The Match Between Fudomine and Shitenhoji

"Thank you so much, but you need to be careful next time you encounter something like this; it's too dangerous for you."

At this moment, an older man in the chasing crowd, after taking care of the unconscious man, stood up and spoke to Horio.

"It was nothing, just a simple favor. Thank you for your advice, uncle."

Horio didn't linger, taking his drink and leaving.

"You're the one who tripped the thief, aren't you?"

Not far from the scene, Horio heard people talking.

Following the direction from which the sound came, Horio looked up at the tree beside him.

"You actually found out! I thought I could fool you by hiding in the tree."

The sound came again, and Horio saw a figure jump down from the tree.

Who are you? Is there something you need?

Horio looked at the somewhat dowdy-looking person in front of him, with red hair, who was almost half a head shorter than him, but exuded a wild feeling.

"Hello! My name is Tooyama Kintaro! I'm a member of the Shitenhoji!"

Upon hearing the person's self-introduction, Horio suddenly realized who it was.

"Red hair, a wooden racket slung over his back, that really matches..."

Looking at Kintaro in front of him, Horio couldn't help but compare him to the Kintaro he remembered.

"Eh? You're wearing Seigaku's uniform too! Are you also in Seigaku's tennis club!?"

Kintaro became excited upon seeing Horio's attire.

Before Horio could speak, Kintaro spoke up again.

"Since you're from Seigaku, you should know Horio Satoshi, right? I've heard he's an incredibly strong monster. I came here specifically to have a match with him!"

Upon hearing Kintaro's words, Horio's expression turned somewhat strange.

"So, they've turned their attention to me instead of Ryoma? In that case, I'm sorry."

Horio immediately had an idea, and then his expression suddenly changed.

"Hey! You brat, how dare you mention someone else in front of me, Kaitou Kaoru? Are you underestimating me?!"

Horio strained his face, trying his best to make Kaitou's ferocious expression.

Kintaro was taken aback when he saw the person in front of him suddenly lose his temper.

"Oh, sorry, sorry. I heard he's a first-year student like me, so I really want to compete with him."

Although Horio looked very angry, Kintaro remained unfazed.

"So you're teammates with Horio too, right? Can you tell me what he looks like? Although Shiraishi said he looks terrifying, I still don't really believe it."

"Don't go too far, kid! Since you're so eager to know, I'll mercifully tell you."

The man wearing a headscarf in the Seigaku team is Horio Satoshi. Be warned, don't mess with him easily; he's very fierce!

Horio was almost at his breaking point, but he held back, thinking about the expression on Kintaro's face when Kaitou mistook her for someone else.

"Really!? It seems Shiraishi really wasn't lying to me. I really hope to have a match with him soon; just thinking about it makes me excited. Thank you so much for telling me all this... Eh? Where is he?"

Just as Kintaro was lost in his own fantasy, Horio, who could no longer stand it, had already left.

"Hey! Thank you for telling me all this, Kaitou!"

Horio had already walked away, finally broke down when he heard Kintaro's loud thanks and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Are you really that angry? You're shaking with rage."

To avoid giving himself away, Horio suppressed his laughter even with his back to Kintaro, which is why his body was shaking.

However, in Kintaro's view, it was this "Kaitou classmate" who was so angry that she was trembling.

"What's wrong, Horio? You took so long to get here. Rikkai Dai's matches are already over."

After parting ways with Kintaro, Horio took a long time to calm himself down before rejoining the main group.

However, Rikkai Dai's match has already ended, leaving only Nagoya Seidoku's match still ongoing.

"A pregnant woman's bag was just stolen, and I went to help chase the thief. Then I ran into someone looking for their friend, so I was delayed."

"Alright, alright, being late is fine, there's no need to make up excuses like that."

Oishi clearly didn't believe Horio's words, but he didn't say anything more.

"How did Rikkai Dai's match go? It's over so quickly."

"Because they also won their first three games, it didn't take much time."

When Oishi said this, his expression was somewhat solemn. Rikkai Dai's strength still put some pressure on the Seigaku team.

"So Nagoya Seidoku won this semi-final match because they're going to have a Rikkai Dai, right? But I guess they'll only make it to the semi-finals."

"Indeed, although Nagoya Seidoku has brought in all its overseas players this year and is quite strong, the gap between them and Rikkai Dai is still too obvious."

Hearing Horio's words, Kane nodded.

"Although Nagoya Seidoku has generally advanced with good results in the matches so far, the opponents they have faced have not been strong."

Our focus should be on tomorrow's match between Fudomine and Shitenhoji. Regardless of which side advances, we must take it seriously.

Unlike Rikkai Dai's matches, Nagoya Seidoku's matches failed to arouse any interest from the Seigaku players.

So everyone left halfway through the match, deciding it was better to rest than waste time.

"You can't be kidding... Ibu Shinji is Fudomine's second ace, and he got beaten so badly by a first-year student that he couldn't even hold his racket..."

The next day, at the stadium between Shitenhoji and Fudomine, the Third Singles match was underway.

The players on the field are Ibu Shinji and Shitenhoji Tooyama Kintaro of Fudomine.

At this point, the match between the two players was not evenly matched; instead, it was a one-sided domination by Kintaro.

At the start of the match, Ibu Shinji was completely overwhelmed and unable to put up any resistance.

Before even finishing the first game, Ibu Shinji was already unable to continue the match.

Kneeling on the ground, Ibu Shinji tried to pick up his racket, but his numb wrist couldn't even grip it.

"Fudomine Ibu Shinji forfeits, and Shitenhoji wins."

Since Ibu Shinji was unable to continue the match, Tachibana Kippei had no choice but to request the referee to forfeit the game.

"Great! I won!"

Having forced his opponent to forfeit, Kintaro was in excellent form, showing no signs of sweating at all.

"Captain Orange, I can still fight... Please let me continue..."

On the other side, Ibu Shinji, who had been lifted off the field by his teammates, was unwilling to give up and hoped that Tachibana would not give up. Tachibana Kippei remained unmoved when he heard Ibu Shinji's defiant words.

"Don't worry, Shinji, leave it to us. We'll figure something out."

"We will win this game, even if it costs us our lives."

Before Tachibana Kippei could speak, Ishida Tetsu and Kamio Akira, who were already prepared to play Second Doubles, spoke up.

"The doubles match between Fudomine and Shitenhoji, Second Doubles, officially begins. Shitenhoji's Oshitari serves."

The Third Singles had just ended when the referee announced the start of the Second Doubles.

Fudomine sent Ishida Tetsu and Kamio Akira, while Shitenhoji sent Oshitari Yushi's cousin Oshitari Kenya, and Ishida Gin, Ishida Tetsu's older brother.