A Fated Battle

Just as Muneyoshi was heading to Kanagawa, the Metropolitan Tournament had come to an end.

Deep in a remote mountain forest, a massive iron gate stood at the end of the road, concealing a modern training facility within.

This was the Japan U17 Base.

Among middle schoolers, almost no one knew anything about this place. But once they entered high school, any student with talent would receive an invitation to join.

It was fair to say that this training base gathered the elite high school players from all across Japan.

A match was underway on one of the camp's courts. High schoolers in matching uniforms crowded around it.

Cameras positioned all around the court were trained on its center.

"Game, Oni Jūjirō, 30–15."

Although the match, which had drawn the attention of almost the entire camp, had only just begun, neither player had revealed much of his strength yet.

Still, the members of the expeditionary team watching from the sidelines, along with the players from the other top-ranked courts, had begun to shed some of their disdainful looks.

The two players on the court had already revealed their fundamental abilities—strength, speed, technique, and the rest—during their tentative opening exchanges.

Their abilities were far beyond those of ordinary people.

Some of the upperclassmen had been here for a long time. Their strength wasn't exactly negligible, but it was nothing to write home about, either.

Years of getting beaten down, however, had given them plenty of experience and broadened their horizons.

So they knew very well that even the tip of the iceberg these two had shown was already enough to crush most of the players here.

One of them was familiar to them all: a handsome young man with a head of blond hair. He was Byōdōin Hōō, still untouched by the weariness of age.

This prodigy had already made a name for himself in middle school. As soon as he entered high school, he was invited to join the camp.

In just one month at the U17 Training Camp, he had racked up crushing victories in the ranking matches held two or three times a week.

He had mercilessly trampled on the pride of his upperclassmen, leaving them all struggling to catch their breath.

Now he had risen to Court One and was preparing to launch a revolution with the First String's return.

He planned to defeat every member of the First String, seize the No. 1 spot at the Japan U17 Training Camp, and overthrow the decrepit, incompetent third-years.

His overwhelming strength, flamboyant personality, and domineering style of play had nearly crushed the spirit of the senior third-years who coveted a place on the First String in just one month.

Byōdōin had truly earned his reputation as a tyrant.

But today, a small surprise had appeared...

A high schooler with a mature-looking face, who seemed to have come from nowhere, had been recruited as a hidden gem among the middle school ranks...

And after receiving his invitation, he had shown up a full month late.

Whoosh...

A light breeze swept past, stirring up the dust on the court as the leaves rustled all around them.

"Game, Byōdōin Hōō. One game all."

"Change sides!"

The umpire's call made the two players pause. Once the dust had blown away, their fierce battle finally came into view.

"Oni Jūjirō is strong. Where did he come from? How come we've never heard of him before?"

"I heard he's from Okayama Oku Middle School, the one that couldn't even make it past the prefectural tournament..."

"Are you kidding me? Someone with that kind of ability couldn't even make the prefectural tournament?"

The first-year students who had gathered from all over the country looked stunned as they passed around whatever information they'd managed to dig up.

Based on the brief exchange they had just witnessed, the first-year wearing a wine-red jacket, with a somewhat mature-looking face, had already shown an ability on par with Byōdōin Hōō.

Byōdōin Hōō had been undefeated against every middle schooler in Japan!

And now this newcomer could actually go toe-to-toe with him. Did that mean Byōdōin Hōō wasn't invincible after all?

"Heh, these two sure know how to hold back! I never thought Byōdōin could play so cautiously. He's abandoned his usual wild style and chosen such a safe approach?"

Kiriya scoffed under his breath. "Looks like this guy named Oni is the real deal."

As a fellow member of their year, Kiriya knew that Byōdōin had played nothing like this at last year's National Tournament.

From the very first exchange, he had overwhelmed his opponents with a domineering, Hyper-Offensive style that had left many of them gasping for breath.

Compared with now, his style had been completely different. This cautious approach hardly seemed like Byōdōin at all.

Quite a few familiar faces nearby heard Kiriya mutter and nodded to themselves. They felt the same way.

Everyone knew the truly exciting part of the match had only just begun.

But even the brief exchange they had just witnessed had already left them impatient for more.

"Oh, come on. You guys really don't know much about Byōdōin, do you?"

Just then, Tanegashima Shūji approached with another person. He glanced over at the impassive Tōno Atsukyō, Kimijima Ikuto, and the other Makino Fuji players, then chuckled.

When it came down to it, nobody understood Byōdōin better than his rivals.

Beside Tanegashima Shūji, a blond young man with a baby face, Irie Kanata, took off his rimless glasses and gently wiped them before putting them back on.

"What do you think, Tanegashima?"

Irie nudged his glasses up his nose, keeping his eyes fixed on the two players exchanging blows. A grave light shone in his eyes, and his usual smile was nowhere to be seen. He looked utterly serious.

"They're strong... stronger than us. To be blunt, this guy named Oni is physically superior to both of us in every way right now."

As he stepped closer to the court, Tanegashima had lost his usual carefree air. A hint of solemnity and caution had taken its place.

He had played Byōdōin Hōō many times, and their matches throughout middle school were too numerous to count. He had more reason than anyone else to speak about Byōdōin's strength.

His wrist had a superhuman gift that ordinary people lacked.

It let him cancel out all the force behind a tennis ball and neutralize any spin or Special Skill Shot applied to it. Even so, he still couldn't beat Byōdōin.

All Byōdōin had to do was take a little care and use his overall physical superiority to overwhelm Tanegashima's defense.

That was why Tanegashima had always thought of Byōdōin Hōō as a monster.

And now he had witnessed another player who was every bit as good as Byōdōin in every respect.

"Is that so? So even you're feeling the pressure, Tanegashima?"

Irie's lips curled into a charming smile, dimples showing.

"Then I was right to accept the invitation here. Tanegashima, this place is deeper than I thought. I really hope I can catch up to you all..."

Tanegashima felt a stir in his heart. After spending more than a month at the U17 Base, he had learned about plenty of things he hadn't known much about before.

Things like the World Cup, Japan's ranking... and the directions they would need to pursue to keep improving.

They had a thoroughly organized program for training and development. In just one month, their abilities had improved quite a bit.

"Irie, come on. We've been teammates for more than three years. You can't fool me with an act."

Tanegashima glanced at the harmless-looking boy with round glasses beside him and spoke with a hint of exasperation.

Irie Kanata's mental talent was no worse than Ochi Gekko's—in fact, it was even greater.

He also had extraordinarily keen Insight. But after being teammates with him for a few years, Tanegashima had noticed that Irie's style of tennis seemed to have gone off track.

Without anyone noticing, he had already begun developing in a rather strange direction.

Tanegashima was worried. If Irie Kanata's ability hadn't stayed just as strong, he might have stepped in and stopped him by force.

PS: "Ta-dah! Handsome young Uncle Hōō makes his first appearance, and all the experts show up together. Let's get fired up!

"Also, many thanks to book friends 20180116020017034, Daoist Qingxu, Twelve Zodiacs in Heaven, book friend 20221111033738864, and everyone else for your monthly tickets. I'll add an extra chapter for you tomorrow. I'm still at work today~"