226-227

Chapter 226: Seigaku and Shitenhouji, the Night Before the Finals (Part 2)

The next day.

At a farmhouse on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Early in the morning, under Coach Ryuzaki’s lead, the Seigaku team boarded a bus and headed to their training ground.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

As soon as they stepped off the bus, the team could hear the intense sound of tennis balls being struck.

“Is someone playing a match?”

Momoshiro exclaimed in surprise. “So, Ryoma’s already here?”

Bang!

At that moment, a powerful shot rang out.

Accompanied by the sound of the ball cutting through the air, a tennis ball wrapped in faint arcs of lightning flew straight toward Momoshiro.

“Watch out!”

Behind him, Kaido shouted and rushed forward, positioning himself in front of Momoshiro. With a forceful swing, he struck the ball back.

Boom!

A loud explosion-like sound echoed.

Feeling the tremendous force transmitted through his racket, Kaido’s expression darkened. He quickly placed his other hand on the racket, using both hands to barely return the ball.

“What the…”

The Seigaku team’s expressions changed.

No one had expected to be ambushed the moment they arrived. Even more shocking was that Kaido, the strongest among them in terms of raw power, had to use both hands just to return the ball.

After the initial shock, Momoshiro and Kaido glared at the other side, ready to demand an explanation for the sudden attack.

“You must be Kaido Kaoru, right?”

However, before they could speak, the tall, bald boy on the other side raised his hand vertically in front of his chest. “Your strength is decent, but your fundamentals are lacking.”

Decent strength?

Lacking fundamentals?

Momoshiro and Kaido were instantly furious. Not only had this guy attacked them out of nowhere, but he also had the audacity to insult Kaido to his face.

“You’re… Shitenhouji’s Ishida Gin?”

However, before the two could retort, Fuji, who had been observing quietly, spoke up in surprise. He then turned to Inui and asked, “So, our training partners for this camp are from Shitenhouji?”

“That’s right.”

Inui nodded, adjusting his glasses. “For the next three days, Shitenhouji will be our training partners. They’re a strong team, so don’t let your guard down.”

“Understood.”

Momoshiro and Kaido quickly nodded.

Having a top-tier team like Shitenhouji as their training partners was a rare opportunity. They weren’t about to ruin it by picking a fight.

“Hey, Gin, is that Seigaku over there?”

At that moment, a red-haired boy wearing a leopard-print tank top ran over excitedly. “Echizen! Where’s Seigaku’s Echizen? Come play a match with me!”

“Kintarou.”

A voice filled with exasperation followed him. “It’s Ryoma, not Echizen. It’s rude to get someone’s name wrong.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.”

Kintarou waved it off, his eyes scanning the Seigaku team.

After a moment, he frowned, not finding the person he was looking for. “Hey, where’s your Echizen? Didn’t he come?”

“Ryoma?”

Momoshiro finally realized. He turned to Inui in surprise. “Inui-senpai, is Ryoma not joining this training session?”

“I’m not sure.”

Inui shook his head.

“Don’t worry about Ryoma.”

Coach Ryuzaki, who had just stepped off the bus, interjected. “His training is being handled by someone else. It’s more beneficial for him than joining us here.”

“Someone else… Wait!!”

Suddenly, as if struck by a realization, Momoshiro’s eyes widened. The rest of the team also seemed to remember something, their minds flashing back to the middle-aged man in the black robe they had seen in the taxi yesterday.

“Alright!”

Seeing the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces, Coach Ryuzaki spoke firmly. “Focus up! Don’t waste a single second of these three days. And like Inui said, Shitenhouji is a strong team. Everyone needs to give it their all during training!”

“Yes!”

The team responded in unison.

And so, the intensive training session between Seigaku and Shitenhouji officially began.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Meanwhile, at the Hyotei tennis club.

Inside the training grounds, everyone was hard at work. Even Shishido, who was nursing a knee injury, was practicing his swings while standing.

With three days left until the finals, if his injury healed in time, he still had a chance to compete. After all, this was his last year in middle school nationals.

If he couldn’t play, he wouldn’t be able to accept it.

Hiyoshi was also training diligently. With Shishido injured, he had the best chance of securing the doubles 2 spot.

