Singles 2: Saeki Muneyoshi

In the Japan rest area, Oni Jūjirō returned, his voice low and menacing.

After exchanging a glance with Mifune Nyudo and Byōdōin Hōō, the demon's expression turned solemn. He stepped forward before everyone and bowed at a ninety-degree angle, saying:

"Everyone, I'm sorry I couldn't win!"

That's all!

Without waiting for anyone's reaction, the ghost silently returned to its seat, lost in thought, and remained silent.

Seeing the ghost's state, the crowd exchanged bewildered glances, unsure whether they should step forward to comfort him.

You have to understand, this is Oni Jūjirō! He's currently ranked second in Japan, and even he couldn't beat him, so there's even less chance for them.

Mifune Nyudo glanced at Oni Jūjirō's appearance, a thought flashing through his mind. Oni had too few battles to experience; his stats were already very high when he first appeared.

Apart from Byōdōin, no one in the training camp could beat him, so losing a match now might actually be a good thing for him.

Thinking of this, he waved his hand, gesturing for the high school students to sit down.

In his current situation, the ghost is definitely unable to rely on the power of others; he can only rely on himself for everything.

Whether he fades into obscurity or breaks through barriers and sheds his former glory depends on how much he can grow in this World Tournament.

On the other hand, the atmosphere was much more cheerful on the France Team's side.

After all, their captain won, and now they have won two games and hold match point.

Ronard's gaze swept over Camus, Tristan Barthes, and Duke.

The original plan was for Camus to be sent out for the three-on-one match.

Because of his intervention, Camus was replaced in the competition, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for Camus to the second singles spot.

However, they now hold match point, and for the Singles 1, they still have Duke and Camus to choose from. Should they give some experience to their future pillars of France in the singles second option?

"Tristan Barthes, you go for singles number two!"

Ronard decided to have Camus conceal his true strength as France's trump card.

"We now hold match point. The Japan Team has already exposed their singles weaknesses, Singles 2 is definitely that middle school student..."

"Judging from the strength he's shown before, Tristan, you can handle him if you're careful. Go!"

"Yes, Captain!"

The most likely hidden ace-level player on the Japan Team right now is their captain Byōdōin Hōō, but France also has trump cards to counter him.

Furthermore, with the quarterfinals and semifinals still to come, France doesn't need to expose too much information about the Japan Team.

Moreover, Camus's complete adjustment to his tennis style means that while his future achievements are limitless, he has not yet reached his peak and still has a lot of room for growth.

Let Duke play the Singles 1, Camus can be used as a trump card in the quarterfinals...

Ronard finalized the entry list.

Meanwhile, in the Japan rest area, Byōdōin stopped Saeki Muneyoshi.

His gaze was incredibly sharp; he stared into Muneyoshi's eyes for a long while before finally saying in a deep voice, "Don't lose."

Muneyoshi chuckled softly, "After watching Senior Gui's match, I've been incredibly excited..."

"Don't worry, Byōdōin- senpai, I will leave the final decision of the match to you!"

After saying that, Saeki Muneyoshi picked up his racket and walked towards the players' tunnel without looking back.

Compared to Muneyoshi's relaxed state, the rest of the Japan Team were less confident after witnessing the strength of the France Team.

Moreover, the competition has reached a critical point; if they lose again in the singles second match, their journey in this World Tournament will be over.

Therefore, the atmosphere in the entire rest area was somewhat oppressive.

Many people looked at Saeki Muneyoshi with worried expressions. As a first-year junior high school student, they were concerned about whether Muneyoshi could handle such pressure.

Mifune Nyudo out the sake gourd from his waist, took a few sips, wiped his mouth, stood up, and looked down at Muneyoshi.

Are you scared?

"I'm not afraid!"

Are you under pressure?

"Have!"

Are you afraid?

"Hehe, head coach, ever since I embarked on this path, it's usually my opponents I fear!"

"Hmph, fine then, kid! You go this round, I'm not making any substitutions!"

Upon hearing this, Muneyoshi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled slightly.

He was genuinely afraid that Mifune Nyudo simply replace him.

But now it seems that everything is in my own hands.

"Yes!"

Muneyoshi stood in front of Mifune Nyudo, glanced around, and noticed that the high school students, especially the third-year students, were looking at him with a mixture of tension, anticipation, and admiration.

Under such terrifying pressure of being on the brink of despair, they expressed their admiration for Saeki Muneyoshi's courage to stand up.

This kind of mindset is not something that just anyone can possess.

They were somewhat shocked that the head coach had agreed, but then they realized that the head coach also recognized Muneyoshi's strength, so they hoped that he could turn the tide.

Only Tanegashima Shūji, Irie Kanata, and Ochi Gekko remained relatively calm, since they had interacted with Muneyoshi extensively and knew his approximate strength.

"You have to win, kid!"

Tanegashima's complexion regained some color; if he's healthy, he'll definitely play in this match.

Unfortunately, I fell ill on the way to France and have not fully recovered yet.

Tanegashima Shūji felt deeply guilty. He stood up and gave Muneyoshi a thumbs-up.

