The Black Legion, Fudomine

"Tezuka, see you in the finals of the preliminaries!"

After the match ended and the Fudomine hands, they encountered the Seigaku team again.

Without lingering for long, Muneyoshi confidently made a promise to Tezuka for a final match.

He then led Fudomine away from the arena.

The black jersey exudes a composed demeanor, accented only with a touch of red and white.

This caused the Fudomine team to gather together, resembling a black legion, giving off a powerful sense of mental pressure.

Many people were taken aback by Fudomine's powerful aura.

Therefore, surprisingly, no one dared to object to Saeki Muneyoshi's challenge to Seigaku in the finals.

Many schools didn't realize what had happened until they left.

"Is this Fudomine?"

"It feels like a completely different team!"

"Their momentum is too strong!"

"Didn't the Tennis Club disband after the violence last year? How come it's been rebuilt so quickly?"

"The Black Legion..."

Muneyoshi, of course, didn't care how much of a stir their appearance caused other schools; it was just a regional preliminary round, nothing worth celebrating.

The next day.

The second round of the competition at Shikinomori Sports Park begins.

Fudomine's opponent is Misaka Middle School, a relatively unknown school that Muneyoshi hadn't paid any attention to.

Today, Hanamura Aoi came to the site to make adjustments and arrangements for the competition participants.

Sakurai Masaya and Makihara Shuichi were assigned to doubles pair two, Kamio Akira and Ishida Tetsu were assigned to doubles pair one.

Like Hanamura Aoi, Muneyoshi thought that these regional preliminary competitions would allow newcomers to gain more experience and also help identify the players' problems.

They can also make timely adjustments after the competition, which helps them grow.

With Fudomine's strong performance yesterday, more people are watching their match today.

When they saw that Fudomine had sent out another team of complete rookies, many people from other schools began to take out various video recording devices to record the event.

Gathering intelligence is something every school needs to do.

After their initial nervousness Sakurai Masaya and Makihara Shuichi, who were making their first appearance together, quickly recovered.

The previous training has begun to pay off, and Misaka Middle School has put their strongest doubles pair in this match, hoping to win.

However, thanks to the two players' tenacious comeback and strong defense, the game eventually went to a Game 7.

In the end, Fudomine still had the last laugh.

"In the doubles match 2, Fudomine Sakurai Masaya and Makihara Shuichi won, with a score of 7-6."

The two helped each other to the coach's bench, where Hanamura Aoi was reviewing and giving instructions on their match.

"Masaya, you need to practice your net play more. When returning the ball, you must be decisive and not hesitate. Also, when you go back, you should increase the amount of jumping and ankle exercises you do."

"Shuichi, your stamina is too weak. When the match went into a long battle, your voice became too soft. Also, your ball control in the last two sets was a big problem. When you get back, do one more set in all your training sessions."

Go!

"Yes, Coach!"

Hanamura Aoi waved her hand, and the two quickly bowed to her before returning to the rest area.

Misaka Middle School's strongest doubles team, Team Two, was defeated by Fudomine, and they seemed to have lost their fighting spirit in the following matches.

In the doubles match, Kamio Akira and Ishida Tetsu launched a relentless attack and secured the victory in just twenty minutes.

In the subsequent singles match, Ibu Shinji won without much effort.

After the match ended, watching the two schools shake hands, everyone watching began to understand that Fudomine had truly undergone a dramatic transformation this year.

Not only were all the team members and coaches replaced, but their morale and spirit also changed significantly.

As Hanamura Aoi walked at the front, followed by a group of Fudomine boys in black uniforms, an aura as powerful as a thousand troops instantly spread out.

"The Black Legion Fudomine!"

It's unclear who first coined the term, but it has truly been accepted by many.

"This year, Fudomine, Seigaku, and Hyotei Academy will be Rikkai Dai's biggest rivals. Rikkai Dai wants to defend its title and continue to dominate the nation, it must defeat them."