Since morning, he had been practicing his Enbu-style Shukuchi footwork while also pondering how to break into the realm of martial arts that Ishikawa had mastered.

“Haa…”

After completing his 1,000th swing, Hiyoshi let out a long breath.

It was tough!

Even though he had grasped the basics of Four Gods Enbu: White Tiger, he still couldn’t take that final step into the realm of martial arts.

“Should I… ask the vice-captain for advice?”

With that thought, Hiyoshi glanced toward the corner where Ishikawa usually trained alone.

“Hmm?”

To his surprise, Ishikawa, who had been practicing against the wall earlier, was now sitting cross-legged on the ground.

“That posture… it looks a bit strange.”

Hiyoshi shook his head.

At some point, Ishikawa had started incorporating what looked like yoga exercises into his daily routine.

Sometimes, Hiyoshi wanted to say, “Don’t bite off more than you can chew.”

But then he remembered Ishikawa’s mastery of advanced kendo and ancient martial arts, and he quickly dismissed the thought.

In fact, Hiyoshi had a strange feeling. It seemed like, in the near future, Ishikawa’s yoga practice would reach the same level of mastery as his kendo and martial arts.

“Breathe…”

“Breathe…”

Not far away, Ishikawa sat cross-legged, his breathing steady and rhythmic. At this moment, he exuded an unusual aura. Despite sitting in a highly visible spot, if one didn’t pay close attention, it was easy to overlook his presence.

It was as if… he had somehow detached himself from the world.

And if one were to look closely, they would notice that Ishikawa’s eyes had lost their focus.

Yes.

At this moment, Ishikawa was in a state where his five senses had been stripped away.

The reason? After defeating Yukimura the previous day, the system had rewarded him with the ability Five Senses Deprivation.

During the match, using this technique to enter a state of complete mental and physical relaxation, Ishikawa found it easy to slip into deep meditation.

So, he cleverly used the Five Senses Deprivation ability to strip away his own senses, allowing him to enter a deeper state of meditation.

In this state, Ishikawa could clearly feel the changes in his consciousness and mental strength. Especially when he was extremely fatigued, depriving his senses allowed his stamina to recover at three times the normal rate.

Combined with the effects of his yoga practice, Ishikawa’s physical endurance had reached a level comparable to players with a five-dimensional rating of 5 or higher.

Moreover, he could sense that if he continued at this pace, his secondary skill, yoga, would soon break through to the next level.

And so, day after day, both Hyotei and Seigaku continued their training, each following their own rhythm.

Before they knew it, three days had passed.

In a remote valley on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Night had fallen.

Next to a waterfall, a boy wearing a red-and-white shirt and a tennis cap tossed a small stone into the air.

Swish!

With a flick of his wrist, he channeled his strength through the wooden stick in his hand, sending the stone flying like a bullet.

Crack!

The stone pierced through the waterfall and struck the cave behind it.

“Not bad.”

Not far away, the middle-aged man in the black robe nodded in approval. “You’ve finally grasped the basics.”

“Haa…”

The boy let out a deep breath.

For the past three days, he had been training relentlessly.

Over and over, he repeated the same monotonous movements. Finally, just as his father had said, he had crossed the threshold.

“It’s getting late.”

The man, Nanjiroh Echizen, spoke up. “Let’s end the training here. How much you’ve truly learned and how much you can apply in the upcoming match is up to you now.”

“I understand.”

The boy, Ryoma Echizen, the son of the Samurai, nodded solemnly.

Three days of living in the wild had roughened his skin slightly.

But his eyes now held a depth they hadn’t before. His entire demeanor had become more mature and composed.

“Ishikawa Shin…”

As Ryoma’s gaze shifted, the image of the black-haired boy appeared in his mind. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I’m looking forward to our match tomorrow!”

---

(End of Chapter)

*Chapter 227: National Finals, Atobe vs. Tezuka (Part 1)*

The next day.

The weather was clear and sunny.

Around the Tokyo Metropolitan Arena, a large crowd had gathered early in the morning.

Among them were representatives from various schools.

