Clash Before the Finals

Upon hearing Hanamura Aoi mention the impending rule changes, Muneyoshi thought for a moment and then stopped paying attention.

In competitive sports, no matter how the rules change, only by having strong strength can you deal with any opponent.

Moreover, unlike in the original work, the new rules for the World Cup didn't come out until the third year.

Now that we have an extra year, the teams have much more room to adjust.

The changes in the future will be even greater.

Mifune Nyudo will definitely arrange for Kurobe and others to give junior high school students more time for training and growth.

On the other side of the timeline, slightly reversed.

Compared to the relatively confident Muneyoshi and Fudomine, Rikkai Dai did not linger in Chiba after their hard-fought victory over Seigaku.

They urgently need to plan ahead and devise the team's best lineup to secure victory in the finals.

After all, the National Tournament finals are the last battle for second-year students.

The victor will ascend the throne, while the loser will be the biggest loser.

For Rikkai Dai in particular, the defeat in the Kanto Tournament made it even more unacceptable for them to fall short at the last minute in the National Tournament.

Meeting room of Rikkai Dai Tennis Club, Kanagawa Prefecture.

As a true tennis powerhouse among junior high schools, Rikkai Dai University provides its Tennis Club with top-tier treatment, including constantly updating the Tennis Club's appearance and purchasing many advanced tennis facilities.

They even set up a dedicated meeting room and document processing room for them.

Such care is probably only comparable to that of the Hyotei Academy in Tokyo.

Even the now-rising Fudomine, Seigaku, Shitenhoji are nowhere near comparable.

A group of boys in yellow uniforms, who had just finished today's Semifinals and rushed back, were sitting upright in the conference room.

Each of them had a file containing Fudomine's personal information placed in front of them. If the camera zoomed in, it would be revealed that the information was very detailed and constantly being updated.

Meanwhile, on the projector in the conference room, highlights of matches featuring some of Fudomine's most important players were playing.

Inspired by the champagne and early barbecue celebration at halftime of the Fudomine, everyone was glued to the video, memorizing it while simultaneously analyzing various data points.

After a while.

"Renji, Niou, what do you think the Fudomine do in the final match?"

Seeing that the Regular in the conference room had finished reading the information on their respective opponents, Yukimura put down the information on Saeki Muneyoshi and looked at Yanagi Renji, asking gently.

Because they had fought against Fudomine in the Kanto Tournament, Yukimura was well aware of Fudomine's strength.

Although Rikkai Dai is still considered a strong contender to defend their title, they face Fudomine.

Especially when facing Saeki Muneyoshi again, Yukimura didn't have much confidence in winning.

Although they always said that Rikkai Dai's victory was invincible, Yukimura stopped saying it after his defeat to Saeki Muneyoshi.

Although their doubles and singles reserves are impeccable, problems arose when it came to him.

Rikkai Dai's biggest weakness in the face of Fudomine is itself.

Even though his strength has increased again, Yukimura is well aware that if he were to face Saeki Muneyoshi again, he would still have no chance of victory.

Of course, he didn't say this aloud, as that would unnecessarily undermine the team members' confidence.

However, even if he didn't say it aloud, the mere thought of such a person was absolutely unacceptable to Yukimura, who was self-centered.

However, faced with Saeki Muneyoshi's overwhelming strength, Yukimura could only accept any hardship.

It is precisely for this reason that Rikkai Dai has to think carefully and consider its troop deployment in order to have a chance to defeat Fudomine.

Although this might seem like an attempt to avoid the enemy, and it's quite shameful, it's something we can endure for Rikkai Dai's victory.

"Yukimura! If you can avoid Saeki Muneyoshi, the captain of Fudomine, our chances of winning this final will greatly increase."

Yanagi Renji took out a stack of documents, which contained Fudomine Hanamura Aoi's personnel arrangements for Fudomine's appearances in previous matches.

The list and formation were very detailed, with the names of Fudomine Regular appearing on the list. Yanagi Renji even thoughtfully calculated the probability of each group appearing.

But the only name circled on the form and marked with a bright red "zero percent" was that of Saeki Muneyoshi.

After so many matches and so much data collected, Yanagi Renji knew very well that Saeki Muneyoshi's strength was beyond their current capabilities.

He had never used his true strength in any of his previous matches, so the prerequisite for Rikkai Dai to win the final was to ensure that Yukimura could avoid Saeki Muneyoshi.

"Liu, which singles position will Saeki Muneyoshi play?"

This time, it wasn't Yukimura who asked the question, but Sanada Genichirou, who was standing to the side.

