Chapter New Prince of Tennis Chapter 254, 255 and 256 Discussion/Predictions

Kaoz · Jan 6, 2019

With contributions from @Holycow, @makise1234 and @Waterlinkedgirl.

Golden age 254: The Light of Hope

Ryoma hits a glowing shot, but it's different from Byoudouin's. As Ludovic tries to return it with one of his trademark aces, the ball breaks a giant hole in his strings and goes straight through his racket. Ryoma's version of the glowing shot is called "Hope". Rather than spreading the power like Destruction, it's all concentrated in one point.
However, instead of being discouraged, Ludovic seems thrilled and closes the set out with another service ace.
As the set finishes, the American teams enters the stadium to watch Ryoma's match from the stands. They recognize Ludovic as well, saying that the Frenchman's family has been a household name in the tennis world for generations.

Golden age 255

The second serve opens with Ryoma's service game. He hits a Twist Serve, which Ludovic returns straight down the middle. Ryoma charges up another glowing shot and hits Hope to take the first point, once again destroying Ludovic's strings in the process.
In the meantime, Germany has already defeated Canada in one of the other quarterfinals, seemingly without dropping a single game. The German line-up this time consisted of Volk, QP, Bismarck, Schneider, Bertie, Tezuka and Siegfried.
The Swiss were watching Germany's matches from the stands. Albert and Randy are looking forward to defeating Germany's pro doubles in a power battle and Henri wants to take on Volk. Amadeus mentions that Bismarck is joining the pro ranks. The Swiss take off to prepare for their own match, where their captain anticipates a life-and-death battle against the US.
Germany leaves the stadium and conversation turns to their semifinal opponent. QP says that France's victory is as good as sealed. Schneider feels sorry for Japan since they're Tezuka's original country, but agrees with QP. Siegfried gets upset about their assessment, saying that he's going to pay Japan back for the Pre-WC humiliation a hundred times over. Siegfried exclaims that they need to play Japan again in order completely erase the shame from the Pre-WC. Tezuka's response is that they must win, no matter the opponent, as that's what pros do.

Golden age 256: Super Sweet Spot

Ryoma has taken a 3-0 lead in the second set by breaking one racket after another, also earning him the title "Racket Destroyer".
While Edgard and Jonathan yell out that trying to return it is futile, Ludovic seems to slowly get the hang of Ryoma's move, even sacrificing his service aces to break it down. He loses two more games, but the hole in the strings becomes smaller. Ryoma's cheering squad exclaims that Ryoma has France cornered, but Oni corrects them, saying it's just the opposite.
Trailing 0-5, Ludovic finally manages to cleanly return Hope by using the super sweet spot. However, using his samurai power, Ryoma seems to calmly return Ludovic's shot with a drop volley. Yet, suddenly, the return breaks through Ryoma's strings after all and hits him straight in the stomach, spinning him around and sending him flying. As Ludovic rushes over to the other side to check on his opponent, Ryoma has lost consciousness...