A Remarkable New Generation

Saeki Muneyoshi and Tezuka Kunimitsu's junior high beginnings weren't smooth, but astonishing changes were happening at several other schools.

The first to be affected was Hyotei Academy.

At this very moment, within the Hyotei Academy tennis club, also located in Tokyo Metropolis, a heavyweight match was underway.

A bespectacled youth with medium-length, dark blue hair was sweating profusely.

His opponent was Atobe Keigo, who had arrogantly declared himself the king of Hyotei at the start of the school year.

It's worth noting that his declaration was made during the freshman entrance ceremony.

What he said was more like a proclamation than a slogan.

Atobe Keigo didn't care what the second and third-year students thought; he was there to announce his presence and arrival.

While many students were surprised and shocked at the time, they didn't truly take him seriously.

After all, they were young, constantly exposed to new things, people, and events, and within two weeks, they had forgotten Atobe's speech at the entrance ceremony.

However, compared to everyone else, the Hyotei tennis club would have a much deeper impression of him.

As soon as the first club recruitment began, the storm Atobe had initiated started brewing at Hyotei.

This year, Hyotei's tennis club was exceptionally lively compared to previous years.

There were as many as 180 first-year newcomers who wanted to join.

The reason for this explosive situation was, of course, the former club captain, Ochi Gekko, who had now advanced to high school.

During his three years of junior high, he had led Hyotei Academy, which only had regional tournament strength, to the national level, even securing a spot among the top four national schools.

Such achievements and transformation had indeed made the Hyotei tennis club stand out among the school's other sports clubs.

It's important to remember that before Ochi Gekko, the Hyotei tennis club's strength was not prominent.

Compared to the school's baseball and volleyball clubs, their strength was about the same.

If they were lucky, they might reach the Kanto Tournament, depending entirely on the draw.

Now, Hyotei had transformed into a nationally renowned school.

Naturally, this strength attracted many aspiring freshmen.

Atobe Keigo also arrived with his characteristic arrogance.

However, when "Lord Atobe" appeared on the court for regular member training, the second and third-year students had already been training for a long time.

He stopped to watch for a while, observing the existing second and third-year regular members. Atobe frowned, immensely disappointed.

Since Ochi Gekko's departure, Hyotei's strength had declined rapidly.

They no longer possessed the prestige of a top-four school. Seeing this, Atobe knew he couldn't waste any more time. He relaxed his brow, extended his right hand, and snapped his fingers towards the sky.

"Hey, trash, listen up! From today onwards, I, Atobe Keigo, am the tennis club captain. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

Atobe's explosive declaration once again captured the attention of all the regular members.

Even the first-years who had just joined and were picking up balls, as well as the cute, naive first-years lining up to register, were drawn to him.

Obeying seniors!

This was a subtle, unspoken rule prevalent everywhere in Japan.

Overthrowing superiors!

This was a contradictory trait ingrained in the very bones of Japanese people.

Atobe's statement naturally stirred public outrage.

Especially among the second and third-year students who had worked hard to become regular members; they naturally had to defend their rights.

The conflict between the two sides was irreconcilable.

The opposition between the first-years and the second/third-years was on the verge of erupting but was always suppressed, maintained at a controllable level.

However, this suppression was not a solution. Ultimately, with the tacit approval of advisor Sakaki Tarou, Hyotei's internal selection matches were brought forward.

In this internal selection, any member of the tennis club, regardless of grade, could participate.

Strength is king; one would obtain their desired position entirely based on their own ability.

This was a rule that Hyotei had been slowly implementing since Ochi Gekko's time.

Upon hearing this outcome, the Hyotei tennis club erupted in cheers. Unlike the shame and indignation of the second and third-years, the first-years were mostly excited.

"Everything decided by strength? An interesting system, I like it!"

Amidst the crowd, a youth with black-rimmed glasses and short, dark blue hair pushed his glasses up and murmured softly.

Another youth with red hair, Mukahi Gakuto, excitedly shook the arm of another boy wearing a tennis hat, Anahira Ryo, his excitement evident.

And today was the day of Hyotei's internal selection matches.

On the court, the third-year regular members, seeing the first-year challengers who appeared with the advisor's tacit approval, felt immense anger.

Especially towards the audacious, mole-sporting youth in front of them who claimed he would be the captain.

"First-year brats, no matter how much you jump around, today is the day it all ends. First-years should obediently pick up the balls!"

The third-years were actually conflicted. On one hand, they hated being backstabbed by their junior underclassmen, but on the other, they really liked Hyotei's system.

No matter who you were or what your status was, in the Hyotei tennis club, you had to prove yourself with strength.

The intra-school selection matches continued to progress, and the most attention-grabbing, of course, was Atobe Keigo.

He continuously challenged and defeated one regular player after another, accumulating immense prestige.

He once again defeated his opponent with a score of six-zero.

"Oh, is that all you can do, just bark pointlessly?"

Atobe looked at his last opponent, who had provoked him relentlessly before the match but was now completely drained of spirit. A flicker of disdain crossed his eyes.

"Listen up, everyone! I am Atobe Keigo!"

"I am your captain, the sole king of the Hyotei Academy tennis club!"

Atobe proudly and confidently declared these self-evident words.

"From this day forward, Hyotei will advance further under my leadership and reach the pinnacle of the national championships!"

"If any of you want this position, then come and take it from me if you have the guts!"

As he spoke, Atobe picked up his racket and tossed a tennis ball into the air.

WHAM!

The tennis ball was powerfully smashed into the net.

From this day forward, the transformation of Hyotei Academy had begun!

Sakaki Tarou, the advisor who had observed Atobe's performance all day, was also very satisfied with him.

Sakaki Tarou was a wealthy man himself. He didn't care about the so-called seniority system; he only cared about who could bring victory.

Atobe Keigo displayed immense strength!

Coupled with the confidence radiating from him and his innate kingly demeanor.

He was the most suitable person to lead the Hyotei tennis club, which had over two hundred members.

Coincidentally, in Rikkai Dai of Kanagawa Prefecture, the arrival of Yukimura and Sanada also stirred up a storm, much like Atobe at Hyotei.

Similar to Hyotei, which championed strength as king, Rikkai Dai revered the strong even more.

Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichirou reorganized the tennis club with little effort. Yukimura even took on the role of coach himself.

Rokkaku Middle School, having always had a tradition of appointing first-years as captains, now saw Saeki Kojiro's strength far surpassing that in the original story.

Not only did he become the captain, but he also defeated everyone else.

At Shishigaku, Tachibana Kippei and Chitose Senri also successfully secured their positions as regulars and were hailed as the future aces of Shishigaku.

In Osaka, at Shitenhoji, the arrival of Shiraishi Kuranosuke allowed Xiu and Hirazeni to find suitable successors.

Currently, in the Japanese middle school world, the only ones with the ability but who had not yet established the status of first-years were Seigaku and Fudomine.