Training Stimulated by Specially Made Drinks

"Katsuro, hurry up! The upperclassmen are starting their training, we need to get over there and get ready."

"I'll just put my things down, and then we can go."

Rushed along by Katsuo's urging, Katsuro didn't watch where he was going and dashed out of the locker room. Just then, Arai came in from outside.

As soon as he opened the door, he was slammed into by the hurried Katsuro, who knocked him right out of the way.

"What the hell, don't you have eyes?"

"Ah, Arai-senpai, I'm so sorry! I was in too much of a hurry and didn't see you coming in."

"Hey, first-year, why do you keep running into my wounds? Are you looking for a death wish?"

Arai, who had been knocked down, got up and was about to teach Katsuro a lesson. Before he could even throw a punch, he was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey, take me to Seigaku's tennis court. I'm looking for a guy named Horio."

Arai turned his head and saw a tall, gray-haired guy with a ferocious expression. Arai, already annoyed, immediately redirected his anger toward this man.

"Hey, who the hell are you, acting so arrogant? Let me teach you how to ask for help."

He then threw a punch at the man's face. Watching Arai's slow punch, the man ducked slightly and, with a fist of his right hand, struck Arai, who clutched his stomach and cried out in pain on the ground.

"I said, take me to find that guy named Horio. You two, take me there."

Seeing Katsuro and Katsuo frozen in fear, the man's patience wore thin.

As he moved to teach them a lesson, he was stopped by a voice.

"You still haven't learned, have you? I told you I'd find you if you were qualified. What's going on now? Want to get beaten up again?"

"Finally decided to show yourself. Don't you even think about ordering me around, Akutsu Jin."

With that, he charged at Horio, who was walking over. Looking at Akutsu, who hadn't learned his lesson, Horio shook his head.

"Being competitive is good, but being brainless is fatal."

This time, Horio didn't waste time with Akutsu. He directly delivered a side kick that sent Akutsu flying.

Before Akutsu could hit the ground, Horio charged again and kicked him in the back.

Akutsu, who had been sent flying backward, was stopped by Horio's back kick, followed by a series of combination punches. Akutsu's once sharp features slowly began to swell.

As Horio delivered his final punch, Akutsu, completely unable to resist, fell down again.

"I don't have time to waste with you. Katsuro, Katsuo, let's go. Drag Arai-senpai along too, we need to start training."

With that, Horio walked at the front, with Katsuro and Katsuo each grabbing one of Arai's arms and dragging him behind.

"You bastard, tennis, huh? Just you wait."

Akutsu, dragging his injured body, also left.

Inside the Seigaku tennis court, all the tennis club members were undergoing training that Inui Sadaharu had increased.

Horio didn't have to participate, but to avoid making others feel unbalanced, he didn't set a special precedent.

The Seigaku members were running laps around the court. Although the increased training was tough, everyone was persevering. Only some of the first-years were complaining.

They wondered why the training had suddenly increased. There was a rumor that Inui Sadaharu had gone to Ginka yesterday to gather information and saw that Ginka's members trained very hard, continuing to push themselves even after collapsing.

Hearing this, Katsuro and Katsuo immediately looked at Horio and asked with strange expressions.

"Horio, didn't you say those people yesterday were from Ginka? But they didn't look like they were training that hard."

"How were they not training hard? Weren't they being beaten up by Ryoma one after another? If you're going to blame anyone, blame Inui-senpai for going at the wrong time, and Ryoma for being too ruthless."

The two then turned to look at Ryoma, who was running as if nothing had happened, completely unable to recall the group from yesterday.

Unable to express their frustration, the two didn't want to talk about yesterday's events. Besides, they had already been running for so long; it wouldn't make much difference to say anything now.

"Alright, it's time for water. Everyone come and get some water."

Hearing Inui Sadaharu say it was time for water, everyone drank the water from the table and continued running.

Horio saw Inui Sadaharu constantly refilling his water and suddenly took something out from the other side.

Sensing that something was wrong, he immediately sped up, leaving the other first-years behind.

Seeing Horio suddenly accelerate, the others just assumed he was thirsty and was rushing to get water.

When it was their turn to drink water at the back, they saw Inui Sadaharu handing them several cups of red liquid.

Without thinking, they drank while running. Before they could finish, they let out a scream and collapsed.

The people running ahead heard the noise and looked back. Inui Sadaharu took the opportunity to explain.

"After each lap, the last few who don't pass have to drink my Agan-special drink. It helps improve physical fitness."

Looking at the few people who had collapsed on the ground and were retching, everyone got goosebumps, and their speed increased.

"Agan, you're too much! This is completely against the rules."

Kikumaru, representing those with insufficient stamina, heard Inui Sadaharu's explanation, immediately protested, and quickened his pace.

As the laps continued, the once large group gradually dwindled.

Fewer people were running, and more were lying down.

"Who would want to drink that sticky, gooey stuff? I'm not drinking it."

"Seriously, where did he even get that from?"

"Don't even think about making me drink that. I'd rather die."

The remaining Seigaku regulars were chasing each other, all to avoid the red, sticky drink.

"You guys fight it out, I'm not drinking it."

Watching everyone far behind him, Horio didn't dare to slack off.

Even though his physical condition was perfect, he didn't want to taste something with unknown ingredients.

"Alright, training ends here. The rest of you don't have to run anymore."

Only Horio and Fuji were still standing. The others looked at the two, wanting to grab them and force-feed them a cup of the drink.

"That's all for today's training. I think everyone has trained very well."

"I'm begging you, Agan, please stop bringing these weird, strange things to scare us in the future, okay?"

Even the usually steady Oishi couldn't help but complain, let alone the deep resentment of the others.

After training, everyone agreed to go eat. Horio didn't refuse this time.

The extreme load training every day was indeed not good for the body; it was nice to rest occasionally.

It was a nice thought, but just as Horio agreed, he received a call from the training gym owner, saying he needed Horio to come over for something.

With no other choice, Horio said goodbye to everyone and left.

Not long after Horio left, Kawamura Takashi also received a call and said he had something to attend to and had to leave.

This left Kikumaru, Ryoma, Momoshiro, and Agan. As the four were walking down the street, they passed a restaurant.

Kikumaru spotted Kawamura talking to a very beautiful woman. Their curiosity piqued, the four entered the restaurant.

Meanwhile, Horio arrived at the training gym and met the owner. Seeing Horio, the owner brought out a large box.

"This is what you wanted. It just arrived today."

Hearing the owner's words, Horio's eyes lit up.