Students from Rikkai, Shitenhouji, and Fudomine, dressed in their respective team uniforms, followed their captains through the entrance and into the stadium.

By now, the arena, which could hold up to 20,000 people, was completely packed.

"Is this the scale of a national final?" Shiba, a reporter from Tennis Monthly, was visibly stunned as he stood in the aisle.

"Pretty overwhelming, right?" Kyoji, standing beside him, chuckled. "It’s hard to imagine that a match involving just four players at most could draw such a massive crowd."

In fact, Kyoji had experienced a similar shock years ago when he accidentally stumbled upon a tournament in the United States. What made that moment unforgettable was that one of the players in that match was none other than the legendary "Samurai of Tennis," Echizen Nanjiro! That match had turned Kyoji into a lifelong fan of Nanjiro, and he remained one to this day.

"By the way," Kyoji suddenly looked around curiously, "I wonder if Mr. Nanjiro is here to watch this match!"

"That pervert?" Shiba blinked, then nodded.

Indeed, this final was Seigaku’s closest shot at a national championship in their history. And among the players was Nanjiro’s son, Seigaku’s super rookie. Logically, Nanjiro should be here.

However, after scanning the crowd, neither of them spotted the familiar figure.

Meanwhile, outside the arena, as the last few spectators entered, the staff prepared to close the gates.

"Wait!"

A middle-aged man in a black monk’s robe and sunglasses rushed over, panting.

"Phew, made it just in time," the man—Nanjiro—sighed in relief. After the staff let him in, he quickly slipped inside.

"Wait, there’s one more!"

Just as he entered, another man hurried over.

"Huh?"

Feeling a large shadow loom over him, Nanjiro instinctively frowned and turned to look.

"Hello," the newcomer, a towering man over 2 meters tall, also wearing sunglasses and a white lab coat, greeted him with a smile.

"Ni hao," Nanjiro replied, deliberately altering his tone to sound foreign.

"A foreigner?" The man, U-17’s mental training coach, Saito, raised an eyebrow in surprise. "And a foreign monk, no less?"

After exchanging nods, the two men climbed the stairs and entered the stands, coincidentally ending up near where Kyoji and Shiba were standing.

"Huh?" Sensing someone behind him, Shiba turned around and was shocked to see the familiar face. "Nanjiro? You actually came!"

"Mr. Nanjiro?" Kyoji’s eyes lit up with excitement. "You’re here to watch Ryoma’s match, aren’t you?"

"I’m not Nanjiro," Nanjiro continued his charade, but Saito, standing beside him, had already seen through the disguise. His eyes gleamed with interest. ‘Echizen Nanjiro? The legendary tennis player?’

He hadn’t expected to stumble upon such a surprise before even watching the middle school national finals.

"And you are?" Shiba asked, curious about the tall man beside Nanjiro.

"You can call me Saito," the man replied with a smile. He didn’t use a fake name, but he also didn’t reveal his true identity.

"Nice to meet you," Kyoji and Shiba nodded politely.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the final match of the National Middle School Tennis Championship is about to begin!"

The announcer’s voice echoed through the stadium.

"Please welcome Tokyo’s Hyotei Academy and Tokyo’s Seigaku Academy!"

From the east and west entrances, the two teams emerged, led by their coaches, Tōru and Ryūzaki. One team wore gray, the other blue.

"It’s finally starting!" Kyoji said solemnly as he watched the two teams take the court. "Seigaku is the only team left that can stop Hyotei from claiming the championship."

"True," Shiba agreed.

Although Seigaku had lost to Hyotei twice since the regional tournaments, they were now the only team in the nation capable of stopping Hyotei’s dominance. Despite being the underdogs, they had drawn their swords and were ready to fight to the end.

"The middle school national championship, huh?" Saito, who had been observing the players, chuckled inwardly.

He didn’t show it, though. After all, the level of competition he was used to overseeing was on a completely different scale.

Still, he was slightly surprised to see the legendary Nanjiro, disguised as an ordinary spectator, showing genuine interest in the match.

"That reporter mentioned something about Nanjiro’s son playing in this match. Is that him?" Saito’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"Let’s have a good match!"

At the net, the two team captains led their players in a bow, exchanging pre-match courtesies.

