All-American Open

"You two probably already know, right?"

Inside Coach Ryuzaki's office, Horio and Ryoma stood before him.

"What do you know? Have I missed something?"

Horio was a little confused after hearing Coach Ryuzaki's inexplicable words.

"I see."

"What? What do you all know?"

Ryoma's words puzzled Horio even more. Horio seemed completely clueless, and Coach Ryuzaki was also taken aback.

"Didn't you receive the message, Horio? Someone should have contacted you about the All-American Open by now."

Horio had heard that the All-American Open had already contacted him, but he hadn't received any news at all.

"The people over there have already contacted me, the Coach, so how could they not have contacted you?"

Coach Ryuzaki was speechless at Horio's apparent ignorance of everything.

"So, Ryoma, you received it too, right? So, are you going?"

Since he hadn't received any messages, Horio decided to just let it go.

Horio looked at Ryoma beside him with some curiosity.

"I haven't made up my mind yet..."

Ryoma didn't really want to miss such a great opportunity as the All-American Open.

However, Seigaku was facing the National Tournament at this time, so he was also hesitant.

"Is that so... Coach, if Ryoma is still hesitating, then I've made up my mind."

Horio didn't think much of Ryoma's hesitation.

Coach Ryuzaki was somewhat surprised to hear Horio give such a direct answer.

"I'm not going to the All-American Open. I still have things to finish, and that kind of tournament is much more boring than the opponents I'll be facing next."

Coach Ryuzaki was shocked by Horio's answer; he hadn't expected his student to refuse so decisively.

"Are you really not going to reconsider? This is one of the world's four major sporting events."

"It's alright, we'll encounter these kinds of competitions again in the future, but we won't be able to meet again after winning the national championship together."

Upon hearing Horio's words, Coach Ryuzaki didn't say anything more.

Coach Ryuzaki's expression turned somewhat strange when he looked at Ryoma again.

"Ryoma, you still have time to think it over. This competition is very important, and it will be very helpful for your future."

"Yes."

Coach Ryuzaki's words put some pressure on Ryoma, who was already struggling with the decision between the All-American Open and the National Tournament.

"Ryoma, do you want to play in the All-American Open?"

"I... I don't know..."

"The National Tournament isn't a big deal. Right now, the team has me, Captain Tezuka, and other Senpai. This isn't something you should worry about."

As if noticing Ryoma's hesitation, Horio spoke frankly.

"Besides... going to participate in the competition there won't prevent you from defeating the people you want to defeat."

Ryoma remained silent after hearing Horio's words, but his understanding was gradually becoming clearer.

"My goodness! The little guy is going to the All-American Open!"

The next day, at the Seigaku tennis courts.

Having somehow learned about the All-American Open, Kikumaru was clearly shocked by the news.

"I just overheard Mr. Inoue and Ms. Shiba talking about this, and I was quite surprised too."

Because the list of participants for the All-American Open was just finalized and sent to the national branches, Inoue brought Shiba Saori to Seigaku early this morning after receiving the list.

"It seems he has made his decision."

Horio wasn't surprised to hear the conversation between Inui and Kikumaru.

After all, even if Ryoma couldn't understand it, he still had a man in his family who had once stood at the pinnacle of the world.

Horio concluded that Echizen Nanjirou had played a significant role in making the decision in such a short time.

"Echizen is really amazing; he actually made it to the All-American Open."

"But the dates of the All-American Open and the National Tournament overlap, which means Little One can't participate in the National Tournament."

"Yes, it will definitely turn out like that."

Kikumaru quickly grasped the crux of the matter, and the others clearly understood the pros and cons as well, but did not show excessive concern.

"But... the All-American Open is a tournament that everyone who plays tennis wants to participate in, so his choice isn't wrong."

"That's right, but there's one more thing. Since Echizen has been selected to participate in the All-American Open, why isn't there someone else?"

Gan agreed with Kaitou's point of view, but what puzzled him even more was not this.

Upon hearing what Gan said, everyone understood its meaning and turned their attention to Horio.

"Why are you looking at me? My name isn't on the entry list, what else is there to say?"

It was clear that Horio's words were not convincing enough, and the people still looked at Horio with deep doubt.

"What are you all doing? Why haven't you started training yet?"

Just as everyone was about to press Horio for more information, Tezuka walked onto the court.

"Tezuka, have you heard? Echizen..."

"I understand. Today's training session was supposed to be about announcing this news. Neither the Coach nor I have any objections to Echizen's decision."

Before Oishi could finish speaking, Tezuka gave everyone a positive answer.

"Alright, everything is decided. Let's begin today's training."

Tezuka didn't give them a chance to continue their discussion.

"It seems the news has already spread."

"This matter will get out sooner or later anyway."

"So, Tezuka, what are your thoughts on this?"

In Coach Ryuzaki's office, Tezuka reported on everyone's reactions to Ryoma's participation in the All-American Open.

But that wasn't what Coach Ryuzaki cared about; she knew that Tezuka had always placed high hopes on Ryoma.

"Our goal is to dominate the nation, it's that simple. And we're currently very strong; even if Echizen is absent from the competition, we're still confident of winning the championship."

Tezuka understood Coach Ryuzaki's meaning, just as Coach Ryuzaki had guessed.

Tezuka was somewhat reluctant to accept Ryoma's participation in the All-American Open, but his pride prevented him from showing it.

Hearing Tezuka say this, Coach Ryuzaki seemed thoughtful and could only nod in the end.

"One more thing, Coach. Did you only hire Echizen for the All-American Open?"

"The truth you want to know is exactly what you suspect in your heart."

Coach Ryuzaki rubbed his forehead in response to Tezuka's question.

Unexpectedly, Ryoma's participation in the All-American Open was not enough to make Tezuka ignore other things, little did he know that it wasn't just Tezuka who had doubts.

The other members of Seigaku felt the same way, but they all tacitly kept quiet about it.

After receiving a somewhat affirmative yet vague answer from Coach Ryuzaki, Tezuka left the office.