A week before the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament was set to begin, Mouri Jusaburou transferred from Shitenhoji to Hyotei.
Atobe also fulfilled his promise. Not only did he send Mouri Jusaburou's mother to the United States for medical treatment, he brought the rest of Mouri's family to Tokyo and arranged jobs for them at the Atobe Financial Group.
Atobe's actions made Kannagi Shinichi, standing nearby, sigh in admiration. "As expected, having money means you can do whatever you want."
Since Mouri Jusaburou had joined unexpectedly, the other schools hadn't heard about it. The only schools that were shaken by the news were Hyotei and Shitenhoji.
After all, having a player of Mouri Jusaburou's national-level caliber join a seeded school for the National Tournament not only weakened Shitenhoji, who also had their sights set on the national title, but strengthened a rival as well.
But that was simply how things were. Mouri Jusaburou had his reasons for transferring to Hyotei.
At Hyotei, with the Metropolitan Tournament drawing near, a new round of tryouts for the regulars had begun.
Among those who came to watch the tryouts were Tennis Weekly reporter Inoue Mamoru and scouts from other schools. The two who drew the most attention from Hyotei's players were Yanagi Renji of Rikkai Dai and Inui Sadaharu of Yamabuki.
"Game, score 6–0. Mouri Jusaburou wins."
At the tryouts, Mouri Jusaburou defeated Mukahi Gakuto without breaking a sweat. From that day on, he would be one of Hyotei's new regulars.
"It's him!"
Outside the court, Yanagi Renji and Inui Sadaharu exclaimed in unison. They hadn't expected Mouri Jusaburou to join Hyotei.
As players who specialized in Data Tennis, they knew a fair amount about tennis prodigies from all over the country—especially last year's Rookie of the Year, Mouri Jusaburou.
Both of them wore grave