The Inter-High Tournament Begins

The day after the district preliminaries ended, in a park in Tokyo...

"Horio, do you see any areas we need to improve in our swings?"

The Seigaku trio, who had agreed to improve together on the weekend, were practicing in the park as planned. Katsuro and Katsuo, who were constantly practicing their swings, felt like their hands were about to fall off.

"Hmm, it's okay. Katsuro, bend your arms a bit more. Katsuo, straighten your legs more. You're taller, so you don't need to bend like Katsuro."

Horio sat to the side, thinking about how to proceed with his own training. Currently, Horio was already among the top players in The Prince of Tennis in terms of both physique and technique. All he needed to do now was to further refine the skills he had already mastered and develop new ones.

"Based on the current situation, as long as I master the limits of the three Great Realms of Self-Perfection, I'll be able to crush my way to the national championship.

The Realms of Self-Perfection are nothing more than mobilizing more power within the body to stimulate its potential. I don't need to worry about that.

The 'Sparkling''(Talent Blooming) is useless to me; my Eye of Shattering Delusions can directly counter it. 'Hundred Refinements' (Hundred Refinements) is somewhat useful to me, but I need to find a way to compensate for the problem of my movement slowing down.

'Seamless' (Heavenly Seamless) is definitely something I need to learn. Although I might not use it, it's the most unbeatable weapon."

With a plan in place, Horio looked at Katsuro and Katsuo, who were practicing their swings, as if he had made up his mind.

"Katsuro, Katsuo, do you know of any places far from the city, or rather, secluded places? Preferably ones with a strong natural atmosphere."

Hearing Horio's question, the two who were swinging stopped.

"Horio, what's this about? I do know of such a place, but it's already close to the countryside and quite remote."

"That's perfect. That's exactly the kind of place I'm looking for. Do you know the specific location? If nothing unexpected happens, this will be where I stay until the prefectural tournament."

"Huh! But Horio, aren't you participating in the school team's training? Everyone will be doing special training for the prefectural tournament. Aren't you going to some remote mountain alone? Won't something happen?"

"It's fine, don't worry about me. Training with the upperclassmen won't bring me much improvement.

I need more specialized training. When I return, you'll see a different me."

"But even so, what about Coach and Captain Tezuka..."

"It's fine, I'll handle Coach and the Captain myself. If they know it's for training, they'll agree."

Hearing Horio say this, Katsuro and Katsuo didn't say anything further.

In the coach's office...

"Horio, are you sure you want to do this? You can still make progress by training with everyone."

Coach Ryuzaki looked at Horio, who stood before her, and said with concern.

"Coach, I know I can make progress by training with everyone, but I need to possess even stronger power.

To ensure Seigaku wins the championship this year without any mishaps, I must make some more reliable preparations. I promise I'll be back before the prefectural tournament and won't delay the matches."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about something happening to you going alone into the mountains. If you encounter danger, no one will be able to help you."

"I have my own plans for that. The place Katsuro mentioned has a village. I plan to stay in the village and have the villagers train with me."

"But..."

Coach Ryuzaki was about to say something else when Tezuka, standing beside her, interrupted.

"Coach, let him go. I trust my players, and you should too."

Tezuka then turned to look at Horio.

"You must be careful. More than the national championship, I care about the safety of Seigaku's players."

Horio gave another round of assurances and then left the coach's office.

"As expected, being close to nature is great. The air has become cleaner. These next ten days will surely be interesting."

With that, Horio, dressed in casual clothes and carrying several large bags, walked towards the mountains that appeared before him, beginning his ten-day training retreat.

Meanwhile, at Seigaku Academy on the other side, Tezuka, as the captain, led the Seigaku members in actively preparing for the prefectural tournament under the special training plan devised by Inui Sadaharu.

With this day-after-day training, ten days quickly passed. Today was the day the prefectural tournament began, and the Seigaku members had already arrived at the venue early.

"What time is it? Why isn't Horio here yet? He's the only one missing, and the registration time is almost up."

Oishi, the vice-captain, couldn't help but feel anxious seeing that Horio hadn't arrived yet.

"The kid is usually very punctual. Why is he late today? Is this brat intentionally messing with us?"

"Oishi, how much time is left until registration closes?"

Seeing that Horio still hadn't appeared, Tezuka, who had remained calm, seemed a little anxious. Although he knew Horio would definitely show up, they had to solve the registration issue first.

"Only five minutes."

Hearing Oishi say there were only five minutes left, Tezuka looked down at his watch.

"There's no other way. Katsuo, you come out, put on the uniform, and temporarily impersonate him during registration..."

Tezuka, who was about to ask Katsuo to impersonate Horio, hadn't finished speaking when Horio's voice appeared.

"Not too early, not too late. Just in time. I'm back, everyone."

"Honestly, showing up this late, Horio, you had everyone really worried."

"My apologies, Oishi-senpai, I rushed back as soon as my training was finished."

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's go sign up quickly."

Tezuka looked at Horio, who had returned from his training, as if trying to discern any changes in him.

But Horio seemed to have no other changes besides his body becoming stronger.

Yet, the more it was like this, the more Tezuka became certain that Horio's strength must have greatly improved during his deep mountain training.

So, without further ado, he led everyone towards the tournament registration area.

After registering, the Seigaku team headed towards the match courts.

Their first opponent was an unknown school, Renda Junior High. Since it was the first match, all five of Seigaku's games would need to be played to completion.

Therefore, excluding Tezuka, who was recovering his arm, the other seven members of Seigaku all had their roles assigned.

Doubles 2 would be Koga and Fuji, Doubles 1 would be Oishi and Kikumaru, Singles 3 would be Ryoma, Singles 2 would be Kaitou, and Singles 1 would be Horio. This was Tezuka's decision.

In the absence of special circumstances, Horio would take Tezuka's place.

Although to outsiders, having a first-year freshman take the crucial Singles 1 position seemed incredible, for the Seigaku team, even Ryoma, who was never one to concede, dared not voice any objections.

This was because, in their eyes, Horio was on the same level as Tezuka.