Welcome to U17

On courts 15 and 16, which were integrated together.

Two figures, one in black and one in white, were engaged in a competition.

A large number of players were watching the game from the sidelines, most of whom were high school students, and the rest were all from Fudomine.

As the match progressed, the atmosphere became increasingly heated.

"Damn it, Ishida, you couldn't even catch that ball!"

"Ishida, what are you doing? How could you hit a ball out of bounds like that?"

"What exactly was that kid's move? It looked like he hit multiple tennis balls in an instant, which is why Ishida's swing was subjected to different forces."

"Huh? A middle school kid can actually master this kind of technology?"

Compared to the anger of the high school students, Fudomine's side was more relaxed.

As the match began, Tachibana Kippei and Keith realized that their opponent wasn't that strong.

To draw an analogy with the members of Fudomine, he is stronger than Kamio Akira, Ibu Shinji, and Ishida Tetsu, but not by much, and definitely not as good as Lin Xiu.

Several first-graders gradually noticed this as well, which made them secretly wary.

However, a moment later, when they saw Lin Xiu again, the group began to cheer for him.

"Well done, Senior Lin Xiu!"

"Defeat him! Senior Lin Xiu will show them the might of our Fudomine!"

The cheers here, unsurprisingly, attracted another group of people.

Tap tap tap!

A series of hurried footsteps approached, and a group of figures in brightly colored team uniforms appeared on the training field, standing out conspicuously against the uniform of the high school students.

At that moment, a body with platinum blonde hair tumbled down from above and landed in front of the Fudomine members.

All the invited junior high school students came!

"Hey, Fudomine, you guys are here so early. Are you already playing against the high schoolers?"

"Hirakoba!"

The person who jumped down was Hirakoba from Higa Junior High School. At that moment, Tachibana Kippei and the others also saw the group that had suddenly appeared.

"Yukimura, Tezuka, it was you two!"

Tachibana Kippei looked at the familiar figures and laughed happily. Even the usually indifferent Keith had a slight smile on his lips.

"Ah! So it wasn't just us who were invited, you all came too!"

Kamio Akira grabbed Ibu Shinji's neck and excitedly looked at the people around him.

"Hmph, even lowly minions like you have been invited, how could I, the King, not be invited!"

Atobe glanced at Kamio and Shinji, but paid them little attention, and said with his Atobe held high and great pride.

"Although we were invited, we didn't expect Fudomine to be ahead of us and even start the competition! We were so careless!"

Sanada glanced at the match and snorted coldly.

"Long time no see, Tachibana! Since it's a U-17 training camp, we in Kansai certainly have some talented people too!"

He raised his hand to brush the hair from his brow Shiraishi smiled elegantly.

"Fudomine, if you think you're the only ones who got chosen, I'm going to make you suffer!"

Kite's gaze was always so dangerous. In the National Tournament, Higa Junior High and Fudomine had already faced off.

"It's truly wonderful to see you all here!"

Fuji smiled slightly, which was considered a response to Tachibana Kippei.

"Orange!"

"Juping!"

"Long time no see, Ju!"

As the group gathered, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Yukimura Seiichi, and Chitose Senri also greeted Tachibana Kippei.

Although they are all competitors, Fudomine and Rikkai Dai fought a match in the National Tournament.

Overall, however, the relationships between these teams are quite good.

After exchanging pleasantries, everyone's attention turned to the field.

This group of people were very curious about the strength of the players in the training camp. When they saw them, some were disappointed, some were wary, and some were delighted.

Bang!

"Lin Xiu wins the game, score 6-3."

Seeing that Lin Xiu had won without expending too much effort, Atobe Kei's distinctive words reached everyone's ears.

Hehehe!

"So this is the strength of the training camp? It doesn't look that impressive."

"Tachibana, Tezuka, Yukimura, how about you have a contest to see who can defeat the most people?"

After saying that, Atobe picked up his racket and walked directly onto the court.

The training ground for teams 15 and 16, which are combined, is very large and can accommodate more than a dozen teams of competitors at the same time.

Hearing Atobe's challenge, the others were somewhat tempted.

However, Akutsu was the first to respond, "Monkey King, I'll compete with you!"

"Me... me too!"

Akutsu's words immediately drew a large following.

"Hahaha, Yukimura, Tezuka, Tachibana... You may outnumber us, but in this training camp, I will prove that Hyotei Academy is the strongest."

Atobe were less about preparing for a match against high school students and more about declaring war out of anger at the Hyotei Academy having fewer invited students than these other schools.

"Is that so, Atobe!"

"Then let's have a competition."

Upon hearing Atobe's words, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Yukimura Seiichi, Tezuka Kunimitsu, Tachibana Kippei, and the others whose names he had mentioned.

Only.

Aside from the schools of the few whose names were called, the expressions of the contestants whose names weren't Atobe became even colder.

Especially Kite Eishiro and Shiraishi Kuranosuke.

Of course, there was also Sengoku Kiyosumi, but he was the only one from Yamabuki, the fewest in number. However, he still responded to Atobe's challenge and chose a high school student to start the match.

Of course, while some responded positively, others did not.

For example, Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu.