As Sanada voiced his question, everyone stared intently at Yanagi Renji, even the usually lazy Mori Juzaburo was not surprised.

"Based on my review and analysis of all of Fudomine's match records over the past year, I found that before the Metropolitan Tournament, Saeki Muneyoshi had a 52% chance of appearing in Singles 1, a 41% chance in singles second, and the lowest chance, only 17%, in singles third."

Yanagi Renji transferred Saeki Muneyoshi's information to the computer, and various data immediately appeared on the projection screen. After pointing out the pattern in Muneyoshi's previous appearances, he changed the subject and continued:

"However, Fudomine's loss in the Metropolitan Tournament led to some changes for them. Their coach, Hanamura Aoi, now wants Saeki Muneyoshi to finish off his opponent in the second singles position."

Therefore, Fudomine, Saeki Muneyoshi has a 41% chance of appearing in Singles 1 1, a 47% chance of appearing in singles match 2, and only a 28% chance of appearing in singles match 3.

Because of the Fudomine, Yanagi Renji spent a considerable amount of time studying the battle strategies of all of Fudomine's lineups.

"Then I'll play one-on-three."

Yukimura didn't hesitate much and immediately decided on his playing position.

Although he was reluctant to avoid Saeki Muneyoshi, he didn't feel there was anything wrong with it.

Saeki Muneyoshi's strength far surpasses his own, and this is the most important thing for Rikkai Dai's victory.

"Should we go head-to-head with that doubles team from Fudomine? We're only second-year students. If we're too afraid to face them, are we really scared?"

After Yukimura decided to take on the third singles spot, Sanada also spoke up from the side.

Unlike Yukimura's deliberate avoidance, Sanada felt that doubles couldn't afford to back down any further.

"That's right, we can't back down in doubles anymore. Renji, the arrangement you made before, moving Sanada to doubles, I think we can try it this time, having Sanada and Niou as doubles pair;

"You go to singles match two, and let Mouri- senpai take charge of Singles 1. Even if you face Saeki Muneyoshi, I believe that with your Data Tennis, you will definitely be able to collect more useful data about Saeki Muneyoshi for Rikkai Dai, and prepare us to defeat him in the future."

At such crucial moments, Yukimura's decisions became remarkably decisive.

Yukimura knew that the information Yanagi Renji had collected about the Fudomine Regular was extremely detailed, but Saeki Muneyoshi was very vague.

This won't work.

Even if they are no match for Saeki Muneyoshi now, what about in the future?

Is it really going to remain absolved of war?

This is clearly impossible.

Therefore, having Yanagi Renji take on the singles second position to gather more detailed information about Saeki Muneyoshi is the best choice.

After a moment's thought, Yanagi Renji nodded and said, "Alright, I understand, Yukimura."

Seeing that Yanagi Renji had agreed, Yukimura then turned his gaze to Sanada: "Genichiro, you and Niou will be the second pair in doubles, is that alright?"

Sanada and Niou exchanged a glance, then both nodded, offering no objection to Yukimura's decision.

"Marui and Jack, you two will play doubles first. Your opponents are likely to be Kamio and Ishida from Fudomine. Take them down!"

"Don't worry, Yukimura Kuwa for a long time!"

Marui blew a bubble and chuckled softly.

Seeing this, Yukimura turned his gaze to Mori Juzaburo:

"Senior, the Singles 1 in the finals is in your hands. If the match comes to you, please make sure you win!"

Of course, we will do our best to prevent the game from falling into your hands, and ideally, we'll finish them off in the first three matches.

"Don't worry, Yukimura. I didn't put in much effort in the previous match against Fudomine, and I certainly won't this time."

Mouri, abandoning his lazy demeanor, spoke very seriously.

A week goes by quickly.

After finishing their routine training for the last day of the week, the Fudomine members once again traveled by car to Muneyoshi's dojo.

Although last week, in front of Rikkai Dai, Muneyoshi and others put on a show of tactical contempt.

But Muneyoshi wasn't stupid; he didn't really think Rikkai Dai was no threat.

Therefore, after a week of adjustment, they returned to Chiba and convened everyone to hold a pre-match preparation meeting with Hanamura Aoi.

During the meeting, the first-year students of Fudomine were all smiles. They had made it all the way to the finals, and if they could defeat Rikkai Dai, Fudomine would dominate the nation this year.

This made the group of first-year students feel like it was all a dream, and they were all smiling the whole time.

The meeting was held in the courtyard.

Hanamura Aoi and Saeki Muneyoshi were standing outside the window watching the group training and preparing for the match.

"Muneyoshi, seeing your wary and composed demeanor puts my mind at ease... You've made these kids arrogant; I thought you'd become impulsive too!"

