I hear your nickname is Viper.
Huh?
It fits you perfectly.
Dont do it, Kaido!
Ohh!
He slipped in the rain! Heres my chance!
No! No again!
There!
A diving volley!
Wow! Im amazed he can react in this rain.
Hes like a cat.
The only person who can support an acrobatic player like Kikumaru...
is Oishi with his wide field of vision and ability to respond to any situation.
Thats true harmonizing, mentally and physically, between two people.
Are you listening?
What kind of moves are those?!
Huh?!
Hes ready to receive already!
Hes unbelievable!
Fooled ya!
Good job!
Hurray! He did it!
Game and match to Seigaku.
Victory! Victory!
They did it!
Thats Seigakus golden pair for you!
Were one and one now.
Thanks.
Im sorry, Tachibana. We
No, it was good.
Youre the only ones who won two from that pair
in the district matches.
Youre gonna pay them back next time.
Yes, sir!
Mr. Inoue!
Are you taking shelter from the rain here?
The tournament organizers are discussing whether or not to continue in the rain.
Its raining harder.
Whats wrong? You dont seem to be your usual self.
You look like youre not very interested in the matches.
Thats not true. But
I was just thinking that Tachibana seems big.
Really? I dont think hes very tall.
No, not in height, in caliber.
He has the absolute trust of the underclassmen.
Theyre like a monolith with Tachibana as the core.
Perhaps the strength of Fudomine lies in their feelings for him.
Its unusual for you to praise them so much.
Youre next, arent you?
Are they going to call it off?
They want to wait and see.
If the rain lets up, theyll start the singles.
So its not clear if were going to continue or not?
Well just have to wait and see what the rain does.
Its a little like leaving a snake lying around half dead.
Doesnt look like its going to stop.
Kamio, dont relax too much.
We dont know if theyre going to call it off or not.
Got it.
Hiss
I wonder where Kaido is going.
Leave him alone!
Oh! Momo
Vipers lost his concentration.
His concentration?
Everyone wants to go into his match psyched up, right?
Viper was psyching himself up while watching the games up till now.
Now the rain has interfered.
Ohh
Tezuka, that guys getting ready for battle.
Look at that.
Boy, he seems confident listening to music.
You know, he isnt just listening to music.
Huh?
Hes doing that so his muscles dont cool down.
So his muscles dont cool down?
Theres no telling when the match is going to resume, right?
Thats why he moves his body to music to keep his muscles warmed up.
Really? Youre amazing, Horio!
Well, I have been playing tennis for two years, after all.
Say, do you know where Ryoma is?
Huh? Echizen?
Oh! Youre right. Hes gone.
Sheesh! That guy
Wheres he off screwing around?
Come on. Lets go look for him!
Tezuka #3 singles Kamio and # 2 singles Ibu wont be
as easy to handle as that #1 doubles.
And besides, Kippei Tachibana, their captain...
is no ordinary player.
You have to keep alert.
I guess the captains are engaged in a silent battle.
It should stop raining soon.
Im rocking to the rhythm
Oh! Theres Ryoma!
Lets go over there.
Hey! Echizen!
The Fudomine teams getting ready for their matches,
but as usual, you dont seem nervous at all.
Its no good
Oh Whats going on?
You 7th graders planning your strategy?
Oh, Mr. Inoue
Did you all get the same vibe?
Theres a reason behind Fudomines strength,
that other schools dont have.
A reason?
Yes. The spirit, perhaps, that gives them faith in their own victory.
They have pride in the fact that theyve come this far on their own.
That is their greatest strength.
Theyre not a team that you can beat with technique alone.
Hey Tachibana!
Last time we cut you a lot of slack, but you just dont get it!
Youre a failure as an instructor!
Incident at Fudomine Middle-Schoolers Get Violent
APPLICATION FOR A NEW TEAM
Nationals Nationals Nationals
The pride in the fact that theyve built something up on their own--
thats whats holding them all together.
That is the secret behind Fudomines strength.
Fudomines amazing
We cant possibly win against a team like that.
Huh?
But tennis is tennis, right?
