I'm Quite Satisfied

"Or was it just that Horio got lucky and it happened by chance?"

"It must have been a coincidence, otherwise how could I have gotten online?"

That last shot was successful because Horio used a backhand to forcefully remove the spin from the ball, thus increasing the accuracy of the shot's trajectory.

Although the tennis ball started to fall in front of the net, it clearly did not succeed.

Instead, it landed on the net, becoming a perfect net-grabbing shot.

"The Hundred-Armed Giant Goalkeeper... was broken so quickly..."

As the person involved, Fuji obviously couldn't accept this fact and stared blankly at the tennis ball lying next to the net.

"That's a really good idea. The friction between the two sides of the racket can indeed give the tennis ball twice the spin."

Horio's voice appeared, pulling Fuji back to reality.

"But does doubling the spin really guarantee the tennis ball will drop before clearing the net? If you're facing a strong opponent, the problem will be immediately apparent."

Fuji didn't realize anything when he heard Horio's words.

Fuji was very upset that his new technique, which he had practiced for so long to create, was countered on the second ball.

"Fuji probably can't accept this right now."

"If it were me, and all the hard work I put in was so quickly cracked by my opponent, my confidence in tennis would also be shaken."

"Fuji Senpai..."

The people in the audience were also very worried about Fuji.

"There must be a way to increase the ball's spin; the fact that you've done this proves you can do even better."

Upon hearing that the ball's spin needed to be increased, Fuji looked up at Horio.

Horio's gaze startled Fuji; it was an encouraging look.

"I've lost to you again. I'm really not happy about it."

Fuji had initially looked terrible, suddenly regained his usual smile, as if the match had never happened.

"The game isn't over yet, how can you say you've lost?"

"You're right, the game isn't over yet, I haven't lost..."

Although the two players said those things on the field, they both knew the outcome of the match in their hearts.

So, after that little hiccup at the beginning, the match ended in a very ordinary manner.

"I lost after all. Thanks, Horio, but I'm not giving up."

"You're much stronger than when we competed before. I'm also surprised by Fuji- Senpai's progress over this period."

"Is that so? But I'll definitely be stronger next time."

"So that's why you didn't give it your all, so you could surprise me even more next time?"

After the match, Horio and Fuji shook hands in greeting.

In the match just now, Fuji displayed the demeanor of a master, leaving the audience in awe of Fuji strength.

However, Horio felt something was off; every shot Fuji hit during the match was incredibly dangerous.

This is indeed a sign of a person's great strength, but despite his obvious lethality, Fuji did not take any other action.

This inevitably raises suspicions of him holding back, and Horio is certain that Fuji hasn't revealed his full strength in the previous match.

But he clearly displayed the incredible skills of Hundred-Armed Giant Goalkeeper at the very beginning of the match, so why did he hold back afterwards?

"I've already done my best, Horio. You're overthinking it."

Fuji's expression remained unchanged in the face of Horio's question, as if to say, "I did my best."

Seeing that Fuji wouldn't admit it, Horio figured he might have his own plans, so he didn't press the matter further.

Little did Fuji know that he also wanted to do his best, but he was suppressed by Horio from the beginning, and he didn't encounter any suitable balls in the later part of the match, so he held back several moves.

"Alright, everyone, come and gather around."

With the end of Horio and Fuji's match, the regular players' practice matches also came to an end.

"You've all probably seen these four matches, I wonder what your thoughts are."

After everyone gathered, Coach Ryuzaki looked at the starters standing in the front row.

His expression was serious, and his tone was far from kind.

Everyone in the tennis club was a little uneasy about Coach Ryuzaki's actions.

Even the usually lazy Horio wasn't behaving his usual carefree self, which made Tezuka even more puzzled.

Even though the overall strength of the starting lineup has improved significantly, why is Coach Ryuzaki still so serious?

"I don't know how you feel, but I'm very satisfied."

Suddenly, Coach Ryuzaki's expression changed again; his previously serious and downturned expression became amiable.

"You've all worked so hard these past few days. Such significant progress must have come from a lot of effort. I feel a little sorry that I haven't been able to supervise you due to my health condition."

"This is what we should do, and besides, Coach, you've also put in a lot of effort to help us train better."

Everyone panicked when they heard the self-blame in Coach Ryuzaki's words.

As the Captain, Tezuka understands best the Coach's hardships, so when he heard Coach Ryuzaki's somewhat self-reproachful words, he quickly offered words of comfort.

"Okay, you don't need to comfort me like that."

Looking at his students, Coach Ryuzaki felt a warmth in his heart.

"Oh, right, I have something else to announce."

That concerns the school ranking competition. Previously, only second and third-year students could participate; this rule will no longer apply.

Coach Ryuzaki's words surprised both the starters and the non-starters.

"From now on, as long as you have enough ability, you can apply regardless of your grade level."

"To the non-regular team members who are now in their second or third year, I'm sorry for wasting a year of your time."

The second and third-year students who weren't regulars were flattered to hear that Coach Ryuzaki had apologized to them for the incident.

"This rule will be in effect from now on, but the National Tournament is coming soon, so it will be impossible to hold intra-school ranking competitions during this period."

So starting next time, anyone who feels confident in their abilities can register with Oishi in first grade.

After saying that, Coach Ryuzaki glanced at Horio, Horio also looked at her and smiled.

Since her last conversation with Coach Ryuzaki, she has not explicitly refused.

Horio knew this day would come sooner or later, but he never expected it to come on his very first day after being discharged from the hospital.

"I'm sure everyone, from the starting players to the others, has been training very hard lately, so after we disband, those of you who want to go home can go home."

Because of the stagnation in training motivation among the regular players last time, Coach Ryuzaki thought that it wouldn't be good for these non-regular players to train like this every day.

So we moved today's training session to an earlier end time, but we didn't force anyone to stop training, since many self-disciplined people would voluntarily do extra practice.