*Chapter 93: Using Ishikawa as the Breakthrough? Kaidoh's Miscalculation (Part 4)*

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!  

The helicopter dropped off its passengers and flew away. However, this sudden turn of events caught the attention of other members from Rikkai Dai. One by one, they began to gather at the scene.

The first group to arrive was met with a surprising sight.

"Isn't that Kaidoh from the tennis club? He's a second-year, right?"

"That's weird. I heard the alumni from their tennis club returned today for an important match. Isn't he a regular? Why isn't he there?"

"Who knows? I heard he's got a bit of a temper. Those two over there are probably from another school—looks like they're being targeted."

More and more people began to arrive, putting Kaidoh in an awkward position. The captain from Hyotei, standing in front of him, showed no interest in accepting his challenge.

"What's the matter?" Kaidoh sneered when the other didn't respond. "The great captain of Hyotei is too scared to accept a challenge from a regular like me from Rikkai Dai?"

"It's not that I won't accept," Atobe replied coolly, his expression unreadable as he glanced at Kaidoh. "You're just not worth my time. If it were Sanada, maybe I'd consider it."

"You—!" Kaidoh was taken aback. He hadn’t expected to be completely dismissed. His face twitched, and his gaze quickly shifted to the boy standing beside Atobe. "Fine, if I'm not good enough for you, how about your regular here? Surely, he’s no problem, right?"

"Hmm?" Atobe raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his tone. "Are you sure about that?"

His gaze lingered on Kaidoh, making the latter feel uneasy.

"Of course," Kaidoh replied confidently, nodding firmly.

Atobe chuckled softly and turned to the boy beside him. "What do you think?"

Though he was the captain, Atobe never forced his teammates into anything. Besides, he had to show basic respect to this player, who was on the same level as him.

"I don’t mind," Ishikawa said with a faint smile. "I’d like to see just how strong Kaidoh-senpai, Rikkai Dai’s second-year ace, really is."

"Rikkai Dai’s ace? Hah, you’ve got a good eye—wait." Kaidoh was initially pleased by the compliment but suddenly realized something. "You called me 'senpai'... Are you a first-year?"

Instantly, his enthusiasm for the match waned. For Kaidoh, the real challenge was facing upperclassmen like Atobe. Beating someone younger didn’t feel like an accomplishment—it might even make him look like a bully.

"What’s wrong?" Ishikawa teased, noticing Kaidoh’s hesitation. "Senpai, are you... scared?"

"Tch!" Kaidoh’s pride was stung. He glared at Ishikawa and said coldly, "You asked for this. Don’t cry when I wipe the floor with you!"

With that, the two of them headed back to the secluded court where the earlier match had taken place.

"Oh no, not good!" Kuta and Miyamoto, who had just gotten up and were still rubbing their sore muscles, panicked when they saw Kaidoh storming back. "That demon’s back!"

Without a second thought, they bolted, leaving their rackets behind in their haste.

Ishikawa walked over, picked up one of the rackets, and gave it a few test swings to get a feel for it. He then tossed the other racket back to the two fleeing players. "Senpai, mind if I borrow these for a bit?"

"Who... who is that guy?" Kuta asked, staring in shock at the black-haired boy walking onto the court. "He’s not from Rikkai Dai. Is he from another school? Did Kaidoh target him too?"

"Probably," Miyamoto nodded.

The two exchanged glances, their eyes filled with pity. Having lost to Kaidoh themselves, they knew just how terrifying his skills were. Even top players from top schools in Chiba or Tokyo would struggle against this Rikkai Dai monster.

"Wait a minute," Kuta suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Isn’t that Hyotei’s Atobe over there?"

"It is him!" Miyamoto’s expression turned to one of surprise.

They hadn’t expected to run into such a prominent figure here.

"Hold on," Kuta said, realization dawning on him. "If Atobe’s here, then that guy Kaidoh’s targeting... is he from Hyotei too?"

"Uh-oh," Miyamoto’s face lit up with excitement.

Rikkai Dai vs. Hyotei?

Was this a preview of things to come?

However, the player representing Hyotei didn’t seem to be one of their well-known regulars like Oshitari or Shishido. Against Kaidoh, he probably didn’t stand much of a chance.

Still, the two couldn’t help but feel a spark of anticipation. If this Hyotei player lost, Atobe might step in. And if Kaidoh couldn’t handle Atobe, Sanada might show up to back him up.

In the end, this could turn into an early showdown between the top players of Rikkai Dai and Hyotei.

Just the thought of it was thrilling!

"Hey," Kaidoh called out from the court, tossing a tennis ball and lightly bouncing it with his racket. "You serve first."

Since his opponent was a first-year and this was Rikkai Dai’s turf, Kaidoh wasn’t about to take the first move.

"Thanks, senpai," Ishikawa said with a polite smile, catching the ball with his racket.

Tap! Tap! Tap!  

He bounced the ball a few times, then looked up at Kaidoh. "Senpai, be careful. I’m about to serve!"

