"Satoshi, make sure you behave yourself on your first day of school, and don't bully your classmates, okay?"
"I know, Mom. I'm not a three-year-old anymore. Why are you still worrying so much about your son?"
"All right, all right~ Just be careful, okay?"
"Got it. I'm heading out."
In a residential neighborhood in Tokyo, Japan, a figure about five foot three walked along the street at a leisurely pace.
Dressed in a black uniform and sporting slightly long brown hair, the boy looked bright and cheerful.
That boy was Horio Satoshi—yes, the Withered Emperor from The Prince of Tennis.
"Twelve years. These twelve years have felt so long. I can't believe I still couldn't escape Seigaku in the end."
As he walked, the boy thought about how, after graduating from elementary school, he'd wanted to study in Kanagawa. But his father, a Seigaku alumnus, had gone to every length to keep him in Tokyo.
"Looks like I'll just have to take it slow. I'll join the school team first, then gradually absorb everything."
Twelve years ago, Horio had arrived in this world. In the instant before he became a baby, he'd still been an adult.
A newcomer to the tennis world, an unknown little nobody.
One night after practice, he'd finished washing up and returned to his room. Exhausted, he'd collapsed into bed and fallen fast asleep.
When he woke again, he found himself lying beside a woman, with a man nearby.
The two of them smiled at him, while he had become a baby.
Before he could figure out what was going on, he heard the man and woman say they were going to name him Horio Satoshi.
The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember why. He assumed he was dreaming.
Then another voice interrupted the baby's thoughts.
[Beep. Host awakening successful. System mission complete.]
[Binding host's talents... Binding complete.]
[Talents bound to host: Plunder (can take a designated person's skills at the host's discretion; the host may choose to plunder them permanently or temporarily; can only be triggered during a match), Creation (host's tennis talent has reached the highest level, and the host can create new skills based on existing skills or insights), Elevate Might (strengthens the host's skills), Eye of Shattering Delusions (allows the host to see every weakness in an opponent)]
[Host's physical data adjustment complete. Current physical evaluation: flawless.]
[System mission complete. Entering temporary hibernation...]
A system? A cheat?
Only then did he realize he might really have been reincarnated—and straight into the body of a little kid.
The system's shock finally helped the baby remember who Horio Satoshi was.
Wasn't he one of the three idiots in The Prince of Tennis who looked like a monkey?
To avoid growing up to become like his original counterpart, Horio had decided to start changing himself while he was still a baby.
"Good thing I had the foresight. After all these years of practice, I've polished my looks and presence into something pretty impressive."
Thinking of this, Horio couldn't help feeling proud of his decision as he walked down the street.
"Ever since the system went into hibernation, it hasn't shown up again... But that's fine. The talents it gave me are more than enough to let me dominate this world."
Indeed, any one of the talents the system had bound to him could help someone make a name for himself in this world. And he had several complementary skills all gathered in one person.
"If I remember right, I'll be in the same class as Echizen Ryoma. I can't wait to meet the protagonist of this world."
Standing before Seigaku Academy's gates with a tennis bag on his back, Horio was already imagining himself conquering the junior tennis world—and even the world stage.
Thinking this, Horio stepped through the school gates. Since it was the start of the school year, many first-year middle school students were unfamiliar with one another and didn't know their way around the school very well. But that was no problem for the flawless Emperor Horio.
After sitting in the classroom for quite a while, Horio watched the seats fill one by one. But the person he wanted to see still hadn't arrived. Just as the bell was about to ring, a hurried figure finally appeared.
A handsome boy in a black uniform, with dark green hair and an impossibly cocky face tinged with embarrassment, walked into the classroom. Since the only empty seat was in front of Horio, he naturally took it.
"Hi, I'm Horio Satoshi. We're in the same class."
Grinning broadly, Horio greeted Echizen Ryoma. Ryoma, who had just sat down, clearly hadn't expected anyone to speak to him right away. His mouth responded before his brain caught up.
"I'm Echizen Ryoma."
His quiet, almost socially awkward manner was completely different from Horio's outgoing personality. Knowing that Ryoma was like this, Horio didn't take it to heart.
At three thirty in the afternoon, classes for the day ended. The rest of the time was set aside for middle school club activities. Japan certainly took extracurricular activities for young people seriously.
As soon as class ended, Echizen Ryoma packed his things, slung his tennis bag over his shoulder, and left the classroom.
Seeing Ryoma leave, Horio hurriedly grabbed his own tennis bag and followed. He finally caught up with him by the flowerbeds in the school courtyard.
"Hey, Echizen, wait up."
Hearing someone call his name, Echizen Ryoma stopped and looked back. He saw Horio carrying a large tennis bag too.
They both had big tennis bags, but compared to Echizen Ryoma, who was about five feet tall, Horio's five-foot-three frame made him seem a more ordinary size.
"I saw you carrying a tennis bag when you came into the classroom. You're going to sign up for the tennis club too, right? Want to go together?"
With that, Horio started walking, and Ryoma followed behind him.
As they went, Horio kept looking around, curious about his new school.
With his head lowered and his eyes half closed, Echizen Ryoma suddenly found his view blocked. A teasing voice came toward him.
"Hey, if you don't watch where you're going, you'll bump into someone. That tennis bag of yours sure is big, though."
Horio had just caught up and saw a guy about five foot seven standing in front of Ryoma, with black, spiky hair. It was none other than Momoshiro Takeshi, the hot-blooded, impulsive second-year member of the school team.
It seemed Momoshiro's sudden appearance had annoyed Ryoma, who kept staring at him.
Momoshiro didn't like being stared at, either. Then he remembered it was the first day of school and Ryoma was probably a new first-year. His furrowed brow relaxed, and he said he'd let it slide before walking away.
Watching Momoshiro swagger off, Ryoma's eyes held a hint of curiosity. Horio's, meanwhile, held the look of a hunter who'd spotted his prey.
"Momoshiro Takeshi, huh... Heh... I'm looking forward to this."
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