The two of them were recording various useful data, but compared to Inui Sadaharu Miki who simply recorded the match data, Yanagi Renji was observing more carefully.

"As expected, Fudomine is also fully present..."

Upon seeing Tachibana Kippei, Yanagi Renji's narrowed eyes shone with starlight.

Although he didn't see Saeki Muneyoshi Muneyoshi, having learned more about him, he understood why he wasn't invited: it was because Munehiko himself was from this place.

While climbing the mountain, Yanagi Renji kept observing the selection of players for this U-17 training camp.

There weren't many teams with all members present; besides Rikkai Dai, only Fudomine was there.

As for the other teams, only a portion of their players were selected.

Even the powerful Seigaku and Shitenhoji only have four or five people.

Seigaku consists of Tezuka Kunimitsu, Akutsu Jin, Fuji Shusuke, and Inui Sadaharu;

Shitenhoji has Shiraishi Kuranosuke, Hara Tetsuya, Oshitari Kenya, Chitose Senri, and Ishida Gin;

Hyotei Academy only has three members: Atobe Keigo, Oshitari Yushi, Kabaji Munehiro.

Two students from Higa Junior High Hirakoba Rin School, Kite Eishiro and Rin Hirakoba;

Two students from Rokkaku Middle School: Saeki Kojiro and Amene Hikaru;

Only Sengoku Kiyosumi is in Yamabuki...

"The people who selected the roster are definitely people we know very well. They've chosen the most talented players from each team. It seems this U-17 training camp is really something to look forward to..."

Yanagi Renji thought to himself.

The match on the field was in full swing, and Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu also chose an opponent and started a game.

When most people have finished their matches.

Footsteps sounded again outside the training field.

Tap tap tap!

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing figure, all the high school students showed expressions of fear and pain, but dared not utter a sound.

Seeing them like this, the junior high school students looked up and saw a tall man wearing a white coat and holding a megaphone suddenly walk to the edge of the stands.

He is very tall, standing at a full 216 centimeters.

"Stop the game!"

Saito Itaru addressed everyone with a smile.

"What? The three of us haven't even had a match yet?"

Kamio Akira muttered something, because of their age, only the three of them were first-year students, so the seniors needed to compete first.

They'll be last.

At this moment, Kamio was making preparations with great enthusiasm. Although these people seemed to be stronger than him, he was full of energy.

Saito Itaru smiled but remained silent in response to Kamio's mutterings.

After seeing that everyone had stopped, he continued:

"It's a pleasure to meet you all! I'm Saito Itaru, the acting Mental Coach for this training camp during the head coach's absence."

Saito Itaru first introduced himself, then looked down at the ground below, his smile widening.

"Everyone, you are currently in the lowest level training grounds of this training camp, levels fifteen and sixteen. You just had a match with them and should have realized their strength."

"From the moment you step into this training camp, forget your original identities!"

Here, whether you're a junior high or high school student, you undergo the same training, receive equal treatment, and follow the same rules. Everything we do is aimed at improving the strength of the U-17 team.

Saito Itaru, holding a megaphone, spoke in his uniquely calm voice.

"The same training, the same rules and treatment?!"

The junior high students were startled; a bad feeling suddenly welled up in their hearts.

"To explain the rules to you junior high school students, there's nothing better than experiencing it firsthand, so we've arranged for you to compete here."

Now, it's time to enforce the rules. Anyone who lost the match just now, pack your bags and leave this training camp immediately! That's it!

Saitō's smile remained unchanged, and he spoke very calmly about driving away the losers.

However, these words sound chilling when spoken to a middle school student.

"Are you kidding me!"

"Failure means elimination?"

"We actually eliminated these high school seniors without knowing the rules?"

"Really?!"

The middle school students immediately started talking and a commotion broke out.

The students from Rikkai Dai, Fudomine, and Seigaku gathered together, all with solemn expressions.

"Everyone, let's focus and charge forward!"

"Kamio, thank goodness you guys didn't go to challenge them, otherwise..." Tachibana Kippei felt relieved, as he had promised Muneyoshi to lead the team well.

If a batch of people are eliminated as soon as they join, then...

Is this a show of force to intimidate us?

A ruthless glint flashed in Yukimura's eyes. To be honest, the other party had indeed delivered a powerful warning!

Watching the high school students leave the court dejectedly, preparing to leave the training camp, the junior high students experienced the harshness of life for the first time.

After all the high school students left, only the junior high school students remained at the training ground.

Saito Itaru picked up the megaphone again. "Everyone just arrived today and don't have their own training ground yet, but now, this training ground is yours, and you've taken it with your own hands!"

Are you happy?

The middle school students remained silent.

Saito Itaru, unconcerned, was about to turn and leave when he stopped again, turned back, and said, "By the way, on behalf of the coaching staff, I welcome everyone to the U-17!"

After these words were spoken, everyone felt a chill rise from their spines and go straight to their brainstem.

So this is what the welcoming ceremony is all about!

P. S.: I'm going back tomorrow. I'm just helping out on this business trip. Two chapters today.

I wrote this in a hotel during a business trip; it wasn't much, just two chapters.