Hanamura Aoi withdrew her gaze and smiled.

She remembered Muneyoshi 'Muneyoshi mature beyond his years very well from the first time she met him last year.

However, when it comes to the team members, he often adopts a laissez-faire attitude, letting them freely express their nature without much correction.

"Coach Hanamura, it's not that I want to guide them, but after such a winning streak, it's inevitable that these first-year students will become arrogant. After all, they're not Tachibana, and they haven't experienced the darkness that Keith and Lin Xiu did..."

Muneyoshi sighed slightly. The first-year students at Fudomine had actually been feeling this proud for a long time. Starting from the regional preliminaries, a series of victories had made some of them lose their way.

This is actually human nature, and Muneyoshi understands it very well.

Many times, Muneyoshi actually hoped that they would lose more in their first year. Only by experiencing the pain of failure could they become invincible when striving for success.

Of course, it was fortunate that they experienced that setback in the Metropolitan Tournament; otherwise, who knows how arrogant these guys would have become.

"Ha, so since you know that Kamio others' emotions have reached a point where they need to be suppressed, why do you keep guiding them in that direction? Don't you know that pride comes before a fall?"

Hanamura Aoi's eyes also held a hint of curiosity; she was, of course, very aware of what problems her teammates had.

However, with Muneyoshi, Tachibana Kippei, Keith, and Lin Xiu consistently suppressing the team, these issues were not apparent.

"Coach, while arrogance can easily lead to problems, it's also a double-edged sword; it can hurt both the enemy and oneself. What I need to do is simply let them hurt the enemy..."

"Besides, Rikkai Dai and their group are not easy to deal with; they're a very good whetstone!"

A glint flashed in Saeki Muneyoshi's eyes; he knew all too well how to deal with such arrogant people.

Putting aside everything else, just look at the people around Byōdōin —aren't they all arrogant and conceited?

There's nothing better for dealing with people like that than offering them a whetstone, Rikkai Dai is the perfect whetstone.

If the blade is sharp enough, it can cut through any thorns.

"How do you plan to arrange the roster for the finals?"

Since Saeki Muneyoshi has ample confidence and a well-thought-out plan for guiding the Fudomine team, Hanamura Aoi will not interfere too much.

Furthermore, since Rikkai Dai was mentioned, Hanamura Aoi took the opportunity to ask Saeki Muneyoshi for his opinion on the finalists' roster.

Although she already had a general plan in mind, Fudomine did not have a data expert like Yanagi Renji, and the information collected by Rikkai Dai was too broad and not very valuable for reference.

The only things she can learn from are the recent matches and past matches.

This was also a shortcoming of the newly established Tennis Club; even with the help of Tachibana An, Hanamura Aoi couldn't manage it all by herself.

Fortunately, Muneyoshi knew everything about Rikkai Dai.

Rikkai Dai

Saeki Muneyoshi knew that Yanagi Renji must have already gathered a very clear picture of them.

Therefore, in order to avoid being targeted by Rikkai Dai, they must change their formation.

After taking the entry form from Hanamura Aoi, Muneyoshi pondered for a moment before finally writing Ibu Shinji's name on the singles third entry.

At the same time, Keith's name was moved to singles, and Tachibana Kippei was moved back to doubles.

To defeat Rikkai Dai, securing a set in doubles and then aiming for victory in singles is the most sensible strategy.

After all, Rikkai Dai not only has three National Level singles players, but also two National Level doubles players.

If Fudomine is to guarantee a win in a doubles match, then he is almost guaranteed to lose a singles match.

Given this, it makes sense to move the stronger Keith to singles.

Muneyoshi was confident he could win the match, but Keith had to choose between Sanada and Mouri as his opponent.

Sanada and Keith will have a tough time, but if they can drag it out, they should be able to win without much trouble. However, Mouri's strength...

"Will Sanada appear in singles match three, or singles match two?"

Muneyoshi hesitated, because he wasn't quite sure of Sanada's location.

Given the precedent of the Kanto Tournament and Fudomine's consistent lineup strategy, they would definitely assume that Tachibana Kippei would play in the singles third match.

Moreover, Hanamura Aoi and Muneyoshi had been constantly reinforcing this understanding of their opponents.

Tachibana Kippei basically always in this position.

Will Yukimura and Yanagi Renji also make changes in the singles third position, and have Mouri Rai and Sanada make adjustments?

After thinking for a long time and discussing it with Hanamura Aoi, Muneyoshi decided to take a gamble.

I'm betting Rikkai Dai will definitely change their tactics.

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