*Chapter 187: National Top 8, The Boy Who Got Lost and Ended Up at Hyotei (Part 1)*

Thud!

Just as Hyotei secured their victory, in another corner of the National Tournament, a red-haired boy with leopard-print hair, playing as the singles 1 player, sent his opponent’s racket flying with a single powerful shot.

“Game over.”

After confirming the situation, the referee nodded and announced, “Winner: Kin-chan Toyama from Rikkai Dai Fuzoku Middle School, 6-0!”

“This concludes the match.”

“Rikkai Dai Fuzoku Middle School has won all five matches and advances to the next round.”

“Rikkai Dai Fuzoku… they’re on a completely different level!”

Watching the energetic boy jumping around on the court, the representatives from Chikawa Middle School, the strongest team in Hokkaido, were utterly stunned.

Five matches.

They had been completely overwhelmed, without any chance to fight back.

Even though they were regional champions, the level of competition in the Kansai region was far beyond what Hokkaido could offer.

“Perhaps…”

One of the Chikawa representatives couldn’t help but sigh as they watched the confident group of boys. “This year, they might really climb to the top.”

“Great job, Kin-chan.”

After the match, the captain of Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, the handsome silver-haired boy, Kuranosuke Shiraishi, smiled and said, “That was their captain, and he didn’t even score a single point.”

“Huh?”

The red-haired boy, Kin-chan Toyama, looked surprised. “Wait, that guy was their strongest player?”

“Yep.”

A young man sitting on the bench, wearing a fisherman’s hat and chewing on a blade of grass, chimed in. “Their captain is almost at a national level.”

“Really? I didn’t feel it.”

Kin-chan scratched his head, looking completely baffled. “I didn’t even try that hard, and he lost. This match was so boring.”

He shrugged, looking genuinely disappointed.

“Well, that’s just how it is.”

A tall, brown-haired boy laughed. “The strongest in Hokkaido is only about as good as the average in Kansai. For Kin-chan, only a national-level player could make him take things seriously.”

“Exactly, exactly!”

Kin-chan nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice.

To him, this match was just a warm-up. He hadn’t even broken a sweat before it was over. For someone who saw tennis as nothing more than a game, it was far from satisfying.

“Don’t worry.”

Seeing the boy’s frustration, Shiraishi smiled reassuringly. “In the next match against Hyotei, you’ll get to face their first-year prodigy, the strongest freshman in the nation.”

“That guy?”

Kin-chan’s eyes widened. “You mean Ishikawa, right? I heard he has three eyes, five legs, and six arms, like some kind of Asura!”

As he spoke, he waved his arms around, dramatically acting out his imagined version of Ishikawa.

“Alright, that’s enough.”

Coach Watanabe, watching Kin-chan’s antics, sighed. “Let’s head back to the hotel. And think about what you want for dinner.”

As a team from Osaka, Rikkai Dai Fuzoku had booked a hotel for three days after the national tournament draw to avoid the daily commute.

“Dinner?”

At the mention of food, Kin-chan’s eyes lit up. “I want beef hotpot, grilled squid, and… oh yeah, takoyaki!”

“We know, we know.”

The brown-haired boy, Yuushi Oshitari, teased.

“Hehe.”

Kin-chan grinned, drool almost dripping from his mouth. “Let’s go, Coach, Shiraishi! I’m so hungry I could eat a whole cow!”

“Alright.”

Watanabe and Shiraishi nodded, leading the team as they prepared to leave the court.

Meanwhile, the results of the other matches were also coming in.

The second round of the national tournament had concluded, and the top eight teams were decided: Hyotei, Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, Rikkai Dai, Fudomine, Seigaku, Yamabuki, Nagoya Seitoku, and Shitenhouji.

The list sparked a wave of discussions.

Out of the eight teams, four were from Tokyo. If you included Kanto, with Rikkai Dai, it made up more than half of the top eight.

This made it clear that the balance of power in the national tournament was shifting, with the east rising and the west declining.

Outside the tennis stadium, at the bus stop, the Rikkai Dai Fuzoku team was waiting for the bus to take them back to their hotel.

However, with the first day of the tournament over, the area was packed with people.

In the chaos, the team got separated. Coach Watanabe, Captain Shiraishi, and a few others managed to get on the first bus, leaving behind second-year player Mitsuyoshi Zaizen and the ever-optimistic Kin-chan.

“Kin-chan.”

Seeing another wave of people approaching, Zaizen quickly warned, “Stay close to me. Don’t get lost.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry.”

Kin-chan nodded with a smile.

Screech!

The bus pulled up to the stop, and as soon as the doors opened, the crowd surged forward. In the chaos, Zaizen reached out to grab Kin-chan, pulling him onto the bus with the flow of people.

