The Killing of Their Own

"It seems the Coach staff here is acting rather strangely."

"Well, but for us who are already used to Rikkai Dai's Hellish Training, it's nothing to fear."

"Let's see how things go first."

"Hmph, this is quite interesting. I wonder what tricks those people will pull next."

Yukimura, Sanada, Atobe, and Oshitari, who had already made their guesses, were both worried and excited.

At that moment, a person walked out of the control room. His height of over two meters immediately attracted the attention of the junior high school students.

"Good morning, junior high school students. I am Saito, the spiritual Coach of U-17."

I've just watched everyone's match, and your skills really don't seem like those of middle school students.

Saito doesn't have the seriousness of the Kurobe; instead, he makes people feel very approachable.

"However, if we further strengthen the mental aspect, everyone's strength will definitely grow to an even higher level."

Upon hearing Saito mention the spiritual realm, some people who had some understanding of spiritual power became cautious.

"Next, please pair up. You can pair up with anyone, as long as you can form a team."

When Saito said they would be divided into pairs, the junior high school students instinctively assumed that the next training session would be doubles.

Thus, a scene of pairing up and forming teams appeared on the court: Oishi and Kikumaru, Meido and Ootori, Kuroba and Tengan.

Some were groups of people who were quite familiar with each other, such as Kamio and Ibu, the Fuji brothers, Akutsu and Kawamura.

"Huh? What? It wasn't written at all."

Horio said it was at Court No. 1, but why didn't they write down where Court No. 1 is?

While the middle school students were forming their own teams, Kintaro stood alone in front of a sign, seemingly lost in thought.

"Hey, you middle schooler over there, what are you still doing here? Training has already started."

"But I'm looking for Court No. 1. Can you tell me where it is?"

At that moment, two high school students spotted Kintaro alone and immediately reminded him to quickly return to the Center Court.

However, Kintaro, who already had his own plans, was not going to listen to them so easily, and directly asked the two of them about the location of the Court No. 1.

"Huh? What are you talking about? What are you going to do at Court No. 1? That's not a place for middle school students like you."

"It's okay, it's okay, you just need to tell me."

"What an impolite brat! Since you want to cause trouble, I won't stop you."

Hearing Kintaro's tone, the two high school students stopped trying to persuade him and simply told him the location of Court No. 1.

Having learned the exact location, Kintaro excitedly left. Watching him go, the two high school students could almost picture him getting a severe beating.

Meanwhile, on the Center Court, the junior high school students had already been divided into groups.

"Is the division complete? The next training session will be the singles matches."

"What!?"

"Isn't it doubles!?"

Sure enough, when Saito said it was a singles match, those who had thought it was a doubles match panicked.

"The two players who have just formed a team will compete in singles, and the loser will be eliminated."

When I say "elimination," I mean being pulled out of this U-17 training camp.

Also, I never said that pairing up meant doubles.

Saito's gentle expression combined with his ruthless words sent chills down the spines of the middle school students present.

"The loser is eliminated immediately..."

"Isn't this just asking us to kill each other?"

Looking at the middle school students on the court, whose expressions had changed in various ways, Saito smiled.

"Honestly, where did Xiao Jin go at such an important time..."

"Didn't Xiao Jin say he was going to the restroom? It's been so long and he hasn't come back yet; something's not right."

At Shitenhoji, with Kintaro gone, only Chitose is left without a team.

Seeing that Kintaro had not returned to the Center Court for a long time, the Shitenhoji group was also very worried.

However, the upcoming competition prevented them from going to look for him, so they could only wait and hope that Kintaro would return in time.

"To fight against a comrade he's fought alongside all along, and then eliminate him— Saito's move is ruthless."

"If they don't know the truth, even accepting this arrangement is incredibly difficult, let alone defeating them in the match."

Off the field, Horio and his friends watched with amusement as the middle school students who had been tricked by Saito were outmaneuvered.

"Alright, let's start with this combination."

Ignoring the protests erupting throughout the stadium, Saito pointed to Meido and Ootori on the far left.

"By the way, if any pair refuses to participate, both will be considered eliminated."

Saito apparently felt the middle school students' protests were too noisy, Saito gave them an ultimatum.

Sure enough, the middle school students fell silent as soon as those words were spoken.

"The match will be a best-of-seven series to save everyone time. Okay, let's begin."

The middle school students had no choice but to bite the bullet and go on the field, while the Coach staff on the sidelines, recording the game data, were also ready.

"Is this really how it has to be..."

On the court, Meido and Ootori were already standing on opposite sides.

Looking at Meido preparing to serve, Feng was still very hesitant.

Although Meido on the other side was also frowning, she didn't care about what Feng was doing and directly served a ball.

Before Feng could prepare, he was directly scored by Meido's serve.

"Stop spacing out, Chotaro, the match has already started!"

"Mukahi Senpai..."

After scoring, Meido was clearly very dissatisfied with Feng's attitude.

Just like the qualifying training before the goodwill competition, Meido once again roared at Ootori in a cold and angry tone.

"It's your serve. Come on, unleash your Scud Serve."

Hearing Meido's familiar tone, Feng also thought of that experience.

"Okay, I'm coming!"

Holding the ball in her hand, Feng hesitated for a few seconds before her eyes hardened.

On another court, the match between two players from Hyotei, Mukahi and Oshitari, was about to begin.

"Come on, Yuushi, no matter who wins, don't hold a grudge."

"I'm relieved to hear that. I really couldn't stand it if you held a grudge against me."

Upon arriving at the rest area, Mukahi spoke to Oshitari, who was tying his shoelaces.

Upon hearing that Mukahi had already made this decision, Oshitari felt much relieved. After tying his shoelaces, he went onto the field without even glancing at them.

"You're so long-winded! Do you really think you're guaranteed to win?"

"Of course, who would be prepared to lose before even stepping onto the field? No matter who the opponent is, if someone has that mindset, they're doomed to lose."

"Hmph, I will definitely win this match, I absolutely will."

Mukahi was also provoked by Oshitari, and his previously calm demeanor was suddenly ignited by his competitive spirit.

Oshitari seemed to sense it too, but he only turned his head to glance at Mukahi.