By the time Horio and the other two arrived, Ryoma was already preparing to fight the members of the tennis club.
Of course... he meant a tennis match.
"Ten points each. If I beat all of you, you'll help me look for the balls."
"Hahahaha, that's ridiculous. There are thirty of us. How do you expect to play us all?"
The group's leader burst out laughing at Ryoma's cocky words.
But when he saw that Ryoma didn't look like he was joking, he realized Ryoma was serious.
He called over the others and prepared to take him on one after another. Just as the group was about to challenge Ryoma to a match,
a man who looked like a tennis club member entered the club's locker room with a gray-haired man whose expression was fierce.
The gray-haired man ignored what the other man was saying and rummaged through everyone's bags.
"Hey, I'm asking you. Where's the money?"
"What? Don't joke around, Akutsu. It'll be a huge problem if people find out I brought someone who isn't in the tennis club inside. Hurry up and leave."
At those last words, Akutsu instantly flew into a rage.
"What did you say, you bastard? You think you can order me around? I told you not to give me orders."
Meanwhile, on the court, Ryoma had already beaten one tennis club member after another.
"That kid's actually that good? That's terrifying."
"Damn it, Suzuki's such an idiot. He can't even beat a kid."
Then someone walked onto the court with a racket and spoke to the one who had just lost.
"Move, Suzuki. Kid, I'm next."
"Whatever. Just hurry up."
Ryoma served, and his opponent couldn't even return the ball.
After that, Ryoma began a one-sided slaughter, bringing each opponent down with his tennis skills.
"These guys are way too weak. There's no point in playing the next match."
"Horio, what are you talking about? We never understand what you say."
"Oh, it's nothing. These guys are from Ginkaku, and they're our next opponents. Looking at them now, do you think there's any point in playing? I bet they'll forfeit."
"So they're the members of Ginkaku Middle School's tennis club. But Senpai Oishi said they were really strong."
"Heh, whatever. I'm going to look around somewhere else. You guys keep watching."
After saying that, Horio headed toward the Ginkaku Middle School tennis club's locker room. The person he was looking for was there.
"Akutsu... Aren't you uninterested in everything? Let me give you a hand."
...Ginkaku Middle School tennis club locker room
"Hey, is that kid playing over there also in your tennis club?"
"Uh, that guy? I don't know him either. He must be from another school. Akutsu, hurry up and leave. If they come back and see you here, I'll get kicked out of the tennis club."
"I told you not to think you can order me around. Why don't you ever learn?"
Akutsu punched the man, sending him flying.
"Make sure you remember next time, or I won't go easy on you... Hmm?"
Akutsu had just turned around. He hadn't finished speaking when he sensed someone staring at him. After looking around, he spotted Horio waving at him.
Seeing that Akutsu had finally noticed him, Horio pointed at him with his right index finger and beckoned with it.
Feeling that he was being provoked, Akutsu walked straight out of the Ginkaku Middle School tennis club.
"Kid, you were pointing at me just now, weren't you? Do you want to die?"
"So what if I pointed at you? Do I have to pay you for it?"
"You bastard. You're asking for it."
Akutsu swung a fist at him, but the moment it cut through the air, he felt as if he'd punched nothing at all.
"I heard you had great athletic ability, so I wanted to see what you could do. Now that I've seen it, you're just average."
Knowing Akutsu's background, Horio deliberately said things to provoke him. Among middle schoolers, Akutsu's athletic talent was undoubtedly exceptional.
It was precisely because he found every sport easy that he'd lost interest in everything.
"Not bad, kid. Let's see how long you can keep dodging."
He swung at Horio again, but Akutsu, whose every move was laid bare by the Eye of Shattering Delusions, was no threat to him.
Horio felt he'd had enough fun and stopped dodging. He watched Akutsu's right fist fly toward him.
Horio dodged with a quick sidestep, then drove his right knee into Akutsu's stomach.
A sharp pain shot through Akutsu's stomach. Then a fist struck his chin, and he fell to the ground.
"You're the one who claims everything comes easily to you? That's total bullshit."
"You're a half-baked fighter. I'm not interested in you for now. If you want revenge, I'll come find you when I think you're good enough."
After that, he left Akutsu lying on the ground, still dazed, and headed toward the court, figuring Ryoma should be done by now.
"Horio, you're back! Ryoma's amazing. He beat all of them."
"Oh, nice. Are you done? Then let's go. It's getting late—we should eat."
Horio didn't want to look at the Ginkaku members who'd been beaten, either. Katsuro and Katsuo helped the two girls carry the three hundred balls they'd won from Ginkaku, and they all left in high spirits.
In the distance, Akutsu was still lying on the ground. He slowly started to recover, but when he thought about how Horio had taken him down in just two moves, he felt humiliated.
"You bastard, just you wait. I'll teach you a lesson!"
When Horio and the others returned to the park, they spotted Ryoma's father waiting for him in a car from far away: Echizen Nanjirou.
"Hey, youngsters! Over here. Looks like you had a great time."
Echizen Nanjirou looked at Horio and the others, glanced over the group, then fixed his gaze on Horio.
"Oh, this youngster looks special. Are you a classmate of our Ryoma's?"
"Hello, Mr. Echizen Nanjirou. I'm Ryoma's classmate and teammate."
"So you're the first-year who made the starting lineup alongside Ryoma? That's impressive. How about we have an interesting match sometime? I'm getting bored of playing Ryoma every day."
Hearing the playful tone in Echizen Nanjirou's voice, Horio's eyes lit up.
If he could really play against Echizen Nanjirou, he'd improve more than ever before.
Horio was about to agree, but then remembered that he couldn't do anything that exceeded his body's limits anymore. So he came up with another idea.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Nanjirou. I can't play against you right now. But would you be willing to play me a year from now? I'll give it everything I've got then."
Seeing Horio's serious expression, Echizen Nanjirou stopped joking around and became serious too.
"Sure, youngster. I'll be ready whenever you are. Don't disappoint me."
After getting Echizen Nanjirou's promise, Horio didn't linger. He left with Katsuro and Katsuo.
Ryoma and the two girls, meanwhile, took the three hundred tennis balls and got into Echizen Nanjirou's car.
Before you continue