A Pre-Match Incident

On the other side.

Inside a semi-open stadium in Bangkok city center.

Tennis balls flew across the courts, the sounds of intense hitting echoing throughout.

Bang!

A tall, dark-skinned, and composed man executed a beautiful smash.

The tennis ball streaked across the ground with a golden light, instantly appearing on the baseline at the bottom corner.

"I lost again, Khun Paradon."

Opposite him stood a boy of similar age to the tall young man, but with a darker complexion, who looked somewhat dejected.

Paradon Gowabitud wiped the sweat from his neck and walked up with a smile.

"Cassidit, cheer up, you're improving really fast."

As the captain of the Siam team, Paradon Gowabitud patted the boy's shoulder forcefully, just like a kind older brother to his juniors.

At this moment, Balapong Srichapan, the second-in-command of the Siam team, also walked in from outside, carrying a large pile of documents in his hands.

"Paladon, the Japan Team has arrived, but they haven't entered the hotel we arranged. They seem very wary. Here is their information."

"As expected, who's leading them this time?"

Paradon took the documents handed to him and casually flipped through a few pages.

"It's that middle school student who performed brilliantly at last year's World Tournament. This student recently defeated the South Korea ace, and he hit really hard. I heard the South Korea ace's tennis career is probably over!"

At this point, Balapong Srichaphan's expression became very serious, clearly he was also frightened by Muneyoshi's methods.

"No matter what, he's just a middle school student. Even if he's strong, he can't compare to Byōdōin. But the fact that he's become the captain shows that the Japan Team is pinning its future on him."

What do you think, should we...?

"If others have done it to us, why can't we do it to them? But it's not good for us to directly interfere in these matters; we need to clear ourselves of any wrongdoing and let those people handle it."

Balapong nodded in understanding at Paradon's suggestion, then gestured to the person who had been following him, before changing the subject as if nothing had happened.

"I heard that Japan reached the quarterfinals of last year's World Cup, and he played a big role in that. Will you be playing against him then?"

Upon hearing this slightly gossipy question, Paradon Govabitud smiled and replied:

"Since you say the other team is the hero who helped them reach the world's top eight, then as the only junior high school student team leader in the world's top eight, I am certainly interested."

After their conversation, the two returned to the court.

The boy who had previously practiced with Paradon is now practicing multi-ball rallies alone. As his trainer increases the ball speed, he gradually adapts and his movements become more and more agile.

Paradon and Balapong's eyes lit up. This young player was only a first-year student. Once they left, he would become the future of the Siam team.

Seeing the other's significant progress, both Paradon and Balapong were very pleased, and a slight smile appeared on their lips.

"Cassidit, Multi-ball Play training needs to be integrated into actual matches. Come train with the two of us!"

"Yes!"

Upon hearing the captain's voice, the boy who was practicing quickly and happily responded. Seeing his treatment, the other members of the Siam team were filled with envy.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

Aside from leading his team to inspect the match venue, Saeki Muneyoshi spent the rest of his time in his room studying the Siam team's information.

Besides the information that Irie Kanata gave him on the plane on the first day, he received a lot more detailed information from Mitsuya after arriving at the hotel.

After Mitsuya's work, the information on all the members of the Siam team was very detailed.

In Saeki Muneyoshi's room.

Putting down the personality analysis report, Muneyoshi rubbed his temples and said, "The points competition starts tomorrow. Our preparations should be sufficient, right?"

"Saeki -kun, this is your first time leading a team. You'll get used to things once you're familiar with them. Besides, this is just an exception. Byōdōin took the First String with him, which is why this problem occurred."

Across from him, Irie Kanata also put down the documents in her hand and glanced at him calmly.

"Muneyoshi, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Besides, haven't you already analyzed it?" Tokugawa reassured him from the side.

He had been following Saeki Muneyoshi throughout this period and could understand the kind of responsibility the other carried.

Especially since they don't have a U17 coach with them, Muneyoshi has to make all the decisions himself.

It's fair to say that all the team members are now closely watching Saeki Muneyoshi's every move.

As the captain in charge, any small oversight can affect the outcome of the game, so he has no choice but to be meticulous.

"Fortunately, Irie -senpai and Tokugawa- senpai helped me with the selection."

Muneyoshi took a sip of the buckwheat tea beside him, smoothed his brow, and said bitterly, "I'm just being too sensitive to all the little tricks they use here in Siam."

Muneyoshi only participated in the World Tournament once last year and has not experienced the qualifying tournament.

