BIG4 France

After exchanging salutes, the Japan Team and Croatia teams began to leave the field in an orderly fashion.

Back in the lounge, Mifune Nyudo stood up from the sofa to greet the triumphant group.

"Saeki job, Saeki!"

Mifune watched the entire match on a television screen in the lounge.

He was quite satisfied with the performance of the Japan Team players today, especially Saeki Muneyoshi's performance in singles match 3.

This gave him a real glimpse into the future of Japan.

"But don't be arrogant even if you win. Croatia's world ranking is only a few places higher than ours. Our real opponent is France Team in the next round!"

The tone shifted abruptly, and seeing the joy on the faces of several people, Mifune's expression changed, and he immediately poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

"If we can't beat France Team next, we won't advance, and all the wins we've had in the group stage these past two days will have been meaningless."

"Yes!"

Upon hearing Mifune Nyudo's words, everyone's expressions changed and they shouted in unison.

"Um."

Mifune Nyudo nodded in satisfaction and then left the lounge.

Seeing the head coach leave, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, Kurobe stepped forward, clapped his hands, and said:

"Everyone, no matter what, we've won today! To celebrate, we've prepared a sumptuous dinner for everyone. Go back, freshen up, and let's have a party!"

"Oh!"

"Yay!"

"Win the game and get a big meal!"

Kurobe's words ignited everyone's enthusiasm!

After a night of laughter, everyone fell into a deep sleep. During the gathering, to further boost the team's morale, the coaching staff had organized a series of activities...

However, because of Saeki Muneyoshi's status as a junior high school student, and his victory over Croatia's captain, he gained some popularity in a small circle.

Unfortunately, it didn't attract much attention, since Japan and Croatia are pretty much the same.

In most people's eyes, they were just "easy points" players ranked 25th or lower.

Muneyoshi didn't have any opinion on this; the world didn't revolve around him.

After all, those protagonists who show their strength and are worshipped by countless people are just imaginary scenes from stories.

In reality, most of these viewers went to watch the BIG4 matches, and few people paid attention to the matches between the lower-ranked teams.

Because the following days were for other groups' matches, Muneyoshi and the others maintained their regular training in the hotel gym.

While this kind of life wasn't bad, it became unbearable for these young men over time.

After discussing it, the coaching Kurobe relaxed the ban on going out, allowing everyone to stroll around the hotel and venue area.

Experience the romantic charm of France.

This policy further garnered the support of the team members.

In the following days, Muneyoshi and the others first toured Paris together, and then went to watch matches of teams from Germany, Spain, and Sweden.

In particular, the match between the Germany national team and the Czech national team, which was ranked ninth in the world.

The seemingly powerful Czech team was utterly powerless against the reigning champions, Germany.

For the glory of nine consecutive victories, the Germany team gave their opponents absolutely no chance this time.

After watching the match, many people looked preoccupied, clearly intimidated by the Germany team.

Upon seeing this, Mifune Nyudo was furious.

"Scared already, you little punks? Thinking about Germany now? Aren't you dreaming too far? Go back and get some rest!"

"Tomorrow! Take France first, do you hear me?!"

Mifune Nyudo's loud shout immediately pulled everyone back from their slump.

After returning to his room, Muneyoshi leaned back on the sofa.

In this World Tournament journey, so far, apart from the first round against India India team, he has not had a chance to play as a substitute.

In the second round, I will face Croatia as a singles player against their star player.

He's been reflecting on the lessons learned from this match for the past few days. It was his first official match, even though he was only a low-ranked player.

But that was enough for Muneyoshi to remember.

Moreover, through this match, he gained a clearer understanding of his own abilities.

At the same time, he also learned during the game, studying the strengths of the opposing team's captain, which led him to begin connecting strength, skill, mental power, and the path of darkness.

He could sense the changes in his strength when different paths were combined, which made him even more excited for the next match.

"Tomorrow against France... will I still have a chance to make a move?"

He was unsure how Mifune Nyudo would arrange his appearance.

"Forget it, whatever, let's just focus on preparing for tomorrow's match! And most importantly, we can't let Byōdōin go out tomorrow!!"

Although the specifics of this World Tournament are unclear, Muneyoshi knows that Byōdōin's serious injury before the tournament led to his defeat in the final match.

In the original work, this year's Japan Team suffered a crushing defeat.

