Group C's Opponents

The hotel served as the Japan Team's temporary office.

"What was the result?"

Upon seeing Muneyoshi and Byōdōin enter, the high school students from the First String all stood up nervously and asked questions.

"Byōdōin- senpai drew Group C, which includes teams from France, India, and Croatia!"

Muneyoshi said with a smile.

"What?! I actually got BIG4? My luck is really that bad?"

"The France team must be ecstatic right now. I suspect the organizers are trying to guarantee their qualification..."

"Apart from France, who are ranked third, the rest of the teams in this group are considered 'easy targets,' which is absolutely terrible!"

However, apart from a few third-year students who were complaining, the first-year students, although also frowning, did not show any resentment on their faces.

"But then again!"

"Isn't this the opponent you all most want to face?"

Seeing the fighting spirit in everyone's eyes, Irie Kanata couldn't help but smile.

After entering the Byōdōin kept scanning everyone with his eyes. Seeing that none of the first-year students showed any fear, he was very satisfied. When he heard what Irie said, he looked at Irie with a surprised expression.

He wasn't entirely sure of the other person's strength yet, but he felt that this baby-faced guy who had always been with Tanegashima seemed to have quite a bit of courage.

"That's right. Since it's World Tournament, we'll encounter all kinds of opponents. Instead of overthinking, we should defeat them when we meet them!"

At this moment, Oni Jūjirō also came out and said in a deep voice.

"Whether we achieve instant fame or slink back home in defeat, it all depends on our own strength."

"It looks really good! But I hate trouble the most."

Ōmagari Ryūji touched his headscarf; this time, he wouldn't run away.

As the group chatted, the gloom that had hung over the Japan Team by the BIG4 dissipated.

"It seems everyone's morale is high, very good, at least they haven't been intimidated by France!"

At this moment, the coaches also pushed open the door and walked in. Mifune Nyudo glanced at them and found that everyone's fighting spirit had been ignited, so he didn't waste any words.

"Now, let's have Mitsuya analyze our main opponents in the first stage of this World Championship!"

"Furthermore, Mitsuya will not only be a participant in this U-17 World Cup, but will also serve as an advisor to our Japan team."

"Mitsuya, it's your turn."

After Mifune finished speaking, he walked past everyone and went to the sofa to lie down and rest.

Byōdōin and the others glanced at Mitsuya with surprise. He was an old rival from junior high school; they recognized him, but they had rarely actually fought each other.

However, it's remarkable that someone of that age could be entrusted with such an important role as an advisor by the coaches.

This seemingly unassuming, even somewhat delicate-looking fellow has his own extraordinary qualities.

Then, at Kurobe's prompting, Mitsuya took out a CD from his small bag.

"This is the intelligence I've gathered. Due to time constraints, the information I could find is very limited."

Mitsuya walked to the front, lowered the projection screen, and began playing the information he had collected.

"First, let's talk about our opponents in Group C..."

As the video played, everyone's eyes widened.

"This... this is!!!"

World tennis rankings!

The high school students who came to participate in the World Tournament were more or less aware that the Japan Team's ranking was not high, after all, the coaches kept saying that Japan had been dormant for too long.

However, there is no intuitive concept regarding the specific ranking.

Now, thanks to Mitsuya's data, they finally have a clear understanding of the current status of the Japan Team in the world.

Ranked 30th in the world!

Third to last!

This was the result after Oni Jūjirō led the team on an expedition before the start of the World Tournament and worked hard to earn points.

But as I said before, the Japan Team was simply too weak before, and even the victory led by Oni Jūjirō on the expedition could not make up for the lost points.

This situation persisted for two years. At that time, due to the gap in points, the Byōdōin embarked on a frantic expedition and finally managed to increase their points.

Their rivals are India and Croatia.

The 27th is India, India.

Twenty-fifth, Croatia.

Their rankings were all higher than Japan's, and then the high school students looked at them one by one from the bottom.

Seventh place, America!

One of the most ambitious nations looking to challenge the BIG4, led by rookie captain Ralph Reinhardt, is once again making an attempt to break into the top four.

As everyone's gaze shifted, it finally settled on the four countries ranked in the top four in the world.

Fourth place, Spain!

The experienced veteran team's star player for this tournament, Alessandro Alfonso, is a true professional player who has defeated numerous professional players in professional competitions.

However, they did not set high goals for this tournament because, not long ago, Spain's rising star Medrano suffered a serious injury in an accident.

He has not yet recovered and is therefore unable to participate in this competition.

And the third team is France, one of their opponents in this group stage!

As the organizers of this competition, they not only possess formidable strength but also have natural advantages, making them the biggest rivals of the Japan Team.

Before today's draw, their former professional player and captain, Ronard Teuton, inexplicably relinquished his captaincy, only taking on the role of captain.

However, no one dared to underestimate his strength.

France's key player this time Duke Watanabe, known as the France's King of Destruction!

In addition to Destroyer King, France also boasts Leopold Camus Don Charpentier, a supernova hailed as the one who will lead a tennis revolution!

As for Switzerland, ranked second, and Germany, the reigning champion, they are still far behind Japan.

Both teams have more than one professional player.

Moreover, Jürgen Barissavic Polk, a future pillar of the Germany team, has begun to show his talent and recently passed the professional player certification, becoming a semi-professional player.

After reviewing the data, the atmosphere in the conference room became a bit tense. The third-to-last team met the third-best team in the world!

Many people felt immense pressure.

"Hmph! What kind of expressions are those! Are you scared already?!"

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Byōdōin snorted coldly, clearly displeased with everyone's reaction.

"So what if they're stronger? Are we inferior? Muneyoshi, you tell me!"

Byōdōin directly let Muneyoshi speak, because as someone he trusted, he didn't believe Muneyoshi would be afraid.

Upon hearing this, Muneyoshi stood up, glanced at everyone, taking in their expressions, and smiled slightly, a hint of mockery in his laughter:

"Seniors, if you're scared of this, then you might as well pack your bags and go back to Japan! Otherwise, you'll embarrass yourselves on the field!"

Having spent a lot of time with Byōdōin, Muneyoshi's speech had also picked up some of his style, becoming quite domineering.

Even if he's one of the BIG4, his goal since he came into this world has always been to reach the top!

"Hmph, afraid? You think I, Oni Jūjirō, will be afraid? That's impossible!"

Oni Jūjirō crossed his arms and said coldly.

"I just didn't expect our ranking to be so low!"

Irie Kanata also smiled and adjusted his glasses.

"Don't worry, boss! I don't care about BIG4 or anything like that. As long as they're my opponents, I'll definitely use my Execution Method to give them a good beating!"

Tōno Atsukyō licked his lips and said with utter arrogance.

The first graders' repeated statements also influenced the third graders.

"All I know is that we've waited so long, trained so hard, and come here for victory!"

Dōmoto Shingo and Natsume Ryūichi exuded a chilling aura, their tone calm yet resolute.

"The boss is right!"

"I don't want to lose again! No one can stop us from winning!"

The third-graders shouted loudly, seemingly trying to vent their anger.

"Hmph! Looks like you're not bad at all. You've got some ambition!"

His incessant roars finally made Mifune Nyudo take notice.

On the sofa, Mifune Nyudo sat up and said, "Mitsuya, let's talk about our main opponents."

P. S.: "Requesting monthly votes"