Multi-Ball Practice

Bang... bang...

On the court, the sound of the racket hitting the tennis ball changes after each rally.

Both players on the court, or rather Kintaro alone, gradually adapted to this rhythm.

"There are people practicing over there."

"Really? Let's go take a look."

Not far from the court, high school students who had finished their swing practice were preparing to return to their cabin.

The noise from Horio and Kintaro's practice match caught their attention, and the group of high school students immediately headed towards the court.

"That's... the Coach!"

"Isn't that kid over there, the one from middle school?"

"The Coach is actually teaching that kid how to play basketball!"

The high school students approached the court and finally saw the two players on the court. They found it hard to accept that Horio and Kintaro were practicing together.

However, the intensity of their practice session temporarily suppressed their disbelief, and all the high school students' attention was drawn to the two on the court.

On the court, Horio kept changing the number of tennis balls, and Kintaro was returning the ball with increasing ease.

"Your trick is useless now. Even if you're stronger than me, this move won't work on me!"

After getting used to Horio's training rhythm, Kintaro's smile became even brighter.

Upon seeing this, Horio's lips suddenly curled up, and he picked up a few more balls.

Bang... bang... bang...

Hearing the increased sound of the ball being hit, Kintaro increased his speed.

"It's no use, I can change the rhythm at will now... What!? Eight balls!"

Horio realized that Kintaro had adapted to the rhythm changes of up to seven balls, so Horio increased the number of balls to eight.

Kintaro only noticed the tennis ball flying right in front of him, and quickly concentrated to swing his racket.

Unfortunately, Kintaro is still the same as before, only able to return seven out of eight balls.

"What's wrong? You were doing fine just now. Can't you stay calm when faced with situations beyond your capabilities?"

Upon hearing Horio's words, Kintaro shifted his gaze away from the eighth ball he had missed.

"Think back to what I told you before: if a person is always on edge, they will lower their limits."

After saying that, Horio showed no intention of continuing to practice.

This time, Kintaro surprisingly didn't pester Horio anymore; he just stood there silently.

"What are you all peeking at here for? Have you finished your practice?"

"Coach! We've finished all our swing practice for tonight!"

After leaving the court, Horio noticed the high school students who were secretly watching.

"You guys have improved your swings to 800 times a night now, that's not bad."

But since that old geezer said your daytime training needs to be doubled, don't you think it's unreasonable that you're keeping your nighttime training unchanged?

The junior high students are all pushing themselves to the limit; they might even make it down the mountain before you do.

Although he knew that the high school students were sacrificing some sleep time to practice every night, Horio still wanted them to push themselves even harder.

The high school students were quite impressive; after Horio finished speaking, they voluntarily walked towards the open space by the stream.

Seeing this, Horio simply smiled and then turned and walked towards the wooden house.

The next day, by the stream, middle school and high school students gathered under a huge pile of stones.

Rather than a pile of stones, it would be more accurate to describe it as a small rocky hill, as it is about fifteen meters high.

"I heard there was some extra training this morning."

I won't be surprised by anything that comes next.

Among the junior high school students, Momoshiro and Kai appeared quite calm about the upcoming new training.

"Is everyone here, you brats?"

Just then, Mifune's voice came from behind them. They turned around and saw Mifune holding a sake bottle in his left hand and a tennis ball in his right.

"See that little hill in front of you? From now on, as soon as you hear my instructions, immediately climb that little hill."

"After I count to twenty, that kid will drop the ball."

"That kid... could it be Horio?"

Upon hearing about the new training content, no one felt it would be too difficult.

On the contrary, the junior high school students' attention was not even drawn to the training content; instead, they were more concerned about who the kid Mifune was talking about was.

Upon hearing Kawamura's guess, Mifune tossed the tennis ball in his hand into the air.

An eagle suddenly swooped down, snatched the tennis ball, and then circled in the sky above the hilltop.

"The ball must be hit before it hits the ground. The first high school student or the junior high student to hit the ball will receive a reward."

Upon hearing about the reward, both junior high and high school students began to discuss it animatedly.

Go!

Seeing that he had whetted everyone's appetite, Mifune didn't waste any time and immediately announced the start.

The moment Mifune shouted "Go!", the junior high and high school students all rushed towards the hill.

"Leave this task to me!"

Kintaro was very excited about this.

One person took the lead and was the first to climb the hill.

