Threefune's Arrangements
"That's true. In that case, let's do as the Head Coach instructs. I also want to see what this young man is capable of."
The man named Kurobe had a serious expression on his face, which was full of meaning. Saito, who had left the control room, had also arrived in front of Horio.
"Hello little brother, you must be the person Coach Mifune was talking about. My name is Saito, and I'm one of the Coach here."
Coach Mifune had already informed us in advance; we never expected that someone in only the first year of junior high school would be selected directly for the reserve team by the Head Coach.
However, even though the Head Coach has agreed, you still need to show your abilities to the reserve team first.
Before Saito could even utter a word, Horio started talking non-stop.
Horio was somewhat speechless about this, but when he heard that Mifune had directly included him in the reserve army, Horio felt both surprised and that it was reasonable.
"So you mean I can choose anyone to challenge, right?"
"That's right, we have a total of twenty stadiums here. The stadiums located further forward are the strongest."
"Then I'll pick Court No. 1, and I'll pick the boss of Court No. 1."
In Horio's memory, the No. 1 player on Court No. 1 should be Tokugawa Kazuya, who was also a very strong player.
Having endured Mifune's Hellish Training, he finally returned to the Training Base and won the title of Court No. 1. 1.
"This is no joke, little brother. The people here are different from those you usually meet. You could easily get hurt if you're not careful."
Saito hadn't expected Horio to target such a top-tier fighter from the reserve force right away, and he even made a point of reminding him.
"I know, that's why I'm so picky."
Horio ignored Saito's good intentions, knowing full well that compared to Tokugawa Kazuya...
Tanegashima Shuji from Court No. 1 1, Irie Kanata from Court No. 3, and Oni Jujiro from Court No. 5 —these three are far more formidable Tokugawa Kazuya.
Horio chose Tokugawa Kazuya Horio because he wanted to probe the U-17 Second Army's capabilities first.
"Since you've made up your mind, I'll take you to find Tokugawa. But you'd better be prepared; he's known as the Order Maintainer at this Training Base."
Horio ignored the warning in Saito's words.
He had earned Mifune's recognition, and Mifune had directly compared him to the First String of the Expedition.
After walking for a while at the Training Base, Saito led Horio to a basketball court.
At that moment, two people were practicing on the court, while another person was watching from the sidelines.
Although it was a very ordinary practice session, a closer look would reveal that the two players on the court were using five balls simultaneously.
"How was it? Not bad, right? The person you're going to challenge is that guy with the dark blue hair."
The duel between the two players on the court was not over, and Horio did not take the initiative to move forward.
After watching for a long time, another person with red hair and an older-looking face in the stadium finally noticed Horio.
Upon seeing Horio carrying a tennis bag, he stopped what he was doing, thus missing five balls returned by Tokugawa.
Seeing that his opponent was distracted, Tokugawa followed his gaze.
"Is it finally over? Now that it's over, it's my turn."
At this moment, Saito stepped forward and addressed the three men.
"Tokugawa, this is a newcomer who was specially approved by Coach Mifune to enter the reserve team. Because he chose you as his opponent, you have to have a match with him."
Well, this is the Head Coach's decision, so I'll have to trouble you two, Gui and Irie, to watch from the sidelines."
Besides Tokugawa, the other two were Irie Kanata from Court No. 3 and Oni Jujiro from Court No. 5.
Upon hearing Saito's words, both Oni and Tokugawa frowned.
But when he heard that it was Mifune's idea, he didn't say anything.
Only Irie the side, kept her eyes fixed on Horio, her gaze filled with curiosity.
"I don't know why Coach Mifune would do this, but if you want to challenge me, you'd better be prepared for a crushing defeat."
Tokugawa looked at Horio, as if trying to put pressure on Horio with his eyes.
"Although I don't know why that old geezer let me directly enter the reserve army, I'm not challenging you, I'm challenging you to a match. You're the one who should be prepared for a crushing defeat."
Horio retorted sharply in response to Tokugawa's words.
Horio's words caused Tokugawa and the other two to change their expressions. Daring to call the U-17 Head Coach a "stinky old man" was enough to prove that Horio was no ordinary person.
Without further ado, Tokugawa gestured to the demon with his eyes, and the demon wisely stepped off the field, making way for Horio.
Horio took out his racket and leisurely walked onto the court.
Unlike Tokugawa's serious demeanor, Horio was quite calm.
You serve.
After speaking coldly, Tokugawa turned and walked to the backstage area.
Seeing this, Horio didn't say much, just smiled, picked up the tennis ball from the ground, and went to the baseline.
"Is this the pride of you high school students? Well, let me give you a wake-up call and show you what it means to be outdone."
Seeing Tokugawa's somewhat disdainful attitude, Horio tossed the ball up.
Instead of testing the waters, they directly used the Limitless Scattered Flowers.
He swung his racket and hit the ball with considerable speed; it was quite impressive, at least for a junior high school student.
However, in the eyes of a strong high school student like Tokugawa, it wasn't considered fast.
Seeing Horio serve with such speed, not only Tokugawa, but also Oni and Irie on the sidelines, and even Saito, felt somewhat disappointed.
"As expected, middle school students are just middle school students; their ball skills are nowhere near that of high school students."
The demon spoke up directly, while Irie shook his head.
On the field, Tokugawa underestimated Horio's shot.
Having completely figured out the ball's trajectory, he arrived at the landing point in just a few steps.
They waited for the ball to bounce and teach Horio a lesson, but the result was the same as everyone who had faced this ball before.
Upon seeing the tennis ball land without bouncing at all, and instead split into eight balls that slid outwards, Tokugawa's initial contemptuous attitude vanished.
"That last shot... didn't bounce?"
"It seems that ball wasn't as ordinary as it looked; on the contrary, it was full of hidden meaning."
The three people watching from the sidelines, as well as Kurobe and Takuetsu monitoring from the control room, were all caught off guard.
"I advise you to drop that attitude, or you'll suffer a great loss."
Horio raised his racket and pointed it at Tokugawa, his expression calm.
After saying that, he moved to the other side of the baseline and served again, hitting the ball with another Limitless Scattered Flowers).
Even if Tokugawa put in his best effort this time, he still couldn't find a way to counter this unsolvable serve.