District Qualifiers

As for Fudomine's Tennis Club, Muneyoshi had already stopped caring about it.

Having lived two lifetimes, he saw the situation clearly by now. Fudomine was different from all the other schools.

The Tennis Club coach and the third-years were in cahoots, monopolizing control of the team and running it like a fortress.

Not even a needle could get in, not a drop of water could get through.

Even though he had used the vice principal's connections and authority to force his way into the Tennis Club,

the real problem remained unsolved.

Tony Oki had given him the title of Regular, but it was only a title. He was never included in training, and his name was nowhere to be found in any of the Tennis Club's activities.

He had diligently carried out the school's instructions, but there were countless ways to manipulate things in practice.

Muneyoshi no longer expected anything from them. Now, he thought of Tachibana Kippei and the others who would come along in the future. They loved tennis so much—how could they still end up involved in a violent incident?

The reason was probably right here.

Unless the coach and the third-year deadweight were completely removed, Fudomine would never have a chance to change.

Once he understood that, Muneyoshi stopped entertaining any illusions about them and instead began working desperately to improve his own abilities.

His training focused mainly on hitting consecutive balls and building up his arm strength.

Ever since he joined the Tennis Club, its atmosphere had weighed heavily on him.

Mockery, hostility, isolation, exclusion—one petty tactic after another had deepened the negative feelings in his heart.

Only training gave him some relief.

Muneyoshi spent the entire morning training in the club's practice room, and Coach Yamada stayed with him, practicing alongside him.

By now, sweat covered him from head to toe, and his damp hair clung to his forehead.

Even with his excellent physical conditioning, such intense, continuous training had left him exhausted.

Still, his persistence had paid off, especially now that he had crossed the threshold into the national level.

With no bottleneck holding him back, Muneyoshi could fully realize all of his potential without reservation.

As a result, he was improving at an astonishing pace.

He could clearly feel that his skills had advanced considerably, especially his use of the Sweet Spot Hit Technique, which had grown more and more polished.

His five-dimensional stats were still steadily increasing. His physical growth had made the improvements to his basic attributes, such as strength and speed, especially noticeable.

With this foundation, combined with the powerful mental strength he had been born with,

he figured that with a little more time, he would be able to reach another level.

At the very least, the next time he faced Tezuka, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

If he could make that leap, then even after Tezuka activated the Muga Triple Gate, he might be able to hold his own, right?

Muneyoshi was confident, but he hadn't set foot on the path to the State of Selflessness. Still, he knew how powerful it was, especially after reaching the third gate.

That was a level comparable to stepping into the Different Dimension.

Even so, Muneyoshi believed that if he followed the path he had envisioned, he wouldn't be inferior to those who pursued it.

"Thanks again for your help today. Sorry for the trouble, Coach Yamada."

Having personally witnessed Muneyoshi's terrifying growth over this period, and now seeing how he still remained so courteous despite being utterly exhausted, Coach Yamada smiled, deeply moved.

"It's no trouble, Muneyoshi. Practicing with a genius like you makes me feel younger, too."

After thanking Coach Yamada once more, Muneyoshi left the club with his tennis bag on his back.

It was only right to thank him. Muneyoshi had relied on his help plenty over this period.

Ever since joining Fudomine Academy, Muneyoshi had gone to the club to practice and improve whenever school was out or he had a break.

As his training volume increased, he kept feeling that he was still just one step short, despite his talent.

But since his abilities had been improving rapidly during this period, he didn't force the issue when he noticed it.

He knew he was only missing the right opportunity to complete this move, so he turned to training his body instead.

Days passed, and while Muneyoshi was immersed in his training, before he knew it, mid-May had arrived.

Saturday, May 11.

The regional qualifiers for the Japanese National Junior High School Tennis Tournament—whose edition number was anyone's guess—officially kicked off.

Across Japan, the preliminary rounds were held by region that day. These preliminaries were also known as the regional tournaments.

Only the first- and second-place teams would advance to the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament.

The most closely watched team in all of Tokyo was Hyotei Academy, the top seed in Tokyo's Jōtō region and a semifinalist in last year's National Tournament.

But none of that had much to do with Fudomine. They weren't in the same qualifying bracket as Hyotei.

And since Fudomine was located in Tokyo, even the regional qualifiers were large-scale events, with many schools taking part.

After all, there were several hundred schools across Tokyo.

Kakinoki Sports Park, beside Kakinoki Junior High, was the venue for the Jōsei regional tournament in the Kanto area.

A number of school teams had already arrived.

Under the rules of the regional tournaments, only the first- and second-place teams in each region could advance to the next round, the Metropolitan Tournament.

This year, aside from Kakinoki Junior High, the top seed in Jōsei, most of the other schools were probably aiming for second place.

In fact, Seigaku should have been the strongest school in Jōsei.

But last year, Seigaku's captain, Yamato Yūdai, had been injured, severely weakening the team that had been most likely to make it to the Kanto Tournament.

Kakinoki Junior High had taken advantage of the opening and snatched the top seed.

Seigaku had returned this year, but would have to start again from the first round.

And their opponent in that first round was none other than Fudomine, where Saeki Muneyoshi played.

When he arrived at the venue, Muneyoshi saw a vast sea of people.

Teams clustered in groups of three or five, greeting familiar faces as they spotted them.

Saeki Muneyoshi glanced around once, then paid no more attention.

He was already thoroughly displeased. He had just learned from Tony Oki that he would be playing as a substitute!

A substitute!

Wasn't that basically the same as being a decoration?

What kind of situation would have to arise for a match to come down to the substitutes?

Saeki Muneyoshi didn't believe Fudomine had the ability to push another team into a substitute match, especially when that team was Seigaku.

The restless urge inside him to change all this grew stronger and stronger.

Meanwhile, Higashi-Ayase Tennis Park, not far from Hyotei, was already bustling with people. The Tokyo Jōtō regional qualifiers were being held there that day.

"Has Hyotei arrived yet?"

The speaker was Inoue Mamoru, a reporter for Tennis Monthly. He was still on his own for now; Shiba Saori, who would later become an intern reporter, was still in college.

She hadn't graduated yet, so of course she hadn't become an intern reporter for Tennis Monthly.

Inoue Mamoru looked around. The park was filled with students in school uniforms.

Outside the park entrance in the distance, teams wearing colorful jackets were arriving one after another.

"These must be the teams competing in the regional qualifiers—and the opponents Hyotei will soon face."

Inoue Mamoru watched the entrance, waiting for the team in gray-and-white jackets to appear.

After photographing the top seed, Hyotei, he still needed to visit other venues to take pictures. He was pressed for time.

"They're here."

Inoue Mamoru murmured, looking toward the park entrance, where five buses had stopped. Countless boys in gray-and-white uniforms filed off.

"So this is the powerhouse Hyotei..."

Inoue Mamoru stared at the proud-looking boy at the front, a teardrop-shaped beauty mark at the corner of his eye, and was momentarily stunned.

He hadn't expected Hyotei to have so many first-years.

Still, as a reporter for Tennis Monthly, he dutifully began taking pictures...

"Looks like Hyotei has changed a lot this year. Rikkai Dai in Kanagawa seems to have a lot of first-years, too. I wonder what Seigaku is like."

Inoue Mamoru watched the Hyotei team pass by, lost in thought.

As a die-hard fan of Echizen Nanjirō, he had always felt a special attachment to Seigaku. Unfortunately, the school had been dormant for far too long.

"Once I'm done photographing Hyotei, I'll go take a look at Seigaku..."

Click, click—

The camera's flash kept going off as Inoue Mamoru thought to himself.