Munyoshi and Tezuka's Mental Baptism

The familiar faces returned to the mountains of Karuizawa, Japan, which had been quiet for a long time. The middle schoolers who'd been summoned came back to the U-17 training camp one by one, tennis bags slung over their shoulders and dry branches crunching beneath their feet.

The once-silent training camp, still as a dead pond, grew lively again.

This time, however, a great many people had come, and they all seemed different.

Some were very familiar with the place, as if they were coming home. Others were visiting for the first time and remained wary of everything.

Still others were brimming with fighting spirit, eager to use the camp's rules to improve themselves.

Looking at the different expressions on everyone's faces, Mizuki, in the St. Rudolph section, felt a little sour. "Those guys from Seigaku, Fudomine, and Rikkai Dai have definitely been here before!"

"Damn it, I knew it! How else could their stats have changed so much all at once? They must have improved through the training here!"

"Come on, Mizuki. The National Tournament's over now, so there's no point envying them. We're here too, aren't we? If they can do it, so can we!"

Fuji Yuta had heard a little about the place, after all, his older brother had been here before.

He'd been envious back then, but now that he'd been invited here himself, he was ready to give it everything he had.

Konjiki Koharu from Shitenhoji and the boys from Makino Fuji felt the same way as Mizuki.

They were all among those who'd been brought in during this round of expansion.

But as more and more middle schoolers gathered, some began to notice that several notable people hadn't arrived.

"Tachibana, why are there only three Regulars from Fudomine this time? The others are