But before he could finish speaking, he slipped and tumbled down the mountain, having not even climbed halfway up.

"Damn it! Why is this climb so hard!"

After Kintaro rolled down the mountain, the others also began their mountain climbing journey.

If even a highly agile player like Kintaro couldn't handle the terrain, how could anyone else possibly manage?

So after the Mifune gave the eagles the order, none of them climbed halfway up; they all stopped at about a quarter of the way up.

"What!? They haven't even climbed halfway up..."

Everyone was in disbelief as they watched the tennis ball roll down the hill.

"All of those people are out. From now on, there will be a match every morning, noon, and evening, understand?"

"Yes!"

The new training that Mifune gave everyone shattered their preconceived notions and indirectly aroused their desire for conquest.

They were simply embarrassing themselves during their first practice session. After everyone else had practiced, not a single junior high or high school student remained.

After everyone else had failed, Mifune led them back to the stadium, where Horio had been waiting for them for a long time.

"It's the Coach..."

"Where is the Coach on the court? Did he spar with us during today's practice?"

"Really!? That's great!"

Seeing Horio's figure on the court, the high school students suddenly became very excited.

When the junior high school students saw this familiar figure, they had a bad feeling.

"Alright, next up is sparring practice."

Mifune didn't care what the junior high and high school students behind him thought, and walked up to the wooden stump and plopped down on it.

"However, you didn't choose your own opponents today; you're fighting that brat."

Looking at Horio, Mifune's actions confirmed the guesses of the middle school and high school students.

"For the next period of time, you will practice against me every day, and each of you will have three chances to hit the ball."

If you can successfully maintain ten rallies within three balls, you've passed the test. Otherwise, you'll need to practice swinging the racket a thousand times every day using a special racket.

Horio's words were like a bolt from the blue for everyone. The chances of winning with just three balls were already slim, and now they had to go through ten rounds.

They didn't know how strong Horio was; all they knew was that Horio strength was unfathomable.

"Hmph, you're already making that face before it even starts. All of you, regardless of the outcome, will practice an extra thousand swings today. If you fail, you'll do another thousand."

Seeing the hesitant looks in everyone's eyes, Horio became even angrier.

Seeing Horio, the group, who had initially harbored some concerns, had no choice but to put them all aside.

"Come on, Coach! We're ready to die!"

No matter what kind of shot you hit, we'll find a way to get it back!

"That's right!"

Sasabe's words inspired the other high school students, and their morale immediately changed.

The junior high school students haven't shown such a significant change. Although their initial hesitation has changed, they're now just clinging to things out of necessity.

"Alright, let's begin the training, starting with the junior high students."

Horio targets the person most afraid of.

Horio, faced with the middle school students' lack of resolve, decided to fight fire with fire.

Upon hearing Horio's decision, a middle school student stepped forward.

"I'll go first."

Horio wasn't surprised by the serious expression on the man's face.

As a leader, he truly deserves the title; that person is Sanada.

After Sanada was ready, Horio took out three balls, tossed them into the air, and then swung his racket to hit them.

Upon seeing that there were three balls from the start, Sanada's eyes narrowed, and he immediately discerned the trajectories of the three balls.

After moving his feet, he swung his racket and hit the ball, successfully returning all three balls.

Then Horio had two more balls in his hand, which he gently tossed into the air and hit along with the three balls he had already hit.

"Five goals!"

"It's okay, Genichiro can catch five balls at the same time now."

"It's only the second round, and there are already five balls. Can Sanada make it through the remaining eight rounds...?"

Off the court, watching Horio hit five balls, Yanagi and Wolf were full of confidence in their teammate.

As expected, Sanada showed no fear in the face of five balls appearing at the same time.

With a rapid swing, he successfully returned all five balls.

"Playing five balls seems pretty easy, huh? Well then, I'll make it a little more difficult for you."

Sanada easily returned five balls, which was within Horio's expectations.

As they spoke, Horio produced two more balls.

"What!? The ball in Horio's hand..."

"Is he trying to add seven balls? He can actually hit seven balls at the same time."

"I wonder if Sanada can be defeated..."

Bang... bang... bang...

Seven shots were made, and seven tennis balls flew towards Sanada.

It was only then that Sanada felt the pressure. Feeling somewhat uncertain, he used his newly evolved ball technique in order to ensure that he could successfully return all seven balls.

" Its Swift as the Wind Storm!"