The Arrival of Seigaku

"Wow! Is this the Training Base for the U-17 candidates?!"

"That looks amazing!"

Outside the Training Base, the Seigaku members looked at the scene Training Base with great curiosity.

Unlike the previous friendly match training camps, the U-17 Training Base is located deep in the mountains, making the environment closer to nature.

Is it really appropriate to bring us middle school students to a place like this?

"This training camp had never had any junior high school students participate until last year. The sudden invitation to junior high school students this year must be suspicious."

As always, Oishi displayed his tendency to worry, while Kane, who was standing nearby, had also done his homework on the training camp in advance.

"Look, look! There's a camera!"

"Eiji, what are you doing! Get down here!"

While everyone was still discussing, Kikumaru had already stepped into the Training Base, his curiosity overflowing as he was interested in everything around him.

"Damn it! Don't go in front of me!"

"You little brat, get out of my way!"

"Want to fight, you bastard!"

"Come on! Who's afraid of you!"

Just as Oishi pulled Kikumaru back, Kaitou and Momoshiro, who were arguing as they walked by, gave him another headache.

"Alright! Stop it, both of you! Did you come here to argue?"

They stopped only after being scolded by Oishi, but their expressions still showed dissatisfaction.

"Alright, let's go in."

To avoid any further mishaps, Oishi didn't dare let everyone linger outside any longer and quickly led them into the Training Base.

They had only walked a short distance when two high school students in dormitory uniforms stopped them.

"Hey you guys over there, wait a minute. You're the super junior high students who were specially allowed to participate in this training camp, right?"

"Although you've just arrived, please allow yourselves to undergo some questioning first."

These two were the short-haired man and the man wearing a hat that Horio had seen earlier.

"Interrogation?"

Hearing the short-haired man use such a term right from the start, the Seigaku members frowned in confusion.

The two high school students didn't explain much to them; they simply led the group to a basketball court, where they placed three beverage cans in different locations on the other half of the court.

"The rule is that each person throws five balls, and you only need to hit the jar with three balls to win."

"What's wrong? Why do you all look so unwilling?"

"If you can't even do this much, you might as well leave now."

The Seigaku looked at the two high school students' actions with somewhat strange expressions.

Because they all knew that Arai had made things difficult for Horio and Ryoma in the same way when they first joined the club.

It's strange to feel that I'm being treated the same way by high school students as a junior.

When high school students see this kind of behavior, they subconsciously assume that it's because they're afraid of not being able to do it.

"How boring."

"So high school students play this kind of game? Looks like you two aren't very good at it either."

"Tch, let's hurry up and finish this. We didn't come here for this kind of training."

Oishi and the others remained silent about the high school students' behavior, while only Kikumaru, Momoshiro, and Kaitou made a few comments.

Momoshiro then picked up his racket and hit the ball, sending it flying into the bottom right corner.

The deformed can, sent flying by the ball, made the two high school students standing nearby change their expressions; they hadn't expected the first ball to hit the target.

But before they could recover, Momoshiro's next shot went wide of the left corner.

When Momoshiro easily hit the can, the camera outside the court moved, and in the control room on the other side, the three Coach saw it all.

"Seigaku Academy Tennis Club, the champion school of this year's National Tournament."

Momoshiro Takeshi, a second-year junior high school student, possesses outstanding offensive power and calm insight. His signature techniques are Vertical Smash, Center of Gravity Vertical Jump Style, and Spinning Vertical Jump Style.

Kawamura Takashi, a third-year junior high school student, possesses incredible strength and excels in head-on confrontations. His signature moves are various types of Wave Ball, but why does he seem like a completely different person when he picks up a racket?

This is Inui Sadaharu, a third-year junior high school student. He's good at Information Tennis, and seems to be a player similar to Mitsuya...

Looking at the figures appearing on the screen, Kurobe checked each item against the data sheet in his hand.

"I thought they'd panic when high school students started causing trouble for us all at once, but it seems to be going well."

As a Coach, Saito paid special attention to everyone's reactions on the spot, and his ability to remain calm even when facing high school students earned Saito praise.

"However, Seigaku originally had more than just these people. In addition to Horio, who was already at the base, there were also Tezuka Kunimitsu and Echizen Ryoma, who had gone to different countries."

These two are also very promising players, it's a pity they couldn't participate in this training camp.

"What does it matter? Horio, isn't he? Compared to those two, this boy who's been designated as Zero is worth far more."

This time, only seven people from Seigaku came; Ryoma went to participate in the All-American Open and hasn't returned since.

It's possible that, just as Horio said, they've simply stayed there.

Tezuka, who is already undergoing professional training, has absolutely no need to return, and he is no longer a member of Seigaku.

Saito didn't feel much about the regrets expressed in the Kurobe dialect.

In his view, having Tezuka and Ryoma would be a win, but not having them wouldn't be a loss.

Upon hearing Saito mention Zero, Kurobe's furrowed brows relaxed.

"We'll be going now, Senpai."

"What a pity, you didn't succeed. See you next week."

Inside the stadium, the Seigaku team had already overcome the obstacles set up by the two high school students.

Momoshiro and Kikumaru waved to the two stunned high school students, then left the court with the others.

"You two are really pathetic, using such tricks to make things difficult for middle school students. Do you really think the middle school students invited to participate in the training camp are the same kind of people as you?"

"You bastard! What are you saying...?"

After the Seigaku members left, a voice reached their ears again.

The two, already somewhat angry from being humiliated, flared up even more when they heard someone else say the same thing.

But just as the two were about to turn around and teach the owner of the voice a lesson, they saw Horio's face instead.

"Hori... Horio, it's you...!"

"Is there a problem? Hitting cans with a ball, that's a game only middle schoolers play. Instead of practicing, you two are doing this kind of pointless stuff."

Since Horio established his authority on his first day at the Training Base, his reputation has spread far and wide.

For high school students at the bottom of the Training Base, Horio's intimidation was undoubtedly enormous.