Metropolitan Tournament Spectator

Muneyoshi was aware of the Tennis Monthly report, but he didn't stop.

The path of Darkness, the complete opposite of Shining Shot, was a realm Muneyoshi had never touched.

Even in the original work, perhaps only the Swiss captain Amadeus could have guided him.

And in Japan, no one had ever walked this path.

Compared to the Shining Shot, which required reaching a certain level of skill, understanding the technique of light, and could unleash powerful destruction upon being hit, The power of Darkness didn't seem as outwardly apparent as light.

If light was a transformation achieved by elevating the body's Five Dimensions attributes to a certain level, utilizing sweet spot techniques to hit an absolutely powerful shot, and imbuing the tennis ball with strong personal will, Then Darkness was like a seed buried deep within the body.

Compared to Amadeus's perfected realm of Darkness in the future World Championship, his current Darkness was merely the first step.

Just a nascent form!

So, for now, everything had to be explored by himself.

He needed many battles and to absorb more nutrients for Darkness to continue growing.

Therefore, even though he knew that madly challenging the tennis clubs of various schools would invite hostility, he couldn't afford to care about that anymore.

Although the strength of many schools' regulars wasn't high.

But in constant battles, after hitting them, the scattered fear, disgust, and malice were the best nutrients.

Absorbing these different nutrients had also deepened his understanding of Darkness's application, and he had begun to gradually explore other uses.

After all, this was completely different from the path of light he had originally envisioned.

To force a comparison, the path of Shining Shot represented release and dominance, while Darkness represented restraint and ferocity.

This ferocity was like a quiet volcano, a silent flame, restrained to the extreme, just waiting for the moment to erupt.

Through continuous battles with opponents, he also learned how to use emotions to stimulate the power of Darkness.

As for the next direction, Muneyoshi estimated it would likely involve extinguishing the opponent's emotions, allowing the shadow of Darkness to further envelop them and continue to grow.

Although it might not be correct, it was the only direction Muneyoshi could grasp for now.

As for the final test, he would probably need to find an opponent strong enough to truly test its validity...

During the period of his continuous challenges, the second and final rounds of the regional preliminaries also concluded.

Tokyo Metropolis Regional Preliminaries, Joshisei Division, Kakinoki Sports Park.

"Match concluded. Doubles 2 goes to Seigaku's Kikumaru Eiji and Oishi Shūichirō, with a score of 7:5."

"Well done, Kikumaru, Oishi."

Yamato Yūdai smiled as he handed over a towel, extremely pleased.

After handing Seigaku over to Tezuka, he thought it would take another year, but he never expected it to regain its vitality so soon!

And the subsequent matches only strengthened his belief.

"Match concluded. Doubles 1 goes to Kakinoki Junior High, with a score of 7:6."

"Match concluded. Singles 3 goes to Seigaku's Akutsu Jin, with a score of 6:3."

"Match concluded. Singles 2 goes to Seigaku's Yamato Yūdai, with a score of 6:1."

"Are all the first-years at Seigaku this strong this year?"

"That's right. While the first doubles pair is also very strong, those two seem to have only recently started playing together, and their chemistry is still a bit lacking. And remember, they are both first-years."

"The winner of this Tokyo Metropolis Joshisei Regional Preliminary is--Seigaku!"

Almost simultaneously with Seigaku's victory, in the Tokyo Metropolis Regional Preliminaries, Jōtō Division, at the final venue, Hinomori Tennis Park.

Thwack!

"Game, match concluded. St. Rudolph Academy wins, 6-4!"

"Game, match concluded. Hyotei Academy wins, 6-0!"

"Game, match concluded. Hyotei Academy wins, 7-6!"

"Game, match concluded. Hyotei Academy wins, 6-0!"

In less than two hours, the Jōtō Division finals were all concluded.

"Match concluded. Hyotei versus St. Rudolph. Doubles 2, four to six. Doubles 1, six to zero. Singles 3, seven to six. Singles 2, six to zero. Hyotei Academy wins."

Hyotei, with their overwhelming strength, once again secured the championship of the Jōtō regional tournament.

Although this was likely not their first Jōtō regional championship, all members of the Hyotei tennis club cheered.

During the handshake, St. Rudolph's expressions were somewhat grim, but at least they had managed to advance to the upcoming Metropolitan Tournament this year.

Compared to previous years, it's quite a good result.

However, when Hyotei was winning, taking photos, and receiving their awards, Atobe Keigo, the captain of the tennis club, didn't look very happy.

Although many were curious about this, no one dared to ask him directly.

