The Boy Who Arrived Late

The boy who called out to Kannagi Shinichi was Tezuka Kunimitsu, who had not participated in the quarterfinals.

He had left home very early, but halfway he encountered an injured pregnant woman. In order to take her to the hospital, he was unable to participate in the remaining matches of this tournament.

On the way to the court, he had already learned that Kannagi Shinichi had won the championship of this year's National Elementary School Tournament.

So, upon seeing Kannagi Shinichi, he immediately invited him for a match.

He had originally thought that, with the pride of a champion like Kannagi Shinichi, he would definitely accept his challenge.

But he never expected it!

He refused, and refused quite decisively.

"Actually, I'm here because..."

Tezuka Kunimitsu wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Kannagi Shinichi's words: "I know you're Tezuka Kunimitsu, and you have your reasons for not being able to participate in the match, but I don't want to hear them. A match is a match. Since this tournament is over, there's no need for me to play with you."

"I'm sorry, but I really want to play a game of tennis with you, please." Tezuka Kunimitsu didn't continue explaining his reason for being late. Instead, he bowed sincerely and said to Kannagi Shinichi.

"Do you think it's fair?" Kannagi Shinichi suddenly asked coldly.

"What?" Tezuka Kunimitsu was stunned by Kannagi Shinichi's words.

"I said, do you think it's fair for me to play with you right now?" Kannagi Shinichi's tone was very cold. "I've already played three consecutive matches. How much stamina do you think I have left? If I were to play against you, who hasn't played a single match, would that be fair to me?"

Fair?

It wasn't fair at all. In his match against Yukimura Seiichi, Kannagi Shinichi had used the Thunderclap Eight Trigrams four times and was already exhausted. Now, because of Tezuka Kunimitsu's words, he was supposed to play with him? Was it just because he was one of the protagonists?

"This... this..."

Tezuka Kunimitsu mumbled in response to Kannagi Shinichi's words, not knowing what to say.

At this moment, Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichiro also walked over. They saw Tezuka Kunimitsu stopping Kannagi Shinichi and immediately stepped forward to ask, "Classmate Kannagi, is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," Kannagi Shinichi looked at Yukimura and Sanada, who were asking him questions. A faint smile appeared on his usually cold face, and he then pointed at Tezuka Kunimitsu. "This is Tezuka Kunimitsu, who didn't participate in the quarterfinals. He stopped me because he wanted to play a match with me, but I've already refused."

After hearing Kannagi Shinichi's words, Yukimura and Sanada also looked at Tezuka Kunimitsu.

Seeing this, Tezuka Kunimitsu's usually icy face turned slightly red. He knew that stopping Kannagi Shinichi for a match was a bit abrupt, but he really wanted to play against Kannagi Shinichi.

Seeing Tezuka Kunimitsu remain silent, Kannagi Shinichi spoke again, "If you want to compete with me, you can choose Hyotei when you enter junior high. At that time, I can play with you every day."

If he could bring Tezuka Kunimitsu to Hyotei, that would be for the best. After all, with his addition, Hyotei's lineup would be even more invincible.

Although, Kannagi Shinichi felt that the possibility of Tezuka Kunimitsu joining Hyotei was very low.

As expected, Tezuka Kunimitsu refused, "I'm sorry, but I've already decided to choose Seishun Academy when I enter junior high."

Tezuka Kunimitsu's idol was Echizen Nanjirou, so Kannagi Shinichi was not surprised by his choice of Seigaku.

"Is that so?" Kannagi Shinichi's reply remained indifferent. Looking at Tezuka Kunimitsu, he said coldly, "In that case, I hope we can meet in junior high. Of course, that's assuming you can become a regular player for Seigaku."

"I will," Tezuka Kunimitsu said, then bowed slightly to Kannagi Shinichi. "I apologize to you, classmate Kannagi, for my earlier presumptuousness."

"I accept your apology. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now," Kannagi Shinichi said. He then nodded to Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichiro before getting into Sakaki Taro's car and turning to leave.

Just before getting into the car, Kannagi Shinichi turned back and said coldly to Tezuka Kunimitsu, "Tezuka Kunimitsu, when you get to Seigaku, be careful of your seniors."

Kannagi Shinichi had already warned Tezuka Kunimitsu to be wary of the Seigaku seniors. If Tezuka Kunimitsu were to be injured by a racket again, it would be none of Kannagi Shinichi's business.

After speaking, Kannagi Shinichi got into Sakaki Taro's car without looking back and slowly disappeared from the sight of Tezuka Kunimitsu and the others.

Tezuka Kunimitsu, left standing there, was bewildered. Be careful of Seigaku's seniors? What did Kannagi Shinichi mean by that?

At this moment, Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichiro glanced at Tezuka Kunimitsu and, without paying much attention, turned and left, heading back to Kanagawa.

Originally, Tezuka Kunimitsu had wanted to play a match with Yukimura Seiichi as well. After all, on the way, he had heard the spectators talking about the champions and runners-up of this year's elementary school tournament.

From their conversation, he learned that this year's champion and runner-up were both far superior to junior high students.

And this year's tournament champion was Kannagi Shinichi, with Yukimura Seiichi as the runner-up.

However, remembering Kannagi Shinichi's words just now, Tezuka Kunimitsu, who had wanted to play against Yukimura Seiichi, ultimately did not voice his request.

Watching Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichiro walk away, Tezuka could only shake his head in disappointment.

It seemed that he would have to wait until junior high to play against Kannagi Shinichi and Yukimura Seiichi.

In the original timeline, Tezuka Kunimitsu had also arrived late for this elementary school tournament.

However, he had played against the final champion and runner-up, first sweeping the runner-up Sanada Genichiro 6-0, and then drawing with the champion Yukimura Seiichi.

But all of this had changed because of Kannagi Shinichi's arrival.

Sanada Genichiro had not been crushed by Tezuka Kunimitsu. His biggest target for revenge was still Kannagi Shinichi, although this revenge seemed to be a very long road.

Yukimura Seiichi had not played against Tezuka Kunimitsu either. They had only met briefly before he returned directly to Kanagawa.

Seeing that the champions and runner-up of the tournament had already left, Tezuka Kunimitsu naturally did not stay on the court and also left the Chijou Tennis Center with a sense of regret.

Meanwhile, Sakaki Taro, while driving, asked Kannagi Shinichi, "I heard you say that Tezuka Kunimitsu is also a national-level player. If he joins Seigaku, will he pose a threat to our Hyotei?"

Kannagi Shinichi smiled faintly upon hearing Sakaki Taro's words. "The current Seigaku will never be a threat to us Hyotei. Our real opponents will be Rikkai Dai, with Yukimura and Sanada joining."

As for the current Seigaku, Kannagi Shinichi didn't take them seriously at all. First, there was Ryuzaki Sumire's ridiculous rule that first-year students couldn't touch the ball; then there were the upperclassmen who were jealous of their juniors' talent and "killed" them. A Seigaku like this now was simply not worth paying attention to.

"Hmm, I'll keep a closer eye on Rikkai Dai's news." Sakaki Taro's expression turned serious when he heard Kannagi Shinichi mention Rikkai Dai. Although Hyotei already had Kannagi Shinichi, who was the strongest of the era, the national tournament was a team competition, and Kannagi Shinichi could only guarantee one match victory.

Seeing Sakaki Taro's solemn expression, Kannagi Shinichi spoke at this moment, "Coach, I want to invite someone to join our Hyotei, and we must go together to invite him."

Sakaki Taro's expression was puzzled. Who was so important that they needed to be invited so grandly? He then asked, "Who is it?"

"Shitenhoji, Mouri Jusaburou!"