The Unexpected Coincidence

The next day.

Kakinoki Sports Park.

The regional qualifying finals, while not a major event, featured two teams competing today: Seigaku and Fudomine.

Therefore, the park was still packed with visitors today, mostly scouts from various schools.

With the new school year approaching, everyone wants to know about the changes at each school.

Both Fudomine and Seigaku are true National Level schools, with Fudomine even being last year's champion.

Their meeting so early clearly gave many schools the opportunity to investigate.

After all, no other area is as popular as the western part of Tokyo Metropolis.

The crowd included uniforms from schools such as Hyotei Academy, Yamabuki, Rikkai Dai, St. Rudolph, Oguchi Minami, and Kyoyo.

As more and more people gathered, the bustling crowd made the park somewhat noisy on the weekend.

Seigaku, acting as a challenger, entered the arena ahead of schedule.

As they arrived, the crowd automatically made way for them.

Everyone at Seigaku remained silent. Of course, saying "everyone" isn't entirely accurate; it would be more accurate to say that the Regular were all silent.

Meanwhile, the "Seigaku Big Three," renowned throughout Prince of Tennis, are currently engaged in heated discussions.

"What should I do? I'm so nervous!"

"Yes, they're last year's national champion!"

As first-year members of the Seigaku club, Kato Katsuro and Mizuno Katsuo were whispering to each other on the sidelines.

Their words clearly conveyed their fear of Fudomine's strength, even though they were at Seigaku.

Listening to their conversation, a man standing beside them, constantly looking around, who seemed a little dim-witted but always wore a confident smile, suddenly put his arm around both of them.

He was about the same height as them, with short, dark brown hair that flipped upwards. Most interestingly, his two curved eyebrows actually connected into a single line.

"Kato, Mizuno, are you scared already? Although Fudomine is strong, we have Captain Tezuka, Fuji-senpai, and Fuji -Akutsu. The three of them are strong enough to handle everything!"

The speaker was none other than Seigaku's most jinxed jinx, Horio Satoshi, also known as the Withered Emperor!

Hearing Horio's words, Mizuno Katsuo, a complete tennis novice, felt a slight sense of relief from his tension.

As a member of Seigaku, he certainly didn't want to see his team lose.

However, compared to Mizuno's honesty, Kato, who had been exposed to tennis since childhood, was much more rational. Moreover, the time they spent together at school had given him a general understanding of his friends.

Although he still harbored doubts about Horio's unreliable statements, he did not express them.

Seeing Horio's confident demeanor, she inwardly scoffed, but aloud retorted, "But Horio, do you really understand Fudomine?"

Horio's lips curled into a slight smile as he pointed a thumbs-up at himself, "I'm Horio, with two years of tennis experience and even some private lessons. I know Fudomine all too well."

"Speaking of Fudomine, their most terrifying member is that minister..."

Just as Horio was sharing his experience, a group of figures in black uniforms walked onto the court.

Ignoring all scrutinizing gazes, the silent and chilling atmosphere perfectly complemented their black uniforms.

It seemed that with the arrival of Fudomine, the entire place became oppressive, and all the light was absorbed by them.

Both teams are also standing in front of the net.

A tall, strong, and fit young man walked up to the group of Seigaku students.

"Tezuka, I hope we'll have a great match today!"

Tachibana Kippei looked at Tezuka, with a solemn face, and said very seriously.

"Yeah, Orange, today's match is sure to be exciting, let's all go for it without hesitation!"

Tezuka extended his right hand and shook hands with Tachibana Kippei, while the Seigaku members exchanged glances with the Fudomine members.

Most of the people on both sides were already acquaintances, and they were very familiar with the procedures. After exchanging pleasantries, they returned to their respective rest areas.

Of course, he didn't know anyone except the shortest guy in the crowd.

Back to the rest area.

"Senior Tao, you guys kept Fudomine is a middle school... are they really that strong?"

