The fourth game began with Yanagi Renji serving. The tennis ball headed toward Eiji's lower right side. According to his calculations, Yanagi had identified this as being outside Eiji's comfort zone. While Eiji could handle the ball without problem, it would disrupt his previous playing rhythm.
As predicted, although Eiji managed the return, his movements looked somewhat uncoordinated - something that should never happen with an acrobatic tennis player of his caliber.
"Perfect. Next ball, cut fifteen degrees to the right."
Yanagi watched Eiji's counterattack unfold exactly according to the data model in his mind, immediately determining his next play.
Yanagi sliced the ball with a slight downward angle, sending it spinning at high speed as it brushed the net and passed through. At the same time, he called out to alert his partner:
"Bunta, three steps right - short ball incoming!"
Because of that net shot, Eiji was forced into a drop shot. Marui, having moved into perfect position, caught the ball easily. He jumped lightly and delivered a short, powerful smash.
Eiji could only watch helplessly as the ball flew past him. Oishi behind him gave his all trying to reach it, and though he managed to make contact, Yanagi - having already calculated the optimal positioning - scored with a cleverly angled shot to the right corner.
From this point forward, Eiji and Oishi moved like puppets on strings. Whatever Yanagi predicted, they would do. Even though both players consciously tried to resist Yanagi's "prophecies," their bodies unconsciously followed his calculations.
Following Yanagi's precise instructions, Marui was always able to reach the designated position first, then counterattack and score with ease.
The once-favorable 3-0 situation suddenly became 3-2 after Yanagi completed his data update, with Eiji and Oishi losing two consecutive games.
"Data tennis is terrifying!"
Higashikata Masami felt his nerves tighten watching the court action. If he and Minami Kentaro were facing Yanagi, they'd probably end up exactly like Eiji and Oishi - consciously resisting, but their bodies always moving according to the "prophecy."
"Brother Gustave, why did the two big brothers from Yamabuki suddenly start losing?"
Anya couldn't understand why Eiji and Oishi, who had been in such a good position, suddenly began falling apart. It didn't make sense.
"Anya, it's because that squinty-eyed brother on the other side has built a complete data model in his mind. By inputting information about Yamabuki's two players, he can predict their next moves. This is called data tennis."
"But it's not easy to achieve. You need an incredibly smart brain to pull this off."
Every time Gustave witnessed this level of data tennis mastery, he couldn't help but marvel at the required intelligence and processing speed needed to accomplish such feats.
Data tennis players like Yanagi Renji, Inui, and Mitsuya Akutsu used their brilliant minds to push the limits of human analytical ability.
"Amazing!"
Though Anya didn't fully understand what Gustave meant by "data model," she clearly heard the words "prediction" and "smart brain."
Anya began fantasizing - if she had a brain as smart as Yanagi's, wouldn't she be able to easily pass entrance exams without having to eavesdrop on people's thoughts? That way she could help Papa complete his mission!
"Anya has decided to learn data tennis!"
Fire blazed in Anya's eyes as she stood up with fierce determination, pointing at Yanagi.
"Huh?"
Gustave tilted his head, studying Anya. What had gotten into this kid? Why the sudden interest in data tennis?
"Anya, what brought this on so suddenly?"
"Because, because, because Anya wants to be smarter!"
Unable to tell Gustave she wanted to learn data tennis to help her spy father complete missions, Anya thought hard and settled on this explanation.
"I see. Since Anya wants to learn data tennis, let me introduce you to that big brother with the black-framed glasses."
Gustave pointed toward Inui with a smile.
"Anya wants to learn from that squinty-eyed brother though!"
"Anya, the brother with black-framed glasses is also a data tennis expert, and he's a friend of mine. His name is Inui Sadaharu."
Hearing Gustave's explanation, Anya switched targets:
"Okay! Anya will learn data tennis from Inui!"
For Anya, as long as she could learn data tennis, it didn't matter who taught her.
After listening to the entire conversation between Gustave and Anya, Ai turned to Conan and asked:
"Hey, Kudo, could you do what Rikkaidai's Yanagi is doing?"
"How is that even possible? Sure, I'm smart, but I can't just build data models in my head and predict moves by inputting opponent information. That's simply not something normal humans can do!"
Though Conan was familiar with Yamabuki's tennis team and knew Inui played data tennis, he'd never actually seen a match before, so he hadn't understood what data tennis truly entailed. Witnessing Yanagi's performance today, Conan realized these data tennis players were genuinely superhuman.
If such players came to his world to commit crimes, Conan couldn't imagine how much trouble they'd cause him.
"Haibara, don't just talk about me - what about you? Could the scientists in your organization pull this off?"
After discussing himself, Conan thought of Ai. Despite being only eighteen, she'd led the Black Organization's scientific research and developed compounds like APTX4869. When it came to data tennis, she should be capable, right?
Ai simply shook her head:
"Given enough data, I could build predictive models, but I can't input them directly into my brain for real-time calculations. I'd need computer assistance."
Even a genius like Ai had to admit these data tennis players were abnormal. Their brains functioned like living computers.
Back on the court, after losing two straight games, Eiji and Oishi decided they needed to change tactics.
"Oishi, let's start it next round."
"Eiji, can you handle it?"
"No problem! Trust me, Oishi."
They were discussing synchronization. Faced with Yanagi's overwhelming data tennis, neither could think of another way to break the stalemate. Perhaps only by achieving synchronization could they possibly turn things around.
But just like the State of Self, once synchronization activated, physical energy consumption would double. If there were any other option, Eiji and Oishi would prefer not to use it.
"I understand, Eiji."
Seeing Eiji's resolve, Oishi nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, on Rikkaidai's side:
"Bunta, next game there's an eighty-five percent chance our opponents will activate Synchro."
Based on his mental calculations, Yanagi reached this conclusion.
"Got it!"
Marui's expression turned serious. As someone capable of synchronization himself, he understood its power better than anyone. It could merge two teammates into a single unit. The next game would be extremely difficult.