Far From Home and the Rules

Just as Saeki Muneyoshi was leading Fudomine in their battle to win the Kanto Tournament championship.

U-17 training camp, Heart Cliff in the back mountain.

Several eagles circled high above Heart Cliff, then swooped down as if they had spotted their prey.

A series of cracking sounds could be heard from the dense forest from time to time, as if something had broken.

Meanwhile, on Heart's Cliff, two figures stood quietly talking in front of a dilapidated wooden house, paying no attention to the situation in the dense forest.

Mifune Nyudo held a large gourd of sake in his hand, and every now and then he would take a couple of sips.

Because of his unrestrained style and unkempt stubble, streaks of alcohol would occasionally trickle down his beard and onto his body.

He didn't care about this at all.

"Are the plane tickets already booked? Who have you decided to take with you?"

Looking at the golden-haired Byōdōin Hōō standing before him, Mifune Nyudo wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

He already knew about Byōdōin's decision.

He also highly recognized Byōdōin's talent and his leadership qualities as the leader of U-17.

However, Byōdōin decided to wander the world and take most of the First String members with him so that they could play more ranked matches.

He felt both gratified and slightly worried.

Since they defeated France in last year's World Cup and reached the quarterfinals, many people have been eyeing Japan.

Spies from all sides and from all countries easily infiltrated Japan.

I want to dig up more information about Japan.

Even Saeki Muneyoshi's success in the World Tournament brought these people's attention to Japan high school students.

Although most people believe that Saeki Muneyoshi is an exception, they do not have high expectations for Japan high school students.

However, Mifune Nyudo knew that, thanks to Muneyoshi's influence, it seemed that several other people had also been targeted.

This is why he tried his best to suppress the news from the middle school; although it wasn't very effective, it was good to prevent it for the time being.

Japan tennis is still too fragile; it doesn't even have a U-14 team, and its training system is completely unestablished.

At this time, Byōdōin was going to take them abroad. As the strongest commander, what would happen if something happened to Byōdōin while he was abroad alone...?

Mifune Nyudo knew perfectly well that those people were capable of doing it.

Byōdōin certainly didn't fully understand Mifune's worries, but he also knew the danger involved, so his expression was very solemn.

"Coach Mifune, I've made my decision. I'll basically take First String personnel who are coming with me."

"And..." Byōdōin seemed to have thought of something very important, his brows furrowing slightly.

"My current abilities have reached a plateau, and there's not much point in me staying with the U-17 team anymore."

"Actually, it shouldn't just be me. After breaking through to the Stage Two, Oni's speed also slowed down. That kid Saeki Muneyoshi is currently in the pond in junior high school, and his strength has probably stagnated as well."

Speaking of these two people, Byōdōin seemed to vent his anger. As the commander-in-chief, he had quite a few complaints about their actions.

Saeki Muneyoshi's situation was because the other person was indeed a junior high school student, and he couldn't force him to do so. But for Oni Jūjirō, it was truly a difference in their philosophies.

After Ghost broke through, the two of them sparred a few times. Apart from the first time when they gained some insights, the subsequent exchanges were basically unremarkable.

Compared to the two who were practically reduced to mere sitting ducks in his eyes, Byōdōin was not about to give up so easily.

Therefore.

No matter what happens in Europe, he will not regret it. To reach a higher level, one must have the awareness to transcend hell and death.

At the World Tournament, he encountered many strong peers, including Borg from Germany, Amadeus from Switzerland, and Duke from France, all of whom put him under tremendous pressure.

He had also vaguely heard that Spain's Medrano, who was unable to participate due to injury, was even called the number one talent in Europe.

He will challenge all of these people one by one.

His path doesn't allow him to stop here yet, so this world tour is something he must go through.

Seeing Byōdōin's resolute face and unwavering tone, Mifune Nyudo knew that he would not change his mind, so he decided not to try to persuade him any further.

"Byōdōin, I knew these wouldn't scare you. Here, take this."