He originally thought it would be similar to when he led the team in junior high school, but being in a foreign country and having to be on guard against any means by the other side at all times was really exhausting for him.

Although the other party's methods were not fatal, they had become extremely nervous about food, water, being followed when they went out, and so on.

Nowadays, people don't dare to eat hotel food directly anymore; they only dare to randomly choose a place to eat on the spot. Of course, these are just some small tricks.

"Fortunately, we didn't go to South Korea, and we don't have any animosity with the Siam tennis team. They were just conducting some routine harassment, nothing serious."

Irie Kanata paused, adjusted his glasses, and his eyes turned cold. "Of course, it's also possible that the other side is trying to mislead us, and the current calm is just a prelude to unleashing their full power at the most crucial moment."

With his keen eyesight, he had already noticed that two people had been frequently entering and leaving the hotel where they were staying recently, and they were probably the ones who had been monitoring them.

Comparing the information sent by Mitsuya, he easily saw through their disguise and discovered that they were two U17 members of the Siam team.

"A crucial moment? Could it be tonight?" Tokugawa raised an eyebrow, sensing the key point in Irie Kanata's words.

Saeki Muneyoshi tapped his fingertips lightly on the coffee table, pondered for a moment, and said, "It could also be tomorrow morning. Only tonight and the time before the start of the match tomorrow are the best opportunities."

"Could it be that they want to use the same thing that happened to the Siam in Bharata on us?"

Having gone through and dealt with these matters alongside them these past few days, Tokugawa had gained an understanding of the dark side of the world. At this moment, recalling the Siam team's previous experience, a bold guess came to mind.

Upon hearing this, Muneyoshi and Irie Kanata remained quite calm. "Disturbing their sleep, then administering the drug... as long as it works, they probably won't mind."

"So we're just going to passively wait for them to come?"

"No, passive defense isn't my style."

Compared to the various plans discussed with Irie, Muneyoshi was not entirely satisfied, and at this moment Muneyoshi preferred to take the initiative:

"Since Senior Irie has already identified the other side, and they still think we don't know, we can take advantage of this hidden information gap and strike first!"

"Strike first, or gain the upper hand?"

Irie Kanata stared blankly at Muneyoshi for a moment, seemingly surprised by his decisiveness. Then, as if realizing that this was indeed a good way to resolve the hidden danger, his eyes lit up.

Upon hearing Saeki Muneyoshi's words, Tokugawa's expression changed slightly. "Should we call the others over as well?"

"Of course, the three of us can't perfectly resolve something like this."

With a solution in mind, Muneyoshi smiled, "And we still need to make some preparations, at least to find their room and temporarily shut down or rearrange the surveillance footage!"

Seeing Muneyoshi speaking so eloquently, Irie and Tokugawa both fell silent for a moment.

Then Irie's eyes lit up. This was the first time he had ever done something like this. His previous expedition with Oni Jūjirō had never been so exciting.

After Muneyoshi temporarily removed the surveillance cameras pointing at his room from their floor, Tokugawa summoned everyone to his room.

Irie told everyone about the plan.

After hearing the plan, everyone looked at Saeki Muneyoshi with surprise.

"Ahem, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

After thinking it Fuwa the Iron Man and Hirazeni were still somewhat worried.

"Hehe, seniors, we're just taking precautions and addressing potential safety hazards in advance."

"Alright, since you're the commander, we'll follow your orders."

Fifteen minutes later.

Saeki Muneyoshi and Irie Kanata led the excited Japan Team to a room in the corner, which was the room of the Siam team members that he had confirmed.

"Ding-dong, ding-dong."

Then Muneyoshi gently rang the doorbell.

The person inside called out in Siam, "Who is it?"

As she spoke, the sound of shoes dragging on the floor was heard as she opened the door.

In an instant, the Japan Team at the door squeezed inside, a commotion that stunned another member of the Siam team who was watching the monitor inside.

Then, under their terrified gazes, Muneyoshi's men took them into custody.

And under interrogation, they actually revealed their plan to drug and harass them throughout the night.

This gave the Japan Team team a real scare.

"Friends from the Siam team, let's have a friendly chat tonight. Please invite them to our newly opened room."

Seeing the panicked looks in their eyes, Muneyoshi smiled coldly, "Don't worry, our exchange activity will end first thing tomorrow morning. You can just enjoy a night of television programs."

P. S.: "The bonus chapter for monthly votes will have to be released on the weekend. I'm too busy during the week, so there's no way around it. If we reach 1,000 votes by the weekend, I'll add two more chapters!"

Requesting monthly votes