion?
Faced with bewildered stares from nearby spectators, Atobe snorted derisively, then sat back down with his arms crossed, looking as petulant as a spoiled child.
Since Atobe was in the front row as close to the court as possible, his shout had naturally been heard by Fuji, Mori, and both teams.
"Why does Atobe seem to hate you so much?"
During their handshake, Fuji asked with genuine curiosity.
"Atobe? Who's that?"
Mori looked completely baffled.
"The guy in the front row with the tear mole under his eye who just yelled at me."
"Oh... maybe because I beat him in the semifinals?"
"Just because you beat him?"
Fuji found this hard to believe. Would Atobe really react so strongly over a single match result? After all, he hadn't shown nearly this level of emotion when losing to Shiraishi - and that had been his first official tournament defeat.
"I honestly don't know. Can't think of any other reason besides that."
"I see."
If even the person directly involved couldn't explain it, what else could Fuji say?
"Why is Atobe being so petty? It's just because he lost to Mori-senpai, right?"
In Rikkaidai's rest area, Niō Masaharu complained openly.
"Quiet!"
The moment Niō spoke up, Sanada immediately barked for silence.
"Tch, how boring."
Niō felt that Sanada's uptight lifestyle must be exhausting - always so rigid about everything. If he had to live like that, he'd probably go insane.