Smash Technique, Kou Sanze In Naraku

"Congratulations to Kannagi Shinichi, winner of this year's National Elementary School Tennis Tournament."

The tournament had come to an end.

At the sound of the announcement across the plaza, the spectators reluctantly turned their eyes toward the court.

They had never imagined that this year's elementary school tournament would be so exciting.

Kannagi Shinichi, Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichiro, Tachibana Kippei, Chitose Senri, and, of course, Tezuka Kunimitsu, who hadn't shown up until after the quarterfinals.

Before the quarterfinals, none of the six had dropped a single point. Every one of them had been as strong as a middle schooler.

Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichiro had even reached the national level, becoming two of Japan's top young tennis players.

As for Kannagi Shinichi, he might have already surpassed the middle schoolers, placing him in an entirely different league.

The spectators and tennis players still on the grounds all turned their eyes toward the white-haired boy holding the trophy.

His face was cool and proud. Even after winning the trophy, he looked as if it were nothing important—as if it had belonged to him all along.

What an extraordinary boy. If they remembered correctly, Kannagi Shinichi was only twelve years old.

It was hard to imagine just how far he might go with that kind of ability at such a young age.

Would he become a professional? Or even reach the world stage?

While everyone was watching Kannagi Shinichi, he was lost in his own thoughts. The system template had finally changed again.

Kannagi Shinichi

Five Dimensions Value

Power: 3

Speed: 1

Stamina: 5

Technique: 4

Mentality: 8

Total Five Dimensions Value: 1

Kaido Template Progress: 00001%

Special Moves: Dragon's Roar (Original Move), Two-Handed Thunderclap Eight Trigrams (Unlock Progress: 00005%), Complete Body Thunderclap Eight Trigrams (Unlock Progress: 00002%), Kou Sanze In Naraku (Unlock Progress: 00001%), Wind Blade (Locked), Corrupting Wind (Locked), Thunderclap (Locked), Tornado (Locked), Tornado Corrupting Wind (Locked), Heat Breath (Locked)...

Looking at the new template progress, Kannagi Shinichi suddenly realized something.

His system template made major progress whenever he defeated a key character from the original timeline.

He had just finished his match against Yukimura Seiichi, and his Technique stat had increased by 3. But that wasn't the important part.

The most important thing was that he'd gained another move: the smash technique, Kou Sanze In Naraku.

Kannagi Shinichi thought this move had been made for his future teammate, Atobe Keigo.

Atobe Keigo was already outstanding across all five dimensions, but so far, he had only one signature tennis move: the smash technique, Dance of Destruction.

And now the system template had awakened a move like this for him. Kannagi Shinichi couldn't help thinking:

This system template really gets me.

Using an opponent's proudest smash to strike back at him—especially when that opponent was the exceptionally proud Atobe Keigo.

At the thought, Kannagi Shinichi wished the new school year would hurry up. He wanted Atobe Keigo to experience what it felt like to have his racket knocked away by a smash.

He dismissed the system template from his mind and tucked away the little "dark" thought he'd been having.

After Kannagi Shinichi had received his award, the spectators began to trickle away. The only people left on the grounds were the players packing their tennis bags and the coaches from various tennis schools, hoping to recruit talented players from the tournament.

Holding his trophy, Kannagi Shinichi went over to Sakaki Taro.

"Not bad," Sakaki Taro said.

Sakaki was cold toward most people and rarely smiled, but he always spoke to Kannagi Shinichi with warmth and a smile.

Kannagi Shinichi was courteous, too. He bowed slightly to Sakaki Taro. "Thank you."

"Mm." Sakaki Taro nodded in approval, then continued, "Would you like to come with me to invite Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichiro?"

From Sakaki Taro's words, Kannagi Shinichi could tell that his adviser wanted to turn Hyotei into a galaxy-class team and dominate the National Tournament for the next three years.

Although he doubted they could persuade Yukimura and Sanada, Kannagi Shinichi still agreed. "All right. I understand."

When he finished speaking, the two of them went over to Yukimura and Sanada, who were still packing their things.

"Hello. I'm Sakaki Taro, adviser to Hyotei's tennis club." Sakaki Taro tried to put a hint of a smile on his usually stern face, but to Kannagi Shinichi, it looked a little out of place.

Yukimura and Sanada turned around and exchanged a glance. Then Yukimura Seiichi spoke. "Hello. May I ask what you wanted to see us about?"

"Hyotei Academy is willing to offer you both scholarships and invite you to join the school." Sakaki Taro didn't beat around the bush. He got straight to the point.

Yukimura Seiichi glanced at Sanada Genichiro. Seeing Sanada give a slight shake of his head, Yukimura bowed politely and declined. "Thank you for the invitation, but Genichiro and I have already chosen our middle school. I'm very sorry."

Sakaki Taro was a little disappointed by their refusal. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Kannagi Shinichi. It seemed not every tennis player in the world was as fond of money as this kid of his.

Kannagi Shinichi noticed Sakaki Taro's look and silently protested, What's wrong with liking money? Is there something wrong with that?

Both boys were already at the national level. If they joined another school together, they could become Hyotei's greatest rivals in the future. So Sakaki Taro ventured to ask, "If you don't mind my asking, which middle school have you chosen?"

"We'll be going to Kanagawa Rikkai Dai Fuzhong." Neither boy tried to hide it. Yukimura Seiichi stated their choice plainly.

"Rikkai Dai Fuzhong?" Sakaki Taro murmured. Then he addressed Yukimura and Sanada politely. "I see. Sorry to have bothered you."

"Not at all," Yukimura and Sanada replied politely.

With that, Sakaki Taro led Kannagi Shinichi away. He was already on guard against Rikkai Dai. The school had been Hyotei's main rival in Kanto for the past few years, and its tennis club had won the Kanto title ten years in a row, making it one of the top powerhouses in middle school tennis.

Now that Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichiro would be joining them, Sakaki Taro was certain Rikkai Dai would be Hyotei's biggest rival over the next three years.

Seeing even Hyotei get rejected by Yukimura and Sanada, Ryuzaki Sumire, who had been hoping to invite the two boys to Seigaku, stopped in her tracks. She shook her head and turned to leave.

Meanwhile, Kannagi Shinichi went with Sakaki Taro to invite Chitose Senri and Tachibana Kippei, but they turned the offer down as well.

Of all the coaches from tennis clubs who had come to the tournament, only Bandou Mikiya managed to recruit one of the semifinalists: Sengoku Kiyosumi. Though Sengoku Kiyosumi had made it to the semifinals through sheer luck, sometimes luck was a kind of strength, too.

Kannagi Shinichi had expected Yukimura and the others to turn him down, so he wasn't particularly bothered. After all, Atobe Keigo would join Hyotei in the new school year, and his potential was in no way inferior to that of Yukimura Seiichi or Sanada Genichiro.

Besides, Kannagi Shinichi had an even bigger target in mind: Mouri Jusaburou, who would transfer schools in the new school year.

Kannagi Shinichi didn't want to let Mouri Jusaburou join Rikkai Dai and strengthen a rival school.

With Mouri Jusaburou on the team, Hyotei would have a trio for singles matches—Kannagi Shinichi, Atobe Keigo, and Mouri Jusaburou. No middle school in Japan would be able to stand against them.

As Kannagi Shinichi followed Sakaki Taro toward the exit, thinking about how to recruit Mouri Jusaburou in the future, a voice called out behind them.

"Kannagi Shinichi, could I ask you to play a match against me?"

"No!"