Fudomine's Training Camp (4)

Time passed slowly, and after two cycles, the sun was about to set.

However, aside from a small success in gathering bracken, the entire fishing team perished.

Apart from Muneyoshi, who caught eight fish when he tested the method for the two teams, the others didn't catch a single fish.

Therefore, when Muneyoshi returned carrying his load of spoils, everyone's faces lit up with excitement.

"Hmm! It seems everyone has been working hard on the bracken. Let's have fish tonight and use these bracken ferns to make fish soup."

Muneyoshi seemed oblivious to the flushed faces of the others, and instead nodded with satisfaction.

A moment of silence fell, until finally the honest and straightforward Ibu Shinji spoke up, "Minister, none of us caught any fish!"

To everyone's surprise, Muneyoshi laughed and said, "You don't think I can eat these eight big fish by myself, Fudomine, are a group. Of course, we share the good times and the bad."

"Let's go back and grill some fish and make fish soup!"

Muneyoshi's words instantly enlivened the previously somewhat silent atmosphere.

"Yay! We can have fish soup!"

Kamio Akira jumped up in excitement.

That evening, the delicious fish soup, paired with freshly picked wild ferns and grilled fish, brought a sense of satisfaction to everyone.

However, everyone secretly resolved that they would never "eat for free" like this again tomorrow.

The next morning, this time without Muneyoshi urging them, everyone got up early to wash and get ready.

And as Muneyoshi arranged yesterday, he picked up his racket, put on weights, and started cross-country running. The difference this time was that the weights were a little heavier than yesterday's.

In the morning, we practiced swinging the racket and hitting the ball from the tree, as well as catching the ball. At noon, we did another cross-country run, and then in the afternoon, we continued searching for food.

This training continued in a loop, and they seemed to lose track of time.

Day 3. Day 5.

The week-long training camp is drawing to a close before we know it.

Although Muneyoshi didn't arrange any particularly formal training, it was obvious that the auras of all the Fudomine members had become much more refined.

Even Tachibana Kippei and Keith seemed to possess a peculiar aura.

Under Muneyoshi's special training, everyone clearly felt their progress in just a few days.

Whether it's improved ball control, stamina, strength, or balance, their faces radiate confidence compared to before the training camp.

On the sixth day, after completing the morning cross-country run and the routine tree hanging, everyone returned to the training camp dormitory. Muneyoshi announced that the afternoon training would be changed to sparring on the court.

However, what Muneyoshi said could Fudomine is huge, so it is still very difficult to have an indiscriminate one-on-one fight.

Therefore, Muneyoshi had no choice but to settle for second best and refer to the training methods used by Inui Sadaharu in Seigaku in the original work.

Practice ball control and rallies using different colors.

The person they trained with was, of course, Muneyoshi himself. To be precise, it was Muneyoshi who trained with Tachibana Kippei, Keith, and Lin Xiu Osamu.

The people who trained with Ishida Tetsu, Kamio Akira, Ibu Shinji were these three.

With a clear division of labor, Muneyoshi himself doesn't have to work so hard.

Before long, under Muneyoshi's direction, the group set up the half of the court he wanted.

Five different colored stools—red, white, yellow, green, and black—were arranged.

"Alright, let's begin the training. Tachibana, you can go first!"

Then, Tachibana Kippei walked to the opposite side of Muneyoshi. Muneyoshi took out two more tennis balls and looked at Tachibana Kippei calmly, saying, "Tachibana, are two balls okay?"

"Come on, Muneyoshi, I'm fine!"

"Okay! First up is yellow!"

Bang!

The tennis ball was hit by Muneyoshi towards Tachibana Kippei. Looking at the incoming ball, Tachibana showed no tension whatsoever, and seemed to have become very relaxed.

"Explosive Ball Wild Dance!"

Just as the tennis balls were about to reach him, Tachibana Kippei swung his racket twice, sending the two tennis balls flying straight toward the red mound with great force.

Bang!

With Tachibana Kippei's precise ball control, the ball hit the red puck with great accuracy.

"Good, Orange, but I have one more request. You need to hit two tennis balls back in an instant, and the interval can't be as long as before. Keith, you have to do the same later!"

"Good!"

"Then let's continue, green!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two beams of yellow light shot out from Muneyoshi's hands.

Bang! Bang!

This time, Tachibana Kippei increased his speed, and a series of almost continuous hitting sounds rang out as the tennis ball instantly struck the green puck.

"White!"

Bang! Bang!

As they continued playing two-ball matches, Tachibana Kippei became more and more familiar with this method, and then Muneyoshi began to increase the force.

As Muneyoshi's strength continued to increase, the tennis ball also became faster, and Tachibana Kippei gradually began to struggle with the two balls.

Until.

"Red!"

The tennis ball flew out quickly, and in his haste, Tachibana Kippei could only return one ball, while the other flew directly out of his baseline.

Even the tennis balls he hit back landed precisely on the black platform.

"Orange, you made a mistake, next one..."

The unconventional training began on the sixth and seventh days.

"Ishida, yellow!"

"Kamio, white!"

"Shinji, black!"

Under Muneyoshi's constant commands, the tennis ball flew out of the hands of Tachibana Kippei and the other two, causing the first-year students to complain bitterly.

At first, they were able to control the ball's trajectory accurately and return it, but once the three of them started using their strength, even returning the ball became a luxury.

It was the afternoon of the last day of the training camp in the mountains.

"Today is our last day of training in the mountains. Next, everyone will draw lots for 1v1 singles matches, and I will be the referee to check the results of our training these past few days."

Muneyoshi gathered everyone together, returned their rackets, and then took out a set of slips of paper for them to draw lots.

The slip of paper was actually a single piece, with the middle part held in Muneyoshi's hand, only the beginning and end showing. The six people stepped forward one by one, took the end they chose, and then Muneyoshi let go.

"Tachibana Kippei vs. Ishida Tetsu!"

"Keith vs. Lin Xiu!"

"Kamio Akira VS Ibu Shinji!"

The opponents for each player were determined by a draw.

The first match was between Tachibana and Ishida.

"Vice Minister! Thank you for your guidance. I hope this time I can force you to give it your all!"

Ishida was unusually excited to see that his opponent was Tachibana. Although Tachibana Kippei and Muneyoshi usually gave him a lot of guidance, this was his first real match.

A glint of light flashed in Tachibana Kippei's eyes; he was actually quite curious about how much Ishida Tetsu had grown this time.

"Okay, Ishida, good luck! If you can really do it, I don't think I'll refuse! But even though you've definitely grown after the training camp, don't be blindly arrogant!"

Tachibana Kippei never hesitated to offer guidance and praise to juniors like Ishida Tetsu.

You serve first!

"Yes, Vice Minister!"

Reaching the baseline, Ishida Tetsu suppressed his excitement, briefly tested his tennis touch, and then tossed the ball high into the air.

Then Ishida bent his knees, bent over, and leaped high into the air, swinging his arms in an exaggerated motion.

P. S.: "Finishing the training camp story today is a way of apologizing for yesterday's update. It's not an extra chapter. Please vote with your monthly tickets!"

I finished writing about the training camp today, so this doesn't count as an extra chapter.