As for Oshitari Yushi, Mukahi Gakuto, and Anahira Ryo, who knew the reasons very well, they kept their mouths shut, not daring to provoke Atobe.

Kanagawa Prefecture Regional Qualifiers.

"Ooh~"

"King Rikkai Dai!"

"Rikkai Dai!"

"King!"

"The match is over. Rikkai Dai vs. Hoshi Dai Koizumi. Rikkai Dai Affiliated Middle School wins the regional qualifiers with a score of 3 wins and 0 losses."

Amidst the shocked cheers of the audience, the referee's final announcement echoed throughout the venue!

This year's Rikkai Dai Affiliated Middle School is definitely enough to shock the entire Kanagawa Prefecture.

As the absolute overlord of the Kanto region with thirteen consecutive championships, Rikkai Dai Affiliated Middle School, a national-level powerhouse with unfathomable strength, actually has six first-year students among its official members this year.

You have to understand, this is Rikkai Dai, not some weak school.

Furthermore, Rikkai Dai's tradition has always been that the strong advance and the weak retreat.

This means that these six first-year regulars all defeated the previous year's older regulars from Rikkai Dai, seizing their precious spots with absolute strength.

Even Hyotei Academy, which was also undergoing changes, couldn't keep up with this kind of personnel shift.

Currently, Hyotei only has four first-year students, which is already astonishing.

If there were no subsequent events involving Seigaku, then Rikkai Dai would be the most thoroughly reformed school this year.

However, after the first round of the regional preliminaries, due to Seigaku's club president Yamato Yūdai relinquishing power and strongly promoting Tezuka to the top position, Seigaku now also has six first-year students, just like Rikkai Dai.

The members of Rikkai Dai silently accepted the championship trophy.

The people of Rikkai Dai, who had won the regional qualifiers, showed no joy, as they considered it a foregone conclusion.

The thirteen consecutive championships in the regional preliminaries and Kanto Tournament created by their seniors were both an honor and a responsibility.

They didn't care about a mere regional preliminary championship; what they wanted was the championship of this year's National Tournament!

"Renji, what's the situation with the other schools in Tokyo Metropolis, and with Seigaku?"

Upon returning to the tennis club, Sanada, without any rest, immediately found Yanagi Renji, Rikkai Dai's strategist, and asked him with a stern expression.

Ever since they learned from the Tennis Monthly magazine that Tezuka Kunimitsu was at Seigaku's tennis club, Yukimura and Sanada had instructed Yanagi Renji to collect information on Seigaku.

Yanagi Renji flipped through his phone and said calmly, "Seigaku won the championship of the Joshisai regional qualifiers with a score of 3:1."

"Also, the champion of the Joto region is Hyotei!"

Sanada was not surprised by this. If a Seigaku with Tezuka Kunimitsu couldn't even win the regional qualifiers, then it could only mean that Seigaku had too many weaklings.

"Did Tezuka Kunimitsu participate?"

However, Sanada wasn't concerned about Seigaku's internal affairs; he only cared about Tezuka's situation.

"No."

Yanagi Renji continued, "Tezuka Kunimitsu is Seigaku's singles number one. The opponents in the regional qualifiers were too weak, so Tezuka Kunimitsu didn't need to play. Also, we couldn't glean any useful information from the recordings, which are insufficient for reference."

"Genichiro, there's no need to be so anxious. You don't need to worry about Seigaku for now!"

Yukimura's voice came from behind, his words carrying a gentle but firm tone:

"As long as Seigaku keeps winning like us, we'll eventually meet them at the Kanto Tournament. At that time, you can get your revenge, and I will allow it."

"Hmph!"

Sanada snorted, "We absolutely cannot slack off. Let's continue to strengthen our training! I will definitely get my revenge then!"

Hearing this very Sanada-like remark, the rest of Rikkai Dai's members felt a sense of helplessness.

Time passed quickly, especially with the high-intensity training plan that was constantly being implemented after realizing their own limits. Muneyoshi had no concept of time; he could only feel the joy of his own strength improving.

Before he knew it, the Metropolitan Tournament had arrived.

Saeki Muneyoshi was finally able to step away from his fulfilling training.

Although Fudomine had lost their chance to compete this year, he could only observe the Metropolitan Tournament as a spectator.

However, due to his influence, the plot had already significantly deviated from the original work, which sparked a sliver of interest in the Metropolitan Tournament for him.

There was one match in particular that was quite worth watching.

ps: "Chapter 3 delivered. Please support me with lots of votes."