"Go for it, Saeki- kun!"

Irie Kanata, who always had a smile on his face, also gave Muneyoshi a thumbs up at this moment.

With the two of them taking the lead, Oni, Ochi, Kimijima, Tōno, and all the other high school students stood up.

"Muneyoshi, remember your promise to me, go and experience the world!"

Byōdōin also left the rest area and came to the sidelines to encourage him.

Seeing this, the other members of the Japan team also stood up. Some of them were not very familiar with Muneyoshi, but at this moment, they were a team.

Muneyoshi, who hadn't felt much at first, looked around after hearing everyone's encouragement and suddenly felt a strong pressure in his heart.

"So this is the responsibility and honor I've never experienced before...?"

"Is this the pressure of bearing the honor of a nation and the disgrace of a team...?"

What a wonderful feeling!

Really...

"Everyone... I will definitely win!"

He took on this pressure and responsibility, keeping it deep in his heart, and Muneyoshi's eyes became incredibly sharp.

Muneyoshi was unaware that as he took on all of this, his heavily burdened spirit suddenly began to shine with an even clearer brilliance.

Darkness, completely integrated with his spirit, also seemed to receive unimaginable nourishment, growing wildly stronger.

"Now we begin the Group C knockout stage, singles match 2."

"Japan Team: Saeki Muneyoshi (First Day of the New Year) vs. France Team: Tristan Barthes (Grade 10)."

The moment the player information for this match appeared on the big screen, everyone except for a few viewers who had watched the Japan Team's matches before and those who knew about the Japan's performance was shocked!

"Hey, am I seeing things?"

"First Day of the New Year grader? I thought it was a rumor, but it turns out it's true!"

"A middle school student playing against France? Is the Japan Team running out of players? Are they just going to give up?"

"Haha, I've watched his previous matches; he's an incredibly talented newcomer."

"How can middle school students participate in the U-17 tournament? Referee, someone is violating the rules!"

"There's no violation. The U-17 competition only stipulates that participants must be 17 years old or younger; there's never been any explicit rule prohibiting middle school students from participating!"

Of course, there are also those who are familiar with and pay attention to Muneyoshi, such as Keith, Lin Xiu, and Hanamura Aoi.

They were all invited by Muneyoshi, so they will definitely pay more attention to Muneyoshi.

There are other familiar faces, such as Mars from Spain.

At this moment, Mars leaned lazily against the stands, his soft and beautiful face drawing the attention of many young men around him.

"Mars, is this the kid you mentioned who knows Medrano?"

"Yeah, Captain, he's pretty good..."

"Hmph, then I'll take a good look!"

The stadium erupted in cheers as Saeki Muneyoshi announced his information.

The number of spectators today is far greater than when they played Croatia, and many people are seeing Saeki Muneyoshi for the first time.

Moreover, in their considerable history of watching the games, this is one of the few junior high school students to have participated in the main competition since the U-17 World Cup began.

And since he was only in the First Day of the New Year, they immediately thought of another Greece genius, the one known as Zeus, the leader of Greece, who was in the second year of junior high.

They are arguably the only two junior high school students in this World Tournament. Even the Spain prodigy mentioned earlier skipped grades and went to high school.

In fact, Mitsuya school, but he skipped a grade and only made a low-key appearance, which did not attract much attention.

The Greece prodigy Zeus, although currently with the team, has not yet played due to the Greece Team's formidable strength.

Now that Saeki Muneyoshi has returned to the field, wouldn't the Greece Team also have to field Zeus who is in his second year of junior high school) in response?

"Oh? It really is a middle school student? Is it another genius like Zeus? The Japan Team really has some ideas!"

Switzerland Team's zone.

Amadeus Alexander, hailed as a once-in-a-century genius and future star of Switzerland, also became interested and sat up straight to look at Muneyoshi as he walked onto the field.

Before the match, he had heard rumors that this Saeki Muneyoshi also followed the Path of Darkness, so he would have to take a good look at him.

Immediately, Amadeus focused his mind and began to carefully sense the surroundings.

In an instant, as Amadeus's spiritual power spread around Muneyoshi, the darkness within his body actually twitched.

"Hmm?! This First Day of the New Year from the Japan Team can actually get my heart racing... on the same path as me, interesting, really interesting!"

After confirming it, Amadeus became genuinely interested in Muneyoshi.

P. S.: I wrote over 10,000 words about the battle with Camus, but then realized it was off and a bit disjointed, so I scrapped it all and rewrote it... Please vote with your monthly tickets!

The original plan was to fight Camus, and Uncle Ghost won the match. I wrote about five or six chapters last night, about 13,000 or 14,000 words, but the more I wrote, the more something felt off, and I felt like I was falling apart. So I decided to scrap what I had written before and rewrite it, changing the opponent. It is normal for Uncle Ghost, a first-year student, to lose to a professional captain. This will allow Uncle Ghost to continue to grow, and the protagonist's Path of Darkness will continue to deepen, starting from this match.

Please vote with monthly tickets~