Watching Fudomine's departing figure, a squinty-eyed boy was drawing and sketching in a notebook under a large tree outside the stadium.

This squinty-eyed guy is none other than Renji Yanagi Renji -year Regular at Rikkai Dai.

The Kanagawa tournament is held a little later than the Tokyo Metropolis tournament.

Therefore, the people Rikkai Dai Seigaku as Rikkai Dai's strongest rival in their national dominance, send Yanagi Renji to Tokyo to collect information on Seigaku.

After watching Seigaku's match, Yanagi Renji didn't find much of value, so he decided to wander around aimlessly.

When he arrived at the Fudomine competition venue, he didn't notice it at first, but when he saw that familiar figure sitting in the rest area...

Yanagi Renji opened his eyes instantly.

These ordinary schools probably didn't know Saeki Muneyoshi, but after Muneyoshi's challenge in the first year...

Throughout Japan, everyone aiming for the National Tournament considered Saeki Muneyoshi a rival, even though he ultimately didn't make it to the National Tournament.

However, Saeki Muneyoshi's strength had deeply penetrated Yanagi Renji's heart.

"So he's a member of Fudomine. No wonder, he was probably the one who instigated the incident that happened at Fudomine last year!"

Yanagi Renji closed the notebook, his mind already raising the danger level of Fudomine.

Although there are still a few people from Fudomine who haven't made a move yet, anyone chosen as a teammate by someone like Saeki Muneyoshi is definitely not an ordinary person.

"And if I'm not mistaken, that guy with the black buzz cut should be Tachibana Kippei from last year's Shishigaku..."

Having obtained this information, Yanagi Renji dared not delay. He stopped inquiring about other schools and instead prepared to return to Kanagawa to inform Yukimura and Sanada.

As Yanagi Renji left, under another large tree, Inui Sadaharu's figure also emerged.

"Professor, are you also following Fudomine?"

Then, Inui Sadaharu closed his notebook and left the area.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Taki Oginosuke of the Hyotei Academy also put away his video recorder and left.

As an advisor to the Hyotei Academy, Sakaki Tarou has been keeping an eye on Saeki Muneyoshi since last year.

He didn't miss any of the information.

He even knew that Saeki Muneyoshi was participating in the World Tournament.

However, he did not inform the members of the Hyotei Academy about this information, especially not Atobe.

Sakaki Tarou was well aware that, in terms of pure strength, no middle school student could rival Saeki Muneyoshi now.

However, there are still loopholes in his Fudomine Tennis Club.

However, with Saeki Muneyoshi's series of actions and the arrival of Hanamura Aoi, Fudomine truly became a behemoth in his eyes.

They are one of the Hyotei Academy's formidable rivals, on par with Seigaku and Rikkai Dai.

Therefore, he had been assigning Taki Oginosuke of the second team to gather intelligence on Fudomine.

Looking at the collected information, Sakaki Tarou clearly saw through Fudomine's hidden strength, and Lin Xiu, who had appeared several times in a row, also came into his view.

"A character like Oshitari? And Tachibana Kippei, Saeki Muneyoshi... Fudomine..."

Even though Sakaki Tarou was somewhat prepared for the sudden rise of Fudomine, he still felt a headache coming on from the strength they were displaying.

"We can't keep this from Atobe any longer; we need to make him nervous too."

After saying that, he had someone summon Atobe Keigo to his office.

P. S.: "Danyang is also someone who gets caught up in the pressures of life. She thought she might not be able to handle it, but she persevered through altitude sickness. Please vote for her!"

I've arrived at my business trip location. The accommodations are indeed quite basic, and the internet is terrible. But I was lucky in Danyang today; I didn't experience altitude sickness when crossing the 4,000-meter mark. I just used some supplemental oxygen and feel much better. I definitely won't be able to do anything today, so I'll just rest in the hotel. I'll try to write a little more while I have the time, because I might not be able to reply to everyone's messages in the next few days.