Whoosh!  

With that, he tossed the ball into the air.

"Careful?" Kaidoh smirked, his tone dripping with disdain. "Bring it on. A first-year’s serve isn’t even worth my attention."

Thwack!  

The next moment, the ball shot off like an arrow, tracing a perfect arc through the air before landing sharply on the inside corner of Kaidoh’s right front court.

"Huh?" Kaidoh’s expression shifted as he felt the precision and sharpness of the serve. "Not bad. I guess you’ve got some skill after all."

His eyes narrowed as he predicted the ball’s trajectory and prepared to return it with a swift swing.

Swish!  

But to his surprise, the ball, which should have bounced to his right, suddenly changed direction and shot straight toward his face.

"An... an outward spin serve?!" Kaidoh’s eyes widened in shock as he quickly tilted his head to avoid getting hit.

"15-0," Ishikawa announced, smiling at Kaidoh. "Senpai, you really shouldn’t lose focus during a match. Getting hit by a tennis ball wouldn’t be fun, would it?"

"You're dead!"

Hearing the mockery in the other's tone, Kaidoh's face flushed red with anger. "Again!" he shouted.

This time.

He got into a serious stance, ready to receive the serve.

Thwack!

But this time.

Ishikawa, holding the racket in his right hand, sent the ball to Kaidoh's left side.

"A high-speed serve?"

Kaidoh's eyebrows raised as he read the trajectory.

He had expected the other to continue showing off with another twist serve. To his surprise, Ishikawa had changed tactics on the second serve.

"He must have realized I can see through the variations of his twist serve," Kaidoh thought to himself, a smirk forming on his lips. "Not bad, figuring out he needed to switch things up. Too bad for him, I’ve already seen through his plan!"

Swish!

Without hesitation, Kaidoh shifted his racket and moved to the left.

Whoosh!

But to his shock.

The moment the ball bounced, it unexpectedly changed direction, veering sharply to the right.

"What?!"

Kaidoh was caught completely off guard.

He couldn’t believe it. The serve had come from right to left (relative to him), and the landing spot was on his left side. Yet, the ball had bounced to the right. This defied everything he understood about twist serves!

Thwack!

Luckily.

His instincts kicked in, and he instinctively raised his racket to block the incoming ball.

Tap-tap-tap...

His return, however, lacked power and only managed to bounce a short distance.

"30-0," Ishikawa calmly announced the score.

He then added with a hint of concern, "Senior, didn’t I tell you earlier not to lose focus during the match? You really should listen. If you got hit by the ball, I’d feel terrible."

"You jerk!" Kaidoh seethed, his teeth grinding in frustration.

But with two consecutive points lost, he had no ground to argue. And from an outsider’s perspective, Ishikawa’s words were perfectly reasonable. This only made the hot-tempered Kaidoh even more furious.

Suppressing his rage, Kaidoh bit back the angry words bubbling up inside him and forced out two words: "Again. Now."

"Alright," Ishikawa replied, feigning reluctance. "If you insist, I’ll just go with a regular serve this time."

"Wait—" Kaidoh tried to stop him.

But before he could finish, the serve was already on its way. And true to his word, it was just a plain, ordinary serve.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" Kaidoh cursed inwardly.

The twist serve only had two variations. With his reflexes, once he knew what to expect, returning it would’ve been a piece of cake. But now, Ishikawa had stopped using it, acting all high and mighty like he was doing Kaidoh a favor by not embarrassing him further.

This left Kaidoh, who had been itching to return a twist serve and redeem himself, utterly frustrated.

Thwack!

But there was no time to dwell on it.

The serve was already coming at him, and Kaidoh had no choice but to grit his teeth and return it.

Thwack!

However.

Ishikawa suddenly countered with a lightning-fast straight shot.

"Hmph!" Kaidoh snorted, immediately sprinting after the ball. Once he caught up, a cold glint flashed in his eyes. "You think you can catch me off guard with that speed? Fine, if you want to play, I’ll play."

Thwack!

With a swift motion, Kaidoh sent the ball racing toward Ishikawa’s far side.

"A cross-court shot?"

Seeing this, the Gunma twins, Kurata and Miyamoto, exchanged worried glances.

After Kaidoh had struggled with the twist serves earlier, they had started to doubt his abilities. But now, with the tricky serves out of the way, Kaidoh was showing his true strength, reminding them of the monstrous second-year they had faced earlier.

"You brat from Hyotei," Kaidoh muttered under his breath, a smirk forming as he executed a near-perfect cross-court shot. "Let me show you what happens when you mess with a regular from Rikkai—"

Thwack!

But before he could finish the thought.

A crisp sound of a racket hitting the ball echoed across the court.

"What?"

Kaidoh instinctively turned his head.

All he saw was a faint yellow streak zipping across the court, landing sharply on his far side.

Thwack!

As the ball exploded off the ground, Kaidoh’s smirk froze on his face.

---

(End of Chapter)