“Uh…”

As the doors closed, Zaizen heard a frail voice say, “Thank you, young man.”

He turned to see that he hadn’t grabbed Kin-chan but an elderly woman with gray hair and false teeth.

“Oh no.”

His heart sank.

Kin-chan was the youngest and least experienced member of the team. If he got left behind at the bus stop, there was a real chance he’d get lost.

“Well… maybe it’s not that bad.”

Zaizen frowned, remembering something. “Didn’t Kin-chan run all the way from Shizuoka to Tokyo this time?”

During the trip to the national tournament, the team had taken the train from Osaka to Tokyo. But Kin-chan, thinking he could see Mount Fujiawa from Tokyo, had gotten off at Shizuoka (about 36 kilometers away) and then ran all the way to Tokyo.

Someone like that probably wouldn’t get into too much trouble.

Still, after a moment of hesitation, Zaizen decided to ask the driver to stop. But the bus was too noisy, and the driver didn’t hear him.

“Oh well.”

Zaizen sighed, deciding to go back and look for Kin-chan after getting off at the next stop.

“Huh?”

Meanwhile, at the bus stop, Kin-chan stared blankly at the spot where Zaizen had disappeared. In the blink of an eye, his teammate was gone.

He was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

“I missed dinner… They’ll save some meat for me, right? And takoyaki… yum!”

The boy licked his lips, his stomach growling loudly.

Gurgle…

Kin-chan patted his empty stomach, looking utterly dejected.

“Hey, kid.”

A voice called out from behind him. “You, the red-haired one.”

Kin-chan turned to see a middle-aged man with sunglasses and a fake mustache looking at him. “Did you get separated from your team?”

“Yeah.”

Kin-chan nodded.

“I see. Do you know where they are? I can take you there.”

The man pointed to a van nearby. “I can drive you over.”

“Really?”

Kin-chan’s eyes narrowed slightly. Despite his carefree nature, he sensed something was off.

“Of course!”

The man, noticing the boy’s hesitation, quickly added, “Don’t worry, I do this all the time. I help people get around. If you don’t have money, you can pay me when we get there.”

“Okay then.”

Kin-chan nodded.

He was hungry, and Tokyo was much bigger than Shizuoka. He had no idea which way to go.

“Hop in.”

The man smiled, leading him to the van.

Click.

The doors locked, and the van drove off in the opposite direction of where the Rikkai Dai Fuzoku team had gone.

About ten minutes later, the van turned into a quiet alley and stopped in front of a rundown apartment building.

“We’re here.”

The man got out and opened the door.

“Here? This doesn’t look like where we left our stuff…”

Kin-chan looked around, confused.

The evening lights flickered, and the streets were lined with flashily dressed women who made the boy blush.

“Of course it’s not a hotel, kid.”

The man’s friendly demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold smirk. “Now, be a good boy and come with me. It’ll be easier if you don’t resist.”

“You’re a bad guy!”

Kin-chan’s eyes narrowed, a fierce glint appearing in them.

“Heh.”

The man sneered, reaching out to grab the boy.

But before he could, Kin-chan moved.

Bam!

The man was sent flying, crashing into a wall.

“You… little brat…”

The man’s sunglasses were shattered, his fake mustache hanging loose. He clutched his stomach, both angry and terrified of the red-haired boy.

“Hmph!”

Kin-chan’s eyes burned with intensity.

Though he was naive, he wasn’t inexperienced. Back at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, he’d been known for his fighting skills and had even gathered a group of followers.

Once he realized the man was up to no good, Kin-chan didn’t hold back.

His philosophy was simple: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Bam!

Another powerful shot sent the man flying again, knocking him out cold.

“Time to go.”

Kin-chan picked up his racket, stuffed the tennis ball into his bag, and ran out of the alley.

The tattooed thugs on the street watched him with fear and awe as he passed.

Huff… huff…

After running for about twenty minutes, Kin-chan finally emerged onto a main road.

He sighed in relief but then frowned.

He had no idea where he was, and with the sun setting, finding his way back to the team seemed impossible.

“Huh?”

Just then, he noticed a large, walled-off building complex in the distance.

His sharp eyes caught the four characters written on the gate: “Hyotei Academy.”

Realizing this was the home of their next opponent, Kin-chan grinned.

Without hesitation, he ran toward the school entrance.

Thud! Thud!

Soon, he heard the familiar sound of tennis balls being hit.

“Found it!”

Turning a corner and passing through the gate, Kin-chan saw players practicing on the courts.

“Hey!” he called out. “Is Ishikawa here?”

(End of Chapter)

*Patreon: belamy20*