Then, Atobe and Tezuka shook hands. The two top players locked eyes, and for a moment, it felt as if sparks were flying.

The atmosphere on the court grew tense.

"Tezuka," Atobe said with a confident smile, "I’m curious where you’ll be positioned in this match."

"You’ll find out soon enough," Tezuka replied calmly.

His icy demeanor and commanding presence made Atobe slightly uncomfortable.

Atobe could sense that Tezuka, like himself, was a natural leader. But just like the poles of a magnet, when two equally strong forces came too close, they repelled each other.

As they released their handshake, Tezuka’s sharp gaze lingered on Atobe. He, too, felt the immense pressure radiating from his opponent.

"These two are the captains?"

In the stands, representatives from schools like St. Rudolph, Yamabuki, and Rokkaku watched the exchange with awe.

In a way, these two could be considered the strongest captains in the nation.

"Too bad," Saeki from Rokkaku sighed. "Tezuka will definitely be in Singles 1, while Atobe is likely in Singles 2."

It was a classic case of kings and generals facing off, but unfortunately, the two wouldn’t be directly competing against each other in this match.

"Now, the Singles 3 match will begin!"

As the players retreated to their respective benches, the announcer’s voice rang out again:

"Hyotei Academy’s Atobe Keigo vs. Seigaku Academy’s Tezuka Kunimitsu. Please prepare!"

The crowd erupted in surprise.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they focused on the two tall, confident figures stepping onto the court, rackets in hand.

Step. Step.

As the two players entered the court, the Seigaku and Hyotei teams cheered for their captains.

Unsurprisingly, Hyotei’s larger fanbase gave them the edge in volume.

However, Atobe didn’t perform his usual flamboyant gestures, like tossing his jacket or snapping his fingers. Instead, he walked onto the court with a serious expression, his gaze locked on Tezuka. Tezuka, in turn, kept his eyes on Atobe.

Both captains could feel the intensity of the other’s presence.

Even before the match began, the tension on the court was palpable.

"Let the match begin."

After a brief coin toss to determine the serve, the two players retreated to their respective baselines. The referee confirmed their readiness and announced:

"Atobe Keigo of Hyotei to serve. First game!"

"I can’t believe it’s starting with these two!" Shiba clenched her fists in excitement.

"Indeed," Kyoji nodded. "Both teams clearly want to secure the first game to boost their morale."

"Kyoji-senpai," Shiba turned to him, curiosity shining in her eyes. "Who do you think will win?"

"It’s hard to say," Kyoji shook his head. "Both are incredibly strong, and their styles seem similar. It’s impossible to predict the outcome, but one thing’s for sure—this match will be even more intense than Hyotei’s Singles 3 match against Shitenhouji!"

Another clash of captains, but this one promised to be even more thrilling.

"Is it really that big of a deal?"

Saito, standing nearby, shook his head inwardly. To him, this was just a middle school match. Having managed and led high school teams on international tours, he found this level of competition underwhelming.

Even the high school national championship, which someone like Mouri had won, didn’t impress him much.

His thoughts shifted as he focused on Atobe, who was bouncing a tennis ball on the court. "After all, how strong can a middle school match really be?"

Whoosh!

Atobe tossed the ball high into the air.

He leaned back, his body arching like a bow, his racket held low at a 90-degree angle to the ground.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

At the same time, a kaleidoscope of colors swirled in Atobe’s eyes.

"Tannhäuser..."

Swish!

The moment the ball reached its peak, Atobe’s eyes sharpened. Like a spring coiled to its limit, he snapped forward, his racket slicing through the air as he struck the ball with precision.

"Serve!!!"

Crack!

The ball shot forward like an arrow, clearing the net and curving sharply downward to land precisely on the service line.

"Not bad," Saito murmured, impressed by the serve’s accuracy. "This level could earn him a spot in the U-17’s second string, Court 5. But that’s about it—wait, what?!"

Sssss...

The ball, after bouncing, skidded low and fast, barely rising off the ground.

"H-how is this possible?!" Saito’s eyes widened in disbelief. "A middle schooler pulled off a serve like that?!"

(End of Chapter)