Mifune Nyudo into his oversized martial arts uniform and pulled out a key and a piece of paper with an address and number written on it.

"What is this, Coach!"

"We've recently established an overseas training base in Europe. Once you're there, you'll have a place to train. Remember to work hard and don't embarrass me."

"Good."

Byōdōin did not refuse and gladly accepted it.

"By the way, you're talking about Saeki. Don't worry about him. I've been keeping an eye on him. Although his progress is indeed very slow, it's not like he's not improving at all."

"Oh? There's actually someone in junior high school who can help him improve?"

Byōdōin high school was. Although Saeki Muneyoshi had limitations on his abilities, there were almost no ones who could cause him any trouble.

"Hmph, don't worry about him. He'll probably come to the base after you leave. A lot of people are getting restless these days."

"Coach, you mean...?"

"Once you're all gone, someone will definitely come knocking, but they're just a bunch of clowns, don't worry!"

Mifune Nyudo and didn't take it seriously.

Byōdōin nodded, and also thought of several of his neighbors; indeed, two of them did engage in petty theft.

"Should I leave some people at the base?"

"No need, those few are enough!"

Upon hearing Mifune's words, Byōdōin also realized that not everyone would go with him. Those few, plus Saeki Muneyoshi who could be summoned at any time, were indeed enough.

"If that's the case, why not just recruit Saeki Muneyoshi directly to the training camp?"

Byōdōin still couldn't understand why Mifune and the other coaches didn't just let Saeki Muneyoshi skip a grade.

Upon hearing this, Mifune Nyudo took a sip of sake and laughed:

"It was my decision to send Saeki back to Japan. News came from Europe that the World Tennis Association was already discussing rule reforms for the next World Cup because of last year's World Tournament."

This reform is quite significant; it may require all countries to mandate that middle school students participate in the competition. By leveraging Saeki Muneyoshi's connections, we can anticipate the situation in the Japan school scene, allowing us to prepare earlier than all other teams.

In fact, Mifune Nyudo now focuses on junior high school students even earlier than in the original work.

Furthermore, starting with events of this year's Kanto Tournament, U-17 has had dedicated intelligence gathering personnel traveling to various regions to observe and record these events.

They did indeed see many promising talents, some of whom were even pleasant surprises.

Now that we know the rules are about to change, preparing in advance is the best option for Mifune Nyudo.

"I see, Coach, I understand. I'll be leaving now."

With a slight shift in his thoughts, Byōdōin prepared to leave. These changes were for the future; his own affairs were more important now.

"Get out!"

As Byōdōin's figure gradually disappeared into the distance, Mifune's gaze also drifted further away:

"Hmph, this rule change is beneficial for Japan. It's time for us to challenge for that position."

Seemingly envisioning the scene, Mifune Nyudo took a big gulp of sake.

A short while later, a group of disheveled figures emerged from the dense forest.

If Muneyoshi were here, he would have noticed that Tokugawa Kazuya was among the group.

His once neatly styled dark blue short hair was now disheveled, and he looked utterly wretched and miserable, completely devoid of his former elegance and arrogance.

However, his obsidian-like eyes were filled with light and unwavering determination.

Within it flickers a flame known as revenge.

"The Byōdōin Hōō..."

Tokugawa Kazuya's insistence made him completely oblivious to the exhausted state of the group he was training with.

"Coach, please proceed quickly..."

Snap!

Mifune swung his hand backhand with force, knocking Tokugawa to the ground.

Did I tell you to speak?

"I didn't tell you to speak, so what are you babbling about? Looks like your hellish ordeal wasn't enough!"

Mifune's rough and gruff voice resonated in his ears, its imposing manner both terrifying and somewhat frightening.

"Go! Go and fetch a bucket of water for everyone here!"

Tokugawa's mind went blank; he just couldn't believe it.

But nearly a month of brutal training taught him that arguing would only lead to trouble, so he had no choice but to climb down the mountain to fetch water...

P. S.: "Requesting monthly votes"

I feel so bad, I'm going to sleep after I finish typing.