Upon arriving at the rest area, Echizen Ryoma wore a hat, obscuring his expression, but he turned to look at Ibu Shinji and the others again.

Momoshiro Takeshi was very aware of Fudomine's strength. Upon hearing the question, he solemnly replied to Ryoma, "Echizen, Fudomine was the champion school in last year's National Tournament..."

"Their strength is formidable!"

National champion?

Echizen Ryoma lowered his head and silently recited the command in his heart. When he raised his large eyes again, a burning fighting spirit rose within them once more.

After returning to Japan, he met some tennis players, and was initially not very satisfied with any of them, but he was taught a lesson after entering Seigaku.

Despite being a small Seigaku managed to suffer two consecutive defeats in the school ranking tournament.

If he hadn't managed to defeat Momoshiro Takeshi, who had a minor leg injury, he might have really been stuck picking up balls for a year.

Therefore, he still respected these senior students.

But how could such a talented senior, in his opinion, not win the championship?

In Japan, a country with a population of over 100 million and millions of high school students, being able to stand at the very top is enough to prove that the team is very strong.

Such an opponent is exactly the kind of opponent he hoped to encounter upon returning to Japan.

"Assemble... Doubles 2, Momoshiro and Kaidoh... Ryoma, today you'll be playing singles 3!"

"Singles 2, Fuji; Singles 1 Akutsu!"

In the final personnel arrangements before the match, Tezuka decided on the final roster and looked to Echizen Ryoma.

Ryoma, who had expected to play doubles again today, was somewhat taken aback.

Looking at the tall, imposing figure before him, the aura emanating from him made him feel as if he were seeing his father once again.

But is today a singles match?

Thinking of this, a slight smile appeared on his lips. He pulled down his hat brim slightly and replied, "Yes, Minister."

Meanwhile, in the Fudomine area, Tachibana Kippei had also arranged the same scenario.

Besides pairing Mori Tatsunori and Sakurai Masaya in doubles, another change is that Kamio and Ibu Shinji are both placed in singles.

Before the match, Tachibana Kippei and Hanamura Aoi discussed the matter at length and ultimately reached this conclusion.

The current Fudomine is indeed weaker than the fully-fledged Seigaku. So, let's take this opportunity to let the second-year students train more.

Ultimately, either Tachibana Kippei or Keith will be enough to hold the line.

However, Tachibana Kippei did not expect that Seigaku's side had similar thoughts to his.

Now that it's known that Saeki Muneyoshi isn't playing, there's no need for Tezuka to participate.

If it weren't for Kawamura Takashi's wrist injury, Inui Sadaharu would have voluntarily stopped playing doubles in order to collect more data.

Akutsu might not even make the roster.

Akutsu didn't care about this either; Fudomine didn't have Saeki Muneyoshi at the moment, and he had no desire to play.

Knowing that Saeki Muneyoshi was not there, Akutsu trained even harder.

If it weren't for the competition, he would have preferred to have a sparring Tezuka with Tezuka!

Ten minutes later, the referee's voice rang out as expected.

"Now we begin the regional qualifying finals, the Seigaku vs. Fudomine Doubles 2 match..."

"Huff huff..."

"We've finally caught up, Inoue-senpai!"

Among the crowd, intern reporters Shiba Saori and Inoue Mamoru arrived late. Seeing that the match had just begun, the two finally caught their breath.

"Ah Zhi, take a short rest. We need to shoot as much footage as possible later; today's competition is going to be very interesting."

"Ah? I understand, Inoue-senpai."

During this time, Shiba Saori accompanied Inoue Mamoru on visits to various schools in Tokyo Metropolis, and through Inoue's words, she gained an understanding of the strengths and capabilities of these schools.

In her view, the two schools in front of her could be rivals not only in the preliminaries, Metropolitan Tournament, and even the Kanto Tournament and the National Tournament.

This is why the competition is so interesting.

With this in mind, Shiba Saori, who had relaxed a little, began her own filming.

P. S.: "Please vote with monthly tickets!"