Now that he's here, he must avoid such a situation!

"I'll stay with Byōdōin from tomorrow on, I can't let him cause any trouble!"

In another room, Byōdōin suddenly felt a chill and instinctively turned up the air conditioning in his room a little.

The rest of the Japan Team were too excited to sleep.

Tomorrow they're going to face the BIG4, and this feeling is unlike anything they've ever experienced before!

The next day.

The third round of knockout matches in the group stage has officially begun.

The highlight of today's matches is the clash between the France Japan, in Group C.

As the only dark horse in this World Tournament, the Japan Team, along with the BIG4 teams supported by local fans, attracted a large number of spectators to watch the game.

Seeing the local team making its first appearance in the group stage, the people of Paris sent their best wishes, and the atmosphere in the stadium became even more enthusiastic.

When Muneyoshi and the others arrived at the scene, they were quite surprised to see such a huge crowd.

What's surprising isn't the sheer number of people, but that the Roland Garros stadium in Paris today is almost entirely filled with fans of the France Team.

However, after thinking about it, they understood the reason.

After all, it's their own team and the organizer; there's nothing they can do about how popular they are.

Actually, there were two group matches today. The other group was also a clash of titans, with America, ranked seventh in the world, facing England, ranked sixth in the world.

Father is kind and son is filial.

Unfortunately, they completely stole the spotlight.

"Is this the power of the BIG4? They're truly formidable!"

Seeing that almost everyone was wearing similar uniforms to the France Team, Muneyoshi couldn't help but sigh.

"What, you're scared by this, Muneyoshi!"

"Then you might as well pack your bags and go back now!"

Byōdōin glanced around with disdain and growled at Muneyoshi.

For some reason, Byōdōin felt that Saeki Muneyoshi was acting very strangely today. Ever since they left the hotel, he had been clinging to him and even wanted to sit with him in the car.

They stayed by each other's side the whole way, which made Byōdōin uncomfortable, so he spoke a bit harshly.

He also secretly wished that Saeki Muneyoshi would stay away from him.

"What are you saying, Byōdōin!"

"A team like that, with so many fans cheering them on, and now we're defeating them right in front of them—just thinking about it makes me tremble with excitement. Don't you feel the same way?"

Muneyoshi pretended not to understand the subtext in Byōdōin's words, and instead smiled with narrowed eyes, saying calmly.

"Hmph! What you're saying makes some sense!"

Muneyoshi with a Byōdōin of superiority, and seeing that he truly meant what he said, he was very satisfied.

But seeing that the other person was still following him closely, his brows furrowed again.

"What's wrong with you? Stay away from me!"

"Byōdōin, we haven't had a proper conversation since we parted ways at the temple. Please give me some pointers today."

Despite Byōdōin's threats, Saeki Muneyoshi remained steadfastly by his side.

Their constant bickering and banter, along with the words spoken by Saeki Muneyoshi, relieved much of the pressure on the Japan people.

The group behind them Irie and Oni, as well as Tanegashima Shūji, who was recovering from a serious illness but whose face was still very pale.

Watching Saeki Muneyoshi and Byōdōin bickering, Irie adjusted his glasses and smiled, saying:

"Saeki -kun seems to get along with everyone. I didn't expect him to have such a good relationship with Byōdōin."

"Snort!"

Oni snorted coldly and didn't say much, but he could also sense that with Saeki Muneyoshi's presence, their relationship with Byōdōin's group had eased considerably.

Arriving at the competition lounge.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Mifune Nyudo announced loudly, "Now, let's announce today's lineup."

"Double 2, Washio Kazunari, Suzuki Kyō."

"Double match, Dōmoto Shingo, Irie Kanata."

"Singles of three, Oni Jūjirō."

"Singles, number two, Saeki Muneyoshi."

"Singles 1, the Byōdōin Hōō."

"Commander, Byōdōin Hōō."

"Today's substitute is Natsume Ryūichi."

After announcing today's lineup, Mifune Nyudo glanced at Byōdōin one last time and said in a deep voice.

"The France Team is not comparable to the ones we've faced before. We must be focused and not afford to be complacent or make any mistakes. Do you all understand?"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately stood up.

Go!

P. S.: "Please vote with monthly tickets! I slept all day yesterday, but woke up at 5 am today feeling a bit more energetic."