Semi-Final

One week later, on Saturday.

Ariake Tennis Forest Park.

At 8:50 a. m., the bustling crowds made the park unusually noisy on the weekend.

The Semifinals of the Kanto Tournament are about to begin. This year's format, to accommodate more spectators, is divided into two brackets with slight intervals between matches.

This will attract more viewers, eliminating the hassle of deciding which side to watch.

The two teams in the upper bracket, Seigaku and Hyotei Academy, will be the first to compete for a spot in the finals.

In the lower bracket, Fudomine will face Rikkai Dai, a match that seems to be more appealing to the audience than the contest between Seigaku and Hyotei Academy.

Fudomine, emerging as a dark horse, is much like Seigaku last year, going all the way through, defeating Seigaku, Hyotei Academy, and Yamabuki to reach the Kanto top four and then advance to the National Tournament.

In the Semifinals, this dark horse's invincible momentum met the strongest team at present, Rikkai Dai, which on the surface was also a clash of titans.

And because of the inherent uncertainties and the allure of the hype, it's full of interesting aspects.

Therefore, the organizing committee decided to place them in the second half.

That is, after the match between Seigaku and Hyotei Academy.

"Tsk tsk, Liu, we're here so early, and it's already so lively!"

Looking at the lively scene in the tennis park, Niou Masaharu touched the small braid tied at the back of his head and said with a grin.

Accompanying Niou Masaharu was Rikkai Dai's strategist and key intelligence gatherer, Yanagi Renji.

Yanagi Renji's eyes were completely squinted; he wasn't surprised at all by the exaggerated crowd in front of him.

"Every year during the Kanto region's tournament season, around a hundred junior high schools participate. Reaching the Semifinals of the Kanto Tournament means that the four strongest schools are participating, so it's normal that the Semifinals attract a lot of attention."

Upon arriving at the venue for the match between Seigaku and Hyotei Academy, Yanagi Renji calmly recounted the data he had gathered while observing and surveying the area.

Niou pursed his lips, glanced at Yanagi Renji who was answering seriously, and was somewhat speechless.

There are more and more eccentric people at Rikkai Dai, and he has completely gotten used to Yanagi's way of speaking.

However, compared to this method, he still found the new little seaweed very interesting.

Unfortunately, Yanagi Renji was not Kirihara Akaya and would not be deceived by Niou, so he said somewhat helplessly:

"Liu, you know that's not what I meant."

"The match is about to begin. Although our opponent in the Semifinals is Fudomine, after we get past Fudomine, the winner between Seigaku and Hyotei Academy will become our opponent."

Now, Niou was completely speechless; Yanagi Renji's answer was simply too boring.

At 9 o'clock, after the organizing committee reviewed the rosters of both teams, Seigaku and Hyotei Academy entered the venue.

At that moment, a series of orderly footsteps came from outside the arena, and a figure dressed in black squeezed through the crowd to take a spot.

"Liu, Fudomine has arrived too!"

Upon hearing what Niou said, Yanagi Renji also turned his gaze from the stadium to the group of people in black uniforms.

Saeki Muneyoshi stood at the very front, flanked by Tachibana Kippei and Keith.

Upon seeing this, Yanagi Renji's eyes snapped open, staring intently at the person opposite him, his gaze revealing a sharp edge.

Meanwhile, the other students from the schools surrounding Fudomine also sensed the aura emanating from Muneyoshi and his group, and their expressions became extremely solemn.

A person's name, a tree's shadow.

Even a dark horse, as long as it wins consecutively, can build up enough momentum to put considerable pressure on others.

"Fudomine!"

Yanagi Renji's gaze swept over everyone at Fudomine, finally settling on Saeki Muneyoshi.

"Ah, plop! This guy's aura is even stronger now. Even from this distance, I can feel the surrounding light being drawn to him. It's terrifying!"

Compared to Yanagi Renji, who paid attention to everyone, Niou Masaharu was clearly more interested in Saeki Muneyoshi.

He had watched Muneyoshi's match videos countless times, and his understanding of him was often deeper than that of Yanagi Renji.

In his second year, Niou's hidden powerful spiritual attributes finally began to emerge, but he did not follow the same path as Yukimura.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before, a feeling he couldn't quite explain.