You just chase after the ball and hit it.
Hey, Echizen, where are you going?
Tennis is tennishuh?
Huh?
He may be right.
Whats important is not the past! Its the present!
Yes. Thats right!
Looks like theyre going to resume the tournament.
By the way, where did that Kaido go?
Probably doing some visualization training.
Whats visualization training?
Ahem!
Heres the two-year tennis expert!
Now listen.
When you use visualization, for example,
you can use this towel to shut out whats around you,
then concentrate on imagining how you would play a certain game.
Oh
I see.
If you do a good job visualizing the game,
then you can play your game without getting flustered.
Tezuka, ten laps around the field.
Oh! Hes using visualization!
Youre late, #3 singles
Good luck to you.
I dont need that from you.
Hey, Kaido Your opponent isnt Echizen.
I know
#3 singles...
Kaido of Seigaku.
Kamio of Fudomine
Hey I hear your nicknames Viper.
Huh?
It fits you perfectly.
Hiss
Stop it, Kaido!
Your swing is pretty fast.
You! What are you doing?!
Kaido!
Sorry
B-Be careful.
I apologize for my team member.
No. Our player egged him on. Its I who have to apologize.
This is going to be a great match.
Yeah
Theyre both scary players.
One-set match. Kamio, of Fudomine, to serve!
Hes charging the net after serving?!
How stupid can he be? His crosscourt is wide open.
Good one, Kaido! You got him on his unguarded side!
W-Wow! Hes unbelievably fast!
I cant believe he caught up to that ball.
Im rocking to the rhythm!
I dont like this Hurry up and serve.
He sent it to the corner.
Its Kaidos best ball!
This should finish it!
Its his snake!
Wow! Look at the angle of that shot!
Thats Seigaku, all right!
To think that they have a player who can do the Buggy Whip shot so easily!
But weve got the fastest ace, Akira Kamio, on our team.
Kaido and Seigaku are out of luck.
Humph You seem to have confidence in your legs.
FUDOMINE
He seems to be under some misconception.
Seigaku are out to win after strengthening their doubles.
To think theyd bring their 7th and 8th graders for singles.
But theyre underestimating us.
Our three singles players cant be compared to our doubles players.
As far as speed is concerned, no ones faster than Akira.
Why dont you try your snake out some more?
He returned Kaido Senpais snake so easily
His speed is amazing.
You think youre so hot! Stupid!
Its another snake!
Im tellin you its too slow!
Oh!
Kaido!
The average player would probably be running left and right to return a snake
and hed soon run out of steam,
but this is just the right speed for me.
Thats probably the worst opponent Kaido could have.
Yes. When someone is able to cleanly return a snake,
the angle of the return gets even worse.
You could say its a double-edged sword.
Besides, the ground is wet with rain.
The ball gets heavier after absorbing the water,
which seems to lessen the power of the snake.
Is that why his snake isnt having much effect?
No His opponent is able to run that quickly under these conditions.
Hes just too fast.
Im rocking to the rhythm
The rhythms just perfect!
Im stepping up the rhythm.
Speedy Ace Yeah, right
Dont make me laugh!
Dont underestimate...
Kaoru Kaido!
Hey, it went around the net Is that legal?
Hiss
Wow!
To think wed be treated to a shot like that!
Ohh
Wh-What was that?!
It curved like a boomerang!
Boomerang plus snake? Was that a Boomerang Snake?!
Boomerang Snake, huh?
I like the sound of that.
Boomerang Snake
Ooh! Ill use that!
A Boomerang Snake, they say.
Sounds good.
Ohh..
Forty - Fifteen.
That was a terrific play, Kaido!
Hm Not bad, Senpai
Boomerang Snake? Hmm Not bad, Id say.
Humph! Im Kamio of Fudomine Middle School.
Viper has a Boomerang Snake?
Its probably some outrageous trick play. Anyway, it wont work on me!
I wondered just want kind of team Seigaku had,
but were doing pretty well against them.
So, Viper, lets see how you keep up with my speed.
Next on The Prince of Tennis: A Little Gesture of Triumph
Im stepping up the rhythm!