Hyotei's Departure

May 1st, the preliminary selection for the National Junior High School Championships officially kicked off.

Across the country, preliminary selections were held on a regional basis, also known as district tournaments.

The preliminary matches would take place throughout May, with twenty-four junior high schools participating in a draw. The top two teams from each region would then advance to the Tokyo Metropolis Tournament.

The most anticipated team in the entire Tokyo Metropolis was Hyotei Academy, the number one seed from Tokyo's East District and a top four finisher in the previous national tournament.

Because Hyotei's new team had just been formed and needed matches to gain experience, there was no second team at Hyotei currently.

Today, all the regulars were heading out for the district qualifiers. Their goal was to first win the district championship, marking the beginning of their conquest of the nation.

At this moment, the Higurashi Tennis Park, not far from Hyotei, was already bustling with people. This was because the preliminary matches for Tokyo's East District were being held here today.

"Has Hyotei arrived yet?"

The speaker was Inoue Mamoru, a reporter from Tennis Weekly. He had come to Higurashi Park alone today. After all, the intern reporter Shiba Saori was still attending university and had not yet become a reporter for Tennis Weekly.

Inoue Mamoru looked around. The park was filled with students in school uniforms. Outside the park's main gate, teams in colorful jackets were continuously entering.

"These should be all the teams participating in the district qualifiers, the opponents Hyotei will soon face."

Inoue Mamoru watched the entrance, waiting for the team in the gray and white jackets to appear. In the past decade or so, his idol had been Echizen Nanjirou. Nowadays, the person he paid the most attention to was the young man named Kannagi Shinichi.

"They're here."

Inoue Mamoru murmured, looking at the five large buses that had stopped at the park entrance. Countless youths in gray and white uniforms disembarked one after another.

"Whoa, is this Hyotei, the national powerhouse..."

"That person with silver-white hair is Kannagi Shinichi, currently the strongest in junior high. I've seen him play before..."

"Following behind Kannagi Shinichi are Vice-Captain Atobe Keigo and that Akutsu guy..."

With Hyotei's arrival, the people in the park began to buzz with discussion.

At this moment, Sakaki Taro walked at the front of the team. Kannagi Shinichi led Atobe, Akutsu, and Oshitari Yuushi closely behind. The remaining four regulars formed a line behind Kannagi and the others.

Nearly two hundred members of Hyotei's Tennis Club followed the regulars, entering the park gate in unison.

Looking at the grand Hyotei procession, the people in the park made way for them.

"Is this Hyotei? As expected of a national powerhouse, they look so imposing..."

"Those four walking in front are the ones featured in Tennis Weekly. These guys look so strong..."

Murmurs could be heard from the crowd. Although most of the regulars on this team were first-year students, the aura of strength they exuded put immense pressure on everyone.

This was the aura of royalty. Although Hyotei had never reached the pinnacle nationally, they already possessed the nascent form of royalty.

"The championship for this district qualifier will definitely be Hyotei."

Inoue Mamoru, the reporter, stated with certainty. This was not only because Hyotei already possessed a trace of that royal aura but also because he had personally witnessed the strength of Hyotei's regulars in matches.

The gap between them and other schools was simply too vast.

Ignoring the surrounding discussions, the Hyotei regulars moved directly to the registration desk and submitted their match list.

As a seeded team, Hyotei received a bye in the first round and would only begin playing in the second round.

Sakaki Taro arranged Shishido Ryo and Yamazaki Uye as the second doubles pair, Oshitari Yuushi and Mukahi Gakuto as the first doubles pair. Kannagi Shinichi, Atobe Keigo, and Akutsu Jin would be singles players one, two, and three, respectively.

For their first match in the district qualifiers, Hyotei not only aimed to win but to win decisively.

The first round of the district qualifiers quickly concluded, and Hyotei was set to play in the second round. Their opponent this time was Misonosaka Academy, a third-rate team from the Tokyo region.

Although they knew defeating Hyotei was a long shot.

There was always a chance.

After all, Hyotei's regulars were all first-years. It was inevitable that they might be nervous in their first match, and that was their opportunity.

In competitive sports, no one is willing to give up easily, unless the difference in strength is like heaven and earth.

And after the second doubles match concluded, Misonosaka understood what "heaven and earth" meant.

Fifteen minutes. The score was 6:0. Misonosaka Academy's second doubles pair failed to score a single point. Those two Misonosaka doubles players experienced despair on the tennis court for the first time.

This match was like a mechanism; once it started, it couldn't be stopped.

An hour later, the match between Hyotei and Misonosaka had ended.

Five matches, five 6:0 scores. The other players from Misonosaka Academy also failed to score a single point against Hyotei's regulars throughout their matches.

Since this was Hyotei's first round, the matches had to be played to the full five games. After these five games concluded, everyone began to understand just how formidable Hyotei truly was.

At the sidelines, the cheerleaders surrounding Hyotei let out a thunderous cheer as they watched their regular players win the match so perfectly.

"The victor will belong to Hyotei..."

"The victor will belong to Hyotei..."

"This year's Hyotei will be Rikkai Dai's greatest opponent. For Rikkai Dai to dominate the nation, they must defeat Hyotei."

At this moment, outside the court, a boy with squinted eyes was holding a notebook and gazing at the Hyotei regulars who had just walked off the court.

This squinty-eyed boy was none other than Rikkai Dai's first-year regular, Yanagi Renji.

The Kanagawa tournament would be held a little later, so the Rikkai Dai members, who viewed Hyotei as Rikkai Dai's strongest opponent in their quest to dominate the nation, had sent Yanagi Renji to Tokyo to gather information on Hyotei.

After watching Hyotei's first-round match, although he didn't obtain much useful information about Hyotei's regulars, the power of Hyotei was deeply etched into Yanagi Renji's eyes.

Especially the four boys led by Kannagi Shinichi; their strength far surpassed that of most middle schoolers.

"Renji, I didn't expect you to come all the way from Kanagawa to Tokyo to observe Hyotei's match."

Inui Sadaharu, wearing glasses and also holding a notebook, came up beside Yanagi Renji.

"I'm just here to observe Hyotei's current strength," Yanagi Renji turned to look at his young friend. "Sadaharu, it looks like you've become a regular for Yamabuki."

Yanagi Renji had received the news long ago that his young friend had transferred from Seigaku to Yamabuki. Seeing Inui Sadaharu wearing Yamabuki's regular uniform now, Yanagi Renji was happy for him.

After all, only in this way would the two of them have a chance to continue the unfinished match from back then.

Inui Sadaharu simply nodded, admitting that he had become a regular for Yamabuki, and then asked Yanagi Renji, "Renji, what do you think of Hyotei's strength?"

"Very strong. Among the many teams in Tokyo, they are likely the strongest."

Although Yanagi Renji's answer was somewhat certain and carried a hint of solemnity, Inui Sadaharu didn't see it that way.

"Is that so? But I don't think so."

Inui Sadaharu gently adjusted his glasses, a smile appearing on his lips, though the smile looked a bit lewd.

Hearing Inui Sadaharu's words, Yanagi Renji remembered that his friend was also a member of Yamabuki Middle School, a powerhouse in Tokyo. He then asked, "Aren't you guys from Yamabuki also participating in the Tokyo regional tournament today? How do you have time to observe Hyotei?"

Inui Sadaharu glanced at Yanagi, his tone extremely confident. "Because Yamabuki is very strong this year. So strong that even without me, they can still win."