All that is known is that his memory and imitation abilities have improved dramatically, and he can clearly remember all the actions and habits of others.

He didn't know how effective this method would be, but he could clearly sense it.

He should be able to go even further after this Kanto Tournament.

It's a feeling that's hard to describe.

In addition to meticulously recording Saeki Muneyoshi's movements, he also recorded Seigaku Tezuka's movements from Tezuka Kunimitsu.

However, like Saeki Muneyoshi, he didn't get many opportunities to fight, and the opponents he faced didn't show much of their strength.

Therefore, this match between Seigaku and Hyotei Academy should be a good opportunity for him to observe.

This is why Niou and Yanagi Renji Niou arrived here so early in the morning.

Otherwise, he would definitely arrive later with Yukimura Sanada and the others.

Muneyoshi also saw the Rikkai Dai duo opposite him, but after realizing it wasn't Yukimura and Sanada, he only glanced at them briefly before looking away.

However, he still muttered to himself, somewhat speechlessly, "Niou's spiritual power is so active? Could it be that my butterfly wings are fluctuating more and more...?"

However, he only felt a slight unease and did not take it to heart completely, because although Niou's spiritual power was active, it was not solid.

This indicates that the other party is only in the exploratory stage of the Mental Power Path.

Even if we take a step back and assume that Niou really does start using cheat codes, he's still only playing doubles.

With Keith and Lin Xiu on the team, they can at least secure one win right now.

The most important factor in the decisive battle against Rikkai Dai is still the singles match; that's what Hanamura Aoi and he should really be working on.

Meanwhile, on the field...

Hyotei Academy's eight Regular and Seigaku's eight Regular stood at the net.

Atobe's eyes gleamed with a peculiar light as he gazed at the aloof young man before him.

"Tezuka, it's finally time to meet again after the Metropolitan Tournament."

When the topic of the Metropolitan Tournament came up, Atobe's voice became a little heavier, but he still chuckled and extended one of his hands.

"Um."

Tezuka Kunimitsu calmly glanced at Atobe opposite him, and also extended his right hand.

Hands clasped together.

"Tezuka, I haven't forgotten the defeat in the Metropolitan Tournament. You won't be taking this victory from the Hyotei Academy!"

Hyotei Academy's first-year Seigaku twice, and both times they used the same formation to deceive Seigaku and win.

However, starting this year, in the first round of the Metropolitan Tournament, Hyotei Academy was swept 3-1.

Hyotei Academy has suffered this defeat twice this year, and as proud as they are, how could they not make a move?

"Atobe, this is going to be a great match!"

However, Tezuka had not suffered from injuries and still possessed a cool demeanor, which completely negated Atobe's words.

Then, the auras of both of them began to rise.

As the teams parted ways, Tezuka glanced at Saeki Muneyoshi outside the arena.

For some reason, Tezuka recalled Muneyoshi's recent matches, his overwhelming strength and absolute dominance, which made him tremble even as a spectator.

However, he calmly suppressed the situation in an instant. At that moment, he was on the field, while Saeki Muneyoshi was a spectator.

Tezuka's thoughts drifted back to more than a year ago, recalling his promise to Muneyoshi.

This agreement has been made for a long time. Although Muneyoshi's strength has become unfathomable since his return, it is precisely because of this great strength that...

Tezuka was even more eager to have a match with Muneyoshi.

I missed it the first two times, hopefully this time...

As the match began, Tezuka suppressed the emotions surging within him.

Now he only needs to get past Hyotei Academy to wait for his opponent in the finals.

Whether it's Fudomine or Rikkai Dai, they are both opponents he's been looking forward to, and neither will disappoint him.

Thinking of this, even the usually aloof Tezuka felt his heart pound a few times, and a surge of heat rushed to his head.

"I promised Yamato that Seigaku would become a national powerhouse under my leadership!"

A flicker of intensity crossed Tezuka's eyes, before his gaze hardened once more.

"It's also my responsibility to Fuji, Jin, Oishi, Kikumaru, Miki, and Kawamura!"

P. S.: "Please vote with my monthly tickets!"